Man came
forth with an innate sense of the divine. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards,
discord was sown into his heart. Even so, man has sought to attain the divine
throughout his history. Yet, as a result of this discord, man's attempts have, for
the most part, been for his own self-serving purposes.
Both Peter
and Paul, in their epistles, describe a period of time they call the end of
"the last days." These are
the most discordant of times. At the end of the last days Paul writes that men,
will become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God and that men will be
lovers of their own selves. Today, the epitome of man being a lover of his own
self has come forth with the announcement of the first cloned individual. This
successful attempt is not the first self serving attempt to bring forth perfect
man. Just before the Noahatic flood, man, by then present means, by his own
hands attempted to bring forth what God intends and only can achieve.
Some may
scoff that this first replication of an individual is the epitome of man loving
his own self. They may say that man is the same today as he has always been and
that this cloning indicates nothing about the deteriorating condition of man in
relation to God. Yet, when corresponding current events are also taken into
consideration the condition of the times should not be readily “shrugged off.”
In Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians, he prophetically writes that when they, who do not trust in the Lord, shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. It is interesting in light of current events that the word for safety in the Greek language has an underlying sense of saying, “we shall not fail.” Today, world leaders, themselves are blatantly and arrogantly saying, “we shall not fail” to bring economic, social, and governmental unity to this present world. In antithesis to the spirit of Christ they use illusion and violence to bring forth their corrupted sense of divine’s intention.
It is also interesting in light of prophesied heavenly events that the Greek word for sudden in the phrase, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, means “without light or darkness.” This is Joel’s prophesied day of Lord for which Peter looked diligently. Joel describes it as a day of darkness.
For those who consider these things as signposts in the degradation of
man's attempt, by his own means, to attain the divine, prayerful thought and
study should be given to what lies beyond the end of these last days.
This extensive study covers the following
topics:
Peter's Second Epistle
The Subject of Peter's Second Epistle
The Second Beloved of Peter’s Second Epistle
Two Flocks
Considerations on the Day of
Darkness
Deliverance for the Beloved
Messengers of Deliverance
Two Groups and Two Events
The Manifestation of the Saints and the Out
Resurrection
Considerations on the Evangelical Doctrine of the
“Rapture”
A Time Line of the Second Heaven and Earth
Epilogue
The second
epistle of Peter is the most succinct and reliable framework for "end
times" events from the perspective of the "faithful in Christ
Jesus."
Although
there is a great deal of substantiation for Peter and Paul's "end
times" revelations from the Old Testament prophets, the prophets were each
seeing chords of truth that had taken earlier incremental steps toward
fulfillment and were not fully blended together. They, also, in their then
present understanding, through the terminology and belief of their culture,
were looking primarily to the salvation of Israel. After the crucifixion, Peter
and Paul were able to see these strands more clearly and weave them together
into a more expansive tapestry.
In contrast
to Paul’s revelation, the author of the book of Revelation based his work on
the law and misaligned interpretation of Old Testament prophesies. It seems
most likely that he was either ignorant of, or purposely contrary to Paul's
revelation of the mystery. The book was written decades after Paul’s death and originated
from the one area of which Paul had said that everyone had turned away from his
message. What is termed as the " better and/or out resurrection" that
was so important to the apostle Paul is only vaguely alluded to in the book of
Revelation. The manifestation of the saints and their purposes are never
clearly defined in the book. Throughout the book special favor is given to
being Jewish while Paul had made it clear that there was no longer to be a
distinction between Jew and Gentile. In considerate reasoning from
scripture, all offers of future mercy and the ministration of a kingdom
exclusively composed of Israelites derived from Old Testament records was
accomplished and ended within the forty years of Jesus’ ministry, the
ministries of Peter and Paul and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem. Today
the Old Testament records and gospels and their former exclusive application to
Israel are now types that are to be expanded and applied to all mankind
regardless of bloodline. There is never again to be exclusivity applied to
bloodline Israel.
In addition,
even though Peter wavered in mid ministry, according to Paul's epistle to the
Galatians, he became familiar with Paul's revelation and more fully understood
and accepted it in his later ministry. Silvanus, who had traveled extensively
with Paul, was with Peter in Peter's late ministry in Babylon. Peter, at the
end of his second epistle, writes that Paul, in all of his epistles, also
writes of the things about which Peter is writing in his last epistle.
Paul's
confrontation of Peter in Antioch of Syria revived Peter's ministry. At the
time Peter was slipping back under the law, rather than remaining in faith, due
to the influence of those in Jerusalem who believed, yet were still zealous for
the law. When Peter returned to Jerusalem his eyes were opened to the
corruption in Jerusalem. His immediate response is unknown. His eventual
response was to leave Jerusalem and reposition his ministry in Babylon.
(Later, after Peter's Galatian experience with Paul, when Paul returns to Jerusalem for his final appeal to those in the nation of Israel, it is evident that the original apostles were not present. In all previous records in Acts, when Paul returns to Jerusalem from his journeys, it is recorded that the apostles were present, yet in the final record only James and elders were recorded as being present. The epistle of first Peter, written to the dispersed tribes of Israel was written from Babylon, as stated within. Babylonian rabbinical letters of the fourth century attest to Peter's former presence in Babylon and subjectively indicate that his success was limited. Why relocate to Babylon? Babylon, at that time, had the largest number of Jewish inhabitants of any city other than Jerusalem. Many were Jews who did not return after the Babylonian captivity and were considered to be more open-minded than those in Jerusalem.)
In his second
epistle, chapter two, verses ten through twenty-two, Peter addresses the
condition of those who have forsaken his ministration and that of the other
apostles. He concludes by writing, "But it is happened unto them according
to the true proverb, “The dog is turn to his own vomit again; and the sow that
was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
One of the
things most important to Peter after the resurrection of Jesus yet before his
ascension was knowledge of when Jesus Christ was to establish the kingdom for
Israel. Jesus, at that time, said that it was not for Peter to know the times
and seasons. He was told that he was to receive power on the forthcoming day of
Pentecost and, thereby, become a witness of all that Jesus said and did unto
the uttermost part of the earth.
The first
revelation after the day of Pentecost was that of the times and the seasons from
the Old Testament prophecy of Joel. There are five sequential elements within
the section recorded in Acts, chapter two, and verse seventeen through
twenty-one. At this time and within this particular record one sees the extent
and the Old Testament source for Peter's new understanding. Later in Peter's
second epistle, one continues to see his faith in the words of the Old
Testament prophets. He writes, "For the prophecy came not in old time by
the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit." One can also sense that
at this later date Peter had a reliance on Paul's writings. He ends the epistle
by writing about the similar points within all of Paul's epistles.
In the
Biblically recorded progression of Peter's ministry one sees the fulfillment of
the instructions given to him by Jesus Christ just before Jesus' ascension.
