A Brief Dialog About End Time Prophecy

And The Expression “Coming In The Clouds Of Heaven”

BIBLIANO and AMIGO: Discussions on Eschatology

(Lesson #1, Coming In The Clouds)

by Charles S. Meek

“they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. . . . Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (Matthew 24:30,34)

AMIGO: The Second Coming! Now that will be a glorious day.
 

BIBLIANO: What if I told you that the “Second Coming” already happened?
 

AMIGO: I’d say you were completely nuts. (Under his breath: And I would unfriend you on Facebook.)
 

BIBLIANO: Well, let me ask you a question. This text certainly seems to say that Jesus taught that He would return in his own generation. Right?
 

AMIGO: Well, “generation” must mean “race.” So, that could mean thousands of years later.
 

BIBLIANO: My good friend, “race” is a different word in the Greek. The word genea (generation) is used in this passage, while genos (race) is not. The New Testament is perfectly clear. Every time the phrase “this generation” (genea) is found it means the generation of people living in the first century. Just look up these passages: Matthew 11:16; Matthew 12:38-45; Matthew 23:29-39; Luke 17:25 as examples. You can’t miss it.
 

AMIGO: That’s not what the TV rapture preachers teach.
 

BIBLIANO: Maybe we should stick with Jesus over those modern false prophets.
 

AMIGO: Oh, don’t tell me that John Hagee, Perry Stone, and Hal Lindsey could all be wrong!
 

BIBLIANO: Either Jesus was wrong—or people have misunderstood what our Lord meant by his “Parousia,” i.e. his Second Coming. I believe it is the latter. Jesus was saying that He would come IN JUDGMENT against Old Covenant Israel, just like YHWH came numerous times in the Old Testament.
 

AMIGO: I know Jesus was not a false prophet, so I better figure this out. Tell me more.
 

BIBLIANO: Let’s just consider some other passages. When do you think that Matthew 10:23 was fulfilled? (“But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.”)
 

AMIGO: Well, to tell you the truth, I have pretty much ignored that passage because it seems to say that Jesus would return while some of his disciples were still alive. I just don’t know how to deal with that.
 

BIBLIANO: When do you think that Matthew 16:27-28 was fulfilled? (“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”)
 

AMIGO: Wow, I admit that it sounds a lot like Matthew 10:23 — Jesus returning while some of those living in the first century were still alive. But perhaps it was talking about the Transfiguration or about Pentecost.
 

BIBLIANO: My friend, there are several reasons why it could not be either of those. For example, Matthew 16:27-28 is about judgment, and there was no judgment at either the Transfiguration or Pentecost. This text is consistent with Matthew 10:23, where the context is also about judgment as mentioned in Matthew 10:15 (“Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”).
 

AMIGO: What judgment could have occurred while some of those living in the first century were still alive?
 

BIBLIANO: Well, Jesus told the Jews of his day that He would judge THEM for their apostate condition and refusal to accept Him as the Messiah. Just consider Matthew 21:33-46; Matthew 22:1-14; Matthew 23:29-36 and Matthew 24:1-8, where Jesus warned the Jews that He would take the kingdom away from them, burn their city, destroy their temple, and give the kingdom to another group. This all happened in AD 70, when the Lord used the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and the temple.
 

AMIGO: But what about the clouds?
 

BIBLIANO: In the Old Testament, CLOUDS are used symbolically to portray God’s presence, judgment, or proclamation. People did not see God literally, but saw what He did or perceived his presence in other ways. Consider the following passage excerpts, where clouds FIGURATIVELY represent God’s judgment on groups of people:
 
“He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick CLOUDS of the skies.. . . . and the foundations of the world were laid bare. [Psa 18:11]” (Psalm 18:4-15 is a passage showing God’s judgment against David’s enemies)
 
“Behold, he shall come up as CLOUDS, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. [Jer 4:13] . . .” (Jeremiah 4:5-31 shows God’s judgment against Judah)
 
“Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift CLOUD, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.[Isa 19:1] . . .” (Isaiah 19:1-15 speaks of God’s judgment against Egypt)
 

AMIGO: I’ve been a Christian all my life and NOBODY ever pointed out these passages to me.
 

BIBLIANO: There are lots more passages in the Old Testament we could consider. But, let me just ask you about another New Testament passage: When do you think Matthew 26:64 was fulfilled?
 

AMIGO: I honestly never noticed this before either, or at least I refused to see it. Jesus was telling the Jews that THEY THEMSELVES would see Him coming on clouds of heaven.
 

BIBLIANO: I have good news for you. Jesus was not a false prophet. He came in the manner and time that He predicted.
 

 
Please note: some minor editing of this dialog has been done including the replacement of the Bible verses, which are now KJV. Some verses were added where there had only been verse references and links to Bible verses at biblegateway.com were also added.
 

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” – Matthew 24:30

“Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” – Matthew 26:64

“And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” – Mark 14:62

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Vows For Couples Who Are Just Living Together

 
I, (your-name-here), do hereby declare, that since I view marriage as only a piece of paper,
And since my parent’s marriage was a failure,
And since so many marriages today end in divorce,
 
I solemnly commit to you, (so-and-so), to live with you for the time being,
And to share housing, food and other expenses with you,
And to have someone to fornicate with when the urge arises,
until such time as I feel I’d be better off elsewhere,
 
To have and to use – as you are having and using me,
Until I feel like you are getting the better end of the deal,
At which time I will complain unbearably until things change in my favor,
Else I will take off with the children – if and only if I want the responsibility,
Or I will leave without them, if I think life would be easier for me to leave them with you.
 
And this is the extent of my commitment to you,
Because I want to be able to abandon you and this relationship when I feel like it,
without the need to go through a lot of legal paperwork and expense.
I don’t want these commitments to be in writing because I want to be able to change the rules
for this relationship at any time and at a moment’s notice.
 
And since you, (so-and-so), are just as afraid of self-sacrifice, responsibility and a lifetime commitment as I am,
I expect you to be as equally somewhat committed to me, if I dare use such a strong word as committed. Amen.
 

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God Loves Everybody… He Even Loved Hitler!

 
Ben Chwarmer: Pastor Joe says God loves everybody and that He even loved the satanic genicidal maniac Adolph Hitler! God would have saved Hitler if he would have accepted Jesus before he died, and maybe he actually did that.
 
Bible Believer: But how does your pastor know who God loves?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Well God loves everybody doesn’t He?
 
Bible Believer: In Psalms 5:5 and Psalms 11:5 the Bible says that God hates the workers of iniquity.
 
Ben Chwarmer: Oh, it doesn’t really mean that!
 
Bible Believer: It doesn’t?
 
Ben Chsarmer: No. It means God hates the sin… but He still loves the sinner.
 
Bible Believer: Well then why didn’t God say that?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Well maybe God doesn’t always say what He means.
 
Bible Believer: Oh I see. So how do you know when God is saying what He really means?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Oh, you know… when your pastor tells you. Your pastor will tell you if the Bible says something you should believe or not.
 
Bible Believer: Oh, is that Right?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Yes. That’s how it works.
 
Bible Believer: OK. So when God said in Romans chapter 9 “Jacob I loved but Esau I hated”, God was just kidding?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Right! God didn’t really hate Esau.
 
Bible Believer: But that’s what God said. He said He HATED Esau.
 
Ben Chwarmer: But that’s not what He meant.
 
Bible Believer: How can you say that?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Because God is a god of love and He doesn’t hate anybody.
 
Bible Believer: Does God hate Satan?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Probably not because God loves absolutely everybody, but I’m not 100% sure… I guess I’ll have to double check with my all-knowing pastor who does all the thinking for me.
 
Bible Believer: The Bible says that “God loved Jacob”. How do you know if God meant something else? Maybe He really didn’t mean that.
 
Ben Chwarmer: Well, if we know anything about God it is that He loves everybody unconditionally.
 
Bible Believer: In the Old Testament God commanded the Israelites to go out and kill the Philistines and many other people of various nations. Is that because God loved those enemies of Israel?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Yes. God loved those foreign nations so much that He only sent the finest soldiers of Israel out to kill them.
 
Bible Believer: I take it your pastor explained that to you also?
 
Ben Chwarmer: Yep. My pastor has got the Bible all figured out. He’s a real wiz when it comes to figuring out when God does not mean what He says!
 
Bible Believer: I’ll bet he is. And I bet he acquired his vast knowledge of the Bible by watching Benny Hinn on TV in between episodes of Bart Simpson and Family Guy.
 
Ben Chwarmer: Actually he carefully studies the pictures in the Children’s Illustrated Study Bible, to learn how to better explain God’s Word to lazy and willfully ignorant ADHD bench-warmers like me!
 
Bible Believer: Now that’s something I can definitely believe!
 

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, It is my hope and prayer that this dialog about whom God loves will provoke you to study the Bible for yourself and not just listen to some pastor or preacher in a pulpit, whether it be on television or in your local church. Bad theology is so entrenched in the modern church that people think you’re nuts if you tell them that God does not love everybody. We may want to believe that He loves everybody but He does not say that. It may seem like God says that, if you look at a few Bible verses in isolation. But the fact of the matter is, God does indeed hate the workers of iniquity, not just their sins. He doesn’t just send sins to Hell. He sends sinners to Hell and not because He loves them. That is idiotic if you really think about it. God loves JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS and that is why He sends unsaved sinners to Hell. And that is why Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice at Calvary IS THE ONLY WAY to heaven and the only way to escape God’s eternal wrath in Hell. You can bank on that!