THE SIGN 1: “THIS GENERATION WILL BY NO MEANS PASS AWAY” MATTHEW 24:34

THE MEANING OF THE WORD “GENERATION”

When I became a Witness in 1961, the words of Psalm 90:10 was applied to the word genea:

¹⁰ In themselves the days of our years are seventy years; And if because of special mightiness they are eighty years.

The Hebrew word dōr (generation) is mentioned in verse 1, and in our view, it was likely that the great tribulation would come within 80 years from the year 1914, when the first part of the sign was seen. But that did not happen. There were two errors in our reasoning:

• We had not made a thorough study of the words genea and dōr.
• We used “generation” as a specific time indicator to measure the time from the beginning of the presence of Jesus to the great tribulation.

THE WORDS GENEA AND DŌR DO NOT REFER TO TIME BUT TO PEOPLE

Just as is the case with English, Greek and Hebrew words can have different meanings, and they can refer to different things in the world. The Greek word genea and the Hebrew word dōr do not refer to time but to a group of people. One example is Daniel 9:1 (above) and Matthew 1:17 (below):

¹ In the first year of Da·riʹus the son of A·has·u·eʹrus of the seed (zera‘, genea) of the Medes, who had been made king over the kingdom of the Chal·deʹans;

¹⁷ All the generations (genea), then, from Abraham until David were fourteen generations, and from David until the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon until the Christ fourteen generations.

In Daniel 9:1, the Hebrew text has zera‘  meaning “seed,” but the Septuagint has genea, showing that this Greek word refers to people. In Matthew 1:17, genea refers to one group of people that follows another group of people, and this is the same way that we use the word “generation” in English.

However, the basic definition of the words dōr and genea is “a large group of people whose life-spans are overlapping.” This means that a generation does not have a specific beginning and a specific end. But the beginnings and ends of those who constitute a generation set limits for its beginning and its end.

THE OVERLAPPING PARTS OF A GENERATION

 The issue we are discussing is the contents of the words “this generation,” what is included in the word “generation” (genea, dōr) and what is the reference of the word.

“THIS WICKED GENERATION” IN THE DAYS OF MOSES

I will first consider the way Moses used the word “generation” (dōr), and I quote Deuteronomy 1:35, 36 (above) and Numbers 32:10-13 (below):

³⁵ ‘Not one among these men of this evil generation (dōr) will see the good land that I swore to give to YOUR fathers, ³⁶ except Caʹleb the son of Je·phunʹneh. He will see it, and to him and to his sons I shall give the land upon which he trod, by reason of the fact that he has followed Jehovah fully.

¹⁰ Consequently Jehovah’s anger blazed on that day so that he swore, saying, ¹¹ ‘The men who came up out of Egypt from twenty years old upward will not see the soil of which I have sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because they have not followed me wholly, ¹² except Caʹlebthe son of Je·phunʹneh the Kenʹiz·zite and Joshua the son of Nun, because they have followed Jehovah wholly.’ ¹³ So Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel and he made them wander about in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation (dōr) that was doing evil in the eyes of Jehovah came to their end.

Moses used the words “this evil generation” in Deuteronomy 1:35. Which people were included in “this evil generation”? Numbers 32:11 says that “this evil generation” included all the men (’īsh) from twenty years upward who went out of Egypt. There were 600,000 able-bodied men that went out of Egypt. The end of the mentioned generation came during the 40-year sojourn in the desert. But what was the beginning. Several thousand of the 600,000 men were old, up to one hundred years or more, and all of these above twenty years belonged to “this evil generation.” This means that the beginning of “this evil generation” started at least 140 years before its end. Thus,“this evil generation” was at least 140 years long.

The definition of “generation” was “a large group of people whose life-spans overlap.” One important point here is that “this evil generation” consisted of thousands of overlapping life-spans of the 600,000 men, minus those below twenty years.

Moses called all the isrealites who wandered in the desert for 40 years for “this evil generation.” This generation was at least 140 years long.

“THIS GENERATION” IN THE DAYS OF JOSHUA

Joshua and Caleb and those below twenty years who came out of Egypt, were the only ones who entered the promised land.  Joshua was the leader of Israel, and he served Jehovah and the people in an excellent way. In connection with his death, we learn something about the word “generation” (dōr), and I quote Judges 2:6-10 (above) and Joshua 23:1-4 (below):

⁶ When Joshua sent the people away, then the sons of Israel went their way, each to his inheritance, to take possession of the land. ⁷ And the people continued to serve Jehovah all the days of Joshua and all the days of the older men who extended their days after Joshua and who had seen all of Jehovah’s great work that he did for Israel. ⁸ Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died at the age of a hundred and ten years.⁹ So they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timʹnath-heʹres in the mountainous region of Eʹphra·im, on the north of Mount Gaʹash. ¹⁰ And all that generation (dōr) too were gathered to their fathers, and another generation (dōr) began to rise after them that did not know Jehovah or the work that he had done for Israel.

¹ And it came about many days after Jehovah had given Israel rest from all their enemies all around, when Joshua was old and advanced in days, ² that Joshua proceeded to call all Israel, its older men and its heads and its judges and its officers, and to say to them: “As for me, I have grown old, I have advanced in days. ³ And as for YOU, YOU have seen all that Jehovah YOUR God did to all these nations on YOUR account, because Jehovah YOUR God was the one who was fighting for YOU. ⁴ See, I assigned to YOU by lot these nations that remain as an inheritance for YOUR tribes, and all the nations that I cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea at the setting of the sun.

Joshua was a part of the generation mentioned in Judges 2:10, and he became one hundred and ten years. In addition to him, the older men who are mentioned in Joshua 31:2 are included in this generation. If some elders were born 40 years before Joshua died and became just as old as he, the last one would die 70 years after the death of Joshua. This means that the mentioned generation could have been at least 180 years long because it ended when the last elder mentioned died. Again, we see that overlapping of a great number of life-spans is the basic meaning of the word “generation.”

The writer of Judges mentions the generation of Joshua and the elders, and this generation was at least 180 years long.

“THE WICKED AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION” IN THE DAYS OF JESUS

Jesus travelled around in the land of Israel, and he preached about the kingdom of God. But the accounts of the evangelists show that very few people believed in him. Because of the bad actions and lack of faith of the people, Jesus condemned them. He used the following words:

“Wicked generation”: Matthew 12:45 and Luke 11:29.

“Wicked and adulterous generation”: Matthew 12:39; 16:4.

“Wicked and sinful generation”: Mark 8:38.

“Unbelieving and perverse generation”: Matthew 17:17 and Luke 9:41.

Which people are included in the term “generation” (genea) mentioned by Jesus? I quote Luke 11:29-32:

²⁹ When the crowds were massing together, he started to say: “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign. But no sign will be given it except the sign of Joʹnah. ³⁰ For just as Joʹnah became a sign to the Ninʹe·vites, in the same way will the Son of man be also to this generation. ³¹ The queen of the south will be raised up in the judgment with the men of this generation and will condemn them; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solʹo·mon, but, look! something more than Solʹo·mon is here. ³² The men of Ninʹe·veh will rise in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; because they repented at what Joʹnah preached; but, look! something more than Joʹnah is here.

This wicked generation included the crowds that were massing together. Jesus did not know each one of these crowds, and his general expression of calling them wicked, shows that this “wicked generation” included all the Jews living in Israel. This is supported by the words “unbelieving and perverse generation” in Matthew 17:17 and Luke 9:41. All the Jews in Israel, except a few were unbelieving, and therefore they beloned to the “unbelieving and perverse generation” mentioned by Jesus. When I say “all the Jews,” I refer to the Jews in general. But there were also a few that did not belong to this “wicked and adulterous generation.”

The situation is exactly the same as of the one quoted above from Deuteronomy 1:35, where Moses called the whole nation of those who wandered around in the desert for 40 years as “this wicked generation.”

What is the length of “this wicked and adulterous generation”?  The prophetess Anna was 84 years when she saw the child Jesus in the temple. (Luke 2:37). And we must assume that there were persons in Israel that were older than Anna, one hundred years or more. Children who were born in the same year as Jesus, would have been 33 years when Jesus condemned this wicked and adulterous generation.  If some of these lived for one hundred years or more, the length of “the wicked and adulterous generation” would be at least 200 years.

But how can the words of Matthew 23:29-36 fit into the conclusion that “the wicked and adulterous generation” is at least 200 years long?:

²⁹ “Woe to YOU, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because YOU build the graves of the prophets and decorate the memorial tombs of the righteous ones, ³⁰ and YOU say, ‘If we were in the days of our forefathers, we would not be sharers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Therefore YOU are bearing witness against yourselves that YOU are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Well, then, fill up the measure of YOUR forefathers.

³³ “Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are YOU to flee from the judgment of Ge·henʹna? ³⁴ For this reason, here I am sending forth to YOU prophets and wise men and public instructors. Some of them YOU will kill and impale, and some of them YOU will scourge in YOUR synagogues and persecute from city to city; ³⁵ that there may come upon YOU all the righteous blood spilled on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zech·a·riʹah son of Bar·a·chiʹah, whom YOU murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to YOU, All these things will come upon this generation.

