Used with Permission some text emphasized -Joel Smith- 30 Para

The following predictions from the Bible are all True, but only a Spiritual Interpretation fits them all: (109:1)

1. Christ was to Return as a Thief in the Night: "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 shall melt with fervent heat.." (2pe 3:10) (109:2) see

Similar things were predicted for Christ's first Coming: "The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and "all flesh shall see it together.. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low" (isa 40:4-5) (109:3) see

Then Luke said that this was fulfilled by Jesus: "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet.. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low.. and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.." (luk 3:4) (109:4) see

2. Stars fall from heaven before Christ Returns: "The stars fall from heaven.. then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds.." (mat 24:30) (109:5) see

3. Beheaded Christian martyrs to be resurrected 1000 years before the rest of Christians: "..and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus.. and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.." (rev 20:4) (109:6) see

4. "Howbeit, when He the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you unto all truth" (joh 16:13) (109:7) see

-also- "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter.." (joh 14:16) (109:8) see

-also- "For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart I will send Him to you" (joh 16:7) (109:9) see

NOTE: Believers are present on the earth after Christ returns: (109:10)

1. "The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. (isa 35:1) (109:11) see

2. "Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand. And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd.." (isa 109:10) (109:12) see

3. "In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvelous things." (mic 7:12) (109:13) see

4. "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God." (rev 21:3) (109:14) see

Christians use the prophecy in Matthew about 'lightning' to indicate instant happening, but disregard its counterpart in Luke. It is helpful to see them together: (109:15)

"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (mat 24:27) (109:16) see

But then Luke said that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy and quoted the relevant verse: "For the Son of Man in his day will be like lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man." (luk 3:4-6) (109:17) see

'Generation' refers to "a class of people" as the following examples show: (109:18)

"A wicked.. generation [class of people] asks for a miraculous sign!" (mat 12:39) (109:19) see

"Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon YOU will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berakiah, whom YOU murdered between the temple and the alter. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon THIS generation." (mat 23:34-36) (109:20) see

Jesus refers to the kind of people who mistreat the divine Messengers and Teachers. Jesus' contemporaries were not of the generation that killed Abel and Zechariah, yet He says you (His contemporaries) murdered them (109:21)

This is how Dr. Ray Stedman, a Christian scholar, explains this: (109:22)

"The Lord surely did not mean by this that the Pharisees and their contemporaries would bear the blame for all the injustice of the ages. No, he meant that Israel was the nation chosen to be the instrument of God to teach the whole world what he is like. When Israel failed it became culpable for all the dire results that failure brings. It is the nation which was in view when he uses the term, "This Generation." (lol 205) (109:23) see

The following verse, in which Jesus addressed His contemporaries, exemplifies the uniqueness of divine language: (109:24)

"It was because YOUR minds were closed that Moses gave you permission to divorce YOUR wives.. (mat 19:8) (109:25) see

Again "You" and "Your" cannot refer only to Jesus' contemporaries, but a special kind of people who live throughout all ages. The kinds who are told: (109:26)

"You do the deeds of your father.. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do." (joh 8:41) (109:27) see

.."I tell you the truth, This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (mat 24:34) (109:28) see

If we take the word "generation" literally, we find that Jesus' prediction of events did NOT come true. His contemporaries did not live to see "all these things." According to 'Harpers Study Bible': (109:29)

"Only in the sense that the destruction of Jerusalem took place in A.D. 70 was it true that any of Christ's contemporaries lived to see the fulfillment of these things." (lol 208) (109:30)

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