Visible
Return:
Bible references to a visible return of Christ.
The case for complete literal fulfillment
of Bible prophecy by the end of the first century.
The following list of New Testament verses
shows consistent
biblical intent that first century Christians would live to see a
visible
return of Christ to gather His elect.
(All Scripture taken from the NASB)
Jesus to His twelve apostles:
...you shall not finish going through the cities of
Israel, until the Son
of Man comes. (Mt.10:23)
Jesus to His disciples:
...there are some of those who are standing here who
shall not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. (Mt.16:27,28)
Jesus to the high priest:
...hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at
the right hand of
Power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. (Mt.26:64)
Jesus to the disciples:
...there are some of those standing here who shall not
taste death until
they see the kingdom of God. (Lk.9:27)
Jesus to Nathanael:
...you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of
God ascending and
descending on the Son of Man. (Jn.1:51)
Jesus to Peter:
If I want him [John] to remain until I come, what is
that to you? You follow
Me! (Jn.21:22,23)
Jesus appeared to His Apostles after the crucifixion, and after
this, "He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud
received
Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky
while
He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them;"
and they said to the Men of Galilee:
This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven,
will come in just
the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. (Acts 1:9-11)
Paul to the church of God at Corinth:
...you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly
the revelation of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Cor.1:7,8)
Paul, Timothy and bond-servants of Christ, to all the saints who
were in Philippi:
...so that you may approve the things that are
excellent, in order to be
sincere and blameless until the day of Christ... (Phil.1:10)
...we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ... (Phil.3:20)
The Lord is near. (Phil.4:5)
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians:
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely;
and may your spirit
and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Thes.5:23)
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord
Jesus
Christ, and our gathering together to Him... (2Thes.2:1,2)
Paul to Timothy:
I charge you ... that you keep the commandment without
stain or reproach
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ ... (1Tim.6:13,14)
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who
is
to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
(2Tim.4:1)
...in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not
only
to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2Tim.4:8)
Paul to Titus:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation
to all men, instructing
us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,
righteously
and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing
of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave
Himself
for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for
Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus
2:11-14)
To the Hebrews:
For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands,
a mere copy of the
true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God
for us;... (Heb.9:24)
For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come , and will
not
delay. (Heb.10:37)
James to the twelve tribes who were dispersed abroad:
Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of
the Lord. (James 5:7)
...the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:8)
Peter to those who resided as aliens...according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father:
...you ... may be found to result in praise and glory
and honor at the
revelation of Jesus Christ. (1Pet.1:6,7)
...grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(1Pet.1:13)
He... has appeared in these last times for the sake of you...
(1Pet.1:20)
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing
in
which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good
deeds,
as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1Pet.2:12)
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading
crown
of glory. (1Pet.5:4)
John to those who believed in the name of the Son of God:
We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him,
because we shall see
Him just as He is. (1Jn.3:2)
The revelation of Jesus Christ communicated through John to His
bond-servants:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to
show to His bond-servants,
the things which must shortly take place... (Rv.1:1)
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even
those who pierced Him...(Rv.1:7)
I am coming quickly... (Rv.3:11)
...I am coming quickly. (Rv.22:7)
Behold, I am coming quickly... (Rv.22:12)
Yes, I am coming quickly. (Rv.22:20)
The first impression from these statements is the second coming
of Christ would be a physical and literal event which would be very
visibly
seen by those first generation Christians who had known Christ.
Links
A
Christian
Dilemma: time statements: Jesus taught that he would return a
second
time in the first century. Consequently, His disciples believed and
preached
He would return again in their generation. Although the first
Christians
were not informed of the day and hour of the Lord's return, Jesus
provided
a time frame for His second coming. See A
Christian Dilemma: time statements for a partial list of these time
statements.
Read the
historic
fulfillment of prophecy: PROPHECY PARADOX: The Case for a
First Century End Time is a book which carefully documents a case
for
complete fulfillment of all prophecy in the first century. This book
presents
a documented case for the literal second coming of Christ in A.D.79. It
is supported by extant Greek and Roman history in conjunction with
biblical
history. Sources for this book include The Life and Works of
Josephus
, a history of Rome by Dio Cassius, the Dead Sea
Scrolls and many others.
This book is unique in that the final climax is set in A.D.79 rather
than
A.D.70. PROPHECY PARADOX: The Case for a First Century End Time
by L.Schuldt can be ordered through Amazon.com
or through the publisher.
Creative
Christianity: New evidence is turning up that Jesus did indeed
return
for His elect, in power and glory during the first century. In our
attempt
to place the second coming of our Lord in OUR future, rather than the
generation
of the Apostles, are we creatively altering the Bible to suit our own
preference?
The
Seven Year
Tribulation Theory: True or False? A reevaluation of the Seven Year
Tribulation Theory: Numerous difficulties pose questions to its
credibility.
Bible
Prophecy:
Faulty Assumptions Faulty assumptions distort accurate assessment
of
Bible prophecy. Have you made any faulty assumptions? Check out this
list!
Tough
Questions
for Tough Christians If Jesus preached He would return a second
time
in the first century, perhaps we should consider He was right.
Link to other
preterist pages:
The Preterist Archive
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