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Chapter 4: Jesus' second
coming and "grace"
Many Christians claim that the
total cancellation of the law of Moses after the departure
of Jesus (pbuh), which Jesus (pbuh) himself practiced
faithfully and fully throughout his lifetime, was warranted
because they are in "grace" and awaiting the second coming
of Jesus (pbuh) which will come any second now and establish
the kingdom of God in great glory and power. Rather than
argue the issue of grace and whether Jesus (pbuh) himself
ever preached such a concept, we will instead present the
following verses with regard to WHEN Jesus' second coming is
supposed to occur. They are self explanatory but this has
not prevented some from inventing new abstract meanings for
them:
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall
the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of
the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they shall gather together his elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of
the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye,
when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near,
even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION
shall not pass, till all these things be
fulfilled.."
Matthew 24:29-34
How many generations have passed since?
"But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all
things. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun
shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are
in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son
of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And
then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the
earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn a parable
of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like
manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know
that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you,
that THIS GENERATION shall not pass, till all these
things be done."
Mark 13:23-30
How many generations have passed now?
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when
they persecute you in this city, flee ye into
another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall NOT HAVE
GONE OVER THE CITIES OF ISRAEL, till the Son of man be
come."
Matthew 10:22
They have not only gone over all of the cities of Israel,
but have dispersed throughout all of the Earth and we are
still waiting.
"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his
Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man
according to his works. 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."
Matthew 16:27-28
Are there any of those who were standing there who are
alive to this day? Is this not further proof of mankind's
tendency to put words in the mouth of Jesus (pbuh) which he
never said?
(also see: Revelations 3:11, Rev. 22:7, Rev. 22:10, James
5:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17,...etc.)
Regarding the verse of Mark, Tom Harpur says:
"Nevertheless, he (Jesus) apparently expected
this cataclysmic event to occur very soon - in fact, during
the lifetime of some of his followers"
For Christ's Sake, pp.37.
At first, the Christian community expected an imminent
return of Christ. We are told that during the first century
AD, the Christian community looked forward to the imminent
return of Christ in glory and the establishment of the
Kingdom. This hope carried on in the second century. When
the second coming failed to occur, the church organized
itself as a permanent institution under the leadership of
its bishops.
This, however, did not stop the predictions of "the
second coming." Some of the Christian sects that continue to
preach this imminent second coming are the Seventh-Day
Adventists, the Christadelphians, the Jehovah's Witnesses,
and the Plymouth Brethren. For example, the "Adventists"
believed that the second coming of Christ is imminent. They
were taught this by the preaching of William Miller
(1782-1849). On the basis of his study of the books of
Daniel and Revelation, Miller predicted that March 21, 1844
was the precise date when Christ would return to earth. When
this day came and went without the promised appearance of
Christ, Miller changed his prediction to October 22, 1844.
This time there was no doubt. On October 22, 1844, Christ
would indeed return in glory and the Earth would be cleansed
by fire, ushering in the millennium (a 1,000-year reign of
righteousness and peace before the Last Judgment). When the
designated date again passed without event, many believers
drifted away.
The faithful remnant of Millers followers stood by him
despite the fact that both of his prediction never
materialized. The most significant of them are the
Seventh-Day Adventists and the Advent Christian Church. The
most noteworthy leader of the Seventh-Day Adventists was
Ellen G. White (1827-1915) who shifted their emphasis to
health reform. To this day, they are believed to number over
800,000 members.
Muslims too believe in the second coming of Jesus (pbuh).
However, Muslims are told that Jesus (pbuh) was not forsaken
by God to the Jews to be killed, rather, he was raised by
God and it was made to appear to those present that he was
crucified (Jesus' apostle Barnabas tells us that it was
Judas the traitor who was taken to be crucified). Muslims
are also told that he will not return to earth until just
before the end of time, and not that he will return before
the death of his own generation, as stated above.
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