Nor did Jesus switch between talking about the future and skipping to talking about the present for one sentence and then back to the future again, without clarifying it.
The *this generation * refers to that one going through the tribulation, not the people he was presently speaking to.
//”This generation” refers to some future generation that will go through the tribulation.//
My response about this generation:
This Generation
To what time-period does the phrase “this generation” in the New Testament refer? It is used in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32) in reference to the fulfillment of end times prophecies. A straight-forward reading of the text indicates that these prophecies would be fulfilled while some hearing Jesus’ words in the first century were still alive.
To confirm that it refers to the first century contemporaries of Jesus we need only to look at the other times the phrase is used in the New Testament. Without doubt, it ALWAYS refers to those living in the first century. No other conclusion is possible without doing violence to the text. Here are all the times the phrase is used outside of the Olivet Discourse. Look up these passages for yourself:
Matthew 11:16-24; 12:38-45; 16:4; 17:17; 23:35-36; Mark 8:12; 8:38-9:1; 9:19, and Luke 7:31; 9:41; 11:29-32, 49-51; 17:25; Acts 2:40.
The certain conclusion is that the “end times” is not about the end of the physical universe, not about the end of the Christian age, and not about anything in our future. It is about the end of the Old Covenant age, which ended with the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in AD 70 in the generation of Jesus’ contemporaries.
For more on this, see my article entitled “When Was the Olivet Discourse Fulfilled?” here:
My response about the tribulation:
WHEN IS (WAS) THE GREAT TRIBULATION?
Most Christians, it seems, have an idea about the Great Tribulation that they have picked up somewhere, but have never really carefully studied what the Bible has to say about this. Consider these passages about the tribulation:
“And they will deliver YOU up to tribulation. . . .” (Matthew 24:9)
“I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom. . . .” (Revelation 1:9)
From the above citations we can clearly see that (1) Jesus taught that those to whom He was speaking in the first century would witness the tribulation, and (b) the tribulation had arrived when John was writing Revelation. (Dozens of scholars believe that Revelation was written in the 60’s AD.) Now note this passage:
“When YOU see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. . . for THESE are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. . . .” (Luke 21:20-22)
In this passage, a parallel passage to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, Jesus said that He was living in the time that would FULFILL ALL OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY, and ties fulfillment of prophecy to the coming destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Also note in Luke 21 that THEY could escape the coming tribulation by fleeing to the mountains. This precludes a world-wide catastrophe, as most people think! It was a local event associated with the coming fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple by the Romans from AD 66-70.
In case they didn’t get it at first, Jesus reiterated the time-line:
“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:34)
Conclusion: We can attempt to futurize these things, but it would not faithful to the words of our Lord. The Great Tribulation, as predicted by Jesus, was restricted by Him to the region and the people of Judea in the first century. It was then that Jesus came in judgment to take vengeance on Old Covenant Israel for her sins and failure to accept Him as Messiah (Matthew 23:29-39). There is NO indication in God’s Word that it will ever happen again. To read a future “great tribulation” into the text does violence to the promises of Jesus.
For more information about the Great Tribulation, see my longer article at my prophecy website: