Yehsua/Jesus did claim that the Kingdom of God was coming (during his lifetime/generation). He preached this message during his ministry. Did it happen? I don't think so! Would this make Yeshua a 'false' prophet? Some would claim this!
Paul of Tarsus had a vision (apparently from the glorified Yeshua). He was expecting the 2nd coming of this person during his lifetime. See Corinthians 15. But he was mistaken. Was Paul a 'false' prophet?
Today, we live at a time in history where many scholars, historians, pastors, believers, and thinkers view our TIMES as Eschatological (the end of an era). This idea of the 'end of an era' or the 'end of the world' (theological eschatology) has been a topic of discussion for thousands of years. At the time of Yehsua/Jesus (29 - 33 A.D.) this idea of the END of historical politics (Rome) and the BEGINNING of a new era where God would be King was a serious topic for everyone to contemplate, especially for a Prophet like Yeshua.
It is obvious, to me, that Yeshua (I will use this name going forward as Yeshua was Aramaic/not American) thought that God's Kingdom was near (coming) and that he was a Prophet (of Yahweh God) who had 'words' directly (from Yahweh) confirming this idea of a coming Kingdom for planet earth. Yeshua thought that God's Kingdom of righteousness was arriving with him and with the daily events which were happening at that time. The Kingdom of evil (Rome) was ending!
Yeshua was a Jew who also viewed his cousin, John the Baptist, as a Prophet of Yahweh God. Yeshua, at the age of around 29, chose to follow the Apocalyptic preaching of his cousin, John, and this led to his decision to get baptised by John in the Jordan River. What happened during this historical time period is that John was arrested and killed (beheaded) by this political authority called Herod Antipas. All this happened some time after Yeshua's baptism experience. But the mentorship of John was part of Yeshua's theology IMO. John the Baptist was influential in the thinking of Yehsua and in his theology of God's Kingdom!
After the death of Yeshua's cousin, John the Baptist, Yeshua decided to start his own ministry which continued the idea that the Kingdom of Yahweh God was near (coming to our planet). Yeshua believed this message (thoroughly) as he thought this idea was a message which had come DIRECTLY from Yahweh God. The Kingdom of Yahweh God (also called the FATHER, in English) was at hand and Yeshua was preaching that this NEW AGE was arriving NOW (Now being the time period of the historical Yeshua).
Since the Kingdom of Yahweh God was arriving this was HUGE for Prophet Yeshua to digest and accept. This meant that the Roman Empire was going to wane and perish (die) and the Kingdom of God was going to replace the Roman governmental system. Yeshua did also think that HE was anointed by Yahweh God and that Yahweh God had selected HIM as Messiah for this New Era (Kingdom). Yeshua thought that HE was God's Messiah who would help to bring in the KINGDOM AGE and the END of ROME.
Yeshua selected followers who bought into this message of the coming KINGDOM AGE. Gradually, these followers (disciples) agreed with Yeshua that HE was God's MESSIAH. After some three years of preaching this message of the coming Kingdom of Yahweh God, Yeshua went to Jerusalem to preach this message to the leadership within the Sanhedrin (also all those who would listen to him preach at the Temple). Yeshua's message of a coming Kingdom created followers and also enemies of his ministry.
The leaders of the Sanhedrin listened to his preaching but they rejected his belief that he had been anointed as a MESSIAH of Yahweh God. They assumed that Yeshua was attempting to MAKE himself God. This would be pure BLASPHEMY to a serious believer in the God of Israel and the Prophet Moses. Did Yeshua actually think that HE was God. This is clearly NOT what he thought. Yeshua thought that he had been 'anointed' by Yahweh God to preach this idea of God's coming Kingdom. He did not think that HE (himself) was God. The idea of being a Messiah is that God's WORDS were received as being FROM God (and then for all believers who accepted these WORDS).
