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I saw a documentary with David Suchet about Paul the apostle. Suchet stated that Paul was convinced the world was about to end. Is this an accurate representation of the early church?

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    Welcome to Christianity.SE, Could you link to the documentary perhaps? – wax eagle Mar 22 '13 at 17:28
  • Please specify what kind of Christians you are asking whether early Christians were an apocalyptic sect. We do not deal with questions of what actually happened 2000 years ago here, but just questions about what Christians believe today. – Gregory Magarshak May 23 '14 at 13:57

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There are a variety of views. Modernists (e.g., Albert Schweitzer) have tended to see Paul (and Jesus!) as benignly delusional when it comes to end times, whereas conservatives have tended to see them as puzzles to figure out.

There was certainly a strain in Paul (and Jesus himself in the Olivet Discourse) of expecting an imminent consummation of all things. See for instance his letters to the Thessalonians, which are generally regarded as his earliest letters. But there is also a sense of preparing for the long-haul -- the appointing of elders and instructions for running the church, for instance.

Some, called partial preterists, think that much of the Olivet Discourse and Revelation were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, taking care of the imminentness of some of the eschaton (or end times).

Regardless of one's view of partial preterism, many Christians subscribe to "innaugurated eschatology" where the Kingdom transformation has begun but is not yet complete -- the "now but not yet."

metal
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    Perhaps replace conservatives and liberals with something about literal and liberal readings of the passages. – Alypius Mar 23 '13 at 02:11
  • What about the Gospel of Mark 13:30? http://biblehub.com/mark/13-30.htm – deathlock May 20 '14 at 15:45
  • @deathlock, that's Mark's version of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24; Luke 21), which I mention above. Specifically, the generation did not pass away because the prophecies were fulfilled with the destruction of the temple in AD 70. – metal May 20 '14 at 20:43
  • A decent answer, but a DV for using 'liberals' as it is a subjective term that is virtually meaningless in contexts like this. – Dan May 21 '14 at 19:49
  • @Daи: Changed to "modernists" with a specific example. – metal May 21 '14 at 20:28
  • @metal I'm still not sure what you mean. All post-Reformation Christians (including all Protestants) are Modernists of one form of another. I'm still not sure what category you're trying to capture by the use of the term. Plus you've retained 'conservatives' in relation to it. It seems you're still trying to prop up the liberal vs. conservative distinction, just with a different (albeit equally as unhelpful) term. – Dan May 21 '14 at 20:47
  • @Daи: Those are shorthand ways of dicing up Christians. Every scheme of division has problems, including this one, but instead of being paralyzed by not being able to speak with 100% accuracy all the time everywhere, I think it's fair (indeed necessary) to use generalizations suitably qualified (e.g., with verbal phrases like "tended to see" rather than an absolute like "see"). I've added links to Wikipedia articles for those who want more information on what the generalizations mean. – metal May 22 '14 at 13:17
  • @metal the links actually clarify what you mean, so with those you have my upvote :) – Dan May 22 '14 at 13:51
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Fully completed in 70 a.d. This is how we have a relationship with the Father BECAUSE all was fulfilled. Remember Hebrews? As long as the Temple stood there could be no "way" to the Father. When it was torn town, we became the Temple for God to dwell in. There is no future added value, bonus package, left for us to receive. When have the kingdom in it's fullest, right now. A spiritual kingdom that Yeshua said He was bringing "without observance" meaning no throne in a building in Jerusalem. He resides over a global kingdom in the spirit. So yes, the early Chuch was apocalyptic in that they understood and preaxhed the the end of the "era" the mosaic covenant was coming to an end in their lifetime. They were right.

TJ Smith
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