Matthew 24:34
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

† Jesus made a time-specific promise that His coming would occur within the generation of those who heard Him. His words were not symbolic of thousands of years, but literal and bound to the first-century context. The same people who witnessed His ministry would also see His judgment upon the Old Covenant system.

Matthew 16:27-28
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

† Jesus linked His coming with judgment and reward. The some standing here proves this event was near, not distant. His coming in the glory of the Father mirrors the Father's past judgments upon nations, it was a visible sign of divine authority through historical events.

Luke 21:22
Because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

† Jesus declared that all prophecy would be fulfilled during the destruction of Jerusalem. This was not a partial fulfillment but the completion of everything written concerning Israel's redemption and judgment. When the city fell in AD 70, it signified the end of the Old Covenant world.

Revelation 21:2-3
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.'

† The New Jerusalem represents the New Covenant relationship, God dwelling among His people through Christ. The old temple and priesthood were gone, replaced by the spiritual dwelling of God within His people.

John 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

† The promise of eternal life was not postponed until a future age. It became reality through Christ's completed work. Those in Him no longer pass into death or Hades, but live eternally in the presence of God.

1 Corinthians 15:54-55
But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?'

† Paul connected resurrection with the victory over death. This was fulfilled when Christ abolished the power of death, freeing the righteous dead from Hades and giving His people direct access to God's presence.

The Hope of Heaven for Believers

2 Corinthians 5:8
We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

† Because the way to God's presence has been opened, believers no longer fear death. To be absent from the body is to be immediately present with the Lord in His kingdom.

Philippians 1:23
But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

† Paul longed for the fullness of being with Christ. His words affirm that believers, when departing this life, now enter directly into His presence.

John 14:2-3
In My Father's house are many dwelling places, if it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.

† Jesus fulfilled this promise through His completed work. The place He prepared is not a far-off mansion, but eternal fellowship in His presence, the true dwelling of God with His people.

How it applies to us today
† We are not waiting for Christ to return, because He reigns now in His everlasting kingdom.
† The door to eternal life has been opened, and no believer passes into Hades anymore.
† The curse of death has been removed, and the fullness of redemption has come.
† We now live in the age of the New Covenant, where righteousness dwells, and God's dwelling is with His people forever.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index
† Matthew 24:34; Matthew 16:27-28; Luke 21:22; Revelation 21:2-3; John 5:24; 1 Corinthians 15:54-55; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; John 14:2-3