لا يمضي هذا الجيل حتى يكون هذا كله – الرد على أحمد سبيع

لا يمضي هذا الجيل حتى يكون هذا كله – الرد على أحمد سبيع

 

 لا يكف أحمد سبيع عن إزعاجنا بما يكتبه أو بما يتفوه به، فتارة يتحدث عن شاول ومتى تعرف على داود وتارة أخرى يتحدث عن عُمر شاول عندما ملك، وكم سنة قد ملك، وتارة يحاول أن يخدع المسيحيين بأن القرآن الكريم قال بتحريف نص كتب اليهود والمسيحيين وتارة ثالثة يقول بتناقض بين البشائر في عدد الأيام، هل هم 6 أم 8 أيام …إلخ، وإلى اليوم لا يكل من أن يتحفنا بشبهاته الواهية، وحتى لا أطيل على حضراتكم سنبدأ مباشرة، كان قد كتب على صفحته في فيس بوك هذا التعليق ويتلخّص في أن المسيح قد أخطأ (حاشاه) أو كذب (حاشاه) أو أن كاتب الإنجيل قد أخطأ أو كذب (حاشاه في الوحي) في أن المسيح (حسب فِهم هذا الشخص المسلم من قراءته للنص) قد أخبر أنه سيعود بعد فترة وجيزة مقدارها هو مقدار قليل (سواء أكان 33 عام أم 40 أم 50 أم 100 أو أي رقم صغير)، وهو ما حدده هو بنفسه عندما قال “الجيل خلص وأجيال أخرى خلصت”، فهذه العبارة تعني أنه يفهم الجيل أنه فترى زمنية وقد إنتهت وإنتهى بعدها فترات أخرى أيضاً، فهل هذا الفهم صحيح أم كعادته سقيماً؟

 

لنذهب أولاً، لمعاجم اللغة العربية لنعرف ماذا قالت عن كلمة “جيل”:

 

جيل: الجيلُ: كلُّ صنفٍ من الناس، التُّركُ: جيلٌ، والصِّينُ: جِيلٌ، والعربُ: جِيلٌ، وجمعُه: أجيال.. وجَيلانُ: جِيلٌ من المشركين خلف الدَّيلم، يُقالُ لهم: جيل جيلان.

(العين)

 

[جيل] الجيل: الْأمة من النَّاس وَهَذَا ترَاهُ فِي بَابه إِن شَاءَ الله.

(جمهرة اللغة)

 

جيل: أخبرنَا ابنُ رزين، عَن مُحَمَّد بن عَمْرو، عَن الشاه، عَن المؤرج فِي قَول الله جلّ وَعز: {إِنَّهُ يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ} (الْأَعْرَاف: 27) أَي جِيلُه وَمَعْنَاهُ جِنسه.
وَقَالَ عَمْرو بن بجر: جَيْلانُ فَعَلَةُ الْمُلُوك. وَكَانُوا من أهل الجيل: وَأنْشد:
أتيح لهُ جَيلانُ عِنْد جِدَاره
وردَّد فِيهِ الطرفَ حَتَّى تحيَّرا
وَأنْشد الأصمعيّ:
أرسل جَيلانَ ينحِتون لَهُ
ساتيدَ مَا بالحديد فانصدَعا
وَقَالَ اللَّيْث: الجيلُ كلُّ صنف من النَّاس، التُّرك جيل؛ والصِّين جيل، والجميع أجيال، وجَيْلانُ: جيلٌ من الْمُشْركين خلف الدَّيلم، يُقَال لَهُم: جيلُ جيلان.

(تهذيب اللغة)

 

(جِيلٌ) الْجِيمُ وَالْيَاءُ وَاللَّامُ يَدُلُّ عَلَى التَّجَمُّعِ. فَالْجِيلُ الْجَمَاعَةُ. وَالْجِيلُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةُ، وَهُمْ إِخْوَانُ الدَّيْلَمِ، وَيُقَالُ إِيَّاهُمْ أَرَادَ امْرُؤُ الْقَيْسِ فِي قَوْلِهِ:
أَطَافَتْ بِهِ جِيلَانُ عِنْدَ جِدَادِهِ … وَرُدِّدَ فِيهِ الْمَاءُ حَتَّى تَحَيَّرَا
وَأَمَّا الْجَيْأَلُ، وَهِيَ الضَّبُعُ، فَلَيْسَتْ مِنَ الْبَابِ.

