Jess Whitlock
Before you start this study, let me admonish you to carefully study 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. ………………………………………………..Done? Good!
The second chapter of 2 Thessalonians concerns the second coming of Christ and the faithful being gathered to Him in that great and notable day. “Let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3). Paul is warning the disciples not to be deceived; the second Advent of Christ could not take place prior to the “falling away.” That expression is from the Greek word apostasia, defined by Thayer as “a falling away, defection, apostasy.” The “man of sin” is an apt description of the pope of Rome, as the following verses conclusively show. Even today the apostate, corrupted church is headed by the pope, who is presented as “Lord God, the pope.” Christ’s final coming was not imminent when Paul wrote these words in circa A.D. 52.
For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord: (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The Englishman’s Greek New Testament reads: “a shout of command.” Jesus will return with His “angels” (Matt. 16:27), accompanied by the archangel Michael (Jude 9). Christians who are alive at that time will be taken up in the air to be with the Lord forever. Christ will never set foot upon this earth again! Christ did not return in A.D. 70.
Matthew 22:30 declares, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven” (Cf. Mark 12:18-ff; Luke 20:27-ff). Following the return of Christ there will be no marriage relationship. Are you married? Do you know anyone who is married? I know of several Preterists today who are married! So then, Christ did not return in A.D. 70.
Listen to Jesus the Lord,
Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28-29).
Do you know of any Christians or non-Christians who remain in their tombs/graves today? If so, the second coming of Christ remains to the future, and not to the past!
Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works therein shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10). Are the heavens still present? Does the earth still stand? Are you as smart as a third grader? Jesus Christ has not yet returned!
John writes in Revelation 1:7: “Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they that pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over Him. Even so, Amen.” The text says “every eye” shall see Jesus Christ. That includes my eye and your eye. My faith in God’s great and awesome power believes that the eyes of those who are physically blind today, will be opened to behold Him in that great day! Christ did not return in A.D. 70. Max King and his cohorts and all the demons of hell itself cannot change these unchangeable truths. Brethren, let’s spend more time with God’s Word and less time with the ramblings of Max R. King, apostate teacher, and divider of churches.