This is a super good post. I've been discussing a different view of the Second Coming with a few strongly Christian friends. Instead of sweeping us away to heaven (as the idea of the Rapture portends), perhaps His return—the Second Coming—is to kick out all the bad guys, clean up the mess they made, and reign gloriously for 1000 years. The ones who are taken away are the non-believers. Read Revelation 12-13 from this perspective. It's an entirely different understanding.
I hav been saying for some time that the sexual perversions and the Middle East war are leading indicators of the end of Laodicea and the resurrection of believers as a prelude to Rev 4, 5 , and 6. Time to get ready by filling our lamps.
Matthew 24:21 describes an event that is unique and like nothing that has ever occurred or will. This is not a description of a generic or repetitive event. It describes the assault by the antichrist, against the Jews, after the antichrist takes his seat in the temple in Jerusalem, proclaiming himself to be God. This is the person Jesus Christ slays at the time of his return. This sequence is confirmed in 2 Thes. 2. Luke 21 also describes the sequence of events that lead to the understanding of Israel that their redemption is near, which parallels Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:37 et seq and Luke 17:28 et seq are self-explanatory. The verses explain what is meant when with respect to the flood and Sodom - It will be like the flood and like Sodom IN THAT it will be sudden, and a complete destruction. It will be like those events IN THAT people will be oblivious to what is coming. There is absolutely no reference to - it will be like the days of Noah because the Nephilim will be running around. To imply that is to read into the text something that is entirely absent from it.
In Genesis 6:9 the world for "generation" is DOR. It means in his time. If the message being conveyed was that Noah was blameless in his genetic composition, the word would be Zerah, which is translated "seed."
It is not a good idea to take stories from non-canonical books and use them to overread the inspired Word of God. This is not even a matter of filling in the blanks. BTW, most scholars have concluded that the real book of Jasher has been lost.
We can see events unfold because, although the warning about war and famine and pestilence might sound generic, the geopolitical specifics have never matched the Bible, as they do now. Those specifics are in the book of Daniel, which removes the generic character of the wars described in the gospels.
Also, Paul did not engage in speculation. The disciples did not always understand, and the churches needed a reminder, but the words of Paul were inspired by the Holy Spirit and, in that regard, are a statement of truth, not speculation.
We have been given specific signs, so that we know to watch for the return of our Lord. The exact day and hour are not known, but there is much that must happen first. We do know that people will be saying "peace and safety" (as a result of an apparent deliverance from rest of the devastating eschatological events) when the book is closed and Jesus Christ returns. That is the false peace of the antichrist after the mark of the beast. We know from the Book of Daniel that the saints will be overcome (by the antichrist) before Christ returns. We have been told what will take place, so that even when events get unbelievably dire and test our faith to the point of breaking, for some (whose love will grow cold), we know that it is all part of the plan of God, and that Jesus Christ will return and prevail.
Yes, the world will undergo convulsions. But above all, it is a time for every Christian to prepare for persecution and for forfeiting one's life before the Messiah returns. We prepare ourselves. We must teach our children. We have to stop partying and pretending that everything will continue on as it always has. It will not. We must recommit to our faith. That is the message that needs to be shared.
I have never seen a correct interpretation of eschatological events in print. It seems by the time it is published, it undergoes a process of distortion that will mislead readers. The pre-trib rapture is at the top of the list. However, the Protestant writers were caught up in Papal politics, and also distorted the interpretation of the Word of God to suit their purposes. Keep studying, Mathew. Keep learning. We are always blessed when we try to discern what the Bible is teaching.
This is a super good post. I've been discussing a different view of the Second Coming with a few strongly Christian friends. Instead of sweeping us away to heaven (as the idea of the Rapture portends), perhaps His return—the Second Coming—is to kick out all the bad guys, clean up the mess they made, and reign gloriously for 1000 years. The ones who are taken away are the non-believers. Read Revelation 12-13 from this perspective. It's an entirely different understanding.
I hav been saying for some time that the sexual perversions and the Middle East war are leading indicators of the end of Laodicea and the resurrection of believers as a prelude to Rev 4, 5 , and 6. Time to get ready by filling our lamps.
Matthew 24:21 describes an event that is unique and like nothing that has ever occurred or will. This is not a description of a generic or repetitive event. It describes the assault by the antichrist, against the Jews, after the antichrist takes his seat in the temple in Jerusalem, proclaiming himself to be God. This is the person Jesus Christ slays at the time of his return. This sequence is confirmed in 2 Thes. 2. Luke 21 also describes the sequence of events that lead to the understanding of Israel that their redemption is near, which parallels Matthew 24.
Matthew 24:37 et seq and Luke 17:28 et seq are self-explanatory. The verses explain what is meant when with respect to the flood and Sodom - It will be like the flood and like Sodom IN THAT it will be sudden, and a complete destruction. It will be like those events IN THAT people will be oblivious to what is coming. There is absolutely no reference to - it will be like the days of Noah because the Nephilim will be running around. To imply that is to read into the text something that is entirely absent from it.
In Genesis 6:9 the world for "generation" is DOR. It means in his time. If the message being conveyed was that Noah was blameless in his genetic composition, the word would be Zerah, which is translated "seed."
It is not a good idea to take stories from non-canonical books and use them to overread the inspired Word of God. This is not even a matter of filling in the blanks. BTW, most scholars have concluded that the real book of Jasher has been lost.
We can see events unfold because, although the warning about war and famine and pestilence might sound generic, the geopolitical specifics have never matched the Bible, as they do now. Those specifics are in the book of Daniel, which removes the generic character of the wars described in the gospels.
Also, Paul did not engage in speculation. The disciples did not always understand, and the churches needed a reminder, but the words of Paul were inspired by the Holy Spirit and, in that regard, are a statement of truth, not speculation.
We have been given specific signs, so that we know to watch for the return of our Lord. The exact day and hour are not known, but there is much that must happen first. We do know that people will be saying "peace and safety" (as a result of an apparent deliverance from rest of the devastating eschatological events) when the book is closed and Jesus Christ returns. That is the false peace of the antichrist after the mark of the beast. We know from the Book of Daniel that the saints will be overcome (by the antichrist) before Christ returns. We have been told what will take place, so that even when events get unbelievably dire and test our faith to the point of breaking, for some (whose love will grow cold), we know that it is all part of the plan of God, and that Jesus Christ will return and prevail.
Yes, the world will undergo convulsions. But above all, it is a time for every Christian to prepare for persecution and for forfeiting one's life before the Messiah returns. We prepare ourselves. We must teach our children. We have to stop partying and pretending that everything will continue on as it always has. It will not. We must recommit to our faith. That is the message that needs to be shared.
I have never seen a correct interpretation of eschatological events in print. It seems by the time it is published, it undergoes a process of distortion that will mislead readers. The pre-trib rapture is at the top of the list. However, the Protestant writers were caught up in Papal politics, and also distorted the interpretation of the Word of God to suit their purposes. Keep studying, Mathew. Keep learning. We are always blessed when we try to discern what the Bible is teaching.