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____________________________________________________________________________ THE FOLLOWING IS THE WAY WE ARE LEAD TO BELIEVE BY BOTH THE SPIRIT AND THE SCRIPTURES, BUT OUR MINDS ARE ALWAYS OPEN TO LEARNING, AND WE WILL NEVER FLEE FROM TRUTH, SO PLEASE, CORRECT US IF YOU CAN. Contact: Michael: mr9@iprimus.com.au Flesh and blood cannot enter into heaven.1Co 15:50 This topic is to big to read all in one sitting so we have included a contents table to help you navigate it. While you do though, always keep in the back of your mind that the "Rapture Theory" is exactly that...only a later day theory that was never a doctrine of the disciples of Jesus or the early church. What is this thing called 'Rapture'? Is it real? How did it start? Does the bible support it? What is its purpose and how does it effect you, the church, and even the world?
Introduction Many will see this as an all out attack on their personal faith in their Lord Jesus Christ, who is the sole intercessor between them and God, and the only One with authority to save them. I have to humbly admit that this is exactly how I felt five years ago when a close friend told me the rapture theory was a lie. Actually he was lucky he was not in the same room when he told me this ( we were conversing via internet chat) because I would have belted him one and tossed him out...and believe me, you would not like me when I am angry. It never ceases to amaze me how wonderfully God works and plants seeds of truth in the path of His own children. It was this very agitated (well agitated on my part at least) discussion that caused me to sincerely research the scriptures and history books to prove my friend wrong so we could still be friends. But guess what? Yes you guessed right my reader friends...it was this very seed that caused me to find the truth, and instead of fighting tooth and nail for this wonderful fanatical fantasy of mine and about 90% of the Christian world, I was now totally against it. You see, God did not drag me out of her (the false church system) just to left me float back again; He said He would never leave or forsake me, and this is living proof of His word. He dragged me out of her to show me the truth. At least read the following with an open mind and heart for truth, and pray God to give you discernment of what you will see. In searching for truth we all need to put our traditions to the side for awhile so that they don't interfere with the pure truth. We must remember that all that we know is not necessary from God, and that whether we like it or not...scriptures can be twisted and history can be falsified as history itself can testify. In the bible God specifically speaks of these traditionalists and hypocrites and gives them the name "stiff-necked", meaning stubbornly and ignorantly holding on to their traditional beliefs without even contemplating the thought that some of what they believe might not be true. Be sure of one thing though before you proceed; I do not and never ever will, aim my writings at the individual, but rather the false doctrine that that individual may be following. I am fully aware of the destruction that will befall those who teach falsely the ways of God, and as I have no trepidation in presenting these following truths, should be in part testimony to the value of it
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
The most damaging lie going around in these latter days for the Christian is the Rapture lie (or delusion as Paul calls it) . .2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that
they should believe a lie: Why do they need a 'delusion' in order to believe a lie? Well just go back one verse and you will see. 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. You see now? It's because they do not have the love of the truth,
and that is the only truth that leads to freedom and
salvation . They are satisfied with tradition and just
about anything their pastor will teach them. These are the ones who will be
deluded. So those who do have the truth from God will not fall so easily
as to believe in a lie that has absolutely NO
association
what so ever with God's will and character
throughout the entire bible. This pre-fabricated and pre-meditated and
calculated delusion was made exclusively for the lukewarm to further add degrees
to their direction. It's all part of leading gullible Christians further off the
narrow path into a comfort zone very hard to emerge from. This delusion is the
preface to the lie... it gets one ready to believe the lie. Sort of like a
conditioning of the heart to believe in fantasy, which is very much typical of
the system that introduced these lies and delusions. We will talk about that
next though.
Anything that is designed to lead the sheep away from the only true shepherd has to be designed by that great deceiver and fox Satan. There can be no doubt that he is the father of the second greatest lie ever told to lead billions to there sad and sorry end. Satan is anti-Christ, so to understand from which earthly source this evil doctrine of delusion comes from, we simply look for which system has been most historically and presently against the truth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Two spring immediately to mind...Islam and Catholicism. Many will say the former is more anti than the latter, but this is in fact way off the mark. Islam demotes Jesus from the Son of God to the greatest of all prophets, which is indeed a sad thing, but the Catholic System demotes Jesus from the Son of God to something less than man when they instruct all their priest have the power to crucify Christ afresh each time they personally forgive the sins of their congregation. Their is no more anti-Christ on this planet that the Roman Catholic Church, who through their own cunning, and as one body, are singularity responsible for the conception, birth, and evolution/magnifying of this wicked delusion. Their motive is clear...to use it as a decoy to divert attention away from the inquisition where they tortured and cruelly murdered millions and millions of innocent Christ following saints who refused to renounce their faith. This is no small matter friends, and at this very moment these very saints cry out to God..." how much longer Father before our deaths are avenged.
Since the resurrection of Jesus until only 150 years ago, there was no such belief in a rapture to occur anywhere in time. It was a Jesuit priest named Ribera (1537-1591) who first impregnated the truth with his uninspired thoughts of a later to be called "Rapture". He taught that the events prophesied in the books of Daniel and Revelation would not be fulfilled until three and a half years at the end of the age when an individual world dictator called Anti-Christ would arise. Thus Ribera laid the foundation of a system of prophetic interpretation of which the Secret Rapture has now become an integral part. Little did anyone know at that time that this carnal belief would then lay dormant for another 300 or so years before the Jesuits of the 19 century would find good use for it... or should I say 'bad use'. Or little would they also know that this very false doctrine of demons would turn out to be the greatest of all hopes by almost all professing believers in Jesus as their saviour. No wonder indeed why He said 'many will be called but few chosen'. By the amount of followers this false rapture has, it will no doubt be a very very very few.
Believe it or not this is just a recent theory spread by
the Roman Catholic church, to take the focus of the inquisition away from the
public eye, and of course a hundred other falsities that they claim.
Probably the best book written on the historical origins of the
pre-tribulation rapture is; "The Incredible Cover-Up': Exposing the Origins of
Rapture Theories", by Dave MacPherson, Omega Publications, Medford, Oregon.,
1980 Margaret MacDonald was involved in the charismatic revival of the early
1830's. The reason MacPherson titled his book "The Incredible Cover-Up:..." is
because the church leaders who first wrote about the pre-tribulation
rapture never specifically mention the source of their teachings. Two of the
most renowned of these church leaders are: John Nelson Darby and Edward Irving.
These two men are held partly responsible for the charismatic and Pentecostal
movements of the 1800's and were present in Port Glasgow, Scotland in the spring
of 1830 as documented by newspaper reports, letters to and from Mary Campbell
(Margaret MacDonald's sister), and a couple books by Dr. Robert Norton (another
eyewitness). Both Darby and Irving were the first to use such terms as; any
moment doctrine, pre-tribulation rapture, and a
two-stage return of the Christ. The importance of "The Incredible Cover-Up:
Exposing the Origins of Rapture Theories" by Dave MacPherson cannot be stressed
enough. The sources and documentation is in this book prove the conclusions that
are made here. The most important information to understand is the
interpretation of the prophecy of Margaret MacDonald. When Miss MacDonald
expressed her prophecy, she expressed in a manner that lead the eyewitnesses to
believe that they would see and experience the rapture and M. MacDonald confirms
this in letters to her sister. Dr. Robert Norton; who was an observer of the pre-tribulation
rapture prophecy, and preserved letters and documentation of the events in the
spring of 1830, writes that Margaret MacDonald identified the desolator; the
antichrist, as Robert Owen.. Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a communist who set up
some communes in Great Britain in the 1800's and is even mentioned in Frederick
Engels book; "Socialism: Utopian and Scientific" (1880). So the facts are; that
we have a prophecy that is specifically expressed in terms in which the
occurrence of the prophecy was to happen within the lifetimes of Margaret
MacDonald, J.N. Darby, Edward Irving and Dr. Robert Norton. However, Margaret
MacDonald died several years later after her brothers; George and James
(according to Norton) , J.N. Darby died in 1882 and Edward Irving died in 1834.
