The juxtaposition of the two questions in Matthew and the two answers has led readers to assume they are asking about the same general time and thus the answer is supposedly about the same general time. That was an assumption in the questions, but it is not necessarily present in the answer. Clearly, it was an assumption evident in the expectation of disciples that both events are near to one another, i.e., that the Temple's destruction would happen around the same time as the Second Coming of Christ (cf. Acts 1:6-7; John 21:20-23).

However, it may be that the two time periods are connected by many commentators by a hasty assumption in reading the passage. Jesus very well did not likely mean to connect His second coming to the Temple destruction prophecy. However, for purposes of this knol, we will indulge in that common assumption because there are other significant solutions that more easily resolve this issue.

Thus as many read the passage, and as critics who claim Jesus is a false prophet read it,  Jesus supposedly leads his disciples to believe his prophecies of calamities would take place at the same time the Temple would be destroyed (which event took place in 70 AD). This is the key quote:

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.'' (Matthew 24:34)

"Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.'' (Mark 13:30)

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.'' (Luke 21:32)

Was that a false prophecy? How could it be that "this generation'' would see the end-times calamities, including Christ's return, which necessarily is in the future, yet the Temple was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago? How can all these things -- Temple Destruction and Christ's return -- both have taken place in "this generation" when one of the two prophecies has taken place 2000 years ago but not the other?

A Jewish critic who believes Jesus is a false prophet argues thusly:

Jesus explicitly describes his Second Coming: "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the nations of the earth will mourn (Matthew 24:30)." It will involve suffering "never to be equaled again (Matthew 24:21)." This did not happen when the Temple was destroyed.[1]

There are two traditional rebuttal explanations.

First, the preterist view, which says all these things did happen in Jesus' generation (i.e., 40 years from his death) including Christ's private return, but this is flawed because the preterist view requires an invisible coming, which Jesus denied is how He will return (Matt. 24:26-27).

The second explanation is the Futurist explanation which says Jesus meant "this generation" as the one alive in the future. A Jewish critic rebuts this, saying: "The idea that Jesus is referring to a future generation fails too. Throughout this speech Jesus refers to his audience as "you." When Jesus says, "when you see... (v.15)"[2]

Genea Used As Genos To Mean People, Race, Nation, etc.

However, Jared Olar summarizes a third view: what if when Jesus used the word "generation'' (Greek genea), He didn't mean the same thing that we mean? What if He wasn't using "generation'' to refer to a group of people all living at the same period of history? [3]

According to Archer, sometimes genea ("generation'') was used as a synonym of genos ("race,'' "stock,'' "nation,'' "people''). Archer writes:

The Greek meaning of genea is, to the contrary, expansive enough in usage to mean people, race, etc. In such a case, the contradiction disappears, suggesting that too much emphasis is put by Wikipedia on the ordinary meaning of genea to create a contradiction.

Thus, a legitimate way to read Jesus is that "this people shall not pass away / will continue to exist until all these things be fulfilled."

C.S. Lewis Admits 'Error' But Then Contrary Text Follows

C.S. Lewis despaired at finding a solution to this passage. Lewis reluctantly conceded to the assertion of the skeptics that Jesus was in error. He attributed this to the supposedly limited knowledge Jesus had in His incarnate human form. He despairingly wrote:

“Say what you like," we shall be told [by some critics], "the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false.  It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime.  And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing.  Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion.  He said in so many words, 'This generation shall not pass till all these things be done.'  And he was wrong.  He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else."

It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible.  Yet how teasing, also, that within fourteen words of it should come the statement "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."  The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side.[11]

'Time of the Gentiles' Quote

In the Lucan amplification of the Matthew discourse, a long period lies between the destruction of Jerusalem and the apocalyptic events which precede His coming:

Luke 21:24, “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

This supports reading the two points as distinct -- the Temple destruction is a long time prior to the "time of the Gentiles." Hence, this also supports that genea was used as genos in this passage, as Archer says there are several examples in Greek literature of this usage.

Conclusion