Hi, Shawn —

Many people at Christ's time were looking at the signs of the times and Old Testament prophecy and, thus, expected the Messiah. Looking at the Old Testament, it's easy to see that the coming of the Messiah would usher in a new age or even the end of time.

Christ's statements in the Gospels mostly referred to the end of Jerusalem and the Temple.
In fact, we see that in 70 A.D., less than forty years from Christ's Ascension into Heaven, the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed. Christ also made statements about the final judgment. He warned us to live as though it were imminent, but he didn't say it was.

St. Paul also described the return of Christ, as did other New Testament writers, and since they lived as though it was imminent, it seems as though that is what they were referring to.

Jesus did say this generation will not end before this happens, (Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30) but if you look carefully, He said that in regards to the destruction of Jerusalem.

Now, at the time of Paul, there were some that were spreading rumors that Christ had returned and that they had missed it. This was probably very early on and perhaps only a local issue in Thessalonica because Paul only deals with this issue in his letters to the Thessalonians. (2 Thessalonians 1-3) Both letters that are probably the first New Testament documents written.

The fact is, Christ told us He is coming back and He added that we ought to be vigilant as we wait. We should not be trying to set dates, but by the same token, Christ and Paul tell us to look for certain signs as well. Hence, every generation has and should have a certain expectation, which should be hopeful, not fearful.

If you expect His return, odds are you are living your life for Him so you've got nothing to fear. The only fear we ought to have is for the loss of others (who ever they may be) and it ought to motivate us to share the Gospel; not stock our basements with canned goods in order to survive the apocalypse.

John