Tag: jesus

PRAISE GOD FOR HIS CREATION

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Job 12:7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Job 37:14 “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. 15 Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? 16 Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?

Job 38:4 Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 

Genesis 1:2 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” 

Revelation 5:13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Hebrews 3:4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Psalm 8:1 “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.” 8:3-4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Psalm 65:9-11 You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. 

Psalm 95:4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 104:19 He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. 24 How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. 24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom has thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works.

Psalm 121:1-2 A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth

Psalm 124:8 “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 136:5-9 to him who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever. who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever. who made the great lights— His love endures forever. the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever. the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever. 

Psalm 139:13-14 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 147:8-9 He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. 

Psalm 148:1-7 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens! Praise him from the skies! Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all the armies of heaven! Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise him, vapours high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked. Praise the LORD from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths,

Isaiah 40:26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 28 The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 45:12 “It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.”

Isaiah 55:12 For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Jeremiah 10:12 But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 

Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.’ 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Nehemiah 9:6 You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

Amos 9:6 Who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and founds his vault upon the earth; who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the surface of the earth— the Lord is his name.

From Pureflix.com by Billy Hallowell “These Bible verses about nature remind us of some powerful realities. Here are just some of the take-aways:

1 We should pause to marvel at the wonders God created.

2 God created everything we see before us.

3 The Lord created everything we see in nature out of darkness and nothingness.

4 God holds the power to create stunning beauty.

5 Everything we see in creation points back to the Creator.”

Hallowell goes on to suggest doing prayer walks through nature, devotions outdoors, or just pondering the wonders of it all.

My. thoughts. God takes pleasure and rejoices in his works of creation. An artist looks at his/her finished painting and takes pleasure just looking at it and it makes him happy. I love cutting my yard, edging, and weed eating. When I get through, I enjoy just looking at the finished project. God does that with his works. It is interesting that the objects of his creation are given human characteristics (anthropomorphism). The stars, animals, mountains, etc. rejoice, sing, and clap when they see their Creator. If we could just hear them speak, they are praising God non stop. Use your imagination as you observe nature and listen to them speaking. You can see God’s love in how he takes care of his creation (watering it, etc.) just as we take care of a garden that we grow. We can learn a lot about God from his creation.

God’s creation is amazingly designed. “Intelligent design”: the theory that life, or the universe, cannot have arisen by chance and was designed and created by some intelligent entity. I am amazed when I go to an aquarium like the one in Chattanooga, Tn. The diversity of colors and designs of the fish amazes me. The same with the diversity of all animals, birds, and plants. The same with the design of the human body with all the systems in the body that must work together for human life to exist and function. The design of the periodic table with each successive element adding exactly one proton to the nucleus. The laws of physics and math that exist. The universal constants that govern the universe. The designed movement of the heavenly bodies that allow us to send astronauts into space.

I always have 2 thoughts when I look at intelligent desirn. 1) Such diversity and design could not have evolved by chance. I look at a car with all the engineered parts that have to all work together for a car to run properly. That car can’t be a product of random chance from nothing. It had a designer and material to form the parts out of. If the material that the parts of the car were formed were eternal, they would have rusted making them useless (the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics). They didn’t just pop into existence from nothing (the 1st Law of Thermodynamics). The same goes with the intelligently designed parts of the universe and all life. Matter could not be eternal or it would be in a state of disarray and decay to the point of being useless, not designed (2nd Law). Matter can’t pop itself into existence from nothing (1st. Law). But we find matter and life is so well designed. As Paul said in Romans 1:20, there is no excuse for anyone not seeing that there is a creator God whose power made and designed everything. There is no excuse for not believing in a Creator God. Psalm 19:1 calls the atheist a “fool”. Psalm 104 might be my favorite of the creation texts above. Go back and read the entire psalm.

Psalm 104:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2     covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.

5 He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15     and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;[a]
    the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.

Meditating on God’s creation and His care for His creation led the psalmist to this conclusion: 33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!”

Let the atheist gloat in his denial of the existence of God, but I will praise the Lord for his creation.

2) But then I have a second thought. You see, I believe in a six 24 hour week of creation. I firmly believe that the Bible states that as a fact. The Hebrew word for day is “yom” always means a 24 hour day in the Old Testament when it is used with a number or numerical adjective (2nd day) or used with “morning and evening”. Genesis 1 uses “yom” in both ways. In Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. That was the basis for Israel working 6 days and resting on the 7th. That is the basis for the “week” as a measure of time. All other measures like year, month, season, day, etc. have a natural law of the universe that dictates those time period. I believe that the Bible teaches that the earth is young, around 6,000 years old. The genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 yield about 2,000 years from the creation to Abraham. The years in those genealogies are very specific. Adam was 130 when he fathered Seth. Seth was 105 when he fathered Enosh. Etc. Those are not imaginary numbers. They are the same kind of numbers that you would use in doing your family genealogy. Then Matthew 1 gives 42 generations or about 2,000 years from Abraham to Jesus. The word genea there is always used of a period of about 40 years or the people living in a 40 year period in the same way we speak of the x or z generation today. It has been about 2,000 years since Jesus to today so that adds up to about 6,000 years. There is no way around the fact that the Bible claims that the creation week was about 6,000 years ago.

Some say the whole creation story is just a myth or allegory, but an honest look at the facts I just gave refutes that. You can’t just allegorize all that. You have to just say the Bible is wrong in its claims if the earth is 6 billion years old. You can’t just allegorize the creation of man from dust. That happened on the 6th 24 hour day. It either happened literally that way or the Bible is wrong. If macro evolution (micro evolution is variations in each species and that does occur; macro evolution involves the changing of a species into a totally different species, like reptiles to birds or fish to men, and that has never been shown to occur) is true (either atheistic or theistic evolution), then man evolved over millions of years instead of being formed full grown from dust in just a moment of time as the Bible claimed. Jesus said in Matthew 19:“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? He is quoting Genesis 1 and 2. Apparently he believed the creation story was literal, not figurative or some allegory. Paul said that Adam was the first man. If macro evolution is true, then death existed for millions of years before the fall in the Garden. But the Bible claims that death was the result of the sin of Adam and only began after Adam sinned. There are plenty of evidences for a young earth (google that).

The measure used to say that the earth is 6 billiion years old is radiometric dating using the half-life of radioactive elements, but that method involves several assumptions that can’t be proven. Mainly, that the original rock sample had 100% mother element and 0% daughter element (the element that the radioactive element decays into each half life). The earth looks old (apparent age) even though it is not that old. God made everything full grown, with diamonds, rubies, and coal in the ground ready for man to use and enjoy immediately after he was created. Some say that would make God deceptive to make it look old when it really isn’t. Adam seconds after he was created would have looked old, but he wasn’t. That’s not deceptive. It’s just the way God chose to do it. He could have chosen to do it over millions of years (theistic evolution) but the Bible claims that he did not do it that way. Either believe the creation account to literal or reject the Bible, which can lead to rejecting all the Bible if we reject Genesis. The theory of evolution (macro evolution) is just that, a theory that cannot be proven. The fossil record does not confirm it either, with no fossil record of one species evolving into a completely different species. In Genesis 1, God created eveything to reproduces “after its own kind” and that is the way it has always happened. Mutations and natural selection, the supposed mechanisms of macro evolution, do not account for the creation and diversity of life and do not support the theory of evolutioin. Many atheists even acknowledge Darwin’s theory to be false.

But my second leads to other questions even if I believe God created everything. How did God create all the diversity of plants in a 24 hour day, of land animals in another 24 hour day, of all the planets and stars in the many galaxies of the univers in another 24 hour day, of fish and fowl in another 24 hour day, of mammals and man in another 24 hour day? The problem is that I picture God as if he were a man sitting down to think up the design for all the fish, for example, and then programming the natural instinctive habits of the fish. Then he has to disperse the fish over the entire planet. All that within a 24 hour day. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But God is not like a man with limited powers doing all that. In Numbers 11, God told Moses that He was going to give meat to the complaining Israelites. 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” Jeremiah 32:17: “Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you” God is an all powerful, all knowing, all present spirit (John 4:24 God is spirit) that fills the universe. That God spirit can be creating from nothing animals and fish all over the planet simultaneously, all within a 24 hour day.

Now, I must admit that even that thought seems unbelievable to me even if it helps explain how God could do it. But the other option is atheism, that there is no god, that it all came about by random chance evolution from nothing. The belief that God created it all in six 24 hour days is still the best option. Thankfully, we have other evidences that the Bible is the inspired word of God, such as fulfilled prophecies of nations and kings (like the statue in Daniel 2 that predicted the next 4 empires and Daniel 8 that predicts the breaking up of Alexander the Great’s Grecian empire into 4 lesser kigndoms after his death), fulfilled Messianic prophecies (like Isaiah 53), the miracles of Jesus (which the enemies could not deny had happened, they just attibuted it to the work of the devil), and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (the ultimate proof, Acts 17:31 because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people [x]by raising Him from the dead.”). These proofs help reinforce my belief that God indeed created all this diversity in six 24 hour days.

Then I just pause and think,”Wow”! Look at what God did. That evokes praise just as the psalmist in Psalm 104:34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!”

Hallelujah, which means “Hallel” (praise) “yah” (shortened form of YHWH or Yahweh). So I hope this article helps increase your faith in God and remove those moments of doubt that most of us have from time to time. The song in our songbooks, Hallelujah Praise Jehovah is based on Psalm 148 invoking all of God’s creation to praise him (whiich would include man, the height of God’s creation).

Hallelujah, praise Jehovah, from the heavens praise His name;
praise Jehovah in the highest, all His angels, praise proclaim.
All His hosts, together praise Him, sun and moon and stars on high;
praise Him, O you heav’ns of heavens, and you floods above the sky.

Let them praises give Jehovah, they were made at His command;
them forever He established, His decree shall ever stand.
From the earth O praise Jehovah, all you seas, you monsters all,
fire and hail and snow and vapors, stormy winds that hear His call. [Refrain]

Let them praises give Jehovah, they were made at His command;
them forever He established, His decree shall ever stand.
From the earth O praise Jehovah, all you seas, you monsters all,
fire and hail and snow and vapors, stormy winds that hear His call. [Refrain]

The refrain or chorus at the end of each verse.

Let them praises give Jehovah, for His name alone is high,
and His glory is exalted, and His glory is exalted,
and His glory is exalted far above the earth and sky. 

Listen to this song acapella. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0EZctgkSFY

Here is the story of the man who wrote the music to this song, William Kirkpatrick (1838 to 1921). He published about 100 major musical works. Here is an interesting quote from Hymns4Him at https://hymns4him.mjbhost.com/hymns/hallelujah-praise-jehovah-2/

“William J. Kirkpatrick died on September 20, 1921. He told his wife that night that he had a tune running through his head and he wanted to write it down before he lost it. His wife retired to bed and awoke in the middle of the night to find that he was not there. She went to his study to find him, and when she did, he was slumped over on his desk, dead, without having recorded that song. He was interred in West Laurel Hill Cemetery near Philadelphia. ”

Another quoted story:

“Kirkpatrick participated in many of the Camp Meetings the Methodist churches held. He often led the music portion of the meeting and enlisted the help of soloists and other musicians to perform for the attenders. During one of these meetings, he became saddened by his observation of the soloist, who would perform the required songs and then leave without staying to hear the preacher. William feared that this young man did not really know Christ and so he began to pray that God would somehow get a hold of the soloist’s heart. One evening while he was praying, a song began to form in his mind. He quickly jotted down the lyrics to go with the music and asked the soloist to sing the song that night. The lyrics of the song convicted the young man’s heart and he ended up staying and listening to the message. When the preacher gave the altar call at the end of the night, the soloist got up and went to the front of the tent and placed his trust in Jesus. The lyrics that so touched this young man, and many people since, are based on Luke’s account of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. “I’ve wandered far away from God, Now I’m coming home; The paths of sin too long I’ve trod, Lord, I’m coming home. Coming home, coming home, Never more to roam; Open now Thine arms of love, Lord, I’m coming home.” Among the many other hymns for which Kirkpatrick contributed music, these are some of the most notable.” Here are the words to that song, Lord I’m Coming Home.

  1. I’ve wandered far away from God,
    Now I’m coming home;
    The paths of sin too long I’ve trod,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
    • Refrain:
      Coming home, coming home,
      Nevermore to roam;
      Open wide Thine arms of love,
      Lord, I’m coming home.
  2. I’ve wasted many precious years,
    Now I’m coming home;
    I now repent with bitter tears,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  3. I’m tired of sin and straying, Lord,
    Now I’m coming home;
    I’ll trust Thy love, believe Thy word,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  4. My soul is sick, my heart is sore,
    Now I’m coming home;
    My strength renew, my hope restore,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  5. My only hope, my only plea,
    Now I’m coming home;
    That Jesus died, and died for me,
    Lord, I’m coming home.
  6. I need His cleansing blood I know,
    Now I’m coming home;
    Oh, wash me whiter than the snow,
    Lord, I’m coming home.

Lisen to the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_M_x4qX3JU

I think of a friend and brother when I hear the words of that song. “I’ve wasted many precious years, but now I’m coming home”. I have spent 30 years at Madison Academy in Huntsville, Alabama as principal or teacher, preaching part time the first 10 years at Monrovia Church of Christ in Madison. There was only one year in that 30 years that I preached full time at Monrovia. During that year, I’ m sitting in the church office doing preacher stuff and I got a phone call out of the blue. The man said he was John Howerton, that he had been to our church service a couple of times (I never noticed him), that he had wasted most of his life by not following Jesus (he was in his 60’s at that time), and that he was ready to be baptized and devote his last years to Jesus. I baptized him. He went on to be a faithful Christian till death a few years ago. He went on a mission trip with our church to Baja, Mexico and helped the poor people in a village a lot. He was a brilliant man who wasted many years but came to the Lord. I miss him. He and another close friend and mentor, Hugh Minor, and I spent several meals together (John always bought). He was a political activist and would have loved to still be alive when Trump just recently got elected.

Kirkpatrick wrote some of our most familiar songs. Look up the words to these songs.

“’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3V58-VcHJs

“A Wonderful Savior is Jesus My Lord” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-jTDHYRus. Fanny Cosby and Kirkpatrick wrote this song in 1890.

“Jesus Saves! (We Have Heard the Joyful Sound)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxnFr-NLeLU

“Lead Me to Calvary” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE6qReRGmaY

Thanks for reading. I hope you will listen to all these songs just cited. It is very edifying.

LONELINESS

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Some of the verses of “Only the lonely” by Roy Orbison:

Only the lonely
Know the way I feel tonight
Only the lonely
Know this feeling ain’t right. But only the lonely
Know why
I cry
Only the lonelyOnly the lonely
Only the lonelyOnly the lonely
Know the heartaches I’ve been through
Only the lonely
Know I cry and cry for you.

Listen to the song on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMShwAnph8k

Of course, that song was about him losing his sweetheart, his baby, but it epitomizes how the lonely feel. Maybe he is right. Only the lonely can understand how being lonely feels. David knew how it felt.

Psalm 25:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. 18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. The Hebrew word for lonely is yachid: Only, solitary, unique, beloved. It is often translated “only”, or “only one” or “only son” but twice it is translated “lonely” (here and Ps 68:6).

Psalm 68:6 God makes a home for the lonely;

I guess I should be writing my own words on loneliness, but sometimes it is good just to quote from someone who already has great words on a topic,and such is the case here.

Gotquestions.org has a good article on loneliness.

“Being alone and being lonely are two different things. One can be alone without being lonely, and one can be lonely in a crowded room. Loneliness is, therefore, a state of mind, an emotion brought on by feelings of separation from other human beings. The sense of isolation is very deeply felt by those who are lonely. The Hebrew word translated “desolate” or “lonely” in the Old Testament means “one alone, only; one who is solitary, forsaken, wretched.” There is no deeper sadness that ever comes over the mind than the idea that we are alone in the world, that we do not have a friend, that no one cares for us, that no one is concerned about anything that might happen to us, that no one would care if we were to die or shed a tear over our grave.

No one felt loneliness more keenly than David. In a series of earnest, heartfelt appeals to God, David cried out in his loneliness and despair. His own son had risen up against him, the men of Israel went after him, and he was forced to flee from the city, and leave his house and family. Lonely and afflicted (Psalm 25:16), his only recourse was to turn to God and plead for mercy and God’s intervention (Psalm 25:21) because his only hope was in God. It is interesting to note that the word “lonely” is never used in the New Testament to describe people. In the New Testament, the word “lonely” only occurs twice and both times refers to desolate places (Mark 1:45; Luke 5:16), where Jesus moved off into the wilderness to be alone.

Whatever the cause of loneliness, for the Christian the cure is always the same—the comforting fellowship of Christ. That loving relationship with our Master has reassured and encouraged countless thousands who languished in prisons and even went to their deaths for His sake. He is the friend who “sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24), who lays down His life for His friends (John 15:13-15), and who has promised never to leave us or forsake us but to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). We can take comfort in the words of the old hymn that says it best: “Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He is with me to the end. Hallelujah, what a Savior!””

Some great thoughts. “Being alone and being lonely are two different things. One can be alone without being lonely, and one can be lonely in a crowded room.” I like being alone, and don’t always feel lonely when I am alone, though sometimes I am alone and lonely. I can be in a crowd and feel isolated and lonely if I am not fitting in. ” Loneliness is, therefore, a state of mind, an emotion brought on by feelings of separation from other human beings.” Sometimes I want to be alone, to not be part of the group. Our family made trips to Puerto Rico and Costa Rica in the last two summers. I am a pain to travel with b/c i am always worrying about something that might go wrong, about plane delays, about some of our family missing a flight, about not making it to the ferry on time to get to the island we were staying in, about someone getting hurt on the trip, about the best place to stay, about catching the flight home on time. I worry for the whole group, not just for myself. I actually thought to myself, “maybe it would be better if I just stayed home and let them go. Less stressful for me and for them also b/c they handle every situation easily. But then I thought, “as soon as I stay home and they fly out, I will feel a deep sense of isolation and loneliness.” So I go and try to deal with the stress. It really helps when they completely take over the planning of the trip and handle any situations that come up.

I think back to my college days. I was raised in Birmingham, Alabama and spend my first year of college at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I was miserable the whole time. I had friends, but not close friends. I kept myself busy with studying (engineering courses), but I headed home to B’ham as soon as that last class ended on Friday. I delayed going back to T-town as long as I could, usually going back on Sunday evening or even Monday morning at times. My girlfriend and wife to be was back in B’ham and I missed her. I didn’t have a cell phone or face time. The only communication I got from her was a letter she usually sent on Monday and I would get it on Wednesday. I would write her a letter on Monday and she would get it on Wednesday. We found those mushy letters recently and just laughed at them. I think I can say that I truly felt lonely. Finally, after one year in Tuscaloosa, I decided, “Why am I doing this?” I came home and spent the next 2 1/2 finishing my engineering degree at UAB back when UAB was one building only in the south side of B’ham. But I was happy being back at home. I saw my girlfriend more, but it wasn’t just that. I just enjoyed being in my home, my own room, not having a bunch of guys around in the dorm or apartment we stayed in. I was lonely in Tuscaloosa even though I wasn’t alone, but I wasn’t lonely in B’ham even though I was alone.

So what advice might I give to someone who is lonely. First of all, if you aren’t happy where you are, change if you can. Why be unhappy and lonely if you can help it? David had no choice. Saul was pursuing him in the wilderness for 10 years. He could not go home to his parents. He had to leave them in the care of the king of Moab (1 Samuel 22:4-14). I was able to go home to live with my parents in B’ham. It wasn’t like I did a lot of things with them while I finished my degree at UAB. It was just being at home with them. I lived pretty much independent even while I was in my parents’ house. But I wasn’t lonely.

If you are lonely and would like to change your circumstances, but you can’t, then what can you do. There might be many reasons that you can’t change them. Maybe work or school related. Maybe financial. Of course here is where we cite Bible verses about God will always be with you and never forsake you. Maybe your family or friends forsake and leave you, but He never will.

  • 1 Peter 5:7“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”. 
  • Psalm 27:9-10“Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me”. 
  • Psalm 73:23-25“Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. You will guide me with Your plan”. 
  • Isaiah 41:10“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”

Maybe a closer and deeper relationship with God is the key to dealing with loneliness. From AI on the internet: “While there isn’t a direct translation of “lonely” in the New Testament, the Greek word most closely associated with the concept of loneliness is “eremos,” which means “desert place” or “solitude,” often used to describe Jesus going to secluded areas to be alone.” It is no coincidence that Jesus went to these solitary places to pray when under duress. Luke 5:15 But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness (erémos: Desert, wilderness, solitary place, desolate)and pray. Mark 1:45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas (eremos); and they were coming to Him from everywhere.” Jesus just had to escape the people coming to him. It wasn’t that He didn’t love them or have compassion for them and their sicknesses. I mean he healed everyone who came to him and culled no one. But he needed his time alone with God in prayer, and that necessitated getting rid of all the distractions, pressures, and stressers. We need that kind of time alone with God. Get rid of all the clutter. Turn the phone off. Close the ipad. As Jesus said, get in a closet and pray. Like the movie, have a “Prayer room” dedicated to silence and prayer. Seek the wisdom and guidance of God. Maybe you are lonely where you are, but maybe God has you there for a reason and it would be bad to leave before He can accomplish HIs plans for you. Maybe you just need to tough it out until you think God is changing plans for you. Maybe being happy is not the main thing. If so, you need a prayer room to get the strength to keep doing God’s plan even if you are lonely. Jesus found those desert places, prayed alone with God, and then found the strength to go back to healing all those people he temporarily avoided.

If you are lonely but can’t change your circumstances, or even if you could change them but feel you need to stick it out so God can use you where you are to do HIs plans, then here is another suggestion. “A friend sticks closer than a brother” is a quote from the Bible, Proverbs 18:24. Often a good friend can help you deal with loneliness. Even more so than a family member perhaps. Maybe you don’t share a lot of things with your companions or coworkers or teammates. Maybe they like to do things that you don’t approve of, like drinking parties. Maybe you don’t approve of how they talk or gossip or curse. But a good friend is one you can talk to, share you feelings of loneliness with. Maybe just you and your friend can sit and talk or go somewhere or relax and watch TV or a movie. You might not even talk. You might just be there quietly for one another. God is the one we should really rely one for comfort in our loneliness, but that comfort of God is a spiritual thing of faith that you can’t see or touch. But often God uses close friends to give us His comfort. Pauls spoke of this in 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God”. Good friends empathize and comfort each other with the comfort that God gives each one. I do have a few close friends that I get comfort from, and I am thankful for that.

One other suggestion. Go out serving others in some way. Go find a widow to visit and talk with. Go feed the poor at a local food bank. Go play with some young kids and take them somewhere and buy them candy. Go visit someone else’s grandparents if your grandparents are not near by. Go to a Bible study in a small group. Get an online Bible course to guide you in a deeper Bible study of a Bible book or topic. Get a friend or friends to join you in a small group. That will give you something to look forward to.

BTW this blog article is dedicated to someone I love and respect who asked me to write an article on loneliness. She might have just been joking b/c I have been flooding emails with numerous Biblical articles on Daniel, the 2nd coming, Romans 9-11, etc. Pretty heavy reading. But I decided to write that article on loneliness for her.

ROMANS 11:25-27 (And all of Romans 9-11)

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Romans 11:25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:[k] a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion,
    he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;27 “and this will be my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

Romans 11:27 is considered to quote from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, specifically from passages like Isaiah 59:20-21 and Isaiah 27:9, although the exact wording aligns most closely with the Septuagint translation of these verses, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible used by early Christians;. 

2 main questions from Romans 11:25-27: 1) Who is the “all Israel” that will be saved, and when will “all Israel be saved”? 2) What and when is the “fulness of the Gentiles”?

First of all, I must acknowledge that my interpretation of this passage comes from a full preterist view. That is important b/c that view eliminates futuristic interpretations of the passage. Many scholars believe that the passage is still to be fulfilled in our future, that it refers to the 2nd coming and a salvation of the Jewish people in the future. The full preterism view is that the 2nd coming was in 70 AD, so that would eliminate futuristic views completely. You can read my articles on the 2nd coming to. get a study of the full preterist view if you chose, but in this article I won’t defend the full preterism view.

Having said that, how do I answer those 2 main questions? Let’s look at the context of Romans 9-11. Those 3 chapters describe the process of saving the remnant of Israel (those who would believe that Jesus is the Messiah and be saved in the church) and the grafting in of the Gentile believers into the new covenant church along with the Jewish believers.

Key thoughts in these 3 chapters. 9:4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. That would be fleshly Israel, that nation of Israel in the OT. 9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. “All who are descended from Israel” would be fleshly Israel, the nation. But “belong to Israel” would be the remnant of Israel who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah and be saved in the church. Those would be “the children of God, the children of promise”. “It is not the children of the flesh (the nation) who are the children of God”. In other words, not all who are of the fleshly Israel are in the remnant, only those Jews who believe in Jesus. “It is not as though the word of God has failed”. God made promises in the OT to save Israel in the Messianic Age. For example, Isaiah 27:9 “Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin” (quoted in Romans 11:27). The OT prophets spoke of “restore the fortunes of Israel” (Jeremiah 30:3,7,18; 32:44; 33:7,11; Amos 9:13-15). The cities will be rebult, Israel will return to their land and will dwell securely in the land. Israel will be saved (Jeremiah 33:16  “In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’” God would make a new covenant with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah) in which he would “forgive their iniquity and remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34 For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”) Jeremiah 31:36 “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” The future of Israel would be as certain as the fixed order of the sun, moon, and stars in their orbits.

Now, on the surface, this looks as if these passages predict that the entire Jewish nation would be restored to the power of the nation under King David, that the nation of Israel would get and keep all the Promised Land forever in the Messianic Age, that the entire nation of Israel would be saved. But Paul says that “not all Israel belong to Israel” (Romans 9:6). He also says that these OT promises for Israel’s restoration and salvation have been fulfilled at the tiime he wrote Romans (“it is not as though the word of God has failed” Romans 9:6). This shows that those OT promises were made to the nation, but only the remnant (those Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah) would be the recipients of those promises. So, were those promises fulfilled phycially or is this figurative language? The remnant Jewish church did not receive the Promised Land that Joshua conquered. They did not rebuild cities. They did not restore the power of the kingdom under David. But they were saved spiritually and were the recipients of the OT promises. Therefore, those promises must be figurative language. Jesus said in John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Jesus said in Matthew 21: 43 “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” Israel was God’s kingdom on earth in the OT (Exodus 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation). God took that kingdom away from the fleshly nation of Israel and gave it to the church kingdom nation (of Jewish and Gentile believers). 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. Revelatiiion 1:5 “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” The OT promises made to Israel were: 1) Spiritual, not physical, in nature; 2) Fulfilled only by the remnant of Jewish believers and not the entire nation.

Let’s move on to Romans 9:22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” 27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel[c] be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

Notice that most of the Jewish nation were “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction”, i.e. the Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah would be destroyed, a prediction of the judgment on the Jews in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple and one million Jews were killed (according to Josephus). But God called the remnant who believed in Jesus as the Messiah to be saved, along with Gentiles who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. In 9:27 Paul quotes Isaiah 10:22. I like Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible “The remnant shall return”,…. This is said in allusion to Shearjashub, the name of Isaiah’s son, Isaiah 7:3 which signifies “the remnant shall return”, and was imposed on him, to give assurance of it; meaning, either that they should return from the Babylonish captivity, as they did, or to God by repentance; or rather the sense is, they shall turn to the Lord, be converted to Christ, to the faith and obedience of him, as some of them were when he came, a few, not all, only a remnant, as it is explained in the next clause”. In other words, Isaiah 10:22 could be a Messianic prediction of the remnant of believing Jews, which is the way Paul used it in Romans 9:27. For sure, Paul is saying that only a remnant of the nation of Israel would be saved in the Messianic Age. Remember that b/c in 11:27 he will say “all Israel will be saved”. Same language as chapter 9. The “Israel” of 11:27 would be the same remnant, spiritual church Israel as in ch 9. The “will be saved” would only refer to the remnant being saved and not the entire nation. Too many scholars intepret 11:27 based on their views of a future 2nd coming in which the nation of Israel will be retored to the Promised Land instead of examinng the context of chapter 9.

Paul concludes chapter 9, saying 9:What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” This is discussing the unbelieving Jews and why they missed out on the spiritual promises of salvation by the Messiah. These would be the “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction”. Why did they miss out? B/c they pursued the Law to earn salvation by keeping the Law and became self righteous, not feeling that they needed the grace and forgiveness that Jesus came to bring the remnant. They were invited to receive that, but their self righteousness kept them from receiving it. “Many are called but few chosen” (Mt 22:14). BTW Calvinism says that only the arbitrarily predetermined elect are called, but Jesus says that not all those called will be chosen for salvation. Also, Paul in Romans 9:30-33 says that the Jews who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah did so off their own freewill choice, that they did so b/c they pursued the Law as a means of righteousness (which cannot save) instead of a means of leading them to the saving righteousness of Jesus (which can save). Does that sound like Calvinism where the elect really don’t have a choice. Paul says that the Jews had a choice, but made the wrong choice in how they pursued the Law. Read the article I wrote on Ephesians 1:15 for a more thorough discussion of predestination and Calvinism.

I know all this figurative fulfillment of OT prophecies for Israel is heresy to those who expect Jesus to set up a physical kingdom at his 2nd coming and that he will restore the nation of Israel to their land forever, but please consider the context of Romans 9. The OT promises to restore the fortunes of Israel and to restore them their land had been fulfilled when Paul wrote Romans. They were fulfilled only in and for the remnant Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Those OT promises were not fulfilled physically for the nation. Therefore, those OT promises must have been fulfilled spiritually and only for the remnant. I’m sure that could be put in some syllogistic reasoning. Syllogistic reasoning is a type of deductive argument that uses two premises to reach a specific conclusion. Here are some examples of syllogistic reasoning: All mammals are animals, camels are mammals, therefore camels are animals. Maybe, 1) All the OT promises for Israel in the Messianic Age were fulfilled for only the remnant by the time Paul wrote Romans. 2) Those promises were not fulfilled pysically for the nation when Paul wrote Romans. 3) Those promises could only be fulfilled spiritually for the renmnant, not the whole nation. I know figurative language can be confusing or even misleading. The Jews expected the OT promises to be fulfilled literally, for the power of the nation of Israel to be restored and a resoration to the Promised Land to be held forever. I can see why why would think that. That is also the reason they rejected Jesus, i.e. b/c he came to establish a spiritual kingdom, not physical. They expected the Messiah to defeat Israel’s enemies, the Romans, but he said he came to destroy spiritual, not physical, powers of the darkness. Even the apostles expected a physical kingdom, even after the resurrection. Acts 1:6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
In other words, “Lord you didn’t restore the kingdom to Israel (physcially) while you were alive, but now we get it, now you are going to restore it to Israel?” Had they forgotten Mt 21:43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” The kingdom would not only not be restored to the nation, but it would be taken away from the nation. Remember, Jesus used figurative language a lot. He said that the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes” was in John the Baptist, not the literal man Elijah coming. Mt 11:13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Mt 17:11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist”.

