• I guess it didn't mean anything to the first century, huh? But ask yourself... would Jesus really warn His disciples, with urgent language, about events that wouldn't affect them at all?
  
  

• Jesus said in Matthew 24:34, "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." He was speaking directly to His disciples about their generation, not a distant future one.
  
  

• In Matthew 24:15, He warned them, "Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation... standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains." Why would He say you see and those in Judea must flee, if He meant people 2,000 years later?
  
  

• If the events were 2,000 years away, don't you think someone would have raised a hand and said, "Wait... why are you telling us this now?" But no one did. Because it was for them.
  
  

• Luke 21:20-22 confirms this: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near... because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled." Jesus told them to watch for their city to be surrounded. Not a future audience.
  
  

• The apostles certainly believed it was for their time. 1 Peter 4:7: "The end of all things is near..." James 5:9: "Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door." Hebrews 10:37: "For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay."
  
  

• So why would Jesus tell His disciples about events 2,000 years out? He didn't. He was warning them about what would soon come upon their generation. Ignoring that time statements is ignoring the plain reading of scripture.
  
  

• Revelation 1:1 opens with: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ... to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place..."
  
  

• Revelation 22:10 ends with: "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near." Compare that to Daniel 12:4, where Daniel is told to seal it, because the time was far off. John was told not to seal it. Why? Because it was near.
  
  

CONCLUSION:

If the words of Jesus weren't meant for His own disciples, then why did He speak with such urgency? Why say this generation, you, when you see, flee, the time is near?

It's simple: Because it was for them, and it did happen just as He said.

Luke 21:32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place."

We either believe Him, or we don't.