A little light reading for all posters here. I suspect it will be too long, so when needed I will cut it and you can finish at the link.
This Q&A explains the meaning of the word generation in Matthew 24:34. The word is often translated as "birth, descent, children and race."
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What does “this generation” mean in Matthew 24:34? There are three possible meanings to this phrase. We can discover the meaning after we understand the context of the verse.
Context of the Olivet Discourse
The answer Jesus gave to His disciples about the end times is called the Olivet Discourse. The context of Matthew 24:1-25:46; Mark 13:5-27; and Luke 21:8-28 is that the disciples wanted to know when “will all these things be.” They wanted to know the signs of the end times. Earlier Luke 19:11 reveals the disciples assumed the kingdom of God would appear immediately, but they were wrong. Later after Christ’s death and resurrection Luke 24:21 tells us that two disciples were looking for the kingdom. In addition, Acts 1:6 says the disciples asked when the kingdom would appear. Matthew 24:4 already told us the disciples were curious about the end time events. That is, the disciple’s overriding concern of the disciples in the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry was about the arrival of the earthly kingdom. However, amillennialist, postmillennialist and preterists would have us believe they were primarily concerned about the temple. But the message of the gospels and the book of Acts reveal that is not true. So, the content of this generation” in Matthew 24:34 is about future events, and not about the temple.
Meaning of This Generation — Option 1
The Greek word that is translated as “generation” in Matthew 24:34 is
genea. This word means more than just “generation.” It has the idea of birth, descent, descendants, family, and race. It was even used to refer to the end times.[1] Therefore, some have claimed that “this generation” refers to the Jewish race. That is, the Jewish race would not disappear until the tribulation and the second coming of Christ have occurred for Matthew 24:34 states that this generation would not pass away
“until all these things take place.” That is,
all these things that are described in verses 5-24. If that were the correct meaning, then the promise would be an empty or hollow one because the Jewish race will continue until heaven and earth have passed away (2 Peter 3:10-13) is realized. This option would imply that Jesus hoped
all these things would occur in some far distant future before everyone died. So, this generation cannot refer to the Jewish race.
Meaning of This Generation — Option 2
A second view says the word generation refers to the generation of people who were alive when Jesus gave the Olivet Discourse in A.D. 33. Some claim that “generation” consistently means the people who were alive in Jesus’ day throughout the New Testament. But a search for
genea in the New Testament reveals that is not true. The word
genea occurs forty-three times in the New Testament. The plural form of
genea is used many times to refer to multiple generations and not just the people who were alive at the time of Christ. But we are interested in the singular form of
genea. So here are a few examples. They are sufficient to demonstrate that the singular form of
genea does not always refer to the people of Jesus’ day. For example, in Luke 1:50 it is clear that generation does not refer to those in Christ’s time. It says, “upon generation after generation.” In Hebrews 3:9-10, generation does not refer to people to whom Jesus spoke those words either. It refers to the generation in the wilderness. The context is important. Some Bible teachers would have us believe that generation as used in the New Testament always refers to the people of Jesus’ time prior to A.D. 70.
But the context of the Matthew passage is about the generation who will be living w
hen all these things occur. That is the context of the passage. So, amillennialist, postmillennialist and preterists, without solid proof, speculate that the generation referred to a time span of thirty or forty years, since that is the time from procreation to procreation and takes them from A.D. 33 to A.D. 70. It is important to remember that generation is not a technical term. It is a general word with broad Semantic range and must be interpreted by the context.
Now if we assume that generation does refer to the people of Jesus’ time, we have a serious problem with this view. First,
all these things did
not occur before A.D. 70. For example, the prophecy in Matthew 24:14 that states the gospel would be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations could not have occurred before A.D. 70. What we know is that the gospel
may have been preached in Spain since the apostle Paul had hoped to do that. But there is no proof the gospel was ever preached there or any in any other of the continents on the globe. That is, the gospel was not preached to all nations. It is speculation that it must have occurred, but speculation does not prove occurrence.
A second point is that both Daniel 9:27 and 12:11 refer to the abomination of desolation as a future event, but Daniel 11:31 does not. Yet, some Bible teachers want us to believe Matthew 24:15 is referring exclusively to only Daniel 11:31. That was a past event. But it is more likely that Jesus referred to the future desolation event described in Daniel 9:27 and 12:11. The context of Daniel 12 is the final resurrection at the end of the age—resurrection and rewards. So, Daniel 12:11 could not have occurred in AD. 70, unless one wants to employ an allegorical hermeneutic and not a literal one. An allegorical hermeneutic will allow the author to creatively redefine anything in the pages of Scripture that does not fit his eschatological system.
Third, Matthew 24:30 says that Christ would be seen in the clouds of the sky.
Some Bible teachers would have us believe that verse 30 says the people would see a sign. So, they ask what was the sign? Just notice the context. It defines the sign. It says the people would
see the Son of Man. The sign
will be the Son of Man. The Greek scholar A. T. Robertson states that the correct understanding of the first part of the verse is “and then will appear the sign, which is the Son of Man in heaven.” In Greek grammar this is an appositional use of the genitive case.[2] Advocates of this view state this sign occurred in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. But Mark 13:26 clearly and literally tells us “they will see the Son of Man.” Jesus will be the sign, and not some celestial anomalies.
Fourth, notice that Matthew 24:30 says “all the tribes of the earth will mourn” when they see the Son of Man coming. But there are no historical records of anyone seeing Jesus in A.D. 70. It is not enough to claim the second coming of Christ occurred over Jerusalem. Some Bible teachers change their literal approach to an allegorical approach of interpretation and speculate that all the tribes of the earth will mourn” means the tribes of Israel. That is, “all the tribes of the earth” does not mean all the tribes of the earth. The whole earth does not need to see Him. But the verse says all of the tribes of the world will see this event. They would see Jesus and not some unusual event in the sky. Jesus clearly implied it would be a worldwide spectacle in verse 27. Verse 27 indicates that everyone who is alive will see Him. The point is that the second coming did not occur in Jerusalem in A.D. 70. To claim that the second coming did occur in a spiritual sense begs the question why not a physical occurrence?
Fifth, the event in Matthew 24:31 has not occurred yet. Those who claim verse 31 has already occurred cannot support their claim. If all of the
elect were gathered together, where did the angels collect them?
Go to the link to finish Option 2 of Meaning of this Generation
Go to the link for Meaning of this Generation -Option 3 and Conclusion
