Birdjaguar said:
And you think that you even have a clue when it's actually going to happen?
Why, yes, we do. Although we do not know the day, we do know the general time.
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door."
We know that it is near, because we can see the signs leading up to it.
Birdjaguar said:
Those who actually knew jesus, lived with him and heard him speak, thought that armagedon was coming right after jesus died.
This statement is factually wrong. John wrote Revelation, the only book which mentions Armageddon. John outlived all the other apostles, and wrote the Book of Revelation as an old man. The other apostles would not have known of this prediction. Jesus revealed His future career to John, more fully than He did the other apostles.
Also, to suggest that the apostles believed that Jesus 2nd coming would immediately follow His 1st, ignores the great commission.
Acts 1:4-8
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "
Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them:
"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
In that day, travel was very slow. The apostles knew that the gospel had to be preached "to the ends of the earth". None of them saw this occur during their lifetime. No, those who lived and talked with Jesus while He walked the Earth, were more concerned about spreading the gospel, than about Armageddon. History bears this out.
Sorry if this is a bit off topic. I yield the floor.
