Originally Posted by votivesoul
Christ built and is building is church in large part on eschatology, or last things. One of His predominant characteristics was that Jesus was an apocalyptic preacher who heralded the coming of a new age (i.e. the Kingdom of God) and the END of an old era (i.e. Temple Judaism), something which signified a real "end of the world" as far as the Jews in Judah and Israel were concerned:
See, when God foretold the first destruction of the temple, and an exile, He promised unequivocably to bring Israel back and restore the temple.
When Jesus foretold the second destruction of the temple, and an exile, He NEVER promised a return or a restoration. Biblical Israel (as opposed to secular Israel) hasn't existed since 70AD. Benyamin Netanyahu can quote the Bible in whatever UN speech, but there is no king of Israel, no priesthood, no temple, no real observance of the law, no prophets, nothing. Biblical Israel was wiped from the map by God.
Furthermore,
Eschatology is the study of "Last Things", not just prophecy, and certainly not just the end of the world.
Therefore, it also needs to include resurrection from the dead and eternal judgment, which are principle doctrines of Christ.
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