Posted by Bibleman [Bibleman] on October 30, 1999 at 16:50:44 {G0PnT/qYmkMSSTtTA17sslyACFuF8c}:
In Reply to: **PAROUSIA="NEARNESS" posted by mntzion on October 30, 1999 at 12:27:07:
You have to read the scriptures specifically.
Clouds represent an "indirect" or non-public (clouded) appearance. It means it is not directly seen.
But specifically it is not Jesus but the "sign of the Son of man" that appears in the clouds that you may be thinking of. This is a LITERAL SIGN seen by some on December 26, 1992. It was a depiction of an infant lying on a cloud next to a dove symbolizing holy spirit.
But in another sense, the "sign" in the clouds could be a spiritual awareness of the Messiah's arrival but it being in the "clouds" suggesting they would not be directly observing him.
But the primary reference to the "sign of the Son of man in the clouds" does not say the Son of man will come in the clouds but that the SIGN will be in the clouds. And it was. It was literally in the clouds. Thus it could be and was photographed.
So, it's nice your paying close attention to scripture, but you must sometimes reread the scriptures for details. Sometimes we get a thought in our heads and even if we read a certain verse, we understand it a certain way, not noticing the specific details of that scripture.
So in this case, realize that the main reference to seeing the "Son of man in the clouds" does not say that. It says the SIGN of the son of man will be in the clouds, not the Son of man himself. The Son of man is actually on the earth and in the flesh at the time the "sign" appears in the literal clouds, where "every eye" could see it.
Cheers,
Bibleman