"Very I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled"(Matthew 24:34). Jesus very plainly said here the ALL of the things He had mentioned would come to pass in that generation. This would include all the persecution of the disciples, the gospel being preached in all the world, the abomination of desolation, the great tribulation, and the coming of the Son of man.Most commentary frankly acknowledge this as troublesome. And this is why the verse is troublesome to many other people as well. They want to make the verse read, "some generation in our future” instead of, "this generation" as (God Jesus sa...id). On the lips of Jesus 'this generation' always signifies the contemporaries of Jesus. "Some have sought to get around the force of this text by saying that the word generation here really means race, and that Jesus was simply saying that the Jewish race would not die out until all these things took place. Is that true?
We should accept these words of God exactly as He gave them. The Bible is not to be read in such a way that it is made to conform to our opinions and assumptions; instead, we must conform to what it says.
The word "generation" as used in Matthew 24:34 is from the Greek word "genea" which means,"by implication an age (the whole multitude of men living at the same time, a space of 40 years )." This word has the very same meaning as the "generation" found in Luke 11:50-51 "That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of THIS GENERATION..."from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of THIS GENERATION." Generation (people living at the same time or in a 40-year period) is often the best translation of genea. It can mean nothing but "generation or contemporaries."
Paul knows this very well because he recalls the words of Jesus spoken. Notice what Paul writes to the church of Thessalonians. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who (killed both the Lord Jesus and THEIR OWN PROPHETS, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 1Thessalonians 2:14-15
Notice Paul put the killing of Jesus along with (the prophets) at the feet of their own countrymen. The "generation" of Matthew.23:36 is the same as the "generation" of Matthew.24:34 both refer to those living in the first century. Matthew 23:34 "Therefore, indeed, (I send you prophets), wise men, and scribes: (some of them you will kill and crucify), and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, That the blood of all the prophets, that was shed from the foundation of the world, would be required of that generation living. The word "generation" as used in Matthew 23 and Luke 11:50-51 does NOT mean "race, kind, nation, offspring, stock,"
C.I. Scofield says (p.1034. Old edition, Scofield Reference Bible). "Gr genea, the primary definition of which is, ‘race, kind, family, stock, breed; Mr. Scofield is wrong here. He used the wrong Greek word with his definition, for the definition he gives is for the Greek word. "Genos." But this is not the word used in Matthew 24:34. The word used in Matthew 24:34 is certainly "genea," but this has a different definition which is, "by implication an age." If the verse meant "kind, nation, offspring, stock," that it would have had the Greek word "genos" but it did not; the word is "genea." and Scofield's definition of that word is not correct.
But how many Christians today know Scofield's definition is wrong? I challenge you: Get out your concordance and look up every New Testament occurrence of the word generation (in Greek, genea) and see if it ever means 'race' in any other context. Here are all the references for the Gospels: Matthew 1:17; 11:16; 12:39, 41, 42, 45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:36; 24:34; Mark 8:12, 38; 9:19; 13:30; Luke 1:48, 50; 7:31; 9:41; 11:29, 30, 31, 32, 50, 51; 18:8; 17:25; 21:32. Not one of these references is speaking of the entire Jewish race over thousands of years; all use the word in its normal sense of the sum total of those living at the same time. It always refers to contemporaries. "Many commentators play around with the word 'generation' (genea), and thinking to avoid embarrassment,
However if we use the Bible to interpret the Bible biblicaly. We know the generation in Matthew 24:34 is the very same generation or contemporaries in Luke 11:50-51. The word "genea" is used in Luke 1:50 "from generation to generation is also used in Acts 13:36, "he had served his own generation. It is also used in Hebrews 3:10, "I was grieved with that generation.
Jesus to His disciples: Mark 8:38, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." In Luke 17:25 He says, "First Christ must be rejected by this generation" What "generation" was Jesus referring to in this passage? Jesus said it was the adulterous and sinful generation that rejected him then living while Jesus was alive!