So, the simple fact is that the prophecy of the pre-tribulation
rapture did not occur during the lifetimes of those who expressed the belief
that it would. In Hal Lindsey's book "Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth",
he goes into much detail on the self-proclaimed modern prophet, Jeane Dixon (See
chapter 8 of that book). Jeane Dixon is, she is a well known fortune-teller and
future predictor and has foretold such events as the assassination of John F.
Kennedy. Ms. Dixon has always claimed that her gift is from God. However, Ms.
Dixon is not always correct in her predictions. This is why Hal Lindsey
questions Ms. Dixon's claims as being a "modern day prophet". Lindsey points
out; and rightly so, that a prophet that speaks from God is 100% accurate in all
predictions and interpretations of them. And if thou say in thine heart, How
shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh
in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the
thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 For there
shall arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Matthew 24:24What is strange here, is that Mr. Lindsey seems to have one litmus
test for false prophets; but that same litmus test does not apply to his own
interpretations of prophecies or his strong support for the pre-tribulation
rapture theory. It has already been shown that Margaret MacDonald, J.N. Darby
and Edward Irving all believed and interpreted the rapture as occurring in their
lifetimes. And since these three people are responsible for this prophecy and
interpretation of the rapture, it must be concluded that; their prophecy and
interpretation were in error and therefore, according to the Bible; as well as
Hal Lindsey's litmus test, the prophecy of pre-tribulation
rapture is false. Another interesting quote, comes from a letter from Margaret
MacDonald to her sister; Mary Campbell which describes some of the occurrences
and her feelings during the actual revelation of the pre-tribulation
rapture theory. "I felt this needed to be revealed, and that there was great
darkness an error about it; but suddenly what it was burst upon me with glorious
light." This preceding quote is from Dr. Robert Norton's book; "Memoirs of James
& George MacDonald, of Port-Glasgow", (1840). What is interesting about this
quote as it relates to the pre-tribulation rapture
theory, is how could Margaret MacDonald even consider the idea to have a "great
darkness and error about it" if the revelation was from God Himself. Under the
circumstances that have already been shown, it is obvious that this revelation
was not from God, and her instinctual feelings were correct. There is a great
darkness and error surrounding the pre-tribulation
rapture theory.
We now know that the doctrine of Rapture has been conceived by a Catholic Jesuit called Ribera, given birth by the Margaret MacDonald who was obviously a Catholic plant in a protestant environment, and now is ready for progression into the greatest delusion ever to enter the minds and hearts of bible believing Christians of the latter days. From here it was spread by Jesuit priests highly trained in deception and then strategically placed throughout the protestant churches of the world to deliberately get them excited about a lie that would no doubt cut them some slack on more important issues like the inquisition where they had ordered the torture and death of somewhere between 150 and 300 million followers of the true Christ. God has allowed this lie to manifest for one very very important reason, and that is to separate the men from the boys...or the sheep from the goats as the bible tells us. From it's humble beginnings in the mind of one man nearly five hundred years ago, to the embracing of almost all bible believing Christians today, is indeed testimony to the strength of this delusion. But why would the Roman Catholic church want to deceive so many God fearing people you may ask. Well there are many reasons. Lets do some adding up here. Already we know that the father of lies is Satan, and if we have any doubt about whose father belongs to the early Catholic beginnings just read what Paul says about them. 2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. This is of course was alluding to the false teachers and prophets spoken of by Jesus and also of Peter in Ac 8:9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:...18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Many now acknowledge that this man Simon Peter Magus is actually the evil founder of the Roman Catholic religion, and not the Simon Peter with Jesus in whom the Catholic doctrine claims.
When something is "full blown" it means it is at it's peak performance, and there is no doubt whatsoever in my mind...this is where this rapture theory is at right now. Historically one could say it is doing more now than it ever has before, leading millions astray by the day. What we now see today is the full blown doctrine of the rapture delusion with all it's wonderful visions and apparitions painted in books and on their covers, but more importantly in the minds of the gullible. Tell any Christian that their beloved rapture theory is false, and look out for flying debris mate. This is again why Jesus said many are called but few chosen...because of the willingness of mortal man to embrace a lie. If God had intended there to be a rapture, then He would have made it clear to His people in the beginning, and not 1800 years later when He said through His apostles that there would be a great falling away. Please do your sums people...if there is supposed to be a falling away, why does it appear to be the opposite? We have billions of people believing in a false flyaway, get out of jail free, wimpy doctrine that is totally against all the teachings of the bible ( and with me ..against the spirit also ), all in the name of their false Jesus. Could there be a greater falling away? This same doctrine also lends credence to the once saved always saved doctrine that can also be easily shown to be from demons and not God. It is all connected to the one prophecy...the great falling away. There are millions of dollars made on rapture writings. It excites people...it makes room for more false evangelical teachings...it gives false hope...it is attractive to the dreamer....and all churches preach it. Just the other day I saw on the news that a bunch of helium filled blow up dolls got loose somewhere in an American city. A believer in the rapture theory immediately thought she was being left behind, and so while her husband continued down the road at speed in the family car, she opened the sunroof and in good faith in Jesus leaped to her death expecting Jesus to rapture her with the others...right before her husbands eyes. What is Jesus going to say to this sincere believer..."Ahh, sorry my dear child...wrong rapture" or " Sorry woman...I know you not". Please, tell me the right answer if you can. Could God let this happen to one of His children? Jesus said Himself that there would be many Jesus' to come in His name who are false, and this 'rapture Jesus' is one of them I'm afraid. Yes, you know something is full blown when one will not let go of it. When
cancer of aids for instance is full blown, it means the outcome is
inevitable...in the same way, if you cannot let go of this rapture thing, then
it is full blown in you, and, like all terminal diseases, only a miracle can
help you. The rapture is spoken more about in the Christian world than sex is
talked about in the pagan world. They preach it in the pulpit, they talk about
it at bible study, the read about it in books, and they see it on the
screen...it's everywhere in the church like a full blown virus without a cure
that has brainwashed almost all of humanity. This is plainly a tradition of men
and not of God. My message to all who have this full blown virus call rapture,
let go of it now and with a repenting heart ask God's forgiveness for so blindly
following the traditions of men. Mt 15:9 But in vain they do worship
me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. Jesus did NOT make this
a teaching, instead man in the form of Jesuit priest named Ribera and Margaret
MacDonald twisted scriptures to make there own, in order that the 'falling
away' prophecy could come true.
Paul said in.... Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap and all trough the bible sowing and reaping is talked about. When we sow seeds of sincerity we will receive sincerity...this is God's natural law by which all things are created...it can not fail. So, if we are only half sincere ( called lukewarm ), we reap only half of the truth and so are more prone to believing a lie. We can't blame God for our own mistakes. If we are pure in heart for the truth, we will receive ALL the truth, and thereby protected from the doctrines (lies) of men. So if we are all caught up in this delusion from from God, be assured it is a test of faith, and by remaining in it shows your true level of faith and thus you will reap your true level of punishment. God will never leave or forsake His true believers, so it's all a matter of how much you reap is dependent on how much you believe. For instance, if you say you believe in Jesus as your Savior, but don't be obedient to His words, then your faith level is very low, and so you reap little of the truth. Remember Jesus said ...to whom has much more will be given, and to whom has little even that little will be taken away? Well use this reaping and sowing in contrast to that invaluable message from Christ. We are GIVEN according to our faith level, there is absolutely no disputing this, so if you are not putting your faith into practice then the little you have will be taken away, and you will be left to fend for yourself against the likes of this rapture doctrine of men. But should we be pure in the Lord, He will lead you out of all deceivables and into His absolute truth of which there is only one.
