#parousia

[epicurs]

propin + perodi wip

[neotrances]

what the

[theygotlost]

attack for my sammy dearest @sallytwo ♥

[idylls-of-the-divine-romance]

Ask #19 — Do you have a favorite Christian song, either traditional or contemporary? 💚

I love so many Christian songs (unfortunately not many traditional ones; am always taking requests tho). But my favorite might be Soldier Poet King. No other song perfectly sums up my thoughts on the Coming of Christ.

Disclaimer: I am well aware that this might not *technically* be a "Christian" or "religious" song. I don't care. For the sake of exegesis and discussion we're all going to assume it is one. Get it? Got it? Good.

The song deceives you with it's folksy and joyous melody into thinking this will be a folksy and joyous song - and it is. For the Christian. It's like a nursery rhyme: a song that's so silly and childlike you don't realize it's horrifying until you open your ears. And when you do what do you hear? Soldiers. Swords. The Destruction of the City. Slaying. A Crown of Thorns. A New King. This isn't giddy and jovial imagery, but the tone is exceedingly so!

When I listen to this song I have compared it to a nursery rhyme sung by children, skipping around, in a cemetery. There is a baroque horror - an "irresistible horror" to quote C.S. Lewis - to these lyrics. Because the fall of Babylon is the disintegration of the cosmos, the undoing of creation (as we know it). It is decreation and it's too late to stop it. But to the oppressed, to the slave, to the child, the fall of the city is the best of news. This is the song of martyrs. The song of exiles and slaves, pilgrims and refugees. We long for the Kingdom of the Skies to come upon earth. And the song perfectly encapsulates the "irresistible love" and overwhelming joy that would fill those who professed faith in the Anointed.

But also important is that the sword only tears down the city, the slaying is done by the tongue. The sword which proceeds from the poet(-prophet)'s mouth. Because the coming Anointed One isn't out for our blood, but it is his words that proclaim justice, his words that define good and evil.

[walkingthroughthisworld]

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (ESV)

John Gill on Hebrews 9:27-28:

And as it is appointed unto men once to die

Not a moral, or what is commonly called a spiritual death, nor an eternal one, but a corporeal one; which does not arise from the constitution of nature, but from the sin of man, and God's decree on account of it; by which it is fixed that men shall die, and how long they shall live, and when they shall die; so that they cannot die sooner nor later; all things antecedent to death, which lead on to it, and issue in it, are appointed by God, and so is death itself, with all its circumstances; men's days can neither be lengthened nor shortened, either by Christ himself, or others: and this statute and appointment of God concerns men, not angels, and reaches to all men, wicked and righteous; and though there have been some exceptions, as Enoch and Elijah; and all will not sleep, or die, some will be found alive at Christ's appearing; yet such will undergo a change which is equivalent to death, as Enoch and Elijah have done: and generally speaking men die but once; it is not usual for men to die, and live again, and then die again; there have been some extraordinary instances of this kind, but they are rare; it is the statute law of heaven in common for men to die and that but once; so Cicero the Heathen says, "omnibus definitam esse mortem" (death is certain for all): Christ died once, he will die no more; and it is the comfort of the saints, that though they die the first death, they shall not be hurt of the second death; and the consideration of this decree should excite to diligence and industry: death is certain to God, but uncertain to us, as to the time, nor should we curiously inquire into it, but patiently wait for it, and quietly submit unto it:

but after this the judgment;

the last and general judgment, which will reach to all men, quick and dead, righteous and wicked, and in which Christ will be Judge. There is a particular judgment which is immediately after death; by virtue of which, the souls of men are condemned to their proper state of happiness or woe; and there is an universal judgment, which will be after the resurrection of the dead, and is called eternal judgment, and to come; this is appointed by God, though the time when is unknown to men; yet nothing is more certain, and it will be a righteous one.

