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Prompt 1: Can we know what the original end times view was that the original apostles themselves believed was true (and what the name of the closest view that has existed throughout history up to today would be for it), holistically looking at the entirety of Daniel, Revelation, and the rest of the New Testament and any other critical sources that might exist to corroborate/affirm/declare what their beliefs would be? Why or why not? I need an objective, historically verifiable, skeptical believer's answer, with many sources for as many little things that you say as possible. No bias at all. Please provide direct, original-language, full quotations of all of the evidence you cite (along with a very literal but nuanced translation of each of those quotations)! (What I mean by "skeptical believer" and "critical" is someone that fully believes in everything that they believed back then and that all of Scripture is 110% true, just that I'm skeptical and critical or "just buying whatever I hear" and need the "hard facts" and I need actual good convincing or I won't believe it.)
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Based on a holistic examination of the New Testament and the earliest critical sources, the view held by the original apostles and their immediate successors is most accurately classified today as Historic Premillennialism (specifically, Chiliasm).
This view held that Jesus would return physically to earth after a time of tribulation (post-tribulational) to resurrect the righteous dead and establish a literal, physical kingdom on earth for 1,000 years (the Millennium) before the final judgment and the New Heavens and New Earth.
However, a "skeptical believer's" analysis must also admit a critical "hard fact": The apostles clearly lived with an Imminent Eschatology—they believed this sequence would likely occur within their own lifetimes.
Below is the objective, historically verifiable evidence with original-language citations and literal translations.
The closest theological name for this view is Chiliasm (from the Greek chilioi, meaning "thousand"). Unlike modern "Dispensational Premillennialism" (which separates Israel and the Church and often includes a pre-tribulation rapture), the Apostolic view saw the Church inheriting Israel's promises through a literal earthly reign.
The "Smoking Gun" of Apostolic Belief
The most critical external source is Justin Martyr (c. AD 100–165), who wrote a defense of the faith to a Jewish scholar named Trypho. Justin admits that while some Christians disagree, the "right-minded" (orthodox) view is a literal earthly kingdom.
Source: Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 80 (in around AD 155–160)
Original Greek:
«Ἐγὼ δέ, καὶ εἴ τινές εἰσιν ὀρθογνώμονες κατὰ πάντα Χριστιανοί, καὶ σαρκὸς ἀνάστασιν γενήσεσθαι ἐπιστάμεθα καὶ χίλια ἔτη ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ οἰκοδομηθείσῃ...»
Literal, Nuanced Translation:
"But I, and if there are any Christians who are right-minded [orthodox] in all things, we know there will be a resurrection of the flesh and a thousand years in a Jerusalem built up..."
Why this matters: Justin places the literal 1,000-year reign as a litmus test (a decisively indicating test used for testing “substance”) for being "right-minded in all things," directly linking it to the apostolic deposit of faith less than a century after John.
The "hard fact" for the skeptic is that Paul includes himself in the group he expects to see the return. He does not say "those who are alive," but "we."
Source: 1 Thessalonians 4:15, 17.
Original Greek:
«...ὅτι ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι εἰς τὴν παρουσίαν τοῦ κυρίου...»