Why would it happen in your lifetime?

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BornAgain2010

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In Protestant (or non-Catholic denominations of Christianity), the topic of eschatology is quite popular. In Catholicism, we believe that the Apocalypse will indeed happen. But we just dont when exactly, only God knows that. The Virgin Mary doesnt know, the Apostles dont know, even the Angels and Saints dont know, only God himself knows. In Protestantism the belief is that the Apocalypse will occur at some point in the believer’s lifetime. While forethought, reflection prior to action, and mindfulness of the future are indeed good qualities to be in possesion of, I do have some questions.

Among a possibly infinite number of variables, what is the foremost doctrinally definitive argument that convinces one that they will experience the Apocalypse in their own lifetime? What is the deciding argument?

Furthermore, how does this argument hold up against in regards to the passing away of the members of past generations? Wouldnt their passing of previous generations render the argument false or at the very least give suggestions to doubt?
 
IMNAAHO, it is nothing but wishful thinking. Every generation has longed to see His appearing, and seen nothing but the darkness of death.

There have now been 100 generations since HE returned to Heaven. The percentage is not in anybody’s favor.

ICXC NIKA
 
I don’t know, it’s a good question. Jesus thought it might happen in his lifetime, too, so it’s a tough one. (Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 9:27, also see: Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 9:26)
 
Harold Camping is losing hope. I, for one, Would prefer the standard mercy of suffering at the end of this life, then the death of the body, just as has happened for twenty centuries. The end times are going to be brutal. We may yet see them, but at the rate that the world is devolving, they are not going to be fun times to live through.
 
I am a cradle Lutheran, and I was brought up to see the book of Revelations as practically forbidden fruit. Naturally it fascinated me and still does although it seems to do more to excite speculation than provide concrete answers. The end result for me is that I know that God keeps all of His promises and so the last day will come; but saying “this generation” or the next 10 years is pretending to know the mind of God.
 
I grew up in a pentecostal denomination that expected the Rapture “any day now.” I remember a New Year’s Eve service when I was a child, where one of the congregation elders “testified” that he did not see how things could last more than 5 years without Jesus coming back. That was in 1958, and yet here we all are.

Sometimes I think that the reason Jesus hasn’t come back is that He doesn’t see anything worth coming back for.
 
po18guy said:
Harold Camping is losing hope. I, for one, Would prefer the standard mercy of suffering at the end of this life, then the death of the body, just as has happened for twenty centuries. The end times are going to be brutal. We may yet see them, but at the rate that the world is devolving, they are not going to be fun times to live through.
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It’s not as though natural death will be a comforting experience, either.

I for one long to see HIS return.
 
I was raised in the Seventh Day Adventist church and we always thought the Lord was coming next week.
Unless I’m mistaken, the Catholic view is that we have been in the “Last Age” since the first Pentecost and Jesus could return anytime. The “time of trouble” has been with us since then and we are living it now. Look at history, it’s always been nearly hell on earth for someone, somewhere.
Whether there will be a universal time of trouble before the end is a matter of contention and how you interpret the scriptures.
If I’m wrong- feel free to correct me, but I don’t think there is any “official” Catholic teaching on this with details about exactly what is going to happen and when.
 
DaveBj said:
Sometimes I think that the reason Jesus hasn’t come back is that He doesn’t see anything worth coming back for.
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Well, if Jesus is the good shepherd who seeks the lost and return them to the fold, then surely, He has plenty to come back for.

As far as the time and day, only the Father knows. And, until that time, we are to encourage each other to persevere and not to become discouraged.

Remember when Jesus appeared to Thomas after he doubted and then Thomas believed, (John 20:25-28)? Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
 
Please do not lump all Protestants in the same boat as “prophecy experts”. I am Anglican and do NOT believe in all this prophetic speculation rampant today. I have read “The PreTrib Trap” by a Catholic author as well as “Last Days Madness” by a Presbyterian, and agee that all that we read and hear today in certain circles is pure speculation. Every generation has thought it was the last generation. We do not know the day or the hour. All we know is expressed in “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again” We do not need to know any more than that. As to Jesus thinking He will return in a generation, I think if you carefully read the passages in Matthew and Luke, you will see He is answering 2 questions. When will the then standing Temple be destroyed and then when will Jesus return. The answer to the first was that the generation then alive will see the destruction of the Temple, which they did. The second is “Of that day and hour knows no man”. So Jesus said His second coming is not something we can know, other than it is certain He will return.
 
GEddie said:
It’s not as though natural death will be a comforting experience, either.

I for one long to see HIS return.
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For me, it will be, even if it involves more suffering. It is the door to God. It is the promise realized. Study of the dying process by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross indicates that, for many, it is a very comforting transition.

Just imagine how bad the world will be when the Lord comes: He said that, if those days had not been shortened, no one would survive them (Matthew 24:22, Mark 13:20). Both chapters are an excellent brush-up on what we are to expect. Neither is positive, from a human aspect, and our Lord implies that there will be much suffering. Far better to go in an age of relative peace, surrounded by loved ones, than to be struck down alone in flight from some natural or man-made horror. Something to think about.

The more you face death, the less you fear it.
 
Stilldreamn said:
I am a cradle Lutheran, and I was brought up to see the book of Revelations as practically forbidden fruit. Naturally it fascinated me and still does although it seems to do more to excite speculation than provide concrete answers. The end result for me is that I know that God keeps all of His promises and so the last day will come; but saying “this generation” or the next 10 years is pretending to know the mind of God.
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👍

Jon
 
recently, i was wondering why the world is in such bad shape when there is so much prayer for the state of the world today. i suppose people have always been praying for world peace, but it makes you wonder why our prayers aren’t answered. i can’t say that the state of our world now is any worse than at other times in history. not sure how life will be 100 years from now with the rate of technological advancements. i look at how far we have advanced in the past 100 years and how religion has declined. i suppose every generation has thought the end of the world was not far off though.
 
7_Sorrows said:
recently, i was wondering why the world is in such bad shape when there is so much prayer for the state of the world today. i suppose people have always been praying for world peace, but it makes you wonder why our prayers aren’t answered. i can’t say that the state of our world now is any worse than at other times in history. not sure how life will be 100 years from now with the rate of technological advancements. i look at how far we have advanced in the past 100 years and how religion has declined. i suppose every generation has thought the end of the world was not far off though.
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What we cannot yet see is just how much our prayers have stopped. Without them, I fear that this world would be much worse off, if not already judged.
 
7_Sorrows said:
recently, i was wondering why the world is in such bad shape when there is so much prayer for the state of the world today. i suppose people have always been praying for world peace, but it makes you wonder why our prayers aren’t answered.
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Because humanity is an easily corruptible joke? Blunt I know, but there’s a point there.
 
As a Pentecostal, I believe in the imminent return of Christ. However, I don’t and was never taught that we could know the exact time or hour that would happen. I think there is a difference in expecting that Christ will return in your lifetime and in having a doctrine that Christ will return in your lifetime. Obviously, the latter would be untenable.
 
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