[Note: italics will serve to notate emphasis on certain portions of texts which are essential to the essay. Comments will be separated by dashes on the top and bottom from the text] Revelations 1 1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, Revelations 1 7Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. Revelation 2 16Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Revelation 3 10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. 11I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Revelation 22 6The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place." 7"Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book." 10Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. 12"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 20He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. --------------------- The Book of Daniel had been sealed after it's writing until the day of Judgement. Nothing was to be added or taken away from it as the time was not yet near. The Book of Daniel was "unsealed" shortly before the time of Jesus, in earnest expectation by the Jews that the Day of Judgement was quickly approaching. Similarly, we see from 22:10 that the Book of Revelations was not to be sealed because the "time is near". It is important to keep in mind this increased eschatological fervency, the belief that the end of the ages was near. Note from the italics that the writer of Revelations CONSTANTLY quoted Jesus as saying He was "coming soon". It is unmistakable that the Book of Revelations assured Christians of the time that Jesus was coming "soon", in order that they might not give hope. It is especially ignorant to say that "I am coming soon" referred to Jesus coming 2000 years into the future when the textual evidence points to the immediacy of the event. --------------------- James 5 1Now listen, you rich people [speaking to the rich people of his generation], weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming [speaking to the believers of his time]. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! --------------------- The writer of James (tradition points to the brother of Jesus) makes the immediacy of the second coming quite clear. In v.1, he tells the rich sinners of his day that damnation was coming upon them. There is no room in the passage to allow for the interpretation that this misery was coming in 2000 years. In v. 3, he elucidates by saying that they were hoarding their wealth in "the last days". Obviously if he meant to refer to 2000 years later, he would not speak of the last "days" instead of years or millenia. He tells his Christian audience specifically to be patient because the Lord's coming is near. James does NOT tell Christians of 2000 years later to be patient, he speaks directly to those of his generation, saying that the Judge is "standing at the door". It is hardly necessary to state that the Judge can not have been standing at the door for the past 2000 years. --------------------- Hebrews 1 1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things.. Hebrews 9 26Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 10 5Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 37For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. --------------------- Notice here that in 9:26, the writer describes the period of Christ's atonement as "the end of the ages". The reader must now note that the end of the ages cannot logically be extended for 2000 years and yet retain any literal value, save for the most arbitrary figurative interpretations. Ch. 1:1, speaks of the last days, in which the Son spoke of the Gospel, and also in 10:5, as the writer tells his audience that they can "see the Day approaching'. Obviously, if he had intended any figurative (extendedd) value to his earlier eschatological references, he would not speak of the Day so familiarly. Ch 10:5, therefore, can only be interpreted as the anticipation of a day within the audience' lifespan. One cannot see approaching what does not even approach within one's lifetime. We see the culmination of this sense of urgency in 10:37, as the writer employs the phrase "a very little while" to emphasize all the more the imminent coming of Jesus, stating that He "will not delay". Only the most ignorant of literary critics can contend that "a very little while" refers to the span of 2000+ years. --------------------- Matthew 13 40"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. --------------------- In order for the reader to better understand just what the New Testament writers referred to as "the end of the age", we refer to Jesus' own words, which describe the coming of angels to eradicate all sinners. Therefore we can confidently conclude from this evident that the "end of the age" referred not to the Kingdom of God within the believer's heart, as some have erroneously reported, but rather a globalized eradication of sin visible to the naked eye. --------------------- 1 Corinthians 2 6We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 1 Corinthians 7 29What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; 30those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. 