LOL—yet more proof that preterism is the only correct interpretation of prophecy. OR I look forward to seeing you lob an insult grenade my way every day. I put up scripture daily (as you well know) and you never challenge any of it with counter scripture because there is not any to put up.
This is the first time that I have started reading this thread. Just reading the last few pages or so, I have seen a lot more insults from you then I have seen Scripture. And OR, JoJ, and others have pointed it out. OR seems to have a point in telling you:
If you have the Scripture why not post them and give your interpretation instead of making snotty, childish remarks?
Good advice?
Notice in the rest of your post, though you allege to make scriptural points you haven't backed one of them up with Scripture as you have supposed to have been doing. Much of what you say therefore is false.
So far in this thread we’ve seen that:
1. “coming on the clouds” has never meant a literal body flying through the sky.
Perhaps you watch too much TV--Star Wars, or super hero based cartoons.
What does the Scripture say:
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.
--He was taken up.
--A cloud received him.
--He went up and they beheld him.
--They were still gazing into heaven when angels spoke to them.
--The same Jesus who they saw ascend into heaven will return in the same manner in which they saw him go into heaven.
I believe this refers to the rapture.
Now if this is what you irreverently call Jesus "flying through the air," as you deny the ascension of Christ, then I don't believe you are Orthodox in your beliefs. The ascension is one of the fundamentals of the faith. Those who deny it have often been declared heretics. It is a vital belief in orthodox Christianity. It is the time between the resurrection and the ascension, these two great events that gave opportunity for the apostles plus over 500 others to be witnesses of the physical resurrected body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. There is no scripture that states Christ will be coming back a long time in the future.
"In your opinion," Please clarify.
Jesus said three times in Revelation 22 "I come quickly," but he hasn't come yet. It is a relevant word. The entire Bible is relevant to each one of us in each generation. Paul fully expected Christ to come during his lifetime, but he didn't. The disciples in Acts 1 asked Jesus:
Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
--They thought the time was "soon." But "soon" to them was not "soon" to Jesus. God's time frame is different. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God's time is not our time. God works outside of time. Therefore Jesus said:
Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
--It is not for us to know the time. Even if the Holy Spirit has inspired "soon," "shortly," or other such words, they are only relative to our understanding of Scripture, and not to be imposed to our understanding of history. History can be wrong. It is God's story--His Story.
"In fact, there have been about
150 recorded predictions for the End of Days. Thankfully, none of them have rung true."
You can read about some of them here:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dail...vious-predictions-proved-wrong-163956854.html
3. All scripture agrees Christ would return soon.
Again, no scripture; just opinion.
Mark 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
--Every generation since Christ has been adulterous and sinful.
This is indeed his second coming, far different than the rapture. His coming will be sudden; in His glory or the glory of the Father, with the holy angels. At this coming it will be in judgment. There is no time given here. There is no evidence of a "soon" coming here; no time element except that it is imminent, or could be at any time--as a thief in the night.
2 Thessalonians 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
--Another very descriptive account of the swift Second Coming of the Lord at a time when we know not. His coming will be in judgment. The rapture will be for the saints in comfort. (1Thes.4:16ff)
4. There is not one verse of scripture that says Christ will return in a physical body.
I just gave you two passages. Are you going to deny them? He is coming in the glory of his father with the holy angels? You still think he will be invisible? There is a thread here on logic. Do you think you should partake?
Verse 10 above states that when he comes..."to be admired in all them that believe."
--Can you admire something that is invisible?
There are many more scriptures, but I will stick with just these two for now.
5. The internal verses of Revelation all support the early dating of its writing before 70 AD.
That is totally subjective reasoning. There are very, very few commentators, and very little evidence that the book was written before 95-98 A.D. Your entire theory rests on this date which you have no proof for. All the evidence points for a late dating of the book. Only the preterists strain at every little bit of biased evidence that they can get their hands on to try to put the date of this book at before 70 A.D., simply to make their theology work. In the real world, people would be fired from their jobs for such bias and deviation from the objectiveness of the scientific method.
6. John has mistakenly used a logical syllogism to try and cheat a physical return into existence. That has given me a great idea for a response—so good I’m not going to bury it deep in this thread, but when I get ready I’ll point out its fallacy in a new thread.
Here is what John said:
1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
--We know when we see Christ (for he shall come physically)
--We shall be like him. We will be raptured in a body like his.
--We will see the physically resurrected Christ, and we will have a body like his body in the resurrection which happens at the rapture. This is the first resurrection that Christ refers to--the resurrection of the just. It happens at the rapture.
And you kind sir haven’t even attempted a serious, scriptural rebuttal to any of it. Could it be because you can’t find verses to rebut it?
Say Whaaaaa?????
I haven't heard much for you in the pages that I have read except for insults. This isn't a rebuttal or a defense.
This is nothing but opinion; unsupported opinion; not a single verse from the Bible.
It the same broken record every day—just deny it’s true, say it’s sacrilegious, scream immature, childish, snotty, yada, yada.
Can I quote OR again for you:
If you have the Scripture why not post them and give your interpretation instead of making snotty, childish remarks?
It is good advice, really!
I take it all as proof positive that you are speechless in the face of the truth and vindication of the ultimate superiority of preterism.
Nope. Not me.
Preterism went down the drain long ago.
It is a denial of the fundamentals of the faith, or at least some of them.