PoodleLovinPessimist

<grammar nazi> prophecies. "Prophecy's" means "belonging to the prophecy": The prophecy's claims include Jesus's imminent return.

And don't forget the difference between prophecy (noun) and prophesy (verb). </grammar nazi>

Do the prophecies themselves contain the imminence (i.e. do the prophecies say, "Jesus will return soon"? If so, I think we can safely dismiss them on that account alone; 2000 years stretches the definition of imminent well past the breaking point.

Well, I don't believe that the Bible is nonexistent, and it's certainly "correct" in the sense that it correctly states the foundation of Christian theology. As to whether it's a truthful description of the real world, why should I even entertain such a ridiculous notion?

gregor2

Judge

Whaaaaa?

Let me quote from the NIV, Matt 24:

30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will APPEAR in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will SEE the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you SEE all these things, you know that it[4] is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation[5] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. (emphasis on visibility added)

While the word "return" is not mentioned in this translation, it's a return and it's visible. Matt does not describe the nature of a kingdom thereafter, though.

neorask

In the Kingdom of God a second may be the same as a millenia here on earth.
Two questions might be asked:
1. Can we know the hour, the day, the season, the year, the times, or the generation?
2. Of what can we know?
There are over 1,700 verses in the Old Testament directly dealing with Bible prophecy correlating with the age we are now in or the ages that are yet to come. Also, there are over 1,100 such verses in the New Testament. Additionally, there are over 1,000 other verses that directly relate to the ones in the OT & NT. Of the 31,173 verses in the Bible, approximately 12.8% of the Bible (one eighth) deals, either directly or indirectly, with Bible prophecy regarding the age we now live in, or the ages yet to come.

Toto

Native American digression split off here.

Poodle's joke split off here and moved to Humor.