First Peter centers his ministry on those in Jerusalem and Judea. Then he moves
to Babylon among the dispersion from which he writes his first epistle that is
addressed to those scattered. Then one sees that the second epistle of Peter is
not addressed to a specific group other than those of faith. This final epistle
is intended, according to Peter's own testimony within the epistle's context,
to go well beyond his own lifetime.
Here in his
second epistle, near the end of his natural life, after Paul's subsequent
revelation, Peter had become more fully aware of the pattern of the coming
times and seasons. This pattern, given at the ending of his life, was the
"sum and substance" of this message and the finality of his temporal
ministry that has now, in this day, reached unto the uttermost parts of the
earth.
*For more detail see the article Considerations on
the Spuriousness of the Book of Revelation
The subject of
Peter's second epistle appears in the first chapter and in the sixteenth verse.
For we have not followed
cunningly devise fables, when we made know unto you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ….
The English
word coming is the word parousia in the Greek texts. Parousia
is a state produced by a thing arriving along side another thing. It is not an
instantaneous event. It includes the span of a particular condition.
Before this
verse, in the same chapter and in verse eleven, there is an affirmative noun
and a descriptive verb pertaining to this condition of the parousia.
For so an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
savior Jesus Christ.
In this verse
the noun entrance is the Greek word eisodos. Eisodos is
composed of the word eis, which means motion unto a point with an
emphasis on the motion, and hodos, which literally means a road and
figuratively means a means of progress.
The Greek
verb for ministered has a unique descriptive meaning. In the Greek texts
it is the word epichoregeo. One meaning is to furnish beside. This word,
epichoregeo, is a compound word composed of two Greek words. Epi the
prefix, means over or down upon and choregeo, from its roots, means the
leadership of circling singers and dancers.
This word
becomes most revealing when one considers that on several occasions Jesus
likened the entrance into the kingdom to an Eastern wedding feast and that one
of the primary elements of the elongated feast was a circuitous choral dance
around the town by the groom and his party the night prior to the ending of the
feast. The final act of this circuitous wedding dance occurred when his party
of singers and dancers preceded the groom from this peripheral dance around the
village to its center. When they
arrived, the bride's party came out to meet them as the groom came forward through
his party unveiling himself.* Both Peter and Paul refer to this as the coming
of a thief in the night as translated in the English language. They also refer
to it as the apocalypse. The three words, thief, veil and apocalypse
in the Greek language have a common family member. It is the Greek word kalupto,
which means to cover or hide. Apocalypse literally means away with the
veil.
This
wedding dance itself was patterned from antiquity upon the interrelationships
of the cycling of the nightly heavenly bodies from the east to the west along the
ecliptic of the sun. (Psalm 19) This final act of the apocalypse or
taking away of the veil was also based on the unique activity of the stellar
bodies. In the later context of this chapter, in verse nineteen, Peter refers
to these lights of the heavens just after writing of Jesus' glorious
transfiguration on the Mount.
The subject
of Peter's epistle is the period of time of entrance into the Lord's
everlasting kingdom in which the lights of the heavens play a central role.
Next one
needs to consider to whom this epistle was addressed. In the introductory
sentence those to whom Peter is writing are identified as those who have
"obtained like precious faith with us." Can one find more, in the
context of this epistle, that elucidates upon the "us of faith" and
"you of like faith" of this epistle from Peter?
*For more details see An Eastern Wedding
Feast
As with all epistles
Peter was sending this epistle to his followers yet in the introductory
sentence he tells his present followers that he is writing to another group in
addition to his then present followers. He identifies the other group as them
who have obtained like precious promises with us.
In chapter
three, verse one, there is a clarification as to whom the they are. In
the King James Version the translators rendered the initial phrase of this
verse as;
This second epistle, beloved, I
now write unto you…
In the uncial
Greek texts that A.E. Knoch used for his ultra literal translation, the word
order in the Greek and translation for this phrase is such;
This already beloved second to
you I am writing epistle…
J. Gresham
Machen, in his Greek grammar books, writes that the word order in Greek is the
same as the English except for emphasis or euphony. The King James translators
moved the noun epistle to a remote position in the phrase to be modified
by the adjective second. Although this is contrary to standard translation
according to word order, it is understandable since both epistle and second
have accusative case endings in the Greek language while the word beloved has
a nominative case ending. According to the Greek rules of grammar the case
ending of both noun and its modifiers must agree. Yet, according to Machen
there are exceptions. One he terms as "accusative of specification"
and is used in other places Biblically for numerical specification. According
to its application an adjective ending in the accusative can make specification
to a nominative case ending noun. When applying this principle and the
principle of word order, this phrase may be translated as such:
This already, second beloved, to
you I am writing an epistle...
As written in
this epistle, Peter knew that his life was ending soon. He also knew that Jesus
had told him that he, Jesus, had another flock that were not of that present
fold of which Peter was then an integral part. Here, you might say, are Peter's
"dying words" to a future group of like faith to whom an abundant
entrance into the kingdom of God would be ministered.
The Greek
word for another used in the statement by Jesus concerning the second
flock, is allos. It means another of the same kind in greater quantity
and/or quality. In his first epistle, Peter writes of these two flocks by
characterizing the differences of the time periods in which they are brought
forth. He, was, as stated by Jesus and evidenced by history, a part of the
first flock.
Searching what, or what manner of
time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified
beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. I
Peter 1:11
Another
confirmation, within the epistle, that Peter was writing primarily to the
distant flock of which he would, in culmination, also become a part, is in
chapter one, verse fifteen.
Moreover I will endeavor that ye
may after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
In this verse
hekastote is the Greek word for always. It is a very different
word than the underlying Greek word that is translated always in verse
twelve.
Wherefore I will not be negligent
to put you always in remembrance of these things
That word is aie
and means continuously. The word hekastote
in verse fifteen is a compound word composed of the words hekas, to,
and te. Hekas means far off. To is the definite article
and te is a primary enclitic which means both or also with emphasis on
the later part of the two.
Here, in Peter’s second epistle, he is
writing primarily to the later part or second part of the flock of which he
knew would not appear until the time of the glories of Christ.
Peter refers
to the lights of the heavens as prophetic. In the center of the heavens, on a clear
night, one can see both Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. The ancient Eastern names
for these two signs are "the little flock" and "the greater
flock." Separating these two, one can see the sign of Draco spread across
the present center of the heavens. This is the "manner of time"
between the sufferings and the glories of Christ that Peter referred to in his
first epistle.
Paul
describes this period of time in several ways.
It is the period of man's day that Paul refers to in his epistles. Jesus
describes it as the times of the Gentiles. The ending of the last days is
described as a time when men will be lovers of their own selves rather than
lovers of the truth and will scoff at the coming of the Lord. In this regard it is most interesting that
the introduction to the book of Hebrews begins "at the end of the last
days" according to George Berry's Greek-English New Testament Lexicon.
After this introduction the book proceeds beyond the end of the last days.
After these
intervening last days of separation between the first flock and the second
flock, during man's day, come the glories of Christ. As the sufferings of
Christ covered a relatively short period of time so to will the glories of
Christ. Paul wrote of this "bookend" period of time as a short work
of righteousness in the book Romans. The Greek word for work in this
verse is logos and means a communication. Paul also, within the context
of his exemplary warning to the Corinthians from the history of Israel in the
wilderness, described the then current church as those upon whom the two ends
of the age are come. Even James wrote symbolically of these ends as the former
rain, during which the ground was softened for plowing and planting, and the
heavier later rain that brought the crops to maturity. When we consider that
the church of the first century was within the sufferings of Christ and that
its faithful members will, in the Lord's day, be resurrected in the "out
resurrection" to stand together with subsequent faithful others of the
second flock, as the combined greater flock, in the glories of Christ to end
this age, the statement Paul made to the early church relating to the ends of
the age becomes clear.
The Lord's
Day, in which this short work will be manifested upon earth, follows man's day.
This will be a time requiring sanctification of the spirit and faithfulness to
the truth for those in mortality or, in other words, naturally alive during
this time. This day will reveal the glories of Christ when the earlier flock
will eventually be raised from the corruptibility of the grave and combined
with those alive. With the changing of faithful mortals and this "out
resurrection" or “first rising,” of the faithful who have died out from
among all the other dead. The other dead will eventually be resurrected for
their own judgment based on works rather than faith. After this final
resurrection of the just and unjust the millennial kingdom will begin.
Second Time Period from Peter's Epistle
In the
section from chapter one, verse sixteen through verse twenty-one there is an
overview of and the basis for Peter's prophetic words concerning the parousia.
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made
know unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. For he received from God the father honor and glory, when there
came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased. And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard, when
we were with him in the holy mount. We have a more sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shinneth in a dark
place, until the day dawn and the day star arise. In your hearts, knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of men but holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. II Peter 1:16-21
First he
likens the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ unto the events on the
Mount of Transfiguration of which he was an eyewitness. Then he goes on to say
that there is a more sure prophetic word than this record of this voice on the
mount for the entrance into the parousia . In this verse he writes of “a
light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the daystar
arise." It is to this one phrase that is more certain or firm in relation
to the power and coming of the Lord that Peter earmarks to which the church to
pay closest attention.
In the English translations of the Peshitta
texts this phrase is highlighted as a figure of speech by parenthesis. The
phrase “in you hearts” that follows the parenthetical expression in the this
translation belongs at the beginning of the next verse since it is outside the
parenthesis. Even in the standard King James Version translations from the
Greek “in your hearts” is not distinctly separated from “knowing this first.”
It seems that in uncertainty the phrase’s placement was divided from verse
twenty by only a colon rather than a period. Another proper way of handling
this dangling prepositions phrase, “in your hearts” would be to place it as a
modifier of “take heed” which precedes the parenthetical expression. In either
case “in your hearts” does not modify “day star.”
The Greek
word for light in this phrases is luchnos means a portable source of
light which is lit and extinguished. It could and does a times refer to what
would be multiple sources of light from a singular lamp stand as in the Hebrew
Menorah. In this important sequence of phrases the Greek word, auchemeros,
for dark is used singularly in scripture and means dusty, obscure or
cloudy. The Greek word for place is topos, which means a space in
place or time, or condition of opportunity
limited in occupancy. The English
word day is hemera in the Greek and means a period of time, most
especially a day. One needs to keep in mind that a day in Hebrew culture began
at sunset rather than sunrise. The word dawn in the Greek is diaugazo and
means glimmer through. It is never translated as morning. The word
daystar is very interesting. It is phosphoros and is used singularly in
scripture and as such is not the Greek word translated as star or stars
in many other places in scripture. It is never translated star or planet in
secular Greek either. In secular Greek it does refer to the planet Venus only
when preceded by the enclitic article ho. Here in the phrase the is not
the article ho or any other article. Other times in secular Greek it means
light bringer. At times it is used as a torch bearer of dieties, a singular eye
when used with the Greek word for eye, and a title of a priestess who is a
torch bearer. It is a compound word. Phos means to bring forth light or
shine. At its root it means to disclose or make manifest. Phoros means
to carry or bear. The word for rise is anatello and is used of heavenly
bodies. It means to cause to rise to the limit, purpose or result. Its prefix ana
indicates a repetitive action with tello indicating limit or conclusion
or purpose.
As one
considers the context of the phrase, the definitions of the words, and the
importance Easterners’ placed on celestial events heralding the changes in
spiritual seasons and Peter’s emphasis on this as something of which to take
heed, a picture begins to emerge.
Peter is
writing to the second beloved who he knows will not come until a day in the
future after his demise. He is writing to them of an entrance that is to be
ministered unto them and a more sure word of prophecy regarding the advent of
that entrance. The definitions of the words point to celestial lights. From the
earliest of Biblical events lights in the heavens have been the moving force of
the development through men of God’s unfolding plan of salvation. Abraham’s
seed where to be as the stars in heaven. Moses was to design the tabernacle
according to the pattern shown him in the heavens. The Biblical listing of
scriptures relating to the movement of man’s soul from observations of
celestial events in God’s plan goes on and on. Here in this phrase, “a light
that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the daystar arise,” Peter
is pointing to celestial events as a more sure foundation for expectation of
entry into the transitory period that shall usher in the kingdom of God which
he had so ardently desired from the time when he first started as an apostle of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
In
consideration of recent and upcoming celestial events one should consider that
what Peter wrote about in this verse is now on the doorstep. For the observant
and concerned there have been a repetitive series of celestial events that fit
the description of Peter in this important phrase. After sunset in the western
skies as viewed from Jerusalem during the Hebrew spring feast season that spans
the time between Passover and Pentecost there has be a repetitive pattern of
naked eye visible comets that pass through or will pass through the cloudy
Milky Way that spans from the sign Pisces, through the sign of Taurus without
interruption to the sign Gemini when they are at their brightest. What is most
astounding is that they have appeared or will appear in associated pairs on
three different occasions! Biblically two is the number for confirmation or
conclusiveness and the number three Biblically denotes completion. In the
spring of 1996and 1997 respectively, comets Hyakutake and Hale Bopp passed at
their brightest through Peruses in the Milky Way. In 2002, comets Utsunomiya
and Ikeya Zhang had their paths intersect near Andromeda in the spring feast
season. In 2004, Linear T7 and Neat Q4 will pass directly through the cloudy
Milky Way and intersect in their individual paths at their brightest in a spot
close to Sirius the brightest star in heavens. What is here are multiple lights
as a lamp stand, again and again, breaking through the cloudy place of the
Milky Way, condensed in time, at the beginning, each time, of a new day
according to Hebrew reckoning. In light of this could it very well be the more
sure word of prophesy that Peter wrote to the second beloved? Only soon coming
the time will reveal it.
In
consideration of this entrance into that which Peter was writing to the second
beloved one should go on to consider what this time period entails. The prophet
Joel, whom Peter quoted in his first proclamation to Israel after the day of
Pentecost, wrote of a day of darkness in which there would be a generation like
none before and none after. Jesus spoke of a generation in which all things
would be fulfilled. In the immediate context prior to this statement about
fulfillment, Jesus describes a time period when the heavens shall be shaken
resulting in distress of the peoples of the earth with the waves of the sea
roaring and men's hearts failing. Paul writes of the parousia as a
period of consumption of the wicked one which ends with a final destruction at
the epiphany of Christ’s personal parousia. The writer of Hebrews
describes this period of time when the heavens and the earth are shaken as
Christ speaking from heaven in contrast to the time when Jesus spoke on the
earth.
A generation
was considered as a forty-year period of time in Eastern culture. The book of
Hebrews mentions a forty-year period of time when it refers to the reign of
David, which lasted forty years, and the wandering of the children of Israel in
the wilderness that also lasted forty years. It also refers to this time as the
"another day" that Jesus spoke of. The Old Testament prophet Micah
wrote, "According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will
I shew unto him marvelous things." Micah continues from this verse to
describe the distress of nations and then the mercy to be shown to the faithful
in Christ Jesus as represented, then, by former bloodline Israel.
Even today,
outside of scripture, there are early church traditions that still exist
marking this forty-year period of time. Although this is so, the roots of the
traditions may be somewhat obscured from their original basis. In Damascus of
Syria, where once stood one of the largest Christian worship centers, there is
now a mosque with one minaret dedicated to the forty-year time period in which
Jesus will return for judgment. Likewise, the early church tradition of lent in
which ashes were daubed on the forehead and adherents sacrificed for their beliefs
for forty days prior to Easter may very well had its foundation in the belief
of this forty-year time period. Even the Egyptian Book of the Dead
speaks of a forthcoming generation of the gods.
This forty-year time of opportunity for the
“another” flock of like faith or the second beloved is a time of trail yet with
the sustenance of the Holy Spirit and, as one will see, a time to be co-joined
with messengers who bring forth victorious deliverance for the one body of
Christ.
Where does
this wind carried dust originate that causes this time period of darkness and
what causes the waves of the sea to roar during this time period? Peter likens
the deliverance of this time period to the deliverance of Lot from Sodom and
Gomorrha. In the Old Testament record of this event God rained down fire and
brimstone from heaven upon these two cities. In Peter's account the word overthrow
is used. This word, in the Greek, means to scatter down upon. Where could have
this fire and brimstone come from? Reasonable sources would be the meteoric
debris trail of a comet trail or concentrations of solar plasma entering the
lower atmosphere.
In more
recent observations singular meteors entering the earth's atmosphere leave long
dust trails that linger in the atmosphere. There are also sonic booms and
radiant energy expended. From examination of some meteor craters on the earth’s
surface there has been enough radiant energy and corresponding plasma released
to melt sand into glass. And with the solar plasma incursion in Tunguska during
1908, there would be enough energy to melt steel.
In the third
chapter this epistle, to the second beloved, Peter writes again of this element
of the parauosia.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements melt with a fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up. II Peter 3:10
In this
verse, during this day of the Lord, there is great whizzing with crashes that
pass beside from the heavens, the elements are loosened, and the works that are
in the earth are burned from top to bottom by something that comes down upon
them according to Greek word meanings from Strong’s Analytical Concordance.
This again sounds like the results either a large high speed solid body
striking the earth or an act similar to the Tunguska event of 1908.
Where does
the apostle Paul write of these event? In II Thessalonians, chapter two, verse
eight Paul writes, within the context of the parousia, the following:
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom
the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming.
In this verse the
word consume is the Greek word analisko, which means to use up or
gobble up. The prefix ana indicates repetitive action while the root
word, lisko, is derived from the obsolete Greek word hellomai.
This word, hellomai, is within the same word family as the Greek word hellos,
which means a ray of light. When hellos is preceded by the definite
article the it refers to the sun while without the definite article it
refers more generally to any or all other luminous bodies or events in the
heavens. So this repetitive action of using up the wicked one relates to
luminous bodies or events. The English
word mouth in the underlying Greek text is the word stoma, which
has, as one of several meanings, an opening or gash. Yes, as with all geomagnetic storms, the magnetosphere is opened
as a gash by perturbations or deviations of its force lines that span from the
North to the South Pole. It is the disruption of these magnetic forces that
allow the plasma of the solar wind to penetrate the ionosphere producing
auroras and, in the very worst case, concentrations of solar plasma reaching
the lower atmosphere sometimes striking the earth like the Tunguska 1908
incursion.
It was the
opening of the widows of heaven that caused the Noahatic flood. With the
previous in mind it is telling that Peter, just before his reference to Lot's
deliverance from Sodom and Gomorrha, writes, as an example, of the former
Noahatic flood as the means of destroying the ungodly. (Scientists have found
meteor and /or asteroid impact craters on the sea floor. They have performed
computer simulations on the results of impacts in the ocean. Moderate sized
meteors cause tidal waves of significant proportions - enough to devastate a
coastal city.) These events, as first described by Jesus, would certainly cause
men's hearts to fail in the condition of a dark place, especially if they were
unaware of the spiritual truths relating to them.
Deliverance for the Beloved
How then are
the godly to be delivered out of this time period of darkness punctuated by
luminous bodies? Paul writes in his epistle to the Romans in chapter fifteen
that the things written aforetime were written for learning so that they might
have hope. So, in many ways, the things of the Old Testament have pertinent
meaning for the future. An example would be Jesus statement that as Moses
lifted up the serpent on the pole so shall the son of man be lifted up. In the
Mosaic record the children of Israel, while wandering in the wilderness, were
being bitten by snakes. Moses killed a snake and lifted it upon a pole so that
when the children of Israel attentively gazed upon it they were healed of the
venomous effects of the snakebites. Within this record one sees the actual
event and a symbolic representation although not an exact replication, of the
effects of the future event of the cross. Within an Old Testament record there
may be multiple and layered symbolism representing the reality of future events
that, with understanding, brings hope.
Like wise in
Peter's second epistle one sees a past event that has similitude to a much
larger future event. In chapter two, one sees Peter's reference to Lot's
deliverance out of Sodom and Gomorrha. Then he writes that the Lord knows how
to deliver the godly. In what manner was Lot delivered? First, messengers came to Lot and warned him
of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha. Lot, his two unmarried
daughters and his wife believed the messengers, though his married sons did
not. When the day came the two messengers grabbed a hold of the believing and
took them outside of the city as Sodom and Gomorrha were being destroyed.
Contrary to the instructions of the messengers, Lot's wife turned back and was
vaporized by the heat leaving only a pile of salts. Lot and his daughters
continued and came to rest within a cave. It was within this cave that a new
bloodline of Lot was engendered through his two daughters. When they eventually
came up from the darkness of the cave, the daughters were carrying the new life
of Lot.
In the first
epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter one, verse ten, Paul writes that Jesus
delivers those who turn to the living God from the coming wrath. The word from
is apo in most Greek texts. Apo means away from. In some Greek texts
the word from is ek that means out from. In either case those who
are faithful are delivered from the wrath of the Lord's Day, as Lot and his two
daughters were delivered from the wrathful destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha.
In the future,
this series of geophysical and astrophysical events will produce the period of
wrath out of which, or away from which, messengers will deliver those of faith.
Who then will these messengers be and whom will they deliver?
Paul's epistle
to the Ephesians is addressed to these two differing groups. The introductory
sentence identifies these two groups.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will
of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ
Jesus:
The two
groups are joined in the statement by the Greek conjunction kai. Kai
is a conjunction of annexation and joins two distinct things together. As
Ephesians is read and attention is given to the pronouns we and you
it becomes evident that Paul, as a saint among saints, is addressing both the
saints, as we, and the faithful in
Christ Jesus, as you. Again, as in
many places in this epistle and others, in the third chapter in the fifteenth
verse, he indicates the address is to two groups.
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth
is named,
Kai is also the conjunction used for and
in this verse. The Greek texts have the preposition epi before the word earth
in this verse in contrast to the preposition en before the word heaven.
Grammatically this kai strengthens the distinction between the part of
the family that is heavenly and the part of the family that is upon earth.
As Paul is
approaching the conclusion in this epistle he writes of the marriage
relationship of husbands and wives and their distinctive functions within one
body. He then ends the section with this statement:
This is a great mystery: but I
speak concerning Christ and the church.
When one goes
to the Greek texts that preceded the English translations, a pattern of primary
feminine gender nouns associated with those of faith and primary masculine
gender nouns associated with the saints emerges. Even in the English one can
see, on rare occasions, differentiations assigned by masculine and feminine
words. For example, Paul, in his second
epistle to the Corinthians, says that if those that have begun to believe
remove themselves from the world's methods they will become mature sons and
daughters.
The word agois,
in the Greek language, is the word that is translated saint in the
English language. Agios has as a meaning from The Analytical Greek
Lexicon, as those who are set apart from the common condition. The common
condition of the church is faith unto righteousness, and that faith being
accounted by God as righteousness itself. On the other hand, the condition of
the saints is righteousness. In Hebrews chapter eleven, verse seven the King
James translation reads that Noah "became
heir of the righteousness which is by faith," yet the Greek reads, "was heir of the righteousness which is
by faith." On the other hand, as to the condition of Abraham, who is
called the father of faith, the Greek text, in verse nine, reads that by faith
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were the "joint heirs of the same promise."
In regard to this and Peter's closing to the second beloved of like
faith, Isaiah, chapter sixty three, verse sixteen becomes more revealing.
Isaiah, as he pleads for himself as a heavenly one, within a context that
includes Moses, writes:
Doubtless thou art our
father, though Abraham be ignorant of
us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer;
thy name is from everlasting. (In the following proximate context he continues,
"Oh that thou would rend the heavens")
The Hebrew
word that is translated acknowledge in this verse means to see to the
end of fully recognizing. Peter, who writes to those of like faith, qualifies
the apostle Paul's writing on the same subject in his epistles, saying that in
them are some things hard to be understood. Even at that time, when Peter
wrote, prior to the coming apocalypse for those of faith, the reality of
the saints was translucent and will remain so until the events of the parousia
unfold.
In his second
epistle, Peter also reveals this pattern of two types within the body of
Christ. He likens his experience with James, and John upon the Mount of
Transfiguration to the events of the coming of the Lord. In this experience
Jesus, Moses and Elijah were clothed in light while they, the three apostles,
were not.
This record in Matthew, chapter seventeen
begins with the statement, "after six days," and then describes the
event on the mount. According to the day age theory that is based on Peter's
statement that a day in the Lord's mind is equal to one thousand years, the
symbolism of this event is now within reach of reality since it has been about
six thousand years since the record of the beginning of modern man's creation.
In regards to
the appearance of Moses and Elijah one sees the saints who never, in the
heavenly sense, die. The book of Hebrews refers to these as those after the
order of Melchisedec with an endless life. In chapter seven, verse eleven,
verse thirteen, and verse fifteen the word another preceding priesthood is the Greek word hetros,
which means another of a different kind. In verse twenty-three, the author
describes one of the differences. He writes, referring to the more evident
Levitical priesthood, that it was subject to death while throughout the book he
reiterates that the other priesthood of a different kind had neither beginning
of days or end of life as Melchisedec.
In verses thirteen and fourteen are two words that show that this other
priesthood is a group with Jesus Christ as the High Priest, as declared in the
first verse of chapter three of Hebrews. In verse thirteen, this group is
defined as a tribe and in verse fourteen, as in the majority of Greek texts
used to compile the Greek Interlinear by Berry, the word priesthood is
plural.
If therefore perfection were by the Levitical
priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was
there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not
after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of
necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are spoken
pertaineth to another tribe of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For
it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake
nothing concerning priesthood. And yet it is far more evident: for after the
order of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, who is made, not after the
law of a carnal commandment but after the power of an endless life.
(In this
regard to the establishment of two differing groups during the Lord's coming,
it is an interesting confirmation that Eziekel's vision of the Oblation of the
Millennial City included two equally sized portions - one for the Levites
and one for the priests with the sanctuary being within the priests' portion.)
The apostle
Paul was clearly a saint among saints with an endless life in the tribe after
the order of Melchisedec. He addresses his epistle to the Philippians
exclusively to the saints who are associated with the bishops and deacons. In
the epistle, he states that for him to die is gain since upon his departing he
would be with Christ. Also, in second Corinthians, when Paul is addressing the ekklesia concerning himself and Timothy
as saints, he states:
We are confident, I say, and willing rather
to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Saints
spiritually never die. They transcend earth to be with the Lord as the family
in heaven and they return for judgment upon unbelief and for service unto the
faithful in Christ Jesus, as one will see, prior to the Lord at the beginning
of the parousia.
When one
returns to Peter's second epistle and combines his statements with those of
Paul regarding similar matters it is apparent that not only are there two differing
groups but there are also two differing events in the parousia that
bring forth each group. As mentioned previously the events on the Mount of
Transfiguration were a prophetic and symbolic portrayal of the parousia.
Again, in this portrayal one sees Jesus, Moses and Elijah manifested in light
atop the mount. Then one sees Peter, James and John falling to the ground and
Jesus coming to them and telling them to arise.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: I Thessalonians 4:16
The first
consideration of the differing actions that manifest these two groups is given
to the saints. It is the saints who come to the faithful in Christ Jesus
before the Lord himself descends to raise those dead in Christ. Paul's epistle
to the Colossians is addressed to both the saints and the faithful yet again,
generally, as in Ephesians, the two groups within the one body can be
distinguished in the English by pronouns we
and you. As previously stated, they
may also be distinguished by studying the genders of the Greek words within the
epistle. In chapter one, verse four Paul writes to those of faith the
following:
Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and of the love which [ye have] to all the saints,
"Ye have" is in brackets because the King
James translators did not have it within the texts they were using for their
translation. In their printing, these two words are in italics. The texts used
for Berry's Greek-English interlinear show that this "ye have" is in
most of the Greek manuscripts he used. Here you have those of faith and their
love towards the saints. The next verse's first phrase continues pointing
beyond in space and time. It gives the reason for Paul's prayers and thanks for
those of faith and their love directed towards the saints. It states, as can be
translated, "on account of the hope which is laid up for you in
heaven."
In verse
twelve of this chapter, Paul more clearly defines this hope laid up for those
of faith.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath
made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light
Although the
word us in the majority of the Greek texts used by Berry is the word emas,
in some texts, including the older uncials, it is umas, which is
translated as the plural you. In consideration of the context of
Colossians and the further scope of the subject the word you would be
more appropriate. The word partakers used here in the Greek language means
to share a portion and is in the feminine gender. The phrase “of the
inheritance of the saints” is in the genitive case that indicates that the
source or those to which the inheritance belongs as Noah who was an heir of
righteousness. With these things considered and additional word definitions
this verse can be translated as such:
Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made
you competent in season to share a part of the inheritance of the saints in
light.
This duality
regarding the possessors of the inheritance and the sharers of that inheritance
is reiterated in Romans, chapter eight, verse seventeen, where Paul is
addressing both the masculine saints and the feminine faithful.
And if children then heirs; heirs of God, and
[moderate contrast-de] joint heirs with [sun-associated with, not mixed with] Christ
The following
summary is, in review to this point, in answer to the question, "Who then
will these messengers be and whom will they deliver?"
1.There are two
groups in the body of Christ - the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus
2.The saints are
represented spiritually as masculine while the faithful in Christ Jesus are
represented spiritually as feminine.
3.The saints are
delivered from the power of darkness and are the living portion of the family
of God in heaven.
4.The faithful in
Christ Jesus are still subject to death and are the portion of the family of
God upon earth.
5.There are two
distinct events that bring forth each the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus
to serve together as a household of priests in the millennial kingdom or
paradise.
The Manifestation of the Saints and the
Out Resurrection
The first
event manifesting the saints is revealed, in one of several places, from
scripture in the epistle of first Thessalonians, chapter three, verse thirteen.
When reading this verse, consideration should be given to its prior location
within the epistle in relation to the later chapter four, verse sixteen, which
makes known the first rising of the dead. In this latter verse attention should
be given to the self-reflexive pronoun himself. The usage of the word himself
indicates that there is something of the Lord that comes before his own
descension. The earlier of the two verses mentioned in chapter three, verse
thirteen reads:
To the end he may stablish your hearts
unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ with all his saints.
The word at
in the phrase at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is the Greek word en
and renders the translation as, "during the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ." The Greek word meta which is the word translated with
has a distinct meaning that sets it apart from other words that are translated
as with. There is no singular English word that conveys the meaning of
the Greek word meta. It has the meaning of in companionship with and
afterwards in relation to time. Meta also has the sense of being mixed
with equally throughout while the Greek preposition sun that is also
translated with has the sense of being with in association with or
attached to. When meta's object is in the genitive case the meaning
"with" is emphasized and when its object is in the accusative case
the meaning "afterwards" is emphasized. In neither of these two cases
is the less emphasized meaning of the preposition eliminated. With this
awareness, the final two phrases can be translated as "during the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ mixed with and after (in time) his saints." Thus
the verse can readily be translated;
To the end he may stablish your hearts
unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, during the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ within and then after all his saints.
Jude uses a
different Greek preposition for the coming of the saints that conveys a
slightly different, yet confirming, aspect.
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam
prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his
saints. Jude 14
Here the
Greek, the word for ten thousands is the same as the word translated innumerable
company in Hebrews chapter twelve, verse twenty-two. The preposition
translated with here is the Greek preposition en which is most
often translated within, during or by. This preposition
has the sense of all three of these meanings plus the meaning of among. Like
the Greek word meta, there is no singular English word that conveys the
full meaning of the Greek word en. The thing that brings forth the
particular emphasized meaning of the preposition is the case of the object of
the particular preposition. In Jude fourteen the object ten thousands is
in the plural dative case. As such, according to the rules of Greek grammar, en
should be translated among rather than with. (Bullinger, Companion
Bible, Appendix 104) Jesus Christ comes first among, within, by and
during yet after his saints, as the bridegroom is among his approaching
party yet comes forward through his gathered party last.
Some
thoughtful questioning may arise now when second Thessalonians, chapter one,
verse seven is read. It states that the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels. Again, the English word with here is the word meta
in the Greek texts. The meaning of the word angels from the Greek
language is messengers. The question now being, "Does the Lord Jesus come
with and after his saints or with and after his angels?" The answer is in
the gospel of Luke chapter twenty, verse thirty-six. It equates those in heaven
who never die with angels. The saints spiritually
never die. All heavenly saints are classified as angels although all angels are
not saints. Saints are only a portion of all angels or messengers. The saints
or heavenly ones in their coming before the Lord Jesus Christ himself bring forth the age to come and
its out resurrection.
But they which shall be counted
worthy to obtain that world (age),
and the resurrection out of the dead, neither
marry, nor are given in marriage. Luke 20:35
The word obtain in this verse comes from a root
word that means to make ready or bring to pass. It is the power of the
manifestation of the “sons” of God or saints that energizes this heaven and
earth including the first resurrection for the restitution of all things by
Jesus Christ that Peter spoke of in Acts.
The further
context of second Thessalonians bears these things out. Verse ten begins with
this phrase, "When he shall come to be glorified in his saints…."
(Here again the preposition is en and the noun, saints, is in the
dative plural.) In the parousia the
saints shall come first then the Lord himself
shall descend for the out resurrection of the faithful in Christ Jesus who are
among the dead and the transformation of the faithful in Christ Jesus who are
alive.
Now, what
about saints who are still living in their mortal bodies at this proceeding
manifestation of the saints? Luke, chapter seventeen, verses thirty-four
through thirty-six describes what happens to the living saints at the
commencement of the parousia. It comes just after Jesus' exemplary
description of the times of the Noahatic flood and the destruction of Sodom.
Each of the three verses contains the phrase, "one shall be taken and the
other left." The word taken is the Greek word paralambano and
means to subjectively receive into manifestation beside something else. The
word other in the Greek language is hetros and means other of a
different kind. The word left is aphiemi, which means to leave in
the same condition.
I tell you, in that night there shall be two
men in one bed; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women
shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men
shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Luke
17:34-36
It is to
those who are left in the same condition who yet believe, that Peter was
writing to as the second beloved. It is at this point that the short work (logos),
referred to by Paul in Romans, chapter nine, commences. The book of Hebrews is
that short work. At this point its application begins for those who are left
and do believe. The first begotten saints are brought into the habitable world
from the spiritual realm. They are referred to as angels or messengers. They
are identified as being in the midst of the church in Hebrews. Those that are
left in the same condition who believe are subject to a time of test as Israel
was in the wilderness. The book of Hebrews states that they who believe have
come to a point next to (proserchomai), not the mountain that burned
with fire in the wilderness, but mount Sion, and the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to a myriad of angels, to the universal assembly of
the first begotten which are away from their registration in heaven, and to God
the judge of all, and to the righteous spirits made perfect.
It is within
this book that the author writes, as an example, of those of faith who endured
so that they might obtain a better resurrection. It is well know from scripture
that there is to be a resurrection of the just and the unjust for judgment.
Yet, this better resurrection, as referred to singularly as the “out
resurrection” by the apostle Paul in Philippians, chapter three, verse eleven,
precedes the resurrection of the just and unjust, as the dead in Christ rising
first.
The noun for resurrection
in this verse in Philippians differs from all other words translated
resurrection in that it is prefixed with the Greek preposition ek. It is
also telling that the word resurrection is in the feminine gender. This word in
its verb form is used in the book of Acts of a group within a certain sect of
Pharisees that rose up out of that sect to oppose Paul's ministry. In the
uncial texts, the noun for the word dead in this verse is also unique.
It is the Greek word eknekros, which means out dead. The better resurrection
or “out resurrection” is for the faithful in Christ Jesus and brings those out
of all others who will be resurrected later for judgment either as just or
unjust. This first raising of the dead in Christ is this out resurrection of
Philippians and is for those who have been, are being or will be faithful until
the end whether in death or as the living faithful in Christ Jesus at this “out
resurrection.”
Where then
are more details of the out resurrection recorded in scripture? Keep in mind
that the light of the saints breaking through the darkness occurs during the
commencement of the parousia and that the Lord Jesus comes first mixed
with his proceeding saints. This event is called the manifestation of the sons
of God in Romans, chapter eight.
At this
point, second Thessalonians, chapter one verse ten becomes a reality.
When he shall come to be glorified in his
saints and (kai) to be admired in all
them that believe in that day. (parenthetical expression from text accepted)
At this point
the saints, as the messengers of deliverance, are manifested and are to be
admired by all of faith. The book of Hebrews commences, as the saints, as
messengers among messengers, break forth in glorious light as ministers unto
the living faithful in Christ Jesus. The saints are among the ministering
angels sent forth to minister for them who are about to become heirs of
salvation upon the forthcoming better resurrection or “out resurrection.” It is
also at this point, as Hebrews commences, that the wicked one begins to be
consumed in a similar fashion as nations outside the wilderness were destroyed
when Israel wandered for forty years.
The saints
have been manifested in the manner stated in first Thessalonians, chapter
three, and verse thirteen. Upon their manifestation the time period of Hebrews
begins and the exhortation of Peter's second epistle to the second beloved of like
faith who remain living in the natural state, becomes more applicable than it
has for the last nineteen centuries. [This
time period of Hebrews ends with the trump as the Lord “himself” descends and
the mystery of the “out resurrection”, or first resurrection, is accomplished.
Those once in faith as the dead in Christ are raised out of the grave into
incorruptibility and those alive in faith are regenerated.
More light on
this is shed in the epistle to the Philippians, in which Paul addresses the
saints. Verse eleven of chapter three has caused much consternation because of
the manner in which it has been translated, Yet, when translated in another
acceptable manner, that would be more harmonious with the scope of the subject,
it is a confirmation of the manifestation of the saints and the subsequent out resurrection
of dead who were once faithful in Christ Jesus.
If by any means I might attain unto the
resurrection of the dead.
Within the
epistle Paul has spoken about his death including the previous verse when he
expresses his desire to be conformable to the death of Jesus Christ. In this
verse, the if is the most decisive of all instances of various Greek
words translated if. This if depends
on the certitude of the event rather than the possibility of the event. The
event is given in the preceding verse where Paul writes of becoming conformable
to Jesus' death. Under house arrest in Rome, although not yet judged, Paul was
uncertain of the means of his eventual death, though he was certain that one
day he would die before the manifestation of the saints. The Greek word for attain
in this verse is katanteo and means to come upon either horizontally or
vertically. It is followed by the word eis, which means unto a point
with an emphasis on the motion to that point. The point is the out
resurrection, as the word for resurrection in this verse is the unique
word exanastasis. For Paul to fully know the power of his resurrection,
as he desires, and to be conformable to the union of masculine and feminine
represented by Jesus’ death on the cross, according to the previous verse ten,
it would be necessary for Paul to arrive at the out resurrection.
The first
phrase in the next verse gives the condition to be meet to come down and move
to the point of the out resurrection. It reads, in the King James Version,
"Not as though I had already attained." In this phrase the word
translated attained is the Greek word lambano that means to
receive subjectively into external evidence. This lambano corresponds to
the paralambano of those taken in contrast to those left in the same
condition in the gospel of Luke, chapter seventeen. Lambano is used here
rather than paralambano because Paul's manifestation comes from heaven,
like other saints who have already left their mortal bodies, rather than being
manifested from beside other living bodies as would be the case for those
saints who would still remain in their mortal bodies when the parousia
commences.
In review,
from Peter's second epistle to the second beloved, who are those of like faith
that are left in the same condition upon the manifestation of the saints, the
text reads:
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables,
when we made know unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the father honor and
glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice, which came from heaven,
we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have a more sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shinneth
in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of men but holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. II Peter 1:16-21
One of those
holy men of old time was the prophet Joel. He writes of that day as the Lord
comes forth that there will be darkness and gloominess and a generation like no
other before or after. In the conclusion to his writing as he pleads for this
day he writes, "cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord."
In light of
the foregoing, considerations of first Thessalonians, chapter four, verses
sixteen and seventeen need to be given.
For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
In the study
of this section two points will be made. For expansion and more details on this
topic see our publication, The Appointed Times
of Salvation for All Men. The first point is that the term
"eternal life or everlasting life" used throughout the New Testament
is not synonymous with the term "to forever be with the Lord" used in
first Thessalonians chapter four verse seventeen. The word everlasting
in the phrase everlasting destruction and everlasting life throughout
the Bible is the Greek word aion, which means age or
age long. However, the Greek word ever, in the phrase "so shall we
ever be with the Lord," is different and means always.
