Just who is "This Generation"?

I used to often bang my head against the wall trying to figure out Christ's comment in the synoptic Gospels about "this generation will not pass away until all things take place". No epiphany was forthcoming from that headbanging , but over the years I have (hopefully) learned the value of not trying to force a solution to biblical puzzles I may have. That leaves room for a solution that will (maybe) come later.

I remember in the 1970's, just after I became a Christian, reading books of the period full of expectation for Christ's Coming because of this very phrase. The thinking was (and still is to a dwindling number of prophecy students) that "this generation" referred to the generation that began with the birth of Israel in 1948. Since a generation could be 40 years (The disobedient generation of Israelites wandered 40 years in the desert, for instance) the hoped-for Coming was set for sometime around 1988, Subtract 7 years (if you were a pretribber - which I was by default, not having heard of other possibilities) the date was made a lot closer. But now we are stretching the limits for that kind of definition of "generation"; It has been 50+ years.

Then it slowly dawned on me that maybe "generation" has a different definition, one that is not so much tied to time as to essence. If you look through the Bible you will see that the Greek word often does mean just that. We could (and NASB and other versions do) use the word "offspring" and "brood" for this word. I believe the "generation" that Jesus speaks of is the same one in Proverbs 30, that is pure in its own eyes yet is still unwashed from sin (whited sepulchres). These have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. Or, in keeping with our gospel passages, they are the fig trees that shoot forth leaves (but have no fruit). The end for "this generation" according to the gospel passages and Proverbs 30 is that the eagles (or vultures) will feed on them (Proverbs 30:17, Matt 24:28, etc.)

Doing a study on the word "generation" is of only limited value because we are looking at a phrase rather than a single word. The two words, "this generation",  together constitute a technical term. In a similar way we could say "She's not that kind of girl." A dictionary definition of those 7 words will never bring us to the true definition of that phrase. Likewise, a foreigner, hearing that comment, english wordbook in hand, probably would be in the dark about the true meaning of the phrase. Likewise, Strong's is of no use here. We are focusing on Jesus' (and other inspired writers') use of the phrase.

I believe in the Bible you can have two "generations" (with this qualitative definition) at one time. Peter warned his listeners:
"Save yourselves from this perverse generation: (Acts 2:40)

Yet later he says to those who were being saved:
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;" (1st Peter 2:9)

One of the most valuable rules for understanding words or phrases in the Bible is to examine how the very same inspired author uses it in his own writings. This is the first step, then the question is how do other authors use the phrase (speaking of "this generation").

With that in mind, we have the following from Matthew:

The exact phrase (genea haute) is used in ll:16; 12:41, 42, 45; 23:36 and 24:34. And the phrase is used with intervening qualifying adjective(s) in 12:39 ("evil and adulterous"), 45 ("evil"); 16:4 ("e. and a.") and 17:17 ("faithless and perverse").

Similar verses that further confirm this characterization of "generation" are: 3:7-8 and 12:33-34 "offspring of vipers". In Luke 11:30 "this generation" seeks a sign but will only be given the sign of Jonah. In 16:8 they are characterized as shrewd in the matter of possesions. In 17:24-25, after
saying His coming will be visible to all, Christ says that He must be rejected by "this generation".

This Generation in History
My understanding is that this generation we are referencing has a continued, unbroken presence from Jesus' time on earth through our present age and on until "all these things will be fulfilled". What makes them an "evil generation" is not just the proclivity to missing the mark - all generations have had that; it is the coming of Jesus in bodily form and announcing, and demonstrating by miracles and a perfect life, the "Kingdom of God" (actually, "the kingly reign of God"). "If I had not come to them they would not have sin " (in this sense) "But they have rejected both me and my father". In Hebrews 1 God spoke to us "in many portions and in many ways, but now, in these last days, He has spoken to us through His Son". This is when the last days began, according to the Bible; when Jesus' earthly ministry began . This is what makes them the Last Days; sinning against a greater light; the personal ministry and example of the Incarnate Son of God. John 3:19 "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil".

Peter preaches to the crowd of Jews and proselytes (Acts 2:40):

" And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!""

The OT counterpart of "this generation" is found in Hebrews 3:8-11; the generation "that do always err in their hearts".

On a more positive note we, who truly believe in God, who follow after Christ in the power of the Spirit, are called a "chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people ". (1 Peter 2:9)

Conclusion:

1. I believe "this generation" in the Matt. 24 (and in the related synoptic passages) needs to be defined (considering other usages of the same term) as a group of evil people who remain unpersuaded by either the message of impending judgment or the call for repentance.

2. I'm convinced that reading into this passage a timeframe for Apocalypse is reading into the text instead of letting scripture interpret scripture. I think we are conditioned by recent teachers to differentiate this "this generation" from all of the other "this generations" that I have alluded to.

3. Matt 24: 34's generation is not a generation I want to be a part of! The "summer" of this chapter could just as well be translated "harvest". And as for that "generation", it is the harvest of the winnowing fan and of the tares being gathered to be burned.