I come quickly...said 2,000 years ago?

[whirlwind]

There are some that question why it is written....

• Romans 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
  
  Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

How could He say He was coming quickly, or the elect would bruise Satan shortly when that was two thousand years ago? Preterist believe this points to the second Advent of Christ happening long ago.

The word shortly or quickly can mean soon or....suddenly, with speed. To me, the Scripture means....I come to you suddenly. Or, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye.

 

[researcher]

The disciples expected Him back because of what he told them. All through the NT you can see their expectation. Lol. :o

 

[whirlwind]

The disciples expected Him back because of what he told them. All through the NT you can see their expectation. Lol. :o

As He explained to His disciples what must come to pass before His Advent...they knew His arrival wasn't the next day, or month, or year. The end comes for each of us when we pass from this life so in that sense all should understand we can see Him face to face in a short time.

Peter, Paul and John wrote for future generations. They knew. They were inspired to know.

 

[Sparkey]

I like the explanation found in the gospel of John Chapter 16 (the whole chapter) and especially take note of the use of the word "expedient" in verse 7: Strong's # g4851: ÃÆ’Ã…μÆέÃÂÉ /// sympherÃ…Â.

 

[samuel]

You have to remember with God, time is not a factor. And besides when he comes, it will be quickly.
Matt 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
That's kind of like; in a FLASH.

 

[Joe67]

This brings us back to that which has been testified before on the forum concerning the nature/character/quality of the coming of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

When the Word of God rightly divides faith and hope ( soul and spirit ) through the hearing and the seeing, giving us a heart to understand; then we are given to know that his coming is like the Mt. of transfiguration. 2 Peter 1:16-18 16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. KJV

First, we need to be lifted up by the Spirit to the heavenly Jerusalem and to see Jesus there ( by the Spirit in the eyes of our understanding ), to see the work that he is doing there in our behalf and hear the voice of God speaking to us through the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 12:24.

Then we will return with him ( 1 Thessalonians 4:14 ), through the faith of the operation of God, in that work whereby the kingdom of God comes, by the workings of grace, in the fulfillment of the will of God on earth as it is in heaven ( Revelation 19:14 ). Until we see what he is doing in heaven, we do not know what its image should look like on the earth. It is the will of God that on earth we bear the image of Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, who ministers in heaven at the right hand of the Father of all spirits. Thus, Christ comes " in us", the "hope" of the glory of the promised resurrection.

If there is no resurrection, then we are of all men most miserable.

Gal 5:4-5
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. KJV

2 Tim 4:7-8
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. KJV

Rom 8:23-25
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. KJV

Joe

 

[Ret]

There are some that question why it is written....

• Romans 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
  
  Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Jesus Christ comes quickly, suddenly, in a moment - TODAY,
in various ways - the hungry, the stranger, the sick...

• Matthew 25:34-36
  
  34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
  Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
  for you from the foundation of the world:
  
  35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:
  I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:
  I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
  36 Naked, and ye clothed me:
  I was sick, and ye visited me:
  I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
  KJV

 

[wavy]

Well, the reality is that the early Christians as an offshoot of apocalyptic Judaism did believe they were living at the end of the world. The 'son of man' would return before that generation passed, they thought. Paul advised against marriage because he thought the end of the world was coming shortly. He even believed he would be alive at the coming of Jesus.

The rationalization we find in 2Peter (written probably at the beginning of the 2nd century) that a day is like 1000 years to God and vice versa, is an attempt to explain away the disconsolate reality that Jesus did not return as expected.


Finis,
Eric

 

[Nick]

I think two reasons:

1) God is outside time, or at least time as we know it

2) In context to enternity, even 100,000 years is very quickly, don't you think?

 

[AAA]

God is outside time, or at least time as we know it

What does that even mean, and how can you know it?

If god is outside our time, then it seems to me that he cannot interact in our time (since he's outside it), and we therefore cannot possibly perceive Him. A god who is outside of our time could not be detected by us, and could only be a figment of our imaginations.

Unless there is more to time than we know (and you do leave that possibility open), the statement that "God is outside our time" makes our knowledge of God logically impossible. If, to make your statement valid, we need to know more about time than we currently know, then how can you make your statement without said unknown knowledge?

 

[researcher]

I think two reasons:

1) God is outside time, or at least time as we know it

2) In context to enternity, even 100,000 years is very quickly, don't you think?

Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Dan 12:5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.
Dan 12:6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
Dan 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Dan 12:8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

I think the angel would have told Daniel the same thing if that were the case. He would have said, "soon, it will happen very soon." Lol. ;) :D

It's still people God was talking to. If God was talking to himself I could understand. But, he was talking to people. So, the angel said, "don't worry about it Daniel, it's way in the future."

Compare that to what John wrote via the Holy Spirit to the 7 churches in Asia.

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

 

[Nick]

God is outside time, or at least time as we know it

What does that even mean, and how can you know it?

If god is outside our time, then it seems to me that he cannot interact in our time (since he's outside it), and we therefore cannot possibly perceive Him. A god who is outside of our time could not be detected by us, and could only be a figment of our imaginations.

Unless there is more to time than we know (and you do leave that possibility open), the statement that "God is outside our time" makes our knowledge of God logically impossible. If, to make your statement valid, we need to know more about time than we currently know, then how can you make your statement without said unknown knowledge?

What I mean, is that God's sense of time and our sense of time are probably different. Basically God acts in his own time kind of thing. In Genesis, and at the beginning of John, the Bible says that before there was this universe/Earth there was nothing, only God, and God always existed.

There is also this verse, which is possibly not literally 1000 years, but you get the picture that God's and our sense of time at the very least, are different:

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

 

[Sakari]

Some 2000 years from Abraham to Christ's first coming, some 2000 years from that to this day. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

 

[^Lazarus]

It's still people God was talking to. If God was talking to himself I could understand. But, he was talking to people. So, the angel said, "don't worry about it Daniel, it's way in the future."

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Wow! just two little verses and the preterist doctrine is shot down.

Or reckon God was talking to himself here as well?

 

[researcher]

It's still people God was talking to. If God was talking to himself I could understand. But, he was talking to people. So, the angel said, "don't worry about it Daniel, it's way in the future."

Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Gen 5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Wow! just two little verses and the preterist doctrine is shot down.

Or reckon God was talking to himself here as well?

You mean Adam didn't die the same day? Guess God got that one wrong... Wait if God got something wrong then :o .... Lol.

 

[AAA]

What I mean, is that God's sense of time and our sense of time are probably different. Basically God acts in his own time kind of thing...

There is also this verse, which is possibly not literally 1000 years, but you get the picture that God's and our sense of time at the very least, are different:

[quote="2 Peter 3:8":289kt309]But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

[/quote:289kt309]

Thus, biblical time frames or predictions that involved God are completely uninterpretable, and therefore meaningless. This also means that God cannot or does not, when he communicates with us via his inspired written works, take into account the only time we can perceive: our time.

 

[unclejed]

Hello everyone, I always thought of Him (Jesus) speaking from His unique perspective of being both God and man. Apostle Peter wrote; "a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day, to the Lord." So from Gods' perspective Jesus has only been gone a little over 2 days and we all (especially in light of current events) believe He will return soon so coming back in 2-3 days is....soon.

 

[Orion]

Jed, . . . it is clear that Jesus was speaking in THEIR time frame in mind. They perceived it as meaning soon, within their lifetime. "A day is as one thousand" doesn't work here.

 

[wavy]

Jed, . . . it is clear that Jesus was speaking in THEIR time frame in mind. They perceived it as meaning soon, within their lifetime. "A day is as one thousand" doesn't work here.

Exactly, if 'I'm coming soon' doesn't mean what it means to the people Jesus said this to (or anybody who can understand speech), then it doesn't mean anything at all.

If I say 'I'm Asian' and you look over at my avatar and see that I'm clearly not Asian, and I explain that by 'Asian' I meant 'hybrid: black + white', what would be the point of me saying 'Asian' in the first place and would you not question me on why I said 'Asian'?


Finis,
Eric

 

[Relic]

What I mean, is that God's sense of time and our sense of time are probably different. Basically God acts in his own time kind of thing...

There is also this verse, which is possibly not literally 1000 years, but you get the picture that God's and our sense of time at the very least, are different:

[quote="2 Peter 3:8":3fbrhrit]But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Thus, biblical time frames or predictions that involved God are completely uninterpretable, and therefore meaningless. This also means that God cannot or does not, when he communicates with us via his inspired written works, take into account the only time we can perceive: our time.[/quote:3fbrhrit]

AAA, that is complete nonsense. Are you an agnostic or an atheist, that you would come up with such a reply?

The Lord reveals to those that are his in DUE TIME, not according to carnal mind of man's own sense of time. God reveals whatever whenever He chooses to reveal something to us, be it on an individual level, or on a massive level to any particular group, or even to the whole world. It is His timming, not ours. And God full well knows the limits of carnal minded man and of those things pertaining to the mortal world. God created it all, God knows what happens when unsaved man takes the liberties and freedom of choice that He's given them and abuses them. God also knows that the only way to redeem unsaved man is to provide a means of correcting that mess man created from out of that freedom He so graciously and lovingly gave to them, to make choices. And God knows that the mind of the carnal, the mind of those who refuse to learn, those who refuse to seek after HIS heart, that they will come to conclusions contrary to Holy Spirit.
Choosing to be of the carnal minded and secular thought will flub up a person in understanding of that which is Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth cannot be denied but by only that which is decieved... by the lies of the carnal and the secular... which is set apart from it.

For anyone to go about and imply that we can only go by our sense of time is only making a statement which totally denies the authority of God, a God of Truth... and that, dear, is a dishonor towards the " PURE unadulterated TRUTH".

In concluding from the carnal-and secular-mind-set-of-man, rather than from the mind of Christ Holy Spirit of Truth..I wonder, Do you believe in the Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and Omniscience of JHVH GD? God's time and timming is far above and superior than the logic of any carnal-minded man. Study the bible, man, from a perspecitve of wanting to seek after the Heart of God, to make His heart of TRUTH known to you, rather than from a perspective of not knowing His Heart's desire for us.

.