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This podcast it’s just a recording between two friends as we enjoy coffee in the morning. Join us and just enjoy the moment.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Did you know that Revelation was dated incorrectly and has already taken place?
Introduction:
The church father, Irenaeus, wrote in “against heresies” that Jesus was in his 50’s when he was crucified. This is the same man that said John wrote Revelation in the 90’s A.D. during the reign of Trajan. Irenaeus is from the second century and is the main source that Christianity counts on for its dating of eschatological theology. If Irenaeus got it wrong about Jesus then how can he be right about John writing Revelation during the reign of Trajan? That being the case means that Revelation has been misdated (Against Heresies, Book II, Chapter 22).
The Problem
Christian scholars count on the church fathers quite a bit to understand the apostles who came before the church fathers were born. The church fathers are middle men who do not have any direct connection with the apostles. We don’t start hearing about the church fathers until the second century. How much can historic knowledge change in 100 years? One look at our US Constitution will prove that facts get changed and or misunderstood just a few years after a historical event.
The Solution
Revelation was written before the fall of Jerusalem because it revealed what would happen during the fall of Jerusalem. Revelation is a Jewish book and is replete with Jewish symbolism and spiritualism and eschatology. There are over one hundred of New Testament verses that have Jesus Christ’s return happening soon after he left to go back up to heaven.
No verses exist that say that Jesus is gonna take thousands of years before he comes back. The false prophets of today keep messing up their predictions on interpretations of the Bible to prove that Jesus is coming back 2000 years after he said he was coming back soon. And Jesus understands what “soon” means, which doesn’t mean 2000 years.
The angel had John measure the Temple in Revelation. There was no Temple to measure after 70 A.D. when it got destroyed by the Romans. That’s a pretty big clue that Revelation was written before 70 A.D. Irenaeus was as wrong about the dating of Revelation as he was about Christ’s age at his crucifixion.
Summarize and Call to action
It’s amazing to me that the church relies on one brief statement from a man who can’t get his facts straight. Even though external evidence can be helpful to Bible exposition, the Bible explains the Bible and doesn’t need man’s explanation of it.
People have the propensity of allowing others to explain the Bible. When we allow others to teach us the Bible we absorb the teachers’ biases as well. When we trust one like Irenaeus for a whole theology who is proven wrong in theology, we become unsteady as that man. That is why it’s a good idea to read scripture without any paradigms guiding us such as pre-millennial dispensationalism. We must take a systematic approach to Scripture and not take it out of context to make it fit our understanding of the Bible. And that’s all there is to it!
What is the point of this article? Many say that Christ’s kingdom is a physical one. I include the Scripture at the bottom to show you that God’s kingdom is not a physical kingdom like many commentators say that it is. God’s kingdom is not physical, Jesus said.
So why are many Christians trying to assert that Christ is coming back with a physical army to destroy the physical world? The apostle Paul said that we don’t fight against physical things, but against spiritual things. He also said that physical bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 15:50, Ephesians 6:12)
Jesus told Pilate twice the kingdom of God is not a physical kingdom. However, many in the church insist that it is.. I used to be in that camp until I was saved from the physical world of my spiritual future of hopelessness. A hopelessness about the certainty of God destroying the Earth.
Preterism, a.k.a., “covenant eschatology,” provides a certainty about the future by the way of salvation from the unknown world of futuristic eschatology, the study of the end of the world in the future. That does not mean that the world has a certain future, but it does mean that we can be certain God will not destroy the world now or in the future. What humanity does is a different story.
I’m including John 18:33-38 to show you the conversation that went on between Jesus and Pilate. You can read it below:
33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I hope and pray that this has been a blessing to you.
I use the King James Version (KJV) because it is open source and is not subject to copyright laws. It has nothing to do with believing that the KJV is the only proper Bible translation. However, it is not subject to modern interpretational biases that may twist the interpretation to fit a particular doctrine.
Doomsday sayers have been preaching the demise of the human race for quite some time. They hold Revelation studies and come to the conclusion that God will destroy the world and send most of humanity to a burning place called “hell.” However, are the doomsday sayers correct in their message or did they miss the truth?
According to Jesus all of these doomsday sayers are dead wrong. The following quotes of Jesus Christ will testify to how wrong the vast majority of Revelation teachers are in regard to the end of the world. All of these quotes are in the King James Version of the Bible because it is open source and free to quote without reference to the Bible printer.
Mark 9:1 KJV 9 And he said unto them, 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.
Luke 9:27 KJV 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.
Matthew 10:23 KJV 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
Matthew 24:34 KJV 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
God is not angry with humanity. God is not waiting for the day he’s gonna come and destroy humanity. These doomsday sayers keep saying that God is angry with humanity and he’s looking to destroy it one day. However, these words of Jesus prove that the doomsday focused on one generation of one people of one country thousands of years ago; it does not apply to people today.
God took out his anger towards humanity on Jesus Christ, his son, so he could have peace towards all humanity. God does not send calamity upon his creation such as hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc., because he’s angry at it. God loves his creation, humanity, who is made in his image and likeness.
God is not angry with you; in fact, he delights in you, which is why he came to earth as a man, the man Jesus Christ who rose from the dead. He killed sin so it would no longer come between us and OK him.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. I hope this post has been a blessing to you. I hope and trust that you have a wonderful and prosperous New Year and remember that it is good news that Christ has already returned and taken care of business! It’s in Jesus Christ’s own words!
Shean Smith