Bible: "this generation will not pass away"

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Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32:
JESUS said, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

What is the official Catholic interpretation for “this generation” part?
 
Sam_777 said:
Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32:
JESUS said, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

What is the official Catholic interpretation for “this generation” part?
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There’s no “official Catholic interpretation”. There can be various acceptable understandings.

Here are commentary remarks on Mt. 23:34 from a couple of saints. I found their comments particularly helpful:

St. Jerome:
"The rule of the Scriptures is to know two generations, one of the good the other of bad…

St. John Chrysostom:
"All these things therefore mean what was said of the end of Jerusalem, of the false prophets, and the false Christs, and all the rest which shall happen down to the time of Christ’s coming. That He said This generation, He meant not of the men then living, but of the generation of the faithful; for so Scripture uses to speak of generations, not of time only, but of place, life, and conversation; …
 
Sam_777 said:
Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32:
JESUS said, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

What is the official Catholic interpretation for “this generation” part?
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Some believe it (and the preceding passage) refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 72 AD, rather than the final coming of Christ—sort of a “mini-Apocalypse.”

A warning to the Jews, specifically. One which they obviously didn’t heed. Some see in this the type of all the later disasters that have befallen Jews, including the Holocaust.
 
Sam_777 said:
Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32:
JESUS said, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

What is the official Catholic interpretation for “this generation” part?
Click to expand...
As noted above, there is no “official” interpretation for this verse. Here is what the Navarre Catholic Bible commentaries say about it:
(on Mark 13:30):
28-30. As already pointed out in the note on Mark 13:4, Jesus’ disciples, following the ideas current among Jews at the time, could not conceive the destruction of Jerusalem as separate from the end of the world; and, also, there is a connection between the two events, in that the former is a prefigurement of the latter. Our Lord answers His disciples in Mark 13:20 by saying that the destruction of Jerusalem will happen in the lifetime of their generation (as in fact occurred in the year 70, at the hands of the Roman legions). For further explanation of the ruin of Jerusalem as a figure of the end of the world, cf. note on Matthew 24:32-35.
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(on Luke 21:32)
32. Everything referring to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled some forty years after our Lord’s death–which meant that Jesus’ contemporaries would be able to verify the truth of this prophecy. But the destruction of Jerusalem is a symbol of the end of the world; therefore, it can be said that the generation to which our Lord refers did see the end of the world, in a symbolic way. This verse can also be taken to refer to the generation of believers, that is, not just the particular generation of those Jesus was addressing (cf. note on Matthew 24:32-35).
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[The note on Matthew 24:32-35 states:
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32-35. Seeing in the destruction of Jerusalem a symbol of the end of the world, St. John Chrysostom applies to it this parable of the fig tree: “Here He also foretells a spiritual spring and a calm which, after the storm of the present life, the righteous will experience; whereas for sinners there will be a winter after the spring they have had […]. But this was not the only reason why He put before them the parable of the fig tree, to tell them of the interval before His coming; He wanted to show them that His word would assuredly come true. As sure as the coming of spring is the coming of the Son of Man” (“Hom. on St. Matthew”, 77).
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“This generation”: this verse is a clear example of what we say in the note on Matthew 24:1 about the destruction of Jerusalem being itself a symbol. “This generation” refers firstly to the people alive at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. But, since that event is symbolic of the end of the world, we can say with St. John Chrysostom that “the Lord was speaking not only of the generation then living, but also of the generation of the believers; for He knows that a generation is distinguished not only by time but also by its mode of religious worship and practice: this is what the Psalmist means when he says that `such is the generation of those who seek Him’ (Psalm 24:6)” (“Hom. On St. Matthew”, 77).]
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Thanks Fidelis,
this is what the Psalmist means when he says that `such is the generation of those who seek Him’ (Psalm 24:6)"
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That narrow the gap but still it’s hard to convince Muslims…
 
i’m still waiting for a good explantion of that verse.
none of them really make sense to me.

that and the one where Christ says he doesn’t know when the end of the world is.

i just dont get them.🤷
 
I hope this helps this is coming from The Orthodox Study Bible - which i use in-conjunction with other commentaries to understand verses and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

24:34 This generation refers to all believers at all times, the generation of the church, and not merely to those alive at the time of Christ.