(مقاييس الغة)

 

ج ي ل
عنده من الناس أجيال أي أصناف: جيل من الترك، وجيل من الخزر.

(أساس البلاغة)

 

ج ي ل: (جِيلٌ) مِنَ النَّاسِ أَيْ صِنْفٌ: التُّرْكُ جِيلٌ وَالرُّومُ جِيلٌ.

(مختار الصحاح)

 

وجِيلٌ من النّاسِ، أي: صِنْفٌ، التُّرُك جِيلٌ والصّينُ جيلٌ.

(معجم ديوان الأدب)

 

جيل: الجيل: الأمة.

(مجمل اللغة لابن فارس)

 

جيل: الجِيل: كُلُّ صِنْف مِنَ النَّاسِ، التُّرْك جِيل والصِّين جِيل وَالْعَرَبُ جِيل وَالرُّومُ جِيل، وَالْجَمْعُ أَجْيال. وَفِي حَدِيثِ
سَعْدِ بْنِ مُعَاذٍ: مَا أَعْلَمُ مِنْ جِيل كَانَ أَخبث مِنْكُمْ
؛ الجِيل الصِّنْفُ مِنَ النَّاسِ، وَقِيلَ الأُمَّة، وَقِيلَ كُلُّ قَوْمٍ يَخْتَصُّونَ بِلُغَة جِيلٌ.

(لسان العرب)

 

ج ي ل
{الجِيلُ، بِالْكَسْرِ: الصِّنْفُ من الناسِ فالتُّركُ} جِيلٌ، والرُّومُ جِيلٌ، والصِّينُ جِيلٌ، والجَمْع: {أَجْيالٌ} وجِيلانٌ، كَذَا فِي المُحْكَم.

(تاج العروس)

 

(الجيل)
الْأمة وَالْجِنْس من النَّاس فالترك جيل وَالروم جيل والقرن من الزَّمن وَثلث الْقرن يتعايش فِيهِ النَّاس (ج) أجيال

(المعجم الوسيط)

 

[ جيل ] ج ي ل : جِيلٌ من الناس أي صنف الترك جيل والروم جيل

(مختار الصحاح)

 

[الجِيل]: كل صنفٍ من الناس، والجميع الأجيال، والصين جيل، والهند جيل، ونحو ذلك.

(شمس العلوم ودواء كلام العرب من الكلوم)

 

1289 – ج ي ل
جِيل [جمع]: جج أجيال:
1 – أمّة أو كلّ قوم يختصّون بلغة ” {وَلَقَدْ أَضَلَّ مِنْكُمْ جِيْلاً كَثِيرًا} [ق] “.
2 – صِنْفٌ من النّاس كالعرب والفرس والتُّرك.
3 – أهل الزَّمان الواحد أو ثلث القرن يتعايش فيه النّاسُ “لقاء الأجيال- جيل الروّاد” ° الأجيال القادمة: أبناء الزمن القادم- الجيلُ الصَّاعدُ/ الجيلُ الطَّالع: الجيل الجديد- على مرّ الأجيال: بمرور الزَّمن.
4 – قرنٌ من الزمان “مضى على وفاة هذا الفنان جيلان”.

(معجم اللغة العربية المعاصرة)

 

وكُلُّ جِيْلٍ من النّاسِ: أُمَّةٌ على حِدَةٍ.

(المحيط في اللغة)

 

[جيل]
جِيلٌ من الناس، أي صنفٌ. التركُ جيلٌ، والرومُ جِيل. وجَيْلانُ الحصى: ما أَجالَتْهُ الريحُ منه.

