[quote name='Polar;68849]This has been rattling around in my head for the last couple of days so I thought I would throw it out there to see what people think...I saw two gentlemen discussing when they thought 'the last generation' began. One was insistent that it began in 1948 with the birth of Israel.The other was equally insistent when he said it began in 1967 with the retaking of eastern Jerusalem from Jordan and the reuniting of the city.I would like your thoughts on this.I do however have one request:When you chose to include scripture to support your thoughts or to refute someone else's' date=' for the love of all that is good, pure, and holy PLEASE ensure that it is relevant...to...the...topic...at...hand.I have invited others to come and see this site and their first comment upon looking at some of the threads is almost always, "Why do they post so many scripture verses that have little or anything to do with the topic of the thread?" Volume does not = value.Thank you in advance, and again I look forward to hearing your thoughts.[/QUOTE']hi polar... firstly, the phrase "last generation" does not seem to be a biblical phrase, so I am not sure where you are getting the phrase itself from... and thus, since it is not itself a biblical phrase, the meaning could be almost anything...perhaps you are referring to Luke 21:32 where Jesus uses the phrase "this generation"... Luk 21:32 ESV Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place." ?the problem I see with most Dispensational interpretations is that typically, in the OT, a "generation" was about 30 years, though the term "generation" could mean various things... "In NT Gr. geneá literally means space of time, circle of time, which only in a derived sense signifies the meaning of a time, a race; then generally in the sense of affinity of communion based upon the sameness of stock. Race or posterity (Act_8:33, "who shall declare his posterity?" [a.t.] i.e., the number of His followers as spoken of the Messiah and quoted from Isa_53:8; Sept.: Gen_17:12; Num_13:22; Est_9:28). A descent or genealogical line of ancestors or descendants. Generation (Mat_1:17; Sept.: Gen_15:16; Gen_25:13; Deu_23:3) as used in special reference to the physical or moral circumstances of a particular period, just as we speak of an age or time referring to the spiritual state of its society (Heb_3:10 [cf. Luk_7:31; Luk_11:31; Act_13:36]). The connection alone must decide whether the sense is limited to the state of society at a certain time or whether the word refers simply to race or stock. Spoken of the period of time from one descendant to another, that is, the average duration of human life, reckoned apparently by the ancient Jews at one hundred years (cf. Gen_15:16 with Exo_12:40-41); by the Greeks at three generations for every one hundred years, that is, thirty-three and a half years each. Hence, in the NT of a less definite period, an age, time, period, day, as ancient generations, that is, times of old (Luk_1:50, "generation to generation," i.e., to the remotest ages [cf. Rev_1:6; Act_14:16; Act_15:21; Eph_3:5, Eph_3:21, of future ages; Col_1:26. See Sept.: Gen_9:12; Psa_72:5; Pro_27:24; Isa_34:17; Joe_3:20]). In Luk_16:8, "in their very own generation" (a.t.), means they are wiser in their day, so far as it concerns this life. Metaphorically spoken of the people of any generation or age, those living in any one period, a race or class, e.g., "this generation" means the present generation (Mat_11:16; Mat_12:39, Mat_12:41-42, Mat_12:45; Mat_16:4; Mat_17:17; Mat_23:36; Mat_24:34; Mar_8:12, Mar_8:38; Mar_9:19; Mar_13:30; Luk_7:31; Luk_9:41; Luk_11:29-32, Luk_11:50-51; Luk_17:25; Luk_21:32; Act_2:40; Phi_2:15). Spoken of a former generation (Act_13:36; Heb_3:10); of the future (Luk_1:48; Sept.: Deu_32:5, Deu_32:20; Psa_12:8; Psa_14:5; Psa_24:6; Psa_78:6, Psa_78:8). The word geneá in Mat_24:34 may have had reference to the kind of Jew with whom Jesus was conversing during that particular time (Mat_21:23; Mat_23:29). He was telling them that this generation or type, such as the Sadducees and Pharisees of that day, would not pass away until all these things occurred and until His coming again in His parousía (G3952), Second Coming, which has proven to be true. He was prophesying the destruction of their nation (Mat_24:15-28). ....Deriv.: genealogéō (G1075), to reckon by generations; genetḗ (G1079), from his birth or the beginning of his life.Syn.: génos (G1085), kind, family, generation; génnēma (G1081), generation, but with the idea of having had birth from; éthnos (G1484), nation or people of the same kind; aiṓn (G165), an age, era.(Word Study Dictionary, Zodihates)"geneaThayer Definition:1) fathered, birth, nativity2) that which has been begotten, men of the same stock, a family2a) the several ranks of natural descent, the successive members of a genealogy2b) metaphorically a group of men very like each other in endowments, pursuits, character2b1) especially in a bad sense, a perverse nation3) the whole multitude of men living at the same time4) an age (i.e. the time ordinarily occupied be each successive generation), a space of 30 - 33 years"and if, when Jesus was speaking, His prophecy in Lk. did not literally come to pass, then what other conclusion can we come to but that Jesus was a false prophet? The thing is, Jesus' prophecy did in fact come true in AD 70 when the Romans sacked Jerusalem... THAT generation indeed did not pass away without the things Jesus speaking of in Luke 21 actually coming to pass.If you are referring to another area in Scripture, I apologize if I sidetracked the discussion....blessings,ken