Why didn't Jesus come as promised in the lifetime of his followers?

Question

What the Bible says about the End of the World
The end will come within the lifetime of Jesus's listeners.

"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." -- Matthew16:28

"But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God." -- Luke 9:27

"Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation." -- Matthew 23:36

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." -- Matthew 24:34

"Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." -- Matthew 26:64

"Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." -- Mark 9:1

"Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done." -- Mark 13:30

"And ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." -- Mark 14:62

"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." -- Luke 21:32

"Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" -- John 21:22

The end will come within the lifetime of the the New Testament authors.

"Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ... that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." -- 1 Corinthians 1:7-8

"But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none." -- 1 Corinthians 7:29

"That ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. -- Philippians 1:10

"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." -- 1 Thessalonians 4:17

"I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:23

"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son...." -- Hebrews 1:2

"But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." -- Hebrews 9:26

"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." -- 1 Peter 1:20

"But the end of all things is at hand." -- 1 Peter 4:7

"Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." -- 1 John 2:18

The end will come soon. (Within a couple thousand years or so.)

"The Lord is at hand." -- Philippians 4:5

"For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." -- James 5:8

"For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." -- Hebrews 10:37

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. -- Revelation 1:1

"The time is at hand." -- Revelation 1:3

"Behold, I come quickly." -- Revelation 3:11, 22:7, 22:12

"Surely I come quickly." -- Revelation 22:20

Answer 1

There's more than one way to look at it...

First, "generation" doesnt always mean a 40 year generation but also means "race" or "people" Jesus may have meant the Hebrew race.

Second, He says "Will see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom" John saw this in the Revelation.

In the span of eternity, is a couple thousand years a short time or long? "Quickly" is relative.

Answer 2

In a sense, he did. And in another He didn't. He said in Mark 9:1 "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power." In other words- some disciples would be around when Jesus returned (from the grave after crucification). But He also did say that He was going away to prepare a place for the disciples: "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2). But, note after the resurrection, he declares he hasn't been to God's House (Heaven) yet: Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' " (John 20:17). Afterwards, He is set to return, and will come back for them (and others like them- us). Hope this helps. Take it easy.

Answer 3

Actually, your taking many of those scriptures out of context. Especially since EVERYONE MUST DIE to pay for their sins as stated in Romans 6:23 "for the wages of sin is death" meaning everyone that sins must die, only then are there sins forgiven thru the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The verses in the Book of Revelation have not yet come to pass (and yes, Revelation can be read and understood, Revelation 1:3 states "Happy is he who reads aloud and understands these words" so it just takes praying and insight. Also, upon Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven his disciple did see him return to his Father's Kingdom.

Answer 4

These words refer to their "understanding" that He has a government that is going to be brought to earth. It is clear that the Apostle John did as it was shown to him in the vision that he was commanded to write down. It's called "The Book of The REVELATION of Jesus Christ"

Answer 5

Jesus meant it as a parable. "This Generation" means the civilization of man only. For us 1000 years is ONe day to God. have faith in what Jesus said is true, pray that he will give you understanding and he will. Have faith. peace.

Answer 6

he DID about 2,000 years ago..and hes coming again SOON. We are in the end times! accept the Lord, unless you wanna not do to heaven and have a prefect life. (Common sense)

Answer 7

because he died on a cross---but people will twist the words around and interpret them any way thats suits there beliefs----and yeah -verily many different religions were born ---lol----i bet alot of these wack jobs will throw alot of bible quotes atcha now!!!---most don,t think for themselves---they just quote the bible and smile alot----

Answer 8

~He came a lot. Ask Mary Magdeline.

Answer 9

he cannot come the bible is wrong. simple answer is christianity doesnot belive in reincarination,..

Answer 10

Because this is mythology, not reality.