Posted by Mary on March 21, 1999 at 12:29:36 {MWR2f.nvbbl8M}:
In Reply to: THE MANNER OF HIS COMING... posted by Drake, Jr. on March 20, 1999 at 23:11:13:
HE COMES IN THE FLESH:
According to the scriptures, the Messiah comes in the flesh the second time around the same as the
first.
"....What about the argument that Jesus was "raised as a life-giving spirit" and thus would not return visibly?..."
Just because Jesus was raised as a life-giving spirit doesn't mean that at his Return, he'll be 'invisible'. There are numerous scriptures that relate stories about angels appearing before men (the angel that grabbed Lot and hurried him out of the city, the angel Gabriel when he appeared before Mary, the messenger(s) that appeared to John when he was writing Revelation, etc.)
"...Or whether he is going to only appear to his disciples or is to appear
as a 50-foot giant in the clouds to the whole world, then it is possible you are going to miss his suble coming...."
There's not going to be anything subtle about the Second Coming. Matt 24:30 says
"...And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven....the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will SEE the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory..."
If the Second Coming was "invisible" or "subtle" then the tribes of earth wouldn't even realize that He was here, and would have no reason to 'beat themselves'. This scripture clearly shows that when Christ returns, "every eye will see him" coming on the clouds of heaven, the same way they will see the angels that He "sends forth". These angels are spirit creatures, but it's apparent that they'll be visible to the human eye.
The last argument I have against Jesus returning in the flesh is that the "kings of the earth" would kill him quicker than what the Jews did. Can you imagine Saddam Hussein, Yassir Arafat, or even Queen Lizzy or Bill Clinton saying "Oh, OK Jesus, I'll just step aside and turn everything over to you." No way. What's the normal reaction to someone trying to take a leader's power away?? It's always been to eliminate the threat.