Now that we have covered much of the history of the rapture theory it is now time to thoroughly investigate just how it can possibly be derived from the bible. Almost every cult and church system can be supported in some way at least by twisting the 'meaning' of passages in the bible to support their personal doctrine. There are a few verses in the bible that can appear to promote a rapture, but like most things...if you have already been prepped on it, you will very likely follow it with very little evidence. Besides, for every single verse that might appear to support it, there are many that don't. So without further ado, lets get right into the bible and see what we can find that supports this new age belief.
Here we can list all the bible verses that the Rapturists use to support the false doctrine and show the real meaning of it. Below is what the rapture theory relies so much on.
Here we can gather verses that show that any form of rapture whether it be Pre, Mid, or Post tribulation, has to be false because of it's disagreements with the ways of God.
*************************************************************************************** Read this in regards tom the great falling away.The Heavens to Pass Away with Great NoisePeter's prophecy in 2 Peter 3:10 says:
In Peter's time the heavens were thought to be a series of concentric shells that contained the planets, the sun and moon, and the fixed stars. The cosmology of the age of Peter was set forth by Claudius Ptolemy, and his work dominated the thinking of astronomers for centuries. But at the time of the scientific revolution, when the discoveries of Isaac Newton were publicized, the old Ptolemaic system of rigid shells collapsed. The idea of a rigid heavenly firmament was abandoned when men realized the earth rotated. The planetary spheres, equants, and deferents, were abolished, and this fulfilled Peter's prophecy, though it was unrecognized. The thief in the night comes and goes, without anyone knowing, until it is too late. Because statements in the Old Testament seemed to support the geocentric cosmology, the Bible was discredited. Many people abandoned their faith in God, some of them becoming atheists and skeptics. The rising tide of skepticism, and the commotion that accompanied the demise of the geocentric theory was the "great noise" predicted in Peter's prophecy, that accompanied the revolution in cosmology and the new era of scientific discovery.
Please note: Wrath is not tribulation. Here we show by the bible that as Christians, no mater when the great tribulation was or is to come, we are expected to go through all kinds of trials and tribulations for the sake of God's Gospel to the world, and for the testing of our faith. Tribulation has always been part of life for Christians and Israel throughout history, so what we need to decipher is which is which. It really depends on what you personally believe is the will of God. If you feel that the Sabbath is still required today or in the future, then yes, the great tribulation could still be future. There really is no concrete evidence for yea or neigh, but Mathew 24 sure does favour an AD70 great tribulation. For a detailed account of this subject please go <<<here>>> In part one we answer the all important question of "Do we go through tribulation? And part two we try to find out which tribulation is in fact the Great tribulation. Whatever we do or whatever we build, if we do not have a rock solid foundation to build it upon, then it will fall and crumble, and this tribulation is the whole foundation for this evil theory. Once we can debunk this, then what is left is just a whole lot of divided and twisted words, and Jesus says that ... Mat 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: Part one Do we as Christians have to go through the tribulation anyway? The following is for those who believe the great tribulation is yet to come, and also for those who believe they will be raptured out before it comes. As true Christians, are we expected by God to go through tribulation? How else can our spirit be tested? A prudent bible reader knows only too well that he is tested by God for the level of his faith, just as Peter was when he walked on water was tested by Jesus. 1Pe 1:7 Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed. The bible is full of such verses like this which show all God's children must prove their faith to God. If there is no testing...how can God know the true intentions of your heart? So if one was to escape tribulation like most rapture wimps falsely claim, then where is the testing? Mat 10:17-22 Psalms 37:39-40
Mat 24:9-24 Psalms 27:5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the covert of his tent he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock. So if we believe, then we will be protected during times of trouble and not suffer the pain of tribulation meant for the wicked. If you don’t believe this, then you haven’t read about the Passover where God’s wrath was poured out over the Egyptians in the form of death, but even though the Israelites were in great tribulation, they were yet protected from God’s wrath of death. It should be clear that wrath and tribulation are two different meanings.
Psalm 91:9-13 9Because
thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; Re 2:10 Fear not the
things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some
of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
So, in answer the the question of tribulation and the Christian, the overwhelming evidence points to yes... absolutely yes, all will go through it and not even one will escape. Get over it girls. Part two Just exactly when is the great tribulation? Most say it is after all the saints (believers ) have been "beamed " out of the world in Star trek fashion to their new mansion in outer space. A lesser amount say it is half before and half after the rapture that Scottie beams them away to safety right in the middle of the tribulation. And even a lesser amount which are at least closest to the mark say it is completed just before they flap their angelic wings and fly naked up into the great blue yonder. Now even still a small amount, mostly SDA's believe the great tribulation was the inquisition in which 150,000,000 innocent Jesus believers were tortured to death by the Roman Catholic Church. And finally (I think), we have the preterists who believe it was also in the past just a few years after Jesus died when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD70 by the Roman army. So the fact that there does not appear to be any concrete proof of when this event is or how long it goes for, does certainly cast a huge shadow on the Rapture theory itself. For myself, I personally believe that the great tribulation spoken of by Jesus in Mathew 24 was the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD because among many other things, He speaks of the Sabbath in that prophecy. Now the true Sabbath is not kept today albeit for a few, so it can't be now or in the future. If Jesus did in fact mean this to happen in our future, then ooooops, we better go back to keeping the true Sabbath then. So this again shows that Jesus was indeed addressing the Jews of that time and pointing to a time when the Sabbath was still kept, and according to all the know-alls of Christianity 2006, (and I suspect many years hereafter) this could not have been "post Apostle Paul's " time, so it HAS to be in my humble opinion pointing to the 70AD destruction of Jerusalem. There remains many questions like the moon and sun loosing their shine, and the mark of the devil in Revelations spoken about, but like all questions of like manner...can we be absolutely sure of the answers considering nobody knows the day or the hour? Which by the way, neither did the Jews know the day or the hour when Jerusalem was attracted ... they continued to eat and drink just like in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot., and only those who were watchful ( faithful to Jesus) therefore were to escape to the mountains. Which poses another thought...rapture or no rapture, does it really matter if we are obedient to Jesus Christ? Some speak of a seven year tribulation and others of a three and a half year tribulation and some of no tribulation, so will the real tribulation please stand up! Again we see that Christians not only cant agree on the time of the tribulation and the rapture, but also can't make up their minds about the length of it also. What a royal mess this doctrine of demons has got itself into. Thousands of books have been written about it, doctrines have been formed on it, cults have been born from it, and people build their dreams on it, but they will all be terribly surprised when they meet their Lord Jesus on His day only to find they have been deceived. Knowing the style of these lukewarmers, they will probably blame Messiah for allowing them to be deceived. Let it be known right here and now ; the rapture is a weak Christians escape, and not in the slightest way of Yahweh. So to answer the question of when is the tribulation, well Christianity in general cannot agree, so all I can do is give my take on it as you scroll to the AD70 tribulation below.
Just when the great tribulation was to happen has provided much debate over the years, which furthermore disrupts the rapture gravy train and leaves many undecided whether it was AD70 as the Preterist believe, or during the inquisition as most Seven Day Adventists believe, or a future event as most orthodox Christians believe, or an ongoing tribulation from after Christs resurrection and still counting. There are too many if's and but's to be absolutely sure. I must confess though that the more I read and study the Olivet Discourse of Mathew 24, the more I lean to the Preterist view of pointing to the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. Let it be known though I am at this stage not aware of any other doctrine of the Preterist group, but only their view to the great tribulation is all. I am simply taking the bible on face value and not trying to read into it what is in fact not there like many do to suit their own personal reasons and beliefs, instead of moulding their belief to suit the scripture. So what I am saying is that THEY (Preterist) agree with me rather than me agreeing with them by following their doctrine. As usual with the bible, and even more so with prophecy, we need to look at it in the right context, so here we need to realize that Jesus is speaking to the Jews, about the Jews, for the Jews, and of course about Judea ( hence ...all those in Judea flee to the mountains), so we can confidently assume He is not prophesying about a catastrophic world wide tribulation here. As a matter of fact, the whole gospel of Matthew was written for the Jews. It was written by a Jew in order to convince Jews. Keeping this in mind I would ask you to read all of Mathew chapter 24 to refresh your memory and then come back to this study where we will go over each and every verse in question and hopefully get to the bottom of this all important matter that can play such a huge part in our Christian lives. I have noticed the main reason Dispensationalists give to
refute the AD70 destruction as being fulfilment of the great tribulation is
their pre-conceived fact that Revelations does not jive with the Olivet
Discourse and that Revelations was written after AD70 around AD98. Well as far
as historical proof goes, there isn't enough evidence to sway me either way, but
when we look at the scripture text itself, it is clear that John at least meant
it for the currant age before his death. Just read the beginning where John
addresses this message to the 7 churches of Asia which was then existing.
Rev 1:3 ¶ Blessed
is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep
those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Next we need understand what the Kingdom of God is. In Mat
6:33 Jesus tells the Jews (not the gentiles) to...
seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Now assuming we now understand the context of this whole chapter of who Jesus is addressing, and together with the knowledge of the Kingdom of God, we can now begin.
Our comment on Matthew chapter 24
Just who is Jesus informing? Jesus, after just leaving the temple, had told His disciples that..."not one stone will be left on top of another" , and so they asked of Jesus ..."When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world?" Now Jesus went on to prophecy when this would happen. At this point it is important to note that the answer has to be in relation to the question...when will the temple fall down, and not the end of the world which is the second part of the question. We will see that this incorporates the destruction of the temple AND the following great tribulation. By reading carefully verses 1 - 6 word for word and letter by letter, we can see clearly that Jesus is telling these disciples what will happen to THEM in the future, and not something 2000 years in the future. In verse 4 He says beware no man deceive you (the disciples), and in verse 6 He says: And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled. So who is Jesus warning? THE DISCIPLES of course, just like the text suggest, not us. Let a ye be a ye and a me be a me. If you want to read into it without proof that you believe (think) He is talking about 2000 years later, then go ahead mate, but don't you dare teach it on a feeling or a whim...it better be the Holy Spirit. Look back in the bible and you will see that God always talks direct. If He is talking about somebody not present like 2000 years in the future for instance, He would say "them" and "they"...not "ye" and "you". And why did Jesus say for them to watch out? Because He knew some of them would still be alive as we will see later in this study. The end of the world was the end of Israel and the old covenant at that time which included the ceremonial laws and the sacrifice of animals for sin.
Lets move on now and study the next 7 verses of Mathew 24 all in one hit.
7 For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and
pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. First question...is there anything here that could not have happened before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70? I haven't done the research on nation against nation etc back then, but it certainly is possible. And we know that some of the disciples and some followers like Stephen for instance were oppressed and killed as in verse 9. And we know by Acts and also Paul's writings that there were false prophets like in verse 11. And we also know that those who were in obedience to Jesus at that time were indeed saved when those in Judea ran to the hills to escape Titus and his army. So again, there is nothing here that proves Jesus is speaking of a distant 2000 year event. It might be advantages at this stage also to point out that back in verse 6 where it was talking about wars and rumors of wars, was meaning the 4 year period prior to the fall where the advancing Roman army was repelled by the Jews.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then
shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Many take it for granted that the "end" here means the end of the world, but can we be sure? I think not because the correct translation is "end of the age", and besides, the focus from the beginning of this chapter until now is still the temple. The end of the age was to be the end of Israel as a nation at that time where all the Jews were to be scattered throughout the world to make way for the new age of the Gentiles who would preach the Gospel to the whole world.. The abomination of desolation of course was Titus the roman invader within the walls of God's Holy house on earth to the Jews. Imagine the abomination to God and to the Jews that would be. Consider the following: As a result or consequence of the death of the Messiah one making desolate (i.e. the Roman prince Titus) appears ‘upon the wing of abominations’ (i.e. the pinnacle of the temple). By this language the complete destruction of the temple is signified” (Young, 679). It is not without significance that the Jews themselves recognized that the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. Josephus, the Jewish historian, stated that “Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them” (Antiquities, 10.11.7). This view of “Daniel’s seventy weeks,” commonly called the “traditional” view, “has been held with slight variation by most Biblical scholars until recent years” (Scott, 364). And just to confirm that this is indeed the abomination back then, those in Judea were to flee to the mountains, which in fact is exactly what happened during the fall of Jerusalem. This is a "Judaea happening" not a "world happening". By the way, Daniel connects the appearance of the “abomination that makes desolate” with the first coming of Christ, not the Lord’s second coming (Dan. 9:24-27), so it is NOT a future event yet to come. And “whoso readeth” is a reminder that if we are NOT reading the prophecies of the bible and trying to understand them properly, then we are showing we have little regard for God's word. Now in AD 66 when Cestius approached to attack the city, God intervened and he withdrew. But apparently the Christians of that time saw this as the prophecy spoken of by Jesus in Mathew 24:15, and fled to the mountains in obedience, but 4 years later in 70 AD when Titus did finally came and destroyed Jerusalem, 1,100,00 Jews were killed. So the believers in Christ (Mainly Jews, but some Gentiles) were saved and remained on earth, and the non believing Jews in Christ died (raptured away). The Christians remembered the prophecy and were saved because they acted in faith by leaving all their work and possessions behind, and because the Jews saw no danger because of disbelief in Jesus, they were all destroyed. So yes, there was a rapture in fact...the bad guys were taken out of the world, not the true believers.
17 Let him which is on the
housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: In those days 2000 years ago the houses in Jerusalem were so close together that one could walk for miles around without even getting off the roof, and this is obviously why Jesus said not to bother going down from the roof when they see the signs, but rather take off on the roof tops. Of course if these words of Jesus were meant for us today, then we would be destroyed where ever we were...roof top or not. One atomic bomb can destroy 10 cities, so what's the use in running at all? The same rule applies to the other verses. I actually still keep the seventh day Sabbath but I do not keep it because I have to, but rather because I want to, but I do know that 99% of Christians keep traditions of men by keeping the first day holy. Nevertheless, if almost all Christians don't keep this Sabbath day today, then why should Jesus add these words? I tell you why...it's because He knew that 99% of Christians WOULD be keeping the Sabbath at the time of this great tribulation which was less than 40 years after His death and resurrection. Also keep in mind that the gates of Jerusalem were kept closed during the Sabbath day, so escape from the Roman soldiers would be much more difficult in case of surprise attack.
21 For then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Now lets first establish who Jesus is addressing here. Is He speaking of the whole world? Well no, He speaks about the world but not talking to the world...He is answering Peters question about themselves... the Jews. So when Jesus says it will be the greatest of all tribulations, He is speaking for the Jews...not the world. Now the tribulation during the fall of Jerusalem must have been horrific with the death toll around 1.1 million which was humongous for that period, and don't quote me, but I am sure I read where only about 200,000 escaped. If that were true then it would be 80% of the Jewish population of Jerusalem was wiped out. What greater tribulation could one imagine? We can tell from the following verses that this is not the end of the world but only the end of that age because it speaks of what is to come after the tribulation i.e. false prophets, signs and wonders etc. Now in verse 21 it says the tribulation worse than ever before or to come. By saying "nor ever shall be", it is declaring that the world will continue to live. Well if the world was to continue, then how could the end be immediately after the tribulation? If this was the case, the there would be no need for Jesus to add "nor ever shall be". If there is more to come then how can it be the end? Another point to take note of is that after saying the days will be shortened at the END of the tribulation, in the next verse He says THEN (meaning ...after this) will false Christ's arise. And this is exactly what has happened after AD70. These false Christ's are mentioned in Acts, Galatians, and 2Peter. So, by careful analysis of these passages of scripture we are now able to prove easily that the end is not after the great tribulation, even if you don't believe it happened in AD70. This great tribulation has already happened in 70Ad bringing to an END of the Old Covenant.
