
10 AD to 30 AD, Psalm 48: Universal Jerusalem.
This generation is that of the 10s and 20s.
(extract of the psalm 48 associated to this generation, verses 1 to 5 )
- A song, a psalm of the sons of Korah.
- The Lord is great and very much praised, in the city of our God, the Mount of His Sanctuary.
- The fairest of branches, the joy of the entire earth- Mount Zion, by the north side, the city of a great king.
- God is in its palaces; He is known as a stronghold.
- For behold, the kings have assembled; they have passed together.
- You [1] will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
- Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
- All these are the beginning of birth pains.
(extract of the psalm 48 associated to this generation, verses 6 and 7 )
- They saw, so they wondered; they were startled, yea, they were bewildered.
- Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.
- A [2] Jew who was one of the wickedest men in the world, and who fled his country to avoid being punished for his crimes, joined with three others, who were no better than him and they professed in Rome to interpret the law of Moses. A woman of good standing, named Fulvia, who had embraced our religion, taking them for good people, had put herself under their direction. They persuaded him to give gold and purple to send to Jerusalem, and held what she put in their hands for this matter. Saturnin, husband of Fulvia, made his complaints to Tiberius, of whom he was very much loved; and this prince had no sooner known than he commanded that they should drive out all the Jews from Rome. The consuls, after an exact search, enlisted four thousand who were sent to the island of Sardinia, and severely punished a great number of others who, not to contravene the laws of their country, refused to take up arms. Thus the malice of four scoundrels was the cause that there was not a single Jew left in Rome.
(extract of the psalm 48 associated to this generation, verse 8 )
- With an east wind, [with which] You break the ships of Tarshish.
(extract of the psalm 48 associated to this generation, verses 9 to 13 )
- As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of Hosts, in the city of our God; God shall establish it forever and ever.
- We hoped, O Lord, for Your kindness in the midst of Your Temple.
- As is Your name, O God, so is Your praise upon the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.
- Mount Zion shall rejoice; the daughters of Judah shall exult for the sake of Your judgments.
- Encompass Zion and surround it, count its towers.
- Give heed to its walls, raise its palaces, in order that you may tell a later generation.
- For this is God, our God forever and ever; He shall lead us as in youth.
- While [3] a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:
- “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.
- Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.
- Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
- Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
[1] Matthew ( New International Version (NIV) ), Chapter 24, verses 6 to 8 (see also Mark’s Gospel, Chapter 13 and Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 21)
[2] Flavius Josephus / Jewish Antiquities / Book Eighteenth / Chapter 5. (French: Flavius Josèphe/Antiquités Juives/Livre Dix-huitième/chapitre 5).
[3] Luke (New International Version (NIV) ), Chapter 8, verses 4 to 8 (See also Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 13 and Gospel according to Mark, Chapter 4)