I wish those who expect a literal fulfillment of OT promises to Israel would be consistent. In the same “restore the fortunes of Israel” passages of Jeremiah 33:7,11, it predicts 33:17 “For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.” Would they not have to say that, since they expect the restoration of Israel to be still in our future, then 33:17 would be fulfilled in our future at the same time? If so, do they expect that when Jesus returns that Christians will go back to having a Levitical priesthood that burns animal sacrifices? That would be a total contradiction of the whole book of Hebrews. No, the literalists would probaly say, “Oh, well that part was fulfilled spiritually”. Do you see how inconsistent their interpretation is? Literal in 33:7, 11 but figurative in 33:17,18. Now, the unbelieving Jews today still expect both the restoration of Israel and the restoration of the Levitical priesthood to be fulfilled when the real Messiah comes in our future (they don’t believe Jesus was the Messiah). At least they are consistent, even if they are totally wrong! Why can’t the literalists see that they are making the same mistake that the unbelieving Jews made when they expected a literal fulfillment of the OT promises to Israel?????? They then might start preaching that the kingdom of God, of heaven, of Jesus is the church and that there is not physical kingdom to be set up at his 2nd coming.

They might even then examine the predictions of Jesus that his 2nd coming would be in the lifetime of those he was speaking to. Mt 11:23 `And whenever they may persecute you in this city, flee to the other, for verily I say to you, ye may not have completed the cities of Israel till the Son of Man may come. Mt 16:27 `For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work. 28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign. Notice “the Son of Man is about to come” That is the Greek word mello, and it always means “about to be, about to happen”. Thankfully Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) translates it correctly in Mt 16:28. Most translations just say “is going to come”. Jesus is a false prophet if his 2nd coming was not imminent, about to happen, or if some listening to him would not be alive when he returned in his reign or kingdom (same Greek word, basileia: Kingdom. Mt 24:29 “And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; 30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth smite the breast, and they shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of the heaven, with power and much glory.” This coming of the Son of Man had to occur within the generation of those Jesus was talking to. Mt 24:34 Verily I say to you, this generation may not pass away till all these may come to pass. That word for generation is genea which always is used in the NT of a 40 year period or the people living in a 40 year period, like we speak of the x or z generation. Mt 1 has 42 generations of the genealogy of Jesus which covers about 2,000 years. In the chapter before Mt 24, Jesus had just predicted judgment on the Jews for killing the prophets and the apostles. He told them Mt 23:36 “verily I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” The word generation clearly refers to that generation of Jews that were currently alive when he spoke. They are the ones who will be judged in about 40 years in 70 AD. Jesus told Caiaphas in Mt 26:64 Jesus saith to him, `Thou hast said; nevertheless I say to you, hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the power, and coming upon the clouds, of the heaven.’ We don’t know when Caiaphas died, but I believe Jesus is not a false prophet. Caiaphas must have lived to at least see the beginning of the 2nd coming in judgement on the Jews. These are the only 4 passages where Jesus predicts his 2nd coming. They all say that his 2nd coming would be within the lifetime of those he was speaking to, that it was “about to” happen. I challenge you to find any othe passage in the gospels where he predicts a “coming” that would not be within their lifetime. It is not to be found. Would that not be strange if a 2nd coming that is still in our future was never even predicted by Jesus in the gospels? Well, I guess I got into full preterism after all, but I still hope you will read my article “The 2nd coming” for a more thorough disscussion.

Back to Romans! Romans 10:3 “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” This verse again shows that they had the freewill to not submit to God’s righteousness. Why would Paul blame them for not submitting if they did not have the freewill to either accept or submit (as Calvinism teaches)? It also shows again, as 9:32, that their problem was that they pursued the Law as a means of righteousness. The Law was given to show them that they could not obtain righteousness by Law keeping b/c no one could keep the Law perfectly, and the Law did not provide for eternal forgiveness of sisn by animal sacrifices. If someone understood that, they would gladly accept Jesus and receive the righteousness which is by faith in Jesus, the reckoned or imputed righteousness that Paul spoke of in Romans 4:2 “for if Abraham by works was declared righteous, he hath to boast — but not before god; 3 for what doth the writing say? `And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him — to righteousness;’ 4 and to him who is working, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt; 5 and to him who is not working, and is believing upon Him who is declaring righteous the impious, his faith is reckoned — to righteousness: 6 even as David also doth speak of the happiness of the man to whom God doth reckon righteousness apart from works.”  Then in Philippians 3:9 “not having my righteousness, which [is] of law, but that which [is] through faith of Christ — the righteousness that is of God by the faith.” That reckoned righteousness which comes by faith is Romans 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 for with the heart doth [one] believe to righteousness, and with the mouth is confession made to salvation.” It comes by faith and not keeping the Law (or any law).

Paul then brings up a possible objection: Romans 10:18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” Maybe all fleshly Jews did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel and believe? Paul says that the gospel had been preached to the ends of the (Roman) world. Colossians 1:”23 if also ye remain in the faith, being founded and settled, and not moved away from the hope of the good news, which ye heard, which was preached in all the creation that [is] under the heaven, of which I became — I Paul — a ministrant.” Paul says that the gospel had been preached to the whole Roman world (empire) by the time he wrote Colossians in about 62 AD. Then Paul gives another possible objection, Romans 10:19 “But I ask, did Israel not understand?” Well, they probably didn’t understand the need for the gospel, but it wasn’t b/c they were not capable of understanding. It certainly wasn’t b/c only the predestined elect could understand by “I” (irresistible grace in Calvinism) when God would send His Spirit basically allowing and forcing the elect to be able to believe (Calvinism). Paul says that they simply refused to believe. Romans 10:21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” They could have chosen to believe but refused to. It is amazing to me how Calvinists use Romans 9-11 as a proof text of their teaching when the context refutes Calvinism over and over.

All this might sound like God has rejected the whole nation of Israel. Paul anticipated that thought. Romans 11:”I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!” He had rejected those Jews who refused to accept Jesus as Messiah and prepared them as vessels of wrath for destruction in 70 AD. But Romans 11:5 “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” God had not rejected the remnant of Jews who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Back to the remant idea. Yes, “chosen” but chosen by grace through faith; not the chosen of Calvinism (the elect chosen with irresistible grace without their freewill choice to believe or not). Romans 11:7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” If you didn’t read the context of chapters 9 and 10, you might say this is pure Calvinism in these verses. The “elect” obtained salvation and grace but God gave a stupor of unbelief that made them not believe in Jesus???? The context of chapters 9 and 10 show that the Jews had the freewill choice to accept Jesus as the Messiah or not. It shows why they failed to accept Jesus as the Messiah, i.e. they pursued the Law as a means of righteousness, which implies they were to blame and would be held accountable for their unbelief. In Calvinism, you have to blame God if someone is lost b/c He has arbitrarily predestined some to be lost regardless of their freewill choices. Again, Calvinism is wrong. Paul explains how God gave them a “spirit of stupor” that they could not see or hear. How did God do that? By somehow making their hearts unable to believe? No. Romans 11:9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,and bend their backs forever.” The design of salvation was the death of Jesus on a cross like a common criminal. That was an intentional design to weed out those who would not accept God’s plan b/c of their pride. The cross would be a stumbling block to the Jews b/c they were looking for physical blessings and kingdom. 1 Corinthians 1:21 for, seeing in the wisdom of God the world through the wisdom knew not God, it did please God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those believing. 22 Since also Jews ask a sign, and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 also we — we preach Christ crucified, to Jews, indeed, a stumbling-block, and to Greeks foolishness, 24 and to those called — both Jews and Greeks — Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God,25 because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” In spite of Isaiah 53 predicting the death of the Messiah, they did not expect the Messiah to die.

Paul anticipates another thought. Romans 11:11 “So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means!” By this he means was the stumbling of the unbelieving Jews a permanent thing that left them with no hope? By not means, he says. “Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!” So, if those unbelieving Jews eventually see the Gentiles saved and are filled with jealousy, and if they change and accept Jesus as the Messiah, they can be saved. That would be their “full inclusion” (YLT). That would mean that, when you add them to the ones who initially accepted Jesus as the Messiah, you then have the “full” remnant that will be saved before 70 AD. BTW this pretty well answers the question in 11:27 “who is the all Israel who will be saved”. It is when the entire remnant is gathered by 70 AD by the preaching of the gospel in the whole Roman empire. Jesus spoke of this “gathering of the elect from the four winds” in Mt 24:31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. We have to assume that there were many such Jews who initially rejected the gospel but later accepted it and were added to the church. Paul warns the Gentile believers not to be arrogant toward any unbelieving Jews who later believe. He says that if God did not spare the unbelieving natural branches (the unbelieving Jews) b/c of their unbelief, then He will not spare Gentile believers fall away. Those unbelieving natural branches (unbelieving Jews) were cut off the tree, but they will be grafted back into the tree (just as the Gentile believers were grafted into the tree) if they repent and later believe in Jesus. BTW doesn’t this help up with the 11:27 “the fulness of the Gentiles”? The language of 11:12, “the full inclusion”, meant when all the remnant was saved and gathered. So does that mean that the “fulness of the Gentiles” would be similar, i.e. when all the Gentile believers were gathered by 70 AD? Maybe so.

That brings us to the actual topic we started with. Romans 11:25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:[d] a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” Again, 2 main questions from Romans 11:25-27: 1) Who is the “all Israel” that will be saved, and when will “all Israel be saved”? 2) What and when is the “fulness of the Gentiles”?

  1. Hopefully we have already seen that the “all Israel will be saved” refers to the gathering of all the remnant of the Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. This gathering of the remnant would take place when “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” This is a quote from Isiah 59:20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,  to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.” There is a lot of debate on this quote b/c Isaiah says “to Zion” and Romans 11:27 says “from Zion”. You have to think that this is in reference to the 2nd coming, coming to Zion (Jerusalem) to establish the new covenant of Isaiah 59:21 where he will saved the remnant and take away their sins. You can research the “to” or “from” Zion if you want to dig deeper, but it is safe to say that 11:27 is referring to the 2nd coming of Jesus. In Mt 24, the elect remnant would be gathered (24:31) within that generation (24:34) and the 2nd coming (24:30) would be within that generation. So the timing and event match.
  2. The fulness of the Gentiles. 11:27 “the fulness of the Gentiles”? The language of 11:12, “the full inclusion”, meant when all the remnant was saved and gathered. So does that mean that the “fulness of the Gentiles” would be similar, i.e. when all the Gentile believers were gathered by 70 AD? Maybe so. There was a process of natural branches being broken off, Gentile believers being grafted in, and then unbelieving Jews who later believed being grafted back in this Messianic church kingdom tree. All this would be fulfilled by 70 AD and the 2nd coming. That doesn’t mean that the process would stop after that. There would continue to be Jews and Gentiles converted, but Paul is peaking specifically of the process developing by 70 AD when the plan of redemption was finally realized. Here is a good statement AI from the internet. “The fullness is the state of being fully included in the covenant. A transitional period between Christ’s great commission and the destruction of Jerusalem (and the sacrificial system).” So by 70AD the gentiles are now fully included in the covenant.ApHere is a great image of that from pinterest.

Paul closes with this doxology: Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” God’s plan from all eternity was to save Jews and Gentiles who would accept His Son as the Messiah who died for their sins, and unite them in one body, the church. That was the mystery of Ephesians 3. Revelation 10:7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. What a great statement. Who would have ever thought that this would be God’s plan of salvation. Amazing!

I hope this is beneficial to you. Long but it needs a careful examination.

Thanks for reading.

WHEN WERE THE 4 GOSPELS WRITTEN?

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Were the 4 gospel really written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Were they written early, or as some say, in the late first century (if so, not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John b/c they died before 70 AD. Here is the liberal view on all that.

According to Bart Ehrman, the four gospels were written in the following order:

  • Mark: Written around 70 CE
  • Matthew and Luke: Written around 80–85 CE
  • John: Written around 90–95 CE 

Bart Ehrman has said that the Gospels were written and circulated anonymously, and that Christian leaders later attributed them to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: 

I believe all 4 gospels were written before 70 AD. First, let’s look at the 3 synoptics: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. There is one main proof for me. All 3 predict in detail the destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem to happen in the future after writing the gospels. A whole chapter in each gospel predicts that: Mt 24, Mk 13, and Lk 21. There are many other such predictions in the gospels, like the parable of the wheat and tears in Mt 13, but we will

focus on those 3 chapters. For example, Mt 24 predicts several events to be fulfilled within that generation (24:34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.). Mk 13 and Lk 21 do the same thing. The word genea in the NT always refers to a 40 year period or the people living in a 40 year period. For example, Mt 1 lists 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus, which is about 2,000 years. Mt 23:36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. The word genea there obviously is referring to the generation of Jews that Jesus is speaking to.

Now, if Matthew was written after AD 70, don’t you think that he (or whoever wrote the gospel) would have said that prediction of 70 AD was already fulfilled, proving Jesus to be a true prophet? Matthew often quotes prophecies, like the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Mt 2), showing the fulfillment of that prophecy. Surely he would have done that with the Mt 24 prediction if it had already been fulfilled when he wrote the gospel. That means that the predictions in Mt 24 had not been fulfilled at the time of writing of the gospel. That means that the gospel was written before 70 AD.

For example, suppose we found an old, old book about the persecution of Jews in history, but we don’t know when it was written. Suppose that it tells about AD 70, about the killing of Jews in the Crusades, the killing of Jews during the Black Plagues (some blamed the Jews for the plague), etc. But suppose that it did not discuss the Holocaust. To me, that means that the book was written before the Holocaust happened. That means the book was written before 1945 AD. Do you see the point?

The gospel of John is a different case, but I believe that it was written before 70 AD (in spite of tradition saying that he wrote Revelation in 96 AD. Why do I believe that? The main reason is that I believe that he died before 70 AD. The church father Papias (60-130 AD) said that John died a martyr’s death as the hands of the Jews (he did not give a date). He supported that saying the John died a martyr just like Jesus had predicted that the brothers James and John would die. Jesus predicted that James and John would be martyred in the Bible, in Mark 10:35–45. In this passage, Jesus tells the brothers that they will “drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with”. We know James the apostle was martyred by Herod in Acts 12. The only time John could have been killed by the Jews would have to be before 70 AD. A million Jews died in the siege of Jerusalem and 200,000 were carried away captive (according to Josephus who was present during the siege). Most say John lived to the year 100 AD and died a natural death, but that would contradict what Jesus predicted. Also, if he died as a martyr around 100 AD, surely there would be church father testimony to that fact, but there is none. The Jews did not have the ability to kill Christians around 100 AD. There is just the speculation that he wrote Revelation in 96 AD based on the statement of one church father (Irenaeus, 130-202 AD). That statement is not even clear as to what he is saying. But the internal evidence of the book of Revelation says that it was written during the reign of Emperor Nero (54-68 AD). Rev 17:9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. Refer to my Revelation articles for a more thorough discussion but the seven kings here are the first 7 emperors of Rome starting with Julius Caesar. I know many historians say that the first emperor was Augustus, but Josephus at least twice says that Augustus was the 2nd king, not the 1st, and Josephus lived at that time and would know who was considered to be the first king of Rome, i.e. Julius. Also Seutonius, (a Roman biographer, 69-122 AD) wrote The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, beginning with Julius, not Augustus. So, at the time of writing Revelation, 5 kings were dead, “fallen” (Julius through Claudius), the 6th, “one is”, is reigning when the book is written, i.e. Nero (54-68 AD). So the book had to be written before Nero died in 68 AD. That certainly fits the Papias statement that John died a martyr’s death at the hands of the Jews. If John died before 70 AD, then obviously he wrote his gospel of John, and his letters (1,2,3 John and Revelation) before he died in 70 AD. There is some internal evidence also that John wrote his gospel before 70 AD. John 5:1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic[a] called Bethesda,[b] which has five roofed colonnades. He says there “was” a feast that Jesus went to (past tense) but then he says there “is” a pool in Jerusalem (present tense). The pool was Bethesday was still there when he wrote the gospel. After 70 AD, there would no longer be a pool there since the Romans destroyed everything. Like wise with Rev 11: 1Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there. The temple was still standing and Jews worshipping there when he wrote Revelation. It was destroyed in 70 AD, so the letter had to be written before 70 AD.

I hope this establishes that the 4 gospels were written before 70 AD. That means they were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, since the early church would have rejected a forgery gospel while the 4 men were still living. The church fathers of the 2nd century all accepted the 4 gospels as being written by the 4 men. That’s why they were put in the NT canon later. In his work Against Heresies, Irenaeus of Lyons argued that there should be four Gospels because of the four zones of the world, the four winds…Irenaeus declared that the four he espoused were the four pillars of the Church: ‘it is not possible that there can be either more or fewer than four‘ he stated, presenting as logic the analogy of the four corners of the earth and the four winds (1.11. 8). The early church fathers quoted or cited the 4 gospels thousands of times as Scripture. Would they have done that if the 4 gospels were written by anonymous authors? If they accepted the 4 gospels as authentic and rejected many other gospels (like the gospel of Mary Magdelene, etc), then would they not have also rejected the 4 gospels unless they were very confident that they were genu

Why is it so important to establish the early date of writing of the 4 gospels? If they were written before 70 AD, then those who read the gospels would have been able to refute their authenticity, authorship, the stories and miracles they recorded. If they claimed a resurrection of Jesus within 40 years of his resurrection in 30 AD, then people living before 70 AD would have had the opportunity to refute that resurrection. If I claiimed that a certain man was raised from the Maple Hill Cemetry 10 years ago, then people could research that and either refute it or verify it. If I said a that man was raised 50 years ago, there would be very few living that could verify that or refute it. If the miracles of Jesus were mere legend, as well as his resurrection, as many claim them to be, then 20 or 30 years would not be enough time for a legend to be established. If the gospels were written anonimously by whoever in the late first century, how would they get their facts about Jesus ministry and miracles. Luke 1:1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Luke could interview witnesses if he wrote his gospel before 70 AD while many witnesses were still alive. If he wrote it the late 1st century, many would be dead.

I’m sure some of the Christian apologists could make more arguments for the early date of writing of the gospels, but this article has my reasons. BTW the same logic used here could be used to say that the entire NT was written before 70 AD. Paul was beheaded by Nero around 66 AD, so all of his letters had to be written before he died and thus before 70 AD. Many of Paul’s letters also predict the coming of Jesus in 70 AD also (like 2 Thess 2), so they had to be written before that event.Hebrews was not written by Paul, but it has internal evidence that it was written before the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Heb 9:8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places “is” (present tense) not yet opened as long as the first section “is” (present tense) still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). That present tense “is” shows that the temple was still standing when the letter was written. Heb 10: 37 For, “Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay”. The only “coming of Jesus” here can be is the coming in judgment on Jerusalem in 70 AD, the “2nd coming”. No other coming would fit this verse if the book was written after 70 AD. This prediction came true in 70 AD, proving that the author, whoever it might be, is inspired by the Holy Spirit. James 5:8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Thus James predicts the coming of Jesus to be “at hand” (i.e. soon, shortly) and this can only refer to the coming of Jesus in 70 AD. That proves that the book is written before 70 AD. Peter was an apostle and was killed by Nero, so he died about 66 AD and obviously 1,2 Peter were written before he died, before 70 AD. Jude was a brother of Jesus. Jude mentioned the coming of the Lord and the judgment of the great day, which I believe is 70 AD, so Jude was written before 70 AD.

In summary, from the internet (AI), “The primary evidence suggesting the Gospels were written before 70 AD is that they describe Jerusalem and its Temple as still standing, despite the fact that both were destroyed by the Romans in that year; this indicates the authors were writing before the destruction event, as they would have mentioned it if they were writing afterwards.”

Thanks for reading. You can trust your 4 gospels!!!!!!

DANIEL 9-12 THE 70 WEEKS PROPHECY AND THE END TIME

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From amazon.combooks

Ch 9: In the 1st year of Darius the Mede, which means between 539-536 BC.

Daniel has been in Babylon for 70 years now, making him at least in his 80’s. Daniel read in Jeremiah (not sure where that is found) about the 70 years, and knew that would be within 2-3 years more, so He asked the Lord to fulfill that promise to allow them to return to Canaan at the end of the 70 years. He confessed the sins of Israel. Gabriel appeared and gave him the “70 weeks” prophecy (24-27). See the chart “Daniel’s 70 weeks” for the main events predicted. The key is that the end of the 70 weeks is the “abomination of desolation”, and Jesus said in Mt 24:15 the the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was the “abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel”, and it had to occur within that generation (Mt 24:34). That means that the 70th week ended in 70 AD and this negates all the false interpretations of the 70 weeks has not even happened yet. There are 7 weeks (49 years) from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, and 62 more weeks (434 years) until the Messiah (Jesus) is “cut off) (his death in 30 AD.

Then there is a gap between the 69th and 70th week. Why? Because the end of the 70th week would also be the 2nd coming of Jesus in 70 AD and the exact date of that was not given. They were to be ready at all times. He predicted that his 2nd coming would be within their lifetime, but he would not give them the exact date. They were to told to look for the signs that it was about to happen, such as the surrounding of the city by the Romans (Luke 21:21-24). The 70th week (the last 7 years) was from 63AD to 70 AD. In the middle of the 70th week began the wars of the Jews when the Jews rebelled against Rome and there was a 3 1/2 year period of war between the Jews and Rome leading up to the destruction of the temple and city by Titus. This 3 1/2 year tribulation on the Jews was the “time, times, and half a time” of Daniel 7:25 “He (Titus) shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time”. BTW the dispensationalists also put a gap of going on 2,000 years now in their interpretation, but that is wrong b/c the 70th week ended in 70 AD.

Nero had ordered Vespasian to put down the revolt, but after he started doing so,Nero died and Vespasian returned to Rome to become the 10th emperor of Rome. He then sent his son Titus to finish putting down the revolt, which he did. In the middle of the 70th week in 67 AD is when the Jews quit making an offering to the emperor in the temple, which Josephus says was the beginning of the wars or the Jews.

Notice all the Messianic blessings that would be accomplished by 70 AD in 9:24, i.e. the atonement for sin, bringing in everlasting righteousness, anointing of the most holy place (the new most holy place in heaven, Hebrews 9), the sealing up of all vision and prophecy (Luke 21:21-24 says that in 70 AD all things that were written in the OT were fulfilled). All those things were accomplished by 70 AD.

The preterist view considers the prophecy to have been fulfilled by AD 70. By interpreting the “weeks” symbolically, preterists have more flexibility in determining the dates of the events predicted. They understand the “word to rebuild Jerusalem” as the decree of Persian king Cyrus in 538 BC. The “anointed one” in both v. 25 and v. 26 is Jesus, who is also regarded as the one who confirms the “strong covenant” of v. 27, and whose atoning work rendered the Jewish sacrifices obsolete and even abominable to God. Titus is the “prince to come,” whose armies destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Here’s what it looks like:

A great timeline of the 70 weeks by allkirk network

The dispensationalist view (which is wrong bc the 70th week ended in 70 AD) distinguishes between those prophecies pertaining to the nation of Israel (including Daniel 9:24-27) and those pertaining to the Christian church. It interprets the weeks the most literally, as exact seven-year periods. By starting with one of the decrees of the Persian king Artaxerxes—either in 458 BC (Ezra 7:11-26) if one uses a 365-day calendar, or in 445 BC (Neh. 2:1-8) if one uses a 360-day calendar—one can arrive at the Crucifixion of Christ in 33 AD for the end of the sixty-ninth week. However, the events of the seventieth week clearly did not take place in the seven years following Christ’s death, which is why dispensationalists posit a “gap” between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week. They often call this the “Great Parenthesis,” which corresponds to the current church age. The Parenthesis (unforeseen by Daniel) will come to an end with the Rapture (also unforeseen by Daniel), which will then lead into the seven-year Great Tribulation, during which time the Antichrist will make a pact with the nation of Israel, only to break it after 3 1/2 years and desecrate the rebuilt Temple. Here’s what it looks like:

Ch 10: In the 3rd year of Cyrus king of Persian.

This puts this vision right at 536 BC, the year the Jews are allowed to return from Babylonian exile to the Promised Land. An angel touches and strengthens Daniel who is in a terrible state of mourning. He said that he had been delayed by the prince of Persia for 21 days, but Michal came to help him. He came to tell Daniel what would happen to his people in the latter days (10:14 14 and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”). He left to fight the prince of Persia, and then the prince of Greece.

Every kingdom and nation had an evil demonic prince. In 70 AD it was all the evil princes of all the kingdoms that were defeated spiritually and not their actual physical kingdoms. That is how Rev 20 says that the sea beast Rome was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone just like Satan and the earth beast false prophets were. Jesus defeated all demonic princes and powers in 70 AD, and Rev 11:14“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 

From slidesharecdn.com

Ch 11,12: In the 1st year of Darius the Mede (539 BC).

This vision tells of events from the Persian empire to Alexander up to the end time and the abomination of desolation (11:27, 31,35,40) with a conflict between the king of the north and king of the south. Many say it is a detailed account of events down to the Syrian Antioch Epiphanes in the 2nd century BC, but “the end” in Daniel always refers to the end of the age in 70 AD. Ch 11 is difficult to interpret as to who the king of the north and the king of the south are. I will leave that for deeper study.

Ch 12 is not hard to interpret, however, if we use Jesus’ interpretation of it in Matthew 24. At that time, the end time for these events to occur, there would be a distress on the Jewish nation such as had never been (Mt 24:21 Jesus said that would occur within the generation he was speaking to, thus 70 AD). It would a trampling of the holy people (the Jews) for a time, times, and half a time ( which is 3 1/2 years just as the little horn Titus did in 7:25). There would be a resurrection of the good and bad who had all been in hades up till 70 AD. It would be at the “end time” (12:4,9,13). This is the resurrection of which Paul said in Acts 24:15 “there is (mello) about to be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked”, which was the “hope of Israel” (that hope could only come from this prediction of a resurrection of all those OT people in hades).

Daniel 12:“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. 
We know this is 70 AD because Jesus cited this passage.
Matthew 24:21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. This tribulation was the suffering of the Jews in 70 AD.

Daniel was told to conceal these words since they were a long way off. The abomination of desolation is again the end event, and as Jesus confirmed in Mt 24:15, refers to 70 AD. Daniel was to go his way until the end (70 AD) and then he would rise again to receive his allotted portion at the end. This is why Paul said in Acts 24:15 that there was “about to be” (mello) a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, which could only be 70 AD and the fulfillment of Daniel 12:2.

Daniel 12:7 I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. 8 As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?” 9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. 
Jesus said “the end” would be 70 AD (end of the Jewish Age). Mt 24:13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Daniel 12: 11 From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days! 
13 But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age.” (1290 days would be about 3 1/2 years. ) This is the abomination of desolation of the temple in 70 AD. Jesus in Mt 24:15 that this abomination of desolation of Daniel would be fulfilled within the generation of those he was speaking to (Mt 24:34). This is the same abomination of desolation as Daniel 9:24-27.

Hebrews 4:Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. Daniel would be raised in 70 AD to receive his rest and eternal reward, just as all the righteous of the OT were raised to receive their eternal reward.

From godawa.com

That concludes this blog study of Daniel. Everything predicted in the book was fulfilled by 70 AD, so you don’t need to listen to false prophets who say that the 70th week is still in our future. Predicting the events surrounding 70 AD and the destruction of the temple, Jesus said in Luke 21:22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written (i.e. all that was predicted by the prophets in the OT)”.

But Daniel is not just. doctrinal book of the end time (70 AD). It contains inspiring stories of the courage of convictions of Daniel and the 3 Hebrew boys.

You can see why Ezekiel included Daniel with Noah and Job as 3 men of great character. Ezek 14:14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God. Ezek 14:19 “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. Ezekiel taunts the king of Tyre in 28:you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; 4 by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself,
and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries. He is saying perhaps that Daniel, not Solomon, was the wisest man in the OT.

Thanks for reading.

 

DANIEL 7-8 DREAMS AND VISIONS

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Why is it important to study the visions in Daniel?

1To appreciate the eternal spiritual kingdom of God, the church.

2 To keep Christians from being deceived by false prophets.

3 To deepen our faith in God’s word and fulfilled prophecies.

We must begin by going back to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue.

How do we identify these 4 kingdoms in the statue.

1) Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon is the head of gold (605-539 BC).

2) The Medo-Persians (539-331 BC) conquered Babylon in 539 BC and would be the chest of silver in the statue. Ch 8 will verify by name the Medo-Persians as the 2nd kingdom. They diverted the river flowing through Babylon and enterd secretly on the dry river bed and entered the city, conquering it as Belshazzaar (the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar) was hosting a fiest to honor the gods of wine and gold (Ch 5). It says that night Darius took the city.

3) Alexander the Great and the Greeks conquered the Persians in 331 BC and ruled the world till 168 BC. Ch 8 will verify the Grecian Empire by name as the thighs of bronze in the statue.

4) The Roman Empire (168BC-476AD) will be the legs of iron. We know this b/c Daniel 2:44-45 says that in this 4th empire that God would set up his kingdom. Jesus came preaching that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” (the same kingdom predicted in Daniel 2:44-45). Mark 9:1 Jesus said that some of those listening to him would still be alive to see him coming in his kiingdom. Mt 16:18-19 Jesus told Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. Peter used those keys to open the kingdom to those 3,000 baptized in Acts 2 and they were added to the church, the spiritual body of Christ. The kingdom at hand was the church kingdom established in the book of Acts in the 1st century. Rome was the world power when Jesus said that, so Rome would have to be the 4th kingdom legs of iron that was ruling the world when that prediction was fulfilled.

A stone would crush all the kingdoms. That stone is Jesus. He did not physically destroy Rome or the other 3 kingdoms that no longer existed when he was on earth. His kingdom of Daniel 2:44-45 was a spiritual kingdom, the church. He said that his kingdom was “not of this world”. But Jesus did destroy the demonic princes that control all worldly kingdoms. This fulfilled Daniel 7:13 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him (Jesus) was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. .Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 

From WVBS world video bible school

Ch 7: In the 1st year of Belshazzar of Babylon. A vision and dream of Daniel

Look at the statue image/chart to see this vision and what each animal represented. This vision matches the Daniel 2 statue perfectly. It also introduces that the iron beast had 10 horns, and a little horn coming up after the 10 horns. The iron beast is Rome, and the 10 horns would be the 1st ten emperors or kings (7:24) of Rome (from Julius Caesar, 63 BC, to Vespasian, 69-79 AD). Josephus says in a couple of references that Augustus was the 2nd king or emperor of Rome, so that makes Julius Caesar the 1st and Vespasian the 10th. Historians may record Augustus as the first emperor, but Josephus lived in the 1st century and he says that Julius Caesar was considered the first king of Rome, so we go with that. This vision also adds the throne scene (7:9-14) of the Ancient of Days sitting in judgment, with the Son of Man (Jesus) coming to Him in the clouds and being given a kingdom (7:13) which would never be destroyed (the same one a Daniel 2:44,45). Can you see why Jesus is called the Son of Man so many times in the gospels? Can you see why Daniel 7:13 is such an important prediction, as quoted by Jesus in Mt 24:30 with the Son of Man coming in the clouds to judge Jerusalem in 70 AD?

