Archive for second advent
The Basis of Our Expectation
When most Christians think about the parousia of Christ, at which time both the dead and living in Christ are to be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4: 16-17), they think of it as an imminent expectation. That is, the rapture and resurrection of believers is something that can occur during any generation. It doesn’t matter whether you are pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib; if you are solidly evangelical in your views, then you believe that the rapture intimately concerns you. Very well. But while the doctrine of imminency is confessed by all, it is less often understood why this element is essential to a true unfolding of the Gospel message.
We are aware of some who would postpone Christ’s second advent to a far future time. They urge Christians not to look for the second coming, which is the blessed hope of the church (Titus 2: 13), but for the evangelization of the world. They urge us to buy houses and cars, plant vineyards and oliveyards, make investments, and look for long-term schemes to reach fruition. One writer has even suggested that Christ will not return for another 36,000 years! This is wrong, all wrong. If only the truths concerning this matter were better understood, Christians would shun any doctrine that seeks to put off the coming of the King to receive us unto Himself.
The doctrine of imminency is indeed important, and is based – believe it or not – on the substitutionary, sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6: 23). Christ paid the wages when He died on Calvary’s cross. Hence, Christ’s death is substitutionary in nature. That is a simple equation, and easy to understand – as it well should be.
Think about it for a moment. If Christ’s death was substitutionary (which all Protestants admit), then it is evident that regenerate Christians need not die. That is, there is no more necessity for undergoing death. Wherefore Paul explicitly teaches: “Behold, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15: 51). That is, not all members of the Body of Christ shall undergo physical death; but regardless of whether we live or die, we shall all be tranformed into the image of Christ. In this regard, nothing has changed since the apostle penned these words.
For any Christian to claim that all the members of Christ’s body on earth at any given time must needs fall asleep in death, is to subvert this truth, and to demonstrate ignorance of the springhead whence it flows. Sometimes Preterists seek to solve the problem of imminency by relegating all the “expectation passages” to the first century, and positing their fulfillment in A.D. 70. But this method is inconsistent, and inadequate to deal with the facts. Paul’s teaching in Philippians 3: 20-21 places the rapture of believers in the immediate foreview of the church. Since the transformation of the living and dead did not occur in the first century, it is clear that it must still occupy an important place in our daily walk. There is only one body and one faith (Ephesians 4: 4-5). The church has received but one set of marching orders. How faithfully we adhere to these marching orders will reveal our value as stewards. It is a matter which concerns “all” (Luke 12: 41-48).
The questions we must ask is: Did Christ die for our sins? Was He raised for our justification? Is He coming again? If you answer yes to all three of these questions, then you will have to place more importance on the second coming, if you haven’t already. For the return of Christ is bound up with His sacrificial death on Calvary’s cross, and is therefore part of that “good news” which we are to preach. Any man who seeks to deny or wilfully obscure such good news will have something to answer for at the judgment seat of seat.
Rev. D.M. Panton — The Coming Parousia Of Christ
(from Rapture, 1922)
“The Parousia of Christ runs simultaneously with the Parousia (2 Thess. 2: 9) of the Antichrist; the heavenly Parousia is the advanced outpost whither God calls His ambassadors, on the outbreak of war against the world and the last judgments of God; and unrecalled ambassadors are in peril from both batteries.”
“But Antediluvian and Sodomic wickedness recur, and remain obdurate, during the Parousia. At length ripness of iniquity below, and the close of the judgment scene above, together produce the break-up of the Parousia; scattering clouds on a sudden to reveal to every eye the triple glory (Luke 9: 26) burning in the heart of the Pavilion.
“For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the presence [see Revised margin throughout] of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24: 27); who shall paralyze Antichrist by the manifestation, or outburst, of His Parousia; and “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13: 43). Our Lord’s feet at last alight (Zech. 14: 4) upon Olivet.
Theology For A Rainy Day
Since the Lord saved me by His grace in spring of 2004, I’ve come to a better understanding of my place in the cosmos. I don’t say “in the kingdom,” because I don’t believe the church and the kingdom are the same. But in the cosmos there is a niche for us all, small and insignificant though it may be.
I think that part of the secret to maintaining a Christian perspective is to remember who is administering the affairs of this world. Our worldview must be a Biblical one. At present, the world is run by Satan and fallen man. E.W. Bullinger writes:
“God is not administering, ordering, or ruling [the world's] affairs; though He is over-ruling all things in order to secure the accomplishment out of His secret counsels and purposes. His rule, and Dominion is in abeyance; and, while He is silent, He is, by His Spirit whom He has sent, bringing the world in guilty, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (The Great Cloud of Witnesses, pg. 318).
