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A peek at Islam. This will fry your hair.

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https://notthebee.com/takes/mosque-defends-somali-child-rapist-as-good-man--its-time-to-talk-about-the-underlying-issue

OPINION: Remember the mosque that defended a Somali child-rapist? It’s time to talk about the underlying issue. In recent days, Somali immigration has dominated headlines, sparking heated debates about everything from national security to economic impact to cultural identity. The conversation has grown loud, emotional, but has rarely moved beneath the surface.

WHAT DOES the BIBLE SAY about the TIMING and NATURE of the SECOND COMING?

by Charles S. Meek

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. . . . and they will see the Son of Man coming on clouds of heaven. . . . truly, I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:29-34)

Will the sun and moon literally stop giving their light and the stars fall from heaven when Jesus comes―literally riding on a cloud? Before having the fuller biblical context, I supposed that these disruptions in the created order and the cloud language from Matthew 24 were literal.

But here’s the thing. Jesus was referencing Isaiah and other prophets about how God “came” numerous times in the Old Testament “in judgment” against nation-states. Jesus is declaring that He will judge Jerusalem in the same way, i.e. in a coming in judgment rather than a visible, bodily appearance (Matthew 23:29-24:2; John 5:19-22). Consider just a few examples from Isaiah:

“The oracle concerning Babylon. . . . Behold, the DAY of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. . . . Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts and in the day of his fierce anger.” (Isaiah 13:1-13, judgment against Babylon)

“Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt, and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. . . . And the waters of the sea will be dried up. . . . Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed. . . . And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians in that day. . . . And the LORD will strike Egypt.” (Isaiah 19:1-22, judgment against Egypt)

“All the hosts of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. . . . For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom.” (Isaiah 34:3-5, Judgment against Edom)

Such disruptions of the created order are standard fare for non-literal expressions of biblical prophecies. This is sometimes described as Hebraic apocalyptic language or de-creation language. In the Old Testament no one actually saw YHWH but did see the effects of his judgment.

Further, there are over three dozen passages in the New Testament that limit the TIMING of the Second Timing to the first century. For example, in addition to Matthew 24:30 cited above, consider this:

“Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28)

We know that such passages were fulfilled in the first century because Jesus does not lie or deceive. These Second Coming passages and dozens like them were fulfilled when Jesus assumed the role of judge against apostate old covenant Israel in AD 70 (Matthew 10:23; 26:64; etc.).

For more detail, see my website www.ProphecyQuestions.com.

"You can't have freedom without virtue. You can't have virtue without God." (Erika Kirk)

This podcast by pastor Jim Gallagher is a good intro to eschatology. This is episode #4 of his series on “Satan No Longer Exists.” In this session, Jim summarizes a number of important imminence statements which are critical in understanding Bible prophecy:

Satan No Longer Exists Pt 4 (More Time Texts) We offer up more proof from the NT that Christ and His Apostle clearly taught that the Lord would return within the lifetime of some that live in the generat...

Chapter 15 (excerpt): THE CENTRAL THEME OF REVELATION

THESIS: The central theme of Revelation is a story of two women—the harlot Babylon who is judged/divorced (Revelation 17:1, 5, 15; 18:9, 21; 19:2) and God’s new bride the New Jerusalem (Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9). The faithless harlot is apostate Old Covenant Israel. The new bride is the Christian church.

WHEN WAS REVELATION WRITTEN? The evidence is strong that the book was written in the mid-60’s AD, prior to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Here are some important clues, among many others: It was written during the tribulation (Revelation 1:9; 2:9), which Jesus time-restricted to his own generation (Matthew 24:9, 21, 29, 34). It was written while the temple was still standing (Revelation 11:1). It was written during the reign of Nero, the sixth emperor of Rome (Revelation 17:10 “now is”) who ruled from AD 54 to AD 68.

WHEN WAS REVELATION FULFILLED? Revelation is a timeless book with universal relevance (Revelation 5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 13:7; 14:6). But the book contains some 30 passages that demand the imminent, i.e. soon, fulfillment of its major theme. We see such statements as “must shortly take place,” “soon,” “near,” and “about to happen” (Revelation 1:1-3; 22:6-20; etc.). While many Christians read thousands of years later into these words, this does violence to the text. Words mean something and God repeatedly used intelligible words of imminent fulfillment that can be clearly understood—as long as your mind is not cluttered with futurist presuppositions. God can tell time. And He does not deceive.

MAJOR THEME. Scholars agree that the major theme of Revelation is the defeat of “Babylon,” but disagree on what Babylon represents. Babylon was an historic enemy of God’s people, and it is used symbolically in Revelation to represent Old Covenant Israel/Jerusalem who had become unfaithful. This is prominent in chapters 16-19. Jesus’ wrath, promised in Revelation (6:16), would come against “the great city Babylon” (Revelation 18:21-24) which is clearly identified as the “city where the Lord was slain” (Revelation 11:8-9). This unambiguously confirms that the Great Judgment was against Jerusalem. Jesus came IN JUDGMENT in AD 70 just as God “came down” in judgment in the Old Testament against his enemies. There is an abundance of additional proof that Israel/Jerusalem was the target of judgment:

Babylon is described as a harlot (Revelation 17:1, 15; 19:2). Throughout the Bible, when Israel was unfaithful, she is characterized as a harlot or adulterer (Deuteronomy 31:16-18; Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:6-9; Ezekiel 6:8-9; 16:15, 26, 28; Hosea 1:2; 9:1). The harlot is adorned in purple and scarlet (Revelation 17:4), which are the colors of the ritual dress of the high priest and the colors that adorn the temple (Exodus 28:5-6; 39:1-2).

In Matthew 21:33-45 Jesus told the Jews that the kingdom would be taken from them and given to another group, obviously the Christian church. In Matthew 23:29-39 Jesus told the Jews of his day that THEY were the target of his wrath. The blood of all the prophets EVER IN HISTORY would be judged against THEM (not some future generation). This is an astounding prophecy which cannot legitimately be assigned to any other group of people. Revelation has several DIRECT REFERENCES to Matthew 23—Revelation 16:6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:2.

It is irrefutably clear that the wrath upon Jerusalem in Matthew 23 (and elsewhere) would be fulfilled in Jesus’ generation per Matthew 23:36. The Great Judgment of which the Bible frequently speaks was directed squarely at the generation of Jews living in the first century. While each person is judged when he dies per Hebrews 9:27, the overwhelming number of judgment passages in the New Testament are about AD 70.

God divorced old covenant Israel, taking on a new bride—the church. Most Christians will acknowledge that the church is the bride of Christ (John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27, 32). If the church is already married, then the wedding ceremony happened in the past. The church was betrothed in AD 30 per Matthew 25:1-13—and married in AD 70 to the new bride—the New Jerusalem—of Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9. That the church is the New Jerusalem is confirmed by her description as being built on the foundation of the twelve apostles. What else could be built on the foundation of the apostles?!

In summary, the central theme of Revelation is the coming judgment against Old Covenant Israel in AD 70, and the establishment of the New Covenant to its fullest. It is the same judgment—and predicted change of the covenants—spoken of throughout the Old and New Testaments (Deuteronomy 28:15-64; 32:5; Jeremiah 31:31; Daniel 9:26; Matthew 21:43; 22:7-8; Hebrews 8:13; etc.).

(This article is from Mr. Meek’s book Prophecy Primer, available at Amazon.)