25 Behold, I have told you
before.
So Christ had warned them
beforehand about the rise of these false
Christ's and false prophets that would appear as if they were
of God but were not.
26 Wherefore if they shall
say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the
secret chambers; believe it not.
At the time leading up to the destruction of the temple many false Christ's did
indeed lead many out into the desert promising miracles and wonders, so Jesus
was making them aware of such things to come and not to fall for a easy way out
(as times then were severe and required endurance) which is no different to the
Rapture thugs of today who entice the flock to the wide gate hoping to get
remuneration for saving them tribulation.
It was a normal practice for these false Messiah's to lead their followers out into deserts like Jesus was suggesting, like to imitate John the Baptist for instance. They would entice people by pretending to be men of solace with miracles and wonders, thereby gaining the admiration of the people, and in turn their loyalty. This verse, and a somewhat parallel in Luke 17:20, shows us the greatest indication of the "type" of second coming it will be. .Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Why would Jesus go to so much trouble to show tell us not to look for Him? Could it be because He would not be seen...but come spiritually? I mean if Jesus WAS to come bodily, and I could see Him (and make no mistake), then why could I not say "hey, there is Jesus?" and if Jesus comes back to mount Zion
27 For as the lightning
cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming
of the Son of man be.
Wow, so this lightning will be seen all around the globe at the same time will it? How is that possible? It is not possible and this is why this is not a worldly coming of Jesus in the flesh 2000 years into the future like most think...but rather the spiritual coming (at this time) that WILL be easily distinguished from the false ones. Like when you see a lightning strike ( true Christ ) that shines up the whole sky from the east to the west...then you are sure it is no little bon fife (false teachers) out in the bush. His presence as He comes will be felt all over the world from the east to the west. If it was to be the worldly event that many suppose, then would Jesus not use a term like " many suns" for instance that would be seen world wide instead of lightning? Sure Jesus is world wide in Spirit, but He was talking locally then to the disciples in Jerusalem, not to us (the world). You must understand that at that time the whole world did not even know about God let alone the coming of Jesus. The only ones who knew were the middle east countries namely Israel/Jerusalem, and the fact He was talking to the disciples is why He used the term "lightning". I believe the second coming is over and verse 34 coming up proves that. Let me ask you one critical question. As a believer in the Gospel, who pray tell is your ruler? Is it Jesus or Satan? Jesus is my Ruler now, not some time in the future, so how can this be true if He has not came back? I got to tell you that if He wasn't my Ruler then I would be surely doing the things of Satan like boozing, gambling, smoking pot (oh how my flesh misses that), beating up on guys, shooting wild animals, and looking to be with the ladies. Do I cease from these things because I want you to like me? There is nothing illegal about all the above here in South Australia...so why would I want to stop all these great pleasures of my flesh? Because Jesus says if I want to follow Him I must, so yes sir, Jesus lives NOW...He is PRESENT NOW. Amen! So, can a flash of lightning be see by the whole world? No, but it can be seen by a city called Jerusalem at the time as Jesus came in Judgment to destroy Jerusalem. The word used for 'coming' is the Greek word Parousia. Lets take a closer look at it shall we. No better way than to first look it up in some different reference dictionaries and compare them. Greek word meaning "coming alongside and
remaining with" someone. Describes the Second Coming of Jesus for His own.
Used in Matthew 24:3,27,37,39; 1 Thess. 4:15, 5:23, 2 Thess 2:1, James 5:7, 8;
2 Peter 1:16, 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:23. From the Greek word "parousia,"
meaning "presence." The second coming when many Christians expect Jesus Christ
to return to earth. This is a major focus of most conservative Christians. Used to denote the Second coming
of Christ; 'the presence'. In Christianity, Parousia
means the presence of Christ. In the Greek language parousia means "presence,"
and in the ancient Greco-Roman world it referred to official visits by
royalty. It was appropriated by Christians as a specialized term for Jesus'
glorious presence on earth—primarily his final return at the end of the world,
but also his return upon the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. In all four (and I can produce many more) translations we find this Greek word to specifically mean "presence" ... nothing more and nothing less. Is there one single pure in heart Christian that can say they do NOT feel the PRESENCE of Jesus in their life already, here now? Especially take note of the first description, "coming alongside"...surely this means ' Christ with us' just as He is today. If Jesus was to come back bodily, would He be better to use a word meaning 'to live' or 'to be among' or maybe even ' to be seen'? Have you ever heard someone say "My mom died last year, but she is still with me? Of course you have. They mean their dear beloved is with them in spirit...in their presence.
epiphaneia. Greek word meaning "A shining-forth," refers to the visible appearance of Jesus at the close of the age. Used in 1 Tim. 6:14, 2 Tim. 4:1,8; Matt. 24:27, 2 Thess. 2:8; Titus 2:13. The words parousia and epiphaneia are combined in 2 Thess. 2:8, translated "his appearing and his coming."
28 For wheresoever
the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Remember Jesus telling a man to...let the dead bury the dead? Did you ever wonder what that means? I suppose your Pastor at least explained that correctly, and that is the dead are the "spiritually dead" but alive in the flesh only, and it was these who Jesus was referring to bury the dead that dead person. And so it was with what Jesus told the disciples ...for wherever the carcase (spiritually dead Jews) is, there the eagles (Roman soldiers) will be gathered. Exactly like it was at the destruction of Jerusalem 70AD. the spiritually alive ran to the mountains and were saved, while the spiritually dead got slaughtered by the Roman soldiers. The Jewish nation was often described as a rotting carcass where birds of prey would gather. So we can again see clearly here that Jesus is speaking of what it would be like during the fall of Jerusalem...wherever you see an unfaithful Jew, then there also will you see the Roman soldiers (birds of prey) attacking and killing them.
THE DISPENSATIONALIST FUTURISTS GREATEST WEAPON.
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. This type of language happens all through the prophet writings in the bible and needs to be kept in the same context here as such. To take this literally is to go against the grain of prophecy. Just read through Isa chapter 13 and 34 and you will see several such allegories used. If we are not to take it literally, then what does it mean then? Isaiah is simply using this Old Testament allegory to point to the "wrath and judgements" of God that were about to fall on Babylon, just like in Isa 13:10 below for instance. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. For more examples of OT language please see also... Isa. 34:4... Dan. 7:13,14 ... Zech. 12:11-14 .... Isa. 27:13 ... Deut. 30:4 ... Zech. 2:6 And so it is in this Olivet Discourse, in that it points to the wrath and judgements of God on the Jews who refused to believe in Messiah who came to save them, and thus destroying them and their city. Only the ones who accepted the new covenant through the cross were revealed the coming tribulation and allowed to flee to the mountains and escape. Now that we have that settled and we also have asserted Jesus was prophesying the fall of Jerusalem in AD70, then we must also assert that immediately after that very tribulation, this allegory will take place i.e. in God's judgements He will take from them the new covenant that was to be theirs by promise with the words "if you repent" included, and instead given to the Gentiles. You could call this apocalyptic language, of which the Old Testament often uses to describe the destroying of a nation...in this case Jerusalem. If these catastrophic events were really to mark the end of the world as the rapture army suggest, then why does life seem to continue after this, as you will see Jesus tells us in the next couple of verses? If we say "this will happen" and next we say "THEN that will happen" surely the latter happens after the former. And if everything is dark like the above verse appears literally, then how can we see anything like what is in the next verses? Could it be Jesus is just using Hebrew idioms to show not just the fall of Jerusalem, but also how far man has sunk into immorality? For instance light is a metaphor for truth, so it could very well be Jesus is saying there is very few in these last days living in the truth, and was probably pointing to the church as the main culprit as He often called them vipers and snake and hypocrites. One could be excused for believing it was for now because that's exactly like most of the modern day churches are in fact, with their love of money and false doctrines like the Rapture theory. It is clear to some that the fall of Jerusalem was truly to usher in the new covenant everlasting which basically is spiritual Israel; all those who believe in Messiah. Also consider this; If you were alive in AD70 while the city was being destroyed, and was right in the thick of things, what would you be seeing? To help you imagine, please remember the television scenes we had of Iraq during the first war war Saddam...do you remember the sight of the sun? The vision is still etched in my mind today. Yes, the sun was darkened, and if there was a moon at that time it would certainly not give any light. And so it would have been for those caught up in the war of AD70 destruction of Jerusalem Some Commentaries on Mathew 24:29: Jamison, Faussitt and Brown Mat 24:1-51 - Mat_24:1-51. Christ’s prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, and warnings suggested by it to prepare for His second coming. ( = Mar_13:1-37; Luk_21:5-36). For the exposition, see on Mar_13:1-37.