1 Corinthians 10 11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 11 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 15 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. --------------------- In 2:6, we see that Paul clearly scorns the rulers of his age because he believed the rulers of his time were "coming to nothing". There is no reading past the literal sense of the text, as the context provides no clue whatsoever that a figurative interpretation is necessary. Such a proclamation is akin to saying, "George Bush's time in office is coming to nothing". Obviously, there is absolutely NO reason to suppose that this statement refers to an event 2000 years into the future. By rulers of this age, Paul referred to the Roman empire, whom he believed would be made powerless. We see also in 7:29 that he stresses again the immediacy of the coming, saying "the time is short". He recommends that husbands need not even have sex with their wives, and those who were happy might as well not be, that those who buy something would not even keep their belongings very long. No other emphasis on the timeframe of the second coming can be clearer, we see that Jesus was coming so very immediately that it was better to remain abstinent than to have sex, it was better not to cherish purchased items as if they were worthwhile and not even to mourn since the saints were soon to be reconciled with God. We see even in 10:11 that "the fulfillment of the ages" was upon "us" (referring to Paul and his contemporaries). This is unmistakable evidence of Paul's fervency, that he should report that the second coming of Jesus was coming on "us", which in no way referred to Christian generations of 2000 years in the future. Also in 11:25, Paul reminds his audience of the importance of proclaiming the Lord's death "until he comes". It is especially important to note here that he did not say "until you die", but rather do this "until he comes". Even more cogent is 15:55, in which Paul reminds his audience that "not all" will die before the Lord's coming, but rather those who fall "asleep" would be raised, and "we" will be changed. Again, we see that the pronoun "we" is used to refer to his contemporaries and not a (much) later generation. --------------------- 1 Thessalonians 1 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thessalonians 2 19For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 1 Thessalonians 3 13May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. 1 Thessalonians 4 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 5 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. --------------------- In 1:10, 2:19, 3:13 and 5:23. we see again that Paul reminds his readers that their generation were to be specifically rescued from great tribulation. Also in 4:15, we see that Paul promises ACCORDING TO THE LORD'S OWN WORD, that he and his generation of believers would NOT die ahead of (precede) "those who have fallen asleep". It is of paramount importance to note here that he claims this to be "the Lord's own Word". Efforts by apologists have been jumbled at this clear FAILED prophecy, one of the most popular rationales being "they shall not get the start of them, and be in the arms of Jesus, and enjoy his presence when he comes, before the dead in Christ". At first glance, this appears to be a perfectly valid explanation to the uninformed reader. We can safely dismiss such foolishness on account of the context of Paul's statement, which goes on to say "we who are still alive and left will be caught up together with them (meaning those who had already fallen asleep). If Paul had intended to refer to himself as dead, it is obvious that he would never have said "we who are still alive". Again, we see the presence of the pronoun "we", which clearly shows that Paul presumed himself to be one of those who would be "left till the coming of the Lord". There is absolutely no escaping the conclusion that Paul is a liar. Deuteronomy 18 21 You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?" 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. As the text clearly commands, because Paul's prophecy did not come true, we can safely dismiss him as a charlatan and no "apostle" of God. The pious reader who chooses to ignore the very fact that Paul was wrong in his prophecy, and was therefore lying about recieving "the Lord's own Word" will therefore ignorantly continue to believe Pauline doctrine, regardless of the fact that he has already lied once about recieving God's revelation. --------------------- Romans 13 11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 16 20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. [Meaning that He would return while they were still alive and crush evil in their presence] The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. --------------------- It is quite evident from the evidences provided so far that no one but the so-called "inspired" writers of the New Testament propagated the erroneous belief that Jesus was to come 2000 years ago. Oddly enough, Christians choose to ignore the meanings of these verses and substitute mythical figurative interpretations of the passages, even when it is clear that only a literary interpretation is warranted. Admitting that the writers were wrong about when Jesus would come only allows the Christian to come to the truth that the New Testament is FILLED with false prophets. As we have seen in the verse from Deuteronomy, such false prophets are NOT of God, quite specifically "that is a message the LORD has not spoken". It is extremely ignorant to shut one's eyes to these shortcomings of the New Testament writers and yet continue to believe in their respective theologies. Desperate apologists have even claimed that the things necessary to usher in the Parousia had not yet taken place, and yet, we see very clearly from the historical evidence that the reason the Apostles believed in the immediacy of the second coming was truly because all things had been fulfilled, as Paul himself said in 1 Corinth. 