Bible Study Seattle

The other day, I received a mailer titled, “The DAY of the LORD.  Now you can share the bible truth about the second coming!”  So I read all 48 pages.  Many points were good, like warning against date setting.  But a few points may not be correct.  On page 15, it talks about signs of the end from Matthew 24.  One is ‘Wars and rumors of wars’.  The problem here is that wars and war deaths have been level or decreasing recently.  https://ourworldindata.org/war-and-peace/    On page 24, it says, “God’s people will meet the Lord in the air.  Because Jesus does not touch the earth at His second coming, we can know He will not appear on the earth, as many teach.”  Wait a minute:

“On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”  Zechariah 14:4

On page 28, it says, “Another common misconception of the secret rapture theory is that people will continue to live on the earth for several years after Christ’s return.  However, the Bible clearly teaches that when Jesus comes, there will be no human left alive on this planet.  In describing this time, the book of Jeremiah explains, “At that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth.  They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.” Jeremiah 25:33

Maybe.  But here’s a few thoughts:
“Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal.  I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel.  Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.  On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals.  You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.  I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coast lands, and they will know that I am the Lord.

“‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the Lord am the Holy One in Israel.  It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign Lord. This is the day I have spoken of.

“‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel.  They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign Lord.

“‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east of the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.

“‘For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.  All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord.  People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.”  Ezekeil 39:1-14

On page 31, it says, “I had been taught that the Greek word ‘parousia’ always referred to the Rapture and that other words were used for the Coming of Christ in glory… but I found that this is not true… We might go through all the writers of the New Testament, and we would fail to discover any indication of the so-called ‘two stages’ of our Lord’s Coming… That theory had to be invented by man.  Search and see.  There is no verse in the Bible that even mentions it.”

Au Contraire!

Let’s look at the Old Testament:

“The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’  Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lordlooks at the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.”   So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.”  1 Samuel 16:1-13

Then,

“All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood.  In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.

David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.  In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months,and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.”  2 Samuel 1-5

Now, it could be argued that these represent Jesus’ first and second comings, and not a two stage second coming.  But consider this:

“When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.”  1 Chronicles 23:1  And,

“The next day they made sacrifices to the Lord and presented burnt offerings to him: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams and a thousand male lambs, together with their drink offerings, and other sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.  They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the Lord that day.”  

Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest.  So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him.  All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon.

The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendor such as no king over Israel ever had before.”  1 Chronicles 29:21-25

Notice that between the two annointings, the temple preparations are begun.

On page 37, it says, “Obviously, life on earth for humans during the thousand years is not possible.”  Where does it say that??

On page 38, it says, “The saints will not determine who will be saved or lost.  This work will have been accomplished by God already.  Rather, the work of judgment during the millennium involves the redeemed going over the case of every evil angel and lost human so that no question remains in the mind of the redeemed concerning God’s justice and mercy.”  This implies that the judgment is a mere sentencing or verdict, and not a complete trial (that may last centuries).

The truth is that the second coming will be more complicated than most think.  It will not merely happen in a few hours.  It will have many stages.  There’s no way to predict it all correctly ahead of time.  The totality of the second coming may take a thousand years or more.