Yeshua believed that the WORDS he had within his consciousness were WORDS which had been received directly from Yahweh God. If true, then this meant that God's Kingdom Age was arriving with the preaching of Yeshua (God's anointed). He did not think that his ideas were his own (they were the ideas of his God). God, for Yeshua, was Yahweh God. Yeshua was a Jew who believed in the Torah and also the message of the Torah as given to Moses (by Yahweh God). He viewed his role as being a MESSENGER of this God.
So, we know that Yeshua was rejected by the elites of the Sanhedrin (as being a false Prophet) and then he was crucified by the Roman governmental system (probably for this concept called 'Sedition'). After his death at Golgotha, Yeshua's followers acquired the belief that HE had been 'glorified' (spiritually) and that he had then ascended to his God, Yahweh God (also called the FATHER in our English language). Believers came to the conclusion that Yeshua was ALIVE (in the spiritual realm) and this produced this Resurrection Story (which we read in the Gospels). In reality, he was not bodily resurrected but he was 'glorified' (spiritually) at the point of death (my viewpoint).
Anyway, a new religion eventually emerged (around all this confusion and misinformation) which led to what we call today as the CHURCH AGE (now some 2,000 years old). Today, we have another group of thinkers (disciples) who preach a 2nd Coming of this prior Jew from Nazareth. His 1st coming was obviously unsuccessful (his idea of the Kingdom Age as coming did not materialize). He was mistaken in his thinking and this would make Yeshua a FALSE PROPHET (in the mind of many). Was he a false Prophet? He was mistaken in that his ministry assumed that the KINGDOM OF HIS GOD was coming!
My view is that Yeshua was mistaken about the coming of God's Kingdom. This Kingdom was suppose to arrive during his lifetime (his generation). He preached about this Kingdom for some three years. The Kingdom did not arrive, however. His disciple, Paul of Tarsus, also thought that Yeshua's 2nd Coming (after his death) was near (during Paul's lifetime) but he also was mistaken. So Paul was also a FALSE PROPHET in the mind of many thinkers. Today, we have thousands of FALSE PROPHETS who are preaching ideas of a coming Tribulation and then a 2nd coming Kingdom of Yeshua (new age). So what is really happening on this planet? Does anyone really KNOW?
My sense is that NO-ONE really knows for sure what is happening. For me, I am of the belief that another MESSIAH is coming with another message of the KINGDOM AGE. Yahweh God is going to bring this KINGDOM AGE to planet earth in the very near future. That is my ESCHATOLOGY. My belief is based on the idea that 6,000 years of man's rule is ending (soon over). Mankind has lived on this planet (now for some 6,000 years) and God is going to END this rule of man and establish his eternal KINGDOM. It's coming to planet earth NOW and successive moments of NOW. That is my belief (Eschatology)!
I watch events happening in REAL-TIME and I interpret these events as LEADING to this coming Kingdom Age (after a period which I call the 'transition'). This 'transition' is happening NOW and it will continue until it ENDS. When it ENDS then the KINGDOM AGE will arrive for planet earth. Is this a logical viewpoint? Personally, I think so! For me, God rules this planet and we humans live 'at effect'. Living 'at effect' means that God is the CAUSE and we are mere servants of this HIGHER AUTHORITY. If God rules, then it is logical (to me) that his RULE will replace man's rule!
Anyway, we must think for ourselves on all these issues of reality. Yes, Yeshua, was mistaken on his viewpoint back in A.D. 30 - 33 (IMO). His viewpoint of a coming KINGDOM did not happen. This makes him a false prophet (similar to his disciple Paul of Tarsus) to some degree. Personally, I would view everyone as a 'false' prophet to some extent as we all accept our viewpoints based on 'uncertain' ASSUMPTIONS. No-one really KNOWS with certainty anything. Socrates was right. Human beings should KNOW that they don't KNOW anything. We live with ASSUMPTIONS. My assumptions are what I must live with.
Have a great day and think for yourself! If YOU KNOW with certainty (any of the above), then get out and PREACH this certainty to your neighbors. All I can do is present my VIEWPOINT! I am: Donald B. Swenson, Economist/Philosopher, donaldswenson.blogspot.com.
http://kingdomecon.wordpress.com
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