10:11. --------------------- 1) The Gospel had to be preached to the "whole world." But Paul, and the author of Revelation, agreed that the gospel had already been preached to "the whole world," i.e., the Roman Empire, from Spain to Jerusalem. [6] Therefore nothing prevented Jesus from returning "shortly": Their voice [of first century Christian preachers] has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world... ...The revelation of the mystery...now is manifested and...According to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations. [Rom 10:18; 16:25-26] ...The gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing... ...The gospel...which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. [Col 1:5-6,23] 2) The Anti-Christ must first be revealed. But Paul and the author of the Johannine letters taught: The mystery of lawlessness is already at work... Pray...that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly... [2 Thes 2:7; 3:1] The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining...The world is passing away ["This world, as it is now, will not last much longer" - Today's English Version], and also its lusts...It is the last hour [circa 100 A.D.]; and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. [1 John 2:17,18] [7] How contemporary Christian evangelists and evangelical scholars can interpret the "last hour" as "2000 years hence" is beyond me. Maybe we should all chip in and mail such evangelists new watches. Speaking of feeble attempts to explain Jesus' delay, one often cited is found in 2nd Peter. That such an attempt was made at all in a late-dated letter that someone chose to compose in the name of an apostle, demonstrates to what lengths the church felt it had to resort in order to save face. But before examining the excuse for Jesus' delay in 2nd Peter it is important to point out the unequivocal words predicting the nearness of the end found in the previous letter, 1st Peter: ...The glory that is soon [mello] to be revealed... [5:1] He [Jesus] was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times [or last days, or end of times]... [1:20] The end of all things is at hand. [4:7] --------------------- 2 Peter 3 8 With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. It is rather unfortunate that such a cop out has to be provided by so-called "inspired" writers of the Gospels. It effectively disqualifies the ENTIRE New Testament by saying all the apostles had got it wrong when they said that the second coming was to be during their lifetime because what Jesus actually meant to say was 2000+ years later. Obviously, if such was the case, then it would not make sense for alledgedly inspired apostles to continue deluding themselves and fooling the Church into thinking the Christ's second coming was imminent. That obviously means that Paul was wrong for saying that "our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed". If Jesus actually meant to say "a thousand years" when He said "I am coming quickly" then why did Paul zealously anticipate the second coming to be so near in proximity to the time of his own generation? Why was even James fooled into thinking the return of Jesus was "soon"? It simply makes no sense, especially when the authenticity of 2 Peter is highly dubious. When the author of Hebrews said "a very little while" and Paul claimed that the body of delivers would not die before Jesus came again, the writer implies that God had meant to say "thousands of years" instead of "hour" and "day". It means either God was unable to reveal to any of His apostles what He really meant or that He never intended to come back. It seemed that God had changed His mind and redefined "coming quickly" to mean 2000+ years from now. he excuse offered by the author of 2nd Peter even contradicted the predictions in 1st Peter that "the glory is soon to be revealed," and the "end of all things is at hand." Moreover, even the author of 2nd Peter did not suspect that the end was very far off, certainly he did not imagine it to be as far as 2000 years in the future, for he also wrote: God is not slack concerning his promise, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night: what manner of persons ought you [the second century Christians he was addressing] to be...looking for, and hastening the coming of God...we are looking for new heavens, and a new earth. [2 Pet 3:9-13] And he added: ...In the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." [2 Pet 3:3-4] Note that this applied to "mockers" who were disturbing the faithful at the time 2nd Peter was written, circa 130 A.D.! "For when they [note the use of the present tense] maintain this, it escapes their notice..." [2 Pet 3:5]. Obviously these "mockers" were asking, "Where is the promise of his coming," because the earliest Christians like Paul and James and the authors of the Johannine letters, and the author of Hebrews, and the author of Revelation all predicted the very soon return of Jesus in final judgment of the whole world. By the time 2nd Peter was written, these "fathers" had all "fallen asleep," including, one might add, Peter himself, the alleged author of this very late letter. So somebody in the church took it upon themselves to write (or should I say, felt inspired by God to make up excuses) a pseudonymous letter attributed to Peter and supposedly written before his death, as a last ditch effort to counter such "mockery." But it is this letter and the false predictions found in the New Testament which mock themselves. The author of the letter of Jude (a letter composed even later than the pseudonymous 2nd Peter) reproduced the above passage from 2 Peter to illustrate that the end could not be far off, since "mockers" were plaguing the church in his day with this very same question! Certain persons have [present tense, i.e., in Jude's day] crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for condemnation...these men revile the things they do not understand...about these Enoch prophesied saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment." ...But you, beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, "In the last times there shall be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts." [Jude 4, 10, 14-15, 17-18] Thus, the authors of both Jude and 2nd Peter agreed that they were addressing mockers then plaguing the church. The "last times" for the authors of 2 Peter and Jude were their own - in the second century A.D. --------------------- Hear what John the Baptist had to say: Matthew 3 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 10 Now the ax is laid to the root of the trees: Therefore every tree that does not bring forth fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. 7 Who warned you [Pharisees] to flee from the wrath which is about to come [mello]? ----------------------- Of course, this whole essay has been in vain if Jesus Himself had no hand in propagating this erroneous belief, and thus we look to examine the Word of His own lips. ----------------------- Luke 12 49"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! <>Matthew 10 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. Matthew 16 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." --------------------- As we see in Matthew 10:23, even Jesus shares in this fatally flawed view of the second coming. He assures his disciples that His second coming will be so speedy that they could not even proselytize all of Israel (much less the world) before the Parousia. We shall address the arguments that say this verse does not pertain to His second coming firstly: John Gill's Commentary which is not to be understood of his second coming to judgment, but either of his resurrection from the dead, when he was declared to be the Son of God, and when his glorification began; or of the pouring forth of the Spirit at the day of Pentecost, when his kingdom began more visibly to take place, and he was made, or manifested to be the Lord and Christ; or of his coming to take vengeance on his enemies, that would not have him to rule over them, and the persecutors of his ministers, at the destruction of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, John Gill has underestimated the intelligence of many readers in his exgesis which we will now procede to disprove, an explanation that is contrived for the purpose of promoting unsound doctrine. He claims that of all the possible meanings of Jesus words, they can NEVER be interpreted and understood be in reference to His second coming. John Gill's explanation is however so moronic and diabolically unsound that we shall not even address all the possibilities he lists to disprove his folly. The reader only needs to go to the previous verse (v.22) to find that Jesus words can more wholy be described as: Matthew 10 22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. Quite obviously, as we see from the verse before (v22) Jesus is talking about the end times, specifically those who "stand firm" till His second coming. Therefore it is extremely foolish to take v23 out of context as if the very next sentence Jesus spoke had nothing to do with the second coming. In effect, the verses should read summarily: "You shall be persecuted for spreading my Word, but stand firm. When you are persecuted, leave for another place. I PROMISE YOU, you will not have finished going through the cities of Israel spreading my Gospel before I come." For those who still do not believe, despite the context, that Jesus was referring to the second coming, all that is needed to referrence Matthew 16:27-28 (quoted above) to see that Jesus equated "going to come" with "coming in the skies with power". It is impossible to ignore the internal evidence that says so very clearly that Jesus was promising His disciples that He would come so quickly that they would not even have reached all cities of Israel. Again, we must firmly maintain that where no figurative interpretation is warranted, none is needed. One can even look back a couple of sentences to v15 to understand that Jesus was talking about His second coming the entir etime. There is absolutely NO internal evidence whatsoever that "you will not finish going through the cities of Israel" actually means 2000 years from now, since we can be especially sure that most, if not all of Israel has heard in some form or the other about Jesus. The problem with Christians admitting what is so obvious is that it would mean He lied when He said "I tell you the truth" and that He effectively decieved His disciples into fervor and a hope that was never fulfilled. One must never force the texts to say what they don't, there is absolutely no indication that the time of the second coming would exceed at the very most 40 years. --------------------- Jesus then laid out a number of events and signs, like false Christs arising, wars, earthquakes, famines [Luke added "pestilences" and "terrors and great signs from heaven"]; his followers would be persecuted and brought before kings and governors; the gospel would be preached to the whole world; a "desolating sacrilege" would be set up "in the holy place" [Instead of mentioning that "sacrilege," Luke substituted: "you will see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand"]; followed by a time of great tribulation when people in Judea should flee to the mountains; a time of tribulation so great that if it were not ended "no human being would be saved" [Luke alone adds, "great distress shall be upon the earth and wrath upon this people (the Jews)," they will fall by the sword, and be lead away as captives to "all the nations," and "Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."] [13]; then Jesus warned of "false Christs and false prophets" [plural, as opposed to a singular "anti-Christ"]; and pointed out how unmistakable the coming of the Son of Man would be ["as the lightning shines from the east to the west, lighting up the sky from one side to the other" Mat & Lk]. [14] Jesus added that "immediately" [Mat 24:29] after this time of tribulation the sun and moon would darken; stars would fall from heaven; "they will see the Son of Man coming;" and his angels would "gather the elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven" [Luke adds, "when these things begin to take place (including Jerusalem's fall in 70 A.D.), look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near"]. Jesus then spoke of the fig tree (the budding of its leaves tells you summer is near), "when you see these things happening [Matthew says, 'all these things...'], recognize that He is near" [Luke substitutes, "recognize that the kingdom of God is near"]; Matthew & Mark add, "...at the door." Followed by the prediction: Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. [Mat 24:34 = Mk 13:30] Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. [Lk 21:32] I'll let David F. Strauss (1808-1874), the German philosopher and historian of religion, sum up the case thus far: Thus in these discourses Jesus announces that shortly after that calamity, which (especially according to the representation in Luke's gospel) we must identify with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, and within the term of his own generation, he would visibly make his second advent in the clouds, and terminate the existing dispensation. Now as it will soon be eighteen centuries since the destruction of Jerusalem, and an equally long period since the generation contemporary with Jesus disappeared from the earth, while his visible return and the end of the world which he associated with it, have not taken place: the announcement of Jesus appears so far to have been erroneous... Such inferences from the discourse before us would inflict a fatal wound on Christianity; hence it is natural that exegetists should endeavor by all means to obviate them. [15] Christian apologists have tried to sub-divide the context of this prediction, making, "this generation will not pass away until all these things take place," refer only to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and not also to "the coming of the Son of Man." They ignore the fact that Jesus' "this generation" prediction is preceded in all three gospels by Jesus' discussion of the "coming of the Son of Man" and intimately linked with it, contextually. Such apologists also ignore that Jesus said, "all these things," and divert attention to Jesus' other saying (which appears a few verses after Jesus' long disproved prediction), that "no man knows the day or the hour." However, they forget that "days and hours" imply nearness in time. "Days and hours" lie within a "generation." As Strauss pointed out over a century ago: [Naturally there is a distinction] between an inexact indication of the space of time, beyond which the event will not be deferred (a "generation"), and the determination of the precise date and time (the "day and the hour") at which it will occur; the former Jesus gives, the latter he declares himself unable to give. [16] Furthermore, having admitted that he did not know the precise "day or the hour," Jesus continued to address his listeners as though that "day or hour" could not be further than a mere "generation" away: Therefore be on the alert, for you [his listeners, circa 30 A.D.] do not know which day your Lord is coming...at an hour when you do not think he will [Mat 24:36,42,44] --------------------- Because there will continually be bafflingly inane arguments by apologists that Jesus actually meant "a much later generation" when He said "this generation" and that He meant "over two milleniums later" when He said "day and hour" we will again look to His own words to prove or disprove their arguments. ---------------------<> Matthew 24 36Therefore be on the alert, for you [his listeners, circa 30 A.D.]... 42do not know which day your Lord is coming...44at an hour when you do not think he will. Luke 21 36But keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you [his first century listeners] may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. --------------------- It is obvious that as Jesus spoke, He was addressing His audience directly. It is absolutely indisputable by all evidence that when He warned them about escaping "all these things that are about to take place", He was not actually being schizophrenic and referring to some undeterminable generation 2000 years added and especially that "are about to take place" beyond all measure of doubt refers to the immediacy of the event, especially when coupled with the personal pronoun "you", which again, referred to his first century listeners. A.J. Mattill Jr. adds, concerning an important verse in Matthew's end-time chapter: The eutheos of Matthew 24:29 should be translated "immediately" as elsewhere [in the New Testament] and means that at once after the tribulation connected with the destruction of Jerusalem there were to occur cosmic disasters and the coming of the Son of Man to write the finis to the world drama. To Dr. Mattill's argument may be added these observations of Dr. Strauss: Not only does Mark in 13:24 [a parallel to Matthew 24:29], by the words, "in those days, after that tribulation," place the ["coming of the Son of Man"] in uninterrupted chronological succession with [the tribulation connected with the destruction of Jerusalem]; but also, shortly after the [coming of the Son of Man] is discussed in each of the narratives, we find the assurance that all this will be witnessed by the existing generation. [19] Another attempt to save face by Christian apologists is to reinterpret "this generation" as "that generation," i.e., to say that Jesus was addressing a much later generation, not his own. But, this explanation is also unacceptable. Jesus used the phrase "this generation" many times, unmistakably in reference to his contemporaries. It does not refer to people born two thousand years hence: It shall be required of this generation... [Lk 11:51] The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation... [Mat 12:41 = Lk 11:32] This is an evil generation... [Lk 11:29] This adulterous and sinful generation... [Mk 8:38] That upon you [the Pharisees] may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth. Truly, I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation. [Mat 23:35-36] We note in conclusion here that doomsayers who profess the end of the world to "this generation" always complain about the pitfalls and evils of the contemporary generation. This being said, we can confidently note that Jesus meant "this generation" to His audience. It certainly also accounts for the poor delusions suffered by the apostles that the endtimes were absolutely near, a delusion which they took to the grave with them. Again, we look to the verse in Deuteronomy, which clearly says that any prophet whose prophecy does not come to pass is NOT of the Lord. The Christian is now faced with the difficult dilemma: Jesus lied when He said "I tell you the truth", the apostles lied when they said "He is coming much more quickly than we once believed". It also means that the entire New Testament is filled with false prophets, doomsayers whose predictions never came to pass, not then and not 2000 years later. Even the Christian theologian Dewey M. Beegle says: "Most conservatives reject the plain meaning of the passage, "This generation shall not pass away until all these things take place," because it means admitting that Jesus was mistaken about the time. The issue is intensified because Jesus added, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" [Mat 24:35; Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33]. All attempts to reinterpret "generation" are armchair approaches to solve our difficulty in understanding the passage. As [previously] noted, the clear-cut testimony of the rest of the New Testament is that the disciples, Paul, and the early church understood Jesus literally. If Jesus really referred to events more than 2000 years in the future, then he was playing word games with his disciples. When we look at the problem honestly there are two basic options: either Jesus was leading his disciples to think something different from what he had in mind, or he was mistaken. The latter is far more preferable because it was done in innocence and shows his true humanity." --------------------- <> CONCLUDING COMMENTS: It is now evident that Jesus had mistakenly supposed that He would be coming very soon, that not even His audience would have passed away by the time of His return. Even His disciples shared the same belief, which is why they fervently spread the Gospel to the "corners of the earth" in great anticipation of an event that never happened. The honest Christian, having objectively and earnestly viewed this essay, will now ask himself/herself, if Jesus and the apostles, both claiming the divine hand was upon them, could be so distressingly mistaken about such an event, what chance is it that they were right about any other thing? If Jesus believed His coming would be so close that He evern recommended that people abandon their posessions, sell all that they had and "take up alms" and yet He never returned, do we have any reason to believe any of His other claims are any more valid? It was because Jesus was so convinced that He would return "quickly" to destroy evil that He took to preaching turn the other cheek, give all that you have, repent of your sins that you may see the Kingdom; all simply because He presumed there was so little time. How likely is is that Jesus is going to come now, if 2000 years ago His own prediction failed, and the most "inspired" believers of all time were devastatingly wrong about His coming? For centuries Christians have been lied to and given empty promises, first Christ was coming during Constantine, then it was during Theodosius, then it was during Atilla, and then Christians even felt sure it was during Adolf Hitler's reign. All this time, and yet nothing to show for. We can only conclude that Jesus was wrong about who He was, and because of this His disciples were deluded as well. Now faith is a powerful thing for delusion, there are still some who will be unconvinced despite the fact that the Bible attests to a coming that has never been in a most urgent sense. But hopefully there will be those who will find this as a cause to look deeper into their faiths and examine things more objectively. We must conclude that: Jesus is not coming; He never did so He never will.
I composed this essay to send to a friend of mine via e-mail so the italics and bold format won't show up here. I got the bulk of quotes and verses from the original article at secweb.com, 'The Lowdown on God's Showdown'. I don't remember the URL exactly but a Google search should turn it up. All the credit should go to them mostly, what I did really was give my own commentary on it. Since Christians base their beliefs (whether or not they like to admit it) on the Bible to some degree, this essay should help them see the error of their thinking. If they choose to ignore the points in this essay and continue believing, I consider that to be intellectual dishonesty and ignorance, the reasons I abandoned the faith. The whole thing is pretty self explanatory and has my conclusion at the end so I'll leave that to the reader to express his/her opinion.
