An extremely prevalent set of beliefs in biblical times, there is strong debate over who Jesus was and, more specifically, whether he was an apocalyptic prophet. How people choose to answer this question would have strong implications for the message provided by Jesus and, by extension, their faith.
Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet
Jesus frequently spoke in ways that align with apocalyptic thought and literature, therefore he was an apocalyptic prophet.
If Jesus' beliefs were made up, they would have been more believable
Jesus often spoke about events such as all the temple being raised to the ground. If that was just retroaction, wouldn't it have been made more historically accurate?
Jesus' life is a testament to the fact that he was an apocalyptic prophet
It is wrong to just look at what Jesus was saying as evidence of his views. Many of Jesus' actions and action that were done to him were clear signs of his apocalypticism
Jesus realised that the Son of Man was not going to come and therefore created a situation in which he must die so that his death will bring about pessimism that will eventually lead to vindication
One of the key beliefs in traditional apocalypticism was that the eschaton was arriving imminently. Jesus is actually preaching realised eschatology and therefore wasn't an apocalyptic prophet
Other sources show Jesus to have been non-apocalyptic
The evidence for the arguments have so far only come from the synoptic gospels. Perhaps if non-canonical texts were consulted we would see a different side of Jesus?