24:36 According to St John Chrysostom Christ tells of the angels being unaware of the exact day of his return “so that men should not seek to learn what angels do not know,” and to forbid them not only from learning the day, but from even inquiring about it.

According to Mark 13:32 and in Chrysostoms Matthew Text Jesus declares that the Son also does not know the day of his own return. Chrysostom teaches this not to be understood literally, but is a figure of speech meaning that Christ, though He revealed all the signs that will accompany his return, will not reveal the exact day to anyone, and that believers should not be so brazen as to inquire of Him.
 
itullian said:
that and the one where Christ says he doesn’t know when the end of the world is.

i just dont get them.🤷
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The explanation I usually hear is that Christ is speaking with respect to his human intellect here. It’s a solid explanation, but not very emotionally satisfying – it smacks of pious rationalization.

However, on just a personal level (i.e., I’m not speaking from any position of authority, just sharing a personal reflection), Christ’s statement here reminds me of the ways that a husband & wife sometimes act, with respect to their children. If it’s up to one parent to give permission to do something, or to set the time for some activity, the other parent will often smile and say, “don’t ask me, I don’t know – ask your Mom! She’s the one who’s making the call!” It strikes me that both parents, of course, ‘know’, per se – but it’s the place of the one parent to actually announce the decision. Same thing here, it seems to me: it seems that Jesus is shrugging and simply saying, “that one belongs to the Father, not me.” It’s not so much centered on the “I don’t know” part, but rather, on the “it’s the Father’s call” part…
 
Psalm110 said:
24:34 This generation refers to all believers at all times, the generation of the church, and not merely to those alive at the time of Christ.
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If we assume that "This generation" = “the generation of the church”.

Then what are the other generations :confused:.
Chrysostom teaches this not to be understood literally, but is a figure of speech meaning that Christ, though He revealed all the signs that will accompany his return, will not reveal the exact day to anyone, and that believers should not be so brazen as to inquire of Him.
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Still it’s not clear !!!
 
itullian said:
i’m still waiting for a good explantion of that verse.
none of them really make sense to me.

that and the one where Christ says he doesn’t know when the end of the world is.

i just dont get them.🤷
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If I may interject a cultural aspect to all of this-

When a Jewish couple got engaged, the groom to be would go away to build a home for them.He was not allowed to return for his bride until he had his father’s permission.
The bride had no idea when the groom was coming for her so she had to keep watch.
When it got closer and closer to the end of the engagement period, (a year) she would actually sleep in her wedding clothes so she would be ready should he come in the middle of the night to get her.

Is it beginning to fit together yet? Matthew 25
 
Thanks to the OP and those who answered this! I’ve often wondered the same thing, but haven’t thought of asking the question since becoming a member here.

Very helpful thread! 👍
 
If you beleive that the Kingdom of God is what Christ was reffering to when he said “Until all things come to pass” and that the Kingdom he was refering to is the Spiritual, Eternal, Present and Universal (Catholic) Kingdom that we all participate in with the great cloud of Saints that have gone before us. Then there is no reason not to take this passage littraly reffering to the audiance he was addressing, as the generation that was present with christ had not passed away when this Kingdom came into being through Christs death and resurection.
 
