But the Bible (OT and NT) has always spoken about a judgment to come. Even the scriptures show that Jesus thought that the judgment to come would happen before his generation would pass away (and not just referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE). And even Paul thought that the judgment would come in the first century where he instructed Christians not to marry because the end was near, even though, he actually had to flip his way of thinking in his writings since the judgment didn't come like he thought that it would.
Plus, Christian throughout generations since the first century thought that the judgment to come was imminent during their time.
Does the Bible Give a Time Frame for the Second Coming?
The biggest sticking point in Christian eschatology is the
timing of the Second Coming. Specifically, will Christ return to Earth before the Millennium or after it? Those who believe that Jesus will come back
before the Millennium and personally reign over the 1,000 years of peace are called "premillennialists." Those who believe Christ will only come back
after his Church has created a Golden Age on Earth are called "postmillennialists."
In the Bible, when the Apostles ask about the timing of Christ's return, Jesus famously answers, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). That hasn't stopped generations of Christians from guessing, though.
Kyle [Richard Kyle, an emeritus professor of religion at Tabor College] says that
for the first century after Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection and ascension to heaven, most Christians were premillennialists who believed that his Second Coming was close at hand.
"They had a hard time believing they were going to die before Christ's return," says Kyle.
Even as the promised day failed to appear, early Christian writers like Clement of Rome and Tertullian held to the premillennial belief that Jesus would return in person to conquer evil and reign as the prophesied "King of Kings." Gradually, though,
that belief faded and a new interpretation of the timing of the Second Coming was popularized by the fourth-century theologian Augustine of Hippo.
(emphasis mine)
click here:
The Second Coming Has Been 'Imminent' for 2,000 Years | HowStuffWorks
But I guess one could always say that those believers in the past were mistaken. However, you would have to click on this link to see the charts for a summary of all past recorded end time predictions:
List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events - Wikipedia
