This generation: Luke 21, Matthew 24, and Mark 13... What did Jesus mean by those words? Part 2

This is the second post in this series. You can find the first one here

"I assure you: This generation will certainly not pass away until all things take place." 
(Luke 21:32 HCSB)

In this post we will look at the word generation as it was used in the Greek in the first century. The word is genea. But for starters, since generation is in an English translation of the bible let's look at the definition in English first, here is the definition on Wikipedia. It is not that I find Wikipedia exceptionally reliable in information, but this definition articulates what I believe to be the common meaning when one hears this generation. A generation is "all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively." It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about thirty years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and begin to have children of their own." These two definitions sum it up.

Secondly, and this is important... Jesus was a Jew, he was familiar with the Hebrew scriptures, and also the Septuagint which was the Hebrew scriptures translated into Greek. So then, it is very important to see the use of the Greek word genea in the Septuagint. When I do a search of the Old Testament for the word generation, I find that it is always translated from the Hebrew word dor. Interestingly, it has the same meaning as the second definition in Wikipedia. That is, dor is a generation of thirty to forty years, and in Hebrew though it was forty years as signified by the forty year span that the disobedient Hebrews had to roam the desert without making it into the promised land.'

So then, even though Greek would allow the usage of genea to sometimes be a nation, that would not be the likely use that Jesus would use. Especially when one looks at Jewish hermeneutical devices. The first century Rabbi's often used words that would take one back to a former passage of scripture. That was a common device in first century Judea, and is everywhere in the new testament. So, when Jesus said. this evil generation he was bringing to remembrence "None of these men in this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your fathers," (Deuteronomy 1:35 HCSB) He did not just make this statement once but several times. It can be found in Matt 12:39,45; Matt 16:4 & Luke 11:29. It becomes very clear that for two reasons, one that the Septuagint only translated dor as genea, and secondly, that He referred back to Deu 1:35 when he used the word genea, that he would mean dor when he spoke about this generation. Especially in view of the fact that each and every time he said "this generation" he was being critical.

The other reason that theologians use to show that he did not mean the current generation when he said "this generation" is so weak that it is actually absurd when you hear it given. They say that he did not mean the current generation but rather the generation dor alive at the time of the end. Why would he even say that? Of course, it is obvious that at the end of the world, the end of the space time continuum, the generation alive then would see it come to fruition. When you stop and think about it, that argument is idiotic at best, but worse than that, it is deceptive to try to put a spin on the statement because of the fear that it did not come to pass and then one has a dilemma of large proportions. But, there is another solution. One that keeps the integrity of the prophecy.

I am not like the atheists. I do not think that Jesus' prophecy failed. I think it came to pass just the way he meant it but, since people want to stick to a strictly literal translation of the things said in the little apocalypse, they cannot accept that it indeed was fulfilled in the generation of the first century Jews that were contemporary with Jesus. However, it most definitely was!

We will look into this further next time....