A Biblical Generation
by Paul Sides

Things happened to the Nation of Israel in the Bible as Divine examples/portraits that are designed to tell us (upon whom the ends of the ages has come) keys to the timing of end events:

1 Corinthians 10:11 (King James Version)

11Now all these things happened unto them (the Nation of Israel) for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

 
With that in mind, let us determine the meaning of the term "generation" spoken by Yahshua as it relates to the generation of His day, and the last generation of the End Times. 

YHWH spoke through His Son, Yahshua, a destruction that would come upon the generation that rejected His Son as the Messiah and King:

Mt. 23:33-34
When Yahshua was talking to the Pharisees, he didn't mince his words. In 30 AD, he told them, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous...Ye serpents, ye GENERATION of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily (Greek, amen, i.e., this is important) I say unto you, ALL THESE THINGS SHALL COME UPON THIS GENERATION." They did, 40 years later, in 70 AD.
And again YHWH spoke of this destruction to Ezekiel equating the 40 days Ezekiel was to lay on his side to bear the iniquity of the House of Judah (Jews) as 40 years:
Eze. 4:6
The LORD said to Ezekiel, "when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year." Those 40 years were fulfilled from 30 AD to 70 AD.
In Matthew 23:36 Yahshua said "all these things will come upon THIS generation" speaking of the generation living at that time having to bear the iniquity of the House of Judah for killing YHWH's prophets... namely the most anointed Messiah.  And prophetically we know I Cor. 10:11 that what happens to Israel is a prophetic portrait of End Events and timing.  So there is a correlation between the destruction/loss of the Temple due to the rejection of the King in Matthew 23, and the restoration of the Temple Mount and the return of the King in Matthew 24.
 
The question is... "when" do you start counting to determine the length of time precisely of a "generation".  It is commonly accepted that it is around 40 years.  There are several reasons for this.  First, 40 is the number of testing and probation.  YHWH warned Noah 120 days prior then caused it to rain upon the earth for 40 days, Moses spent 40 years in Egypt, 40 in the desert before YHWH appeared to him, and 40 in the desert with the Israelites, the Israelites were in the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land, Yahshua spent 40 days in the desert being "tempted and tested", and later after the resurrection Yahshua spent 40 days proving his resurrection.

But "generally 40 years" is not good enough for me.  I want to know exactly as to determine the timing of the Second Coming. 

 
We know the Messiah prophesied that within a generation of Israel declaring Him King then rejecting Him as King the Temple would be destroyed.  The time that began the "sacrifice of the Messiah" by all accounts is the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem where Yahshua was proclaimed King and the end was his death on the Cross when Yahshua declared "it is finished".  So it is my understanding that the beginning point of a "generation" is when Israel declared Yahshua King... beginning the Sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.
 
Right after telling the Pharisees in Matt 23:33-34 that they would bare the iniquity of the House of Judah fulfilling Eze 4:6 (which is 40 years) for killing YHWH's prophets, he confirmed that (in my opinion) the clock began to tick upon the Triumphal Entry... In
Matthew 23:39
"for I say to you:  From this moment you will not see me, until you say "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of YHWH"
Those Yahshu was referring to were the very ones who declared Him King upon Yahshua's entry into Jerusalem that began his sacrifice. The Gospel of Mark teaches that Yahshua went up to His final Passover in Jerusalem, SIX DAYS prior to that event. More plainly put, He entered Jerusalem, for the final time, on the 8TH DAY of the 1ST MONTH (with Passover beginning on the evening of the 14th day at sunset).

Now look at this: Take out a calendar, and count how many days there are from this date (8TH of 1ST) until Tisha B'Av (9TH day of 5TH month):

8th day of 1st month = April 13, 2000
9th day of 5th month = August 10, 2000
Using Jewish inclusive reckoning, that means there are exactly 120 days between those anniversary dates. Also, as you know this is very significant a number, since it represents a period of testing and probation (i.e. the time mentioned before Noah's flood). As well, there are a total of 120 of these "120 day periods", in a biblical generation (3 per year X 40 years = 120).

Therefore, a Biblical Generation is 40 years 120 days.