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NASB | Matthew 24:30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 24:30 "And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor]. [Dan 7:13; Rev 1:7] |
Bible Question:
Rev 4:2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. ... verse 3 then describes Him. is this the church? Rev 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Do you see the church here? ... only 24 people. Verses 5-6 describe what is happening and introduces the four living creatures. Verses 7-9 continue to decribe them. Are they the church? The last two verses tell the response of the twenty-four elders ... true worship, not the so-called worship of today. So tell me where is the church? While the church is not mentioned, there are those who refuse to take the mark or worship the beast ... who are they? Verses 3-4 describe what is happening. Rev 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. Do you see the church here? ... only 24 people. |
Bible Answer: Truly I see that Scripture is given to us to reveal what God wants us to know, and it does not anticipate our questions. We must accept what we are told and patiently ponder its meaning. May I say that the God who made us gave to us the faculty of perception, and he knows how it works. We see in part and we know in part, but what we see is evidence of what we do not see. So, I see your question and I assume you are there and that you are at a computer. I see a head and I assume there is a body. That is the way it always works. When I see a few people emerging from a church, I assume there are more inside. When I see the elders, unless I am told that they have been separated from the church they represent, I assume the church is there. Does this make sense? I tell you, that is the way perception always works. We extrapolate from the evidence. Those who refuse the mark of the beast, who are they? It seems they are the ones who will be saved later, out of the great tribulation. I trust this does not give rise to yet another set of questions, but I take them to be Jews, the 144,000 who will be saved. These are the only ones, to my understanding, who will be saved after the rapture. We do need to search the Scriptures carefully. When we do, I think we will see that the Rapture precedes the Great Tribulation and that the Second Coming follows it. There is so much more that will happen in the end times. We may not understand it all, but we should personally prepare by trusting Christ for our salvation. We should turn from the idols, and work and watch and wait for him. Aixen. |