u/ArrantPariah

Jesus is not coming back.

The bible makes it very clear, repeatedly, that Jesus vowed to return to earth, descending from the clouds with a host of angels, while his disciples, accusers and executioners were still living.

We find this promise in the gospels, the epistles of the apostle Paul, and the book of Revelation.

By the time the last-written gospel, John, was published, the author knew these prophecies were not going to materialize. He turned Jesus into the Greek LOGOS (the “Word”) and the Creator of the Universe, but he wasn’t going to return from the clouds as the other gospel writers promised.

However the authors of the other three gospels, and of Revelation and the Pauline epistles, made it very clear that Jesus was going to return before everyone died.

Jesus vowed that he would return during the lifetimes of his disciples. When this didn’t happen and Christians started dying, the apostle Paul had to rationalize things, as in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

>But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Jesus' own prophecy (Matthew 24:34)

>Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

The gospels make it clear that “this generation” means the disciples standing before Jesus as he spoke.

Matthew 24:29-34 explains what was to be fulfilled while the generation listening to Jesus was still alive:

>Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. > >Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Matthew makes it clear that “this generation” means the disciples standing before Jesus:

Matthew 16: 27-28

>For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

It is possible that “some” was an interpolation added after early Christians began dying and Jesus had not returned as promised.

Luke 9:27

>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.

Luke 21:32:

>Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Mark 9:1

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.

Mark 13:30

>Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

In Mark 14:62, Jesus told his accusers — the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin — that they would see his return:

>And ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Revelation 1:

>The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John... 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand...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.

The writer is anticipating that those who executed Jesus will see his return.

Revelation 22:10

>And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

The earliest Christians were expecting Jesus to return during their lifetimes.

Here is Paul again, in 1 Corinthians 15

> Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (i.e., die), but we shall all be changed,

But of course they all did die without Jesus returning in power from the clouds with a host of angels, and every human eye seeing his return.

The things to be fulfilled while the people of that generation were still alive included:

*The sun darkened. *The moon no longer shining. *Stars falling from the sky and the heavens shaken. *Jesus appearing in the clouds with power and great glory, to be seen by all the people of the earth. *The angels appearing with the great sound of a trumpet to gather the elect from every part of the earth.

None of these things happened during the first century AD, when that generation was alive.

Some pastors make their livings by taking passages from the Bible to impute end-times prophesies in our modern age. For example, Greg Laurie mentions Iran. He scares people, and brings in generous tithes and offerings. But, he is just bullshitting.

But, it is all nonsense. Jesus did not return, and bring about the end of the world, while anyone he knew was still alive, as purportedly promised. He certainly isn't going to return now, or any time in the future.

The golden statue of Donald Trump is an idol.

Here is a short video, showing part of the unveiling ceremony for the gold statue. Note the congregation members, reverently placing their right palms over their hearts, while facing the statue during the ceremony. Some Jews are also present.

For Christians, idolatry is a controversial subject, in light of the Second Commandment:

>Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

In the practice of religion, a cult image, or graven image, is a human-made object that is venerated or worshiped for the person, deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. The term idol, usually pejorative in English (except in Indian English where it usually carries no hostile implication), is an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship. The term idol can also refer to a person who is held in high esteem, such as a sports hero, a pop star, and even Donald Trump himself.

Most of you are familiar with the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, from Daniel 3:

>Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

Three Jews survived the fiery furnace, and Jews became exempted from worshiping the statue.

Jews and Samaritans in the Roman Empire were officially excused from worshiping the Roman emperor, which included veneration of the emperor’s image. The Romans permitted Jews to follow their ancestral laws and to pray for the emperor instead of deifying him. An article on the rise of emperor worship in Rome.

In the New Testament, Paul advocated something of a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy concerning whether to eat the meat of animals that had been slaughtered as part of Pagan religious ceremonies.

Protestants often accuse Catholics of violating the Second Commandment by worshiping cult images. Catholics counter by asserting that they are not worshiping, but merely venerating, their images. Here is a Protestant perspective.

Mark Burns defended the golden Trump statue thus

>“What amazes me is how quickly some people have compared this beautiful statue, created and made possible by more than 6,000 patriots, to a golden calf or idol worship.” He quoted the Commandment to “have no other gods before me” and said he is not guilty of that. “Honor is not worship. Respect is not idolatry. Celebration is not bowing down to a false god. Giving honor where honor is due is biblical. Bowing down and worshipping an idol is sinful. There is a major difference. The giant golden statue was not created for worship. It was created as a symbol of resilience, patriotism, courage and gratitude. It was created to honor a man whom many may disagree with, but millions of Americans believe has done extraordinary things to make this nation stronger.”

The millions of Americans who believe that Donald Trump has done extraordinary things are idolizing him. Honoring Donald Trump, by venerating the golden statue that embodies Donald Trump, turns the statue into a graven image, and an idol.