As an example of the importance of context, consider Matthew 24:34: “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Did Jesus mean that all end-time prophecies must be fulfilled during the first century, as modern-day preterists hold? I don’t think so. Consulting the context indicates that Christ was saying that those people who witness the signs stated just earlier in Matthew 24—the abomination of desolation (verse 15), the great tribulation such as has never been seen before (verse 21), the sign of the Son of Man in heaven (verse 30), and the
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