Mark 13:29-30
13:29 a his return (literally he/it is near): The Greek has no explicit subject, so the choice between “he is near” or “it is near” depends on whether 13:29-30 b refers to 13:4-23 c or to 13:24-27 d. The NLT text understands it as referring to the return of the Son of Man. Because words in 13:4 e are echoed in 13:29 f and 30 g (see study note on 13:28-31), others interpret it as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem. Just as the sprouting of the fig tree is a herald of summer, the desolating sacrilege (13:14 h) would be a harbinger of Jerusalem’s destruction.13:30 i This generation was to witness the fulfillment of these events. That generation did witness the destruction of Jerusalem. Those, however, who hold that all these things refers to the coming of the Son of Man have to interpret this generation as meaning something other than “people alive at this time.” It could refer to the continued existence of the Jewish people, the whole human race, the Christian community, or the last generation of the end time.
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