One
generation passeth away, and another generation cometh:
but the earth abideth for ever. Ecclesiastes 1:4.
Who
laid the foundations of the earth,
That it should not be removed for ever. Psalm 104:5.
As
these texts show, the idea of the end of the world is denied
by some texts, but the New Testament is quite different. Not
only does it promise the end of the world (2 Peter 3:10,
Hebrews 1:10-12) but three of the four gospels quote Jesus as
predicting when it would happen.
And
as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came
unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these
things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and
of the end of the world?... Matthew 24:3.
Verily
I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all
these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:34-35.
(See
Matthew 24:3-35, Mark 13:3-31, Luke 21:7-33).
The
notion of an imminent judgment day, so prominent in the New
Testament (see also Matthew 16:27-28, Mark 8:38; 9:1, Luke
9:26-27, John 5:25-29, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, Hebrews
10:37, Revelation 1:1-3, 4:1, 22:6-7), rests uneasily with
nearly twenty centuries of subsequent history.
Even
in New Testament times, the belief that Christ would return
within a generation was causing trouble (for example, 1
Corinthians 15:13-19, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), but the most
interesting of these texts is at the end of the fourth
gospel. Peter asked what was to become of his disciple John:
Jesus
said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until
I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" The saying
spread among the brethren that his disciple was not to
die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die,
but "If it is my will that he remain until I come,
what is that to you?" John 21:22-23, Revised
Standard Version.
This
comes close to a direct repudiation of every New Testament
text which predicts the return of Christ within a generation.
