Alan Dale Gross
Active Member
I can't find that to be the case, in these verses which describe Jesus' Second Coming, which is The End of Time and The World, when He Will Create a New Heaven and a New Earth.When He comes again, He will be at Jerusalem ( and us with Him ), just as it tells us here:
( Zechariah 14:3-5 ).
The Day of the LORD (14:3-5);
"According to the NT, it is Christ Himself Who Will bring the Last Battle to a close at His Parousia, when He arrives in Power and Glory in the skies above the Earth to destroy His enemies and to Glorify both His people and their world (Matthew 13:36-43; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; 2 Thessalonians 1, 2; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 11:11-19, 14:14-20, 16:17-21, 19:11-21, 20:7-15). According to the NCH (New Covenant Hermeneutic), the snapshot before us is a symbolic picture of that very thing. Let us see if our text—and its context—justifies this important conclusion.
"Verse 3 tells us that at the time of “Jerusalem’s” Eschatological agony, the LORD Himself Will Go Forth and Fight against her foes, even as He did on many previous occasions in Israel’s history (Exodus 14:1ff, 15:1-18; Isaiah 36-37; Revelation 15:2-3).
"This will be the last of them, the Great and Notable Day of the LORD. However, from the NT we know that the Day of the LORD will in fact be the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ at His Parousia (2 Corinthians 1:14; Philippians 2:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:4, 10). Therefore, this particular snapshot is indeed Fulfilled at Christ’s Parousia, and must be interpreted accordingly.
"Verse 4 pictures the LORD creating an unexpected way of escape for His people; verse 5 pictures them using it. This is God’s Way with all His people, both OT and New (1 Corinthians 10:13). Quite intentionally, the imagery used here reminds us of how God Miraculously Delivered Israel at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:1ff). Importantly, verse 4 is not telling us that Christ Will literally Stand upon the Mount of Olives; or that He Will literally Split it apart so as to create a literal valley. Similarly, verse 5 is not predicting that literal Jews of a physical Jerusalem will flee to the tiny village of Azel. Those who take this approach are falling into confusion by abandoning the NCH, which teaches us to interpret this Prophecy figuratively, in terms of NT truth.
"What then is the real message of verses 4-5? We begin to see our answer when we remember that a number of OT texts picture the God of Judgment treading upon the high places of the Earth so as to Split valleys and Melt mountains beneath His Omnipotent Feet (Psalm 97:5; Isaiah 64:1-2; Micah 1:3-4; Nahum 1:5). Similarly, we remember that in OT times the LORD was Faithful not only to Rescue His people from coming destruction but also to provide them with cities—or other places—of refuge, to which they could flee (Genesis 19:20-26; Numbers 35:9f; Joshua 6:1ff; 1 Samuel 24:22).
"Bearing all this in mind, we can readily discern the theological concepts underlying the concrete imagery of these verses: In the Day of the LORD, when the world itself is about to undergo Final Destruction, the Presence and Power of the Covenant-Keeping God of Israel Will Descend to the Earth and draw near to His Beloved and persecuted City. Then He Will Supernaturally Open a Way for His people to flee eastward towards Him (for the LORD likes to Come to His children from the East: Isaiah 63:1; Ezekiel 43:4; Revelation 7:2), and so find safety in a City of Refuge. When the last of His Redeemed children has entered that City, then the LORD and all His Holy Ones Will come, and Final Judgment Will Fall upon all Israel’s enemies.
"It requires but a small Hermeneutical step to see how the NT actually fleshes out these broad Theological Promises: In the Day of the Lord Jesus, the Glorified Christ Himself Will Descend from Heaven to the skies just above the Earth, thereafter Circling the Globe from east to west, even as the Earth and its works begin to melt with intense heat (2 Peter 3; Revelation 7:2). By His Spirit and through the agency of His Holy Angels He Will swiftly draw near to His people (His Beloved City) wherever they may be, and Will Supernaturally Open a Way through the air for His saints to fly to Him, their One True City of Refuge (Matthew 13:36-43; 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff). When in this way He has Gathered all his children Safely to His Side, He, they, and all the Holy Angels Will “Come” in such a way as to consign the enemies of God—both human and angelic—to the Fire’s of God’s Eternal Judgment (Matthew 13:42, 25:31ff; Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 19:20, 20:10)."
From: Jerusalem In That Day: Interpreting Zechariah 12-14 – Come Let Us Reason
That's it, at Jesus' Return, is what I see from all Old Testament and New Testament passages I have seen. The End of The World. No more opportunity for anyone to be saved. Jesus separates the sheep from the goats when He Returns and that's it. Time will be no more.Alan, it's not difficult to read His word and find where it is blatantly stated that He will rule from Jerusalem, my friend.
Neither is it hard to see that we will be with Him.