IndyCA35,
Sorry for taking so long to get back to you. Computer problems, don�t you know. I will not debate inhissteps replies in this post. I will try to answer your post in a verse by verse manner. I am hoping that these verses are as a result of YOUR study, and not a regurgitation of someone else.
Mt.16:28 "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."
--I believe that the actual words in the verse give the answer you need. As I said in my reply to your verse in Luke 9, the verse does not say that the kingdom will come in his lifetime, but that he will SEE the Son of man coming. He SAW it in Revelation 1. Requirements met � no mistake!
-- I am not a scholar. I am a student of the word. I believe that the Bible I have on my desk is the absolute authority in all matters of faith and practice. I will not correct it with a foreign language I do not understand.
Mt.23:36 "Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation."
-- All what things? In the context, read the previous verse. �That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.�
-- The shedding of innocent blood. Look what the Jewish leaders said on the day of the trial and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. �His blood be on us, and on our children.� (Mt 27:25) The shedding of innocent blood is covered in other portions of scripture. In the context, Jesus is not speaking of his return to set up the kingdom. He is talking about the blood being held accountable to that generation.
-- Requirements met � no mistake!
Mt.24:34 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
-- Which generation? The question the disciples had asked that was being answered. Look at the question in verse 3. �Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?� (Mt 24:3)
-- His coming, and the end of the world are separated by a small gap of 1,000 years. He rules and reigns for a thousand years before the White Throne Judgment, and then the Earth is made anew. Revelation 21 FOLLOWS Revelation 20.
-- He is giving signs of his coming, AND the end of the world. He says the generation that sees these signs will see the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not say it will be the ones who are standing there. It could have been them, if the Jewish leaders of Acts 7 had repented at the preaching of Stephen, but they didn�t repent and offer the red heifer sacrifice that was required. It passes on. Still Requirements met � no mistake!
Mk.9:1 "Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
-- Same as Luke 9 and Matt 23 � SEE the kingdom. Not be present when it comes. Still Requirements met � no mistake!
Mk.13:30 "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
-- What things be done? Look in Mark 13:24-27 and it will tell you. The tribulation comes and goes, and then the kingdom comes. Sun darkened and the moon not giving her light. Acts 2 with Joel 2 and 3.
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
Lk.9:27 "But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God."
-- Already answered � SEE � John SAW in Rev 1.
Lk.21:32 "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled."
-- Lu 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. � Again if you look in the context, that has not happened yet. It goes forward to the time of the Great Tribulation, which has not happened yet. The generation that sees men�s hearts failing them for fear � signs in the sun and moon, will see the coming of the Lord.
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
1 Cor.7:29 "But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none:
-- In the context, it is speaking of whether to marry or not, and that an unmarried man or woman can serve the Lord better. Given that the time is short until people expect the Lord to return.
-- Paul speaks of loving the Lord�s appearing in 2 Tim 4:8. There is nothing unscriptural to expect the Lord to come in your lifetime. That is the blessed H O P E. Hope is expectation. The Lord still has not said that he was coming back in any particular generation, other than the ones that see the certain signs that will precede his coming. The signs have not been seen yet.
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
Phil.4:5 "The Lord is at hand."
-- It could happen any time. Sure he is at hand. Known unto God, (and not unto man) are all his works and the timing of the 2nd coming. Jesus Christ said, he didn�t even know, but God only. Mt 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (In the context of verses mentioned above by you.) See also Mark 13:32
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
Heb.1:2 "Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son....
-- In time past, he spoke unto the fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he speaks by his Son. Sure. He spoke in times past for 4,000 years before Jesus showed up on the Earth. In the last days � the next 2-3,000 years, he speaks by the Son whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Context, man � context!
-- The last days don�t have to be the two or three days right before the end. He�s spoken in the last days, since Jesus Christ came the first time, until he comes the next time, by his Son. We are living in the last days, because we are living between the comings.
-- Requirements met � still no mistakes!
Jas.5:8 "For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
-- It sure does. It�s getting closer and closer every day. As a matter of fact, every day that he does not come back is one day closer to the day that he DOES come back.
-- The Bible was not just given to a bunch of disciples who lived around 33 AD. It was given as an eternal book for all ages. You do God and the Bible a disservice by forcing it into a period of a few years. He is an eternal God that sees man�s lifespan as a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanishesth away. (James 4:14) He sees a day as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day. So when he says something is drawing nigh, it could be a thousand years away and still me night to him. No big deal to an eternal God!
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
1 Pet.4:7 "But the end of all things is at hand."
-- In the context, (there�s that word again) it is speaking about living the rest of your life either in the lust of the flesh or in the will of God. 1Peter 4:2 �That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.�
-- At hand�draweth nigh? To God is no big deal. Maybe there he is speaking about the end of your life. Ever think about that?
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
1 Pet.1:20 "Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."
-- Again, you have the coverage of quite a few years in one verse � before the foundation of the world � how much before? We are not told � in eternity past sometime. Manifest in these last times for you. Compared to eternity past, and before we get to eternity future, we are in the last times.
-- This is a decree of God made in eternity past that Jesus Christ would be made manifest to us in the last times to put away sin in the flesh. Amen! I�m glad for that decree.
-- Think about the things God must be thinking about when he breathes these words.
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
1 Jn.2:18 "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."
-- If no-one, even Jesus knows the time, then it could be any time. There have been antichrists present throughout time, certainly they are there in type in the Old Testament � Cain, Ham, Nimrod, Nebuchadnezzar, Sennacharib, Judas, to name a few.
-- Anyone that denies that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is antichrist. 1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
-- Requirements met � no mistakes yet!
1 Jn.4:3 "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."
-- The spirit of antichrist is in the world, not the Antichrist � the man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself etc. etc. (2 Thes 2)
-- A definition of antichrist � not a promise that the antichrist is present even then. Context is important, Indy.
-- Requirements met � still no mistakes!
Rev.1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.
Rev.1:3 "The time is at hand.
-- On whose calendar? For the Lord, that is so. If John is sitting over the 2nd coming, looking back at the Tribulation, and seeing eternity future in the distance, then the thing WAS about to shortly come to pass. And the time WAS at hand.
-- Requirements met � still no mistake!
Rev.22:20 "Surely I come quickly."
-- Ready or not, here he comes! Are you ready?
-- There will be no time to get ready when he comes. You are either ready now, or you are not ready. If you are not ready now, eternity hangs in the balance.
-- You get ready by believing the Bible, and trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. He died on a cruel Roman cross for YOUR sins. He shed his sinless blood for YOU. There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved. (Acts 4:12) �Marvel not that I have said unto thee, Ye MUST be born again.� (John 3:7) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever.� (1 Peter 1:23)
-- As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even as many as believed on his name. (John 1:12)
-- (Matt 24:44) Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Indy, my friend, are you ready? Not are you a good guy? I hear people all the time saying they are good people and they have never murdered anybody, and for that reason God should let them into heaven. It�s got nothing to do with, �I�m not that bad.� It has everything to do with �I�m not that good.� Jesus Christ said, �Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.� (Matt 5:20)
God will accept nothing but the righteousness of Jesus Christ as a payment for your sin. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64) HE is our righteousness.
If Jesus Christ were to come today, and he might, ARE YOU READY? The bible says, Prepare to meet thy God. (Amos 4:12) Repent of your sin, and call on him for your salvation. (Romans 10:13)
