06 Dec '14 14:07>
Originally posted by rwingettHow do you know they were expecting the kingdom imminently? The disciples had asked Jesus about what the signs of the times would be at the end of the world when the kingdom would be established. What makes you think they saw the kingdom and the return of Jesus as eminent when so many other events needed to take place first?
If the kingdom is expected imminently, but doesn't materialize, uncomfortable questions start being asked. But if you can project the second coming onto some nebulous future date, enthusiasm can be maintained indefinitely. It's always just around the corner, but never seems to get here for some reason.
That is what happened with the early proto-Christia ...[text shortened]... it became evident that wasn't going to happen, it got switched to a future, otherworldly event.