A sober realization of these facts will keep our eyes looking up to Christ as the one hope we have. He alone is the bright and morning star (Rev. 22: 16). And so we get theology for a rainy day. Those who realize their high calling, as unfolded in the prison epistles of Paul (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Titus, 1 & 2 Timothy), will learn to sit loose to the things of this world.
Moses the man of God once said: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (Psa. 90: 12). Only when the world’s image is effaced from our hearts will we ever truly know what real Christianity is about. Man must be made to learn how frail he is, that all carnal security may be shaken. He must understand that the sands of this aeon are fast running out. Until Christ comes to bind the usurper and establish His kingdom, the daily round of human existence is futile at best.
Christian discipleship can sometimes be burdensome. As pilgrims, our journeying to and from leads us sometimes to view ourselves as outsiders – mere visitants waiting for the “calling on high” (Phil. 3: 14); and so we forget our role as witness-bearers in this world. That is what a Christian must become, though, if he would serve his Lord properly: a lamp shining in the midst of a dark and unregenerate (and might I say, doomed?) world. To keep precious oil in our vessels, we must remain in communion with Him Who sits at the right hand of God. This entails setting our affections on things above, not on things on the earth (Col. 3: 1-2).
Moses knew what he was talking about when he said, “Let us number our days.” The fact that the things are this world are so fleeting gives us a standing reminder that we have a commission to carry out, which is more important than our own agendas. That commission is to bear witness to the Gospel in whatever way we can. All other programs must be subservient to this.
But most of us fail miserably when it comes to personal witnessing. I speak from experience. Side-tracked by ephemeral issues, we too often forget that bearing witness to the truth of the Gospel is infinitely more important than refuting error, in whatever shape it may come.
But like clouds that obscure the sun, those things that divert attention from Divine priorities tend to go away after a heavy rain. Solomon once said, “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better” (Ecc. 7: 2-3).
Solomon did not know when he’d die, but he knew it could be at any moment. And then he would go down to the grave, not to awaken until the trumpet called him forth. Surely without this hope to sustain him, existence would have been a miserable thing.
It was the hope of resurrection that made life worth living. It was the simple fact that also sustained Job throughout all His afflictions. It was the coming of the Savior, the second Adam, to receive what the first Adam had forfeited, and to bring in the long-awaited kingdom, that sweetened the earthly pilgrimage of the fathers. It was the hope of the second coming that bolstered Paul as he languished in his prison. It is the same hope that motivates us today.
Without being too sentimental, I call this “theology for a rainy day.” Throughout the ages, the hope of Christ’s return has always exercised a salutary effect on the human heart. If you the reader are missing the blessed realization that the Savior will soon come, or have allowed it to become obsured by the things of this world, I urge you to look into the Scriptures of truth, “that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1: 18).
How To Refute Preterism: Part 3: “The Forerunner of The Kingdom”
In Episode 3 of this new audio series, Brian Simmons continues to demonstrate the fundamental errors of Preterist theology. This time he takes a closer look at the necessary condition of Jewish national repentance, which will alone bring about the awaited parousia and consequent fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. Also, the very important (and often overlooked) ministry of John the Baptist is discussed, in its particular bearing on the second coming of Christ and ”day of the Lord.”
Listen now: http://antipreterist.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/forerunner.mp3
50 “Failed Predictions” For Fools Who Say Christ Returned In A.D. 70
1. The bodies and souls of the wicked were not thrown into Gehenna (Matt. 10: 23).2. The beast wasn’t taken alive at the destruction of Jerusalem (Rev. 19: 20). According to Prets, he committed suicide in A.D. 68.
3. 97,000 Jews got away scot free from Rev. 19: 21.
4. Paul didn’t remain alive until Christ’s coming. 1 Thess. 4: 15-17. (Notice he says “We,” including himself).
5. The saints never received “power over the nations” in A.D. 70 (Rev. 2: 26-27).
6. Jesus Christ was not judge of the quick and the dead, because (according to Preterists) He only judged the dead.
7. The “mortal bodies” of the saints were not quickened by the Holy Spirit in A.D. 70. Rom. 8: 11.
8. The saints were not delivered from “this body of death” (Romans 7: 24).
9. The 12 apostles didn’t see Jesus return in A.D. 70 (Acts 1: 8-11). (Most of them were dead by that time).
10. The Sanhedrin didn’t see Jesus at the right hand of God (compare Matthew 26: 64 with Acts 7: 55-57).
11. “We shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3: 2). Never happened in A.D. 70.
12. “We shall know, even as we are known” (1 Cor. 13: 12). Still not fulfilled — unless you redefine knowledge.
13. There is still sorrow and crying for people who inhabit the New Jerusalem. Rev. 21: 4.
14. Entire nations weren’t saved in A.D. 70. Rev. 21: 24.
15. The living nations were never gathered before Christ’s throne in A.D. 70. Matt. 25: 31-46; Joel 3.
16. “Behold, we shall not all sleep” (1 Cor. 15: 51-52). All of Paul’s original audience fell alseep! [note: sleep means physical death -- see 1 Cor. 15: 20].