Some of the scribes and the Pharisees had bloodguilt, and they would be punished for this. Jesus said that “all these things” (including the punishment) would come upon this generation, and it came when Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 CE. If Jesus spoke these words in the year 33, the punishment came 37 years later. Would not this show that “the wicked and adulterous generation” was much shorter than 200 years?

The answer is No. I have stressed that the definition of a generation is “a large group of people whose life-spans overlap each other.” In the situation with “the wicked and adulterous generation” in the days of Jesus, there were tens of thousands of life-spans that overlapped each other. So, this generation could not have been 37 years long. But the point is that the judgment that Jesus said would come withis this generation came 37 years after Jesus uttered his words and not at the end of “this generation.”

It is true that a great part of the Jewish population was killed when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE. But  a great number of “this wicked and adulterous generation” was still living. So, this event would not shorten the length of this generation that I have calculated to at least 200 years.

Jesus called all the inhabitants of Israel in his day for “this wicked and adulterous generation” and “this unbelieving and perverse generation,” except the few believers. The length of this generation was at least 200 years.

“THIS GENERATION” IN THE GREAT PROPHECY OF JESUS

I am now reaching the climax of this discussion, what Jesus meant by his words about “this generation” in Matthew chapter 24:34. I quote Matthew 24:32-36:

³² “Now learn from the fig tree as an illustration this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, YOU know that summer is near. ³³ Likewise also YOU, when YOU see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. ³⁴ Truly I say to YOU that this generation (genea) will by no means pass away until all these things occur. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.

³⁶ “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.

I will now analyze these words.

THE DEMONSTRATIVE WORDS OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 24

One side of Matthew chapter 24 that is of great help for our understanding of the words of Jesus are all the demonstrative markers in the chapter. The demonstrative adjective or noun ekeinos (“this, that”) occurs ten times, and the demonstrative particle houtos (“this, that”) occurs eight times. When a demonstrative word is used together with a noun, we know that this noun already has been mentioned directly or indirectly. So, we must look at the context and find the antecedent of this noun, that is, what the noun refers back to.

The antecedent can be lexical or semantic. When the antecedent is the same word that previously is mentioned, the situation is lexical, and when the antecendent is the same idea but not the same word, the situation is thematic.

Two lexical antecedents: The antecedent of “that (ekeinos) slave” in 24:46 is “the faithful and discreet slave” in verse 45, and the antecedent of “this (houtos) good news of the kingdom” in 24:14 is “the good news of the kingdom” that Jesus preached. Peter, John, Paul, and others preached about a kingdom that would come in the future, but Jesus preached that the kingdom is here, it is your midst. And this good news of the kingdom —the kingdom is here — should be preached as a part to the sign of the presence of Jesus.

Two thematic antecedents: The antecedent of “all these (houtos) things” in 24:2 is “the buildings of the temple” that are mentioned in verse 1. The antecedent of “those (ekeinos) days” in 24:22 is “the great tribulation” in verse 21 because the tribulation consists of days.

THE IDENTIFICATION OF “THIS GENERATION” MENTIONED IN MATTHEW 24:34

Jesus said that “this (houtos) generation (genea)” will by no means pass away. There is no lexical antecedent because the word genea is not previously used. So, the antecedent is thematic. The word genea refers to a large group of people whose life-spans overlap each other. This means that while genea does not refer to time, a certain time is implied, because all the overlapping life-spans are related to the time each one is living.

The antecedent of “this generation” is also a situation where time is implied. Verse 33 has the clause “When you see all these things,” and “this generation” must be the antecedent to the pronoun “you” (plural)  — this generation to which you belong, in which your life-spans overlap.

There is also an implied beginning and end to “this generation,” namely “all these things” that the members of “this generation” will see (verse 33) and that will occur while this generation exists (verse 34). The important question, therefore, is: What is the antecedent of “all these things”? This antecedent is not lexical but thematic. And the antecedent to “all these things” is all the events of the sign mentioned by Jesus that are listed in 24:4-22, the first event being the hearing of “wars and reports of wars” (verse 6), and the last event being the great tribulation (verse 21). So, this generation would exist all the time the events of the sign occurred, and because of all the overlapping life-spans it had to start before the first event and last after the last event.

In order to fully understand the generation that we are now identifying, we must understand the frame of the great prophecy of Jesus. The disciples asked about a sign that he had returned and was present, and they associated this with the future destruction of the temple. The events of the sign that Jesus described would on a smaller scale happen during the first century CE, until the destruction of the temple in 70 CE. But the greater fulfillment would happen during the presence of Jesus. This is shown by the words in 24:21 that the great tribulation is greater than any previous event and any event that will come, and verse 30 that the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven. These things did not happen in the first century CE.

In my book My Beloved Religion — And The governing Body, chapter 1, and in several articles, I have argued that the presence of Jesus and the time of the end began in the year 1914 CE. This matches the words of Matthew 24:6,7 of wars because World Wat I began in 1914. As I have stressed, the word genea does not refer to time. But because of all the overlapping life-spans it implies time. If the first event that Jesus mentioned refers to the great war in 1914, “this generation” would from that year last beyond the last event mentioned by Jesus, which is the great tribulation.

We cannot know the exact length of this generation. But we can use the information from the Bible regarding what the Hebrew word dōr and the Greek word genea refer to. The generation in the days of Moses was at least 140 years long, the generation in the days of Joshua was at least 180 years long, and the generation in the days of Jesus was at least 200 years long. The Hebrew and Greek words meaning “generation” refer to a large group of people whose life-spans overlap, and the length of the generations that specially are mentioned in the Bible is between 140 and 200 years. This means that that the last event mentioned by Jesus that will occur while “this generation” still is standing, namely, the great tribulation, will occur at the latest 140 to 200 years after the year 1914.

According to the length of the generations that are mentioned in the Bible, “this generation,” that is mentioned in Matthew 24:34, can be between 140 and 200 years long.

There is another important antecedent in Matthew 24:36:

 ³⁶ “Concerning that (ekeinos) day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.

The Greek words for “day and hour” are not previously mentioned. So, the antecedent must be thematic. Verse 33 has the words “he (the Son of man) is near at the doors,” and verse 30 refers to his coming at the doors, namely, that “they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds.” This “coming” must be the antecedent of “that day and hour.” This is supported by verses 38-42 where the coming of the Son of Man is compared to the coming of the great flood in the days of Noah, and of the use of “the end” (telos) in verse 14, which refers to the great tribulation.

If we now return to the context of “this generation,” Jesus said that the coming of the Son of man and the end the great tribulation would come with a limit of between 140 and 200 years from the year 1914. But the date of the end, of the great tribulation, was only known by Jehovah God.

THE INTERPRETATION OF “THIS GENERATION” BY THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY  

I quote The Watchtower of January 15. 2014, page 31, one time more:

In his detailed prophecy about the conclusion of this system of things, Jesus said: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen.” (Read Matthew 24:33-35) We understand that in mentioning “this generation,” Jesus was referring to two groups of anointed Christians. The first group was on hand in 1914, and they readily discerned the sign of Christ’s presence in that year.—Rom. 8:14-17.

The second group included in “this generation” are anointed contemporaries of the first group. They were simply alive during the lifetime of those in the first group, but they were anointed with holy spirit during the time that those of the first group were still on earth. Thus, not every anointed person today is included in “this generation” of whom Jesus spoke. Today, those in the second group are themselves advancing in years, Yet, Jesus’ words at Matthew 24:34 give us confidence that at least some of “this generation will by no means pass away” before seeing the start of the great tribulation. This should add to our conviction that little time remains before the King of God’s Kingdom acts to destroy the wicked and usher in a righteous new world.

As I have argued above, the meaning of “generation” is a large group of people whose life-spans overlap. What is excellent in this new interpretation of “this generation” by the members of the Governing Body is that the correct meaning of the word “generation” (genea) is presented — an overlapping of life-spans.

However, the interpretation based on this basic fact is too narrow. In Matthew 24:33 Jesus says, “when you see.” The reference of “you” in this expression is the disciples who asked about the sign of his presence, and all others in the first century CE who saw the sign until the destruction of Jerusalem.

Who does “you” refer to in the bigger fulfillment during the presence of Jesus. The members of the Governing Body says that “you” refer to the anointed followers of Jesus who today counts a few thousand. But Jesus did not tell his great prophecy only for the benefit of his anointed brothers. The words in Matthew 24:14 indicates that millions of worshippers of God would preach the good news of the kingdom as a witness to all the nations. It is obvious that these servants of God are among “you” who “see all these things.”

So, the point of Jesus is that any person who is on the watch, and who see and understand “all these things” will know in which generation the great tribulation will come.

“This generation” that will not pass away before all these things occur consists of not only the few anointed servants of God. But it consists of a great number of the follower of Jesus whose life-spans overlap.

CONCLUDING REMARKS