

The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race is still on earth. But this is not the most natural reading of the word generation. Typically, you would think of a generation as a time span of less than 100 years, or the maximum typical life span. Another option, and the one I lean more in favor of is another understanding of the phrase "take place". In the Greek New Testament it is one word (genitai: a 2 Aorist Middle Subjunctive Verb, 3rd Person Singular). David Allen Black, in his book It's Still Greek To Me, lists a sense of the aorist verb as Ingressive Aorist. That is, it stresses the beginning of an action.

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30:"Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB)So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions.

So if I am labelling this verb right, and I hope I am, then we could translate the verse, "Truly I say to you, that this generation will not pass away until these things begin to take place." This would mean that the events of the end time began with the persecution of the church and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. If this is right, then Jesus' generation did most certainly live to see these things take place.

