TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Lesson 36: The Bible's definition of the twentieth century generation that
will witness the events leading up to Christ's Second Coming.
I Zechariah's book was sealed until the time of the end.
A Jerome, (340-420 A.D.), referred to Zechariah's work as
"...that most obscure book of the prophet Zechariah."
B Down through the succeeding centuries Zechariah's book
remained locked, waiting for future technology to forge
the keys that would open its message.
C Without exception, those who attempted to unlock
Zechariah's book before the appointed time came into
view, failed to frame so much as a vague outline of its
profound significance to modern man.
D The keys forged by today's technology, that eventually
unlocked Zechariah's book, arrived in the form of modern
space machines that took billions of dollars to build.
II Christ's response to His disciples' question about the end
of the age, established two major events to look for in the
days leading up to His Second Coming.
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
him privately, saying, Tell us, when will this be, and what
will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the
age? (Mt. 24:3, RSV).
A In response to His disciples question, Jesus listed a
number of signs and events that would come to pass
before He returned to establish His earthly kingdom of
peace.
B Jesus ended His list of events with a brief description
of the world's Second Atomic War.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in
heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn,
and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory (Mt. 24:29-30).
A "Immediately after the tribulation of those days" is a
direct reference to the great tribulation brought on by
AWWI, which Christ had commented on at length before
making this statement.
B Christ then used the same language found in Joel's
portrait of AWWII to describe the immense quantities of
smoke that will be lofted into the earth's atmosphere
over the course of the nations fighting that second,
all-out atomic war.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for
the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars
shall withdraw their shining (Joel 3:14-15).
C Christ also used the Apostle John's analogy of "the
stars of heaven fell unto the earth" (Rev. 6:13) to
describe air-burst atomic weapons, which will be used by
the nations to wage man's last nuclear war.
D Christ's use of this same language establishes the
timing of His return to be directly following a global
nuclear war; which, according to later chapters of the
Revelation, will be the world's Second Atomic War.
III Christ's parable of the fig tree revealed another dimension
associated with man's first space flight around the earth.
A Christ followed His documentation of the timing of His
return with a definition of which future generation will
be present during the decades immediately preceding His
Second Coming.
B Christ presented His definition in parable form.
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is
yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer
is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know
that it is near, even at the doors (Mt. 24:32-33).
A Some Bible scholars have viewed the fig tree as a symbol
of the restored nation of Israel. Hosea 9:10 and
Joel 1:6-7 are often used as the biblical basis for this
position.
10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like
the first fruit on the fig tree, in its first season, I
saw your fathers... (Hosea 9:10, RSV).
1 If this verse truly established a fruit as the symbol
for the nation of Israel, then grapes should be
selected since grapes are mentioned first, and the
text clearly compares Israel to grapes.
2 Note further that the fathers are not compared to the
fig tree but to "the first fruit 'on' the fig tree."
3 Thus, the letter of the text does not compare
anything to the "fig tree."
6 A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without
number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a
lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees.
It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white (Joel 1:6-7, NIV).
1 If this verse truly established a symbol for the
nation of Israel, then vines should be selected since
vines are mentioned first, before fig trees.
2 Note further that both vines and fig trees are
plural, not singular (in the NIV and RSV).
3 Thus, the letter of the text does not compare
anything to a single "fig tree."
B Moreover, a search of other biblical and historical
references yields no evidence to support the position
that the fig tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel.
C The Apostle Luke's more detailed account of Christ's
parable of the fig tree points to a different meaning.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and
all the trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own
selves that summer is now nigh at hand (Luke 21:29-30).
A Clearly, Christ named not only the fig tree, but "all the
trees" in this parable.
B "The fig tree and all the trees," therefore, represent
"all" the prophesied signs and events leading up to
Christ's Second Coming; which is in keeping with what He
had been talking about immediately preceding His
interjection of this parable.
C "All these things" include the second return of the Jews
to Israel, men running to and fro and the knowledge
explosion, construction of Egypt's Aswan Dam, deployment
of atomic weapons, and the widespread use of spaceships,
communications satellites, and "eye-in-the-sky" spy
satellites.
D According to Luke's account, "know that it is near" is a
specific reference to Christ's establishment of His
kingdom on earth.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to
pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand
(Luke 21:31).
E Jesus concluded His parable of the fig tree with the
following profound pronouncement.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass,
till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not
pass away (Mt. 24:34-35).
A Jesus stated here that "all" the prophesied milestone
events leading up to His Second Coming will occur within
the life span of one generation.
B Christ's plainly spoken statement immediately demands
that "this generation" must, in some unique way, be
positively identified at "the time of the end."
C If this generation could not be unmistakably identified
at the time of the end, then how could they be convinced
that Christ was talking to them, and of what value would
Christ's parable of the fig tree be to anyone?
D In view of Christ's instruction to His servants, at the
time of the end, to study the scriptures to discover the
exact identification of the generation to whom the
parable of the fig tree is addressed, what would be a
sensible way to proceed?
