#Jesus Return

[troubledontlast1]

Jesus is on the way!

[thelordismylightandmysalvation]

Jesus Speaks of the Future ~ Mark 13:28-33 (NLT)

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!

Graphic via Verse of the Day - Mark 13:33

[psalmonesermons]

Did Jesus and his earliest followers believe that he would return during their lifetime ? Part 1/2.

A study of Mark 9:1, Mark 13:30, and Matthew 10:23

Certain people, usually sceptics, claim that Jesus appeared to have stated in three different bible verses that his second coming would take place before all his first followers had died.

The main passages they cite are Mark 9:1, 13:30, and Matthew 10:23.

If the sceptics claim is true, then it has big implications for the internal consistency of the bible. If Jesus predicted such a thing and it did not happen, then Jesus’ words could be considered unreliable and therefore a significant part of the New Testament canon could be proven to be untrustworthy.

Much has been written about this apparent dilemma however the best studies[1] are able to offer reasonable alternative explanations for all three of these verses after close study.

Mark 9:1: KJV [2] In anticipation of the Transfiguration

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

This verse is leading up to the transfiguration, which Jesus’s disciples, Peter, James, and John are about to witness, so Mark is thinking along those lines. The fact that the transfiguration occurs six days later suggests this promise seems to confirm this interpretation, as does Peter’s description of the transfiguration[3].

Mark 13:30: Predicting Jerusalem’s Destruction

Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

“These things” refers to what he has just been describing, and in verses 24–27 where Jesus has described his own return to earth. Again, Jesus speaks of “these things happening” in verse 29 as a hint to recognizing that his return is near. This would have Jesus saying something like this, “Once you see I have returned, know that I am near.” This does not make sense.

“These things” in verses 29–30 must surely refer to the events described in verses 5–23, all of which can be understood to have been at least provisionally fulfilled in the years between Jesus’s death (AD 30) and the destruction of the temple in AD 70— or you could say a 40-year period, or a biblical generation.

Matthew 10:23: Interrupting the disciples’ short-term mission to Israel?

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.

This is the most difficult of the three verses to interpret. In verses 5–42, Jesus is teaching the disciples about what to expect as they travel around Israel trying to replicate Jesus’ ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing.

Does Jesus think his second coming will happen within a matter of weeks or months?

Sceptical people assert that Jesus appears to think that his second advent will happen within a matter of weeks or months. Could it be possible that Jesus could be killed and resurrected, go away into heaven, and then return, all during the comparatively brief period that the apostles are on the road proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom within Israel? This seems highly unlikely. If it were not for the other two passages we discussed, this idea might never have even occurred to anyone. But what then does Jesus mean?

Jesus meant he would meet up with his disciples again somewhere before they had completed their mission. By applying Occam’s razor, this would be the simplest answer. Jesus often styled himself as the “Son of Man,” instead of saying ‘I’ as is also the case in Matthew 8:20. Every other time Jesus speaks of the ‘Son of Man’ coming, he refers to his return in glory (in Matthew’s Gospel alone, see 16:27, 28; 24:27, 30, 37, 39, 44; 25:31; 26:64).

However the ‘Son of Man’ will return in glory makes the “meeting up with the apostles before their mission trip was over” interpretation unlikely, together with various other interpretations. For example, some have suggested that the coming of the Son of Man could refer to Jesus’s resurrection, to his sending of the Spirit at Pentecost, or to his coming in judgment against Israel with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Sometimes interpreters have tried to strengthen their case for one of these by reinterpreting one or more of the other occurrences of the Son of Man’s coming in Matthew in the same way.

In Part 2 we consider an alternative explanation to these passages.

[1] Craig L Blomberg -see part 2

[2] See also parallels in Matthew 16:8 and Luke 9:27

[3] See 2 Peter 1:16-18

[wisdomfish]

Top 20 Failed Doomsday Predictions

CONTENT SUMMARY (with timestamps)

Watch for Patterns (01:42)

20. Jewish Essenes & Simon bar Giora (04:00)

19. Early Church Fathers (05:28)

18. Europe (06:48)

17. London Astrologers (07:33)

16. Fifth Monarchists (08:06)

15. Mary Bateman (08:43)

14. Joanna Southcott (09:07)

13. William Miller / Millerites (09:29)

12. Camille Flammarion (11:12)

11. International Bible Students Association / Jehovah's Witnesses (11:39)

10. Margaret Rowen / Seventh-Day Adventist (12:49)

09. Dorothy Martin / Brotherhood of the Seven Rays (13:13)

08. Jeane Dixon (14:27)

07. Hal Lindsey (15:39)

06. Edgar Whisenant (16:34)

05. Harold Camping (18:10)

04. Nostradamus (19:11)

03. Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins (20:02)

02. John Hagee & Mark Biltz (20:33)

01. Mayans (but not really…) (21:26)

Honorable Mentions (22:13)

The End? (23:59)

[tom4jc]

Revelation 3:11 Hold On, He Is Coming Quickly

Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Revelation 3:11 Waiting is very difficult for many. People are often impatient and can’t stand to have to wait for someone to show up or do something that is needed to occur. Instead of being patient and continue waiting, people give up or try to take a different route. Quitting tends to be easier than holding…

[fearlesswriterblog]

Advent Day 12, Fears for the Future

The scripture highlighted in today calendar is from 2 Peter 3:8-15. In this passage Peter is speaking about the end times when Christ will return. The content can be scary if you are not grounded in Christ and can take the long view of historical events. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is…

[duking-out-life]

A Disturbing Ad - Encouraging Abortion

This post highlights an ad promoting abortion and how that goes against the narrative that abortion should be legal but rare.