A boastful little horn comes up after the 10 horns who would wage war with the Jewish saints (7:21) for time, times, and half a time (7:25) until his dominion is taken away and “the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of all the kingdoms of the world under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom (7:26,27; same as 2:45; )”. This little horn is Titus who waged war with the Jews and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. He was not an emperor at that time (Vespasian his father was) but he would be the next horn or emperor, (79-81 AD) thus “little horn”. 2 Thess 2:4 he exalts himself above every so called god and takes his seat in the temple of God (only Titus did this, not Nero). He is known as the “man of sin”. 2 Thess 2:7 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. That verse shows that the man of sin was someone living at the time Paul wrote 2 Thess. Many call this man of sin the “antichrist”, but this man of sin is not one of the many men suggested to be him over the last 2,000 years. He is not some future antichrist man of sin to come. Daniel 7:21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Titus destroyed the temple in 70 AD and killed a million Jews (according to Josephus). He was not physically destroyed in 70 AD, but the demonic prince that controlled Rome (as well as all the demonic princes of all world kingdoms) was judged and destroyed by Jesus (as well as all demonic powers and Satan) and the kingdom of God, the church, became the eternal all powerful kingdom (spiritually, not physically since Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world, John 18:36) with Jesus reigning as king forever (Dan 7:13). Rev 11:15 concludes the predictions of the destruction of the temple in 70 AD with these words: Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

So now we add the ch 7 imagery to the statue of ch 2. They match up as the same 4 kingdoms.

From Answersfromscriptureonline.com and oldkaptnk2

From rapturemyth.com

Image by oldkaptnk2

In Revelation 13 a beast with 10 horns arises out of the sea that has lion, bear, and leopard traits. Rev 13:1 “And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth.” That this was the same imagery from Daniel 7 would be obvious to the readers of Revelation, and the sea beast would be identified as the Roman Empire.

Rome was the world empire when Revelation was written and would be the one to fulfill the predictions in Revelation that were soon to happen shortly after the time of writing. Rome was the sea beast whom God would use to judge Israel and destroy Jerusalem.

As a side note, Rev 17 gives us the internal evidence on when the book of Revelation was written. Revelation 17:9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.
Revelation was written during the reign of the 6th emperor, Nero (54-68 AD). It had to be written before he died in 68 AD.
The only basis for the traditional date of 96 AD is an ambiguous statement by Ireneaus in the late 2nd century, who was a chiliast and did not understand the meaning of the book.

Ch 8: In the 3rd year of Belshazzar of Babylon. A vision and dream of Daniel.

Again, look at the statue. Gabriel even tells Daniel that the ram is Media/Persia (the 2nd kingdom) and the goat is Greece (the 3rd kingdom) with a conspicuous horn, Alexander the Great. The goat attacks the ram and tramples it under its feet. This vision speak of a “small horn” magnifying itself to be equal to the Commander of Hosts (God) and trampling the holy place (the temple) and the host (the Jews), which would fit Titus again, the little horn of ch 7. It also says that the holy place will be restored in 2300 evenings and mornings, which is the prophecy William Miller wrongly interpreted to be the return of Jesus in 1843 AD. The vision pertains to the “time of the end” which is the end of the Jewish Age at 70 AD. The small horn even opposes the Prince of princes, i.e. Jesus, in some way. Titus sought to destroy all Jews, Christian and non-Christian in 70 AD. Many try to say that this small horn of Daniel 8 was Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian king who polluted the temple with pig stew and killed many Jews, but he can’t be the samll horn b/c 1) This vision was about the time of the end, i.e. end of the age in 70 AD; 2) Antiochus did not oppose the Prince of princes, i.e. Jesus. The small horn of Daniel 8 and the little horn of Daniel 7 are the same and fulfilled in Titus.

From Selan free ppt download

So now we can add the imagery of Daniel to the statue of Daniel 2 and the imagery of Daniel 7.

From LiamCherry

These are amazingly accurate predictions of the future made by Daniel in the 7th century BC. His predictions cover the next 4 kingdoms down to the 1st century AD. Especially amazing are the predictions about Alexander the Great conquering Medo Persia and then being divided into 4 smaller kingdoms (all happening in the 4th century BC). Fulfilled prophecy such as this proves that Yahweh is the only true God and that the Bible is the word of God. You can see why the agnostic Porphyry (2nd century AD) tried to discredit Daniel’s predictions by saying that they were written after the fact and not by Daniel but instead in the 2nd century BC. But the Jews who were entrusted by God with collecting the inspired writings of the prophets collected the book of Daniel as written by Daniel in the 6th century BC.

DANIEL 1-6

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

The first 6 chapters of Daniel are mainly historical with some great lessons. I will try to give a brief summary of each chapter and then some lessons from each chapter.

Introduction

Daniel was carried captive as a young boy to Babylon in the 1st deportation in 605 BC by Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah. He lived the entire 70 years of captivity in Babylon as he deals with 2 kings of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (ch 1-4), and Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar (ch 5, 7, 8) and after the fall of Babylon in 539 BC with Darius the Mede (ch 5, 6,9,11) and Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC) the Persian king (ch 10). Daniel as the author of this book was not questioned until Porphyry (260 AD) based on his belief that miracles like predicting the future like Daniel did in Daniel 2 were not possible and therefore he concluded that the book was written after the events “predicted” in Daniel had already occurred, probably by some Jew in 164 BC during the Maccabean period. The Jews were entrusted by God with collecting inspired prophetic writings (Romans 3:1-2) and accepted the book of Daniel into the OT canon. Many of Daniel’s predictions are fulfilled in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple by the Romans. That would negate Porphyry’s arguments since he said it was written in 164 BC.

Chapter 1

Daniel and his 3 friends are chosen for special training but refuse the choice food and wine (probably some meats unclean to the Jews). Daniel asked to be tested for 10 days without the food, and at the end their appearance was better than the other youths who had eaten the food. 1:17 these 4 boys were very intelligent, and Daniel could understand visions and dreams.

From Bible Fun For Kids

  1. Use the intelligence and gifts that God has given you to make the best of bad circumstances (captivity in Babylon). That allows God to use you to fulfill His plans, just as He did with Daniel.

2. Have your convictions and hold fast to them even when the world puts pressure on you to violate your conscience. That means you must have convictions on moral issues based on the Bible. Too many people really don’t care about what is right and wrong. They don’t stand for anything and they don’t stand up for anything. They compromise what few convictions they have under social pressure.

Chapter 2

The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had a terrifying dream. Wisely, he demanded that his “wise men” (2:2) tell him what the dream was and its interpretation or they would all be killed. They couldn’t, so he sent orders to kill all of them, which would have included Daniel and his 3 friends. Daniel asked the king for time. The mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Daniel told him exactly what he saw in the dream. See the picture of the statue. He gave God the glory for enabling him to interpret the dream. He said the statue represented 4 consecutive kingdoms, with Babylon being the head. In the days of the 4th kingdom (the legs of iron and feet of iron and clay), God would set up his kingdom that would endure forever (2:44,45). Nebuchadnezzar glorified God and promoted Daniel.

From Goodsalt images

  1. The amazing providence of God. God is giving Nebuchadnezzar this dream, and then using Daniel to interpret the dream and enhance his position in Babylon. Daniel will then work with Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus over the next 70 years of captivity to bring a remnant back from Babylon just as He had promised in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Sieze every opportunity to use your God-given gifts to help God work out His plans.

2. The amazing prophecies of God. Predicting the future was God’s way of proving His existence. Can you imagine trying to accurately predict the major world powers over the next 600 years? How does God allow freedom of will and yet control who the world powers will be? But He somehow does that! Isaiah challenges the false gods of Canaan to predict the future to prove they are real.

How do we identify these 4 kingdoms in the statue.

1) Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon is the head of gold (605-539 BC).

2) The Medo-Persians (539-331 BC) conquered Babylon in 539 BC and would be the chest of silver in the statue. Ch 8 will verify by name the Medo-Persians as the 2nd kingdom. They diverted the river flowing through Babylon and enterd secretly on the dry river bed and entered the city, conquering it as Belshazzaar (the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar) was hosting a fiest to honor the gods of wine and gold (Ch 5). It says that night Darius took the city.

3) Alexander the Great and the Greeks conquered the Persians in 331 BC and ruled the world till 168 BC. Ch 8 will verify the Grecian Empire by name as the thighs of bronze in the statue.

4) The Roman Empire (168BC-476AD) will be the legs of iron. We know this b/c Daniel 2:44-45 says that in this 4th empire that God would set up his kingdom. Jesus came preaching that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” (the same kingdom predicted in Daniel 2:44-45). Mark 9:1 Jesus said that some of those listening to him would still be alive to see him coming in his kiingdom. Mt 16:18-19 Jesus told Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. Peter used those keys to open the kingdom to those 3,000 baptized in Acts 2 and they were added to the church, the spiritual body of Christ. The kingdom at hand was the church kingdom established in the book of Acts in the 1st century. Rome was the world power when Jesus said that, so Rome would have to be the 4th kingdom legs of iron that was ruling the world when that prediction was fulfilled.

A stone would crush all the kingdoms. That stone is Jesus. He did not physically destroy Rome or the other 3 kingdoms that no longer existed when he was on earth. His kingdom of Daniel 2:44-45 was a spiritual kingdom, the church. He said that his kingdom was “not of this world”. But Jesus did destroy the demonic princes that control all worldly kingdoms. This fulfilled Daniel 7:13 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him (Jesus) was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. .Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 

From wvbs world video bible school

Chapter 3

Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image. At the sound of the music playing, anyone who did not bow down to worship the image would be thrown into a fiery furnace. Daniel’s 3 friends do not obey. They are brought before the king who gives them one last chance to obey. Their answer: “we don’t need to give you an answer; if it be so, God will deliver us from the fiery furnace; if not, we will not worship the image” (3:16-18). The king heated the fire 7 times and had them thrown in. The king was astounded when he saw 4 men in the fire, without harm, and told the 3 friends to come out. Their hair was not even singed! The king glorified God again, as in 2:46f.

From mcbi.org

  1. The amazing courage and convictions of these 3 boys. They are ready to die for their faith and convictions even if God chooses not to save them from the firre. Would I be willing to die for my faith just as many martyrs have done over the last 2,000 years? Will I compromise my faith in the one true God when pressured by our secular society that. worships many gods.

2. There is also a lesson here on answered prayer. “If you save us, God, that’s great. But if you don’t, that’s great also. Whatever your will is and whatever is best.” God can always answer that prayer “yes”. Jesus prayed that way. “if possible let this cup of suffering pass; if not, thy will be done”. Always leave your prayers totally content with however God grants or doesn’t grant your requests.

Chapter 4

Nebuchadnezzar had another frightful dream but the wise men could not interpret it. Daniel did. In the dream there was a great, high, strong tree, but a holy one said to chop down the tree leaving only the stump. The stump (a person) would live in the fields like an animal and lose his mind for 7 periods until he learns that the Most High God (of Israel) rules over all mankind, and bestows power on whomever he chooses to (4:25; 2:21). Daniel told the king that this tree/stump referred to him. He advised him to break away from his sins by showing mercy to the poor (apparently a big flaw with the king) (4:27). The king apparently did not repent, and 12 months later he was walking on his roof and said, “Is this not Babylon the great which I myself have built by the might of my power for the glory of my majesty?” A voice immediately said that the prediction of the dream would now come true. He ate grass like the cattle, and his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws (4:33). At the end of the 7 periods, his reason returned to him and he praised God (again) (4:34,35).

  1. God is in control of the world. He appoints and removes rulers. He certainly did that as He fulfilled the predictons of the next 4 empires in the statue of ch 2. Perhaps He allows more freewill in kingdom formations after the Roman Empire, but He can certainly step in and appoint or remove rulers any time He wants to. We do wonder why He didn’t step in and miraculously stop Hitler and other tyrant dictators, which means that He allows freewill more after the Roman Empire.

2. The danger of pride and boasting. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James warned about the “pride of life”. In America we are so blessed with material things. We can work hard and gain many material things as well as prestige and power. It is easy to be lifted up with pride and feel that we have done great things, and forget God. God told Israel: Deuteronomy 8:11 “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, 12 lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth….

Chapter 5

Belshazzar 556-536 BC, the 5th king from Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC), held a drunken feast for 1000 of his nobles, brought out the gold vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC, and praised the gods of gold, silver, etc. Suddenly a man’s fingers wrote on the wall, and his joints went slack and his knees began knocking. His wise men could not interpret the writing on the wall. The queen told him about Daniel who had a reputation for interpreting dreams, explaining enigmas, and solving difficult problems (5:12). Daniel was brought before the king. Daniel scolded the king. He said that Belshazzar knew how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar to become like an animal, and yet Belshazzar had not humbled his heart (5:22) as evidenced by his actions at the feast. Daniel then told him what the words meant: MENE: God has numbered your kingdom and put it to an end; TEKEL: you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient; PERES: your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians. That night Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede was given the kingdom at the age of 62. Jewish sources say Darius the Mede was the uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus and Josephus says he was a “relative”. Cyrus subjected the Medes in 559 BC but appointed a ruler named Gubaru (Darius the Mede) to rule in Babylon (maybe not a king like Cyrus). Historical records say Gubaru (Darius) and Cyrus both had a part in conquering Babylon. This fits Daniel 5:30-31 which describes the fall of Babylon under its last king, Belshazzar to Darius the Mede when he was 62. Herodutus says that Cyrus diverted the Euphrates River so his men could walk under the bars extending down into the river as it flowed through the city and they caught the Babylonians in a drunken feast (as described in Belshazzar’s feast in Daniel 5 on the night the city fell.

Belshazzar was last king of Babylon (co-regent with Nabonidus) (556-539 BC). The story in ch 6 would have occurred in 539 BC, as the predicted 70 years of captivity was coming to an end (606-536 BC). Notice that Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would let the Jews return at the end of the 70 years (Is 44:28; 45:1), so there had to be a switch from Babylon as the world power to the Medes/Persians, and there was in 539 BC.

  1. Are we worshipping the gods of gold, silver, money, material possessions like Belshazzaar did? Maybe we don’t make golden images like Nebuchadnezzaar did, but do we have idols that we put before God in our affection, time, and money? Remember John’s words in 1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Covetousness or greed is a major sin in affluent American churches. Ephesians 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater) has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Chapter 6

Belshazzar was last king of Babylon (co-regent with Nabonidus) (556-539 BC). The story in ch 6 would have occurred in 539 BC, as the predicted 70 years of captivity was coming to an end (606-536 BC). Notice that Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would let the Jews return at the end of the 70 years (Is 44:28; 45:1), so there had to be a switch from Babylon as the world power to the Medes/Persians, and there was in 539 BC.

This story occurred between 539-536 BC after Darius the Mede (Gubaru) had taken the city of Babylon in the name of Cyrus the Great. Darius’ 120 satraps wanted to tried to find some wrongdoing in government affairs to accuse Daniel of, but could find nothing. So they attacked his religious devotion. They persuaded the king to issue a decree that, for 30 days, anyone who anyone who prayed to a god or man other than the king would be thrown in the lions’ den. Daniel knew about the decree, but continued to pray from an open roof chamber window toward Jerusalem 3 times every day. The satraps brought Daniel before the king, which distressed the king who did not want to kill Daniel. The king was forced to have Daniel cast into the lions’ den, and spent the night fasting, sleepless. He came to the den the next morning and said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to deliver you from the lions”? Daniel said, “O king, live forever! My God has sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths”. The king was pleased and ordered Daniel’s accusers to be thrown into the lions’ den along with their families (6:24). The king then praised the God of Daniel. “So Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian” (6:28). We don’t know where or how Daniel died, but probably in Babylon since he did not return with the returnees.

