Hi,
Most of what we are told to expect for the End Times comes from the Book of Revelation from what I understand, but what did Jesus HIMSELF say regarding the End Times?? (from my understanding, none of the content in the Book of Revelation actually came from Jesus...)
Thanks for any additional info!
He said a great deal but it is not stated as a textbook narrative.
First, you should understand there are two "end times." In the NT we find mentions of "the lasts days" (plural) and we find mention of "the last day" (singular). You should do a study of these two terms to note the distinction.
Jesus spoke of the "end" mostly in parables and, despite what another post posted, it's not only in Matthew 25. Matthew 25 is a portion of a narrative that encompasses 5+ chapters in Matthew that all take place in a single day. The narrative begins in Matthew 21:18, the day after Jesus enters Jerusalem, and concludes at Matthew 26:5 with Jesus concluding his answer to the three-part question asked in chapter 24 and the chief preists plotting his demise. Get out your Bible now and check to verify that what I just posted is correct.
What you will notice is Jesus' parables change after he enters Jerusalem. You'll see this change evidenced in all the gospels after his entrance into Jerusalem. Early on there are parables about the kingdom and parables that are soteriological in nature but with his entrance into Jerusalem the parables turn toward judgment and become eschatological in nature. When you have the time, I again encourage you to study the parables before and after and verify for yourself what I just posted.
What I am about to post to you next is going to be the most controversial of the posts so far because it is not popular. It is, in fact, the mainstream, orthodox, majority view both now and historically in the Church but it is not a popular view currently. Popular, not majority. The preterist perspectives (plural) emphasize the temporal markers or "
time stamps," reported in the gospels. For example, you will find just over a dozen examples of Jesus using the qualifier "
this generation," as he speaks of the faithlessness of his audience and the events that are forthcoming. These fifteen mentions are often ignored when answering questions like the one you're asking in this op. The one single mention of "this generation," that gets all the attention is found in Matthew 24:34 and it is often argued to say, "
that generation," not "
this generation." A proper exegesis of the phrase will show the Greek is near demonstrative and cannot be made to say "
that..." Jesus is answering a specific three-part question asked by the disciples based on something he said earlier in that day. Those people are gonna see what he is describing in their generation.
Now you watch what happens because a number of posters are going to take issue with what I just posted. Read their post and note 1) how they do not read the scripture text as written, plainly stated, and 2) how the eisegetically abuse the text(s) to make it say things it does not state.
I recommend you pick up a copy of "
The Case for Amillennialism" by Kim Riddlebarger. It's not that I think you should hold an amillennial view of the end times; it's because Riddlebarger does an extraordinary good job parsing through scripture to show the distinctions between the last-days-plural and the last-day-singular
and provide a very good exegesis for amillennial partial-preterism. I happen to disagree with him on a number of pints but if
you, eye_spy, are new to eschatology (the study or doctrine of the end times) then Riddlebarger is an excellent place to start. There are also several small books on the end times, specifically on the Book of Revelation, the millennium, the rapture, and hell, but I recommend you start with an Intervarsity classic, "The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views" edited by Robert Clouse. Reading these books will give you comparative arguments, with each of the authors weighing in on the others' perspectives. Once you get those tomes knocked out I recommend "
Last Days Madness," by Gary Demar. I don't wholly agree with Demar, either; I recommend the book because his is a very blunt confrontation of series problems in modern popular eschatology. Sadly, he's rather abrasive. Completely correct most of the time, but unnecessarily abrasive. I know that's a lot to read but if you read it and find it helpful let me know and I'll make some other recommendations, more in depth treatises from each of the respective eschatological positions.