(This post may contain affiliate links where I am paid a small fee) I recently heard a commercial that left me feeling quite sad. It was sponsored by Planned Parenthood. In the ad, four or five women shared their abortion experiences, each declaring it to be a positive choice for them. I couldn’t believe Planned Parenthood has stooped to this level to encourage abortions among young women.…

[hsantand]

The Prophet Who Brought Rain to Catalonia and Spain

Being a prophet of God was never an easy task; in addition to arousing the enmity of agnostics and atheists, the anointed one must endure the contempt of their own church, inevitably preconditioned by the lives of their saints and martyrs. The appearance of the Virgin Mary to virgins and children over the past two centuries has accustomed the 21st-century faithful to believe that God never…

[jesusstormteam]

Giant Idol and false religions

[touchofgoddotworld]

Not Frightened of Wars or Rumors of Wars (211) - September 16 2023

Play on other Podcast Apps We walk through several verses in Matthew 24 as we hear how Jesus describes the End Times. This program covers the following scriptures from the Amplified Classic version (AMPC): Matthew 24:1-12. Help us by supporting the program via Podfan 🙂 Contact us for Prayer Type your email… Subscribe to our Weekly Email Online Weekly Meeting Bible Teaching and…

[mweiii]

this is truly the end of the world

[psalmonesermons]

Did Jesus and his earliest followers believe that he would return during their lifetime? Part 2/2

A study of Mark 9:1, Mark 13:30, and Matthew 10:23.

Craig L Blomberg [1] has suggested another approach to Matthew 10

Blomberg suggests we need to focus in on the larger context of Matthew 10:23 (within Jesus’ sermon) on the mission described by Jesus in Matthew 10.

Vv. 5–15 seem limited to the immediate circumstances of Jesus sending out the disciples without going with them. Many of the teaching points in these eleven verses surely cannot refer to the longer-term mission of Jesus’s followers. Specifically, when Jesus applies the restriction to going anywhere among the Samaritans and Gentiles but only to the lost people in Israel (vv. 5–6) this contrasts with the instruction (to make disciples of all nations) that Jesus gives in his Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.

It is also unlikely that Jesus intended his followers to never take money or extra provisions with them (vv. 9–10) in their later missionary activity, nor always to rely on others’ hospitality for their room and board (vv. 11–12). So it appears that as far into his message as verse 15, he is still speaking of the literal towns in first-century Israel.

In verse 16, however, he segways into a longer-term perspective. While it is always true that Christ’s followers should be as “wise as snakes” yet “as innocent as doves” (v. 16), this is particularly relevant for their ministry after his death and resurrection. Verses 17–42 contain warnings against rejection, persecution, hostility, arrest, imprisonment, beatings and even martyrdom for allegiance to Jesus (see esp. vv. 17–23a). Most of the above forms of persecution did not begin until after Jesus’s death, resurrection, and the sending of the Spirit, although it has sadly continued in various parts of the world ever since.

The Great Commission to make disciples of all nations includes Israel just as much as any other of the world’s nations.

Since verse 23b appears in this precise context, within the same verse as the prediction of persecution, it is best to understand Jesus as teaching the ongoing incomplete nature of the mission to the Jews, with “cities of Israel” is to be understood both literally and (by implication) to refer to all Jewish people everywhere. The Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (or people groups) includes Israel just as much as the rest of the world’s nations.

Blomberg then argues that in practical terms the meaning of Matthew 10:23 is that all believers should keep busy being about the Father’s business until the ‘Son of Man’ comes back.

Conclusion

Our closer look at the above 3 verses clearly demonstrates that Jesus did not claim he would return to earth during his first follower’s lifetime. Further, as far as these three verses are concerned, it is clear that the internal consistency of the bible remains intact and that there is no evidence of Jesus’ words proving unreliable.

Amen

[1] Craig L. Blomberg is distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado.

[bloom-with-grace-and-faith]

[trafficbutterfly]

SOBBING, PLEASE... I ALREADY GOT YOUR 300+ NOTIFICATIONS ON THE PREVIOUS ONE... I HEAR YOU I HEAR YOU TAKE THIS- (/j thank you everyone who's seen the last art i love these lil guys)

[tom4jc]

November 1, 2024 Memory Verse