The 2nd image is from Jessica Lassitter.

  1. If your enemies wanted to attack your religious devotion, would they be able to find spiritual habit you are doing regularly to attack you with? This happens overseas in persecuted countries all the time as believers are arrested for passing out Bibles, preaching, evangelizing, etc. Many of us would be afraid to pass out Bibles if we knew we were going to be arrested.

2. Give examples where even in the U.S. the government is taking away religous liberty and freedom. The baker in Texas who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple was sued. You can’t choose to not rent your rental house to a gay couple. Will the government ever step in into our private Christian schools and force us to hire gay teachers or to have trans bathrooms? How will we handle all that?

3. God saved Daniel from martyrdom. He did not save Polycarp and many other martyrs who died in the Roman arenas or was burned at the stake (John Huss). Foxes Book of Martyrs tell of many such martyrs. Would I be willing to die for my faith? Daniel could have stopped praying each day and kept from being thrown into the lions’ den, but he didn’t.

That concludes the study of the historical part of Daniel, chapters 1-6. A 2nd blog will examine the visions and dreams in chapters 7-12.

PAUL AND 2ND COMING AND THE RESURRECTION

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Now let’s look at what Paul said about the 2nd coming. 

Did Paul really say that the resurrection was “about to happen”? 

Acts 24:15 What did Paul say was the “hope of Israel”? ______________

__________________________________________________________________

  • Paul said that he was on trial for the “hope of Israel”, I.e. the resurrection of the dead. Where would he get the idea of the resurrection being the hope of Israel? 
  • That has to come from Daniel 12:1-2 that predicts a resurrection of the righteous and wicked at the end of the age (i.e. in 70 AD). 
  • He also said that there was “about to be (mello)” a resurrection of the dead. Mello always mean about to happen. Is Paul a false prophet when he predicted this?
  • That Greek word “mello” appears 110 times in various forms in the NT. Here are more examples: 
  • MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
  • Matt 2:13 – Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] search for the child, to destroy him.”
  • Matt 20:22 – Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am [Gk: μέλλω : mello : I am about to] to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 
  • MARK’S GOSPEL
  • Mark 10:32 – And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was [Gk: μέλλοντα : mellonta : about to] to happen to him 
  • LUKE’S GOSPEL
  • Luke 7:2 – Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to], who was highly valued by him.
  • Luke 9:31 – who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] accomplish at Jerusalem.
  • Luke 9:44 – “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] be delivered into the hands of men.”
  • Zacchaeus ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus, for he was about to (Gk:ἤμελλεν) pass that way …Luke 19:4
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  • Luke 10:1 – After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] go.
  • Luke 19:4 – So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] pass that way.
  • Luke 22:23 – And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to [Gk: μέλλων : mellon : was about to] do this. 
  • JOHN’S GOSPEL
  • John 4:47 – When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to].
  • We can clearly see from the passages above that certain events were “ABOUT TO” happen… IMMEDIATELY or very SOON after.
  • Matthew 2 – King Herod soon searched for the infant Jesus, just as predicted.
  • Matthew 20, Mark 10, Luke 9 – The suffering and crucifixion of Jesus did occur within a short time, just as predicted.
  • Luke 19 – Jesus did in fact pass the sycamore tree, soon after Zacchaeus climbed up to see him, just as predicted.
  • “Mello” means that something is IMMINENT and “ABOUT TO HAPPEN”. It never means “MANY YEARS FROM NOW” or “SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE” or “2000 YEARS FROM NOW”! Yet that is what some Bible translators want us to believe, whenever “mello” is used in a passage about the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ.
  • “Mello” means that something is IMMINENT and “ABOUT TO HAPPEN”. It never means “MANY YEARS FROM NOW” or “SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE” or “2000 YEARS FROM NOW”! Yet that is what some Bible translators want us to believe, whenever “mello” is used in a passage about the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ. It is never used to simply mean “certianly will happen” which is the way it is translated in most translations. Why would the translators not translate correctly as “about to happen”? They might translate it “about to happen” in passages that are not eschatological ones, but they would have problems translating the 2nd coming as “about to happen” b/c of almost 2,00 years of church dogma that said that the 2nd coming had not happened yet. A few translations like Young’s Literal Translation translate mello as “about to happen” correctly even in the eschatological passages we have discussed. 
  • So Acts 24:15 is a critical verse. Paul said there was about to be a resurrection. If that resurrection did not happen shortly, then he is a false prophet. Daniel 12:1-2 shows us that resurrection did happen at the end of the age in 70 AD. All those OT people, good and bad, were raised in 70 AD and given their final sentencing, either eternal life or eternal punishment.

Acts 17:31 What did Paul tell the Athenians was about to happen?

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  • Paul told the Athenians that God was about to (mello) judge the world through Jesus. So the judgment that people says will happen in our future had to happen shortly after Paul said this. So it must refer to the judgment in 70 AD.

Acts 24:25 

Paul told Felix the judgement was about to happen (mello)

Is God going to restore the earth to pristine conditions when Jesus returns in our future? 

Romans 8:18, 37 

  • 8:18 “The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory about to be (mello) revealed in us”. 
  • He then discusses the creation being released from its curse. That creation could be used figuratively to refer to the actual earth that was cursed after the fall or it could refer to the curse put on men (people being the creation) due to sin, but whatever it refers to, the creation being freed from the curse here had to be something that was about to happen (mello in 8:18). 
  • It cannot refer to God destroying the old earth and making a restored earth back to the Garden of Eden perfection at some time in our future today because that was not “about to happen” when Paul wrote 8:18 and did not happen any time after Paul wrote. 
  • This is the same “glory about to be revealed” in 1 Peter 5:1.

Romans 13:12

The night is almost gone and the day is almost here, I.e. the day of Christ’s return (Amplified Bible). 

A critical chapter on the resurrection. Did Paul predict that the resurrection was going to occur while some Corinthians were still alive? 

1 Corinthians 15 Read this chapter. 

  • Paul discusses the 2nd coming at the end of the Jewish Age (70 AD). 
  • Jesus must first conquer all enemies, the last enemy being death. 
  • Paul then discusses the nature of the believer’s resurrection. Some in Corinth were confused or questioning the teaching of the resurrection of believers. 
  • Now remember, Paul had said in Acts 24:15 that there was about to be (mello) the resurrection of the dead (the one predicted in Daniel 12:1-2 to occur at the end of the Jewish age). 
  • Paul then says that believers will get an immortal, incorruptible, spiritual body at their resurrection. “Flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom” so there will be no resurrection of physical bodies from the graves.

But the critical statement is 15:51. 

  • “We (Paul and those he is writing to in Corinth) shall not all sleep (i.e. be dead) when this resurrection occurs”. 
  • He is not saying that some people will be alive and some dead when Jesus returns. That is obvious. 
  • He is saying that some of the Corinthian Christians will still be alive at Jesus’ 2nd coming and the resurrection, which corresponds with his other statements in Acts 24:15. 
  • But whether dead or alive, all will receive immortality, that immortal, incorruptible, spiritual body at the resurrection in 70 AD when he returns. 
  • In 70 AD he conquered death, which came through the Law (15:54-57) by destroying the temple, the Law, and the ability of the Law to condemn believers in Jesus (Romans 8:1-4).
  • This passage shows that the resurrection had to occur while some of those Corinthians were still alive. It was a spiritual thing. There were no physical bodies coming out of the graves as is often depicted.

Spiritual death has been conquered, as of 70 AD.

  • Jesus said in John 11:24,25 that believers would live even if they died, that they would never die. 
  • It is interesting that evangelicals say that death has not been conquered yet since they think Jesus has not returned yet. They are still waiting for the plan of redemption to be completed. 
  • Not me. As of 70 AD all believers have their immortal resurrected bodies and will go straight to heaven to be with Jesus forever when they die. 
  • No waiting place as in the Old Testament and the story of the rich man and Lazarus. 
  • After 70 AD and death is defeated, believers have eternal life spiritual bodies that keep on living and go to some spiritual heavenly realm after physical death to live forever. Most preachers believe that deceased believers do go immediately to be with Jesus forever. If so, why would they need to leave heaven and the presence of Jesus to come back to earth some day and be judged and have their body in their coffin be raised. If they are in heaven with Jesus after death, they have all the spiritual body they need to be with Jesus forever.
  • Of course, premillenneals believe that the bodies of bellievers will be resurrected at Jesus’ 2nd coming to live in a physical kingdom that he will establish. 3 problems with that. 1) The 2nd coming was at 70 AD, not in our future (see blog article 2nd Coming of Jesus (parts 1 and 2). 2) Jesus established a spiritual kingdom, the church. John 18:36 My kingdom is not of this world.3) This view contradicts Acts 24:15 that the resurrection was about to happen in Paul’s day. Also 1 Cor 15 some would still be alive at the resurrection, so it had to be imminent.

Ephesians 1:21 

The age about to come (mello). 

  • That would be the Messianic Age which began in Acts 2 in 30 AD and was finalized in 70 AD. 

Philippians 3:20 

We (Paul and those he is writing to at Philippi) eagerly await the coming of Jesus

  • Doesn’t that imply an imminent coming in their lifetime?. 

Philippians 4:5 

The Lord is near. Is this his presence is near or his 2nd coming is near (eggus: Near, close, at hand)?

Colossians 2:17 

A shadow of the things about to come (mello). 

  • The new covenant blessings would only be fully realized in 70 AD. Hebrews 8:13 says that the old covenant was ready (eggus) to disappear. That was written about 62 AD and must refer to 70 AD. Some say the old covenant ended at the cross in 30 AD, but Heb 8:13 rejects that view. The old covenant was perpetual till the end of the age in 70 AD. Even the Jewish Christians kept the Law till 70 AD, even while they kept the new covenant. They knew the old covenant could not save them, but it was the law of God for them until God removed it in 70 AD by sending the Romans to destroy the temple and kill one million Jews (according to Josephus).

1 Thessalonians 1:10 

To wait for the coming of Jesus from heaven to rescue us from the coming wrath. 

  • What wrath? 2:16 will explain that wrath, i.e. on the Jews in 70 AD. 1 Thess 2:For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews,[h] 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!. That wrath to come must be God’s wrath poured out on the Jews in 70 AD.
  • John the Baptist predicted the same thing. Mt 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come (mello about to come)? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” This was obviously wrath to come on the Jews in 70 AD b/c it was a wrath (mello) about to come, imminent.
  • Malachi had predicted this same wrath on the Jews. Mal 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” That awesome day of the Lord was a judgment day on the Jews in 70 AD.
  • That was the same day as Acts 2:19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
        and signs on the earth below,
        blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
    20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
        and the moon to blood,
        before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. This was a fulfillment of Joel 2.
  • That led Peter to tell the Jews in Acts 2:40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” There’s that idea of judgment on that generation of Jews living at that time, the same one that Jesus kept saying was evil and going to be judged in 70 AD.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 

  • God’s wrath has come upon them (the non Christian Jews who were persecuting the Christian Jews, as Paul did) at last! 
  • This has to be 70 AD judgment on the Jews in which one million died, 200,000 captives (according to Josephus). 
  • John the Baptist said that this wrath on the Jews was about to come (mello, Mt 3:7)

1 Thessalonians 2:19 

The Thessalonians Christians would be Paul’s joy and crown at Jesus’ coming

1 Thessalonians 3:13 

Paul wanted them to be blameless at the coming of Jesus

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 

  • This is one of the most misunderstood eschatological passages. The rapture theory comes from this passage, although the Greek word is believers being “caught up”. The word rapture comes from the Latin Vulgate translation of “caught up”. 
  • The only other passage used to teach the rapture theory is Mt 24: 40,41 where one is taken (raptured) and one left. 
  • The false assumption is that this taking up occurs at a coming of Jesus that will happen in our future, but the context of Mt 24 is AD 70 2nd coming all the way through the chapter. 24:34 everything up to that verse must happen within that generation (genea). But many say that it changes to a future 2nd coming in 24:35 and that the flood analogy refers to the rapture of the righteous at Jesus’ 2nd coming in our future.
  • But notice, in the days of Noah and the flood, who was taken? The righteous or the wicked? Who was left after the flood?
  • It was the wicked who were taken (Amplied Bible adds “for judgment), and the righteous were left on earth (Noah and his family). 
  • That is just the opposite of what the rapture theory teaches (and the wrong coming of Jesus as they teach). They say in the rapture the righteous will be taken, but in the flood the wicked were taken. Just the opposite. The whole chapter Mt 24 is about the 2nd coming in 70 AD.

Does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 teach there will be a future rapture and resurrection?

In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 What does it sound like was a concern of the Thessalonians concerning the imminent 2nd coming?

_________________________________________________________________

 Paul is addressing a concern of the Thessalonians Christians that Timothy had relayed to him after visiting them. 

  • They thought Jesus’ 2nd coming was in their lifetime (because Paul taught them that), but what if one of their fellow believers died before then? Would they be left out of the glory of the 2nd coming that they had been told was imminent within their lifetime? 
  • Paul told them not to worry. Jesus would come in the clouds bringing with him those Christians who died during the transition period from AD 30-70 (some of them martyrs). Thus “the dead in Christ would rise first”. 
  • This is the 1st resurrection of Rev 20:1-4 (more later). Apparently those believers who died during the transition period did not go to hades as al the Old Testament people did. Instead, they went to be with the Lord. This answer would have relieved the Thessalonians of their concern.
  • He adds that the living believers would then be “caught up” to meet the Lord and be with him always. 
  • Typically, many say this means a rapture to meet Jesus at his 2nd coming, after which the believers will then go to heaven to be with Jesus (often they add for 7 years or tribulation on earth followed by another coming of Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom and do a final judgment). 
  • But not so. In the Roman world, a dignitary or king would visit a town. The people would go out to meet him and then return with him back into their town to enjoy his presence with them.
  • That is what 1 Thess 4:13-18 is picturing in some figurative language.
  • .Jesus would come in the clouds. Living believers would figuratively meet him in the air (where the clouds are) and then the believers and Jesus would come back to earth so that his presence would be with the believers on earth forever. 
  • He does not take them back to heaven. The word for his 2nd coming is parousia, and means coming or presence, i.e. when you come to someone, you make your presence with them. 
  • As of 70 AD. Jesus has made his presence among believers in the tabernacle of God, the sanctuary, the church. 
  • He dwells in believers’ hearts through faith (Eph 3:17) spiritually, figuratively, not physically. 
  • Paul also says “we who are alive”, implying that some of those (maybe including himself) will still be alive when the the events of 4:13-18 occur. 

This idea is John 14:3,23. What did Jesus say he was going to do?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

  • Jesus promises the apostles that he will come to them and make his dwelling place with them (14:3). This is not the parousia word for “come” to them, and is fulfilled in coming to them by giving them the Holy Spirit (14:18,25,26) which occurred in Acts 2 with their baptism in the Holy Spirit. 
  • Many use 14:1-3 to say that Jesus will come and take believers off the earth to a mansion in heaven prepared for them, but not so. 
  • 14:23 is the same Greek word for “dwelling place” as in 14:3 and it it means that he will come to them and make his dwelling in them through the Holy Spirit on earth from AD 30-70. 
  • He prepares a mansion for them but brings it down with him to earth where he can dwell in them in a dwelling place mansion on earth, not in heaven. So the song “I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop….” that makes the mansion of John 14 to be heaven might not be correct! Jesus’ dwelling place or mansion is with us Christians on earth.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 

  • This follows up on the 2nd coming, saying that it will be like a thief in the night. 
  • Some have trouble reconciling this idea with the fact that Jesus gave signs of his 2nd coming to look for. 
  • But even if you read the signs correctly, you would get prepared by being a faithful servant (Mt 24:42-51) but you still would not know the exact hour, so you better be prepared at all times. 
  • BTW 5:1-11 he tells them to stay ready at all times for the 2nd coming. It does appear that he is saying that some of them will be alive at that coming, or else this warning would not mean much to them.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-12 In what way did Paul tell them that the 2nd coming would bring relief to them? Relief from what?

