A verse for 3/6/12

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Although Jesus did not know the “day and hour” of his return, he knew it would take place before his generation had expired. This clearly precludes a delay spanning two millennia or even a single century. In other words, the Second Coming of Christ must be an event in the past.

A verse for 3/5/12

Mat 24:3  And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? KJV

We all want to know about the end of the world. People have read verses like this one and tried to make it say something about the end of the world, when it is not about the end of the world, but about the end of the Jewish age. In fact a more correct translation would be these;

Mat 24:3  As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" ESV

Or; Mat 24:3  And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And, What is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age? LITV

A verse for 3/4/12

3/4/12

Joh 11:55  And the Jews' Passover was near. And many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover in order to purify themselves.

   The people went to purify themselves because:

A.      A.       The feast of Passover was about to commence.

B.       B.      The feast of Passover was the next festival on the calendar, though it might be months away.

C.       C.      God always wanted His people to be ready for the Passover, even though it may not be celebrated in        their generation.

D.        D.    Even though the Passover wouldn’t be celebrated for at least 2,000 years, it was possible for it to be celebrated at any time.

Even though answers B, C and D may seem to be a bit outlandish, aren’t they some of the very “explanations” given for the term “near” in the following verse?

Rev 1:3  Blessed is the one who reads and hears the Words of this prophecy, and the ones keeping the things written in it, for the time is near.

Surely the most feasible, plausible---indeed, the most natural---reading of John 11:55 is that the feast of Passover was about to commence. Otherwise, the people ran the risk of becoming defiled (losing their purified status) while awaiting its arrival. Why, then, don’t we allow the same natural understanding of the same Greek “near” for the events of Revelation?

A verse for 3/3/12

Mat 16:28  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

A quote from, C S Lewis;

"Say what you like,” we shall be told, “the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, ‘this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.’ And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.”

“It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible.”

Taken from, C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night: And Other Essays, p.97

If you are a futurist then you must agree with C S Lewis; and with him you must discredit the very knowledge of Jesus Christ.

A verse for 3/2/12

3/2/12

2Pe 1:13  I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder,

2Pe 1:14  since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.

“As our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.” Most likely means;

A. A.  Peter was about to die

B.  B. Peter’s home was about to be destroyed

C. C.  Peter would live for many more years

D. D.  Peter is still alive today

Most people would choose option “A” and least likely to choose “D” That being said, consider another passage in which Jesus revealed something to an apostle which was soon to take place.

Rev 1:1  The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

So here we have Jesus revealing two events to two different apostles, and each event is to take place “soon.”

In the case of Peter, if we were to say that event would take place at least two thousand years later, we would be laughed at. And yet, many laugh at the suggestion that the events of Revelation did indeed take place soon after it was written. Can we have it both ways? If we don’t believe that Peter is still living today, why are we looking for the events of Revelation to be fulfilled today, instead of soon after the book was written?

Think about that, today!

A verse for 3/1/12

“PRETERISM”

Gen 7:1  Then the LORD said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.

It is without question what the words, “this generation,” mean in this verse. Isn’t it?

Preterism……It’s about time!

It’s about the time Jesus told His disciples that He would return----this (His) generation!

It’s about the time the New Testament authors told their readers Jesus would return. They used words like, soon, near, at hand, shortly!

It’s about time for a scriptural explanation other than delay!

It’s about time for a “last days” view that doesn’t conjure up gaps and parenthetical ages!

I believe that, in AD 70, when the Temple and Jerusalem was destroyed, that that is the time of the end of the age. The end of the Jewish age is what the bible speaks of when most people think that it is talking about the end of all time and earth and universe. I believe that ALL Scripture about the end is fulfilled in the past, AD 70, and that Jesus returned and brought judgment upon the nation. Don’t just write me off. Please give reasonable thought and prayer to this month.