Has The Second Coming of Jesus Already Taken Place

 

 

THANK YOU for your kind and scholarly questions.

 

You will respectfully find my answers posted in GREEN immediately subsequent to each of your individual questions.

 

I wanted to get your feedback on the following verses that I don’t completely understand.  Just so you know as your read these questions, I am a born again Christian who believes in a future Second Coming of Christ, I love and serve Jesus and I am actively involved in street evangelism and believe like you that people can forfeit their salvation (which I share with people), so I am not a skeptic, I just want to get some clear understanding of what these verses are saying below.  When I run into skeptics, atheists, evolutionists, etc. through street evangelism or in online posts I do like to be able to provide answers to their questions as well so any feedback you are able to give would be much appreciated.

 

The Coming of the Son of Man has been variously interpreted as referring to:

  1. Jesus' transfiguration on the mountain that Peter, James and John witnessed
  2. Jesus’ resurrection
  3. the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost
  4. the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem in AD 70
  5. the second coming and final establishment of the kingdom

 

Matthew 25:31-32, 46 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 46 These [goats] will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous [sheep] into eternal life.”

 

Matthew 16:27-28 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.  28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

 

Revelation 22:12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

 

Question:  Does the phrase the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him in Matthew 25:31-46 equate to the final judgment after the Second Coming when the Son of Man comes in His Kingdom?  YES – To this end, there is only “one” other (not two others – i.e. a 7 yrs. pre-trib. rapture) comings of Yeshua Jesus to be expected and that will be immediately following the Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:29-30).  Does the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds in Matthew 16:27-28 also equate to the final judgment after the Second Coming when the Son of Man comes in His Kingdom?  YES – it is at the subsequent Battle of Armageddon immediate coming (millennial onset) that Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25:31-46).  Also do both Matthew.16:27-28 and 25:31-46 describe the same event since they use the same description for His coming? If not, are they describing 2 different comings using the same language?  YES – as stated before there is only “one” other coming of Yeshua Jesus to be expected.  There is NO valid Scriptural evidence for a so-called 7 years pre-trib. rapture nor will the prophetically expected man anti-Christ sign a so-called 7 years peace treaty with the nation of Israel.  Daniel 9:27 has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the man anti-Christ but rather the man Yeshua Jesus and the Abrahamic Covenant (Gal. 3:15-17).

 

Question:  Does Jesus coming in His glory with His angels to repay every man according to his deeds in Matthew 16-27-18 describe one event while Jesus coming in His glory with His angels described in Matthew 25:31-46 describe another event?  As stated before – they are the one and same “second coming” event of Matt 24:29-30.  Does Jesus come in His glory with His angels to separate sheep & goat and repay every man according to his deeds at two different times or one?  NO!

 

Question:  Some might say that the coming of the Son of Man in Matt. 16:27 is different than the coming of the Son of Man in the very next verse in Matt. 16:28.  Do you believe in one coming of the Son of Man as a future date that has not happened yet?  Or do you think that it is referring to two different comings of the Son of Man, one in verse 27 & another coming in 28?  The second coming of Jesus has not yet come because there has never yet been a 31/2 yrs. Great Tribulation (the Time of Jacob’s Trouble) with the Jews respective of the prophesied and dreaded man anti-Christ (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:7; Rev. 11:2 & 13:5; etc.) 

 

Question:  If Matt. 25:31-32 refers to the second coming “when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him” (which I do believe it refers to the second coming which has not happened yet) then what is Matt. 16:27-28 referring to when using the same language “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels since Jesus continues by saying that there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”?  Since all those people died close to 2,000 years ago what is the explanation about them not dying until they see Son of Man coming in His glory with His angels?  If Yeshua Jesus Himself declared in Mk. 13:32 that He nor any other man “knew” the specific day nor the hour of His second coming – then how could He predict/prophecy that He would come with His rewards BEFORE the death of those “some” then presently living disciples revealed in Matt. 16:27-28 as the misguided and Scripturally unlearned Preterist insist?  Jesus would have then contradicted Himself.