________________________________________________________________

  • Paul says that when Jesus is revealed at his 2nd coming in his glory to glorify his saints that he will deal out vengeance on those who are causing the Jewish Christians to suffer, I.e. the Jewish non Christians (1 Thess 2:14-16, like Saul who killed Jewish Christians). 
  • The persecution that caused the Jewish Christians to scatter from Jerusalem in Acts 8 would be from Jewish non Christians in Jerusalem. 
  • This promise of relief from suffering at his 2nd coming would not mean much if his 2nd coming did not occur in their lifetime, would it?

Who is the “man of sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2? Is he still to come?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 What had they heard about the 2nd coming?

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  • After Timothy delivered the 1 Thessalonians letter to them, he came back with this issue about the 2nd coming. 
  • Some were saying the 2nd coming had already happened. 
  • BTW if Paul had taught them that there would be a physical resurrection of bodies from the graves at the 2nd coming, then he could have just said, “But did anyone observe that happening”.
  • So this shows that he was not teaching a physical resurrection of bodies out of the graves at Jesus’ 2nd coming! 

The “man of sin” was Titus who destroyed the temple. 

  • Paul then goes on to say several things were yet to happen before the 2nd coming: an apostasy, the Man of Sin (some call this the Antichrist) must appear claiming to be God and taking his seat in the temple of God.
  • BTW only the emperor Titus fits this description of the man of sin. He claimed to be God and he entered the temple in 70 AD when he destroyed it and received sacrifices to himself as God. Many have thought the man of sin to be Nero, but Nero never took his seat in the temple.
  • But Paul says that at the time of writing the 2nd letter, someone was restraining Titus and that person had to be removed first before Titus would do his thing. 
  • Paul said in 2:7 that all this was “already at work” at the time he wrote this letter. 
  • In other words, all this would occur in their lifetime. 
  • Not some Antichrist that comes in our future (numerous guesses have been made as to who the Antichrist was or will be, all of them wrong guesses. 
  • The coming of the Man of Sin would be accompanied by false wonders and deceptive signs. 
  • Indeed, the earth beast of Rev 13 is the false Jewish prophets who persuaded Jewish non Christians to worship the Roman sea beast (more later). 
  • BTW Christ would slay the man of sin at his coming, but did Christ slay Titus physically? 
  • No. But he did destroy all earthly powers when he came in 70 AD, and become king of kings over all the kingdoms of the world (Rev 11:15). He also destroyed all the demonic princes, one of which would have been behind the evil Roman Empire. Daniel 9 talks about evil princes of different kingdoms.

2 Timothy 4:1 What did Paul say that Jesus was about to do? 

______________________________________________________________

  • Jesus is about to (mello) judge the living and the dead by his appearing and his kingdom. Is this not clear that the judgment and his 2nd coming was about to happen?

Conclusion

It is obvious that the Christians living in the transition period from AD 30-70 expected an imminent, within their generation, in their lifetime, 2nd coming of Jesus. 

  • As James Stewart Russell said, “Why would they think that? Because Jesus and the apostles told them that”. 
  • Some say that the apostles are simply saying that the 2nd coming could be at any time, but that is not what they said.
  • Some say that the apostles thought the 2nd coming was imminent but that they were just mistaken. 
  • Wrong. The apostles wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and their statements were error free. 
  • If not, how would you know if any of their other teachings were mistaken.
  • Some say that even Jesus could be wrong about the timing of the 2nd coming being imminent. 
  • They base that on his comment that even the Son of Man did not know the exact hour of his coming. 
  • C.S.Lewis took this position when he said that Mt 10:23 was the most embarrassing verse in the Bible because in it Jesus predicted his 2nd coming within the lifetime of the apostles and yet that did not come true. 
  • C.S.Lewis just shirks that off saying, “Even Jesus could be mistaken at times”. 
  • Wrong again
  • . Jesus might not have known the exact hour of his 2nd coming, but he clearly states that the 2nd coming will be in that generation, or else he is a false prophet. 

Titus 2:11-13

  • Awaiting and confidently expecting the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. 

THE BOOK OF HEBREWS: CANONICITY AND THE 2ND COMING AND END OF THE OLD COVENANT

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Why was the canonicity of the book of Hebrews questioned by some?

The canonicity of the book of Hebrews was in doubt in the early church because of the uncertainty of its authorship. Some thought Paul wrote it which would automatically make it canonical. Others did not think Paul wrote it, attributing it to Barnabas or Clement or someone else, and that uncertainly made its canonicity questionable. From the internet: the western church did not accept Paul as the author of Hebrews until the fourth century. In fact, most modern scholars now believe the author is unknown. 

Here are some reasons why the church has rejected Paul as the author of Hebrews:

Separation from eyewitnesses: In Hebrews 2:3, the author separates himself from the original eyewitnesses, which is different from Paul’s emphasis on his authority as an apostle.  

Style: The style of Hebrews is different from Paul’s letters.  

Name: Paul identifies himself by name in his 13 letters, but Hebrews does not name the author.  

But, whoever wrote it, it was inspired by the Holy Spirit! 

  • But there is no doubt that it is from an inspired author! It was written in the early 60’ and its predictions of the things about to happen (mello), of the 2nd coming in a very little while that would not be delayed, of the replacement of the old covenant with the new, etc. are all inspired exegesis of what the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD meant in God’s plan to give the new covenant. 

Why I don’t think that Paul wrote Hebrews. 

1) Hebrews 1:3. How does the author say that the words of Jesus were confirmed to him? _______________________________________________  

  • I am not sure of the author but I don’t think it was Paul b/c Paul would never have said in Heb 1:3 that the word spoken by Jesus was confirmed to us (including himself) by those that heard him (the apostles). 
  • Paul argued in Galatians 1 that he received his gospel directly from Jesus and not from the apostles, so he would never have said that. 

Why I think the book is canonical and inspired: key eschatological passages in Hebrews. 

2) Heb 8:13 What does the author say about the old covenant? ___________

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  • The old covenant “is ready (eggus: Near, close, at hand) to disappear (aphanismos: Disappearance, destruction, ruin) ”. This doesn’t mention the 2nd coming, but it is an important eschatological passage. 
  • “Near” is eggizó: To draw near, to approach, to come near. The word is used 43 times in the NT.
  • Matthew 3:2: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
  • Matthew 4:17: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
  • Matthew 10:7: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
  • Matthew 15:8: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth”
  • Matthew 21:1: “And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to”
  • Matthew 21:34: “time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to”
  • Matthew 26:45: “behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man”
  • Matthew 26:46: “Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”
  • Mark 1:15: “the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the”
  • Mark 11:1: “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and”
  • Mark 14:42: “lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.”
  • Luke 7:12: “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city,”
  • Luke 10:9: “unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”
  • Luke 10:11: “the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”
  • Luke 12:33: “heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth”
  • Luke 15:1: “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and”
  • Luke 15:25: “and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music”
  • Luke 18:35: “And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man”
  • Luke 18:40: “him: and when he was come near, he asked him,”
  • Luke 19:29: “And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany,”
  • Luke 19:37: “And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the”
  • Luke 19:41: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over”
  • Luke 21:8: “Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after”
  • Luke 21:20: “the desolation thereof is nigh.”
  • Luke 21:28: “for your redemption draweth nigh.”
  • Luke 22:1: “the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.”
  • Luke 22:47: “went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.”
  • Luke 24:15: “Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.”
  • Luke 24:28: “And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and”
  • Acts 7:17: “time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham,”
  • Acts 9:3: “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about”
  • Acts 10:9: “as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up”
  • Acts 21:33: “Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded”
  • Acts 22:6: “that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly”
  • Acts 23:15: “and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill”
  • Romans 13:12: “the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works”
  • Philippians 2:30: “the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life,”
  • Hebrews 7:19: “of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.”
  • Hebrews 10:25: “as ye see the day approaching.”
  • James 4:8: ” Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;”
  • James 4:8: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;”
  • James 5:8: “for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
  • Some say the old covenant disappeared, ended, at the cross. 
  • Certainly, the cross and death of Jesus was the basis for a new covenant since the first covenant could not save anyone, but 8:13 clearly shows that the 1st covenant did not disappear or end until 70 AD when the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed. The old covenant could only condemn, not save, and its power to condemn ceased at the cross for those who would be saved by grace through faith in Jesus and the new covenant.

Jewish Christians continued to keep the Law until 70 AD but they understood that it was the new covenant that saved them, not the old.  

  • Acts 21:17-26 What did James the Lord’s brother tell Paul that thousands of Jewish Christians were doing? 
  • James asked Paul to join 4 men in keeping a Jewish vow to show that he was not telling Jewish converts to quit keeping the Law (he did tell Gentile converts that they did not need to keep the Law, but that was not in James’ discussion). 
  • So what did Paul do? Did he tell James that the Jewish converts were not required to keep the Law since the Law died at the cross? 
  • Nope. He kept the Jewish vow with the 4 men to show that he was not teaching Jewish concerts to quit keeping the Law. 
  • Some have said that Paul was just “becoming all things to all men” in keeping this vow, but Paul would never have done that on such a critical issue. 

3) Heb 9:8 What does the author say about the way into the new Holy of Holies of the new covenant? 

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  • 9:8 “The way into the new Holy of Holies (in heaven) has not yet been disclosed as long as the first or outer tabernacle “is” still standing”. 
  • This shows that, while the 2nd covenant began in Acts 2, the 2nd covenant would not be fully disclosed and confirmed until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. The present tense of the verb “is” shows that. This verse also shows that the temple was still standing and the priests still ministering at the time of writing of Hebrews, so it was definitely written before 70 AD.
  • The NIV has the verb “was” but that is not the correct Gk verb tense. 

4) Heb 9:28 What does the author say is the purpose of Jesus’ 2nd coming?

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  • 9:28 “Christ was offered once for all time in his 1st coming, but he would appear a 2nd time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly and confidently waiting for him.” 
  • His 2nd coming would bring physical salvation for the Jewish Christian remnant who escaped the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD as well as put an end to non Christian Jews persecuting Jewish Christians (1 Thess 2:14-16; 2 Thess 1). 
  • His 2nd coming at the end of the age would also bring spiritual salvation, destroying death (1 Cor 15) and bring immortality to believers in 70 AD. 

5) Heb 10:27 What did the author say about a coming judgment of Jewish Christians  if they lose their faith in Jesus and start trusting in the Law?

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  • There is about to be (mello) a judgment on the Jews and that would include any Jewish Christians who forsake faith in Christ and return to the Law for salvation (which was the purpose of writing Hebrews, to convince them not to do that). 
  • That imminent judgement was 70 AD.

A passage that refutes the “delayed 2nd coming” theory of many.

6) Heb 10:37 What does the author say about Jesus’ coming? __________

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  • That imminent, “about to be” (mello) judgment in 10:27 is tied to the 2nd coming in 10:37. “Yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.” The work mello is always used in the NT of something that is “about to happen”.
  • USE OF “MELLO” TO WARN OF IMMINENT ACTIONS OR EVENTS.
  • That Greek word “mello” appears 110 times in various forms in the NT. Here are more examples: 
  • MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
  • Matt 2:13 – Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] search for the child, to destroy him.”
  • Matt 20:22 – Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am [Gk: μέλλω : mello : I am about to] to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 
  • MARK’S GOSPEL
  • Mark 10:32 – And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was [Gk: μέλλοντα : mellonta : about to] to happen to him 
  • LUKE’S GOSPEL
  • Luke 7:2 – Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to], who was highly valued by him.
  • Luke 9:31 – who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] accomplish at Jerusalem.
  • Luke 9:44 – “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] be delivered into the hands of men.”
  • Zacchaeus ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus, for he was about to (Gk:ἤμελλεν) pass that way …Luke 19:4
  • – CC Image courtesy of Good News Productions International and College Press Publishing … FreeBibleimages.org
  • Luke 10:1 – After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] go.
  • Luke 19:4 – So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] pass that way.
  • Luke 22:23 – And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to [Gk: μέλλων : mellon : was about to] do this. 
  • JOHN’S GOSPEL
  • John 4:47 – When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to].
  • We can clearly see from the passages above that certain events were “ABOUT TO” happen… IMMEDIATELY or very SOON after.
  • Matthew 2 – King Herod soon searched for the infant Jesus, just as predicted.
  • Matthew 20, Mark 10, Luke 9 – The suffering and crucifixion of Jesus did occur within a short time, just as predicted.
  • Luke 19 – Jesus did in fact pass the sycamore tree, soon after Zacchaeus climbed up to see him, just as predicted.
  • “Mello” means that something is IMMINENT and “ABOUT TO HAPPEN”. It never means “MANY YEARS FROM NOW” or “SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE” or “2000 YEARS FROM NOW”! Yet that is what some Bible translators want us to believe, whenever “mello” is used in a passage about the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ.
  • “Mello” means that something is IMMINENT and “ABOUT TO HAPPEN”. It never means “MANY YEARS FROM NOW” or “SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE” or “2000 YEARS FROM NOW”! Yet that is what some Bible translators want us to believe, whenever “mello” is used in a passage about the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ. It is never used to simply mean “certianly will happen” which is the way it is translated in most translations. Why would the translators not translate correctly as “about to happen”? They might translate it “about to happen” in passages that are not eschatological ones, but they would have problems translating the 2nd coming as “about to happen” b/c of almost 2,00 years of church dogma that said that the 2nd coming had not happened yet. A few translations like Young’s Literal Translation translate mello as “about to happen” correctly even in the eschatological passages we have discussed.
  • As stated earlier, this is a critical passage to destroy the idea that Jesus delayed his predicted imminent 2nd coming. 
  • Again, people say that b/c they expected him to establish a physical kingdom and he did not do that in 70 AD. 
  • They say he delayed his 2nd coming and will one day (going on 2000 years and counting) come back and set up his earthly kingdom.
  • He never intended to set up an earthly kingdom (John 18:36 my kingdom is not of this world). 
  • He had preached that the “kingdom (of Daniel 2:44) is at hand (eggizó: To draw near, to approach, to come near)”.
  • He had said that some would still be alive to see him coming in his kingdom (Mt 16:27). He said that he was mello about to come.
  • He would be a false prophet if the kingdom was not established soon after these predictions. 
  • It was established soon after in the church, a spiritual kingdom. 
  • Jesus equated the kingdom and the church in Mt 16:16-19. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell[c] shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”He said Peter would have the keys to open the door for entrance into the church kingdom. 
  • Peter used those keys in Acts 2 as he preached the first gospel sermon with 3,000 being saved and entering that new church kingdom.
  • Paul said that Christians had been translated into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col 1:13, so the kingdom of Jesus was already established as Paul was writing). But in Luke 21:31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. He was predicting the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD which had to occur within that generation (genea, always used of a 40 year period or the people living in a 40 year period, just was we speak of the baby boomers generation, the Z generation, etc.). He even said in Luke 21:36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are (mellow, about to) take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” So all the predictions in Luke 21 were “about to happen” (mello). So back to 21:31. In what sense was the “kingdom of God is near (eggus: Near, close, at hand)”. If the kingdom of God was the church, and Col 1:13 says that Christians had already been translated into the kingdom of Jesus at the time of writing (62 AD), then how could Luke’s prediction of Lk 21:31 that the kingdom of God is near when the events in 70 AD occur.
  • I use our election of presidents to explain that. We elected a new president on Nov 5, 2024. The inauguration is Jan 20, 2025. So officially we have a “president elect” and a new government that only officially begins to rule on Jan 20, 2025. In the meantime, the new president elect is appointing his new cabinet and beginning to remove the old cabinet. But all that only becomes official in 2025. It is the same with the kingdom of God that was near. Acts 2 the day of Pentecost in 30 AD was the Nov 5 of our elections. It was the establishment of the church (Acts 2:37). The official rule of the new church kingdom would be in 70 AD after Jesus had defeated all his enemies (the last enemy was spiritual death 1 Cor 15) and removed the old covenant (Heb 8:13 that old covenant was removed in 70 AD). So we might say that Trump is the new president during the interim of Novv 5,2024 to Jan 20, 2025 but he only officially becomes the president on Jan 20, 2025. Paul could say that those living in the transition period from AD 30 to AD 70 were indeed in the kingdom but teachnically the kingdom would not be fully operative till 70 AD.
  • Many use the phrase “already, not yet” to describe this transition period. The Christians were “alrready in the kingdom Col 1:13” but “not yet” in the final phase of the kingdom in 70 AD.
  • Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Paul said this to those he had just converted. According to Paul in Col 1:13, they were already in the church kingdom. And yet he says they will enter a future kingdom, which would refer to 70 AD.
  • 2 Peter 1:11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Again, the Christians Peter was writing to were already in the church kingdom, but there was another phase of the kingdom for them to enter in their future, which would be 70 AD.
  • Of course, premillineals say that this future kingdom is a physical kingdom set up by Jesus when he returns in our future. 3 problems with that. 1) Jesus’ 2nd coming was in 70 AD (see blog articles 2nd Coming of Jesus (part 1 and 2). 2) Jesus’ kingdom he set us was a spiritual kingdom. John 18:36 my kingdom is not of this world. 3) Jesus said that some would still be alive to see him coming in his kingdom Mt 16:27,28 (and that coming was mello about to happen).
  • I was raised in a church that said that this everlasting phase of the kingdom in 2 Peter 1:11 was heaven, but that would contradict Lk 21:31 who said that the future phase of the kingdom would be near in 70 AD. Of course my church said that the 2nd coming is in our future which is not true either.
  • Jesus did not delay his 2nd coming. He came in 70 AD just as he predicted. The only reason anyone would say that Jesus did indeed predict an imminent 2nd coming but that he delayed it is that they expect Jesus to set up a physical kingdom when he comes back. They are making the same mistake that the unbelieving Jews made. Those Jews expected a physical kingdom of political power like that of the kingdom of David and a king who would defeat the Romans (like David defeated the enemies of Israel).

7) Heb 12:25-29 What did the author say that God was going to shake?

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  • After saying that the believers had come to the heavenly Jerusalem (i.e. the new Jerusalem the church) and to the new covenant, the writer said that God was going to once more shake not only the earth but also the heavens, removing the things that can be shaken (the old Jewish heavens and earth, the old Jewish system, a physical system that could be destroyed and was destroyed in 70 AD). 
  • A new spiritual system the new heavens and earth, the new Messianic system, would remain that cannot be shaken b/c it cannot be destroyed (Mt 16:18). 
  • BTW, doesn’t this sound a lot like 2 Peter 3 and the replacing of the old heavens and earth with a new heavens and earth? 

Some more “mello” (about to happen) passages in Hebrews:

Heb 2:5; 6:6 

2:5 The world about to come (mello). 6:6 the age about to come (mello).

  • These passages are predicting the Messianic Age that began in Acts 2 in 30 AD and would be finalized and confirmed in 70 AD. Technically the new Messianic Age began in 70 AD after the old age (called the “present age in the NT) ended.

Heb 13:14 

Seeking the city which is about to come (mello). 

  • What city was about to come when Hebrews was written? 
  • This could only be the new Jerusalem, the church, which began in Acts 2 in 30 AD, but was only finalized in 70 AD. 
  • Rev 21:1 pictures that new Jerusalem coming down to earth and says that city is the bride or Christ, i.e. the church. 

So do you see why I say that the author of Hebrews was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The book predicts accurately so many things about the 2nd coming in 70 AD. The book gives an inspired discussion of the difference of the two covenants. Whoever wrote it was inspired. 

The next lesson will look at what the apostle Paul said about the 2nd coming and the resurrection. 

THE 2ND COMING OF JESUS (PART 2)

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Now let’s look at what the apostles said about the timing of the 2nd coming. 

James:

James 5:8,9 The coming of the Lord is near; the Judge is standing right at the door. 

Peter:

1 Peter 4:7 The end and culmination of all things is near. The end of what? The end of the old law and Jewish theocracy. He could not mean the end of the physical world or else he would be a false prophet since that was not near. “near” is Now let’s look at what the apostles said about the timing of the 2nd coming. 

  1. James:

James 5:8,9 The coming of the Lord is near; the Judge is standing right at the door. 

“Near” is eggizó: To draw near, to approach, to come near. The word is used 43 times in the NT.

Matthew 3:2: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 4:17: “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 10:7: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew 15:8: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth”
Matthew 21:1: “And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to”
Matthew 21:34: “time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to”
Matthew 26:45: “behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man”
Matthew 26:46: “Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”
Mark 1:15: “the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the”
Mark 11:1: “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and”
Mark 14:42: “lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.”
Luke 7:12: “Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city,”
Luke 10:9: “unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”
Luke 10:11: “the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”
Luke 12:33: “heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth”
Luke 15:1: “Then drew near unto him all the publicans and”
Luke 15:25: “and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music”
Luke 18:35: “And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man”
Luke 18:40: “him: and when he was come near, he asked him,”
Luke 19:29: “And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany,”
Luke 19:37: “And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the”
Luke 19:41: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over”
Luke 21:8: “Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after”
Luke 21:20: “the desolation thereof is nigh.”
Luke 21:28: “for your redemption draweth nigh.”
Luke 22:1: “the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.”
Luke 22:47: “went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.”
Luke 24:15: “Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.”
Luke 24:28: “And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and”
Acts 7:17: “time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham,”
Acts 9:3: “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about”
Acts 10:9: “as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up”
Acts 21:33: “Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded”
Acts 22:6: “that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly”
Acts 23:15: “and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill”
Romans 13:12: “the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works”
Philippians 2:30: “the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life,”
Hebrews 7:19: “of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.”
Hebrews 10:25: “as ye see the day approaching.”
James 4:8: ” Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;”
James 4:8: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;”
James 5:8: “for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

2. Peter:

1 Peter 4:7 The end and culmination of all things is near. The end of what? The end of the old law and Jewish theocracy. If he was predicting that the end of the physical world things, then he was a false prophet since that did not happen. “Near” is eggizó as in James 5:8.

1 Peter 5:1 the glory that is about to be (mello) revealed (at 2nd coming). Refer to the blog article The 2nd Coming of Jesus (Part 1) to see the use of mello in the NT. It always refers to something about to happen. For example just a few:

Matt 2:13 – Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] search for the child, to destroy him.”

Matt 20:22 – Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am [Gk: μέλλω : mello : I am about to] to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”

Mark 10:32 – And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was [Gk: μέλλοντα : mellonta : about to] to happen to him

Luke 7:2 – Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to], who was highly valued by him.

Luke 9:31 – who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] accomplish at Jerusalem.

Luke 9:44 – “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] be delivered into the hands of men.”

Luke 10:1 – After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] go.

Luke 19:4 – So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to] pass that way.

Luke 22:23 – And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to [Gk: μέλλων : mellon : was about to] do this.

John 4:47 – When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death [Gk: ἤμελλεν : emellen : was about to].

It is the same word mell used by Jesus to say that 2nd coming was “about to happen”

Matthew 16:27 – the Son of Man is going to i [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Romans 8 expounds on this glory about to be revealed. 

Romans 8:18,38 YLT ii – 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory about to [Gk: μέλλουσαν : mellousan : about to] be revealed in us; … 38 for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor messengers, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things about to be [Gk: μέλλοντα : mellonta : about to (be)].

Many interpret Romans 8:18-25 as a new creation of the earth, a restoration of the earth to the Garden of Eden paradise, but 8:18 says that the glory of this predicted event (whatever the “new creation” might mean) is mello about to happen, so it can’t refer to an event at least 2,00 years later in our future. What does it mean? Since the creation is eagerly waiting for its adoption as sons, then it must refer to sinners awaiting the 2nd coming (which Jesus said was about to happen Mk 16:27,28) and the glory that would be given to the true sons of God, i.e. Christians as opposed to the destruction of the wicked Jews.

2 Peter 3  If Peter said the end of all things is near in 1 Peter 4:7, then when he talks about the destruction of the old heavens and earth in 2 Peter 3, would that destruction not also be included in the “end of all things is near” time frame?

2 Peter 3:10,12 The elements would be burned up. We think that means the elements of the periodic table of which the earth is made up of, but it doesn’t mean that. The Greek word for elements is stoicheion, which means the rudimentary principle or rules of something. The word is used only In Gal 4:3, 9; Col 2:8,20; Heb 5:12 where it means the elementary principles of the world or of religious systems or of the Law. It never refers to the elements of the periodic table. The use of the word in Heb 3:10,12 refers to the elementary principles of the old Jewish system (as in Heb 5:12), the old heavens and earth which were about to be destroyed in 70 AD. The old heavens and earth (the Jewish system) would be destroyed in 70 AD and be replaced by the new heavens and earth (the Messianic system). Heb 12:25 predicted this destruction of the current heavens and earth, leaving the new heavens and earth that could not be shaken or destroyed. 

Also 2 Peter 3:13 Peter said “according to promise” they were looking for a new heavens and earth. What promise was he referring to? The only promise of a new heavens and earth is from Isaiah 65:17; 66:22 where the context is the new Messianic system, the new Jerusalem, a time when believers would come to worship on earth (66:23,24). It is not predicting a re-creation of the cursed earth. 

3) John:

John 21:22 If I (Jesus) want him (John) to stay alive till I come, what is that to you (Peter)? John then comments in 21:23 that some thought that meant that John would never die (if 21:22 is predicting a 2nd coming that hasn’t happened in the last 2,000 years, then John would indeed not die in the first century). But if 21:22 is referring to a 2nd coming in that generation, then John could indeed live to see that. Some say John died a natural death, an old man of 100 living in Ephesus. But the church father Papias in the late 1st/ early 2nd century said that John died a martyr’s death just as Jesus predicted in Mark 10:35-40 at the hands of the Jews. Jesus had predicted that John would drink the same cup as Jesus would (Mk 14:36, the cup of death). Acts 12 records the death of James, John’s brother, in AD 44. So the only time the Jews could have martyred John would have to be before 70 AD, just as they martyred James the Lord’s brother before 70 AD. 

Why would early church tradition say that John lived to the age of 100. Probably b/c they didn’t see Revelation being fulfilled in AD 70, and therefore looked for a time when John might have been exiled to Patmos after 70 AD, and then came up with the theory that he was exiled in the reign of Domitian in 96 AD and that Revelation was written in 96 AD and was fulfilled after 70 AD. We wil see later that both these views are wrong in an article on the book of Revelation. . 

1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour. Last hour of what? Of the last days of the Jewish Age.

Rev 1:2-7 Things to shortly take place (tachos: Speed, swiftness, quickness)
. The time is near (1:3 eggus: Near, close, at hand). He is coming with the clouds (Mt 24:29; Acts 1:8), every eye will see him. 

Rev 22:6-10 Things must soon take place (tachos: Speed, swiftness, quickness). Behold I am coming quickly (tachu: Quickly, swiftly, soon). The time is near (eggus: Near, close, at hand). 

Rev 22:12,20 Behold I am coming quickly. Yes I am coming quickly. 

(Some say “quickly” just means “suddenly”, but the other phrases “near”, “shortly”, “soon” show that quickly means soon. Our modern use of the word “quickly” includes “soon” in time. The word “quickly” is an adverb that means to do something fast, soon, or after a short time. Here are some examples of “quickly” in a sentence: 

“I quickly realized that this was a big mistake”. Rev 1:7 “he is coming with the clouds” shows that it refers to the 2nd coming. 

“She walked quickly away”.  

“The disease spreads quickly”.  

mello passages in Revelation. 1:19; 2:20 3:10,16; 6:11; 8:13; 12:5

Revelation 1:19 YLT – Write the things that thou hast seen, and the things that are, and the things that are about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is (are) about to] iii ) come after these things;

Revelation 2:10 YLT – Be not afraid of the things that thou art about to [Gk: μέλλεις : melleis : are about to] suffer; lo, the devil is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] cast of you to prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days; become thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of the life.

Revelation 3:10,16 YLT – Because thou didst keep the word of my endurance, I also will keep thee from the hour of the trial that is about to [Gk: μελλούσης : mellouses : which is about to] come upon all the world iv, to try those dwelling upon the earth v … So ‐‐ because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to [Gk: μέλλω : mello : I am about to] vomit thee out of my mouth.

Revelation 6:11 YLT – and there was given to each one white robes, and it was said to them that they may rest themselves yet a little time, till may be fulfilled also their fellow-servants and their brethren, who are about to [Gk: μέλλοντες : mellontes : are about to] be killed ‐‐ even as they.

Revelation 8:13 YLT – And I saw, and I heard one messenger, flying in the mid-heaven, saying with a great voice, ‘Wo, wo, wo, to those dwelling upon the land from the rest of the voices of the trumpet of the three messengers who are about to [Gk: μελλόντων : mellonton : are about to] sound.’

Revelation 12:5 YLT – and she brought forth a male child, who is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] rule all the nations with a rod of iron, and caught away was her child unto God and His throne.

All these passages say the things predicted in Revelation were about to be (mello) fulfilled or happen.

From parousiafulfilled.com

What would be the point of telling Christians in the 1st Century about apocalyptic events, if those things were not expected for thousands of years… after they were all dead and their world had disappeared? How could those events have any meaning or significance to 1st Century people, if they would NOT live to see and experience them? It just doesn’t make any sense.

Conversely, if those early Christians were “ABOUT TO” experience great tribulations and persecutions, they would obviously find encouragement and hope in the knowledge that “SOON” their Lord Jesus Christ was “ABOUT TO” return and rescue them from their enemies… the last wicked and perverse generation of Old Covenant Jews and their temporary Roman allies.

The obvious meaning of the Greek word “mello” throughout the New Testament is that certain things were “ABOUT TO” happen… SOON… in a very short time. And when it refers to the parousia (Second Coming) of Christ, the word “mello” was clearly intended to warn people that it was “ABOUT TO” happen, in the lifetime of those early Christians. This is exactly what Jesus promised his disciples:

“27 For, the Son of Man is about to [Gk: μέλλει : mellei : is about to] come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work. 28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.” (Matthew 16:27-28 YLT)

From James Stewart Russell in The Parousia:

The doctrine of the apostles with regard to the coming of the Lord is in perfect harmony with this (i.e. Jesus’ predictions that his 2nd coming would be imminent). Nothing can be more evident than that they all believed and taught the speedy return of the Lord. From the first speech of St. Peter on the day of Pentecost to the last utterance of St. John in the Apocalypse, this conviction is clearly and constantly expressed. To say that the apostles were themselves ignorant of the time of their Lord’s return, and therefore could have no belief on the subject,—could not teach what they did not know,—is to contradict their own express and reiterated assertions. True, they did not know, and did not teach, ‘that day and that hour;’ they did not say that He would come in a particular month of a particular year, but they assuredly did give the churches to understand that He was coming quickly; that they might soon expect to see Him; and they never ceased to exhort them to maintain the attitude of constant watchfulness and preparation.

The early church expected the imminent return of Jesus within their lifetime. They were “eagerly awaiting” the coming of Jesus. As Russell pointed out: Why did they expect an imminent 2nd coming? the answer is simple. Jesus and the apostles told them that it would be imminent. Case closed.