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many

As man dies but once, Christ was offered but once, or he suffered and died but once; and that was not on his own account, or for his own sins, "but to bear the sins of many": not of angels but of men, and these not a few, but "many"; which is said to magnify the grace of God, to exalt the satisfaction and righteousness of Christ, and to encourage souls to hope in him: hence many are brought to believe in him, and many are justified by him, have their sins forgiven them, and are glorified; though Christ bore not the sins of all men; for as all men have not faith, all are not justified, pardoned, and saved: what he bore were "sins"; all kind of sin, every act of sin, and all that belongs to it; its filth, guilt, and punishment, even the iniquity of all his people; which must be a prodigious weight, and than which nothing could be more nauseous: his bearing them supposes they were upon him, though not in him, imputed, though not inherent; that he did not sink under them; that he made an entire satisfaction for them, and bore them wholly away, both from the persons of his people, and from the sight of justice. The way in which he came to bear them was this; he became a surety for all the elect; his Father imputed to him all their sins, and he voluntarily took them upon himself; where justice found them, and demanded satisfaction of him for them, and he gave it; which is an instance both of his great love, and of his great strength: and unto them that look for him: with affection, faith and patience:

shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation;

this is to be understood of Christ's visible and personal appearance on earth, which will be a glorious one; he will appear in his own glory, and in his Father's glory, and in the glory of the holy angels, and in the glory of his power, to the joy of saints, and to the terror of the wicked; for every eye shall see him: and this is said to be "the second time"; that is, that he appears on earth, and personally; for though he often appears to his people, it is in a spiritual way; and though he appeared to Stephen and to Paul, yet not on earth, but in heaven; and this is called the second time, with reference to his first appearance in human nature at his incarnation, and after that he ascended to heaven; and as this will be the second, it will be the last: the manner in which he will appear, will be, "without sin"; without sin itself; without any thing like it: without any infirmities, which though not sinful are the effects of sin; without sin imputed to him, with which he appeared before; without being a sacrifice for sin; and without sin upon his people that come with him, or he shall meet whom he shall raise, or change, and take to himself: and the end of his appearance with respect to them, will be "unto salvation"; the end of his first appearance was to obtain salvation for his people, and he has obtained it, and there is a comfortable application of it made unto them by the Spirit of God; but the full possession of it will be hereafter, and into this will Christ put them, when he shall appear

[wisdomfish]

One and the same event...

For John, the resurrection of Jesus, Pentecost and the parousia of Jesus are one and the same event, and those who believe have already eternal life.

"He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already" (3:18).

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him" (3:36).

"Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (5:25).

"I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (11:25f.).

~ Rudolf Bultmann

[eli-kittim]

When is the end of the age?

Eli Kittim

When is the end of the age? Not where, not how, but when? The New King James Version calls this specific time period “the end of the age,” while the King James Version refers to it as “the end of the world.” Biblical scholars often ask whether the end of the age is a reference to the end of the Jewish age, which came to an end with the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D., or whether it’s an allusion to the end of human history. Given that the signs of the times coincide with this particular age, we must examine whether this is literal language, referring to first century Palestine, or figurative, pertaining to the end-times.

Since “the end of the age��� is a characteristic theme of the New Testament (NT), let’s look at how Jesus explains it in the parable of the tares in Matthew 13:37-43 (NKJV emphasis added):

“He answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’ “

In this parable, the constituent elements of the end of the age are highlighted, namely, the end-times, judgment day, the wicked cast into the lake of fire, and the end of human history. The key phrase that is translated as “the end of the age” comes from the Greek expression συντελείᾳ τοῦ ⸀αἰῶνος. In a similar vein, let’s see how Jesus explains the eschatological dimension of the parable of the dragnet in Matthew 13:47-50 (italics mine):

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Once again, in this parable, the end of the age (συντελείᾳ τοῦ ⸀αἰῶνος) is described as taking place at the last judgment, when the righteous will be separated from the wicked, while simultaneously placing emphasis on the end of the world, when “there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Similarly, in Matthew 24:3, the disciples ask Jesus to tell them two things, namely, when will the coming of Christ and the end of the age take place. In comparison to Matthew 24:3, the book of Acts tells us that the apostles asked Jesus if he will restore the kingdom of Israel at the end of the age (Acts 1:6). This question was asked just prior to his ascension and departure. Historically speaking, Israel was restored in the 20th century, which is one of the signs that ties in closely with Jesus’ coming and the end of the age. Jesus responds in v. 7 by saying, “it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” And v. 9 informs us that Jesus’ response is part of his farewell speech. In like manner, the last recorded words of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel (28:18-20 emphasis added) are as follows:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age [συντελείας τοῦ ⸀αἰῶνος].”

