Table of Contents
Chapter 4: Jesus’ second coming and”grace”
Many Christians claim that thetotal cancellation of the law of Moses after the departureof Jesus (pbuh), which Jesus (pbuh) himself practiced faithfullyand fully throughout his lifetime, was warranted because theyare in “grace” and awaiting the second comingof Jesus (pbuh) which will come any second now and establish thekingdom of God in great glory and power. Rather than argue theissue of grace and whether Jesus (pbuh) himself ever preachedsuch a concept, we will instead present the following verses withregard to WHEN Jesus’ second coming is supposed to occur. Theyare self explanatory but this has not prevented some from inventingnew abstract meanings for them:
“Immediately after the tribulation of thosedays shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give herlight, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers ofthe heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign ofthe Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of theearth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the cloudsof heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angelswith a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather togetherhis elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender,and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewiseye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near,even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATIONshall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled..”
Matthew 24:29-34
How many generations have passed since?
“But take ye heed: behold, I have foretoldyou all things. But in those days, after that tribulation, thesun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are inheaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of mancoming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shallhe send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from thefour winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermostpart of heaven. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When herbranch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summeris near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these thingscome to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. VerilyI say unto you, that THIS GENERATION shall notpass, till all these things be done.”
Mark 13:23-30
How many generations have passed now?
“And ye shall be hated of all men for myname’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. Butwhen they persecute you in this city, flee yeinto another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall NOT HAVEGONE OVER THE CITIES OF ISRAEL, till the Son of man be come.”
Matthew 10:22
They have not only gone over all of the cities ofIsrael, but have dispersed throughout all of the Earth and weare still waiting.
“For the Son of man shall come in the gloryof his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward everyman according to his works. Verily I say unto you, THEREBE SOME STANDING HERE, which shall not taste of death, till theysee the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”
Matthew 16:27-28
Are there any of those who were standing there whoare alive to this day? Is this not further proof of mankind’stendency to put words in the mouth of Jesus (pbuh) which he neversaid?
(also see: Revelations 3:11, Rev. 22:7, Rev. 22:10,James 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17,…etc.)
Regarding the verse of Mark, Tom Harpursays:
“Nevertheless,he (Jesus) apparently expected this cataclysmic event to occurvery soon – in fact, during the lifetime of some of his followers”
For Christ’s Sake, pp.37.
At first, the Christian community expected an imminentreturn of Christ. We are told that during the first century AD,the Christian community looked forward to the imminent returnof Christ in glory and the establishment of the Kingdom. Thishope carried on in the second century. When the second comingfailed to occur, the church organized itself as a permanent institutionunder the leadership of its bishops.
This, however, did not stop the predictions of “thesecond coming.” Some of theChristian sects that continue to preach this imminent second comingare the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Christadelphians, the Jehovah’sWitnesses, and the Plymouth Brethren. For example, the “Adventists”believed that the second coming of Christ is imminent. They weretaught this by the preaching of William Miller (1782-1849). Onthe basis of his study of the books of Daniel and Revelation,Miller predicted that March 21, 1844 was the precise date whenChrist would return to earth. When this day came and went withoutthe promised appearance of Christ, Miller changed his predictionto October 22, 1844. This time there was no doubt. On October22, 1844, Christ would indeed return in glory and the Earth wouldbe cleansed by fire, ushering in the millennium (a 1,000-yearreign of righteousness and peace before the Last Judgment). Whenthe designated date again passed without event, many believersdrifted away.
The faithful remnant of Millers followers stood byhim despite the fact that both of his prediction never materialized.The most significant of them are the Seventh-Day Adventists andthe Advent Christian Church. The most noteworthy leader of theSeventh-Day Adventists was Ellen G. White (1827-1915) who shiftedtheir emphasis to health reform. To this day, they are believedto number over 800,000 members.
Muslims too believe in the second comingof Jesus (pbuh). However, Muslims are told that Jesus (pbuh) wasnot forsaken by God to the Jews to be killed, rather, he was raisedby God and it was made to appear to those present that he wascrucified (Jesus’ apostle Barnabas tells us that it was Judasthe traitor who was taken to be crucified). Muslims are also toldthat he will not return to earth until just before the end oftime, and not that he will return before the death of his owngeneration, as stated above.
Muslim-SA@acsu.buffalo.eduLast modified: Mon Nov 18 12:10:11 EST 1996