Could Jesus have prophesied falsely about…anything? “Perish the thought!” say people who trust Him. (Count me among those people!) Why then am I asking if Jesus prophesied false about the Second Coming? Because the institutional church says the Second Coming hasn’t happened yet and is still in the future. And they consider heretical anyone who says otherwise. Yet the words of Jesus Himself indicate that the Second Coming had to have occurred within the 1st century A.D. Let me demonstrate this to you with three verses from the Gospel of Matthew.
The context of this first quotation is that Jesus is sending out His twelve apostles to preach the good news about Him and heal diseases in the land of Israel. Consider it a practice run for the worldwide mission they would undertake in the wake of His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven.
Matt 10:23 “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.”
The expression “Son of Man” was one of the main ways He spoke of Himself and it implies His role as God’s Messiah. When He says “comes,” He’s referring to what we call the “Second Coming” – Jesus’ earthly life being the first coming. That the apostles would not finish their work before His second coming occurred is a clear indication that it had to occur before the end of what we call the 1st century.
The second quotation comes at a pivotal moment in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus has just confirmed to His disciples that He was indeed God’s Messiah, but they should not spread that information around – at least not yet. He also prophesied much to their surprise, consternation, and confusion, that He was going to be killed by His enemies on His next trip to Jerusalem and would be raised up on the third day. When He follows up with the statement we see here, they were hearing Him say for the second time, albeit in paraphrased fashion, that the Second Coming would take place in their lifetimes – at least some of their lifetimes.
Matt 16:28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
The third emphatic statement Jesus made about the timing of His second coming came after they arrived for what would be His last visit to Jerusalem. He had been answering their questions about the eventual destruction of Jerusalem and about the coming of His kingdom. His answer confirmed what He had already told them twice before.
Matt 24:34 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”
Note that each of the three statements was phrased differently but was giving the same timeline. This makes His point that much clearer. Had He simply repeated Himself word for word, people could argue that we might be misunderstanding those words. But when He paraphrases His first statement, and then paraphrases yet another way, there is no room left for doubt.
Why does anyone who claims to believe in Jesus doubt or deny His position on the subject of when the Second Coming would occur?
Related articles:
Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again (4 min)
The Easiest-to-Understand Parts of the Book of Revelation (3 min)
From the Second Coming until Now…and Beyond (3 min)
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10/16/25
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