Post by didymus on Apr 8, 2010 12:30:33 GMT -5
Advanced theological discussion is fine for some people, but I'm a simple man, and I like to keep it simple. And simply put, if Jesus said something, you can count on it without seeking tons of proof.
Alan Jackson in his song, "Remember When The World Stopped Turning," said, "I'm a singer of simple songs... I watch CNN, and I may not know the difference in Iraq and Iran..." Well, I'm a simple Christian. I may not understand the difference between accusative and neuter. I don't need to. I believe and trust in the words of Christ just as they are translated. I don't need to delve in the nuances of every Greek word. I didn't need that when I was a child, because I had a child-like faith. Today, after all the studying and training, I go back to that simple child-like faith and accept fulfilled prophecy because simply put, that's what Jesus and the apostles taught.
Jesus said to his disciples, "some of you standing here shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Does knowing how many disciples were there change the essence of what Jesus said? Of course not. Does the understanding of accusative and reusative, or whatever, change the essence of what Jesus said? Of course not.
The problem is that some people simply refuse to accept what Jesus simply said with simple child-like faith. Then there are those that will go to the end of the age and back to prove they are right. But, if people will not accept what Jesus said with simple child-like faith, no amount of proof will convince them of anything, so why even try?
Within the last week or so, I have given up trying to prove what I believe to those who are intent on proving me wrong. It it is an exercise in utter futility to even attempt to defend what I believe to these people. So no more.
Simply put, Jesus said that some of those people that were standing where he was speaking would not "taste death (die) till they see the Son of Man (Jesus) coming in His kingdom." To me, that is plain and simple. And, it is this verse that when I read it is what convinced me that fulfilled prophecy is true, because if didn't happen just as Jesus said, then he lied, and since I don't believe Jesus is a liar, I had to accept what Jesus said.
Now that I understood that what I thought was the second coming of Christ had already happened, I found more Scriptures that simply enhanced my understanding of fulfilled prophecy. Matthew 24, for one. Now that I accepted that the return of Christ was in the lifetime of the disciples/apostles, the New Testament was so much easier to understand, especially when it dealt with the second coming of Christ. For example, I understood why Matthew 24 never said anything the United States.
Before my awakening, I could not imagine that second coming of Christ not being in my life time. And, I came to understand that Jesus was not going to come to Lebanon, Pennsylvania and take me into the air like some caped superhero. Oh, by the way, I live in a valley. So guess where I thought the great battle was going to be? Somehow, I thought the valley of Megiddo was really the Lebanon Valley. So while I was flying like Superman to meet Jesus in the air, down in the Lebanon Valley there was going to be the war to end all wars, and blood would be everywhere. And, of course, I thought the wicked people of this valley deserved every minute of it, 'cause you see, I was the only one flying like Superman to meet Jesus in the air, and everyone else was left behind to fight the war. Sounds ridiculous - doesn't it? That's futurism for you. Let's face it, futurism could lead one to believe things like this story. But once you realize that the second coming of Christ was a local event, that kinda changes your perspective a little. Just think, no future coming of Christ to Washington DC. What a shame, Washington DC could really use it.
My life is shattered, it's over. No future coming of Christ, I might as well just give up. Certainly, if the coming of Christ happened over 1900 hundred years ago, what's left for ME! There's the problem with futurist thought - there's nothing left for ME!
Sorry, it just overtakes me some times, and I just can't control it.
Back to being serious. Understanding preterism is really quite simple, and all comes down to having a child-like faith that Jesus said what he meant, and meant what he said. It really is that simple.
What do you think?
Didy the Magnificent
Alan Jackson in his song, "Remember When The World Stopped Turning," said, "I'm a singer of simple songs... I watch CNN, and I may not know the difference in Iraq and Iran..." Well, I'm a simple Christian. I may not understand the difference between accusative and neuter. I don't need to. I believe and trust in the words of Christ just as they are translated. I don't need to delve in the nuances of every Greek word. I didn't need that when I was a child, because I had a child-like faith. Today, after all the studying and training, I go back to that simple child-like faith and accept fulfilled prophecy because simply put, that's what Jesus and the apostles taught.
Jesus said to his disciples, "some of you standing here shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Does knowing how many disciples were there change the essence of what Jesus said? Of course not. Does the understanding of accusative and reusative, or whatever, change the essence of what Jesus said? Of course not.
The problem is that some people simply refuse to accept what Jesus simply said with simple child-like faith. Then there are those that will go to the end of the age and back to prove they are right. But, if people will not accept what Jesus said with simple child-like faith, no amount of proof will convince them of anything, so why even try?
Within the last week or so, I have given up trying to prove what I believe to those who are intent on proving me wrong. It it is an exercise in utter futility to even attempt to defend what I believe to these people. So no more.
Simply put, Jesus said that some of those people that were standing where he was speaking would not "taste death (die) till they see the Son of Man (Jesus) coming in His kingdom." To me, that is plain and simple. And, it is this verse that when I read it is what convinced me that fulfilled prophecy is true, because if didn't happen just as Jesus said, then he lied, and since I don't believe Jesus is a liar, I had to accept what Jesus said.
Now that I understood that what I thought was the second coming of Christ had already happened, I found more Scriptures that simply enhanced my understanding of fulfilled prophecy. Matthew 24, for one. Now that I accepted that the return of Christ was in the lifetime of the disciples/apostles, the New Testament was so much easier to understand, especially when it dealt with the second coming of Christ. For example, I understood why Matthew 24 never said anything the United States.
Before my awakening, I could not imagine that second coming of Christ not being in my life time. And, I came to understand that Jesus was not going to come to Lebanon, Pennsylvania and take me into the air like some caped superhero. Oh, by the way, I live in a valley. So guess where I thought the great battle was going to be? Somehow, I thought the valley of Megiddo was really the Lebanon Valley. So while I was flying like Superman to meet Jesus in the air, down in the Lebanon Valley there was going to be the war to end all wars, and blood would be everywhere. And, of course, I thought the wicked people of this valley deserved every minute of it, 'cause you see, I was the only one flying like Superman to meet Jesus in the air, and everyone else was left behind to fight the war. Sounds ridiculous - doesn't it? That's futurism for you. Let's face it, futurism could lead one to believe things like this story. But once you realize that the second coming of Christ was a local event, that kinda changes your perspective a little. Just think, no future coming of Christ to Washington DC. What a shame, Washington DC could really use it.
My life is shattered, it's over. No future coming of Christ, I might as well just give up. Certainly, if the coming of Christ happened over 1900 hundred years ago, what's left for ME! There's the problem with futurist thought - there's nothing left for ME!
Sorry, it just overtakes me some times, and I just can't control it.
Back to being serious. Understanding preterism is really quite simple, and all comes down to having a child-like faith that Jesus said what he meant, and meant what he said. It really is that simple.
What do you think?
Didy the Magnificent
I think all we need do is take that simple faith, get a decent Greek dictionary and ask the Lord to lead us thru the scriptures while we find those biased passages the translators tweaked and learn to render them aright for ourselves. Which is why I like my Apostolic LXX bible because it was translated into Greek before the nonsense with our modern translations began. Unless of course you think guys like Scofield can be trusted? Because a lot of what we have today is from his influence one way or another. 
- what is this suppose to represent?
