<p>23:33&nbsp;<em>You serpents, you offspring of vipers</em>- A clear reference to them as the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15).&nbsp;</p><p><em>How shall you escape the judgment of Gehenna?</em>- The Lord's whole attitude to Israel showed that they could be saved from condemnation, even at the very last minute. And this was clearly His will. So rather than seeing this as spoken in anger as the final invective against a deeply wayward nation, I am inclined to see this as spoken with a voice cracking under the passion of wanting to save the beloved who hates their Saviour. And surely there was a rhetorical element to it. How they could escape it was to ditch their plans to crucify Him. And the Lord goes straight on in 24:16 to say that even when judgment started to come upon Jerusalem and the temple, they could &ldquo;escape to the mountains&rdquo; (s.w.). This was how they could literally escape the coming condemnation; which suggests that surely the Lord did have an appealing, rhetorical sense to His question here. The similarity with that clause in the Olivet prophecy is really a marvel of grace. They who deserved instant death were being given grace upon grace, every chance to change the outcome of their wicked ways. Further, the Lord is quoting here from the words of John the Baptist: &ldquo;O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee s.w. &ldquo;escape&rdquo; from the wrath to come?&rdquo; (Lk. 3:7). &ldquo;All Jerusalem&rdquo;, including the Scribes and Pharisees, had initially heard John approvingly. The Lord is surely saying that the way to escapee the coming condemnation was by doing what John had taught- to repent and accept Jesus as Messiah and Saviour from sin. Again, the Lord&rsquo;s quotation of John&rsquo;s words confirms that He is speaking rhetorically and seeking their repentance and salvation, even at that late hour.</p>