Tough question about apocalypse

[Jack_245814]

I’m not trying to be snarky or “trick” you guys or anything, but I’ve been reading some “criticisms of the new testament” in miscellaneous places on line . . . all of the criticisms are invalid but one:

Jesus predicts that the apocalypse will occur in the lifetime of his followers, but it never did.

I know there’s a Catholic answer to this, I just don’t know what it is. Was he speaking symbolically? Is it possible for Christ to speak a falsehood? I know that second question in particular reveals my ignorance of Christology (and theology in general). I know Christ is considered to be fully man and fully human, so because he was “part-human” is it possible for him to sin or make an error? . . . The more I learn the more I realize that I don’t know anything at all.

 

[JimG]

I don’t have the references at hand. I think that in some cases modern readers may confuse references to the end of the world with references to the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus spoke about “this generation will not pass away” until these events have occurred. In fact the destruction of Jerusalem, a horrendous event to those living there at the time, occurred in 70 AD, within the lifetime of many of Jesus listeners. The Christians, apparently having been forwarned by Jesus prophecy, had already fled the city.

I may have heard this in a Scott Hahn tape, can’t recall at the moment. Others may be able to address this in more detail.

 

[vee8]

Hello you might be interested in asking us your question over at this thread forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=265515
Without knowing exactly what passage you are talking about I will say this. The bible weaves through history like a spiral so each generation will relate to what is written. There will be a time though when Christ really will return He said so and we say so every time we say the apostle`s creed.for instance when we say “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.”

Jesus is human in all things except sin. He felt temptations as a human would but He did not sin by acting on them.

 

[pnewton]

If you are referring to the Olivet discourse (Matthew 24), the disciples asked two questions. Jesus said that there would not be one stone left on top of another (the destruction of the temple). His disciples asked what would be the signs of these things **and **the end of the age. The prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD.

 

[Verbum]

Hi Jack,

In the Gospel, Jesus announces the fall of Jerusalem in such a way that it also prefigures the end of the world.

There is a connection here. The First Coming of Jesus signals the end of the first alliance and the judgment of the Jewish people,which culminates in the destruction of Jerusalem. The Second Coming of Jesus corresponds to the destruction of the world as we know it and the judgment of all humanity.

Apocalyptic literature, as evidenced in Ezechiel and Revelation, works on several levels. Thus Revelation talks about the persecution of the early church and the fate of Rome but also about the fight between God and the Devil, the Church and its enemies, good against evil as well as the struggle between sin and virtue present in all of us. All of this is interwined and is often dilfficult to interpret.

Verbum

 

[Muzhik]

Shalom! The line you are referring to (“Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.”) is one of those statements that take multiple meanings. The Olivet Discourse occurs in the Gospels of Matthew (Chapter 24), Mark (Ch. 13), and Luke (Ch. 21) and all describe the same things in different ways. Taking them all together, they can be used to indicate that “this generation” refers to both the generation of Jews living at that time, and a future generation that marks the signs of the return of Christ.

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[John_Hiner]

Laudatur Iesus Christus.

It is also true that the Holy Mass was established during the lives of most who heard Jesus speak. At one level, the Book of Apocalypse is a “revelation” of the Mass, and the Mass is the ongoing fulfillment of Lord’s promises of salvation and judgment.

Pax Christi nobiscum.

John Hiner