It is impossible to properly teach the biblical "Last Days" and "Second Coming," without first recognizing the recurring patterns of apcalyptic language from the Old Testament.
For
example, in Isaiah 13:10, we read about the destruction of the ancient
city of Babylon. It is described in terms of the SUN, MOON and STARS
ceasing to function (does that sound familiar?).
Isaiah 13:10 ... "The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light."
This passage in Isaiah uses hyperbolic "apocalyptic language" (a common writing style in ancient Hebrew culture) to describe the judgment that was to come upon Babylon and its leaders.
That same "hyperbolic language" was used before judging ancient Egypt ...
In reading this chapter, we find that God used an opposing army to defeat Egypt.
Another example is in Amos 8:9. We find the same hyperbolic language where the Sun is darkened, and God uses the Assyrian army to defeat Samaria.
.
Then we come to Matthew 24 in which the same "apocalyptic language" is directed at Israel's leaders (the Levitical priesthood).
This time, God uses the Roman army to defeat apostate Israel.
All of these recurring references of the Sun, Moon, and Stars are dealing with the judgment coming upon a particular city or nation. This pattern started in Genesis 37 in Joseph's dream of the Sun, Moon, and Stars representing "Human Governing Powers." The pattern is also found in Matthew 24 ... this pertains to the Jewish leaders of Old Covenant Israel ... and those who continued to follow that covenant.
In recognizing these patterns over and over again, we begin to understand the meaning of the hyperbolic apocalyptic language.
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Let's look at all the Old Testament passages where God came "IN THE CLOUDS" to bring judgment ...
"Behold, the Lord rides on a SWIFT CLOUD,
and will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His
presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst." (Isa 19:1)
In that passage, did the Lord PHYSICALLY come "IN THE CLOUDS" ?? Not that we can tell. Did the hearts of the Egyptians literally melt ? NO ... This is hyperbolic language used to describe the judgment brought by the Assyrian army. Again, we need to recognize the recurring pattern of hyperbolic language used in Hebrew culture.
Here's another example ... He was said to have come "IN THE CLOUDS" in Zephaniah 1:14-15:
"The great day of the Lord is NEAR; It is NEAR and hastens QUICKLY. The noise of the DAY OF THE LORD
is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of
WRATH, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and
desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A DAY OF CLOUDS and thick darkness."
Doesn't that sound familiar ? Yet this passage is describing the judgment of Judah through the Babylonian captivity of 585 BC.
In Matthew 24, we find the same hyperbolic language
- which would have been very familiar to any Jew at the time. That
whole chapter is about the judgment of Old Covenant Israel in 70 AD.
Matt. 24:30
... “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then
all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man COMING ON THE CLOUDS of heaven, with power and great glory."
.
Revelation
1:7 ... "Behold He comes with the clouds, and will see Him every eye
indeed who Him pierced ...” (Young's Literal Translation).
.
Zechariah 12:10 clearly identifies who "every eye" referred to:
“I
will pour out on the HOUSE OF DAVID and on THE INHABITANTS OF
JERUSALEM, the SPIRIT of grace and of supplication, so that *THEY* will
LOOK ON ME whom *THEY* have pierced; and *THEY* will mourn for Him, as
one mourns for an only son, and *THEY* will weep bitterly over Him like
the bitter weeping over a firstborn."
IS THERE ANY PROOF THAT CHRIST ALREADY CAME BACK ??
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Tacitus (Roman historian & eye witness in 70AD) ...
"In
the sky appeared a vision of armies in conflict, of glittering armour. A
sudden lightening flash from the clouds lit up the Temple. The doors of
the holy place abruptly opened, a superhuman voice was heard to declare
that God was leaving it, and in the same instant came the rushing
tumult of departure." (Histories, Book 5, v. 13).
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Josephus (Jewish historian & eye witness in 70AD)...
"I
suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related
by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so
considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before
sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen
running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. Moreover, at
that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were going by night
into the inner [court of the] temple, as their custom was, to perform
their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they
felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a
sound as of a great multitude, saying, "Let us remove hence" (Jewish
Wars, VI-V-3).
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Eusebius (the earliest "Church" historian) ...
"For
before the setting of the sun chariots and armed troops were seen
throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and
encircling the cities" (Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, Book 3,
Chapter 8}
.
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WHAT THESE PEOPLE SAW ... was obviously of a SPIRITUAL NATURE (as they were quickened)
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