Luke 9:27
This Generation
Jesus made an extraordinary statement in this verse. He told the
people standing in front of Him that some of them would see the
kingdom of God before they saw death—and they did.
This statement is given both in Luke and Matthew and in both gospel
accounts, the very next thing that happened was that some of the
disciples went with Jesus to the top of a high mountain where Jesus
was transfigured. Some, and mind you it was just a very little, of
the glory that the Son of God has always had, broke through the veil
that is called flesh.
However, it is not the event that I want us to consider but the
statement, "there be some standing (or sitting) here, which shall not
taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God." I do not believe
there has been a day more likely that these words could again be
true since the day that Jesus spoke these words.
I believe that it is possible that some of you will not taste of
death before you see God’s kingdom. Let me hasten to say that I am
not setting dates for Jesus’ return. I don’t know when Jesus will
come back; but, it certainly looks like it could be soon. When we
consider that some of those sitting in here could live for another
80 or 90 years, it
Suppose I am ministering to the generation that will be alive when
Jesus comes. What will they see? Even the Christians who will be
taken out by the rapture?
The Bible tells us of some things; however, looking through them, it
is amazing how many prophecies have already come true.
Matt 24:5 For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
(Jim Jones, David Koresh, Charles Manson)
Matt 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise,
and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love
of many shall wax cold.
2Tim 3:1 This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn away.
2Thess 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first,
With that many prophecies all ready fulfilled, I will concentrate on
some of the lesser thought of prophecies that the generation who sees
the kingdom of God come might see.
I. The rise of an old religion
A. The fact that there people have turned away from the true
and living God in no way means that religion has or will
diminish.
1. \\#2Tim 3:5\\ declares that will the rise of evil in
the end times, there will be a "form of godliness."
a. That means people will think themselves to be good
and godly people.
b. Yet they will have no power.
2. The anti-Christ, from the beginning, will honor some
form of religion.
Dan 11:37 Neither shall he regard the God
of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor
regard any god: for he shall magnify himself
above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the
God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew
not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and
with precious stones, and pleasant things.
a. I take it from that the anti-Christ won’t worship
any god but that he will support some religion,
probably a religion that puts him in favor with
the people and that he can manipulate.
b. It would be hard for the anti-Christ to worship
a god he knew was not real and he will refuse to
worship the God who is real.
3. Of course, he and his cohort, the false prophet, will
eventually establish their own religion—the worship
of the devil.
a. We won’t read the whole chapter but you need to
know the key players.
1. Dragon - devil
2. 1st beast - anti-Christ
3. 2nd beast - his false prophet
4. image of the beast - a thing which is given
life (AI)
b. All four of these being seek worship and either
get it or kill those who won’t give.
Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which
gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped
the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast?
who is able to make war with him?
Re 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the
image of the beast, that the image of the beast
should both speak, and cause that as many as
would not worship the image of the beast should
be killed.
c. So the anti-Christ goes from honoring a religion
to seeking worship.
d. That is bound to cause some friction between him
and the religion that he was honored which
happens in \\#Rev 17:16\\.
B. This change seems to take place around the half-way
mark of the tribulation.
1. However, the religion which is worshipped in at
the beginning is an ancient world religion.
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit
into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon
a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of
blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and
scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious
stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand full of abominations and filthiness of her
fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written,
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of
the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
admiration.
2. This religion will have four characteristics.
a. \\#3\\ It will be very political.
b. \\#4\\ It will be very wealthy.
c. \\#5\\ It will be very old.
d. \\#6\\ It will be very deadly to the believers.
C. The generation that sees the kingdom of God come will
get to see this religion re-assert itself.
1. It will gain world-wide political power.
2. I would imagine that this will start on this side of
the rapture as this religion will have to be powerful
for the anti-Christ to want to work with it.
3. With that renewed political power, it will commence
to killing the saints again.
II. The formation of a new economical center
A. What is the last place you would think of as being a world
financial leader? Think of a place. Got one?
B. Well, the new world financial leader will be Babylon.
1. An Islamic nation.
2. A city in what was Sadam Hussein’s domain.
3. The city the US attacked in 2003.
4. The place where we have had troops and personal
stationed for a good portion of time since 2003.
Rev 18:9 And the kings of the earth, who have
committed fornication and lived deliciously with
her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when
they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her
torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city
Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is
thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and
mourn over her; for no man buyeth their
merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and
precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen,
and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all
thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and
all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of
brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and
frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour,
and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and
chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are
departed from thee, and all
C. Some speculate that Babylon is a symbolic name and there
is a possibility that is the case.
1. Some believe that this financial center is the US.
And have my doubts as I cannot see the Lord allowing
the US to stay a national leader if it abandons all
that made it great.
2. But that still leaves other major markets - London,
Tokyo and many others.
3. However, all of that overlooks the many promises God
has made to judge Babylon.
4. It seems to me that God has a great endtime plan for
Babylon, one that involves it being greatly exalted.
5. For example: Shinar is another name for Babylon.
Zech 5:5 Then the angel that talked with me
went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine
eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is
an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This
is their resemblance through all the earth.
7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of
lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the
midst of the ephah.
8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast
it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the
weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and,
behold, there came out two women, and the wind
was in their wings; for they had wings like the
wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah
between the earth and the heaven.
10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me,
Whither do these bear the ephah?
11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in
the land of Shinar: and it shall be established,
and set there upon her own base.
6. I find it interesting that God has stored a particular
brand of evil in the River Euphrates which flows
through Babylon!
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the
trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in
the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were
prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and
a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen
were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard
the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and
them that sat on them, having breastplates of
fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the
heads of the horses were as the heads of lions;
and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and
brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men
killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by
the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
D. If this is the generation that will see the kingdom of God
come, watch for Babylon as a city and Iran as a nation to
gain preemmence.