(منتخب من صحاح الجوهري)

 

وبعد هذا الإجماع على معنى كلمة “جيل” في المعاجم العربية الأصيلة، رأينا أن معنى الكلمة هو: الأُمة والجنس والنوع والصنف من الناس، فيما عدا معجمين فقط فقد أدرجا المعنى الآخر الزمني، وهما معجم اللغة العربية المعاصرة و المعجم الوسيط وكلاهما متأخرين زمنياً بكثير عن البقية، وحتى هما وضعا المعنى الآخر في المرتبة بعد الاولى، ومن هنا نتأكد ان من يعترض على كلام المسيح من العرب، لا يفهم لغته التي لطالما دعونا لمعرفتها، فمن الأولى توفير نصيحتهم لأنفسهم لكي لا يشغلونا بجهلهم بها.. والآن وبعد هذا، ننتقل إلى اللغة اليونانية، فننقل لحضراتكم بعض من معاجم اللغة اليونانية..

 

γενεά, ᾶς, ἡ strictly birth, the circumstances relating to one’s origin; (1) literally, those descended from a common ancestor race, clan, descendants (perhaps AC 8.33); as an ethnic group kind (LU 16.8); (2) generally, all those living at the same time generation, contemporaries (MT 12.41); (3) the time span of one generation age, generation, period (MT 1.17); (4) specifically in AC 8.33’s quotation from Isaiah 53.8 Septuagint, possibly origin; more probably posterity, descendants^[1] 

γενεά (genea), ᾶς (as), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ DBLHebr 1887; Str 1074; TDNT 1.662—1. LN 11.4 same generation, people in the same time (Lk 11:51); 2. LN 10.4 people of same kind, an ethnic group, a race (Lk 16:8); 3. LN 10.28 descendants, successive generations (Ac 8:33); 4. LN 67.144 age an indefinite time period about the length of a generation (Ac 14:16)[2]

γενεάgĕnĕa, ghen-eh-ah´; from (a presumed der. of) 1085; a generation; by impl. an age (the period or the persons):— age, generation, nation, time.[3]

γενεάgenea 43x pr. birth; hence, progeny; a generation of mankind, Mt 11:16; 23:36, et al.; a generation, a step in a genealogy, Mt 1:17; a generation, an interval of time, an age; in NT course of life, in respect of its events, interests, or character, Lk 16:8; Acts 13:36 [1074] See age; generation; race.[4]

γενεά G1155 (genea), generation, family, clan, race, age; γενεαλογία G1157 (genealogia), genealogy, family tree; γενεαλογέω G1156 (genealogeō), trace descent; ἀγενεαλόγητος G37 (agenealogētos), without genealogy.^[5]

راجع أيضاً:

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. “Based on Walter Bauer’s Griechisch-deutsches Wr̲terbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frhchristlichen [sic] Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker.” (3rd ed.) (191,192). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

:وأيضاً

Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S., & McKenzie, R. (1996). A Greek-English lexicon. “With a revised supplement, 1996.” (Rev. and augm. throughout) (342). Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press.

 

^[1]Friberg, T., Friberg, B., & Miller, N. F. 2000. Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Baker’s Greek New Testament library. Vol. 4 (97). Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Mich.

n. noun, or nouns

fem. feminine

DBLHebr Swanson, A Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament)

Str Strong’s Lexicon

TDNT Kittel, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

LN Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon

^[2]Swanson, J. 1997. Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLG 1155, #4). Logos Research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor

der. der. = derived, derivation, derivative, derivatively

impl. impl. = implied, impliedly, implication

^[3]Strong, J. 1997, c1996. The new Strong’s dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words (H8674). Thomas Nelson: Nashville

^[4]Mounce, W. D. 2006. Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (1111). Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI

^[5]Morgenthaler, R., & Brown, C. 1986. Generation. In L. Coenen, E. Beyreuther & H. Bietenhard (Eds.), New international dictionary of New Testament theology (L. Coenen, E. Beyreuther & H. Bietenhard, Ed.) (2:35). Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, MI

der. derivation, derivative, derived

impl. implication, implied

 

