ESCHATOLOGY
The Study of
the Doctrine of the Last Days
(Three Sessions)
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Session Twenty-Seven: JESUS, THE COMING KINGDOM OF GOD
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PURPOSE
OF SESSION
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To
come to know what Jesus said about the coming kingdom of God to
establish a reign of peace, joy, and righteousness.
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EMPHASIS
OF SESSION
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The
promise given to Abraham, the patriarch of all believers, of the coming
kingdom of God in which all nations will be blessed is examined in the
light of history and the words of Jesus.
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Introduction
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Eschatology
is the study of the "last days."
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More than 700 years
before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah was able to look
into the future and prophesy,
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"And it shall
come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s
house shall be established in the top of the mountains . .
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A younger contemporary
of Isaiah, Micah, prophesied about the same event:
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"But in the last
days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of
the Lord shall be established . . ." (4:1).
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Eschatology is the
quest to understand the establishment of the "mountain of
the house of the Lord."
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Several
years after Isaiah and Micah, Daniel, in his revealing of the dream of
the king of Bablyon, again spoke of "a great mountain [that would
fill] the whole earth" (2:35).
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In the interpretation
of the dream, the "mountain" is revealed to be the
coming kingdom of God "which shall never be destroyed"
and "stand for ever."
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Daniel’s
interpretation of the coming kingdom of God sets the standard
for Israel’s prophets in the coming centuries.
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They also prophesied
of the coming Messiah (the anointed One) to establish His reign
of peace, joy, and righteousness.
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The
dream of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Bablyon, as revealed by Daniel
related to the kingdoms of men being destroyed and consumed by the
kingdom of God:
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Thou, O king,
sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form
thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of
brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which
smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and
brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass,
the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became
like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind
carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the
stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled
the whole earth. (Dan. 2:31-35)
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After revealing that
the head of fine gold represented the king of Bablyon, Daniel
proceeded to reveal how the kingdoms of men would
degenerate from brilliance to drabness.
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The golden age of man
declined through silver, brass, iron, and iron and clay until it
would be broken and scattered by the wind.
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And in the aftermath,
"shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall
never be destroyed . . . and it shall stand for ever"
(2:44).
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For Daniel and all the
succeeding prophets, the establishment of God’s kingdom would
be the consummation of the ages.
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The
expectation of the long awaited Messiah who would come to destroy evil
and establish a kingdom of righteousness began in the days of Abraham,
patriarch of the Jewish nation.
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Long before the people
of Israel began to conceive of themselves as a nation,
God spoke to their father Abram:
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Get thee out of
thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s
house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of
thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall
all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:1-3).
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God
promised a great nation would come to Abraham and his descendants.
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The nation would be
blessed by God.
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He would not only
bless the descendants of Abraham, but he promised to bless the
people that would honor and revere the nation that God would
establish.
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He also promised to
curse the people who would curse the nation.
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The promise of God to
Abraham forever produced in his descendants the expectations of
a coming kingdom of God that would be blessed and protected by
God Himself.
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The
descendants of Abraham have never been confused by the fact that God had
promised a coming kingdom of peace, prosperity, and justice.
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The wrongs of evil
would be punished and the righteousness of the good would be
rewarded.
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That expectation and
hope has grounded the people of God for centuries.
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The
confusion occurs as to when this promised kingdom would be
experienced in all of its glory.
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The descendants of
Abraham, during the time of David, knew that they were in the
realized kingdom, the fulfillment of the promise of God.
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Their understanding of
all their hopes and dreams of experiencing the glory of the
kingdom was shattered when the Northern ten tribes of Israel
were defeated and deported, and never to be heard from
again.
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When the holy city and
the temple of God were destroyed in the south, the destruction
of the glory of the kingdom of David was completed.
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The prophets of
captivity held to their belief, and with visionary zeal
proclaimed that the promise of God was still true--He would
restore the kingdom promised to Abraham.
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The latter house of
the Messiah would be greater than the former house of
David.
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Many of the
descendants of Abraham are still waiting in expectation for the
restoration of the nation of Israel.
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After
the advent of Jesus, and a renewed interest in the "coming of
Christ (Messiah)," the Christian church, around the year of 500 A.
D,. began to believe that the physical presence of the organized church
was the promised kingdom of God.
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The material and
temporal kingdom of Roman Catholicism became the fulfillment of
the expectation of the coming kingdom of God.
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With its desire to
spread peace and justice, the visible church spread throughout
the world with its hope of bringing the righteousness of
God.
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Many in Catholicism
still believe that they are the physical manifestation of
the kingdom of God.
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But, many within the
Roman church have had their dreams and hopes shattered with each
passing day and many Catholics are waiting in expectation for
the fulfillment of the realized kingdom of God.
