Was Jesus a false prophet?

[DivineNames]

The major prophecy given by Jesus in the Bible is that he would return and judge the world, and that this would happen in the lifetime of some of his immediate followers. I think it obvious that Jesus didn't return at that time, so Jesus gave a false prophecy. The main eschatological message of the gospels is provided in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. In the chapters cited, Jesus is talking to his disciples, revealing to them the various events that will precede the coming of the "Son of Man". The conversation starts when Jesus predicts the destruction of the Second Temple, the very temple that Jesus and his disciples were looking at.

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1-2 NIV)

The Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 CE. As this event was supposedly one of the signs that the Son of Man was about to come, it places all the events described in Matthew 24 etc. in the 1st century. If Jesus were going to come back, then he should have come back in that time period. The destruction of the Second Temple is mentioned as part of the narrative of predicted events-

So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel (Matthew 24:15 NIV)

When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. (Luke 21:20 NIV)

Jesus starts the conversation by predicting the destruction of the Second Temple, then the disciples ask, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3 NIV). So the disciples ask about it, Jesus includes the destruction of the Second Temple as part of the narrative, and he gives a time frame in which all of the events will occur, (Matthew 24:34).

About the time of the destruction of the Second Temple are the, "days of vengeance"-

then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened... Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light... At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:16-22, 29-31 NIV)

So you have the, "days of vengeance", signs in the sun, moon and stars, and then the coming of the Son of Man. These events are all following on from one another. We know that they would have to happen in the 1st century, because one of the events, the destruction of the Second Temple, happened in 70 CE. However, when were these events supposed to happen according to Jesus? What time frame did he give?

I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. (Matthew 24:34 NIV)

Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died. (Matthew 24:34 GNT)

(Also- Mark 13:30 and Luke 21:32)

Jesus claimed that all of the events would happen within the lifetime of some of his immediate followers. These would be 1st century events, that is when Jesus was supposed to return.

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:27-28 NIV)

(Also- Mark 8:38-9:1 and Luke 9:26-27)

And this seems to be Paul's understanding-

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV)

So perhaps there is some concern about the people who have died before the Lord has come. Paul explains that the dead will, "rise first", and then WE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE AND ARE LEFT TILL THE COMING OF THE LORD will be caught up together with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord. Some of the Christians of that time would live to see the Lord return, that appears to be the expectation. And of course that is what they expected, because that is what Jesus had promised them.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:50-53 NIV)

So, "we will not all sleep", we will not all have died before the coming of the Lord, but both the dead Christians, and the living Christians, will be changed and given a new kind of body. Again, the expectation is that some of the Christians of that time would live to see the Lord return.

Immediately after the distress of those days... the stars will fall from the sky (Matthew 24:29 NIV) (Also- Mark 13:25)

If stars were to genuinely, "fall from the sky", life on earth would be completely destroyed. There would be no, "nations of the earth", to witness the coming of the Son of Man. Someone such as Matthew, ignorant of basic facts of astronomy, may not have realized this.

When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:23 NIV)

Matthew 10:17-23 describes the persecution of Christians. (Compare with Matthew 24:9-14 / Mark 13:9-13 / Luke 21:12-19.)

"you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes"

This clearly shows that the "Son of Man" will come within the lifetime of those Christians going from city to city to avoid persecution, so all the events described in Matthew 24 etc. are close together in time, they will be witnessed by one generation, within the lifetime of some members of a particular generation.

And think about it, in Israel today, are Christians really going to be flogged in the synagogues? (Mark 13:9 NIV) Are Christians really going to flee from city to city?

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14 NIV)

That the gospel would be preached in the "whole world" within the lifetime of some of the immediate followers of Jesus is obviously an unrealistic expectation. However, Paul may have believed that this had actually happened-

This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven (Colossians 1:23 NIV)

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18 NIV)

Jesus gave a warning, that in the time before the coming of the Son of Man, people would turn away from the faith, and that "false Christs and false prophets will appear", This has a similarity with what is being said in 1 John 2:18-26 and 1 John 4:1-3. The author doesn't mention, "false Christs", but does talk of people who "went out" from the faith, and he talks about false prophets. The 1 John verses also have a similarity to Paul's comment- Acts 20:29-30.

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son (Matthew 24:36 NIV)

No one knows the, "day or hour", not even Jesus does. As it happens, Jesus doesn't try to predict the day or hour, but Jesus does predict that it will happen in the lifetime of some of his immediate followers. It never happened.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV)

This doesn't avoid the problem. If with the Lord, "a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day", it doesn't change the fact that to fulfill the prophecy the "Son of Man" has to turn up in the lifetime of some of the immediate followers. It is now impossible for that to happen. Jesus didn't keep his promise.