Do you believe
That Jesus Christ Was a False Prophet?
Jesus, speaking to His disciples, foretold that He would be crucified and would rise on the third day. Do you believe that He did rise from the dead? If you are a real Christian, you certainly must believe this. If He said it, it had to occur. If it did not, He would be a false prophet. He said "on the third day" and that's when it had to occur.
His death, crucifixion and resurrection are not the only events that Jesus prophesied about. He also told His disciples of the nearness of the "end." It would come in that generation. If this, also, did not come to pass when He said it would, He would be a false prophet. If He is a false prophet, He couldn't be the Messiah, our savior, and the savior of the world.
Do you realize that the traditional Futurist position of the "end time," which pervades Christendom, denies the fulfillments of the Prophecies of Jesus on the Mount Of Olives (Olivet discourse). Most people are futurists because that is what they have been taught. Without realizing it, they espouse beliefs that make Jesus appear to have lied. They are looking for the end of the "world," but Jesus foretold the end of the "age."
There are over sixty "time-statements" connected with the prophecies of Jesus, many of which require a "soon" fulfillment. Not soon to us, but soon to those to whom He spoke the prophecies. If these prophecies did not come true, exactly as he said, He would be a false prophet according to the Bible definition found in Deuteronomy 18:22.
"When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him." Dueteronomy 18:22.
Do you believe after 2000 years, none of His prophecies have come to pass?
When did Jesus promise to return? Jesus said: "not one jot or tittle shall pass from the Law until all be fulfilled." Are we still under the law, or has the law been fulfilled? If we belong to Jesus, we are under the perfect law of liberty. That is not the old Law referred to here by Jesus. The old system was to come to an "end" and the new would take its place.
Before we go further, let me be quick to say, Futurists do not intentionally call Jesus a false prophet, they would say emphatically that He is not, but because of ignorance of the true meaning of the Scriptures, their "end-time" doctrines make Him appear to be a false prophet. They do not fully understand what they believe, nor why they believe it, but they will almost fight you over it. It is more emotional than logical. I fear that many futurist ministers do not want to accept the truth because it could undermine their financial base. That is, they are afraid of losing members and their tithes. They are afraid of a church split that could cost them their positions. Sounds like the Pharisees. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." That tells me that we should always accept and propagate the truth, no matter the consequences.
Why it is Important to Establish our "End-time" beliefs on the teachings and prophecies of Jesus?
The preeminent One, Jesus!
A Christian, is by definition, a follower (disciple) of Jesus Christ. Jesus said "I Am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes unto the Father except by Me." That means He is the only way to eternal salvation. He is as important to our salvation as the air we breath is to our life.
Establishing our Priorities:
Jesus was not just a teacher, just a prophet, just a man as some say. He was teacher, prophet and man, but most importantly, He was indeed the Son of God "in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form." Colossians 2:9.
On the mount of transfiguration, God instructed Peter, James and John to listen to Jesus.
". . . While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" Matthew 17:5.
"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life". 1 John 5:20.
Olivet Discourse:
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus foretold the events that would occur on the earth after His ascension to the right hand of the Father. This is recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. As I said before, the events He foretold had a definite time-table. To be the fulfillment, these events must occur when He said they would.
But, you might say, Jesus said "no man knows the day and the hour." Matthew 25:13. That is true, but Jesus did specify the generation.
This Generation - This is what He said:
Luke 21:29, "And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." Luke 21:32.
If you want to know what "all" means, read all of Luke 21 preceding the above verses, you will see what "all" is referring to. You will also see that He meant the generation in which He lived and not another future one.
To make it even clearer, He also said:
"Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Matthew 16: 27-28.
Are those folks still standing around, awaiting His return today?
If His generation did pass away before His return, then He didn’t tell the truth, He was not who He said He was and we could forget all about Him. We have to make up our minds; do we believe He is the Christ, or not? If we do, we are bound to accepting His prophecies at face value. We don't try to explain them away because we don't understand them, we must learn the truth about them. Do you see that this is critical to knowing that He is who He said?
THE TRUTH:
The truth of the matter is that ALL of His prophecies did come to pass. He did return in that generation. Why do I say this? Because He said so and God cannot tell a lie. So we need to look into the matter and see that He was really God in the flesh and fulfilled all that He promised.
There are over sixty-seven statements in the Bible that say that Jesus would come very soon after His ascension. I have made a list of them which you can read. You can also find them in your Bible and read them in context.
We can’t just ignore what the Bible says and take the word of mere man over the truth of the Bible. Once you read through this list, you will have cause for concern in what is believed by almost ninety percent of Christians. Just because they are the majority doesn’t make their view correct. Pursue the truth above all things.
I challenge you to try to explain away the following 67 very clear time statements!
TIME STATEMENTS
CONCERNING THE TIME OF THE END
The Bible contains numerous statements in Scripture as to when the "end" would come. I say again, they are not specific as to the day or the hour, but give a generational guideline. Jesus made many of these statements himself, and the writers of other books in the New Testament did likewise.
Think of how it would have been if you were there, hearing the very words of Jesus or His apostles. When would you have thought these things were going to happen? Two thousand years later? Did Jesus and His apostles deliberately deceive everyone? Of course not. It happened exactly as Jesus predicted.
Look at some of these time statements and you'll see what we mean:
1. Matthew 10:23, Jesus said: "But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes."
2. Matthew 24:34, Jesus said: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
--Comment: Jesus had just told them about the destruction of the Temple and the great tribulation that was to come upon Jerusalem. In Luke 11:49-51 Jesus said: "For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute, in order that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this
generation." This was NOT speaking of a future generation!
3. Matthew 26:64, Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
---Notice the word "YOU," indicating those listening to him at that time.
4. Romans 13:12, The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- -Comment: When He said the "night is almost gone," what does that mean to you? What does "at hand mean?" Does it mean down the road 2000 years?
5. Romans 16:20, And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
--Comment: What does soon mean?
6. 1 Corinthians 7:26-31, "I think that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is."
7. 1 Corinthians 10:11, "Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."
--Comment: When it says "our instruction" it is not referring to us today, it was Paul who was saying it to the people at Corinth. But when most people read it, they assume it is for our instruction today. The "ends of the ages" came upon them.
8. Titus 2:11-13 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;"
--Comment: He didn't say instructing you, he said us,and he also said "in the present age," which doesn't mean some future age as the futurist try to tell us, and he summed it up with "looking for the blessed hope" and the "appearing" of the glory of our great "God and Savior, Christ Jesus." These scriptures are all written right together. I didn't gather a bunch of isolated scriptures and fit them together to say this. It's right there in your Bible. Please look it up and read it for yourself. Today most Christians believe their blessed hope is the "rapture." The word "rapture" is not in the Bible.
9. Hebrews 1:2, "in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."
--Comment: The writer of Hebrews was identifying his day as "these last days." Was he confused or disillusioned? Not so.
10. Hebrews 9:26, "Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation, He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."
--Comment: The Greek word translated "consummation" means "to complete entirely." How plain can it get? What does the word "now" mean to you? Daniel prophesied (in Chapter 9:24) that in the last days, the Messiah would finish the transgression (put away sin). That He did by sacrifice of Himself.
11. Hebrews 10:25&37 "not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near. 37. FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY."
12. 1 John 12:35, ". . . For a little while longer. . ."
13. John 14:19, "After a little while the world will behold Me no more;"
- -Comment: What does a "little while" longer mean? Does it mean 2000 years? The Greek word for little is "mikros," meaning: "small." The Greek word for "while" is "chronos" meaning: "a space of time." Can you argue with this time statement? Of course not.
14. James 5:8-7 [You] "Be patient, therefore brethren, until the coming of the Lord. 8. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door."
15. 1 Peter 4:5, "but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6. for the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead."
16. 1 Peter 4:7, "The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer."
17. 1 John 2:8, "On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining."
18. 1 John 2:17-18, "And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. 18. Children, it is the last time; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last time."
--Comment: The prediction of "antichrist" is only found in 1 John and 2 John, and he said "many antichrists had arisen [past tense], back in the time between the crucifixion of Christ and A.D. 70. See our page on "The Antichrist."
19. Revelation 1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,"
Comment: What do you think? Does shortly indicate a long time?
20. Revelation 1:3, "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near."
21. Revelation 3:10-11 'Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole (inhabitable) world, to test those who dwell upon the earth" (soil).
--Comment: This verse uses the Greek word "Mello," which means "about to." The words in parenthesis are added by me. They are the Greek meanings of the words which are not translated in the English versions. The word used for "world," is the Greek "oikoumene" which means habitable earth or the Roman Empire. The Greek word translated earth here is the word "Ge" which means "soil." These words show that we are not talking about the whole world as the text would suggest and as many people believe and teach. More on this later.
22. Revelation 22:10, "And he says to me, Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book; because the time is near."
23. Revelation 22:6, "And he said to me, These words are faithful and true and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show his bondmen the things which must come to pass soon."
24. Revelation 22:7,12,20, "Behold, I am coming quickly."
25. John 16:13, "He will disclose to you what is to come."
--Comment: What was John expecting to come? Must have been a very important event to be mentioned in this way.
26. Galatians 1:4, ". . .that He might deliver us out of this present evil age. . ."
27. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ". . .and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming (parousia = presence) of our Lord Jesus Christ." 24." . . .He will bring it to pass. . ."
--Comment: Paul was praying for his then present listeners that their bodies would be preserved complete at the coming of our Lord etc. Sounds like a soon coming event.
28. 2 Thessalonians 1:6 ". . . relief to you and us . . . 7. ". . .when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed (Apokalupsis: disclosure) from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire. . ."
--Comment: Here Paul included himself. Relief to you and us when the Lord shall be revealed.
Something Paul was expecting to happen within the lifetime of some of those present.
29. John 12:31, "Now is the time for judgment on this world, now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself." 32. "But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die." (In other words, that He would die on a cross.)
- -Comment: The word that is translated "now" is the Greek word "nun" which means: "presently" or "immediately." So when was the judgment to come on the world? Jesus said "NOW." Is that what He meant? When was the prince of this world (which we all believe to be Satan) to be driven out?" Was it to be 2000 years later? That's what the futurists say.
30. Luke 18:31, ". . .will He delay long over them?" Delay is the Greek word "tachos," meaning, "in a very short time," "a brief space (of time)," "in haste," "fleet."
Greek: Mello
There are many time statements in the Bible that all use the same Greek word, "Mello."
Here is the concordance definition:
(3195) me>llw, — mel’-lo; a strengthened form of (3199) (me>lw) (through the idea of expectation); to intend, i.e. be about to be, do, or suffer something (of persons or things, especially events; in the sense of purpose, duty, necessity, probability, possibility, or hesitation):
This is the Strong's Concordance definition, but some futurists argue that it does not always mean about to. I have searched the scriptures for other places that the word "Mello" is used that do not necessarily apply to the "end times." Those verses are listed below. They show you the exact meaning of the word "mello," as used in the Bible.
Some good examples of the urgency of the word "Mello" are found in two chapters of the book of John and several verses in Acts and Romans. There are many other examples to be found throughout the New Testament. You will see from these verses how the word was consistently used to convey immediacy! But when our Bibles were translated, the translators chose to remove the immediacy and merely say that these things were going to happen, not that they were about to happen. Let's first read through these examples. After that, we will list those that apply specifically to the destruction of Jerusalem and events related to the coming of the Lord.
These are the renderings of these scriptures which use the word "Mello" from the Greek text in an Interlinear Bible. They may be translated differently in your Bible, but the word "Mello" is used in the Greek text. Do these sound vague and distant, or something that was going to happen very soon?
John 6:6, "But this He said trying him for he knew what he was about to do."
John 6:15, "Jesus therefore, knowing that they are about to come and seize him. . ."
John 6:71, "But he spoke of Judas Simon's [son] Iscariote, for he was about to deliver him up. . ."
John 7:35, "Is He about to go to the dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?"
Acts 32, "And a certain man, his being lame from his mother's womb, was being carried, whom they placed daily at the door of the temple called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who were going into the temple, who seeing Peter and John being about to (mello) enter into the temple. . ."
Acts 5:35, "And said to them, men, Israelites, take heed to yourselves as regards these men what you are about to (mello) do, for before these days rose up Theudas, offering himself to be somebody, to whom were joined a number of men . . . who was put to death, and all . . . persuaded by him were dispersed."
Acts 11:28, "And having risen up from among them, Agabus, by name, he signified by the Spirit, A great famine is about to (mello) be over the whole habitable earth which also came to pass under Claudius Caesar."
Acts 13:34, "And that he raised him from among [the] dead, no more to be about to (mello) return to corruption, thus he spoke: I will give you the faithful mercies of David."
Acts 18:14, "But Paul, being about to (mello) open [his] mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If indeed therefore it was some unrighteousness or wicked criminality, O Jews, according to reason, I should have borne with you, 15 but if a question it be about a word and names and a law which [is] among you, you will see [to it] yourselves," for a judge of these things I do not wish to be."
--Comment: Was Paul going to open his mouth 2000 years from then? Isn't it silly to try to put off what was said to be about to happen, just to make your erroneous theology work out?
There were men at Ephesus who made silver shrines to the goddess Diana. As Paul was preaching the gospel there these men got upset and said in:
Acts 19:27, "Now not only is this dangerous to us [lest] the business come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis (KJV says "Diana") for nothing be reckoned, and the majesty of her is about to (mello) be destroyed, whom all Asia and the habitable world worship."
Acts 20:3, "And having continued three months, having been made against them a plot by the Jews being about to (mello) sail into Syria . . ." Could this have meant that this would happen 2000 years later?
Acts 20:13, "But we having gone before to the ship sailed to Assos, being about there to (mello) take in, Paul, for so he had appointed himself being about to (mello) go on foot." Its obvious that both of these were about to occur immediately.
Acts 21:37, "But being about to (mello) be brought into the fortress, Paul . . ."
Acts 22:16, "And now why delayest (mello) them?" (Reverse meaning)."
Acts 22:29, "Immediately therefore departed from him those being about to (mello) examine him, and the chief captain also was afraid, having ascertained that a Roman he is and because he bound him."
Acts 23:3 'Then Paul said to him, "God is about to smite you, whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?"'
Acts 23:15, "Now therefore you make a representation to the chief captain with the sanhedrim, so that tomorrow him he may bring down to you, as being about to (mello) examine more accurately the things concerning him, and we, . . ."
Acts 23:20, "And he said, the Jews agreed to request you that tomorrow into the sanhedrim you may bring down Paul, as being about to (mello) inquire something more accurately concerning him."
Acts 23:27, "This man, having been seized by the Jews, and being about to (mello) be put to death by them, . . ."
---Comment: They couldn't have put him to death 2000 years later.
Acts 25:4, "Festus therefore answered, Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and himself was about to (mello) shortly setout."
Acts 26:2, "Concerning all of which I am accused by Jews, king Agrippa, I esteem myself happy being about to (mello) make defense before you today. . ." That's pretty immediate!
Acts 26:22, "And therefore having obtained from God unto this day I have stood, bearing witness both to small and to great, nothing else saying, than what both the prophets and Moses said, was about to (mello) happen, whether Christ should suffer; . . ."
Acts 27:2, "And having gone on board a ship of Adramyttium about to (mello) navigate the places along Asia we set sail, being with us Aristarchus a Macedonian of Thessalonica."
Acts 27:9b, 10, "Paul exhorted them saying, men, I percieve that the voyage is about to (mello) be with disaster and much loss not only of the cargo and of the ship but also of our lives."
Acts 27:30, "But the sailors seeking to flee out of the ship and having let down the boat into the sea, with pretext as from [the] prow being about to (mello) cast out anchors, Paul said to the Centurion and to the soldiers. . ."
When a viper (snake) had come out of the wood that Paul had gathered to start a fire and it had latched onto his hand, the scriptures says in:
Acts 28:6, "But they were expecting him to be about to (mello) become inflamed or to fall down suddenly dead." Again something that was expected to happen immediately.
--Comment: The following are more time statement scriptures which use the word "Mello" that have to do with what Jesus called the "end." This word demands a more imminent rendering than what we find in our translations such as KJV, NASB, NIV, etc.
Now we continued with the numbered "time-statements" which have to do with the coming of the Lord.
31. Matthew 3:7 "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath about to come."
--Comment: What wrath was he talking about? How about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70 which Jesus prophesied and most Christians today don't know about?
32. Matthew 12:32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age about to come." (also Luke 21:7)
33. Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."
34. Matthew 24:6 "And you are about to hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all must come to pass, but the end is not yet."
35. Mark 13:4 "Tell us when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things should be about to be accomplished." NIV says "about to be fulfilled."
36. Luke 3:7 "Then He said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath about to come" (NIV footnote wrong concerning two fulfillments, this is precluded by Matthew 24:21.)
37. Luke 19:11 "Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God was immediately about to be manifested."
38. Luke 21:36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things which are about to come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."
39. John 14:22 'Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what has occurred that to us you are about to manifest yourself and not to the world?"'
40. Romans 5:14, "but death reigned from Adam until Moses even upon those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of the one about to (mello) come."
41. Romans 8:13, "For if according to flesh you live, you are about to (mello) die." Is that a warning?
42. Acts 17:31 "because He has appointed a day in which He is about to judge the habitable world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
43. Acts 24:25 'Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment about to be, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you."'
44. Acts 26:22-23 "I have stood bearing witness both to small and to great, saying nothing else than what both the prophets and Moses said was to happen, whether Christ should suffer; whether first through resurrection of [the]dead is about to announce light to the people and to the nations." This speaks of preaching the Gospel to all the world (oikoumene = "inhabitable earth").
45. Romans 4:23 & 24 "Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also on account of us to whom it is about to be imputed, who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,"
46. Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory about to be revealed in us."
47. Romans 8:38 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things about to be, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
48. 1 Corinthians 3:21 & 22 "Therefore let no one glory in men. For all things are yours: 22. whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things about to come all are yours."
49. Ephesians 1:20-21 "which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated at His right hand in the heavenlies 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one about to come."
50. Colossians 2:17 "which were a shadow of things about to come, but the substance is Christ."
51. 1 Thessalonians 3:4 "For in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we were about to suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know."
52. 1 Timothy 4:6, "For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come."
--Comment: We know that Paul was put to death shortly after this. "Already" meant what it said. So did "time of my departure."
53. 1 Timothy 4:8 "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is about to come."
54. 1 Timothy 6:18 & 19 "Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time about to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."
55. Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those being about to inherit salvation."
56. Hebrews 2:5 "For He has not put the world which is about to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.."
57. Hebrews 6:5 "and have tasted the good word of God and the power of the age about to come"
58. Hebrews 9:11 "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things about to come."
59. Hebrews 10:27 "but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation being about to consume the adversaries." Who were the adversaries? The unbelieving Jews, of course.
60. Hebrews 13:14 "For we have no continuing city, but we seek the one about to come"
61. James 2:12 "So speak and do as those being about to be judged by law of liberty."
62. 1 Peter 3:22, "Christ who is at the right hand of God, having gone into the heavens after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him."
63. 1 Peter 4:13, "but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation."
--Comment: This epistle (letter) was written to people alive at that time and he was specifically addressing them saying YOU may rejoice at the relevation of His glory.
64. 1 Peter 4:17, "For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"
65. 1 Peter 5:1 "The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also partaker of the glory about to be revealed:"
66. Revelations 1:19 "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which are about to take place after this."
67. Revelations 3:10 "Because you have kept My command to perservere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which is about to come upon the whole habitable world, to test those who dwell on the land."
Honestly now, do these Scriptures sound like they are going to be fulfilled in two thousand years, or were they imminent at the time they were spoken? The number of these statements is overwhelming, too many to ignore or dismiss lightly as the futurist do. And this is not an exhaustive list, there are dozens more of them that I haven't located yet.
Jesus didn't promise to return in 2000 years. The time statements found in the Bible tell us a different story. They repeatedly tell of events that must SOON come to pass. 2000 years later is NOT soon. He said these events would occur in THAT generation, before all the people living at that time died. These events did ALL come to pass, within the 40 years following His statements.
I have had debates with Futurists over these time-statements and they do not want to accept them at all. It is one of the strongest proofs that we have for a preterist point of view and proof of the fulfillment of the prophecies of Jesus.
BE AWARE that when you look up these scriptures in your Bible, the word "mello" may have been translated something other than "about to," but if you check the Greek text, you will find the word "mello" is used there. I believe that the many scriptures that we listed are very clear as to what this word means.
ON-GOING
It's an on-going thing with me, locating time statements in the Bible, and they show up at some very unexpected places. You can read a scripture a hundred times and not see something that is in it. I just noticed a time statement in Matthew 24:21 that I had overlooked.
I have been pointing out that this scriptures says that the great tribulation can only happen once, because it says "for then there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall." That precludes more than one fulfillment of the great tribulation, but the time statement I had overlooked was the word "now." It designates that period as a pivotal time for the occurrence of the great tribulation. Although Jesus had said "then" earlier in this scripture, the word "now" nails it down to the transition period between the past and the future.
Greg Kiser and I were discussing this on the phone and he was using the KJV while I was using the NASB. There is a difference in that the KJV says "until this time," and the NASB says "until now." So this led me to the Strong's Concordance. I looked up the word "time" listed for that verse and here is what I found: The Greek word was "Kairos" {2540} and the meaning: occasion, i.e. set or proper time: Then I looked up "this" to see what they had for it. It was the word "nun" {3568} which means "now," as adverb of date, a transition or emphasis, "present or immediate:" Since this word meant "now," I wondered what the word "time" was doing there, so I looked in the Greek text and it isn't there. The word "kairos" is not there at all.
This is a Strong's mistake, of taking the KJV and listing a word that wasn't in the Greek text. Actually in the Greek text it says: "until the now." It designates a present or immediate event. It is definitely another of the many time statements. We have listed sixty-seven (67) of them here, there are likely many more in the Bible.
Let's review some of these time-statements in a briefer form:
* "You shall not finish" going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes, Matthew 10:23.
* "This Generation" shall not pass until all these things take place, Matthew 24:34. . . . ."will He delay long over them?" Luke 18:31.
[Delay is the Greek word "tachos," meaning, "in a very short time," "a brief space (of time),"
"in haste," "fleet."]
* . . .some standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of god. Luke 9:26.
* . . .you may have strength to escape all these things that are "about" to take place, Luke 21:36.
* "Now is the time for judgment on this world, now the prince of this world will be driven out, John 12:31..
* For yet a very "little while" longer the light is among you, John 12:35.
When Jesus said a very "little while," did he mean 2000 years? [This scripture is given as an example, and was not spoken of His return.]
* . . ."and the God of peace will Soon crush satan under your feet," Romans 16:20.
* . . . "knowing the that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep;" Romans 13:11.
* . . ."the night is almost gone, and the day is at hand," Romans 13:12.
* . . . "in view of the Present distress," 1 Corinthians 7:26-31. [Distress is Greek "thlipsis," meaning "tribulation."]
* . . ."upon whom the ends of the ages have come," 1 Corinthians 10:11.
* . . ."Maranatha,"1 Corinthians 16:22.
According to Strong's Concordance, the word Maranatha means: "an exclamation of the approaching divine judgment."
* . . ."that He might deliver us out of this present evil age. . ."Galatians 1:4.
* . . ."we who are alive and remain," 1 Thessalonians 4:15.
Can you see that he is not talking about us in the 21st century? He said "we" who are
"alive" and remain, not "those" who are alive and remain.
* . . ."and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming (parousia = presence) of our Lord Jesus Christ, " 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
[Notice that when he said "your" body he was speaking to specific individuals of Thessalonica,
not to some future generation. He expected (correctly) that the coming would be in his generation.
Look at this one:
* "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;" Titus 2:11-13.
--Comment: He didn't say instructing you, he said us, and he also said "in the present age," which doesn't mean some future age and he summed it up with "looking for the blessed hope" and the "appearing" of the glory of our great "God and Savior, Christ Jesus." These scriptures are all written right together. I didn't gather a bunch of isolated scriptures and fit them together to say this. It's right there in your Bible. Please look it up and read it for yourself.
* . . ."in these last days," Hebrews 1:2.
* "Now once, at the consummation. . ." Hebrews 9:26.
* . ."the day drawing near (approaching)," Hebrews 10:25.
* "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry."Hebrews 10:37.
* . . ."the coming of the Lord is at hand," James 5:8-7.
* "The judge is standing right at the door," James 5:8-7.
* "The end of all things is at hand, 1 Peter 4:7.
* . . ."true light is already shining," 1 John 2:8.
* . . ."the world is passing away". . . 1 John 2:17-18.
* . . ."it is the last hour. . ." 1 John 2:17-18.
* . . ."from this we know that it is the last hour," 1 John 2:17-18
* . . . ."Shortly come to pass," Revelation 1:1.
* . . ."for the time is near," Revelation 1:3.
* . . ."or else I will come unto thee Quickly," Revelation 2:5,2:16.
* . . ."hour of testing . . .which is about to come". . .Revelation 3:10-11.
* . . ."time is near," Revelation 22:10.
* . . ."must come to pass soon," Revelation 22:6.
* . . ."quickly," Revelation 22:7,12,20.
This list is not exhaustive, i.e., there are likely many more such scriptures in the Bible. I keep finding more "time statements" throughout the New Testament.
In reference to the idea of Christ setting up a kingdom on earth:
John 18:36, Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting that I might not be delivered up to the Jews, but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
Jesus told his disciples:
Luke 17:20, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21. nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
The realm of the kingdom of God is a Spiritual kingdom and not a natural one. It now exists in the hearts of all the Christians on earth. The greatest hinderance to the kingdom of God is the belief that it is still not here, but is coming sometime in the future.
Colossians 1:27: "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
Can we just ignore the "time statements?" I DON'T THINK SO.
Corner stone In the Old Testament:
"Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: Whoever believes will not act hastily." Isaiah 28:16.
Who is this cornerstone? In the New Testament this is made clear:
"And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" Ephesians 2:20.
In Several scriptures, Jesus is named as the cornerstone. The cornerstone is the most important stone in any foundation. It guides the builder to keep the structure straight and plumb, or we might say "true." It also anchors the entire foundation. The foundation itself is dependent on the cornerstone. If you desire a true understanding of the "great tribulation," and the "end-times," it must come from the one who is the cornerstone. If you build on any foundation other than Jesus, you are on sinking sand.
[Some other scriptures that mention the foundation or corner stone are: Psalm 118:21-23, Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:7, and 1 Timothy 6:19.]
THE ONLY WAY:
No one can come to the Father except through Jesus. Without Him, we have no hope of eternal life. So, having considered all of this, who are we to believe concerning Bible truth? Is it men? Or is it Jesus?
We must believe the words of Jesus over anyone else. His word in the Bible is the final authority in settling any disagreement. So, why would we want to go to any source for information about the "end-time" except the words of Jesus, the Cornerstone of our faith? Even the apostles got all their doctrine from Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
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