Second Coming Confusion When is the second coming? In about AD 50, Paul implied that he thought he would be alive when the rapture took place. 1 Th 4:15 " For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep." Then, in approximately 57 AD, the Apostle Paul thought it was soon. 1 Co 7:29 " But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none." About the same time, James thought it was soon. Jam 5:8 " You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." The Apostle John thought it was the last hour in about AD 70. 1 Jo 2:18 " Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour." When he wrote Revelation, he quoted Christ, Rev 22:7 " Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." The prophet, Montanus, in the 2nd century, predicted the soon bodily return of Christ. Novatian, in the 3rd century, expected the second coming of the Lord Jesus. The sack of Rome in the 5th century by the Vandals was supposed to bring the end. Pope Gregory, in the sixth century, told the Christian world that " of all the signs [describing] . . . the end of the world[,] some . . .[are] already accomplished. . . . we do not behold signs in the sun and moon and stars but . . . these are not far off . . ." On the last day of 999, the old basilica of St. Peter's at Rome was thronged with a mass of weeping and trembling worshipers awaiting the end of the world. There were repeated warnings in the dark ages. Martin Luther wrote in January of 1532, " The last day is at hand. My calendar has run out." Many Adventists predicted the second coming in the 1840's. Dahl, in The Midnight Cry, predicted this era would end by 1980. Many predicted the rapture would take place in 1988 because it was 40 years after the reestablishment of Israel as a nation in 1948. Edgar Whisenant gave 88 reasons why in it would be in 1988. When it didn't happen, he then said it would take place in 1989. At one time I thought we could know the year of the rapture by figuring out the beginning of the 1000 years and subtract 7 years. But who can be sure when the millennium will begin? A Korean group placed a large newspaper ad in many papers predicting the rapture would take place October 28, 1992. Grant Jeffrey says it will be 2000. What do you think? The next thing that will happen is the rapture. 2 The 2:1-4 " Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition." That will start a sequence of many prophetic events which are displayed in the following chart: Eschatology – from Now to Eternity
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<tbody> </tbody> Then the tribulation. The rapture is before the tribulation because nothing in this dispensation is prophesied. Eph 3:8,9 " To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which has been hidden from ages in God who created all things through Jesus Christ." That's what we call the nature of the mystery. Israel was identified as the people of the tribulation by Daniel (Dan 9:24; 10:14; 12:1). Our Lord Jesus Christ mentioned Daniel's abomination of desolation (Dan 9:27; 11:31) in the tribulation's setting (Mat 24:15-21). The purpose of the tribulation is to purify Israel for her kingdom reign (Dan 9:24; Zec 13:9). In fact, in Jer 30:7, the tribulation is specifically called a time of tribulation for Jacob. Therefore, a tribulation which is specifically designated for Israel is irrelevant to the church which is His body. Since the nature of the mystery shows us that the body of Christ is never referred to in biblical prophecy prior to Paul's conversion, we can make some conclusions about when it occurs. They are: A. Prophecy about the people in the tribulation would not refer to the body of Christ. B. Prophecy about the day of the Lord would not apply to the body of Christ. C. Prophecy about the people under the wrath of God would not apply to the body of Christ. Therefore, the rapture, since it only applies to the body of Christ, must take place prior to the prophetic program which follows it for the next 1,007 years. Then the great and awesome day of the Lord is next. This is what is normally called the second coming. Then the judgment of the nations takes place. Then the millennial reign of Christ begins. Then Satan is loosed. Then the great white throne judgment takes place. Then the new heavens and earth are established. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Come, Lord Jesus. Please forgive any formatting errors. This report was originally created for a different format. |
He's just confused.
I think it's my detective's badge.
That darn Steko!
Ya gotta watch Steko.
You're pretty petty for an old fogey
There really are no Jews today (Hosea 1:9 KJV). Israel fell, diminished and was cast away by the close of the Acts period, but in answer to your question: No one in the dispensation of the grace of God can be saved apart from trusting the Lord after hearing and believing the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV) which is the gospel Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV. It (the gospel of Christ) is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth (Romans 1:16 KJV although no longer to the Jew first and also to the Greek, but to all men 1 Timothy 2:4-6, Titus 2:11 KJV). Furthermore, the moment we trusted the Lord, we are baptized (identified) by one Spirit into one Body (1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV) and there is NO RECORD of those believing the doctrine of the 12 having any such baptism so how could they be in the Body?
Paul went up by revelation and communicated unto them that gospel which he preached among the Gentiles, but Peter was committed the gospel of the circ. according to the passage. It never says he started to preach the gospel of the uncirc. And nowhere do we read Peter preaching the gospel of Christ as the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth or that he believed it for his or their (Israel's) salvation (1 Peter 1:5-10 KJV).
for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:
Since Paul was the first (1 Timothy 1:16 KJV), the BoC started when he got saved.