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Christ Himself said that only the Father knows the time.
The time comes for each of us the day we die, nonetheless.
This is the way the Father has deemed it to be.
It is true that the Apostles and Martyrs belived He could return
at any time, of course, they having lived with Him, only natural reaction,
but the time is just not here yet. How long has it been ? What seems
like a long time, is only about 28 back-to-back lifespans of the
average man. Let us be thankful.
Christ Himself said that only the Father knows the time.
The time comes for each of us the day we die, nonetheless.
This is the way the Father has deemed it to be.
It is true that the Apostles and Martyrs belived He could return
at any time, of course, they having lived with Him, only natural reaction,
but the time is just not here yet. How long has it been ? What seems
like a long time, is only about 28 back-to-back lifespans of the
average man. Let us be thankful.
Good post. I never hear much of the Catholic Amillennial view. Can you give me some info what that will look like?
Regarding the concept that Jesus' return was imminent all these centuries, and could have happened at any time....I'm wondering how is that possible?
Aren't there some unfulfilled prophecies that would have to happen first?
How about the fact that The Nile never dried up? (though it seems that it is dryer now than it used to be)
Any thoughts on this?
GINOLJC 2 Two Witnesses,
from my understanding of the bible, and reading some of the replies here. I believe the misunderstanding stem from not understanding the Lord's second coming. which is two fold. what do I mean two fold?. he will return twice. first of the two fold coming is in Spirit and Power. and that happen on the Day of Pentecost. a careful study of John chapter 14 will confirm this. for he returned in Spirit form. and the second of his two fold return will happen in bodily form when every eye will see him. and that return is yet forth coming. so Matthews 24 was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when he returned as the Holy Spirit. for Judas asked a very important question, John 14:22 "Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?”. here is a clear indication of HOW, that first of his two fold return would occur. it was done in the MANIFESTATION of the Spirit. and that manifestation of the Spirit happen on the Day of Pentecost, see Acts chapter 2.
for this was always foretold of God walking among, and in his people. and that is made possible by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Now his second “appearance”, or return, which will be in bodily form. for there are two states to our Lord, scripture, Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation”. his second of the two fold return is in "APPERANCE", the First was in Spirit, "unseen", only in MANIFESTATION. this verse clearly states a “second appearance”, not a second manifestation as on Pentecost. lets support this second “appearance”, in bodily fashion. Revelation 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen”. it is the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus who will return bodily.
Good post. I never hear much of the Catholic Amillennial view. Can you give me some info what that will look like?
The most common opinion is that the thousand years of 20 refers to a period of considerable length, much longer than the periods mentioned in 11, 2-4; 12, 2-6, but the term is not to be taken literally as some take it. The "chiliasts" maintain the Christ will reign on earth visibly and personally for the space of a thousand years, and they place this reign between the first and the second resurrections. This interpretation falls before 7-10. The number is rather symbolical, as are the other numbers in the book. The thousand years cannot begin with the Second Coming of Christ for that ushers in the end of time. They must, therefore, precede His coming. But does this Milennium follow chronologically the other prophecies in the Apocalypse, or does it coexist with them ? It seems that it coexists with them, and is but another side of the future history of the Church. It is, therefore, the symbol of the spiritual domination of the Church Militant joined to the Church Triumphant for the glorification of Christ to the end of the world. The character of this reign is purely spiritual. The martyrs, who are dead, and the confessors, some of whom are dead and some living, form part of the kingdom. Christ reigns over all these souls. Christian teaching is propagated in the world, Christian influence is exercised on human society, and thus is restrained the world power.
In this sense Christians reign with Christ.
(loosely taken from "A Commentary on the New Testament", Catholic Biblical Association, 1942)
The most common opinion is that the thousand years of 20 refers to a period of considerable length, much longer than the periods mentioned in 11, 2-4; 12, 2-6, but the term is not to be taken literally as some take it.
Thanks Snowball. One thing I like about the internet is the multitude of fine illustrations. Sometimes I need to see it, not just read it.
Perhaps God is already 'reclaiming the earth' ... one person at a time, through Jesus' victory over sin and death on the cross at Calvary! And perhaps, instead of "ripping the sin out" (as might be suggested in the parable of wheat and tares (?)), He has forgiven sin and offered eternal Salvation, by grace through faith in the lives of each individual believer in Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8).
During the 1000-year Millennium period following the Great Tribulation, Christ will rule and reign on earth --- and, at some point, the world as we know it, will be destroyed.
Or the correct understanding about the parable of wheat and tares is what Christianity has always taught ... the only one return of Christ in which without notice (as like what happened in Noah's time) the
wheat is separated from the tares
sheep is separated from the goats
the righteous is separated from the unrighteous
as Jesus said about his coming (singular ... in bold)
Matthew 13:30
" 'Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
the singular return of Jesus is restated again by Jesus in:
Matthew 25:31-33 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."
Luke 9:26Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Mark 8:38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
1 Thessalonians 4 tells us that believers will rise to meet Christ in the air, not prior to, but on the last day
Matthew 24:30, all the nations of the earth “will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” On that day, according to Revelation 1:7, “every eye will see him.”
As a theologian some time ago wrote:
Millennialism is to outright deny the church's hope of Christ's only return to judgement and those who " transport it into the stratosphere of their own esoteric speculations" belong to the scoffers who, Peter warned, would come, "scoffing and following their own evil desires" (2 Peter 3:3).
According to the actual text of the New Testament, Jesus' return was to occur during the lifetime of some of his Apostles. This is why many of his ethical teachings can be rightly termed "interim ethics" - ethics that are only meant to be kept between the time Jesus stated them and the imminent return. Otherwise, many of them are not workable models of behavior (quitting your job, giving all your money away, leaving your family) - they only work with the assumption that the end is nigh, and extremely nigh.
In the Gospel of Mark, after telling his followers prophecies of the end-times (the "Eschaton"), Jesus tells them exactly when this will happen:
Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.
(Mark 13:30, NRSV)
Similar sentiments can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, at least, and the saying "there are some standing here who will not taste death until the Son of Man comes into his Kingdom", etc.
This is the apocalyptic nature of Jesus' message. Even in the later New Testament writings, when the return of Jesus did not occur, the writers had to begin apologizing and misinterpreting Jesus' very plain words into something they were never meant to mean. A generation is a generation. That is all. Jesus was not speaking in one of "God's days", unless we wish to apply that to every single time he mentions time - and that just gets silly.
So I wouldn't say that his return was imminent "all these centuries", but that it had a very specific time-frame, and that time-frame was missed about 2000 years ago. Sorry.
Regarding the concept that Jesus' return was imminent all these centuries, and could have happened at any time....I'm wondering how is that possible?
Aren't there some unfulfilled prophecies that would have to happen first?
How about the fact that The Nile never dried up? (though it seems that it is dryer now than it used to be)
Any thoughts on this?
At Luke 19 vs 11-15 wasn't Jesus clear Jesus' return would Not be immediate or instantly in the first century?______
Jesus, as the nobleman, would first have to go away to a far country [heaven] before returning in kingdom glory at the future ' time of separation ' of Matthew 25 vs 31,32.
Also, Revelation was Not written until the very end of the first century.
Revelation 16 v 12 about dried-up waters is now in connection to the ' waters ' of Rev. 17 vs 1,15 . They are the people [ waters ] who have dried up spiritually. - Isaiah 57 v 20.
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