Source: TW
The Bible makes no mention of Jesus’ return in 2,000 years. There is no verse anywhere in the Old or New Testament where Jesus (or anyone else) says he will return in 2,000 years.
The “2,000” year apocalypse is a relatively recent belief (e.g. William Miller’s prediction of a 1844 “apocalypse” based on his intepretation of “days” in Daniel 8:14 as “years,” John Nelson Darby’s theory of “dispensations,” etc.)
First generation
In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly stresses that he will return within the first generation of believers.
ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη ἕως ἂν πάντα ταῦτα γένηται.
“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” (Matthew 24:34)
καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι εἰσίν τινες ὧδε τῶν ἑστηκότων οἵτινες οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐληλυθυῖαν ἐν δυνάμει.
“And he said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, there are some standing here will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.’” (Mark 9:1)
ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐ μὴ τελέσητε τὰς πόλεις τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἕως ἔλθῃ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
“Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:23)
Paul attests to the same, i.e. time is short, salvation is nearer now than ever before, and some men standing would still be alive at the time of the coming of the Lord:
ὅτι ὥρα ἤδη ὑμᾶς ἐξ ὕπνου ἐγερθῆναι· νῦν γὰρ ἐγγύτερον ἡμῶν ἡ σωτηρία ἢ ὅτε ἐπιστεύσαμεν.
“The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)
Τοῦτο γὰρ ὑμῖν λέγομεν ἐν λόγῳ Κυρίου, ὅτι ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι εἰς τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ Κυρίου οὐ μὴ φθάσωμεν τοὺς κοιμηθέντας·
“According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17)
λέλυσαι ἀπὸ γυναικός; μὴ ζήτει γυναῖκα… ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν… παράγει γὰρ τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου.
“Are you free (lit. loosened) from a wife? Do not look for a wife… The time that remains is very short… this world in its present form is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:27-31)
The early Christians believed in an imminent apocalypse, not a delayed apocalypse in two millennia.
Clement of Rome, Ignatius, and other early Christians shared the same early eschatological urgency found in Paul and the Synoptic Gospels:
ἐπ’ ἀληθείας ταχὺ καὶ ἐξαίφνης τελειωθήσεται τὸ βούλημα αὐτοῦ, συνεπιμαρτυρούσης καὶ τῆς γραφῆς, ὅτι ταχὺ ἥξει καὶ οὐ χρονιεῖ, καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἥξει ὁ κύριος εἰς τὸν ναὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὁ ἅγιος, ὃν ὑμεῖς προσδοκᾶτε.
“Of a truth, soon and suddenly shall His will be accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness, saying, “Speedily will He come and will not tarry. and the Lord shall come suddenly into His temple, even the Holy One, whom ye expect.” (1 Clement 23:5)
Ἔσχατοι καιροί [εἰσί], λοιπὸν αἰσχυνθῶμεν, φοβηθῶμεν τὴν μακροθυμίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἡμῖν εἰς κρίμα γένηται.
“These are the end times. Let us therefore feel shame; let us fear the forbearance of God, lest it turn to our condemnation.” (Ignatius Ad Ephesios 11.1)
Disappointment and adjustment
As the years rolled on and the apostles began to die, Jerusalem fell in 70 CE, with no sign of cosmic return, this led to a theological and psychological crisis in the early Church known as the “Delay of the Parousia.”
Believers initially sought recourse from Matthew 24:36:
Περὶ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καὶ ὥρας οὐδεὶς οἶδεν, οὐδὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐδὲ ὁ Υἱός, εἰ μὴ ὁ Πατὴρ μόνος.
“Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
For the early Christians, this verse signified that the rapture could happen at any moment and no one would know the day or the hour in advance.
It didn’t imply that the rapture wasn’t imminent. It only signified that the rapture would be unexpected.
To use a more practical analogy: it is akin to parents leaving their children for the weekend and warning them to be on their best behavior because the parents could return at any moment.
This is evident in the Didache, another early Christian text:
Γρηγορεῖτε ὑπὲρ τῆς ζωῆς ὑμῶν· οἱ λύχνοι ὑμῶν μὴ σβεσθήτωσαν, καὶ αἱ ὀσφύες ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκλυέσθωσαν, ἀλλὰ γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι· οὐ γὰρ οἴδατε τὴν ὥραν, ἐν ᾗ ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν ἔρχεται
“Watch for your life’s sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord comes.”
Yet the Christians reinterpreted Matthew 24:36 following the Delay of the Parousia.
Other, relatively late Biblical texts such as 2 Peter sought to reframe the delay.
Jesus is not slow, he is merely patient:
μία ἡμέρα παρὰ Κυρίῳ ὡς χίλια ἔτη καὶ χίλια ἔτη ὡς ἡμέρα μία. οὐ βραδύνει Κύριος τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ὥς τινες βραδύτητα ἡγοῦνται, ἀλλὰ μακροθυμεῖ εἰς ὑμᾶς, μὴ βουλόμενός τινας ἀπολέσθαι ἀλλὰ πάντας εἰς μετάνοιαν χωρῆσαι
“With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:8-9)
So while early Christians in the first two centuries believed in an imminent apocalypse, later Christians gave Jesus an indefinite time to return.