Close to the End of this System of Things Bro. Splane

Transcription

1 This month, I'd like to discuss how our understanding of this generation, that Jesus spoke about at Matthew 24:34, has a bearing on the nearness of the time of the end of this system of things Now you'll remember what Jesus said is recorded at Matthew 24:34 he said: this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen. Now you'll notice that there are two elements in this verse. We talk about this generation so we need to know what that's about and also what are all these things that are going to happen. Well let's take the second point. First what are all these things that Jesus was referring to. Well if you look in the context of Matthew chapter 24 you see that Jesus talks about nation rising against nation, Kingdom against Kingdom, food shortages, earthquakes in one place after another. Fine. So, the generation that Jesus is talking about will not pass away until it sees war, famine, earthquakes. But is there more? There's more. In the same chapter Jesus talks about a Great Tribulation. So, the generation will not pass away until the Great Tribulation occurs. Now, that is interesting. That is relevant to us. But, of course, we have to know what is a generation, and which particular generation was Jesus talking about. Now if you were asked by someone to identify a scripture that tells us what a generation is, what scripture would you turn to? I'll give you a moment, think about that. My choice is Exodus chapter 1 and verse 6 let's read that. Exodus chapter 1 and verse 6. It says: Joseph eventually died, and also all his brothers and all that generation. Now what do we know about Joseph's family? We know that Joseph had 11 brothers. 10 of them were older than Joseph. One of them, Benjamin, was younger. And we know that at least two of Joseph's brothers actually lived longer than Joseph because the Bible says that on his deathbed he called his brothers, plural, to him. Page 1 of 5

2 But now what did Joseph and his brothers all have in common? They were all contemporaries. They had all lived at the same time, they were part of the same generation. Now, suppose there was a man who died ten minutes before Joseph was born. Would he be part of Joseph's generation? No, because he'd never lived at the same time as Joseph, he was not a contemporary of Joseph's. Now suppose there was a little baby who was born ten minutes after Joseph died. Would the baby be part of Joseph's generation? Again, no, because the baby would not have lived at the same time as Joseph. For the man and the baby to be part of Joseph's generation they would have had to have lived at least some time during Joseph's lifespan. So now we've discovered what it means to have a generation. What makes up a generation? It's a group of contemporaries. It's a group of people who have lived at the same time. But now Jesus said this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happened. So, what particular generation was Jesus referring to? For that we have to go to the context of Jesus words so let's turn to Matthew chapter 24 and we're going to read verses 32 to 34. This is very important and it's very enlightening. Matthew chapter 24 verses 32 to 34. Jesus says: Now learn this illustration from the fig tree: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. Likewise also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen. Now let's go back to verse 32. Notice that Jesus is saying that his disciple should learn something from the fig tree. Now any little boy, any small child, can see a leaf on a tree and point to it and say look leaf. But what does it mean? The child may not know that summer is near, but an older person, who sees the leaves on the trees, is going to say: Ah, I know that something that can't be seen yet is going to happen. Summer is going to come. Now you can't see it yet but the older person knows that summer is near. And then in verse 33 Jesus starts out by saying likewise, so he's making a connection. Isn't it between verse 33 and verse 32? He says: Likewise Page 2 of 5

3 also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. Now what does Jesus mean by all these things? All the things he talked about earlier in the chapter. Nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, food shortages, earthquakes, pestilences and so on. He says when you see all these things I want you to draw a conclusion. A conclusion about something spiritual. Now when did all these things begin to appear? In Now in 1914 any young boy could see the various aspects of the sign. Wars, famines, earthquakes and so on, and conclude that they were bad. But what did it all mean? Only those with spiritual discernment would draw the conclusion, as Jesus said, that he is near at the doors. Now here's the point. In 1914 who were the only ones who saw these various aspects of the sign and drew the right conclusion that something invisible was occurring? Only the anointed. So, this generation is made up of anointed ones who see the sign and have the spiritual discernment to draw the proper conclusion about the sign. Now one of those who saw the sign, and understood what it meant, was brother Frederick Franz. Brother Franz was born in 1893 and he was baptized in November of So, as one of the Lord's anointed in 1914, he saw the sign, and he was able to understand its meaning. There were other anointed ones who also saw the sign and understood its meaning. Joseph Rutherford, A.H. Macmillan, W.E. Van Amburgh. After 1914 others were anointed with holy spirit. These include such wellknown brothers as Nathan Knorr, Lyman Swingle, Grant Suiter, Milton Henschel and George Gangas. They were anointed contemporaries of some in the first group. So really these brothers make up part of the second group of the generation. That is significant, and we'll come back to it in a moment. Page 3 of 5

4 Would you like an easy way to keep the generation straight? An easy way is to consider the situation of brother Fred W. Franz. Now you'll see that he is F.W.F. on the chart. Now, as we said before, brother Franz was born in He was baptized in November of So, as one of the Lord's anointed in 1914, he saw the sign and he understood what the sign meant. Now brother Franz lived a long life. He finished his earthly course at ninety-nine years of age in Now do you know of many who were of the anointed in 1914, and who outlived brother Franz? There may have been some, but not many. Now just for the sake of argument suppose that we assume that brother Franz was the last of that first group of anointed ones. That is, the group of anointed ones who were anointed in 1914, who saw the sign and then continued serving faithfully. Now we're not saying brother Franz was. We just don't know, but for the sake of argument let's suppose. In order to be part of this generation someone would have had to have been anointed before 1992, because he would have to have been a contemporary of some of the first group. Now, again, we're not saying that brother Franz was the last of this group, but we're just using this for the sake of argument, as a point of reference. Any one anointed after 1992 would be of the anointed, but he would not be part of this generation and Jesus said this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Are you beginning to see how this all connects with the urgency of our times? Page 4 of 5

5 Someone might say: we know that some of the anointed will be on the earth when the Great Tribulation breaks out, but who is to say that Jehovah won't be anointing more people years from now, and then they'll be reading about us in some updated version of the Proclaimers book? Well the answer is simple. Anyone anointed years from now would not have been a contemporary of those of the first group of anointed ones because they have passed off the scene. And Jesus said this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. They would not have been part of the generation. Now those of the second group of anointed ones are getting older. This is especially clear when you consider who make up the second group. We saw some pictures of those who made up the second group but, in addition, there are Carl Klein, John Barr, Albert Schroder. All of the current members of the Governing Body are also part of this generation and some of us are showing our age. So, brothers, we are indeed living deep in the time of the end. Now is no time for any of us to get weary. So, let's all heed Jesus counsel. The counsel found at Matthew 24:42 Keep on the watch, therefore, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Page 5 of 5