Will the generation that saw Israel re-formed as a nation still be alive for the Second Coming?

Answer

Israel was “reconstituted” as a nation after World War II in 1948. This was a significant event with implications for biblical eschatology. Some Bible scholars have used the re-establishment of Israel to start an “end-times clock” leading to the second coming of Christ. Specifically, some believe that Jesus will return before the generation alive in 1948 passes away.

This idea is often based on Matthew 24:34, where Jesus states, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (also see Mark 13:30 and Luke 21:32). Preceding verses in the Olivet Discourse discuss a period of judgment and other end-times occurrences concerning Israel (Matthew 24:1-33). Some interpreters, interpreting “this generation” as the one alive when Israel regained independence as a sovereign state, concluded that the end times and the countdown to the second coming began at that moment.

Today, few hold the view that the generation present during Israel’s re-establishment will witness Christ’s second coming. With over 70 years passing since the end of the British Mandate of Palestine, the adoption of UN Resolution 181, and Israel’s Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv—far exceeding the typical 30-year generation span—definitions have had to be revised.

The main issue with this interpretation lies in a misunderstanding of Matthew 24:34. The context suggests that once the signs of the end-times emerge, subsequent events will unfold rapidly. As one commentator explains, “The generation witnessing the beginning of the end will also witness its conclusion.”When the signs come, they will proceed quickly; they will not drag on for many generations. It will happen within a generation. If this view is correct, Jesus says that when the signs of the beginning of the end come, then the end will come relatively quickly, within a generation” (Bock, D:, Luke 9:51—24:53;Baker Academic, 1996;pp: 1691-92). This quick fulfillment of end-times events agrees with Jesus’ words in Revelation 3:11 that He is “coming quickly” (NKJV).

It could be that Jesus’ prophetic words in Matthew 24 have a double fulfillment. Some of the events occurred in ad 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and Israel. Other events (in Matthew 24:29-31;for example) have clearly not yet occurred. Jesus’ prediction concerning “this generation” involves a time “when you see all these things” (verse 33, emphasis added). That is, there were some alive in the time of Christ who saw some of the signs, but there will be a future generation that sees all of the signs, including the darkened sun and falling stars. It’s that future generation that will not pass away before the second coming.

So, no, it is not scriptural to teach that the generation that sees Israel become a nation will also see the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is better to think of the generation alive when Jesus returns as the one who sees all of the signs in Matthew 24.