From the Haydock Commentary:

Matthew 24:34-35

Ver. 34. This generation; i.e. the nation of the Jews shall not cease to exist, until all these things shall be accomplished: thus we see the nation of the Jews still continue, and will certainly continue to the end of the world. (Tirinus) — Then the cross, which has been a scandal to the Jew, and a stumbling-block to the Gentile, shall appear in the heavens, for the consolation of the good Christian. Hoc signum crucis erit in cœlo, cum Dominus ad judicandum venerit. — If it be to be understood of the destruction of Jerusalem, the sense may be, this race of men now living; if of the last day of judgment, this generation of the faithful, saith Theophylactus,[4] shall be continued: i.e. the Church of Christ, to the end of the world. (Witham) — This race, I tell you in very truth, shall not pass away till all this be finally accomplished in the ruin of Jerusalem, the most express figure of the destruction and end of the world. (Bible de Vence) — By generation, our Saviour does not mean the people that were in existence at that time, but the faithful of his Church; thus says the psalmist: this is the generation of them that seek the Lord. (Psalm xxiii, ver. 6.) (St. Chrysostom, hom. lxxvii.)

Ver. 35. Shall pass away: because they shall be changed at the end of the world into a new heaven and new earth. (Challoner)
 
Thank you po18guy.
Wow I need to learn Greek and Hebrew so much remains behind a viel in translation.
 
This is the great blessing of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches: they have the Apostolic tradition which passes the meaning of the words along to us. Pity those poor folk who lack an Apostolic Church, and having only the bible itself, must stumble their way through the hidden meanings and word play in the bible. 😦
 
Psalm110 said:
I hope this helps this is coming from The Orthodox Study Bible - which i use in-conjunction with other commentaries to understand verses and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

24:34 This generation refers to all believers at all times, the generation of the church, and not merely to those alive at the time of Christ.

24:36 According to St John Chrysostom Christ tells of the angels being unaware of the exact day of his return “so that men should not seek to learn what angels do not know,” and to forbid them not only from learning the day, but from even inquiring about it.

According to Mark 13:32 and in Chrysostoms Matthew Text Jesus declares that the Son also does not know the day of his own return. Chrysostom teaches this not to be understood literally, but is a figure of speech meaning that Christ, though He revealed all the signs that will accompany his return, will not reveal the exact day to anyone, and that believers should not be so brazen as to inquire of Him.
Click to expand...
Further evidence of the blessing of belonging to an Apostolic Church!
 
Matt_Guitar_Man said:
If you beleive that the Kingdom of God is what Christ was reffering to when he said “Until all things come to pass” and that the Kingdom he was refering to is the Spiritual, Eternal, Present and Universal (Catholic) Kingdom that we all participate in with the great cloud of Saints that have gone before us. Then there is no reason not to take this passage littraly reffering to the audiance he was addressing, as the generation that was present with christ had not passed away when this Kingdom came into being through Christs death and resurection.
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http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon14.gif A very good point…
 
po18guy said:
From the Haydock Commentary:

Matthew 24:34-35

Ver. 34. This generation; i.e. the nation of the Jews shall not cease to exist, until all these things shall be accomplished: thus we see the nation of the Jews still continue, and will certainly continue to the end of the world. (Tirinus) — Then the cross, which has been a scandal to the Jew, and a stumbling-block to the Gentile, shall appear in the heavens, for the consolation of the good Christian. Hoc signum crucis erit in cœlo, cum Dominus ad judicandum venerit. — If it be to be understood of the destruction of Jerusalem, the sense may be, this race of men now living; if of the last day of judgment, this generation of the faithful, saith Theophylactus,[4] shall be continued: i.e. the Church of Christ, to the end of the world. (Witham) — This race, I tell you in very truth, shall not pass away till all this be finally accomplished in the ruin of Jerusalem, the most express figure of the destruction and end of the world. (Bible de Vence) — By generation, our Saviour does not mean the people that were in existence at that time, but the faithful of his Church; thus says the psalmist: this is the generation of them that seek the Lord. (Psalm xxiii, ver. 6.) (St. Chrysostom, hom. lxxvii.)

Ver. 35. Shall pass away: because they shall be changed at the end of the world into a new heaven and new earth. (Challoner)
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"This race" :hmmm:, then we should look at the original Greek word…
 
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