وبعد أن تأكدنا من أن الكلمة اليونانية تحتمل هذا المعنى، أي معنى، النوع والجنس والصنف من الناس، والمقصود بها هنا، اليهود كأُمة، ننتقل لنقرأ ماذا قال الدارسين (بدون ترجمة بسبب ضيق الوقت):

 

Most of the trees in Palestine are evergreens, but the almond tree and the fig tree do lose their leaves during the heavy rains of the winter season. Leaves return to the almond tree in early spring, but the fig tree waits until late spring. Therefore, the fig tree is the one to watch if you want to know whether summer is coming. And since the summer is the season for much of the harvest, and the harvest is used as a symbol of the Last Day (13:30, 39; Revelation 14:14–20), the fig tree provides a perfect parable for Jesus at this point.

There is a difference between the signs Jesus is talking about and what they point to. So Jesus says, “When you see all these things happen, you know that it is near.” The question is: what is “it”? The destruction of Jerusalem or the Last Day? The next verse makes the choice relatively easy. The generation that heard this sermon did not pass away until after the destruction of Jerusalem.

Another possibility, however, is granted by the footnote in the NIV, which suggests an alternate translation. Perhaps Jesus meant to say, “This race will not pass away until all is fulfilled.” The Jewish people will survive until the Last Day. From this perspective, the failure of Hitler’s “Final Solution” was foreordained.

When Jesus asserts the eternal endurance of “my words,” he clearly and unambiguously claims to be God (Isaiah 40:8). In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law” (5:18), which could be interpreted to mean that the Law will pass away on the Last Day. But in contrast to the Law, Jesus says, “My words will never pass away.”

Toward the end of World War II, downtown Warsaw was virtually leveled. On the main street only the skeleton of one building remained standing. Many devout Poles considered it something of a shrine. It was the badly damaged headquarters of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The words on its only remaining wall were clearly legible from the street: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”^[1]

 

“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” (Matthew 24:34). The period for the fulfillment of all these various conditions and the consummation of the age is “this generation.” To what does “this generation” refer? It can refer to the contemporaries of that time or to a particular race of people. Many of these predictions were fulfilled in the lifetime of the contemporaries when the armies of Rome invaded Jerusalem with a blood bath and destroyed the Temple. However, not all was fulfilled then, such as the coming of Christ in glory. So “this generation” has to refer to the future, too. Many believe “this generation” refers to the Jewish race. The Jews, unlike many races of people continue to exist in spite of world-wide hostility to them. And they “will not pass [cease to exist], till all these things be fulfilled.”^[2]

 

Verse 34 has been a difficulty with many. The word generation does not mean the people who were then living; it has the meaning of “this race.”* The Jewish race cannot pass away till these things be fulfilled.^[3]

 

After referring to the fig tree, Jesus added, “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” “This generation” could not mean the people living when Christ was on earth; they have all passed away, yet the events of chapter 24 have not taken place. What then did our Lord mean by “this generation”? There are two plausible explanations.

F. W. Grant and others believe the thought is: “the very generation that sees the beginning of these things will see the end.” ⁴⁷ The same people who see the rise of Israel as a nation (or who see the beginning of the Tribulation), will see the Lord Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven to reign.

The other explanation is that “generation” should be understood as race. This is a legitimate translation of the Greek word; it means men of the same stock, breed, or family (Matt. 12:45; 23:35, 36). So Jesus was predicting that the Jewish race would survive to see all these things accomplished. Their continued survival, despite atrocious persecution, is a miracle of history.

But I think there is an added thought. In Jesus’ day, “this generation” was a race that steadfastly refused to acknowledge Him as Messiah. I think He was predicting that national Israel would continue in its Christ-rejecting condition till His Second Coming. Then all rebellion will be crushed, and only those who willingly submit to His rule will be spared to enter the Millennium.^[4]

 

This generation can refer to the Jews (Mt 11:16; 12:39, 41, 42, 45; 16:4). For all the severity of God’s judgment on Israel, its history shall not end with the destruction of the temple and the fall of Jerusalem; there is a place for Israel in the new and eternal people of God. Or the reference can be one of time; Jesus’ contemporaries dare not think of all these things as an event in the distant future; the end of Jerusalem ushers in the end, and all men live henceforth under the tension and responsibility of “these last days.” (Heb 1:2)^[5]

 

These verses teach us, in the third place, that until Christ returns to this earth, the Jews will always remain a separate people. Our Lord tells us, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”*

The continued existence of the Jews as a distinct nation, is undeniably a great miracle. It is one of those evidences of the truth of the Bible which the infidel can never overthrow. Without a land, without a king, without a government, scattered and dispersed over the world for eighteen hundred years, the Jews are never absorbed among the people of the countries where they live, like Frenchmen, Englishmen, and Germans, but “dwell alone.” Nothing can account for this but the finger of God. The Jewish nation stands before the world, a crushing answer to infidelity, and a living book of evidence that the Bible is true. But we ought not to regard the Jews only as witnesses of the truth of Scriptrue. We should see in them a continual pledge, that the Lord Jesus is coming again one day. Like the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, they witness to the reality of the second advent, as well as of the first. Let us remember this. Let us see in every wandering Jew a proof that the Bible is true, and that Christ will one day return.^[6]

 

Ver. 34. This generation; i.e. the nation of the Jews shall not cease to exist, until all these things shall be accomplished: thus we see the nation of the Jews still continue, and will certainly continue to the end of the world. T.—Then the cross, which has been a scandal to the Jew, and a stumbling-block to the Gentile, shall appear in the heavens, for the consolation of the good Christian. Hoc signum crucis erit in cœlo, cum Dominus ad judicandum venerit.—If it be to be understood of the destruction of Jerusalem, the sense may be, this race of men now living; if of the last day of judgment, this generation of the faithful, saith Theophylactus,^[4] shall be continued: i.e. the Church of Christ, to the end of the world. Wi.—This race, I tell you in very truth, shall not pass away till all this be finally accomplished in the ruin of Jerusalem, the most express figure of the destruction and end of the world. V.—By generation, our Saviour does not mean the people that were in existence at that time, but the faithful of his Church; thus says the psalmist: this is the generation of them that seek the Lord. Ps. 23, v. 6.^[7]

 

This generation shall not pass away. To explain generation (genea) here as the lifetime of the disciples obligates one to seek the fulfillment of all these events by A.D. 70. But that is manifestly impossible unless one spiritualizes the second coming of Christ. However, genea also can mean “race” or “family,” and this yields good sense here. In spite of terrible persecution, the Jewish nation will not be exterminated, but will exist to share the blessings of the Millennial reign. In support of this view, Alford points out that Christians of ancient times continued to expect the Lord’s coming even after the apostles and their contemporaries had passed away (New Testament for English Readers, p. 169).^[8]

 

The fig tree is a symbol of Israel (Luke 13:6–10; Joel 1:6–7; Hosea 9:10). When we see Israel “coming back to life,” then we know His return is approaching. This may be happening in our day. Verse 34 teaches that the events described will cover a generation of time. (“This generation” means the generation alive at that time, not the generation alive when Christ was speaking. Some take the word “generation” to mean the nation of Israel that would never be destroyed.)^[9]

 

“This generation”—the Greek word can mean race and refer to the nation Israel. Or it could refer to the generation that will be living at the time these predictions come to pass. A generation is reckoned to be about twenty years, and certainly the predicted events of this section will take place in a much briefer time than twenty years. My feeling is that it could refer to either one, but I much prefer the interpretation that it refers to the preservation of the Jewish race. Haman was not able to destroy them, neither was Pharaoh, nor did Hitler succeed in his attempts. And no dictator in our day will be able to exterminate these people—God will see to that.^[10]

 

What “generation” is Jesus speaking of? The term used here does not indicate people alive at that day, but Israel as a race. (Some interpret it to mean the living generation actually undergoing the Tribulation time.) By either interpretation this was Jesus’ promise of preservation. The time of trouble will not be the end of the Jewish people or of mankind.^[11]

