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Christians have for the past two thousand years been staring up at the skies waiting for the return of their savior. But perhaps it’s about time they faced reality – Jesus isn’t coming back! The historical Jesus said that the Kingdom of God would arrive very quickly. In the Gospel of Mark he says, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God.” (Mk 9:1, see also Mk 13.30) Taken literally, as Mark intended, the historical Jesus was predicting that some of his followers would still be alive when the Kingdom of God would descent – a matter of months or years, but not millennia. The fact is however, that we have no ancient old apostles walking around, so either Jesus lied or he made a mistake – either way he was a false prophet. It is interesting that Paul, one of the first Christian missionaries who lived circa 5 – 67 AD, was also expecting Jesus to return within his own lifetime. In his epistles Paul constantly refers to the approaching kingdom. He says that the “time is short” or the “world in its present form is passing away.” Clearly Paul believes the end is in sight. In fact, Paul thinks the Kingdom of God is so imminent that he advises his followers not to bother getting married. He says “because of the current crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife.” For Paul there was simply no point in getting married because, as he saw it, Jesus was just around the corner. He evidently believes Jesus will return within the lifetimes of his converts and his beliefs match with the Gospel of Mark. Jesus was late. This caused terrible embarrassment to the early Christians, who believed Mark and Paul that there was about to be a very literal, earth shattering event. Eventually as time passed and Jesus still didn’t return Christians were forced to re-evaluate their understanding of the Kingdom of God. Today Christians says things like “the kingdom has come already, it’s in our hearts.” Be that as it may, this is not what Jesus and Paul taught and believed. In my book I argue that the historical Jesus was identifiably a Jew of first century Palestine. I look at the religious climate of that era and see that many people expected the Kingdom of God to be a truly awesome spectacle, with armies of angels and the dead rising from their graves. This is seen for example in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Along with the works of Josephus it’s quite easy to recognize the original apocalyptic message of the historical Jesus which has now been polluted. In conclusion, Jesus really expected the Kingdom of God to come within the lifetimes of his followers. But it didn't. He was wrong. Christians should stop waiting. Anyway, if you liked this article you might like to read my book “The Christ Conundrum: The Skeptic’s Guide to Jesus,” published by Dangerous Little Books. Or why not head over to my blog. Alternatively, this hubpage asks who was Jesus and gives further insights into the historical Jesus.
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