By Hank Hanegraaff

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Matthew 24:34). Which generation did Jesus have in mind?

First, when Jesus says, “this generation,” this means “this.” This does not mean “that.” The phrase this generation appears multiple times in the Gospels and always refers to Jesus’ contemporaries. Allow me to state the obvious: our Lord was not grammatically challenged in the least. Had He wanted to draw the attention of His disciples to a generation nineteen hundred years hence, He would not have confused them with the adjective this.

Furthermore, the suggestion that generation means “race” is equally groundless. Indeed, rendering generation as “race” would make the time parameter in Jesus’ prophecy virtually meaning- less. Common sense alone dictates that in answering His disciples’ question, “When will this happen?” (v. 3), Jesus does not respond by saying, “I tell you the truth, this race of people will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”

Finally, grammatical gyrations, such as rendering this “that” and generation “race,” are ultimately unnecessary. All the things Jesus prophesied came to pass just as He said they would—not the least of which was His “coming on clouds.”

“The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

Matthew 12:41–42 NKJV

For further study,  Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code: Find Out What the Bible Really Says About the End Times . . . and Why It Matters Today (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2007)  and Is “coming on clouds” a reference to Christ’s second coming?

***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***