What does the Bible say about the end of the world?

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What does the Bible say about the end of the world? Was the end of the world to come in the lifetime of the NT authors or soon?

[POI]

What does the Bible say about the end of the world?

https://www.christianity.com/wiki/end-t ... world.html

Was the end of the world to come in the lifetime of the NT authors or soon?

I think Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher. He was wrong. The Bible was written later. The Bible writers obviously did not think the world was going to end with Jesus, as he was already long gone before the final canon was endorsed. But I'm willing to bet my life savings the NT writers did not think the world would last, as is, as long as it has.

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What does the Bible say about the end of the world? Was the end of the world to come in the lifetime of the NT authors or soon?

this good news of the reign shall be proclaimed in all the world, for a testimony to all the nations; and then shall the end arrive.
Matt. 24:14

[TRANSPONDER]

Of course , this is indefinitely deferred such as not yet totally preached to all nations, but realistically, the end should have come long before. As indeed End of world preachers keep saying is going to happen soon and there are probably some end of world prophecies floating about right now.

For the goddless, I or we see pretty clearly that the disciples, Paul and the initial gospel writers expected the End to come in their lifetimes. Though I suspect that Luke was late enough to realise it ought to have happened by his time and was toying with the idea that it had happened but only in the form of the church and inner faith, though I doubt even he was really convinced by that.

From what I gather, the Pharisee belief was that the messiah would come with trumpets and drums, smite and judge the unrighteous and rule as God's chosen over Israel and Israel would rule everyone left as the associate Gentiles who observed the Noahide laws would be needed to serve tea and sweep the yard. This is why we have a contradictory promise (or threat) that we die, are judged and sent to heaven or hell straight away. But also the dead are supposed to come out of their graves to be judged. Of course something could be made up but the cognitive dissonnance between the two contradictory scenarios can only be explained by the 11th Commandment 'Thou shalt not doubt or question".

[theophile]

What does the Bible say about the end of the world? Was the end of the world to come in the lifetime of the NT authors or soon?

From 1 Corinthians 15:
"Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ... And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all."

See also Matthew 24 for example:
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

So no, not likely to happen in the lifetime of the NT authors or anytime soon, even though they didn't preclude that possibility and called for the disciples to be ready. But given the end requires that death itself has been conquered, I would wager we're still pretty far off at this point.

[JehovahsWitness]

What does the Bible say about the end of the world?

A great deal.

Was the end of the world to come in the lifetime of the NT authors ...?

No it was not.



JEHOVAH'S WITNESS



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[JehovahsWitness]

... But given the end requires that death itself has been conquered, I would wager we're still pretty far off at this point.

I think the OP is asking about the end of the present world system of things; when Paul refered to "the end" in 1 Corinthians, I think he was referring to "the end" of DEATH itself (compare verses 54-57)

[TRANSPONDER]

What does the Bible say about the end of the world?

A great deal.

Was the end of the world to come in the lifetime of the NT authors ...?

No it was not.



JEHOVAH'S WITNESS



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viewtopic.php?p=1032146#p1032146

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No. It's cherry picking and rewriting what it says to mean something else and the Gospels make it clear that it was going to happen in their time. By the time the gospels were written, not only later than Paul but later than the Jewish war, or that's my argument Matthew had to fudge and rely on 'nobody knows exactly when'to cover up the fact that it was getting late and the Pizza still hadn't arrived. And as I say, by Luke's time, I think he was trying to redefine the event to make it means something else. Now however the apologists blandly say it will happen soon and never mind we've been waiting 2,000 years already and they rewrite or ignore what the Bible itself says that it would happen in their time.

I know the apologists will rewrite generation to mean human species as long as it lives or 'soon'to mean as long as you like, but reasonable people who do not like the pestiferous activities of doorstoop bamboozlers will not be fooled.