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It
was not until the beginning of the Twentieth Century that a
renewed interest in the physical kingdom of God being established on
earth came to the forefront of man’s thinking again.
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With the rise of
conservative Biblical scholarship, a rekindled emphasis on the
last days became prominent.
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This modern revival of
eschatology began when a group of Christians (later to be known
as "premillenialists") began to interpret a biblical
concept of history.
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It was suggested that
the entire history of man would eventually come to its
consummation with the end of the present world and the
establishment of the realized kingdom of God in all of its glory
in the world to come.
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Most conservative and
fundamental Christians today are waiting for Jesus to come and
establish his physical kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness
upon the earth.
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Listen
to CD 27
(Approximately Forty-Five Minutes of Exposition
on the Words of Jesus Found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke)
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Order
Basic Bible Beliefs Part Two Now
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| Return
to Basic Bible Beliefs |
Session Twenty-Eight: JESUS, THE DAY OF THE LORD
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PURPOSE
OF SESSION
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To
come to know that Jesus in bringing the new age of the kingdom of God
always brings to an end the present age of the kingdom of men.
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EMPHASIS
OF SESSION
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From
the planting of a seed to the coming forth of the kingdom of God among
men, the miracle of life is consistent in the events of its
mystery--spiritual life comes forth only out of the labor pains of
physical death.
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Introduction
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A
human being is a creature of two different worlds.
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He is a flesh and
blood body that has been quickened by the breath of life, the
Spirit of God.
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Since the body is
inanimate material, it has to be infused with life by a force
outside of itself.
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The spiritual has to
penetrate the physical before life can be experienced by that
which has no life.
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Since
this birth of the spiritual within the physical is the marvel of created
existence--a mystery which ultimately cannot be understood nor
explained, the attempt by enlightened man to describe it is
always in terms of symbolism.
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Often it is the
experiencing of a vision or a dream, which is usually highly
allegorical, that prompts the endeavor to understand the
mystery.
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Since the truth of the
mystery is always concealed in symbolism and in allegory, the
attempt to understand what is being given for the enlightenment
of man often becomes the twisted ranting of man’s imagination
that brings only greater confusion and deception.
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From
the planting of a seed to the coming forth of the kingdom of God among
men, the miracle of life is consistent in the events of its
mystery.
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The kingdoms of men,
as in the interpretation of Nebuchadnessar’s dream, must be
broken into pieces before the means of their annihilation (the
coming of Christ) spreads forth in a great nation of God filling
the whole earth.
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The outward husk of
the seed must be destroyed before the essence of new life within
can come forth in its glory.
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The coming forth of
the miracle of life within the created world always comes forth
in the labor pains of physical death.
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This
moment of time, when the essence of the Spirit would break forth out of
the flesh, came to be known in the prophecies of the Old Testament and
the teachings of the New Testament as the "Day of the
Lord."
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It was a special time,
a special day when God’s will and purpose in the created world
would be fulfilled.
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It
is not only the process of the new life for the individual, but it
is also the way by which God brings about his will and purpose in the
world as a whole.
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As in Daniel’s
interpretation of the dream of the king of Babylon, it always
has both judgment for the physical world and restoration of the
spiritual realm.
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It always depicts the
end of a present age and the coming of a new age.
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The prophet Amos was probably the first
to use the phrase, the "Day of the Lord:"
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"Woe unto
you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you?
the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did
flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house,
and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall
not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very
dark, and no brightness in it?" (5:18-20).
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Amos is speaking of
the judgment aspect of this special time of God that eventually
would bring restoration.
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The physical world of
man’s existence must come down.
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The prophet Joel gave both the judgment and
the restoration of the day of the Lord.
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The Lord spoke through
Joel and said, " ye shall know that I am in the midst of
Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else . . . I
will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and
fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered:
for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the
LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
(2:30-32).
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Those who would call
on the name of the Lord in the midst of this judgment and be
restored to newness of life, would do so because the Lord said,
"I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons
and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the
servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my
spirit" (2:28,29).
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The Lord further
promised the restored remnant, "ye shall eat in plenty, and
be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that
hath dealt wondrously with you . . . And ye shall know that I am
in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and
none else: and my people shall never be ashamed" (2:26,27).
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With Peter quoting the prophecy of Joel to
explain what was happening to the followers of Jesus on the Jewish feast
day of Pentecost, he was understanding that out of the judgment of the
nation of Israel was coming a new nation.
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The present age of the
physical nation of God was giving birth to a new age.
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The power, the glory,
and the honor of the new kingdom of God was being
experienced.
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By the Holy Spirit,
this new nation was being infused with the life of God, Jesus
Christ, the "Day of the Lord."
