Christ's Coming to Judge the World

There are at least 100 passages in the New Testament that assert that Christ is going to return to judge the world at "any moment." Atheist Bertrand Russell, in his book Why I Am Not A Christian, discredits the inspiration of the New Testament based on the alleged failed prediction of Christ and the Apostles:

I am concerned with Christ as He appears in the Gospels . . . and there one does find some things that do not seem to be very wise. For one thing, He certainly thought that His second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at the time. There are a great many texts that prove that. He says, for instance, "Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come." Then He says, "There are some standing here which shall not taste death till the Son of Man comes into His kingdom"; and there are a lot of places where it is quite clear that He believed that His second coming would happen during the lifetime of many then living. That was the belief of his earlier followers, and it was the basis of a good deal of his moral teaching.

Russell is correct when he says that much of the New Testament was based on the belief that the Kingdom and end of the age were "at hand." If Christ and the Apostles were teaching the imminent destruction of planet earth and the inauguration of the "eternal state," then they were clearly mistaken.

What atheists like Russell ignore is the great importance of the destruction of Jerusalem in the lifetime of those who were eye-witnesses of Christ by the Romans (A.D. 70) .

In question 56 of the Larger Catechism, the Westminster Divines cite Matthew 24 as proof of a coming of Christ that is still in our future. But if you read Matthew 24 beginning in chapter 23, and take seriously verses like Matthew 24:33-34:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

you're more likely to conclude that these events surrounded the judgment of Israel in A.D. 70, not a judgment which is still future.

Luke 21:20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

All these things were fulfilled in A.D. 70. Russell the atheist was wrong. But the Westminster Catechism might also be wrong, for misleading people like Russell.

The Catechism says that Christ has yet to come "in the full manifestation of his own glory, and of his Father's, with all his holy angels," quoting Luke 9:26:

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy
angels.

But the very next verse (27) says, "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God." Matthew records Jesus this way:

27 For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work.
28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.

The Greek word in verse 27 can be translated "angels" or "messengers" (see Mark 1:2; Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:24; 7:27; 9:52; 2 Corinthians 12:7; James 2:25). The Hebrew equivalent is often translated "ambassadors." In this verse, the meaning is likely the "messengers" in the army of Titus, who brought God's fiery judgment upon those who crucified Christ. Jesus plainly says that some of those standing there would not die before this happened, and Jesus was correct.

The promise of Christ's judgment against unbelieving Israel was meant to console those Christian believers who were victims of Jewish persecution, as we see in Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians:

Second Thessalonians
1 Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

While we can learn from this letter, as it is the Word of God, it is not directed to believers in the 21st century as it was to believers in the first century.

On occasion, the Westminster Divines overlook a subtle Greek word which can alter the chronology of a prophecy, the Greek word mello. In Q. 56, the Catechism quotes Acts 17:31, "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." The Greek word mello could indicate that he is "about to judge," as it does in many other passages.

Food for thought, and grounds for further research. Please add your comments.