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No. It's cherry picking and rewriting what it says to mean something else and the Gospels make it clear that it was going to happen in their time. By the time the gospels were written, not only later than Paul but later than the Jewish war, or that's my argument Matthew had to fudge and rely on 'nobody knows exactly when'to cover up the fact that it was getting late and the Pizza still hadn't arrived. And as I say, by Luke's time, I think he was trying to redefine the event to make it means something else. Now however the apologists blandly say it will happen soon and never mind we've been waiting 2,000 years already and they rewrite or ignore what the Bible itself says that it would happen in their time.

I know the apologists will rewrite generation to mean human species as long as it lives or 'soon'to mean as long as you like, but reasonable people who do not like the pestiferous activities of doorstoop bamboozlers will not be fooled.

I think skeptics tend to mistake the transfiguration, the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus being at the right hand of power, and John's Revelation at Patmos for the end of the world.

Matthew 16:28 - Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. (Also see Mark 9:1; Luke 9:27)

The Interpreter's Bible says: "The prediction was not fulfilled, and later Christians found it necessary to explain that it was metaphorical."

What believers and skeptics alike seem to have glossed over is the fact that in the very next verse Matthew reveals that just 6 days later this prophecy was fulfilled. Peter, James and John witnessed the transfiguration. (Matthew 17:1-2; Luke 9:27-36; 2 Peter 1:16-18)

Matthew 23:36 - Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. (Also see Matthew 24:34; Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32)

All of the above verses differ from the verses given in consideration of Matthew 16:28. British scholar G. R. Beasley-Murray: "The phrase 'this generation' should cause no difficulty for interpreters. While admittedly genea in earlier Greek meant birth, progeny, and so race, . . . in the [Greek Septuagint] it most frequently translated the Hebrew term dor, meaning age, age of humankind, or generation in the sense of contemporaries. . . . In sayings attributed to Jesus the term appears to have a twofold connotation: on the one hand it always signifies his contemporaries, and on the other hand it always carries an implicit criticism."

So, Jesus could have been directing that statement to the Jewish opposition there around him at that time, who, within a generation would see the destruction of Jerusalem in 66 - 70 CE by Titus, the son of Emperor Vespasian where 1,100,000 Jews died and 97,000 were taken captive, most of whom died horrible deaths and the Christians who knew it would come were saved. (Matthew 24:16, 22) And Jesus may have been applying the same to those in opposition in the future as well.

Matthew 26:64 and Mark 14:62 are parallel accounts to one another and you won't have to wait or look far to see them fulfilled. Acts 7:55-56: "But he, being full of holy spirit gazed into heaven and caught sight of God's glory and of Jesus standing at God's right hand, and he said: "Look! I behold the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God's right hand." Also see Psalm 110:1; Luke 22:69; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1.

John 21:20-23 is somewhat interesting. Jesus may have been telling Peter that John would live longer than him, and in fact John would live 70 years, but also, he might have (I think more likely) been referring to the prophetic vision that John was given at the end of his life while in exile on the island of Patmos. As recorded in the book of Revelation John was transported to "the Lords Day." (Revelation 1:1, 10; Revelation 22:20)

Jesus taught his followers that no one, not even Jesus himself, knew the time of the end of the world. (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7)

Also, at this point some clarification should be made as to what exactly is the "end of the world." The Bible says that Earth was given to man for him to fill and subdue it, that the meek will inherit the earth and live forever upon it, and that it will last forever. (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 37:29; 115:16; Ecclesiastes 1:4) The end of the world is the end of the present system and all that involves. Of Satan's influence and sin, which, when concluding brings much destruction, but when ended, allows peace.

1 Corinthians 1:7-8; 7:29; Philippians 1:10 all convey the importance of the missionary work in the early stages of Christianity. They all had important work to do before the end of their lives. Nowhere in any of these passages is it conveyed that they expected the end of the system of things to occur during that time.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 is often used to support the rapture, but actually it is referring to some who were mourning the death of their fellow Christians. Paul was reminding them as well as faithful Christians in the future of the resurrection hope, some to heaven immediately upon death and some to paradise earth upon resurrection.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 refers to the presence of Jesus Christ. The Greek noun parousia is used. It means "being alongside." In his work on The Parousia, Israel P. Warren, D.D., wrote: "Had our translators done with this technical word 'Parousia' as they did with 'baptisma,' - transferring it unchanged, - or if translated using its exact etymological equivalent, presence, and had it been well understood, as it then would have been, that there is no such thing as a 'Second Presence,' I believe that the entire doctrine would have been different from what it now is. The phrases, 'second advent,' and 'second coming,' would never have been heard of. The church would have been taught to speak of The Presence of the Lord, as that from which its hopes were to be realized, whether in the near future or at the remotest period, - that under which the world was to be made new, a resurrection both spiritual and corporeal should be attained, and justice and everlasting awards administered."