 

The Jewish nation was set aside; but verse 34 has a much wider sense, and one more really proper to it. Unbelieving Jews should exist, as such, until all was accomplished. Compare Deuteronomy 32:5, 20, where this judgment on Israel is specially in view. God hides His face from them until He shall see what their end will be, for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. This has taken place. They are a distinct race of people unto this day. That generation exists in the same condition—a monument of the abiding certainty of God’s dealings, and of the Lord’s words.^[12]

 

The fig tree is a type of Israel. When Israel again starts to bud as a nation, after hundreds of years in dispersion, we may be sure Christ’s coming is near. The word “generation” in v. 30 is literally “race.” The nation of Israel has a promise here that it will be preserved until these things are fulfilled. Israel is even now budding—His coming is therefore “even at the doors.”^[13]

 

24:34 this generation. No one living when Jesus spoke these words lived to see “all these things” come to pass. However, the Greek word can mean “race” or “family,” which makes good sense here; i.e., the Jewish race will be preserved, in spite of terrible persecution, until the Lord comes.^[14]

 

This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Some hold that “all these things,” in verse 33 and 34, refer only to what was said of the fall of Jerusalem, ending with verse 28. Others have contended that the phrase includes the second coming, but refers directly to the end of Jerusalem, which was a type of the end of the world. I believe, rather, that “all these things” embraces all thus far predicted, and that “this generation” means the Jewish race, instead of only those then living. The Greek word so rendered is used in the sense of race in the Greek classics, and as examples of such use in the New Testament, Alford points to Matt. 12:45, and Luke 16:8, as examples of such use in the New Testament. Christ has described the awful end of the Jewish state; after such a destruction and scattering of the remnant to the ends of the earth, all the examples of history would declare that the Jewish race would become extinct. Christ, however, declares that, contrary to all probability, it shall not pass away until he comes. They still exist, 1850 years after the prediction, distinct, but without a country.^[15]

 

Generation may mean “race,” indicating that Israel as a people will not cease to exist before God fulfills His promises to them. Another possibility is that the word describes a particular era in which people will see the end times. That is, the events will occur so rapidly that all will happen within one generation. Perhaps both interpretations are true.^[16]

 

Generation (Gk. genea), as used in different contexts, may mean “race” or “generation.” Some, therefore, take it to mean race here, so that Israel as a people will not cease existing until God fulfills His promises to them. Other peoples, like the Hittites and Amorites, have come and gone, but the Jew is still here. Another possibility is to say that genea describes a particular era in which people will see those end times. The events that happen will occur so rapidly that all will happen in one generation. Perhaps both are true.^[17]

 

 

بالطبع هذا ليس هو التفسير الوحيد للآية، ولكني وضعت هذا التفسير أعلاه لأن الهجوم كان على هذا التفسير تحديداً، ولكن علماء الكتاب المقدس قد أعطوا تفسيرات كثيرة رائعة، لما قد يَصعُب على البعض فهمه، وقد وضع  The ESV Study Bible بعض منه، كالآتي:

 

24:34 this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Several interpretations have been offered for this difficult passage: (1) Some think “this generation” refers to the disciples who were alive when Jesus was speaking, and “all these things” refers to the beginning but not the completion of the sufferings described in vv. 4–25. (2) Others see in “all these things” a prediction with multiple fulfillments, so that Jesus’ disciples will be both “this generation” that sees the destruction of the temple in a.d. 70 and also those at the end of the age who see the events surrounding the “abomination of desolation” (v. 15). (3) Since “the generation of …” in the OT can mean people who have a certain quality (cf. Ps. 14:5; 24:6; cf. Gk. genea in Luke 16:8), others understand “this generation” to refer either (a) to “this generation of believers” throughout the entire present age, or (b) to “this evil generation” that will remain until Christ returns to establish his kingdom (cf. Matt. 12:45; Luke 11:29). (4) Others, particularly some dispensational interpreters, understand “generation” to mean “race” (this is another sense of Gk. genea) and think it refers to the Jewish people, who will not pass away until Christ returns. (5) Others understand “this generation” to mean the generation that sees “all these things” (Matt. 24:33), namely, the generation alive when the final period of great tribulation begins. According to this view, the illustration of the fig tree (v. 32) shows that when the final events begin, Christ will come soon. Just as “all these things” in v. 33 refers to events leading up to but not including Christ’s return, so in v. 34 “all these things” refers to the same events (that is, the events described in vv. 4–25).^[18]

