Jesus Christ Had Some Questions
Luke 18:8 ...... Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (KJV)
The questions Jesus is asking you today are -
1. Do you see His kingdom?
2. Have you entered it?
3. Do you have enough faith to believe He came back quickly as he had promised?
4. Did he quickly avenge those that were sent out by Him and then killed by the unbelieving Jews?
Again, can you believe Christ enough to take him at His word, Can you receive what he said and believe it?
Luke 18:7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (KJV)
Matt 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (KJV)
Did Christ listen to his persecuted people; many of whom were martyrs? Did he avenge them speedily?
Just what was the destruction of Jerusalem, and the temple and later the complete end of that nation, all about?
That destruction has no relative equal in history.
Elijah was to come before the great and terrible day of the LORD. He was first to prepare a way for the LORD.
In your mind was John the Baptist the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning this? If not, why not?
If you cannot accept this your view of the coming of Christ will obviously never fit the scriptures.
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: (KJV)
Matt 17:9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. (KJV)
Mark 9:13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him. (KJV)
Luke 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. (KJV)
Do you actually believe this angel lied to John the Baptist's father?
John 1:21 Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. (KJV)
Matt 11:9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. (KJV)
John the Baptist was not the resurrected Elias. However, he was ministering in that place and in his spirit. John was fulfilling the scriptures that had spoke of Elijah coming and preparing a way before the Lord. In that sense he was the Elijah that was to come.
The question Jesus asked of them and is now asking of you - can you receive this?
Let us consider St. John 3, before we look over the last few verses of Mal 4,
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (KJV)
The context here points to the fact that those who either see the Kingdom or go so far as to enter it are doing so on a spiritual level; so, it evidently is not a physical kingdom.
Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (KJV)
Matt 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mark 13:21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: (KJV)
If we accept these passages as they are written we should never expect to see Christ return in a bodily form or with a physical body.
Yes, He was to come and be seen, in some sense.
However, he was to seen be as lightening is viewed across the great expanse of the heavens and not limited to the semblance of a human body. A limited singular, human like, physical body could not be seen in this manner.
Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (KJV)
There are two or three aspects to Christ's ascension.
1. He was taken up.
2. A cloud received him.
3. He disappeared from their view, into that cloud.
We know from several other texts that he was to come back either on or in clouds and that he was to be seen.
Question: Again -does this mean that He was necessarily to be seen in a bodily form, or could his return have been limited to his only being seen in the sense of there being some very significant, symbolic, clouds at the time of His return, in power. Such as the clouds of destruction and calamity that fell on the world during the end of Nero's reign and at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, all of which have been said were fulfillment of Christ's very words.
The context of the several scriptures all agree on the aspect of clouds. Again, - On the basis of the texts above it would seem that he was never to be seen anywhere in a bodily form. (Such as Mark 13:21 above.)
This also seems to provide more substantial evidence that Christ did indeed come back during that time and did indeed avenge his servants speedily.
CLOUDS?
Deut 33:26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
Ps 18:10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
Ps 68:34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
Isa 19:1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Matt 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
Matt 26:63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Again - When these several passages are considered we see that it is not necessary to expect Christ to have came in a visible bodily human like form. The coming of God, and or Christ, in or with, or on clouds, is not meant to portray them as being seen in a bodily human type form. Each of these scriptures agree with the others on the aspect of Clouds, but not on a physical bodily human form. This is the context.
He was to be seen setting on the right hand of power and yet, at the same time, he was also to be seen coming.
Daniel appears to have seen both Christ and God at the same time. That is if you take his vision literally. But should you? I do not. You might ask why not?
For, the Ancient of Days is God and He fills the universe, so how could this be visualized in a literal way?
Malachi 4.
Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. ---
These passages tell us that even though Elijah was coming to turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers, that in fact his ministry would not be effective enough to prevent the land from being cursed.
Again, from studying the several passages above we know that Jesus said Elias did that through the ministry of John, yet that land was smitten, for the majority rejected him and he was killed.
The book of Revelation details in a symbolic way just what happened to Israel in fulfillment of these prophecies. There were terrible calamities that came upon Israel and the Roman Empire prior to and including the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, all of which were in fulfillment of the terrible Day of the LORD.
Israel was the Babylon who had killed all of the prophets and according to what the NT says she was to be dealt with shortly and she was.
Back to the questions; did Jesus find faith when he came and destroyed Jerusalem? And do Christians in general accept John the Baptist as being the fulfillment of Elijah's ministry just ahead of that terrible and great Day?
Notice, if the people would have accepted Christ and believed that John the Baptist was His fore-runner then the land would not have been cursed.
It seems apparent that until the Church accepts these things the fullness of Kingdom blessings will not arrive. Remember St. John three. This chapter details how we are to see Christ. Do you see Him?
Do you remember Christ's answer to those who wanted to see him? The Greeks. He said several times that where ever the master was there his servants would be.
People keep asking about the lion eating straw, etc. (Isaiah 11.) This was to happen if the people received John and Jesus. Christ's kingdom is here, but unbelief is thwarting its fullness. These things have happened in a symbolic sense in the Church, and it will happen in the world in another sense, as Christians become more positive about Christ having returned - but ....?
It is necessary for us to understand that the spiritual is infinitely superior to the physical. By over emphasizing and demanding that Jesus be seen coming back in a physical bodily form we are implying that every believer, and this includes doubting Thomas before he saw Jesus, have missed something far superior to seeing Christ by faith. However, Jesus countered this when he spoke to Thomas.
Until we accept Christ's words we should not expect to really see, as per St. John Three, or see all the earthly effects of all of the greatness of His kingdom.
As we refuse to see him as having already came back, in keeping with what he said, we are changing the message of the book of Revelation from one of victory to one of prolonged agony. In effect we are saying the Gates of hell were able to stop the Church. These verses must all be accepted and acted on by faith. However, the opposite is now happening. The message of these verses are being argued against and openly denied. I have read some of these to people and pointed them out and they immediately said they did not believe them. In doing so Christians are accepting erroneous prophetical messages that are filled with speculation and that are based on a few scriptures taken out of context and are then elevating them and pitting them against the clear words of Christ and the NT. To a great extent this attitude stops the realization of the earthly portion of the kingdom. Christ finds little or no faith here. The result is displayed in the nightly news. Terrorist activity and uneasiness over Israel. The plagues portrayed in the Book Of Revelation are happening today, in direct response to our unbelief. (Is this nothing more then my opinion?)
V. M.