|
[Other References to His Return] The Prophet Joel warned of these 'last days', saying: (75:1) "The sun shall be turned into darkness... before the great and terrible day of the Lord come..." (Joel 2:31) (75:2) see Christ echoes these same words, saying that after they have been fulfilled, He will return: (75:3) "...shall the sun be darkened... and they shall see the Son of man coming..." (Matt 24:29-30) (75:4) see The Prophet Joel said of 'the time of the end': (75:5) "There hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it." (75:6) Christ reaffirms that this time of trouble will be the time of His return. He repeats this very same statement of Joel, saying: (75:7) "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be... then shall appear the sign of the Son of man..." (Matt 24:21,29-30) (75:8) see Revelation gives the same two identical signs: (1) the darkness of the sun, and (2) the coming of the Lord's great and dreadful day. When the Lamb of God (the Messiah) appeared in the last days and "unsealed" the holy Books, St. John the Divine records that he beheld the following: (75:9) "...there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair..." (Rev 6:12) (75:10) see This took place, Revelation said, in a day when all the people of the earth "...hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains... for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand." (Rev 6:15,17) (75:11) see Daniel also foretells the suffering.. He prophesies that this suffering will last until His truth has been accepted.. (76:1) "...there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.... at that time shall Michael stand up... and at that time thy people shall be delivered." (Dan 12:1) (76:2) see Enoch also mentions the same Michael, saying: (76:5) "And I will give thee... the great Captain Michael, for thy writings and for the writings of thy fathers... And I shall not require them 'till the last age...'" (Book of Secrets p48) (76:6) ..to identify this Michael who would deliver the children of God in the last days.. in chapter ten of Daniel.. he says: (76:7) "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, 'Micheal', one of the chief princes, came to help me..." (Dan 10:13) (76:8) In the next verse, Daniel is told that this vision concerns 'the time of the end' and: (76:9) see "...what befall thy people (Israel) 'in the latter' days." (Dan 10:14) (77:1) see Then the Lord makes the following promise to Daniel: (77:2) "I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth..." (77:3) In this very same verse, Daniel is told.. that only Michael, the Chief Prince of Persia, understands the meaning of this latter day vision. The Lord says to Daniel: (77:4) "..and there is none that holdeth with me (God) in these things, but Michael your prince." (Dan 10:21) (77:5) see ..unlike the prince of.. Persia who resisted Daniel. The Lord calls Michael 'your prince'.. (77:6) The name Michael, translated into English, means One who looks like God. This is yet another way of saying "the Glory of God".... (77:7) "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people... and at that time thy people shall be delivered..." (Dan 12:1) (77:12) see Daniel was told when this would take place: (78:1) 1."In the latter days..." (10:14) (78:2) see 2."At the time of the end shall be the vision." (8:17) (78:3) see 3."The words are close up and sealed till the time of the end." (12:9) (78:4) see 4."Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end." (12:4) (78:5) see Then in a vision, Daniel sees the last days, and the coming of the "Ancient of days", the Promised One Who will unseal the books. Daniel says: (78:6) "...ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." (Dan 7:10) (78:7) see In this same chapter Daniel says that in this hour (78:8) "...one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven." (Dan 7:13) (78:9) see A few verses later Daniel repeats: (78:10) "...the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints (believers) possessed the kingdom." (Dan 7:22) (78:11) see In this same chapter, Daniel says that this will come to pass following: (78:12) "a time and times and the dividing of time." (Dan 7:25) (78:13) see ..This also will take place, Daniel prophesies, after: (79:2) "...a time, times, and a half." (Dan 12:7) (79:3) see Therefore, we again come to this same identical time of 1260 years.
(79:4)
|