Your redemption draweth nigh; Redeemed or Waiting?

Luke 21:28  But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”

Are we redeemed or not? This is a fair question to anyone who believes that the prophecies in Luke 21 are yet future and have not taken place. What things is Christ speaking of? The answer is all of the things listed in Luke 21 before that. Let's look at a bulleted list:

• Nation will be raised up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
• There will be violent earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven.
• They will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.  (13)  This will give you an opportunity to bear witness.
• Therefore make up your minds not to prepare your defense ahead of time,  (15)  for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.  
• You will even be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will kill some of you.  
• You will be hated by everyone because of my name,  (18)  but not a hair of your head will be lost.  
• By your endurance, gain your lives.
• “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that its desolation has come near.  
• Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Those inside the city must leave it, and those who are in the country must not enter it,  
• because these are days of vengeance to fulfill all the things that are written.  
• Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.  
• They will be killed by the sword and be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
• “Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the waves.  
• People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  
• Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  
• But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”

The first thing to notice in the list is the way He used the word you. You is not some future generation. You refers directly to the audience hearing His words. Let me make this clear, when Jesus says you He does not mean the reader at a future time. He meant the people he was speaking the message too.

Secondly, one must accept the idea that unless this has begun, there is no redemption, and it is implied that redemption will come at the completion of the list.  When it begins redemption will be near and redemption will come on completion of the above conditions. It should be duly noted that in addition, unless the New Covenant is in force, Gentiles could not be Abraham's Seed as was pointed out in the last blog post. The reason being that they would have to be circumcised, and there is a lot of ink in the New Testament that explains that the Gentiles were not required to be circumcised.

Finally, Jesus explicitly states that "this generation" meaning the generation alive at the time of his speaking would not pass until all was accomplished. If you want to see more about this just use the search feature of the blog and put in "this generation." The fact is this. Redemption is here (present,) bought and paid for on the cross. The New Covenant is completely in force and the only covenant available.