"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Matthew 24:32–35 (RSV)
'This generation will not pass away till all these things take place...' These words ought to bring us up short. It would appear that the last days should have taken place in the early years of the Christian era. If this is true, what are we doing if the end has already taken place?
Jesus speaks to His disciples in the days before His suffering and death on the cross. They cannot begin to grasp what is about to take place; betrayal, abandonment, denial, torture, humiliation, mocking, ending on a hill outside the walls of Jerusalem.
The sky darkens, and the earth shakes as nails rend flesh, tendons, and bone, the very Word of God-made flesh is crucified. Is there a more tremendous cataclysm than this? The ending of heaven and earth are as nothing next to the agony of Jesus on the cross.
The old age of sin and death's rule over humankind is ended in Jesus' death. The new age of God's everlasting mercy and grace bursts forth from the tomb. All since that hour have been joined to the age to come in their baptism into Christ.
We have seen the end of all things and the dawn of the Kingdom. We are, in Christ, alive in the Living Word, which will remain forever.