JehovahsWitness wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 10:05 am
Skeptical wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 4:41 am
Why would first century Christians who were living in in
Asia and Africa be concerned about the catastrophic events that would occur in Jerusalem foretold by Jesus in
Matthew 24:14?
Matthew 24:14 does not speak about events in Jerusalem. The verses that concern Jerusalem and the end if the temple based system of worship there are
Luke 21:20 -24
Would 1st century Christians in far away regions have been concerned about the plight of Jerusalem as described in Luke 21:20 -24?
Christians living outside the region would , (we can presume), have been concerned for the plight of their brethren, but they would not have been directly effected by the fulfillment of the features of Jesus prophecy that applied to the destruction lf Jerusalem.
I think its fair to say hearing that Jesus had predicted such a catastrophic event more than 30 years before it happened and that his predictions came true, would be faith strengthening for Christians wherever they lived, even though those outside of Judea would not have had to follow the specific instructions he gave .
JW
Thank you for that clarification with Luke 21:20-24. Also, I used Matthew 24:14 because I was guessing that it is the more popular chapter of the synoptic gospels that Christians use to demonstrate last days prophecy. However, at the end of verse 14, there's a phrase, which is primarily the same in most of the translations that I've seen, and they are the words, "and then the end will come." Therefore, the point that I have been trying to make with this thread is:
Is it true that for Christians who lived outside of Judea, the meaning of the end coming was supposed to have been referring to some sort of remote time period that was far away from their current time period? (Because my contention is that non-Judean Christians in the first century had the belief that the end would come during their lifetime.)
P.S.
JehovahsWitness wrote: ↑Sun Jun 04, 2023 10:05 am
I think its fair to say hearing that Jesus had predicted such a catastrophic event more than 30 years before it happened and that his predictions came true, would be faith strengthening for Christians wherever they lived, even though those outside of Judea would not have had to follow the specific instructions he gave .
JW
Well, I've heard the argument that a lot of Bible prophecies were written after the fact, however, I have not studied that idea enough for me to give any further explanation on it.