Jesus intended to return within the lifetimes of his peers

Christians are called to walk by faith, we are told to watch for Jesus as we do not know when he will return. Therefore we must always watch and be ready for his return, this is something that Jesus commanded and applies to all Christians from the very first believers in Jesus" until Christ does indeed come back. (Luke 12:35-48) There are many other verses I can bring to the table in reference to the second coming, but here are some that reinforce my main point in this round. No one, not even Jesus when he was on earth knows when the return of Christ will take place. "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. " (Matthew 24:36) "for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. " (1 Thessalonians 5:2) "But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. "( Luke 12:39) Here is a parable Jesus told concerning his coming, 35 "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. " In this first section, it is clear that Jesus is telling his disciples to watch for his return, he also says that he will come when he is not expected, but could come at any time and therefore we as believers must always be prepared. Continuing with the parable 41 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all? " 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, "My master is delayed in coming," and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. Since no one knows when Jesus will return, all the authors teach the believers to be prepared. Which is why in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Paul says "Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together". Paul is always under the assumption that Jesus could return at any time which is why he says "we who are alive, who are left" the "we" is any believer alive at the return of Christ. This is where I believe you are misunderstanding, since the authors are saying "we who are alive," you are assuming that they thought Jesus would be coming specifically to them. And while he(Jesus) did"t say he was"t coming to them, he never promised to return within their lifetime. That is why I said Jesus didn't rule out the possibility that he would return during the apostles lifetime, because even he did"t know the day of his return Jesus is asking them,and all believers (Here I am referring to the parable, not Thessalonians)to walk in faith, to continue to carry out his instructions completely and consistently throughout our lives, to further the Kingdom of Heaven and to expect his return. He is also warning us that if we live as though he in"t coming back, then we will face punishment. This is how believers are supposed to live; in a constant preparedness for his return. Now to head back to 1 Thessalonians 4:17, In chapter 4: is where the writer Paul transitions from urging the believers to live a Godly life, to reassuring them that those who have died will be reunited with the Christians who are present at Christ"s return. From verse 13 until the end of the chapter deals with the dead being reunited with Christ at the end. "To argue that Paul was referring to future Christians is going to take some more impressive logic/evidence. " I am not saying Paul is referring to future Christians, he is saying that all Christians must wait for Christ, (again, those believers who are left) Lets dissect verse 17 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Bear in mind the scripture is quite clear that nobody knows the day or hour Now the reason why Paul uses the word "we" is because he believes that Christ very well could return within his lifetime, he is calling the believers to act in faith and live as though Christ will return at any minute this is why the word "we" is used by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 because we (we as believers) do not know when Jesus will return, and therefore must always be expecting the return of Christ. As far as Mark 9:1, my interpretation comes from the verses I gave in 2 Peter 1:16-18. It is obvious that Peter is saying that he and the other two disciples saw Jesus come into the power of his Kingdom. Those are not my words, but Peter"s so I don"t see where I am purposely interpreting scripture here. And as for Matthew 24:33-34, I believe Jesus when Jesus says "this generation, he is referring to the generation that sees the signs, and the what I meant by context is, as the olive tree leaves turn green, you know summer is right around the corner. So once the signs start, Jesus will have come back within the lifetime of the generation that saw them. Not necessarily within that specific generation . In fact I can assure you that Peter, knew full well that he would not see Jesus return, but that he would be dead. (John 19:18-22) Jesus predicted Peter's death, and Peter asked how the Apostle John would die, and Jesus replied "If it is my will that he should remain until I come, what is it to you? You follow me! "and later on it says other believers started a rumor that John could not die until Jesus returned. The point here is, that Peter knew he would be dead before Christ's return, yet he still taught others to watch for Jesus. In 2 Peter chapter 3:4 he says in later days people will scoff and say why hasn't Jesus come as he promised? If you read 2 peter 3 he reaffirms everything that I have said. To pro and voters, I must apologize if this round seems poorly written or structured, I wasn't able to put quotes in italic form or scripture in bold lettering as I wrote this on my iphone in a car. to be honest, i had to rush a response as I will probably not have access to the internet again until saturday. I would ask the pro to wait until the last minute to submit his final round. I know he is not obligated to do so, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would give me the extra time to finish this debate. Regardless of your decision pro, just know I have thoroughly enjoyed this debate and invite you to discuss any other questions you may have with me. Sources: The Bible