The text is a "given", Harry. We don't reconstruct it, we believe it.
If you give "Generation" a *generic* meaning for the Church as a whole,
instead of just the peer-group of Jesus' day, it makes very good sense.
There will still be church-members alive and kicking when Christ returns.
The author (Mark) may or may not have understood what he wrote. That is not
the point. Inspired Scripture writers often did not understand their own
prophecies. Also, as Mark was writing for Peter, he was not "editing"
Peter's memoirs but "making no mistake" and writing it all down accurately,
according to Papias. Peter was relaying Jesus' own words to Mark, not his
gloss upon them. Clearly Jesus didn't mean that the AD 33 generation would
not die until he had returned. That would be to repeat the mistake recorded
in John 21:23 about the longevity of the Beloved Disciple. The Church
however is still going strong after nearly 2000 years. Methuselah lived
for 969 years until Noah was 600, and the Ark rescued his "household of
faith" from the scene of destruction of the Flood. Likewise the Church will
survive as long as required until the Rapture rescues the household of faith
from the scene of the Great Tribulation.
Thanks for your responses.
-- Revd Ben Crick, BA CF <ben.crick@argonet.co.uk> 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK) http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm