I'm a little upset with something I heard the other night... I do not feel in a position to do much about it at church, so I thought the only really positive action I could take, was to write about it here... lest the error be repeated.
I was involved in a discussion last night, which moved onto the subject of Jesus' Second Coming.
Everybody who was involved agreed that the Bible says it will happen, but what surprised me was one comment that came from a surprising source.
It was with regard to the nature of Christ's return. A young person asked if Jesus would come back as an adult or a baby. The response was that nobody knows how or when Jesus will return. That took me aback a little. We definitely don't know when... but the Bible is pretty clear on how he comes back. I offered a scripture from Acts to back it up:
"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." " - Acts 1:9-11
When I mentioned that though, I was told that that scripture was "a bit dodgy"...
...
...
... I cannot fathom why they believed that to be the case. You can interpret scriptures different ways... but you cannot simply dismiss them if you don't like them. It's certainly bad to describe it as "a bit dodgy".
I was sure of myself, so I went back home and looked it up, to see if it could be interpreted any other way... it can't - the concordance offers no alternate meaning. While looking it up, I used the word "cloud" to try and track it... and came up with the following:
"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." Matt 24:30
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." - Matt 26:64
"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." - Mark 13:26
"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." - Mark 14:62
"At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." - Luke 21:27
I was involved in a discussion last night, which moved onto the subject of Jesus' Second Coming.
Everybody who was involved agreed that the Bible says it will happen, but what surprised me was one comment that came from a surprising source.
It was with regard to the nature of Christ's return. A young person asked if Jesus would come back as an adult or a baby. The response was that nobody knows how or when Jesus will return. That took me aback a little. We definitely don't know when... but the Bible is pretty clear on how he comes back. I offered a scripture from Acts to back it up:
"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." " - Acts 1:9-11
When I mentioned that though, I was told that that scripture was "a bit dodgy"...
...
...
... I cannot fathom why they believed that to be the case. You can interpret scriptures different ways... but you cannot simply dismiss them if you don't like them. It's certainly bad to describe it as "a bit dodgy".
I was sure of myself, so I went back home and looked it up, to see if it could be interpreted any other way... it can't - the concordance offers no alternate meaning. While looking it up, I used the word "cloud" to try and track it... and came up with the following:
"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." Matt 24:30
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." - Matt 26:64
"At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." - Mark 13:26
"I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." - Mark 14:62
"At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." - Luke 21:27
"Look, 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 1:7
So the Bible is pretty clear on it... Jesus is coming back riding the clouds in his resurrection body. Even as a teenager when my sister was watching The Omen part III and I caught the end of it; I knew even then that this was so, I can remember thinking the film was pants because the theology was so poorly researched. Jesus will not return as an infant... when he comes back, it'll be as he is now... the Son of the Most high... as described in Daniel, the prophets and Revelation.
This has nothing to do with the endless debates of pre-millennial, post-millennial, amillenial, ad infinitum (with regard to the order of events at the end), it is merely concerned with "dodgy teaching" of the manner of Christ's return.
Be watchful
Nick
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