1 Logically, the prophetic text defining "this genera-
tion" should contain a reference to trees putting
forth leaves when their branches are yet tender in
the spring of the year.
2 It is also reasonable to assume that the same text
would identify this "end-time" generation in some
unique way.
E Those who proceed to investigate the matter on this
premise will come to the night of "the four and
twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month
Sebat" (Zech. 1:7), when Zechariah the prophet was shown
a series of visions detailing man's future venture into
the silent void of space.
7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month,
which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius,
came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of
Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
8 I saw by night, and behold a man was riding upon a red
horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the
bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and
white (Zech. 1:7-8).
A Zechariah took great care to record the year, month,
day, and even the time of the day when he received this
vision.
B At first glance, the information appears to be redundant.
C After all, the prophecies that follow are addressed to
people who would be living hundreds and hundreds of
years in the future; what possible difference could it
make to them as to what the time and date was when
Zechariah received his vision?
1 The answer is found in the ancient Babylonian month
of Sebat that coincides with the eleventh month of
the Jewish sacred lunar calendar, which runs from the
new moon in February to the new moon in March.
2 The word means a "shoot," in Chaldee, for the month
when trees begin to shoot or bud.
3 Thus, God chose to reveal man's initial step into
space to Zechariah during the month of Sebat for the
purpose of using the meaning of the month to connect
the parable of "the fig tree, and all the trees" to
Zechariah's manned space flight vision.
4 Even as the rapid fulfillment of "end-time" Bible
prophecy was compared to budding trees to alert the
"end-times" generation to the nearness of Christ's
Second Coming, so was the month of Sebat selected to
announce man's initial step into space for the
purpose of tying the fulfillment of that event to the
timing of Christ's return.
5 Specifically, the Sebat connection turns out to be
the key which unlocks the Bible's mysterious
definition of the generation that "shall not pass,
till all these things be fulfilled."
D The next question awaiting an answer is how does the
Sebat connection provide the key to the definition of
the "shall not pass generation?"
1 Before this key can be explained it must be under-
stood that the most fundamental feature common to all
the members of a specific generation is the date of
their entry into the world.
2 This basic property of a generation automatically
requires the presence of a unique entry date for the
"end-time" generation spoken of in the parable of
"the fig tree and all the trees."
3 Note next that neither Zechariah's first manned space
flight prophecy, nor the date he received the vision,
Sebat 24, 519 B.C., meant anything to the human race
prior to the prophecy's fulfillment.
4 However, closer examination of Sebat 24, 519 B.C.,
reveals that it was not recorded for the purpose of
drawing attention to the date Zechariah received his
manned space flight vision, but rather to point to
the date of the fulfillment of that event (April 12,
1961) as the unique arrival date of the "end-time"
generation's entry into the world.
5 Thus, according to the Sebat connection to Christ's
parable of "the fig tree and all the trees," the
generation that witnessed Russian cosmonaut Yury A.
Gagarin's first manned space flight "round the
earth," on April 12, 1961, "shall not pass away, till
all these things be fulfilled."
IV How does Numbers 14 spell out God's definition of a generation?
A When the children of Israel refused to cross into the
Promised Land because of their fear of the inhabitants,
God sentenced them to forty years of wandering in the
wilderness for their crime of unbelief.
B During that forty year period, everyone who was twenty
years old and upward died.
C The generation of children which witnessed their parents
and grandparents rebellion were nineteen years old and
under at the time.
D Forty years later this generation of children entered
into the Promised Land.
E Therefore, according to biblical historical precedent,
anyone who was under the age of twenty, at the first
manned space flight around the earth on April 12, 1961,
is part of the generation identified in the parable of
the fig tree, which "shall not pass, till all these
things be fulfilled."
F This means the people who were nineteen or under on
April 12, 1961, will witness Christ's return at the
close of the age.
V The biblically defined expected life span of the Sebat
generation provides a good approximation of the number of
years remaining, within which Christ will return.
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with
man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an
hundred and twenty years (Gen. 6:3).
10 The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty, if
we have the strength; (Ps. 90:10, NIV).
A God's limits on man's longevity teach that the majority
of the Sebat generation will not live more than eighty
years after 1961.
B This means Christ will return well before 2041,
otherwise the majority of the Sebat generation
would not be alive to witness His return.
C In light of the Sebat connection prophecies, what would
be a good estimate of the timing of Christ's return?
1 Since the generation of children who lived through
the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, were
forty to sixty years old when they entered the
Promised Land, the Sebat generation may be about the
same age when Christ returns.
2 This places the timing of Christ's Second Coming
somewhere around the year 2001.
D Although the Sebat connection prophecies do not
establish a precise date for Christ's return; they do
eliminate the possibility that His return is yet scores
of generations into the future.
E In summary, God designed Zechariah's prophetic descrip-
tion of the dawn of manned flight into space, and the
parable of the fig tree, in such a way that the Sebat
generation could determine that they will be living
through the final events leading up to Christ's return.