Quote Originally Posted by ajaxfetish View Post
No kidding! Of course, Jesus did say something about 'this generation' not passing before his coming. I've heard that interpreted as the 'generation of mankind,' but that does seem a little farfetched, doesn't it? What would he say if it were the opposite? Don't worry about looking for signs, cause you'll be extinct by then, anyway? As I understand it, early Christians were ready for a second coming to happen any moment. And . . . it didn't. Now most of us are a little less edgy, just getting into a furor when some big calendar event hits, like the year 2000. What do we do if AD 7000 rolls around? The 7 seals/7000 years idea will be a little hard to sustain then, unless we're willing to start treating history with as much skepticism as geology. Ultimately, you just need to read your bible a little less literally, Rhyfelwyr. It could get you into trouble. Most of the prophecies you'll find are either gonna be things that had already happened when prophesied, or they'll be really vague and subjective, or they'll be things that happen all the time, like wars and natural disasters.

Ajax
I don't usually tend to read it literally, I just felt like throwing this thread out there since I think people are too complecent in just dismissing everything as an allegory, and also in terms of their attitude to the ecumenical movement.

Also, I have came across the issue you raised with Jesus comments, and the most common explanation I have seen is that given the context in which he was speaking, he was referring to the first generation after the various other prophecies he had just mentioned had been fulfilled (in other words the first generation after Israel was founded, with the standard Biblical generation being seen as 70 years long). Alternatively, preterists say that Jesus did fulfil his prophecy and raptured all believers around 70AD. However, IMO, the most solid view is that of all the major Reformers that has apparently since been forgotten, aka partial-preterism, or the belief that Jesus spoke of events in 70AD, but given the nature of various other prophecies, this was a shadow of the later apocalyptic scenario, with the destruction of the temple following that old pattern of the Old Testament features foreshadowing their New Testament equivalent.