17. All Christ’s enemies are still not destroyed. see 1 Cor. 15: 25-26.
18. Christians are still not delivered from this “present evil age” (Gal. 1: 4).
19. The apostles finished the cities of Israel before the Son of Man “came” (Matt. 10: 23; cf. Col. 1: 23).
20. The apostles have never sat on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel (Matt. 19: 28).
21. The New Covenant is still not established, because Christians need teaching. Jer. 31: 34.
22. The New Covenant is still not established, for the holy nation was (according to Prets — ATP) destroyed (Jer. 31: 35-37).
23. The New Covenant is still not established, for ATP the holy city was thrown down for ever (Jer. 31: 40).
24. The armies surrounding Jerusalem were not destroyed in A.D. 70. (see Zech. 14: 3).
25. Christ never returned the Mount of Olives from whence He ascended (Zech. 14: 4).
26. Christ returned in A.D. 70 (??), but ATP the literal cloud was missing (see Acts 1: 9; Matt. 24: 30; Rev. 1: 7).
27. Israel never repented in A.D. 70 (Acts 3: 19-21).
28. Christ said the nation won’t see Him until they repent. Matt. 23: 39. ATP “every eye saw Him” in A.D. 70.
29. The land was smitten with the curse. ATP John the Baptist failed. See Mal. 4: 5-6.
30. The living saints weren’t rewarded in A.D. 70. Matt. 16: 27-28. (ATP, they had to wait until death!).
31. The remnant of Israel still practices iniquity (Zeph. 3: 13).
32. The man of sin wasn’t destroyed by the “brightness of Christ’s parousia” the day the temple caught fire. See 2 Thess. 2: 8.
33. Desolations were not poured upon the desolator of the temple (Dan. 9: 27).
34. All nations still don’t keep the feast of tabernacles (Zech. 14: 16).
35. Nations who refuse to keep the feast of tabernacles are left unpunished (Zech. 14: 17-18).
36. Acording to Prets, all those left in Jerusalem were reckoned unholy. But see Isaiah 4: 3-4.
37. According to Prets, all nations may continue — except Israel (see Jer. 30: 11).
38. Idols are still worshipped by 75% of the world’s population (Isaiah 2: 18).
39. The kingdoms of this world are not governed by Jesus Christ (Rev. 11: 15).
40. James, Peter, Andrew, and John were already dead (??) before they got to see the abomination of desolation. See Matt. 24: 9, 15. (“Ye”/”You”).
41. The cities of the nations never fell in A.D. 70 (Rev. 16: 19).
42. Fishing in the Dead Sea is still off-limits (Ezekiel 47: 9-10).
43. A SINGLE wicked king did not persecute Israel from A.D. 67-70 (Dan. 11: 31-45).
44. Thyatira (nor the other Asian assemblies) went through “great tribulation” (Rev. 2: 22).
45. Many who sleep in the dust (aphar) of the ground (adamah) did not awake in A.D. 70 (Dan. 12: 2). [note: same Hebrew words are used in Gen. 3: 19].
46. Abraham still hasn’t inherited the land God promised him (Gen. 13: 15; Acts 7: 5).
47. Ezekiel’s Temple is still waiting to be built (Ezekiel 40-48).
48. The Redeemer never came back to turn transgression from Jacob (Romans 11: 26-27; Isaiah 59: 20).
49. Sudden destruction did not overtake the children of darkness (1 Thess. 5: 2-8).
50. Those who kept the Lord’s sayings tasted of death (John 8: 52).
Charles H. Welch– Audio Lectures On The Second Coming
1. Old Testament References To The Second Coming
2. The Second Coming In Daniel’s Prophecy
3. The Second Coming In The Book of Zechariah
4. The Second Coming In Haggai and Malachi
5. Israel’s Attitude To The House Of God
6. The Second Coming In Matthew
8. The Second Coming In The Book of Acts
9. The Second Coming In Paul’s Epistles
10. The Second Coming In 1 Thessalonians
11. The Second Coming in 2 Thessalonians
12. The Second Coming in 1 Corinthians
13. The Second Coming In Hebrews and Romans
14. The Second Coming in 1 Peter, James, Jude, and John
Should Preterists Keep The Lord’s Supper?
Recently I was reading some Preterist material in which the author insisted that the Lord’s Supper is still to be kept by Christians today. This avowal seemed all the more strange, in that Preterists teach that the first century church was waiting, not for the second advent, but for the judgment of the Jewish nation, at which time Israel would be divorced, and the church married. That’s according to themselves, of course.