III. A treaty and forced peace in Jerusalem
A. That is hard to image. If you know anything about
international affairs then you know that Israel has had
problems with its neighbors since before it became a
nation in 1948.
1. In recent days, some who appear to be anti-Jewish
Arabs kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers.
In retaliation, some Jews killed an Arabian teenager.
2. So on July 8, 2014, Israel began an offensive into the
land of Gaza called Operation Protective Edge. So
far it has consisted of a variety of strikes, I suppose
from the land and the air, on selected targets in
Gaza.
3. What you may not know is that is not the reason Israel
is attacking Gaza, although it might have been the
match that the lit the fuse. The reason they are
attacking is because hundreds of missiles have been
launched from Gaza into Israel.
4. From the articles that I have read, it seems likely
that a ground assault of some 40,000 Israeli troops
is next.
B. In the middle of that powder keg, it is difficult to
imagine Israel having peace, but they will.
1. It will not be a lasting peace.
2. It will not be a good peace.
3. It will not be a peace completely desired by Israel.
4. Instead, it will be a peace forced on Israel.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in the midst of the week
he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations
he shall make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be poured
upon the desolate.
a. The "he" in that verse is the anti-Christ.
b. The word "confirm" means to be stronger. It
implies that the anti-Christ will strong arm
Israel into a seven year peace treaty.
c. Since the treaty is seven years long and it is
that treaty’s duration that makes up the
tribulation, then the treaty has to be negotiated
BEFORE the tribulation starts and I think before
the rapture.
d. By the way, one of the temptations for what I
believe will be the Battle of Armageddon is that
Israel will be a land of unwalled villages,
being at rest, dwelling safely, without walls,
bars, or gates \\#Eze 38:11\\.
C. So the generation that will see the coming of the kingdom
of God will see a treaty and force peace in Jerusalem.
IV. The formation of a new Palestinian nation
On Nov. 29, 2012, 138 nations passed U.N. Resolution 67/19 on “The
Question of Palestine.” The resolution expresses support for the
right of “the Palestinian people … to their independent State of
Palestine.”
http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/what-the-bible-says-about-a-palestinian-
state/#fD4EJcVe0SUkMdqt.99
A. Does the Bible speak of this nation?
1. Yes and no.
2. The Bible makes reference to that endtime nation but
by referring to the Biblical nations that will make it
up.
3. That being so, it is difficult to know what Bible
verses are talking specifically about those nations
and which Bible verses are talking about the yet to
be formed nation.
4. I believe the new nation will be comprised of the
Philistines, Ammon, Edom, and Moab.
B. Here is just one verse:
Eze 25:14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom
BY THE HAND OF MY PEOPLE ISRAEL: and
they shall do in Edom according to mine anger
and according to my fury; and they shall know
my vengeance, saith the Lord GOD.
1. Notice that God is very specific who will destroy
Edom.
2. It was not to be Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome.
3. It was to be God’s people.
4. That has not happened yet!
5. In that one chapter, the Philistines, the Ammonites
and the Moabites are also mentioned.
C. Again, God is speaking.
Joel 3:2 I will also gather all nations, and
will bring them down into the valley of
Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there
for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom
they have scattered among the nations, and
parted my land.
1. This deals with the Battle of Armageddon for Megiddo
is in the valley of Jehoshaphat.
2. God explains why He gathers the nations to that field
to destroy them.
3. It is because they "parted" God’s land.
4. It does not even say they attempted to part it but
that they did.
D. I do not know if the actually establishment of the
Palestinian state will come on this side of the rapture
or the other side, but it will come.
1. Personally I believe the treaty that is forced on
Israel will create the new nation although it may
not actually be established until after the rapture.
2. Those who are alive in the generation that the
kingdom of God comes will at least be able to watch
the momentum build for this new nation if not
actually see it come into existence.
V. The prelude to the greatest war to date
A. I would say that the greatest war to date would be WWII,
mainly because more Americans were killed in that war
than any other, except for the Civil War, and because
nuclear weapons were used to end it.
1. Civil War - 625,000
2. WWII - 405,399
3. WWI - 116,516
4. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were both bombed on August
6, 1945.
B. Sadly, that war—even all of the wars combined—do not
begin to total those who will ultimately die in the
coming war.
Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of
the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of
thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come
and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he
that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was
given unto him: and he went forth conquering,
and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I
heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was
red: and power was given to him that sat thereon
to take peace from the earth, and that they
should kill one another: and there was given unto
him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I
heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I
beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat
on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four
beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and
three measures of barley for a penny; and see
thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I
heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come
and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and
his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell
followed with him. And power was given unto
them over THE FOURTH PART OF THE EARTH, to
kill with sword, and with hunger, and with
death, and with the beasts of the earth.
C. As of 4:24 today, the world’s population is estimated
at 7,246,629,000.
1. 1/4 of that would be 1,811,657,250 people.
2. Revelation is saying that many will die by the fourth
seal of the tribulation.
3. Of course that is not just Americans and it is not
just the war dead but those who will die from all of
the effects of the war.
4. It seems that the consequences of the war cause a
famine.
5. I wonder what the combatants in that war will do that
will trigger such a condition, perhaps something
nuclear?
D. This appears to me to occur at the beginning of the
tribulation, but wars like births do not normally happen
all at once.
1. There will be a prelude to it.
2. If the war occurs at the beginning of the tribulation,
the prelude to it will likely be on this side of the
rapture.
Of course there many others like they will see the rapture. But
these five things that I have mentioned are five things that I
believe the generation that is alive when Jesus comes will see. In
my opinion, nothing can stop them; but if these things are going to
happen before Jesus comes, what will the world see after He comes?
We need to be busy telling others about Jesus.
