Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/30/12

Mat 18:6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

    I pray that I do not offend any, I know it is an awesome responsibility to teach. Please don't get caught up in the “End Time” stuff that is out there just to scare you into buying their books. “The Late Great Planet Earth”  sold millions and it is still a top seller, but it is not based on the proper “Hermeneutics” (the science of interpretation; particularly, the study of the principles of Biblical exegesis) And the “Left Behind” books are just the same. They are, at best, fictional novels. And in my opinion are no better than “The Da Vinci Code.”

      I desire to guide you into the truth. I do not pretend to understand all I have shared with you on this subject, but I am learning, and yes at times I still hear thunder. I believe that the Bible does not speak about the end of this world, this planet earth, but the end of the “Jewish Age”

    

    The book of Revelations is not speaking to us today! It was addressed to the seven churches in Asia. Rev 1:4  John to the seven churches that are in Asia: The ones that interpret this way would have you believe that the locusts mentioned in the 9^th chapter are prophetic images of helicopters from the revival of the Roman Empire. And they say that it foresees specific earthquakes, tsunamis, and famines; and that it show us the rise of various dictators and empires. That is the reason for the book has acquired a reputation for being so scary and hard to understand. Only the very skilled and gifted with the images can tell what it is trying to say. That is not true! Read and understand the Old Testament and you can know the symbols that are used in Revelation.  The  book of Revelation is to give the first century a hope that Jesus Christ is in control and that judgment would be carried out, and it was!

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/29/12

Mat 16:27  For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

The end of the world! Right? Most commentators can't agree on just what this verse means or what it is talking about because the very next verse says:  Mat 16:28  Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."  So they can't say it is the end of the world.

But I say it is the end of the age and the judgment of the Jewish Nation.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/28/12

2Pe 3:15  ...just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,

2Pe 3:16  as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Paul wrote according to wisdom that was given to him. But there are still those of us who hear thunder, or worse we twist the Scriptures. Not out of malice, but out of ignorance.

I would like to think that we can dispel the ignorance by hearing what the word says and not conger up time delays in order to understand.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/27/12

1Ki 19:11  And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

1Ki 19:12  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

I pray that we don't overlook the “still small voice”  while we are searching in the strong wind, the earthquake or the fire for something like the “Left Behind” books. They are fictional novels!  Most Christians were alarmed over “The De Vinci Code”  but it was just fiction as are the “Left Behind” books.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/26/12

Joh 12:31  Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Joh 12:32  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

As soon as God gave a word to the people and they heard thunder Jesus said NOW is the judgment of this world! NOW,  not two thousand years or more, NOW! Do we hear thunder? Or are we, like the Jewish people, overlooking the obvious and wanting something that the word does not say.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/25/12

Joh 12:28  ...Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

Joh 12:29  The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."

Joh 12:30  Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine.

"This voice has come for your sake, not mine.” And yet some of them heard thunder? I am sure that the voice of God is clear and His words pronounced properly. But some heard thunder! We may conclude, therefore, that if the speaker is God and some heard thunder then the problem is with the hearer, not the speaker.

The point is that we hear thunder sometime and we think that we know what the end time looks like when someone else told you what it looks like. You need to listen to the word as you read it and hear what it is saying, not what someone else tells you it says.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/24/12

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.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Rev 1:3  God will bless everyone who reads this prophecy to others, and he will bless everyone who hears and obeys it. The time is almost here.

Rev 1:3  Happy is the one who reads this book, and happy are those who listen to the words of this prophetic message and obey what is written in this book! For the time is near when all these things will happen.

Four different translations that all make the point of  what is going to happen here is going to happen SOON!  Soon for the first reader.

The book of Revelation is not given to us to explain the evening news! It was given to explain to the first century church the thing that would soon take place, i.e. AD 70

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/23/12

Mat 3:7  ....Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Mat 3:10  Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees....

A warning of something that may take place many centuries from now would not do us any good. But  John the Baptist said the ax is already laid on the root.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/22/12

1Th 1:9  For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

1Th 1:10  and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

This shows  us very clearly how the first century church felt about the coming of Christ. It was foremost in their thoughts, and it seems to be above all other great doctrines.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/21/12

Joh 21:21  When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"

Joh 21:22  Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"

These words themselves are sufficiently simple.

Some Thoughts on The Parousia

9/20/12

Luk 11:50  so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation,

Luk 11:51  from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

 “The day of the Lord” was judgment on the generation of the Jew's alive when Jesus was here on this earth.