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Listen
to CD 28
(Approximately Forty-Five Minutes of Exposition
on the Words of Jesus Found in Matthew 24:1-51)
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Order
Basic Bible Beliefs Part Two Now
|
| Return
to Basic Bible Beliefs |
Session Twenty-Nine: JESUS, THE COMING OF CHRIST
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PURPOSE
OF SESSION
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To come to know that the
revelation of the presence of Jesus will be manifested every time the
present condition of life needs to be brought to an end and a new
beginning experienced.
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EMPHASIS
OF SESSION
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The return of Christ is the
most dominant theme in the New Testament being referred to over 300
times and is found in every letter and book of the New Testament.
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Introduction
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A
few hours before His death, Jesus told his disciples that He was going
to have to leave them.
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Then, He said, "I
will come again." (John 14:3).
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When Jesus was taken
up into the heavens by the Father, two men in white apparel told
the disciples who were witnessing the ascension, "Ye men of
Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall come again in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).
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The
return of Christ is probably the most dominant theme in the New
Testament, especially if importance is measured by the number of times a
subject is mentioned.
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The return of Jesus is
referred to over 300 times.
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The expectancy of the
coming of Christ is found in every letter and book of the New
Testament.
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The
coming of Christ is throughout the writings of the New Testament.
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Peter wrote,
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might
be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:7).
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James inscribed,
"Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming
of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8).
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Paul recorded,
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray
God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless
unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess.
5:23).
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John penned, "And
now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear,
we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his
coming" (1 John 2:28).
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Jude communicated ,
"Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his
saints" (Jude 14).
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Finally, the Bible
closes it record with, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus"
(Rev. 22.20).
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Jesus
Himself talked of his return: "I go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2,3).
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He added, "I will
not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John
14:18).
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Finally, He stated,
"Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come
again unto you" (John 14:28).
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There
are three keys words that were used by the early followers of Jesus when
they talked of the coming of Christ.
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The most dominant of
the three words is usually translated "coming."
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Surprisingly, it is
not translated from the word meaning, "to come" or
"to go," as if you are in one place and need to go to
another place.
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The key word that is
most often used to translate the "coming of Christ"
means, "a being near."
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The King James Version
translates the original word as "coming" and
"presence."
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The King James Version
translates the original word as "coming" and
"presence."
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The second most often
used word in the "coming of Christ" is translated from
the word meaning, "disclosure."
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The root of this word
means, "to take off the cover, i.e. disclose."
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It is translated by
the King James Version as "appearing,"
"coming," "lighten,"
"manifestation," "be revealed," and
"revelation."
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The coming of Christ
is the disclosure of Christ.
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The original word is
where we get our word apocalypse.
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The revelation of
Jesus Christ came to be understood in the apocalyptic events of
the destruction of the present evil age to usher in the new age
of peace, joy, and righteousness.
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Thus, the last book of
the New Testament is the "Revelation" of Jesus
Christ--the apocalypse of Jesus Christ.
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The third word used in
the "coming of Christ" is translated from a word
meaning, "a manifestation."
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It is translated by
the King James Version as "appearing" and
"brightness."
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As Paul wrote,
"then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming" (2 Thess 2:8).
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Wickedness is always
"rendered entirely useless" (destroyed) with the
manifestation (brightness) of his presence (coming).
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The
early followers knew that Jesus had promised that He would return to
them.
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He had said, "I
will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you."
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They believed that
Jesus had not only returned to them by the Holy Spirit on the
Jewish Feast of Pentecost, but they also believed that the revelation
of His presence would be manifested every time
the present condition of life needed to be brought to an end and
a new beginning experienced.
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They knew Jesus would
come into their world and save them.
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They lived their lives
in the expectancy of the coming of Christ.
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When
Paul was in Athens because he had been forced to leave Thessalonica by
envious nonbelievers, he wrote back to the Thessalonian disciples and
raised a penetrating question (1 Thess. 2:19,20).
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In the midst of
persecution and affliction (an apocalyptic event), he ask them,
"what is our hope, or joy, or crown of
rejoicing?"
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He answered
the question for them: "Are not even ye in the
presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"
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Then, simply
stated, "For ye are our glory and joy."
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Experiencing the
manifestation of Jesus Christ in their relationship, the
nearness of Christ had produced such glory that in the midst of
the afflictions Paul was experiencing hope and joy.
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Is it any wonder
then that the early followers continually lived in the
expectancy of Jesus--the coming of Christ?
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Listen
to CD 29
(Approximately Forty-Five Minutes of Exposition on the
Words of Jesus Found in Luke 4:16-21; John 13:33-14:3, 23; 15:16)
|
Order
Basic Bible Beliefs Part Two Now
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| Return
to Basic Bible Beliefs |
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