One question SS: Do you still believe that there once was Jesus (pbuh). Or has he become a mitycal figure in your opinion? :m:
Southstar, You are using an extremely limited and specific definition of the word generation. You are assuming that adam and eve were the initial creation when there is no reason to do so...actually quite the contrary. You are absolutely ignoring the entire concept of reincarnation. And do you mind if I ask a personal question? Why in the world are you trying to intellectually deduct the existance of god and/or the identity of jesus christ? Are you not as of recent very painfully aware of your own intellectual limitations? Given all of the surmised truth that must exist in the entire universe...you are telling me that you are going to leave it all up to a book and your intellect????? Tell me your kidding. Here's a quick tip from Jesus himself...taken from his conversation with Nicodemus...you know, the churchie from the temple days...he was just like you used to be before your recent epiphany...basically he told Nic that you're not going to get the truth from a bunch of rules or from a book or from a man or from a congregation or from history or from any other material thing. He said that rebirth does not come by the flesh. So why is it...given the fact that you claim to want to know the truth about jesus...why is it that you are looking for this truth...this understanding...this knowledge....proof that is....that only comes by rebirth....why are you looking for it in your flesh...by your flesh...through your flesh? What I'm saying is that you should be well aware of the limitations of your own flesh by now, so why is it that you are relying on it to answer a question that is apparently of paramount importance to you? Your intellect is your flesh...your mind is your flesh. You will not ever deduct god...trying to do so is futile. Even if you somehow in your lifetime study all of the evidence available to you to attempt to deduct god, how do you know that all of the relevant evidence has been made available to you in the first place? What if you're missing the most important piece of the puzzle all along? The most important piece is this Southstar...rebirth comes by the spirit, not by the flesh. That is what jesus told Nicodemus...who was an elder of the temple. Jesus said to him..."you don't know this and you're the one running the temple and teaching others?????"...alarmed I suppose. And I suppose that organized religion has not changed all that much to this very day. Southstar, rebirth comes by the spirit, not by the mind...not by a book...not by an intellectual endevour or debate. And when you are reborn of the spirit...you will have the knowledge and the understanding and the proof that you are seeking...all of it...without a doubt...irrefutable...forever. There is no mistaking what happens to you when you are reborn of the spirit...you have a personal relationship with jesus himself...with god himself...through his spirit...and you are changed, and I mean in a big way...forever. When the bible says seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened...it doesn't mean seek in a book...or knock on the door of a building. It means to pray. To seek of the spirit. To go directly to the source...god himself...through christ. What I'm saying is that if you want to know the truth about jesus...all you have to do is sincerely want to know the truth about jesus. Humility, sincerity, and an open heart is all it takes. Pray and you will know. It may not happen overnight...but it WILL happen. I know, and I promise. Do you really want to know the truth? Or is this just some intellectual game you're playing to appease your own pride? Mental masturbation to entertain your flesh? If you really want to know the truth, then forget your flesh...*f* pride...and get on your knees and pray. Love, Lori.
Oh, and by the way, speak for yourself and your churchie friends...I do NOT base my beliefs on the Bible. I know what I know because I have a personal relationship with christ...because I KNOW him...personally....period. Faith is not believing what you don't know to be true. Faith is believing because you know. How else do you believe? Truly believe? People will blindly follow just about anything whether they truly believe it or not. How can you believe without knowledge? Without truth? Without understanding? Sheep...blind sheep...."believe" what they want..."believe" whatever appeases their flesh the most..."believe" what is easy...what is comfortable. I think that you are different Southstar...I told you that already. That is why you no longer follow the herd that you once blindly followed. You will find the truth...I know.
"Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Matt 24:4-8 "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." — Matt 24:27 "Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. — Matt 24:29-31 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door*. I tell you the truth, this generation (or race) will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." — Matt 24:32-35 (*"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.") "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, (some manuscripts do not have "nor the Son") but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." — Matt 24:36-39 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. — Matt 24:45-51 "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within (or among) you." — Luke 17:20-21
please try to refrain from telling us you have a personal delusion, as it leaves you open to ridicule, and people will not take anything you say seriously. and no faith is believing without any evidence, blind faith. "How can you believe without knowledge? without truth", but you are.
You choose to think I'm delusional without evidence do you? That is your choice. You may have me psychologically tested if you wish. I'm not delusional, and I'm not a liar, and I'm not going to become one just to make you comfortable. What you call my delusion IS my evidence. It's THE evidence. I'm not the only one you know. There are many others who know christ...who are reborn. And rebirth...a personal interaction with the holy spirit or with jesus christ himself...is the ONLY evidence that the bible refers to...ever. It is the only account of anyone ever knowing...changing...being healed...being redeemed...restored...receiving revelation....knowledge. The bible itself does not suggest that you found a belief based upon it or any other material thing. Ridicule to your heart's content...if that is how you get your jollies.
