Did the first christians believe the end was nigh?

[Birdjaguar]

I decided to pick up on tangent in the “green fundamentalist” thread and continue it here. Quasar had posted here:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=2903440

I have quoted a few of the NT passages that confirm that early Christians believed the second coming was at hand. Some are Jesus’ words, others are those of the apostles. If these are not enough, I will post more. Please don’t go through this list and tell me how or why I have misinterpreted the text because of a faulty understanding of “this” or “his” or an obscure link to Daniel or Psalms. This is what the apostles wrote. Clearly the quick return of Jesus was still in the forefront of Christians’ minds 50 years after his death. The passages come from the gospels as well as the other books of the NT.

As it turned out, Jesus was a no show the second time around. The book of Revelations (written around 100 AD) becomes a way to mask this failure. If Jesus shows up soon, everything is cool, it he doesn’t, the day can easily be reckoned to be later by an appropriate interpretation of the text. And that is exactly what has happened. Getting new converts is easier if it’s your last chance. “Repent, the end is near.” Periodically, the Catholic Church is hit by waves of eschatology (end of things). In recent centuries we see it regularly in protestant faiths. Every group uses the same material (the bible) to announce the coming of the kingdom. Every time they get a new wave of converts and religious zeal. Every group for 2000 years has been wrong.

As a result, every new group must claim others had it wrong, but now the truth is known. The end is soon, so believe. Your claim to more superior knowledge than all previous religious leaders, as well as, the apostles has no basis other than wishful thinking. You pick bible verses that support your goal and ignore or “reinterpret” those that make your case weaker. It’s like the whole psalm 91 thing. Prior to the first Iraq war no one claimed that that psalm was prophetic and described our yet to be executed invasion. After the war, a hundred religious leaders claimed the psalm proved the prophetic nature of the bible because it described the 1991 war. None of those guys were on their soapboxes in 1985 saying that psalm 91 described the next war in Iraq. How stupid is that.

Here is the list of scripture that shows that Christians believed the second coming was nigh upon them. (All Scripture taken from the NASB.)

Jesus to His twelve apostles:
...you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes. (Mt.10:23)

Jesus to His disciples:
...there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (Mt.16:27,28)

Jesus to His disciples:
...this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (Mt.24:34, See Lk.21:32)

Jesus to the high priest:
...hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. (Mt.26:64)

Jesus to His disciples and the crowd:
...there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power. (Mk.9:1)

Jesus to the disciples:
...there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God. (Lk.9:27)

Jesus to Nathaniel:
...you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. (Jn.1:51)

Paul to all who were beloved of God in Rome:
...it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. (Ro.13:11,12)

Paul to the church of God at Corinth:
...you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Cor.1:7,8)
...the time has been shortened. (1Cor.7:29)
...the form of this world is passing away. (1Cor.7:31)
Now these things ... were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages has come. (1Cor.10:11)
...we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed... (1Cor.15:51)
...I hope you will understand until the end...(2Cor.1:3)

Paul to Timothy:
I charge you ... that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ ... (1Tim.6:13,14)

Paul to Titus:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

To the Hebrews:
God...in these last days has spoken to us in His Son... (Heb.1:1,2)
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end; (Heb.3:14)
But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. (Heb.8:13)
For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;... (Heb.9:24)
...you see the day drawing near. (Heb.10:25)
For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. (Heb.10:37)

James to the twelve tribes who were dispersed abroad:
Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. (James 5:7)
...the coming of the Lord is at hand. ...the Judge is standing right at the door. (James 5:7-9)
..the Judge is standing right at the door. (James 5:9)

Peter to those who resided as aliens:
...according to His great mercy has caused us...who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1Pet.1:3,5)
...you...may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1Pet.1:6,7)
...grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1Pet.1:13)
He...has appeared in these last times for the sake of you... (1Pet.1:20)
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1Pet.2:12)
...but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1Pet.4:5)
The end of all things is at hand...(1Pet.4:7)
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God... (1Pet.4:17)
Therefore I ... a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, (1Pet.5:1)
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1Pet.5:4)

Peter to those who had received the faith:
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2Pet.3:13)
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,... (2Pet.3:14)

John to those who believed in the name of the Son of God:
...the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. (1Jn.2:8)
And the world is passing away... (1Jn.2:17)
Children, it is the last hour...from this we know that it is the last hour. (1Jn.2:18)
We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. (1Jn.3:2)
...we may have confidence in the day of judgment...(1Jn.4:17)

 

[Shadylookin]

Did the first christians believe the end was nigh?

yes, obviously since there are dozens of bible verses claiming or implying so. Not to mention most christians have always believed the end would come within their lifetime even these days somewhere around 60% of them say the world will end within 50 years. The jehovahs witnesses predicted the end would come about 6 times last century yet it never did.

 

[BasketCase]

Every generation seems to do this. Not everyone in each one, and perhaps just a noisy minority sometimes (or maybe all the time), but there always seems to be a big clutch of people who are certain their generation is the last.

Hell, when the year 1000 came around, everybody who lived by a calendar that said the year 1000 was coming was overcome with terror of the "Y1K" bug.

I kid you not. There were numerous incidents of civil disorder as the year 1000 approached. It was uncannily similar to our hyped-out reaction to the Y2K bug.

 

[VoodooAce]

Lol....the YK1 bug.

But its true. Every generation has its 'the end is near' crowd, this one being no exception.

Of course, the last couple have been a bit different because of the additional possible causes for 'the end'.....or at least their awareness of them.

 

[CurtSibling]

Basketcase and VooDooAce sum it all up pretty much...

.

