<p>21:33 <i>Heaven and earth shall pass away</i>- This could simply be saying to the effect 'Even if heaven and earth could pass, which they cannot, there is even less possibility that My words shall not be fulfilled'. Mt. 5:18 seems to use the term in that sense- &quot;Even until <i>heos</i>, i.e. 'even if' heaven and earth pass...&quot;. In this case, we are not to even bother trying to understand 'heaven and earth' as 'a system of things', although this is certainly how the term is used, especially in the context of the Jewish system. And yet later New Testament allusion to this passage seems to suggest we are justified in seeing some reference to the Jewish, Mosaic system of the first century. Heb. 12:26 speaks as if heaven and earth are to be so shaken by the blood of Christ and the new covenant that they will pass away just as Sinai shook at the inauguration of the old covenant. 2 Pet. 3:7-13 is perhaps the clearest statement- the 'heaven and earth' which &quot;are now&quot; in the first century were to pass away and be replaced by a new heaven and earth in which righteousness dwells. Clearly 'heaven and earth' are not literal, because righteousness already dwells in literal Heaven, and the earth shall not be literally destroyed; this passing of 'heaven and earth' is patterned after the destruction of sinful&nbsp;<i>society&nbsp;</i>in Noah's time (2 Pet. 3:5). We note that the Olivet prophecy concludes with a warning that society would become like it was in the days of Noah. Clearly this major changeover did happen in the first century in that the Jewish and Mosaic system did finally pass away in AD70 with the destruction of the temple. And yet Peter's words also seem to demand application to the second coming of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. Clearly the heaven and earth of the Kingdom could have come in the first century, but 'all' that happened was that the Jewish and Mosaic systems were ended; this was in itself created a requirement for a&nbsp;<i>new&nbsp;</i>'heaven and earth' in which dwells righteousness, but that system has evidently not yet physically come on earth. In this sense, what happened in AD70 was a guarantee and a creation of the requirement for the new Kingdom to come- see on :32&nbsp;<i>Be fulfilled</i>.</p><p>The Greek word&nbsp;<i>ge</i>&nbsp;&quot;earth&quot; is used often for the &lsquo;land&rsquo; of Israel in the NT. We must remember that although the NT is written in Greek, it strongly reflects Hebrew usage of words. Again, the word commonly refers to the land of Israel. Consider some examples:&nbsp;<br />- &ldquo;But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God&rsquo;s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King&rdquo; (Mt. 5:34,35). This is alluding to the Jewish habit of swearing by their own land.&nbsp;<br />- &ldquo;The kings of the earth take custom or tribute&quot; (Mt. 17:25). The rulers of the earth were those ruling over Israel.&nbsp;<br />- &ldquo;That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth&quot; (Mt. 23:35). The blood shed on the earth means that which was shed in the land.&nbsp;<br />- Heaven and earth passing away (Mt. 24:35) follows on from the Lord speaking of how all tribes of the earth / land would mourn in repentance (:30). He was speaking in the common OT idiom that used &lsquo;heaven and earth&rsquo; for Israel. The nation would pass away in AD70, but His words would not.</p><p><i>But my words shall not pass away</i>- The Lord uses&nbsp;<i>logos&nbsp;</i>here rather than any other term for &lsquo;words&rsquo;, perhaps because He perceived that it was the essence of what He was saying that would be fulfilled, rather than necessarily the very letter.</p><p>There seems a parallel with :30. &quot;My words shall not pass away&quot; is parallel with &quot;This generation shall not pass away&quot;; &quot;Heaven and earth shall pass away&quot; is parallel with &quot;All these things being fulfilled&quot;. 'Heaven and earth' passing is therefore in the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth in fulfilment of all that was prophesied by the Lord. But there is then a parallel between &quot;My words&quot; and &quot;this generation&quot;. The intention may be to show that that generation were to be identified with the Lord's words, and thereby with Himself. For whenever He elsewhere uses the term &quot;My words&quot;, it is always in parallel to 'I Myself' (Mk. 8:38; Jn. 12:48; 14:23; 15:27). He was His words; He was the quintessential logos. And that generation were to be identified with them. If they did so, if the tender branch of the fig tree became one with the Messianic branch of the Old Testament prophecies, then all would be fulfilled in that generation.</p>