The peoples new testament. Mat 24:29 - Immediately after the tribulation of those days. The first question, When shall these things be? has now been answered. Here begins the answer to the second, concerning the coming of the Lord. For other passages on the second coming, see 1Th_2:19; 1Th_3:13; 1Th_4:15; 1Th_5:23; 2Th_2:1, 2Th_2:8-9; 1Co_15:23; Jam_5:7; 2Pe_1:16; 2Pe_3:12; 1Jo_2:28. "Immediately" after the destruction of Jerusalem (the tribulation) the series of events begins that leads to the coming of Christ.The sun shall be darkened. I take what follows to be symbolical, as is usual for prophecy, rather than literal. Christ is "the Sun of Righteousness." After the destruction of Jerusalem, the causes began to work that led to the great apostasy of the church and produced "the Dark Ages" of the church. The moon shall not give her light. The moon shines by reflected light of the sun and if it is darkened so will be the moon. So, too, the church shines by the light of Christ. When Christ's light was darkened by taking the Bible from the people the church give forth little light during the long night of the Middle Ages. The stars shall fall. Stars represent great teachers of the church, apostles and evangelists. See Rev_1:20. When the apostles were dethroned by the Romish apostasy, "the stars fell from heaven," figuratively. Other stars, great church lights who apostatized, fell from heaven in another sense.John Gill John Gill (1809) said, "Ver. 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, &c. That is, immediately after the distress the Jews would be in through the siege of Jerusalem, and the calamities attending it; just upon the destruction of that city, and the temple in it, with the whole nation of the Jews, shall the following things come to pass;...... and that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, will not answer to the word 'immediately', or show that that should be understood of two thousand years after: besides, all the following things were to be fulfilled before that present generation, in which Christ lived, passed away, (Mt 24:34) and therefore must be understood of things that should directly, and immediately take place upon, or at the destruction of the city and temple."
Adam Clarke (1837) "In the prophetic language, great commotions upon the earth are often represented under the notion of commotions and changes in the heavens: - I advise the reader to read the rest of Adam Clarke's commentary...its very convincing. Robertson Mat 24:29 - Immediately ( eutheōs). This word, common in Mark’s Gospel as euthus, gives trouble if one stresses the time element. The problem is how much time intervenes between “the tribulation of those days” and the vivid symbolism of Mat_24:29. The use of en tachei in Rev_1:1 should make one pause before he decides. Here we have a prophetic panorama like that with foreshortened perspective. The apocalyptic pictures in Mat_24:29 also call for sobriety of judgment. One may compare Joel’s prophecy as interpreted by Peter in Act_21:16-22. Literalism is not appropriate in this apocalyptic eschatology.
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Question; is this speaking of what will be seen from heaven, or what will be seen from earth? No matter what the sign is supposed to be, one thing is for sure; that it will appear soon after the tribulation because the scripture says "THEN shall the sign appear". So when is 'then'? It is immediately after the tribulation according to verse 29. and if we believe the tribulation was AD70, then it was NOT 2000 years after. Now there are two ways of understanding this verse, and to keep it in context with the destruction of Jerusalem as we already have shown, we need to consider them both first before we choose. We can see that Jesus is in heaven, and the sign appears to Him in heaven, but does that mean the sign itself is IN heaven? Not necessarily. If I said a sign came to me while I was in my bedroom, does that mean the actual sign was in my bedroom? No, it means I saw it FROM my bedroom. And in the same way, all heaven could see the sign of the Son of Man in (or from) heaven also. So what is the sign then? It is the destruction of Jerusalem that was to signify the passing of the old covenant of course. You have to realize folks...this is the greatest sign in history because it was a sign to show the beginning of the New Covenant that you and me live for now. Imagine the scenes in heaven, wow, it would be shaking and rumbling with all the celebrations. Maybe there even might be the odd bottle of red being popped. The other way to understand this verse is that of the multitude and the traditional church. It expects some great sign like a giant cross or something, to appear as a sign to us that Jesus is on His way to get us. To me this is way out in left field in the context of AD70 fulfillment of the Olivet Discourse as a whole. The only way I can possibly entertain the thought even, is if Jesus lied to His disciples back in verses 1-6. Some dreamers like Hal Lindsay for instance imagines a huge cross in the sky could be a sign that Jesus is coming. Oh boy, has it really come to this? A sign was not to appear in the heavens, but the destruction of Jerusalem was to indicate the rule of the Son of man IN heaven. Jesus told Caiaphas, "You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power." Jesus said to His disciples, "They would see the sign that the son of man was in heaven." He told Caiaphas, "You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven." He told His disciples, "They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Surely all these are the same event. How many heavens and Christ's are there? First question...is this speaking of a physical or spiritual 2nd Advent? In other words, do we expect to SEE Jesus coming in the clouds or yes or no? Second question... these clouds; are they also visible or not? Third question we need to consider here if you want to get literal is, if Jesus is 'IN' the clouds, then how in the dickens are we going to see Him? Surely this has to be our first indication that this is NOT a physical coming, but rather a spiritual coming just like Jesus said it would. Remember...Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. This is the promise of the second coming folks, and here it is again from Jesus Himself...Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. Can you see why Jesus had to go away first? In the beginning Jesus created heaven and earth as SPIRIT right? Later He came in the FLESH, so that means His spirit, i.e. the HOLY SPIRIT, was of course still with Him and so He could not send it yet...BUT, when He departed to become spirit once again, only then could He now send it. And that's exactly what He did, He sent a part of Himself, the Holy Spirit, His spirit, to witness to the hearts of men who believed in Him just like Jer 31:33 said He would. This Holy Spirit (or Comforter) is the sign in heaven of the Son of man, that all the tribes on earth (tribes = Israel) shall mourn, why?, because they threw away their only hope of salvation to the Romans. They handed God over to be killed, and they knew it.. Think on this, is there reason now for ALL the tribes on earth to mourn? No way folks, as true followers of Jesus, we now CELEBRATE the death and resurrection as the greatest Victory of Christ. Why should we mourn? Now the Jews on the other hand who killed their very own Savior, had plenty to mourn about. Ok, can you remember who Jesus is speaking to...and what was the question they asked? Yes, it was the disciples wasn't it, and it was them also who asked the question way back in verse 3...And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal your return and the end of the world Now the correct translation by the way, of the Greek word aeon is "age" not world, so from this we can now know the disciples are referring to the Old Covenant age. So it is only expectant that we should assume the sign would be for the disciples to see (this generation) and not a 2000 year future sign. I know Noah lived about 930 years, but 2000 years could be stretching the friendship I recon. So now that we have been enlightened to the truth about when the sign should come, now we must ask 'what is this sign? Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus Christ will return to earth physicaly anyway? Acts 1:11 does say Jesus will return in 'like manner' as He did when He left i.e. in the clouds, but when you translate the Greek word used here 'hon tropon' it is better translated 'simular manner', and not the exact manner like most take for granted, and build a doctrine on it. What the angel is saying here is that when Jesus returns, He will come in the clouds in the same way He left in the cloud, only this time it would be in the spirit...not bodily. In any case, why would Jesus say what He did in verse 23 earlier if He was to come in the flesh? Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. I mean if Jesus was to come in the flesh, then what is wrong with saying 'there He is' when He comes? Now you can see how digging deep into scripture can bring the truth to the surface where it is meant to be. By following another man, you are believing he is God, and that is what 99% of modern believers are doing today. If you really believe you Pastor or teacher is God...then go for it mate, it's no skin off my nose, but for me...the word of God will suffice just nicely thank you. Now regarding ...and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; I still mourn for the way my Lord was crucified for my sins by the unbelieving Jews, and no doubt many others of that day and this day still do also, but as a believer I also rejoice in the fact He did this for my sins. I also mourn because Jesus had to suffer so much for my sins. As far as ... and they shall see the Son of man , well this simply means to 'imagine or envisage Jesus coming with the 'truth' or as the truth. Maybe a better word would have been 'perceive'. When I say 'I see' the world as evil...am I saying I see the world as a devil? Or when I say I can see the devil in you...what am I really saying? Yes, I see the bad in you. For example, if we look at Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. we can now understand the same meaning. If you can't see the meaning, then you better be worried about whether you have everlasting life or not, because I doubt if you or anyone else for that matter have literally seen the bodily Jesus. There are shiploads of verses similar to these in the bible. So I can very well imagine my Lord Jesus coming in the clouds with great power and glory. Amen! Coming in the clouds of heaven; Cloud ...from the Online Bible Dictionary)The Hebrew so rendered means "a covering," because clouds cover the sky. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendour of that glory which it conceals #Ex 16:10 Ex 33:9 Nu 11:25 12:5 Job 22:14 Ps 18:11 A "cloud without rain" is a proverbial saying, denoting a man who does not keep his promise #Pr 16:15 Isa 18:4 25:5 Jude 1:12 A cloud is the figure of that which is transitory #Job 30:15 Ho 6:4 A bright cloud is the symbolical seat of the Divine presence #Ex 29:42,43 1Ki 8:10 2Ch 5:14 Eze 43:4 and was called the Shechinah (q.v.). Jehovah came down upon Sinai in a cloud #Ex 19:9 and the cloud filled the court around the tabernacle in the wilderness so that Moses could not enter it #Ex 40:34,35 At the dedication of the temple also the cloud "filled the house of the Lord" #1Ki 8:10 Thus in like manner when Christ comes the second time he is described as coming "in the clouds" #Mt 17:5 24:30 Ac 1:9,11 False teachers are likened unto clouds carried about with a tempest #2Pe 2:17 The infirmities of old age, which come one after another, are compared by Solomon to "clouds returning after the rain" #Ec 12:2 The blotting out of sins is like the sudden disappearance of threatening clouds from the sky #Isa 44:22 Cloud, the pillar of, was the glory-cloud which indicated God's presence leading the ransomed people through the wilderness #Ex 13:22 33:9,10 This pillar preceded the people as they marched, resting on the ark #Ex 13:21 40:36 By night it became a pillar of fire #Nu 9:17-23
Jesus' second coming was as a thief in the night, suddenly, as they ate and drank without keeping watch, just like in the days of Noah. He came as wrath upon the Jews who did not believe the Messiah had come the first time, and the Jews who did believe escaped because God's chosen are not appointed to wrath. It was so pronounced that it would be seen like lightning from the east to the west...there could be no mistake for those then living that this was indeed the second coming of Jesus to take away the unfaithful Jews and set up the new covenant on earth for the faithful. Just like we read earlier in verse 28...wherever you see a unbelieving Jew ( dead spiritually /carcass), there you will see the Roman army (Jesus' wrath/ eagles) set to pounce and destroy. This is the unmistakable 2nd coming of The Lord. Jesus comes ( or came) the 2nd time as wrath in JUDGMENT of the unbelieving Jews. This is the sense of the language used here by Jesus. He uses, in part, the same language that the prophets used...the same apocalyptic language of the Old Testament. This not a literal language...it is fully symbolic. The Jews were fully aware of it and this is another reason why God's wrath should fall on them rather than the Gentiles. The Jews should have known better so they copped the wrath. We can see here that only the Jews who KNEW better, were the ones to be taken away by the great tribulation of God's wrath, and not the one's who believed together with the gentiles who had no idea what it meant. This is seen as fair and just judgment of God. God's "coming on the clouds of heaven" is a symbolic way of speaking of His presence, judgment and salvation. All through the Old Testament God was coming "on clouds," in salvation of His people and judgment of His enemies. Coming on the clouds indicates His Presence: Exodus 16:10; 19:9; 34:5, Leviticus 16:2, Numbers 11:25. Salvation: In Psalms 18:9-12, Remember Caiaphas' response to Jesus' statement (Matthew 26:65)? Why would he be angry with that statement of Jesus? all He said was... Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Could it be that this Jewish high priest Caiaphas was fully aware that this was apocalyptic language to mean " in God's judgment and presence as Messiah" and therefore had to be blasphemy? Sheesh, what is blasphemous about 'real' clouds? The priest would be more likely to throw Jesus in the looney bin than kill him if he was thinking real clouds. No folks, when Jesus said he would come on the clouds, He was using the apocalyptic language of the prophets to identify himself as the Messiah, the Judge. We must see that this is not a physical, bodily coming of Christ, but a coming in judgment.
Adam Clarke
(1837) An interesting comment from
Henry Cowles
(1881) John Gill (1809) a premillennialist said, "He shall appear, not in person, but in the power of his wrath and vengeance, on the Jewish nation which will be a full sign and proof of his being come:"
Mat 24:31) The great
trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the
earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the
other. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was the sign of his coming in power and glory. Matthew 24 makes it clear that the great gathering of God's people took place when the earthly temple was destroyed in AD 70. No longer would the dead be confined to the waiting place called Hades. No longer would sin death separate us from God. This is what the resurrection was all about, the dead in Christ were resurrected into the presence of God. Those alive at that time were given immortality. This all happened in AD 70. Believers today don't need a resurrection because Jesus said, "Whosoever lives and believes in me will never die." We are IN the resurrection right now. We have immorality, and when we physically die, we will be in the presence of God. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Mat 24:32) "Let the fig tree
teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts
putting out leaves, you know that summer is near.
(Mat 24:33) In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that
the time is near, ready to begin.