 

  Mark 13:32 (KJV)

  32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

 

Moreover, Jesus would have taught the infamous "Lord's Prayer" in vain...
 

Luke 11:2 (KJV)
  2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

 

Thus, the key to understanding Matt. 16:27-28 is not to miss the little grammatical greek conjunction “kai” immediately following Matt. 16:28 as stated in Matt. 17:1 which refers to and directly links Yeshua’s Matt. 16:28 declaration to His explanation of this particular verse.  Hence, Peter, James and John...the “some – gr. tines” of Matt. 16:28.  Please likewise note that with respect to the original greek manuscripts (as well as the hebrew manuscripts) there were no grammatical paragraphs, chpts., verses, punctuations, capitalizations, etc., as we now know them – all of these grammatical niceties have been added by the Biblical translators for the intended clarity and comfort of the reader.

 

Question:  Many interpretations is that that Matt. 16:27-28 is referring to either the Transfiguration, the Resurrection of Jesus, Pentecost or the destruction of the temple but how can that be since those verses say when he comes in his glory with His angels he will then repay every man according to his deeds in those 2 verses? How can it be referring to any of the just mentioned options like the Transfiguration, etc. when people were not repaid for the deeds at that time since it is at the Judgment that every man will be repaid according to his deeds?  Respective of Matt. 16:24-28 Jesus declares that to those who would/will faithfully follow Him, they would/will be rewarded when He brings in His kingdom to fruition.  As such, to verify that what He had said about His disciples’ acceptance requirements and His coming Kingdom in Matt. 16:24-27, He declares that there would be “some” of those present at that time who would actually witness His kingdom appearance.  However, Jesus did not specifically specify in Matt. 16:28 just how and when that particular appearance/seeing by the “some” present would actually take place – i.e. the “Transfiguration”. 

 

Thus, a careful reading of Matt. 16:28 only mentions the “seeing” and makes no mention whatsoever of the Matt. 16:27 “rewards” – hence, only the “seeing”.

 

Meanwhile, Matt. 16:13-28 is in the context of Jesus speaking directly to His disciples – i.e. Peter, James and John.  As such, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24)  Thus, Matt. 16:28 prophetically suggests the subsequent “Transfiguration”. 

Question:  Rev. 22:12 which is considered to be a second coming verse says that “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.” which is viewed to not have happened yet (which I agree).  But Jesus makes the same statement about repaying every man according to his deeds in Matt. 16:27-28 that “the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.  28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”  How could Jesus have repaid ever man for his deeds back then (if  this was referring to the Transfiguration, Resurrection, Pentecost, destruction of temple, etc.) while some of those people were still alive if people being repaid for their deeds occurs when the sheep are separated from the goats at the final judgment which is still yet to come?  As stated previously Matt. 16:28 makes no mention of the Matt. 16:27 “rewards” – only the seeing... “till they SEE the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”  

 Question:  Preterist (which I am not) say that only explanation is that Jesus did return with His angels at the destruction of the temple and did judge everyman according to his deeds by spiritualizing these scriptures.  If they are wrong (which I believe they are) what is the explanation of Jesus saying that He will return with His angels to pay every man back for their deeds before some of them standing there would taste death in light of the fact that other scriptures which refer to Jesus returning to repay each person for their deeds is viewed as something that will take place at His second coming in the future which has not happened yet?  Once again, Matt. 16:28 makes no mention of the Matt. 16:27 “rewards” – only the seeing... “till they SEE the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

 Question:  Since the Final Judgment (which has not happened yet) is when Jesus will repay every man according to his deeds and he says that “there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” How is this possible when all those people have died almost 2,000 years ago?  Just as before, Matt. 16:28 is all about an unspecified SEEING of the coming of Jesus...  We simply cannot force Matt. 16:28 to actually say more than is prophetically declared by Yeshua Jesus Himself.  Jesus declared that SOME would SEE but He did not specify how nor did He specifically reveal when.

