|
"Verily I say to you, That this
generation shall not pass away, until all these
things occur." -Mark 13:30
|
The bold area in Greek reads "γενεα"
(genea), which means "generation" (not to be
confused with "γενος" (genos)
which means "offspring"). Here it would seem that
our Messiah prophesized incorrectly in the Greek.
The answer comes in the Aramaic. Here we don't
see the word for "generation," but the word "ܫܪܒܬܸܐ"
(shérvtha), which means "family," or
"family branch." A "ܫܪܒܬܸܐ"
(shérvtha), is like a ray in geometry. It starts
at a point, then continues onwards. Usually "ܫܪܒܬܸܐ"
(shérvatha, plural) come from other "ܫܪܒܬܸܐ"
(shérvatha, plural), so we can see these branching
rays make up a family tree.
The only way for a "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) can be extinguished, is if the entire
family is wiped out, an entire branch destryed. And "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) can also be used to describe a people
as a whole, like someone could be from an Italian "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) or the "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) of New York.
So you can see that since "γενεα"
(genea) implies a length of time equal to one person's
lifespan, a generation, a "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) can last from a few days to thousands
of years (for example, we are all still within the "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) of Adam).
Since we now know what "ܐܬܒܪܫ"
(shérvtha) means, how do we know which "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) our Messiah was referring to? Taking
a look at the beginning of the chapter, at verse 3:
|
" And as he sat on the mount
of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James
and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us,
when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign
when these things are all about to be accomplished? "
-Mark 13:3-4
|
Bingo: His disciples. But some of them came from
different biological families. What did they all have in common?
They were Christians.
|
"Verily I say to you, That this
family shall not pass away, until all these things
occur." -Mark 13:30
|
Christians will not die out. :-)
We can see how "ܫܪܒܬܐ"
(shérvtha) is used in other passages:
