[Jonty30]

I believe this generation is a reference to the generation that will witness the Second Coming.

CHrist described that generation and then he said that it will be this generation that witnesses it.

[grumpa]

This Generation

To what time-period does the phrase “this generation” in the New Testament refer? It is used in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32) in reference to the fulfillment of end times prophecies. A straight-forward reading of the text indicates that these prophecies would be fulfilled while some hearing Jesus’ words in the first century were still alive.

To confirm that it refers to the first century contemporaries of Jesus we need only to look at the other times the phrase is used in the New Testament. Without doubt, it ALWAYS refers to those living in the first century. No other conclusion is possible without doing violence to the text. Here are all the times the phrase is used outside of the Olivet Discourse. Look up these passages for yourself:

Matthew 11:16-24; 12:38-45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:35-36; Mark 8:12; 8:38-9:1; 9:19, and Luke 7:31; 9:41; 11:29-32, 49-51; 17:25; Acts 2:40.

The certain conclusion is that the “end times” is not about the end of the physical universe, not about the end of the Christian age, and not about anything in our future. It is about the end of the Old Covenant age, which ended with the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in AD 70 in the generation of Jesus’ contemporaries.

For more on this, see my article entitled “When Was the Olivet Discourse Fulfilled?” here: https://prophecyquestions.com/when-was-the-olivet-discourse-fulfilled

See also, “What Is a Biblical Generation?” here:

https://prophecyquestions.com/what-is-a-biblical-generation

[grumpa]

Actually, your personal opinion doesn’t count for much. It’s how the original audience would have understood a passage.

[metmom]

I believe this generation is a reference to the generation that will witness the Second Coming. CHrist described that generation and then he said that it will be this generation that witnesses it.

That makes the most sense.

Otherwise, someone would have you believe that in a whole dissertation about future events, Jesus switches back for ONE sentence to address the present one without making it clear, and then continues on without a pause about future events.

Recognizing that the *this generation* means the one living in the future time He is describing, makes the most sense and is consistent with a logical interpretation of the passage.