So? How Long Should We Wait for Jesus to Come Back?
I ain't waitin' any longer!
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As long as it takes
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Haven't you guys heard, Jesus has already returned, about 50 times.... How come you believe Jesus was telling the truth and not these guys? They have almost all performed eye witness verified miracles, healed the sick etc etc. Side: I ain't waitin' any longer!
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Because this world having been made in six days, it is believed that it will last only six thousand years. - Jerome
The six mystic days of creation are intended to signify the six thousand years of the world's duration. - Father G. Rossi Since, then, in six days God made all things, it follows that six thousand years must be fulfilled. - Hippolytus
We shall be immortal when six thousand years are accomplished - Commodianus We expect...that truly holy day...shall come after those six days, or six thousand years of time, - Gaudentius In six thousand years, all things shall be accomplished. - Barnabas The world is to exist six thousand years. - Babylonian Talmud The world was ordained to endure, as all learned men affirm, six thousand years. - Latimer The world endures six thousand years. - Eliyahu It appears that [for Earth] to complete...such synchronisms there will be required six thousands of years. - Bardesan The world must continue in its present state through six ages, that is, six thousand years. - Lactantius This world...will come to an end at the sixth thousand year. - Irenaeus In six thousand years the Creator will bring all things to an End. - Epistle of Barnabas Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one thousand, the seventh, it shall be desolate, - Rabbi Kattina The world is to exist six thousand years. - Tanna Eliyyahu These things did Bardesan thus compute when desiring to show that this world would stand only six thousands of years. - Philip It is a common belief that the world will last six thousand years. - Jerome This world shall last only about six thousand years, because such is the common opinion and expectation of humanity. - Father G. Rossi The works of the creation...according to a tradition which was attributed to the prophet Elijah, was fixed to six thousand years. - Edward Gibbon Side: As long as it takes
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It's worth noting that this is the interpretation that was held by the Church Fathers. Paul in particular is shown to be quite enthusiastic towards the return of his Christ Jesus in 1 Thessalonians (Estimated to have been written in the 50s). "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."- 1 Thess. 4:16-17. We get a similar sentiment in the next chapter. "For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord [a]will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “ Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober... For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."- Thess. 5:2-11. Paul is encouraging the flock to be watchful; after all, God is like a thief in the night, and will arrive any day now! The Gospel writers, particularly the original author of Mark, seem to have had similar sentiments. Observe: And Jesus was saying to them, “ Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”- Mark 8:39-9:1. "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place."- Mark 13:30. For reference, a [generation] usually meant approximately 40 years. What exactly is Mark referring to here? Well, what was Jesus just talking about? "“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven."- Mark 13:24-26. And just to ram the point home? "Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door."- Mark 13:29. The fact remains that the Church believed in an immediate apocalypse: if Jesus existed whether or not he actually preached this is unclear; given the climate at the time and the tendency of those like him, he probably did. But that's irrelevant, because it's what Paul and the other earliest Church writers (You can find similar sentiments in Matthew and Luke) believed. You can argue that what Jesus was predicting DID happen via Preterism, but to argue for his glorious return, the Rapture (which was completely made up of whole cloth; it can't be found anywhere in the Bible), et al is likely is a rather... naive attitude, given what the texts actually state. Side: As long as it takes
Ignoring the date of whether Christ really existed or not, there was no mention of when Jesus would return in the bible. What makes you any different from the people who have been waiting for the last however many millennia? If Christ was to appear on Earth it may not be in my lifetime, or even my great grandchilds lifetime. It's called a 'faith' for a reason. Side: As long as it takes
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