Many have tried to look in scripture to try to calculate the length of a generation. There are several passages in Scripture where we are told the length of a particular generation:

So we have a generation being 100 years long, then 40 years long, then 35 years long. It appears that the length of a generation was dependent on WHEN a person lived. From the time of the flood, the age of man decreased steadily, and therefore, so did the length of a generation. See chart below:

The following verse has produced a mountain of essays, articles, papers and books, trying to calculate or otherwise ascertain the length of the final generation, but more importantly, to determine to which generation Jesus was referring when he said it:

"All these things" include a plethora of events described in Matthew 24, including the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, therefore, we know "this generation" extends until the end of the tribulation. People have long tried to pinpoint the trigger date for the BEGINNING of "this generation", to be able to know when these things will take place. Some of the most common recent trigger dates have been:

1. 1948 - Israel is a nation again, back in her land.

Many will remember the former best-selling book "88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Come in 1988". The author of this book looked at 1948, decided that a generation is 40 years long, and surmised that everything would wrap up in 1988, 40 years after Israel was back in her land. Obviously, this prediction didn't work out.

2. 1967 - Jerusalem is reestablished as the capitol of Israel, taken in the 6-day war.

Others have looked at 1967, added 40 years, and came up with 2007 as the year things will come to a climax. As of September 6, 2003, it doesn't appear as if we can squeeze a 7 year tribulation into 5 years.

Look again at Matthew 24:34, and you will see that we MUST understand of whom Jesus was speaking when he said "This generation". Was he referring to the generation he repeatedly addressed as a "generation of vipers", the generation to which he was speaking in the Olivet discourse? Or was he speaking of a future generation that would see all the things he was referring to?

1. The generation he was addressing in the Olivet discourse - it is obvious that this was not the generation Jesus was referring to when he said "this generation shall not pass away". Yes, from 67 to 70 A.D., the Jews fled into the wilderness, yes, the temple was defiled, yes, there was a comet seen over Jerusalem, and yes, there was an earthquake. But Jesus did not come in the clouds with power and great glory, nor did the angels gather his elect from the four winds. There was no abomination of desolation set up in the temple in 70 A.D. either. Therefore, this cannot be the generation Jesus was referring to.
2. A future generation that would see all these things come to pass - this is more likely, but still does not give us a trigger date, or a starting point at which to beginning counting, NOR do we yet know how long a generation is.

Since Jesus didn't come back within the generation of people to which he was speaking that day, he HAD to be referring to a future generation. There is an interesting verse in I Peter that states:

Is it possible that the generation Jesus was referring to was the entire chosen generation of grace, beginning with the death on the cross until his return at the end of the tribulation? Peter called the church a "chosen generation" - ONE FULL GENERATION, not several generations. Is it possible Jesus was telling us that the future chosen generation of believers would not pass away until everything he stated was fulfilled? This generation has lasted nearly 2,000 years thus far.

Don't mistake this with the church age, which ends withthe pre-tribulation rapture of the church. This generation of grace would extend to the end of the tribulation and include the 144,000 Jews and all the tribulation saints and martyrs converted during the tribulation. All may believe in Christ's redemption and obtain salvation just as those prior to the rapture up until the end of the tribulation, and enter into the millennial kingdom with Christ. When Jesus Christ returns to the earth the second time, however, this ends the generation of grace and ushers in the millennial kingdom.

Remember, God counts time by using COVENANTS, as we saw from Matthew 1:17. Jesus was the mediator of the NEW COVENANT, and at his death, that new covenant began. When that new covenant ends, or when the dispensation of the grace of God comes to an end, that elusive final generation will finally end. We can know the times and seasons of his return, but we cannot know the dates when that generation of grace will end.

Isn't it time to stop trying to calculate on what date the final generation began and will conclude? The current popular idea is to count anywhere from 40 to 51 years from 1967 and place the rapture around 2007 or 2011, but as we showed above, calculating the length of a generation is futile. God's covenant timeline for the chosen generation began with Jesus death on the cross and will extend until....

