Did the early church believe the end was near?

[Achilles6129]

Did the early church believe the end was near? If the apostles knew it was going to be thousands of years away, why didn't they warn us it would be so long (from human standards of time, anyways)?

 

[spiritandtruth2]

Did the early church believe the end was near? If the apostles knew it was going to be thousands of years away, why didn't they warn us it would be so long (from human standards of time, anyways)?

They Knew the end of the Jewish was in hand, which was fulfilled in 70 C.E.

This would have a greater fulfilment later on.

Jesus did give composite signs that we were to look for, so warning a plenty.

 

[Biblewriter]

Did the early church believe the end was near? If the apostles knew it was going to be thousands of years away, why didn't they warn us it would be so long (from human standards of time, anyways)?

Two New Testament scriptures showed that it would not be near. the first is in the parable of the talents, when Jesus said, "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them." (Matthew 25:19)
The second one is where Peter wrote "scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.'... But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:3-9)

The earliest commentators on prophecy most certainly did not believe it was near.

Barnabas said:

“The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: ‘And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.’Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, ‘He finished in six days.’ This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth, will be as a thousand years. Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished. ‘And He rested on the seventh day.’ This meaneth: when His Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and judge the ungodly, and change the-sun, and the moon, and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day. Moreover, He says, ‘Thou shalt sanctify it with pure hands and a pure heart.’ If, therefore, any one can now sanctify the day which God hath sanctified, except he is pure in heart in all things, Behold, therefore: certainly then one properly resting sanctifies it, when we ourselves, having received the promise, wickedness no longer existing, and all things having been made new by the Lord, shall be able to work righteousness. Then we shall be able to sanctify it, having been first sanctified ourselves.” (Epistle of Barnabas, chapter XV)

In commenting on “the beast,” Irenaeus said,

“‘And he will cause a mark [to be put] in the forehead and in the right hand, that no one may be able to buy or sell, unless he who has the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name; and the number is six hundred and sixty-six,’ that is, six times a hundred, six times ten, and six units. [He gives this] as a summing up of the whole of that apostasy which has taken place during six thousand years.
“For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: ‘Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works.’This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year.” (Against Heresies, by Irenaeus, book V, chapter XXVII, sections 2-3)

Irenaeus further said,

“And again He says, “Whosoever shall have left lands, or houses, or parents, or brethren, or children because of Me, he shall receive in this world an hundred-fold, and in that to come he shall inherit eternal life.” For what are the hundred-fold [rewards] in this word, the entertainments given to the poor, and the suppers for which a return is made? These are [to take place] in the times of the kingdom, that is, upon the seventh day, which has been sanctified, in which God rested from all the works which He created, which is the true Sabbath of the righteous, which they shall not be engaged in any earthly occupation; but shall have a table at hand prepared for them by God, supplying them with all sorts of dishes.” (Against Heresies, by Irenaeus, book V, chapter XXXIII, section 2)

So both Barnabas and Irenaeus clearly taught that the time when God destroys the Antichrist will be at the end of the earth’s six thousandth year. Now if either of these writers was using the chronology of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, they would have thought that all this would take place nearly two thousand years into their future. But at this time almost all Christians used the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. This translation added significant numbers of years to many of the time periods given in the Old Testament, making the age of our present creation at the time of the birth of Jesus about five and a half thousand years, instead of the familiar four thousand years given in the Hebrew text. So they most likely thought that all this would take place only hundreds of years into their future, rather than thousands of years. But regardless of whether they thought these things would take place hundreds or thousands of years later, they placed them far into their own futures.

 

[ebedmelech]

I believe they knew that would end the Jewish age also. I think Daniel 12 is making the point.

Jesus enlightens us at Matthew 24 & 25 of what was sealed up from Daniel.

Jesus further enlightens John as He gives Him the Revelation via His angel. This was Israel's judgment and the "days of vengeance" Luke speaks of at Luke 21:20-24.

 

[parousia70]

Two New Testament scriptures showed that it would not be near.

And over 100 showed that it would be near.

the first is in the parable of the talents, when Jesus said, "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them." (Matthew 25:19)

Yet, even in that parable, "a long time" does not go beyond the lifespan of the same servants that the lord left does it?

The Lord of the servants came back and settled accounts with the VERY SAME SERVANTS that he left... not their Grandchildren's great great great great great great great grandchildren.....

 

[Achilles6129]

And over 100 showed that it would be near.

Yet, even in that parable, "a long time" does not go beyond the lifespan of the same servants that the lord left does it?

The Lord of the servants came back and settled accounts with the VERY SAME SERVANTS that he left... not their Grandchildren's great great great great great great great grandchildren.....

It's a parable. It shouldn't be taken too literally. Also, those servants are still alive, since everyone lives to God and what's being spoken of by Christ there is the judgment at his return.

Also, there are other parables where the evil servent says "my master delays his return" or where Christ specifically says that "the bridegroom tarried."

So I think there is a definite possibility here that the Scriptures indicate a very long time (by human calculation) before the return.

 

[Biblewriter]

And over 100 showed that it would be near.

Yet, even in that parable, "a long time" does not go beyond the lifespan of the same servants that the lord left does it?

The Lord of the servants came back and settled accounts with the VERY SAME SERVANTS that he left... not their Grandchildren's great great great great great great great grandchildren.....

You interpret a number of scriptures to say it would be near in human terms. But that does not make it so. There are no contradictions in scripture.