 

[Rik Meleet]

Yes, they definately believed that.
When some of them died and it still hasn't happened, they invented the "graves will be opened" etc. theory so the earliest-followers who had died would still be a part of when the "son of man" returned.

 

[classical_hero]

Yes, they definately believed that.
When some of them died and it still hasn't happened, they invented the "graves will be opened" etc. theory so the earliest-followers who had died would still be a part of when the "son of man" returned.

They did not invent that bit up, about the Graves opening. That was even mentioned in Daniel.
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

The funny thing is that the world as we know it IS coming to an end, very soon, due to climate change. No doubt when it all starts unravelling and hitting the fan, millions will flock to these false apocalyptic faiths.

 

[Azadre]

How quaint. Of course all our religions could be false and Allah can just be viewed as the creator and has no relationship with the creation.

 

[CurtSibling]

They did not invent that bit up, about the Graves opening. That was even mentioned in Daniel.
Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Yes, anyone can write anything in a book, CH!

But the flying up to heaven thing is strictly metaphorical, with the
Jesus coming back from death and the dead walking - It is a myth, a tale...

And I think just about any lucid religious person can accept that...

At least I hope so.

.

 

[Sickman]

Believing into the words of the prophets about world coming to end or other things is like trusting weathermen and economists.
You don't know if it's true what they tell you before you are soaking wet or your pockets are empty.

People believe in to anything that gives themselves or others hope and also gives chance to promote their political and social propaganda.

The faith is never stronger than when person believes he is dying or he is suffering and someone promises him a place in more comfortable afterlife.

Sure, some possible believed into it just like some possible didn't.
There were probably hard times and people were trembling in their faith (lack of donations/envy towards others not in faith and their "immoral" belongings and actions) which caused to some starting to reclaim that end is near in order to give mouth-to-mouth treatment to the faith in the community.

These movements that claim to know when the end of world is coming come and go. They find the interpretarions of religious texts that they can use in order to prove their point, rally some people behind their movement and eventually achieve their mundane goal. Just like what zeals do to some young muslims in order to these people to go and kill themselves with others.
Some are just crazy enough to believe such nonsense.
For some the end is always very very near.

 

[classical_hero]

Yes, anyone can write anything in a book, CH!

But the flying up to heaven thing is strictly metaphorical, with the
Jesus coming back from death and the dead walking - It is a myth, a tale...

And I think just about any lucid religious person can accept that...

At least I hope so.

.

Obviously you missed the point of my post. I was replying to RM about the fact that the Graves opened part was ande up, but the Disciples of Jesus, considering that is what this thread is about. I was showing that this was also believed n the past, even before Jesus was born. Here is some more.
Job 19:25-27 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
This is coming from one of the earlies books ever written in the Bible. Showing that this is a belif throughout the whole Bible. Jews are looking for the coming Messiah, whereas we are looking for the Second Coming of the Messiah. It will be easy to notice him, because he will have nail prints in his hands and feet, and will have a wound on the side of his body. And no, this is talking in literal terms, not metaphorical, as you say.

 

[blackheart]

The end IS near! It's always right around the corner.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

It will be easy to notice him, because he will have nail prints in his hands and feet, and will have a wound on the side of his body. And no, this is talking in literal terms, not metaphorical, as you say.

There must be literally millions of people walking around at this moment who by chance have those same exact markings. If there were ever such a person, who was god incarnate, his true nature would be obvious, and you wouldnt have to check his hands to know who he was.

 

[CurtSibling]

Obviously you missed the point of my post. I was replying to RM about the fact that the Graves opened part was ande up, but the Disciples of Jesus, considering that is what this thread is about. I was showing that this was also believed n the past, even before Jesus was born. Here is some more.
Job 19:25-27 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

I accept the fact that you were making an example from your data....

Please spare me the bible sermon, I am atheist, remember?

This is coming from one of the earlies books ever written in the Bible. Showing that this is a belif throughout the whole Bible. Jews are looking for the coming Messiah, whereas we are looking for the Second Coming of the Messiah. It will be easy to notice him, because he will have nail prints in his hands and feet, and will have a wound on the side of his body. And no, this is talking in literal terms, not metaphorical, as you say.

So you have literal belief in all these parts of the bible?

I can accept some parts are coloured by history events, but there is no messiah coming.

Mankind must solve the problems alone...That is our goal...

.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

*points at article in The Economist*

 

[Birdjaguar]

How quaint. Of course all our religions could be false and Allah can just be viewed as the creator and has no relationship with the creation.

The inability of a religion to forecast the future is not a sign that it is necssarily false unless it's core belief depend upon those forecasts. A christianity that focuses on the end of days will have credibility problems when their prophecy fails. We've seen it in the past and will see it again in the future. The non commital "soon" is frequently used. A chrstianity that focuses on love, service or other such things will stay "in style" far longer.

I don't know how Islam deals with the end of time.

 

[Speedo]

As it turned out, Jesus was a no show the second time around.

Jesus never said a word about when he would return. In fact, he specifically stated that "only the Father [God] knows the hour." (I noticed you left that quote out).

The rest of your post is pointless, since humans have been misinterpreting God's words since the beginning of time.

 

[Sickman]

The rest of your post is pointless, since humans have been misinterpreting God's words since the beginning of time.

You probably mean "bible's words"
(Someone might find this debatable)

 

[Romanfe]

How quaint. Of course all our religions could be false and Allah can just be viewed as the creator and has no relationship with the creation.

or silly religious beliefs like the moon god allah could be disposed of entirely and some human progress actually be made.

Science and religion, oil and water.

I think its fun to read about end times in religious texts, they are all so violent, turned me off their faiths immediately.