In one of His most commonly known parables, Jesus Christ informs, “When a fig tree begins to put forth its leaves you know harvest time is coming. You can tell what time of the year it is; you can tell what’s going on by looking around you.”
Matthew 24: [32] Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his
branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
[33] So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these
things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
[34] Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not
pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
[35] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words
shall not pass away.
[36] But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
[37] But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be.
“This is the passage people wrongly use to try and date
the Rapture and the Second Coming,” explains Richard Jordan. “Anti-dispensationalists
say that all these things Christ talked about in these verses about the
judgment coming have already past and are historically filled; there’s no future
prophecy.
“With Preterism, Calvinism and Covenant theology, they literally
believe that everything except the final consummation has taken place. All the prophecies
of Daniel, Revelation; they all took place around 70 A.D. when the Romans came
in and defiled the temple in Jerusalem.
“That’s just bad Bible thinking. It took until 135 A.D.
before they got the Jews out of Israel so the deportation, finally, didn’t take
place for another 60 years. Theologians get all that stuff out of things like Josephus’
writings, not out of the Bible.
Luke 21:27: [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in
a cloud with power and great glory.
That’s Mark 13:25. [25] And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the
powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
[26] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in
the clouds with great power and glory.
Luke 21 continues, [28] And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
[29] And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig
tree, and all the trees;
[30] When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of
your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
[31] So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to
pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
[32] Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not
pass away, till all be fulfilled.
“When those events start to take place, He says, ‘Look up
because the Son of man is coming.’ By that verse write down Acts 1: 9-11: [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.
“Just like He personally goes up in a cloud, He’s going to
come back in a cloud, this time in power and in great glory, as opposed to in meekness
and lowliness, as with His first coming.
“The reason it's asked, ‘Why you keep looking up into heaven?’
is because it isn’t time for Him to come back. When would they look up? When
you see all these signs.
“In Acts 1:6, His apostles had asked, ‘Lord, wilt thou at
this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’ Jesus said, ‘It’s not for you
to know the times,’ and then He ascends up and the apostles look up, He’s gone,
and the angel says, ‘Hey, it’s not time for you to look up; it’s time for you
to go get busy.’ The time to look up is when you see the sign.”
(another post later this evening)
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