Time Frame of Ministries

John 8:57 has the Jews say that Jesus was not yet 50 when he came to Jerusalem. (They mock him for claiming to have seen Abraham). If that is the case, then Jesus was probably close enough, but not yet 50; maybe in his late fourties?

That is of importance, because the Gospels constantly talk about this generation as the target of the words of Jesus. And while Paul portrays himself as the apostle to the Gentiles, nothing in the Gospels mentions him; there is though a reference to a mission to the entire world, but it surely reads like a late addition.

So if this generation is who Jesus is talking to, then the end that comes with fire, weeping, and gnashing of teeth is logically the end of the generation. There is one event that sounds a lot like that: the destruction of the temple brought by Titus’s armies in 70. Just in time for the generation to die. After that, the nation of Israel dies. That could certainly be read to represent the Final Judgement.

Now, if that’s the case, a Third Coming would have to occur in a similar fashion. The defining moment would have to be the creation of Israel in 1948, which might well coincide with the birth. Thirty years later is 1978, which is about when the first massive spreading of HIV in the US would have occurred. 33 brings us to 1981, which is when the first death cluster due to AIDS was recorded. 50 years later would be 1998, when cocktails finally became widely available.

Works very well for my book.