This generation shall not pass?

After speaking of Daniel's 70th week and the regathering of Israel, the Lord told His disciples "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." (Matt. 16:27-28, 24:34, Mark 8:38-9:1, 13:30, Luke 9:26-27, 21:32). However, obviously the 12 apostles died and never experienced Daniel's 70th week. This is something I have never heard Post-Tribulation rapture proponents mention. Because if they did mention this issue, it would prove their doctrine to be heresy.

Matthew 16:27-28 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Mark 8:38-9:1 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

Mark 13:30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Luke 9:26-27 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

Luke 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Since the believers of the gospel of the kingdom died and never experienced Daniel's 70th week, this creates an apparent contradiction. There are only two ways to explain this. #1, The Lord was mistaken. This is obviously not true. #2, There was a change of plan. This is clearly the answer, God changed His plan and postponed Daniel's 70th week. But when did this change occur? It obviously had not changed in Acts chapters 1-3 because the 12 apostles asked the Lord "wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). And in Acts 3:19-26 Peter boldly offered this Kingdom to Israel with Christ coming to be their King....

Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Acts 2:
[29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
[30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;

Acts 3:
[19] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
[20] And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
[21] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
[22] For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
[23] And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
[24] Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
[25] Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
[26] Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

The 12 apostles offered the Kingdom of Heaven to the nation of Israel, they were looking for Christ to come back and sit on the throne of David and restore all things. According to Peter, these things had been spoken of by all the prophets since the world began. The covenant between the children of Israel and God was still in place (3:25). This is what Gabriel announced when he appeared to Mary to announce the First Coming of Christ....

Luke 1:
[31] And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
[32] He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
[33] And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

This is the same Jewish Kingdom gospel that the Holy Ghost spoke of through Zacharias....

Luke 1:
[67] And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
[68] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
[69] And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
[70] As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
[71] That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
[72] To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
[73] The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
[74] That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
[75] In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

During Christ's earthly ministry, He and the apostles preached that His Kingdom was at hand and to pray for it to come to the earth.

Matthew 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 5:34-35 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Matthew 6:9-10 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Matthew 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Mark 1:14-15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Then at what point did Israel fall and the Kingdom's coming postponed? It was when Christ revealed the mystery dispensation of grace to Paul. Israel as a whole was rejecting the offer of the Kingdom and so the Lord made known to Paul the new Gospel of the Grace of God and the mystery of Christ. (often referred to as "the church age")


Ephesians 3:
[1] For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
[2] If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to youward:
[3] How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
[4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
[5] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
[6] That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
[7] Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
[8] Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
[9] And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Ephesians 5:
[23] For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
[24] Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
[25] Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
[26] That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
[27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
[28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
[29] For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
[30] For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
[31] For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
[32] This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Colossians 1:
[25] Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
[26] Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
[27] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
[28] Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Colossians 4:3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

The church which is the Body of Christ is not found in Old Testament prophecy or anywhere outside of Paul's epistles, it was a great mystery hid in God until revealed to the apostle Paul. It is because of the Mystery of Christ (Jew/Gentile reconciled into one Body by the Gospel) that the Kingdom doctrine was postponed. Paul says that it is God's mystery program for the Gentiles that is postponing God's dealings with Israel.....

Romans 11:
[25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
[26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
[27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

God has not castaway Israel forever, only temporarily (Rom. 11:1-13, 11:25-27).

The beginning of this present dispensation was a mystery (Rom. 11:25, Eph. 3:1-9) and so is its ending (1 Thes. 4:15, 1 Cor. 15:51). It is a MYSTERY age not found anywhere outside of Paul's epistles. That is why all post-tribulation rapture proponents ignore all of these facts, if they divide the mystery age of Grace from the prophetic scriptures about Israel, then they will have to admit that both the start and fullness of the Body of Christ were mysteries hid in God and that the rapture of believing Israel is not the rapture of the Body of Christ under Grace (Eph. 3:1-9, 1 Cor. 15:51, 1 Thes. 4:15, Rom. 11:25-27).

--Eli Caldwell