We have seen that the New Testament Scriptures were not recorded immediately after the death of Jesus. They were unforeseen and not designed because the Jewish believers had expected the risen Jesus, their Messiah, to bodily return to earth. He was to return with the hosts of heaven and the power of God to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus had said "Truly I tell you. there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God has come with power." Mark 9:1. And again, Jesus had been talking about "The Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." Then he says "Truly, I say unto you this generation will not pass away before all these things take place." Mark 13:30. Twice Jesus had made prophecies which he said were to be fulfilled before the end of the lives of those listening. But now, 2,000 years later he has not yet returned. What are we to say about this? We must be serious and honest. We cannot doubt the sincerity of Jesus. Was he mistaken? If so, was he also mistaken about his Messiahship? It seems he was mistaken. When the high priest asked Jesus, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed." Jesus said, "I am and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Mark 14:61-62. Jesus is telling the high priest that the Kingdom of God will be established in his own lifetime. What are we to make of this third statement of his expected return? Had Jesus taken the words of the prophets too seriously? Would a Messiah ever rescue the Jewish nation from their enemies or was the whole expectation an impossible wishful dream which had become an established fantasy?

The promise of Jesus to return to earth would create a high expectation of an immediate answer to all the problems of the church members. As time went on and Jesus had not returned, the Jewish believers faded away or returned to their old beliefs. The Romans expelled the Jews from Jerusalem about 70 A.D. The gentile believers had no established moral code or ritual to fall back on. The church could not realistically return to paganism, so they hung on in mutual hope and became more and more to rely on the teaching of Paul. If the prophecies of Jesus turned out to be false, what chance would the believers have of ever seeing the return of Jesus on earth. Many have tried to foretell the second coming of Jesus. Of course it is a false hope, there never was and never will be a Messiah to usher in the Kingdom of God on earth.