I personally liked the German bible much more. Now it’s German so I took it upon myself to translate it from German into English. And I believe what they are saying makes a lot of sense. They say the Greek word for “sorrows” actually means “labor pains”. Famine, earthquakes and conflicts have always characterized life in this evil world. But the Lord describes these things as a beginning of labor pains and at the end of this age, these things will become more severe and will announce a soon-coming arrival of the Messiah, who will judge sinning mankind and establish his one-thousand year rule.
When the fig tree brings forth leaves, summer is not far off. And when the last labor pains begin, then Christ’s arrival is near and at the door. This generation cannot refer to the generation which lived at the time of Jesus because all these things did not happen during his lifetime. The abomination of desolation, the persecutions, the being dragged before courts, the false prophets, the heavenly signs, Christ’s return and the gathering together of his elect. Most likely Christ referred with this generation to the generation which lives at the time when the last heavy labor pains begin. This would fit with the lecture of the fig tree. It is only a short time when all of this will happen.