The second pivotal point in understanding
this section rests in the connection, then, between verse sixteen and
verse seventeen. The word then that begins verse seventeen is the Greek
word epeita which means then after a period of time. It is not the Greek
word tote, which means then at that time or then immediately thereafter.
The word epeita is also translated as afterward in some places.
It is used in first Corinthians chapter fifteen, verse forty six when Paul was
writing of Adam and Jesus Christ.
Howbeit that was not first which is
spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
There was
quite a long time between Adam and Jesus Christ as this epeita translated
afterward indicates.
So, because
the usage of this then (epeita) at the beginning of verse seventeen
between the dead in Christ rising and the meeting of the Lord in the air, there
is a period of time between the two events which could be quite long. This is the
period of age long or everlasting life in the millennial kingdom of one
thousand years. At the end of the millennial kingdom all will be gathered
together to meet the Lord in the air and be ever with him as all things will
have been subdued unto the Lord Jesus Christ and as all things are being
delivered up to the Father.
|
Ministry and
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and Pentecost |
Destruction
of Jerusalem Deaths
of Peter and Paul |
|
1.Manifestation of the
Saints Luke 17:26-37 John1:51 2. Out
pouring and energizing of the gift from the Holy Spirit Acts
2:17-21 |
|
The
Dead in Christ Raised
by the coming of the Lord himself |
Just
& Unjust Resurrected &
Judged: Paradise
for the Just; Perdition for the Unjust |
|
All men past and then present, gathered and
changed for the third heaven and earth |
|
|||||||
|
|
Peter’s And Paul’s Ministries; Holy
Spirit & Revelation
of Jesus Christ; Lesser
Flock Sufferings |
|
Faithful
in Christ Jesus become regenerated by faith with the work of the Holy Spirit
and the Ministration of the Saints; Parousia;
Greater
Flock Glory |
|
Joint
Priesthood of Saints and faithful in Christ Jesus unto the resurrected just
and their forthcoming progeny (age
long destruction for the unjust) |
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About
4000 Years; Old
Testament ( faith
to law) |
40 Years (law to
faith) |
About
2000 Years Man’s
Day Times of
the Gentiles (faith) |
40 Years The Day
of the Lord Day of
Darkness (Joel 2) Faithful
saved out of wrath Manifested
Saints & the faithful in Christ
Jesus become united in the one body of Christ (faith) |
1000
Years Millennial Kingdom; Paradise (faith
realized- the
hope) |
Third
Heaven and Earth |
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In the gospel
of Luke, chapter twenty-one, Jesus, in prophecy recounts the early events of
the parousia. In his concluding remarks he admonishes those of faith not
to become diverted so that the day comes upon them unawares. The Greek word for
unawares means non-apparent or literally without light. Also, in
Matthew, as a comparative admonishment to be prepared, he symbolically speaks
one of his parables about the unwise virgins who were unprepared for the coming
of the groom during the wedding feast. Since the time seems to be at the door
it would behoove all the family to seek understanding of what lies beyond so
that we are not unawares.
The book of
Revelation is a scattered disarray of truths, half-truths, and misinformation
that is diversionary from the truths of this day of the Lord as recorded by
both Peter and Paul. There are erroneous doctrines within the book that if held
fast will leave one in the dark when the day of the Lord comes. For example, if
one believes that everyone is dead until the first resurrection and that any
manifestation of a previously alive person before that time is a conjured up
evil spirit, then one would identify the manifestation of the saints as
conjured up evil spirits. In so believing one would become easy prey for the
delusion fabricated by the spirit of antichrist. In addition, if one believes,
as the book of Revelation promotes, that this day of the Lord now centers on
the previous bloodline of Israel, one would miss the significance of and the
expansive ministry of the saints. Also, if one believes the long held tradition
that all who believe are gathered into the clouds before this day of darkness,
and one would remain in one's same natural
state at the commencement of
this period one could lose hope not understanding that this is the period for
regeneration by faith. Man is so close to this transition into the millennial
kingdom that, as these things are meditated upon, patience, preparation and
faith in the day of the Lord are the answers. At that time each group will come
to fully understand their unique calling and the eventual reward - union as one
in eternal life ministering to the nations of the world for the eventual
fulfillment of all things through Jesus Christ
Rather than a
feeling of loss for the faithful in Christ Jesus at the manifestation of the
saints, this event is meant to bring the greatest hope. It is tangible proof
that complete redemption is nigh at hand. Knowing that resurrection and
transformation are around the corner, it delivers the faithful from the fear of
death and inspires them to fulfill their function in a final push through the
glories of Christ to reach their fulfilling manifestation of righteousness. It
is then, in this time that is chosen, that the term “being born again” as Peter
expresses in the English translation or, more accurately, “regeneration” for
the faithful in Christ Jesus will take place. Yes, it is by faith that
salvation in this regeneration becomes complete. (Ephesians 2:8, I Peter 1:5)
One may feel
that with this understanding of the differences between the saints and the
faithful in Christ Jesus, that a new ministry should be formed in which saints
and faithful in Christ Jesus are designated. To this author, it seems that the
time is so close that now to do so is not in the plan yet considerations should
be given to these things in the body of Christ. For those individuals who have
come to maturity by the work of the Holy Spirit, the saints will be easily recognizable. (Faith, for those
called, in this time, will not be easy. Those at the apex of the strong
delusion will fabricate lies concerning the manifestation of the saints and
those who believe the saints will, at first especially, be persecuted.) It was
given to Paul to first fully reveal “the types” of masculine and feminine for
future fulfillment by glory. He and myriads of others like him will soon be
present upon the manifestation of the saints and, at that time, the
differentiation between the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus will be
evident to all who believe.
What then is
one to do? Now, it seems that man is so close to this latter time of transition
into and through the Lord’s Day that prayers for understanding, forgiveness
through the blood of Jesus Christ of self and others, love of the brethren and
patience in hope for righteousness
yet to be fulfilled are wise choices.
Blow
ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the
inhabitants in the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh
at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong;
there hath not been ever the like, neither shall there be any more after it,
even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind
them a flame burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind
them a desolate wilderness; yea and nothing shall escape them. The appearance
of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Like the noise on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of
flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle
array. Before their face the people shall be much pained; all faces shall
gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall; they shall climb
the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one in his own ways, and
they shall not break their ranks: neither shall one thrust another; they shall
walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not
be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the
wall, they shall climb upon the houses; they shall enter in the windows like a
thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun
and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shinning: and
the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for
he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very
terrible; and who can abide it?
Therefore
also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with
weeping, and with mourning. And rend your heart, and not your garments, and
turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will
return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat offering and a
drink offering unto the Lord your God?
Copyright, Steve Santini, 2003