Tell me Lori, what does he look like? What does he sound like? Does he ever talk to you? What does he say? At this stage you'll most likely confess that you don't actually 'know' him, you will merely claim that you 'feel' him, as if you've been possessed. However, I am very intrigued to know exactly what this relationship entails. I take it you talk to yourself, and yourself answers? P.S Interesting post Southstar
I'm not Lori, but... The prophet Ezekiel, in the Bible, had a vision of God http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NIV&passage=ezekiel 1:4-28&x=0&y=0 This is one of the weirdest chapters in the Bible, but there is a meaning in it. Note that God's faces match with the astrology wheel, the zodiak, or whatever it's called. "Also", why are there are four different "winds"? It seems that the number four appears everywhere in the nature. God would represent the number 3 in "reality", but in the material world it is not like this. I think God sounds like pretty much you, but he tells the "truth", always. It is possible for everyone to hear his voice. We listen to it often, but we don't obey it as much, yet we have never heard it tell a lie. God's voice has no sound, but it is possible to hear it. Then again, there are many ways to explain this.
Lori7, You claim to not base your beliefs in Jesus on the Bible. Firstly, it is unarguable that without the Bible, you would never have been reborn in Jesus. Then, you proceed to quote from the Bible's recordings of Jesus and Nicodemus' conversation as well as the verse on 'seeking and finding'. If your belief is not based on the reports of the Bible, then why do you speak from it? Also what then do you base your belief on, if you did not come to know Jesus through the reports of the Bible. Remember this too: Jesus quoted from the OT and believed in the Noachian flood and as I have shown, claimed that He would return in His audience' lifetime. This is no 'intellectual game'. As I said in my earlier thread, I cannot accept the Bible's claim that Jesus is God and simultaneously ignore His claims of a speedy second coming. That would be dishonest.
It was actually aimed more at Christians and people like Lori7, who accept the message of the Bible that Jesus is God and yet ignore this overwhelming evidence from the NT that He was a failed prophet, along with his disciples. It's a chance for them to come to the truth that they can't go on accepting part of Jesus' claims and yet pretend that His failed prophecies don't exist.
Which God would that be then, the Muslim one? Or the Christian one? Or maybe many gods? Sounds pretty much like saying God is so obvious, and yet so undiscernable. Where are you getting your information from?
Lori7, Almost EVERY religion has followers who claim this same rebirth and life-changing experience. Therefore yours is no different and consequently not "evidence", unless you are willing to accept the testimonies of other religions to the same 'redemption'. I'll try to get to your PM hopefully this weekend, my computer is broken and I'm using someone elses.
"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown." - Genesis 6:4 Where ever members of the divine race came, they told these deep truths to the Son of Man, in different ways, according to the type of people they were. Where people understood geometric figures the best way, they showed the truth about the God's four faces with pyramids. But there were other cultures which understood divine truths better as spiritual experiences. To them, this divine race has created gigantic figures of stone, which show a figure sitting in the shape of a divine triangle, which has faces in all four wind directions... Earlier all truth was written down in the pyramids and in scripture, but they were "lost", so that the Son of Man now, later, has to discover all truth again, by himself. When you SEE something, you are in a dualistic position. You, and, what you see, are two different things. But when you ARE something, you are in a monistic position, in a divine oneness. --- As said in the Gospel of Luke, the Kingdom of God is within us. When people find themselves, they find the Kingdom, and they find the King. Is this the second coming, when all people have found the "Life"? God. John the prophet stated: "No one can have anything if it is not given to him from God."
25See, I have told you ahead of time. You forgot to add this crucial verse, which summarizes His speech directed specifically at His audience, whom He believed would endure these birth pains "even unto the end". We must never take these things so out of context, 'I have told you ahead of time' obviously refers to his listening audience. Well of course, because the earth is 'flat', all the nations of the earth will see Him in the sky. A fig tree does not take 2000 years to prosper, and according to Jesus analogy, that would mean nothing 'stands at the door' for 2000 years. Remember again, He was directing this at his audience to warn them, not at you and not at me. To imply that is to be dishonest. As we see here, God doesn't know the date He Himself set. And the Noachian flood has been shown to have more holes in it's account that it does truth. Some even like to now claim the flood was merely local. Again, it is not good to take these verses out of context. As verse 48 clearly shows, Jesus again did not believe He would be staying away a "long time". Your clever formatting on 'long time' almost implies that Jesus was trying to show how extended His absence would be, but a reading of the entire sentence clearly shows that Jesus meant to portray the servant as foolish for underestimating the Master. This is one of the more famous excuses used by apologists, but it falls under careful scrutiny. For a better understanding of the term 'kingdom of God', see here: http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/kingdom.html