 

^[1]Albrecht, G. J., & Albrecht, M. J. (1996). Matthew. The People’s Bible (352). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.

^[2]Butler, J. G. (2008). Analytical Bible Expositor: Matthew (399). Clinton, IA: LBC Publications.

* Same as 1 Pet. 2:9, “a chosen generation,” i.e., class of peoples.

^[3]Gaebelein, A. C. (2009). The annotated Bible, Volume 6: Matthew to The Acts (52). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

⁴⁷ (24:34) F. W. Grant, “Matthew,” Numerical Bible, The Gospels, p. 230.

^[4]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Mt 24:34). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

^[5]Roehrs, W. H., & Franzmann, M. H., joint author. (1998, c1979). Concordia self-study comentary (electronic ed.) (2:38). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

* I see no other interpretation of these much controverted words, ‘this generation,” which is in the least satisfactory, and is not open to very serious objections. The word “generation” admits of the sense in which I have taken it, and seems to me to be used in that sense in Matt. 12:45, 17:17, and 23:36; Luke 16:8, and 17:25; and Phililpp. 2:15. The view that I have propounded is not new. It is adopted by Mede, Parœus, Flacius Illyricus, Calovius, Jansenius, Due Veil, Adam Clarke, and Stier. Chrysotom, Origen, and Theophylact consider “this generation” to mean “true believers.”

^[6]Ryle, J. C. (1860). Expository Thoughts on Matthew (323). New York: Robert Carter & Brothers.

T. Tirinus

^[4] V. 34. Generatio hæc. Theophylact, η γενεα των χριστιανων.

Wi. Witham

V. Bible de Vence

^[7]Haydock, G. L. (1859). Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary (Mt 24:34). New York: Edward Dunigan and Brother.

A.D. anno domini (in the year of our Lord)

^[8]Pfeiffer, C. F., & Harrison, E. F. (1962). The Wycliffe Bible commentary : New Testament (Mt 24:32). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[9]Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (89). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

^[10]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:131). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

^[11]Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary. Includes index. (586). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

^[12]Darby, J. N. (2008). Synopsis of the books of the Bible: Matthew to John. (176). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[13]Brooks, K. (2009). Summarized Bible: Complete Summary of the New Testament. Originally published: The complete book of Bible literacy. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale, c1992.; Includes index. (19). Bellingham, WA: Logos Reserach Systems, Inc.

^[14]Ryrie, C. C. (1994). Ryrie study Bible: New International Version (Expanded ed.) (1506). Chicago: Moody Publishers.

^[15]Johnson, B. W. (1999). The people’s New Testament : With explanatory notes (133). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[16]The NKJV Study Bible. 2007 (Mt 24:34). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

^[17]Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Mt 24:34). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

^[18]Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (1875). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

 

بعد كل هذا يخرج علينا أحمد سبيع بكلام يدل أنه لم يقرأ، فالعلماء قدموا تفسيرات كثيرة لما صَعُب على أحمد فِهمه، ولكن كيف سيعرف هذا وهو لا يقرأ ما قالوه بل يكتفي بأن يكتب كلاماً كهذا لكي يخدع البسطاء! كانت هذه النقولات جزءًا يسيراً مما قالوه. فنتمنى أن يقرأ أحمد هذا الكلام ليكف عن أن يقول مثل هذا الكلام مرة أخرى، ونرجو ان يستفيد من الموضوع كل مسيحي.