Moreover, Preterists claim that Christ’s “coming” happened in A.D. 70. Therefore, how then can any Preterist reasonably hold that the church which has been living in the “age to come” and “kingdom of God” for 2,000 years is required to keep an observance that can only have pointed to the nearer (and not the more distant) event? The enigma baffles solution.
In his book entitled “Days of Vengeance,” author David Chilton argues for a superstitious veneration of the eucharist. “The greatest privilege of the church,” he writes, “is weekly participation in the eucharistic meal, the marriage supper of the Lamb. [...] The eucharist is at the center of our life, and all our life flows out of this central liturgy. The “shape” of the eucharistic liturgy, therefore, gives shape to the rest of life, the daily liturgy we follow as we pursue our calling to exercise dominion over the earth” (pg. 476, 478).
Frankly, I find it amazing how any Preterist can hold the view that a pre-parousia ritual observance, which only looks forward to the Lord’s coming to establish the Kingdom, should still be in force AFTER the Lord has returned and the kingdom been established! One would think that if the substance arrived 2,000 years ago, the shadows have passed away. That’s just being honest.
Really, what were the first-century saints waiting for? Why were they keeping the Lord’s supper? It is evident that the Lord’s supper looks forward to the establishment of the New Covenant. This is to take place at Christ’s parousia, which Preterists place in A.D. 70. The first century saints were taught by Paul to expect the resurrection to take place at the parousia (1 Cor. 15: 23). This is what they were waiting for; and this same parousia would mark the APOCALYPSE (unveiling) of Jesus Christ, and the bringing in of the promised Kingdom.
“So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the apocalypse of Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1: 7).
Were the Corinthian saints waiting for two different events separated by (as Chilton contends) 36,000 years? No! They were waiting for something that was to take place in their own lifetimes. And the unveiling of Jesus Christ would occur at His parousia.
It is well to note that the same word “Apocalupsis” appears in Revelation 1: 1; the concept of a returning Redeemer forming the subject matter of this last book in the New Testament canon. Only one unveiling is mentioned – not two.
Preterists always assert that the Book of Revelation was fulfilled (except for certain portions of the last three chapters) in A.D. 70. In such case, however, the apocalypse was realized in A.D. 70. And if that is true, the parousia was also realized, along with the awaited resurrection.
“But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His parousia” (1 Cor. 15: 23).
If the resurrection occurs in connection with the PAROUSIA of Christ, then according to Preterist logic, it already took place when the temple caught fire on August 9th, A.D. 70. Of course, Preterists cannot explain how all men were eternally judged on that momentous day (though Josephus records that 97,000 Jews got led into captivity, escaping scot free from the lake of fire). But that is just a collateral observation.
Anyhow, the expectation of the first-century church was focused on something that would take place in their own lifetime. Paul gives no indication that their expectation was focused on an event that had no particular relevance to themselves, and which is still future to us! This is the Achilles’ Heel of Preterism.
In order to be consistent, Preterists must claim that the eschatological expectations of the first-century church were fully realized by the events which took place in A.D. 70. If first-century expectation was only “partially” satisfied, then Preterism’s doctrine of “audience relevance” (in which the part is made equivalent to the whole) falls to the ground, since there is no limit to the number of eschatological events that may be separated from the main package and jacked into the future.
Preterists claim that first-century expectations regarding the “COMING” of Christ (as mentioned in Matt. 24: 3) were fulfilled in A.D. 70. But expectations regarding the resurrection remain unfulfilled. Nevertheless, this notion is belied by the fact that, according to the inspired New Testament writers, the resurrection is to occur at the coming of Christ; and this coming is consistently spoken of as something which might happen in the lifetime of the first-century church (1 Cor. 15: 51; 1 Thess. 4: 15-17).
Preterists, in spiritualizing eschatological passages that Dispensationalists view as future, and placing their fulfillment in A.D. 70, adopt a destructive sort of reasoning which often leaves them impaled on their own quills.
It is clear that the first-century saints kept the Lord’s supper in view of a SOON coming of Christ, and not something which was 36,000 years distant. Therefore, Preterists who say that Christians must keep the Lord’s Supper are not only mistaken in their application of that doctrine to today’s church, but tactitly confess that the expectations of the first-century church were never realized in A.D. 70. This invalidates their whole basis for accepting Preterism, revealing them as operational (or rather, inconsistent) futurists.
[Note: This is not a Preterist article, but is a study written from an Acts 28 Dispensational perspective. The author believes that we are living in a parenthetical administration which falls between the climax of Israel's national rejection in Acts 28, and their ultimate "renewal," when the last 7 years of the age (as outlined in the Apocalypse) will take up their course, and bring all things to a glorious finale. During this present interval, Israel's covenants are in abeyance, as are the sacraments related to these covenants. The church of this dispensation has no connection with Israel's hope, but receives its sphere of blessing "IN CHRIST" (Eph. 1: 3)].