Question:  What is the explanation of the following:  Preterist (of which I am not) say that in Rev. 22:12 when Jesus says he is coming quickly with His reward with Him to repay every man according to his deeds that this is saying the same thing as Matt. 16:27-28 for 2 reasons because both verses say that this is when every man will be repaid for their deeds and because if He did return quickly then he would have returned before some of them would taste death.  What is a counter argument to this Preterist viewpoint?  Rev. 22:12 and Matt. 16:28 are the prophetic apple vs. orange.  To this end, Matt. 16:27 and Rev. 22:12 refers to the prophetic futuristic second coming of Yeshua Jesus with His rewards for those who faithfully served/serve Him while Matt. 16:28 is a non specific prophetic SEEING (appearing) of Jesus to “some” of those to whom He was speaking in Matt. 16:24-27. 

Please note that Jesus is speaking directly in Matt. 16:13-38 to His disciples.  “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24)

 

Question:  Also according to Preterists the Apostles believed Jesus was coming during their lifetime based of verses like those above.  What are your thoughts on whether or not the Apostles thought Jesus was coming during their lifetime and if they did whether the Apostles based such a belief on these various scriptures that Preterist point to?  If Yeshua Jesus Himself did not/does not know the day nor the hour of His coming it is irrelevant as to what the Apostles believed – NO ONE knew nor knows the day or the hour of the second coming of Jesus.

 

Mark 13:32 (KJV)
   But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

 

Matthew 10:5-7, 23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

23 “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

 

Question:  What does Jesus mean by saying “you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.”?  First and foremost we must remember the direct declaration by Yeshua Jesus Himself of His “second coming” respective to Mk. 13:32 and then likewise interpret this Matt. 10:23 Passage in that context.  As such, Matt. 10:23 cannot be understood to mean the prophetic “second coming” of Jesus BEFORE their (His disciples) individual deaths but rather one of an UNCERTAIN timing of His coming that could even/actually take place before they (His disciples) had finished going over the cities of Israel with the gospel.  Jesus was simply declaring keep up the faithful fight because the timing of His return was UNCERTAIN.

 

As such, this is literally revealed by the actual greek text of Matt. 10:23 itself respective of the use in the Passage of the greek participle “an - 302” which by definition implies and means, “a primary particle, denoting a supposition, wish, possibility or uncertainty :- [what-, where-, whither-, who-]soever. Usually unexpressed except by the subjunctive or potential mood.”


In the context it appears that he was addressing the 12 disciples when he said “you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.”?  If Jesus is talking of the 12 not finishing going to all the cities in Israel before the Son of Man comes what is the explanation for this since they have all died and the Son of Man has not come yet?  If He is talking about Christians in general, the Gospel has reached all the cities in Israel over the last 2,000 years, so what is the explanation for that if it is talking about Christians in general?  Matt. 10:23 does not refer to the “second coming” of Jesus that Yeshua Himself admits He did know when it would actually take place BEFORE the deaths of His disciples.

Matthew 26:63-64 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Question:  Preterists (which I am not) use this verse to try to prove their viewpoint.  When Jesus says “You have said it” who is Jesus addressing as “you”?  If the “you” was the high priest would the “you” change to mean someone else in that same sentence after the first the use of “you”?  When Jesus says “I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” who is Jesus saying would witness His Second Coming?  If it is the high priest, what is the explanation of how the high priest would witness the Second Coming since the high priest died nearly 2,000 years ago?  Is the explanation that the high priest would see this in the afterlife from hell if he was never born again or if he got saved before he died he would see this as one of the saints returning with Jesus at the Second Coming?  If that is not the explanation, what would be the explanation?  The “you” in Matt. 26:64 is intended to be all inclusive but mentions not time constraint.  Where does it ever Scripturally say that the damned and the doomed in Hell will not see nor permitted to see the glorious coming of the Lord Yeshua Jesus in all of His power and the Glory of His Father? 

Revelation 1:7 (KJV)
 7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

If you have any further question please feel free to contact me.

 

barney