The word occurs 24 times in the Christian Greek scripture: Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 16:17; 2 Corinthians 7:6, 7; 10:10; Philippians 1:26; 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28.

Pareimi is a related verb with the similar meaning of being present. It also occurs 24 times in the Christian Greek scripture: Matthew 26:50; Luke 13:1; John 7:6; 11:28; Acts 10:21, 33; 12:20; 17:6; 24:19; Acts 12:20; 1 Corinthians 5:3, 3; 2 Corinthians 10:2, 11; 2 Corinthians 11:9; 13:2, 10; Galatians 4:18, 20; Colossians 1:6; Hebrews 12:11; 13:5; 2 Peter 1:9, 12; Revelation 17:8.

The Greek word, eleusis (Latin adventu), which conveys the physical act of coming is different and only occurs once in the Christian Greek scripture, at Acts 7:52. Paul was encouraging those with a heavenly hope to remain blameless until their death, or the conclusion of the system of things and the presence, not the physical presence, of Jesus Christ.

In discussing Hebrews 1:2; 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20; 4:7 it is somewhat difficult to stay on topic of the so-called end of the world because the last days that Paul was referring to were not the last days of the present system of things, but rather the last days of the Jewish system of things. Jehovah had given the prophecy of those days 850 years earlier. (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:16-21; Hebrews 1:1-2) It was the end of God's favor upon the Jewish congregation and the beginning of his favor for the new Christian congregation.

1 John 2:18 refers to the end of the apostolic period. The work mentioned as important in the scriptures at the beginning of this article were near completion and would conclude upon the death of John shortly after he completed the writing of Revelation.

It is interesting that, as with the case of Philippians 4:5, the Lord that is being referred to isn't Jesus Christ but rather, Jehovah. Codex Sinaiticus, Greek, fourth century CE, Codex Alexandrinus, Greek, fifth century CE, Vatican ms 1209, Greek, fourth century CE, Christian Greek Scriptures in 12 languages, including Hebrew, by Elias Hutter, Nuremberg, 1599, Christian Greek Scriptures, Hebrew, by William Robertson, London, 1661, and the Latin Vulgate, by Jerome, c. 400 CE (Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem) all read Jehovah.

James 5:7-8 is talking about the presence (parousia) mentioned earlier in this article.

At Hebrews 10:37 Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:2-3 from the Greek Septuagint, which reads "And the Lord answered [me] and said: Write a vision; write it distinctly in a book that the reader may trace these things [may run]; for the vision is for a time yet to come. But it will spring up at last and will not be vain. Though he may tarry, wait for him; for he will assuredly come and will not fail [and will not tarry]."

Revelation 1:1, 3; 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20 may undoubtedly amuse the skeptic, who, of course, is familiar with the Biblical fact that a thousand years are as a watch in the night to God (Psalm 90:4), but to the writers of the Bible, especially John when writing Revelation and who would die shortly afterward, the resurrection hope would follow sleep in death which would seem, upon that resurrection, as the same day as they died, though it actually had been thousands of years.

[theophile]

... But given the end requires that death itself has been conquered, I would wager we're still pretty far off at this point.

I think the OP is asking about the end of the present world system of things; when Paul refered to "the end" in 1 Corinthians, I think he was referring to "the end" of DEATH itself (compare verses 54-57)

They are one and the same to me. The end that Paul speaks of is both the end of the present world order (/generation) and the end of death itself (the present generation being marked by death since Adam's fall).

What else would Paul be referring to when he speaks of "all dominion, power, and authority" other than the present world order?