Thursday, June 17, 2010

Early Church Writings on the Lord's Return

When will Christ Come for us?

By David Rose

"It is an ancient adversary and an old enemy with whom we wage our battle: six thousand years are now nearly completed since the devil first attacked man....the divine arrangement containing seven thousand of years" Cyprian (Treatise 11; Preface, 2; On the Exhortation to Martyrdom, 11).


"And 6,000 years must needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy day 'on which God rested from all His works.' For the Sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints, when they 'shall reign with Christ,' when He comes from heaven, as John says in his Apocalypse: for 'a day with the Lord is as a thousand years.'" - Hippolytus (On Daniel, 2:4)

"Therefore, since all the works of God were completed in six days, the world must continue in its present state through six ages, that is, six thousand years. For the great day of God is limited by a circle of a thousand years, as the prophet shows, who says 'In Thy sight, O Lord, a thousand years are as one day.' And as God laboured during those six days in creating such great works, so His religion and truth must labour during these six thousand years, while wickedness prevails and bears rule. And again, since God, having finished His works, rested the seventh day and blessed it, at the end of the six thousandth year all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign for a thousand years; and there must be tranquillity and rest from the labours which the world now has long endured." - Lactantius (The Divine Institutes, 7:14)

The last days are upon us and we see every where the signs of Christ return. But just how close is his return? I believe the Bible has very clearly told us when to expect his return. When God created this world, He created it in six days and the seventh day he called the Sabbath. On the Sabbath the Lord rested and hollowed it. This was to be the day of rest, that we may worship our Lord. (Ex 20: 8-11) Many of us know that the old testament is a shadow of things to come. The seven day week has prophetic signifacents for us to consider in regard to the return of Jesus Christ.

In Hebrews 4:1-9 this future millennium is referred to as a Sabbath rest. This is God’s seventh day. Let me explain.

There was 1,000 years from Adam to Noah, 1000 years from Noah to Abraham, 1,000 years from Abraham to King David, 1,000 years from King David to Jesus Christ, and 2,000 years from Christ to somewhere around our time give or take a few years.

“Now learn a parable from the fig-tree: when it's branch is tender and bringeth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so ye also, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors. Verily I tell you, this generation shall not pass away, till all these be fulfilled.”

Matt. 24:32-34

Israel was recognized as a nation in 1967. Israel in the word is refered to many times by God as His fig tree. So in essence, Jesus tells us that in the same generation that Israel becomes a nation again, we will see Him return.

God is speaking to us through the six days of creation, and telling us that in 6000 years of earth's history our Messaih will come and set up the 7th day millennial kingdom. This is why it is so important that people don’t mess with the Word of God by trying to compromise the message in the name of so called science. There are those that teach the gap theory trying to make peace with the teachers of evolution. First, we don’t need to please any one because God’s word is always right. Evolution is unproven and unprovable. Those that teach the gap theory say that each day of creation is a thousand years or millions of years. I will show you the problems with this theory. First lets go to the word.

Gen. 1:1-5 says: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Here we see that the word clearly tells us how long it took God to make the first day. It had only one evening and morning in it. After reading the rest of chapter one of Genesis it becomes clear that their was only one evening and one morning in each of the other days that were created. On the third day God created the grass, herbs and trees, and it was not until the sixth day that God created the insects and bees (every thing that creepeth upon the earth). Now if it took even a thousand years for each day to finish, all your plant life would die before any of the insects got here to pollinate them. Plant’s cannot survive thousands let alone millions of years without insects. They are interdependent on each other. This alone is pretty strong proof that this world was created in six literal days. Here is more proof.

The thousand year millennium is refered to six times in Revelation 20:2-7 In the book of Revelation, the millennial reign of Christ is stated six times to be 1,000 years in length:

“And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years”

“And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.” (Revelation 20:2-7).

If the seventh day of the Lord is the thousand year millennium, the day we enter into our rest. Then we know that their has to be six thousand years or six days in God’s callender to bring about a seventh day. Seven is very special number to God. It means complete. We can see that God has used many examples of seven in scriptures.

In Revelation there is seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials. I think God is trying to tell us something.

The Israelites marched around Jericho once a day for 6 days on the 7th day when they sounded the trumpets the walls fell down. The victory was delivered to Israel. (Josh. 6:3-6)

And Elisha told a guy to Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and he would be healed. (2 Kings 5:10) When the guy did what the prophet said he was healed completely. (2 Kings 5:14)

Israel was to work the soil for 6 years and rest the soil in the 7th year. (Ex 23:10,11)

There were 6 steps up to Solomon's throne, and the 7th step was made of gold, which symbolized the power and glory of God. (2 Chron 9:17,18)

1 Thessalonians 5:2-5 (King James Version)

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Many people say “well a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day” to say that the earth could be millions of years old instead of just a little under six thousand. They say this because they heard someone else say it. If they had read it, they would have read the context the statement was used in.

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

2 Peter 3:8-10 (King James Version)

We can see here that the context that this quote is used in is in regard to the return of the Lord and not the six days of creation.

We also have men of God that lived close to the times this was written. We have Barnabas who traveled with Paul. We also have Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. If these men could not understand what the Lord’s disciples meant then none of us can.

“And God made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended on the seventh day, and rested on it, and He hallowed it.

Give heed, children, what this meaneth; He ended in six days. He meaneth this, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end; for the day with Him signifyeth a thousand years; and this He himself beareth me witness, saying; Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. And He rested on the seventh day. this He meaneth; when His Son shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One, and shall judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he truly rest on the seventh day.” Barnabas 15:3-5

Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp born in A.D. 140, worked intensely against powerful Gnostic heresies and wrote a treatise on the virtues of the Christian faith. Among his writings was found this statement:

“For in so many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded … and God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works He made … This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come … in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end after six thousand years.”

Mayan and Azteks indicate that this present age ends around 2012. Masons are waiting for the grand architect to show up at this time to rule over them. More on this will be discussed later.

When therefore ye shall see the desolating abomination, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing at the holy place, (let him, that readeth, attend) then let those in Judea flee to the mountains: let not him that is at the top of the house come down into it, to take any thing out of his house; nor let him that is in the field return back to take his clothes. But wo to them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days. Pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the sabbath: Matt. 24:15-20

The word tells us that we will see the Anti-Christ just before the coming of our Lord. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” 2 Thessalonians 2:3

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:36-44

The Lord tells us to be ready and to stay awake (to pray) and to look for His coming. We may not know the day and the hour, but His sheep will know the season. We know that we are in the last hour and soon the antichrist will come on the scene and we will be ushered out of here before sudden distruction will come upon the whole earth.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Matthew 25:1-13

Here the Lord is warning those that are sleeping spiritually, they are luke warm their lamps have gone out. Yet they think they are still Christians. He refers to them as virgins. We know there is good fruit and bad fruit, goats and sheep, wheat and the tares, the wise virgins and the foolish. These are all those that profess to know Christ. They are those in the church. He is not referring to the people in the church and the people of the world, this is clear by scriptures. He is referring to those that profess His name that fellowship together, and hang out in the same crowd. This is why He speaks of letting both grow together until the harvest.

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather you together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:30

The Lord tells us in His word to be ready for Him. To be busy about our Fathers business until he comes back for us.

“Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say to you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 24:44-51)

We must stay sober and keep awake spiritually. This is only going to come by staying in the Word continually and fellowshipping with other saints.

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