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NASB | Matthew 24:14 "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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 24:14 "This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come. |
Bible Question:
Hi, I have posted the following a couple of days ago but I have not received any helpful pointers. The following questions represent my current thinking but I am not sure that I am on the right track. Your helpful comments and guidance will be much appreciated. 1.Jesus will come again only after several events have come to past as stated in the bible.So, He will not come to-night, next week nor the week after? 2.After about 2000 years we are now in the midst of the events. 3.May be another 2000 years hence,before Jesus comes again? 4.Human life on this earth is comparatively short and it is very likely that this generation will depart from this world much earlier than Jesus coming.In view of this, it is better to prepare oneself immediately and before death to walk the path of Jesus.Simply because we do not know the hour nor the day of our migration to...? 5.So, in our attempt to bring in convertsour emphasis should be on our departure which is imminent rather than Jesus coming? With Love in Christ. FytRobert |
Bible Answer: 'The concept that Christ could return at "any moment" since His departure back to heaven is simply not taught anywhere in the entire Bible.' - - - - - - - - - - Does the Bible Teach an "Any Moment" Rapture? I will address your first question: "1. Jesus will come again only after several events have come to past as stated in the bible. So, He will not come to-night, next week nor the week after?" - - - - - - - - - - 'WHAT ABOUT IMMINENCY? '...the doctrine of imminency is nowhere taught in Scripture. The concept that Christ could return at "any moment" since His departure back to heaven is simply not taught anywhere in the entire Bible. Not one of the passages used to sustain imminency, actually teach imminency. Expectancy, yes. Imminency (an any-moment rapture), no. If imminency had been the concept that the writers had wanted to convey, it could have and would have been clearly stated (in fact 19th century promoters of pretribulationism initially taught expectancy rather than imminency for this reason). In addition, there were many events prophesied by Christ, known throughout the Christian world at that time, that still had to occur before He could return, such as the destruction of the Temple (Lk. 21:6) and the death of Peter (Jn. 21:18-19). Imminency was an impossibility until the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. 'Likewise, Christ taught that His rescue of the elect of God will occur "on the same day" that His wrath will begin upon the wicked that remain (Lk 17:26-30). There is no gap of time between the rapture and His wrath. If the seventieth week of Daniel is really the wrath of God, as pretribulationism maintains, and the seventieth week begins with Israel's covenant with Antichrist (Dan. 9:27), then Israel must be back in the land and Antichrist must be on the world scene before the Rapture, a simple deduction which once again destroys the unbiblical concept of imminency. But the prewrath position has no problem with any of these passages, including Revelation 12:12, where the persecution of Antichrist against the "elect" of God during the great tribulation is not called the wrath of God, but rather, the wrath of Satan. Pretribulationism makes Antichrist's persecution of God's elect the wrath of God. Prewrath rapturism sees this great persecution as the wrath of Satan (Rev. 12:12 being the proof text). Antichrist's persecution of God's elect is never the wrath of God (Mt. 24:21-22; Rev. 12:7; 13:7; 14:12-13).' (Questions for a Pretribulationist 'By Robert Van Kampen and Rev. Roger Best) (http://www.solagroup.org/articles/endtimes/et_0006.html) |