And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
I include the whole of those verses into one view, and in addition to what hath been already observed upon the subject, in the former Evangelists, I have only to guard the Reader against making unscriptural and improper application, as if those things referred to the last day of Christ's final coming to judgment. To correct this, the Lord declared, that the generation then present should not be all dead, until the events he foretold were 'come to pass: Similar to our Lord's expression, Matthew 16:28. And this was literally the case; for John, the beloved Apostle, outlived it; and numbers besides there must have been of those who were little children at the time our Lord so prophesied.