There will be a point in time when the Gentile nations will be completely reached with the gospel, and their time is full. Consider the following verses:

These verses tell us that there will be a time in the future of which only God Almighty is aware, in which the timeline for Gentile nations to come to know the gospel truth, and to have their way in the nations, will end. Jesus Christ will then set up a kingdom and rule it with a rod of iron from Jerusalem. The key to understand, though, is that the chosen generation Peter referrred to will end when the fulness of the Gentiles ends, and God turns his attention back to his Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.

The keeping of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants - covenants that were promised to be eternal - may be part of what Peter had in mind when he stated the following on the day of Pentecost, the birth of the church:

So, Jesus Christ will be in heaven, according to this passage, until a time comes to reinstitute and restore all things back to their original owners. While it's impossible for us to know how "all things" will be restored, we see clues in prophetic scriptures about certain things being restored.

There are many other possibilities for the meaning of "the restitution of all things". These may include but are not limited to the following:

• Christians becoming more interested in the roots of Christianity in Judaism, blowing shofars, displaying banners, worshipping with Jewish songs and instruments, etc. (happening now)
• The Holy Spirit outpouring on all flesh in the same manner as the early church experienced
• The restoration of the seven feasts, such as the Feast of Tabernacles as mentioned in Zechariah 14
• The making of the original oil for anointing as described in the Torah
• Dedication and memorial sacrificial offerings at the temple as described in Ezekiel 40-48
• Christians receiving the communion emblems of the bread and wine on a daily basis as they did in the early church

There is no doubt that Israel being a nation again was the KEY event for prophetic scriptures to begin to be completely fulfilled. Jesus told us this would be the case in Matthew 24, just after describing events in the tribulation:

It is clear from scripture that Israel is the fig tree:

If the Jewish people are the fig tree, as the parable in Luke suggests, then we can understand more about the parable of the fig tree on Mount Olivet:

Another interesting verse that mentions a fig tree, along with an interesting reference to the rapture of the church, is found in the Old Testament book Song of Solomon:

There are several interesting verses that indicate there will be a latter rain just before Jesus Christ comes for his bride, then later returns to the earth to rule. To understand this, we need to look at the birth of the church and the related feasts of Israel.

The Christian "church" was born on the feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given in the city of Jerusalem for the first time with a "Pentecostal measure"; the Comforter whom Jesus referred to:

In these awesome verses, Jesus Christ tells us about what the Pentecostal measure of the Holy Spirit on the church will give to us, and the power we will have through him. The Spirit had always been present and came upon God's people at times all throughout the Old Testament. However, the day of Pentecost marked a different, empowering measure. It also was marked a special sign of infilling: the ability to speak in an unknown language, which served as proof of the infilling:

The events on the day of Pentecost, the birth of the church, are known as the early or former rain. The feast of Pentecost occurred 50 days after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The early rain was poured out on the physical land of Israel during this time of the year, to water the growing crops. After the Feast of Pentecost, about four months separate the next feast, the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashannah. During this time of the year, there is very little rain in the land. Then, as the fall feasts approach, the climate changes and the autumn rains soon begin.

Rain represents the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures reveal that the Lord will come as rain to the earth:

Notice the theme of these verses is THE COMING OF THE LORD in combination with the latter rain:

• Hosea reveals his going forth is prepared as the morning, and he will come to as the former and latter rain.
• James tells us to be patient for the coming of the Lord, then reveals that patience will cause us to receive the former and latter rain.
• Joel tells us the latter rain comes in the first month, and for Israel, the first month includes all three falls feasts: Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles.
• Zechariah tells us the Lord will come in the bright clouds in the time of the latter rain!

As we prophetically come closer to the time of the Lord's return, nations will hear the gospel and many will experience the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, which is the early and latter rain. In fact we are in the greatest outpouring of the Spirit since the time of the first century church! The latter rain is being poured out just as scripture says it would, and according to prophecy, this is when the Lord returns.

David Lowe

December 14, 2002

These prophetic insights and ideas are extremely interesting, and pertinent to the future of mankind. I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by men who wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:21), therefore, I believe that all events prophesied in the Bible WILL come to pass.

The main reason for my presentation of these prophetic insights is to have readers understand that a time is coming when the righteous will be removed from the earth, and the wrath of God will be unleashed on those who did not accept his Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for their sins. Eternity is too long to spend away from God, in eternal hellfire instead of eternal paradise. Please don't delay....click the link below: