It is revealing to compare Matthew 24 to the other two synoptic gospels to clarify the time references. Matt. 24:3 “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying Tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the…
We have already introduced Jesus’ coming in judgment in the preceding blogs by pointing out the victory of saints over Satan. However, this new age would commence with the end of the old regime. The wheat would be gathered in barns, but the chaff would burn with fire. When Joel had predicted the outpouring of…
The victory of saints would begin a new era or age. Paul closes the Roman letter by giving this promise that Satan would be crushed under their feet shortly. Rom. 16:20 reads, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”…
Christ’s return or His second coming would mark the end of one age and the start of another. The prophet, Daniel, refers to the end of the age or days in his last words of prophecy (Daniel 12:13). It was used in the context of the siege of Jerusalem, the abomination of desolation, and the…
The Amillenial view makes a similar mistake. Augustine’s popular City of God adopted a figurative interpretation of Revelation 20. Popular commentaries of the nineteenth century that held this view were Adam Clarke, Matthew Henry, and Thomas Scott who were a part of the evangelical churches. This view states that a spiritual kingdom of Christ began…
A word used to label popular views of the thousand-year reign of Christ is the word “millennial,” which refers to the saints’ reign with Christ for a thousand years. Since the twentieth chapter of Revelation clearly refers to the thousand-year reign of Christ, we should not be opposed to the use of this term. Therefore,…
Several other biblical topics are tied to the last day events. We will place them here under the second coming of Christ because they will be accomplished when he returns. As we divide each topic, we cannot but notice that the content in each section overlap each other because they all pertain to the same…
There is much debate concerning the proper translation of this text, but not because of the actual use and definition of words but the difficulty in accepting its meaning. It is a good illustration to show how easy it is to reject one view for another based on our own prejudices, instead of open and…
If the end of all things is near (Judaism, judgment, resurrection, second coming), then these saints would only take the supper until he comes. Before then, however, they would anxiously wait for His return and associated with the wait is fasting. Matthew 9:14-17 reads, Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do…
If the time statements do not mean anything, then the exhortations based on the time statements do not mean anything. In other words, if the statements are applicable in all ages, so are the specific exhortations relative to them. For example, if “at hand” does not mean “soon” and therefore applies to all generations, then…