Jesus' Failed Prophesy
That the End Was Near
This article examines the statements Jesus made that seemingly predicted the end of the world and his return to earth. His predictions indicate he thought the event(s) would happen well within the lifetime of some of his contemporaries. Not only did that prediction not occur, the prophesy does not "hold together" in terms of consistency and logical content.
Several relevant Biblical prophesies Jesus made, along with a quote by Saint Paul, are presented:
(1) Matthew 24:33-34 - After prophesying a wide assortment of events to his disciples, including the "second coming," Jesus said, "This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place." The linguistics indicate that he was clearly referring to the generation existing at the time, not (say) to the Jewish nation, the church, all past and future believers in Christ, or some other forced and arbitrary grouping of people who have things in common. Mark 13:30 and Luke 21:32 say the same thing as this passage, in almost the same words.
(2) Matthew 26:64 - When brought before Caiaphas, the Chief Priest, Jesus said to him, "I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man coming...on the clouds of heaven." According to this, the second coming was to happen during Caiaphas' lifetime.
(3) Matthew 16:27-28 - Jesus said to his disciples, "There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
(4) Luke 21:36 - While prophesying his second coming, Jesus warns his disciples, "Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."
(5) I Thessalonians 4:15-17 - In his first Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul assures the congregation that the second coming of Jesus is very near..."we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord...will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself...will come down from heaven...and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds..."
Interpreting the Above Scripture
As evidence that his disciples took him at his word that the second coming was imminent, this doctrine was put into practice in the early Christian community. Explaining to his disciples to rely on God and believing the end of the world to be approaching, Jesus had told his disciples to get rid of all their possessions (Luke 12:33, 18:22). Paul told Christians not to waste time getting married for, "...because of the present distress: that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is...don't look for a wife...the time is running out...For this world in its present form is passing away" (I Corinthians 7:26-31).
If the gospels are correct in their reporting of Jesus' claims, his error in prophesy seriously undermines his credibility, authority, and claim to divinity. Does this not also equally undermine the authority of the Christian Churches? On the other hand, if it is argued that the gospels are incorrect, doesn't their very incorrectness seriously undermine the credibility of the New Testament? Even if one were to presume that God willfully inspired the broken promise in order to test the faith of believers, why should anyone believe any of the scriptures if they could be false?
A response sometimes used by Christians to "rescue" Jesus' prophesy regarding the second coming is to appeal to 2 Peter 3:8: "...that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day." Use of this rather obscure Biblical passage to support the thesis that Jesus meant something other than he actually said is shallow sophistry, for a look at the words quoted in Matthew and Luke indicate Jesus was speaking plainly and clearly. There is no reason to believe that, in Jesus' promise, the reckoning was by other than by man's years. The fact is that, in communications with humans, everyone understands that one day does not equal 1,000 years any more than one dollar equals one thousand dollars. Anyone who borrows a dollar from you today, with the promise of paying it back tomorrow, is obligated to pay it back within 24 hours (earth time). If, instead of a dollar, the next day the borrower voices some nonsensical excuse about paying you back in a thousand years, he/she has broken his/her promise. The common understanding for such transactions is that 1 day = 24 hours (earth time).
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