Just as any citizen of Jerusalem at the time Jesus was on earth could determine the beginning of summer by the new buds of the fig tree, if they took note of the signs Jesus gave them, then the disciples would be able to know the approaching tribulations to come when the Romans would come to destroy their city, and so escape to the mountains. As it so happened, a few were awake to the signs and escaped before the massacre. Note also the time stamp on this sign...near, and ready to begin, or at the door as the kJV says. Does "at the door suggest 2000 years later? (Mat 24:34) Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died. No matter what bible version you have (except for the MRC, MSG, and the Aramaic Lamsa bibles, of which all three need to be burnt) these words are like an axe to the root of all dispensational false prophecy. It cut's to the quick their common feel good paradigm, and leaves no other explanation except a AD70 second coming of our Lord in Judgment and in Spirit. All futurists stumble here and stop in their tracks like a pricked balloon because they can not give a decent answer to the question of "this generation". Oh sure they come up with the "generation/race thingy", but that don't cut it with any bible scholar because they know the Greek word " genea" used here is the same Greek word used throughout the bible to mean a ..."The whole multitude of men living at the same time." and NOT a race of people that can live forever. This verse is so embarrassing that I heard of some Pastors, sincere in their love for the Lord, wishing this verse was not in the bible. Why? Because it pricks their balloon is why! I could go on and on about how this one verse destroys the dispensational paradigm and the rapture along with it, but I feel even the slightest intelligence can see the full truth here, so there is no point twisting the knife. (Mat 24:35) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. You see, the old heaven and earth were the Jews and their hypocritical idolistic system as the earth, and the Old Covenant Laws as the heaven. All that has now GONE. Vamoose! Get out and stay out! That old earth system, together with the non believing Gentiles, are those now on the outer gnashing their teeth. Let me tell you this, any Jew worth his salt will hate the Christian with a passion. Why? Because in the depths of their hearts they know Christians are blessed of God, therefore gnashing their teeth in the outer darkness. Can you see it? Today, the Christian is blessed more than any other religious faith in the world. We have all we need and more. No place in history has life been better for man who believes in Jesus. To me this is the new earth right now...the new Jerusalem, with all other faiths, including the Jewish belief, on the outer gnashing their teeth, while the Christian is blessed by grace and mercy, with no rules or regulations like those of the Jew , Muslim, Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist. Wow folks, I'm happy to be here.
(Mat 24:36) "No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come---neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows. Early in the chapter we saw the disciples ask Jesus when would all these things (what Jesus prophesized) happen. Jesus gave them all the signs to what to look for , that would tell them the time was "near" or "at hand", meaning very very soon in other words, but even He at this time, could not determine the exact day or hour...only the Father could. One needs to note here though, that all the signs spoken of in this chapter concerning His coming, have already been told before verse 29 as you see..."Soon after the trouble (or signs) of those days...."shows this, so the ongoing description of the Lords coming ( sun darkened etc) is not a sign.
(Mat 24:37) The coming of the Son of Man will be like what happened in the time
of Noah.
Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. Here we see that Jesus has already come back (2nd advent) before the disciples completed their preaching of Israel in the first century, which would have been during the destruction of Jerusalem AD70.. Mark 8:38, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." See...who is Jesus speaking about? "this adulterous and sinful generation" that's who! And who will He be ashamed of when He comes back? THAT generation, that's who. Why can't people see the plain and simple truth instead of reading into it which is NOT there Matthew 24:30,34, " they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory…This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Mark 13:24,25,30, " But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken....this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. " Luke 21:22,26,32, "For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled... for the powers of heaven shall be shaken…This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. " Cloud (from the online Bible Dictionary) The Hebrew so rendered means "a covering," because clouds cover the sky. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendor of that glory which it conceals #Ex 16:10 Ex 33:9 Nu 11:25 12:5 Job 22:14 Ps 18:11 A "cloud without rain" is a proverbial saying, denoting a man who does not keep his promise #Pr 16:15 Isa 18:4 25:5 Jude 1:12 A cloud is the figure of that which is transitory #Job 30:15 Ho 6:4 A bright cloud is the symbolical seat of the Divine presence #Ex 29:42,43 1Ki 8:10 2Ch 5:14 Eze 43:4 and was called the Shechinah (q.v.). Jehovah came down upon Sinai in a cloud #Ex 19:9 and the cloud filled the court around the tabernacle in the wilderness so that Moses could not enter it #Ex 40:34,35 At the dedication of the temple also the cloud "filled the house of the Lord" #1Ki 8:10 Thus in like manner when Christ comes the second time he is described as coming "in the clouds" #Mt 17:5 24:30 Ac 1:9,11 False teachers are likened unto clouds carried about with a tempest #2Pe 2:17 The infirmities of old age, which come one after another, are compared by Solomon to "clouds returning after the rain" #Ec 12:2 The blotting out of sins is like the sudden disappearance of threatening clouds from the sky #Isa 44:22 Cloud, the pillar of, was the glory-cloud which indicated God's presence leading the ransomed people through the wilderness #Ex 13:22 33:9,10 This pillar preceded the people as they marched, resting on the ark #Ex 13:21 40:36 By night it became a pillar of fire #Nu 9:17-23
In the three examples above there is one theme in common...all talk about "this generation" which was within the 40 years time frame between when Jesus spoke the words and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. The dispensationalist futurist want you to believe that Jesus didn't really mean what He said, or that because He never really knew when He was to come back that He must have erred, or that He meant this generation was all Christians to come. Matthew 16:27-28, "For the Son of man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There are some of those standing here, who in no wise shall taste of death, until they have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Mark 8:38 - 9:1, "…when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels....there are some of those standing here, who in no wise shall taste of death, until they see the kingdom of God having come in power. " Luke 9:26-27, "... when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels…there are some of those standing here, who in no wise shall taste of death, until they have seen the kingdom of God. " Notice how Jesus said that some of his disciples, who were standing right there in front of him, would not physically die by the time He came with his angels to reward every man according to his works (Revelation 22:12). John was one of these men who lived to see it...as you can see by the following verse... John 21:22-23, "...If I (Jesus) desire him (John) to abide till I come, what is that to thee?" [John was one of the twelve apostles who was never martyred, and abided on earth well after 70AD. Therefore, John did abide until Christ came in 70AD, just like Jesus desired him to!] http://www.preteristarchive.com/Preterism/anthony_richard_p_03.html
There is much shown in this study to One honest question must be asked of every Jesus believing person in relation to this theory, and that is ..."why do I WANT to believe it?" If you do indeed answer truly, you have no other reason but selfishness. Yes, you want some other hope as well as the hope in Jesus, to comfort your pathetically weak faith. You are afraid of pain and suffering just like all of humanity, but the difference with you is you want an escape from it when all others from the past and present have to go through it. Yes again, you think that you are the centre of the universe and therefore recon you deserve special attention from God, without even the remote thought of the welfare of others. How dare you think you can escape what others could not. And don't give me that grace excuse again. If grace is for one who believes, isn't it for all who believe? Of course it is, so in agreeing on this, what may I ask is your reason all the other Jesus believing Christians in the past had to suffer the worst kind of tribulations...even unto death for the sake of truth. So what do I think Paul is describing in 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. As a side note, let me give you another thought on verse 21: Jesus said that the great tribulation would be, "such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." Gary Hardison said, "The phrase 'nor ever shall be' implies time would go on after the tribulation." I agree. The great tribulation is not going to happen at some future day when the world ends, it happened in 70 AD when the Old Covenant age ended. One more important decisive verse worth noting at this stage is 1Thess 5:23 ¶ And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now please consider the fact that we are to ...
The mindset we need to embrace here is one of "not my will but yours Father". When we do this we soon realise that whether there is a magical flyaway escape for a few people at the end of the world is true or not...it will not and should not affect the way I walk in obedience to God Yahweh. At worst this belief could cost you your salvation and not so worse it could manifest a great disappointment at the time of death in the flesh, after which much will be revealed. From the beginning of time to now Yahweh has almost never taken His people out of this world, and we still remember Jesus actually praying to the Father NOT to do this. So, with great confidence I can say that Yahweh never changes and never will according to His Laws, and with this in mind I can boldly confess that a rapture of the kind portrayed by those with obvious ulterior motives as the Roman Catholic system, can never be in one accord with God. His word shows clearly that something that is divided will always fall and we know that this theory is indeed divided if not once but twice even. Without a solid foundation we should all know and confess to be true, that what is built on it must eventually crumble and fall. To continue to believe in such a doctrine after reviewing all the evidence shown here together with the knowledge of God's Holy Character, has to be a sin against Him. Be upstanding and bold before man and humbly before Yahweh as you confess your error. Grace and peace always in the name of the Lord Jesus.
To put forth proof ( if any ) against what you see here, or to simply add to the truth here, please visit our forum : Rapture Forum.
Some possible corrections
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