If Jesus promised to be with the disciples until “the end of the age,” and if that age is a reference to first century Palestine, does this mean that Jesus is no longer with those who have long since outlived their first century counterparts? Taken as a whole, this would also essentially imply that the resurrection of the dead, the rapture, the great tribulation, the lake of fire, judgment day, and the coming of Jesus were events that all took place in Antiquity. Is that a legitimate theologoumenon that captures the eschatology of the NT?

We find an analogous concept in the Septuagint of Daniel 12:1-4 (L.C.L. Brenton translation). Daniel mentions the resurrection of the dead and the great tribulation, but in v. 4 he is commanded to “close the words, and seal the book to the time of the end; until many are taught, and knowledge is increased.” Curiously enough, “the time of the end” in Daniel is the exact same phrase that Jesus uses for “the end of the age” in the NT, namely, καιροῦ συντελείας.

As for the biblical contents, given that the exact same language is employed in all of the parallel passages, it is clear that the end of the age is a future time period that explicitly refers to judgment day, the lake of fire, the harvest, and the consummation of the ages. Obviously, it has nothing to do with the time of Antiquity. Not to mention that the parousia is said to coincide with the end of the current world, when everything will dissolve in a great conflagration (2 Pet. 3:10)!

[anonymous-witness777]

strangely bright

[jasper-rolls]

Song: Breakthrough Atmosphere Artist: xi Album: Parousia Circle: 100sec Records

[atfnews]

Unity of the Faith and the Fulness of Christ Part 3 brings all the parts ttogether. The timing of the coming, the work of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the apostles all worked together to achieve the unity of the Spirit.  Romans 11:11-15, form the basis of the meaning of Romans 11:25-27. Some ignore this connection and end of counting the sheep instead of feeding them.The inigma of the Deliverer who comes out of Zion is solved. So many excellent insights in this segment that will not leave the listener empty when finished.  Don't forget to checkout our book, Living in Eternity.

[pastormontoya]

The Return of Jesus: Every Eye Will See Him. First Part.

According to the doctrine of Jesus' return to the land, he returns to Jerusalem. He will place his feet on the Mount of Olives, in the same place where he was taken up, according to the word that the apostles received from the men in white garments who ap

The Return of Jesus: Every Eye Will See Him. First Part. The return of Jesus to the land of Israel was one of the first doctrines that the church institutionalized as its own doctrine of the Word of the Cross. It was precisely this hope of seeing him return to Jerusalem that made many of those who received the Word during the solemn feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) decide to sell their properties…

[epicurs]

(sounds of harps and violins playing)

[neotrances]

i think they’d be friends

[mindfulldsliving]

Understanding the Three Days of Darkness in 3 Nephi 8

In our study, we'll explore the themes of prophecy being realized and the intensity of divine signs. We understand that this chapter is crucial for its theological implications

In-depth Analysis of 3 Nephi 8: Miracles, Darkness, and Prophetic Lessons 3 Nephi 8 in the Book of Mormon is a chapter that many of us find both awe-inspiring and sobering. This section captures a moment of profound divine intervention, as the land is engulfed in darkness and destruction following Christ’s crucifixion. The vivid imagery in this account not only fulfills prophecy but also acts as…

[crypt1dcreatez]

An update on the colouring so far!! @ardourie ‘s Goddess of Love, Propin, & God of Obsession, Petunia 🌹🥀

A mother’s love

[somewhere--in-between]

Rufinus writes, "that the monks awaited the arrival of Christ as a children await their father or an army its king or a true servant his lord and liberator. And in another passage: 'They take no more care for clothing and food, but only singing hymns they turn their hopes toward the Parousia of Christ'" (ibid., 32). The lightness and ease that we notice in many of the monastic fathers is surely connected with this expectation of the Second Coming. . . Because the monks are waiting for the Lord, they become free of earthly cares, free of judgement and the expectation of others. Cheerful serenity, freedom, trust, and openness to each moment mark the monks who are longing for the Lord.

From Heaven Begins Within You: Wisdom of the Desert Fathers by Anselm Gruen. Chapter: Keeping Death before Our Eyes Every Day (pg. 104)