It would seem that the phrase “this generation” in Matthew 23:36 must be understood as a particular kind of people; namely, the seed of the serpent who have been at enmity with the seed of the woman since Genesis 3:15. This fits with the way the term “generation” can be used to refer to both the righteous (Ps 24:6) and the wicked (Ps 12:7) in the Psalter (cf. Jer 7:29), and the phrase “this generation” has typological connections with those who fell under God’s wrath at the flood (Gen 7:1) and in the wilderness (Deut 1:35). Further along these lines, on the day of Pentecost, Peter urges his audience to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38), and he “continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation’” (2:40). Paul, likewise, called the Philippians to be “without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation” (Phil 2:15).

What happens if we slot “the seed of the serpent” in for “this generation” in Matthew 24:34? The idea communicated would be that the seed of the serpent will not pass away, until all these things take place. This would explain the ongoing persecution Jesus describes his people facing throughout Matthew 24 until his coming. It would align with his statements about how when he returns he will judge the righteous and the wicked. And it would fit with the way that elsewhere the return of Christ results in the resurrection of the dead and the end of the age. - Dr. James Hamilton, Parousia: What the New Testament Says about the Second Coming