2009/05/13

[대홍수]

"Every Eye Shall See Him"

http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/proph_37.htm

Having established Scripturally that the second advent of Christ begins with a secret invisible presence which discernable only to the church by the eye of faith, the question logically arise, will the future revealment to all mankind involve mental perception or literal?

Harmony must be sought between two sets of scriptures relative to this matter.

Matthew 24:30-31 and Revelation 1:7, if taken literally, could be interpreted to mean that all mankind will see the returned Christian with their literal eyes. On the other hand, the following four scriptures state, with clarity, that after Christ ascended into heaven, mankind would not and could not see him with the literal eye.

(1)   "Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye [shall] see me: because I live, ye shall live also." John 14:19. Here is a plain statement by Jesus just prior to his death and resurrection that the world would never see him. Then he adds that "ye", the apostles and all the church would see him again. Why? Because "ye shall live also." Just as Christ was resurrected, so his faithful followers will be raised at his second advent. "The world seeth me no more." When Christ returns, the world will not see him with the literal eye, but his followers will literally see him in their resurrection bodies. 1 John 3:2

(2)   Hebrew 1:1-3 tells us that the glorified Christ is the express image of the Father's person. Colossians 1:15 speaks of Christ, "who is the image of the invisible God." These scriptures show that when Christ ascended into the presence of God, he was the exact image of the Father. From 1 Timothy 6:16 we learn that Christ is "dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath see, nor can see." If no man can see Christ after his ascension, because he is the exact glorious image of the Heavenly Father, then no man can see the returned Christ of glory.

(3)   Acts 22:6-8 and 11-14 reveal that a mere glimpse of the glorified Christ completely blinded Saul of Tarsus. If required the power of God through Ananaias to even partially restore Saul's sight.

(4)    Luke 17:20 reveals King Jesus will return unobserved. The 17the chapter of Luke is speaking of the second presence of Christ, when he returns to setup  his kingdom. Verse states. "The Kingdom of god cometh not with observation." If Christ's return was visible to man, then the Kingdom of God would come visibly.

Literal, or Symbolic

These four scriptures show that the glorified Christ will not and cannot be seen at his return. Yet Revelation 1:17 and Matthew 24:30 seem to indicate that all mankind will see the returned Lord. Will this be by literal or by mental perception (as for example, when we say, "I see [understand] what you man")" As Christians, we cannot afford to base our conclusions upon one set of scriptures that do not fit with our views. We must accept the challenges: "Study thyself approved unto God… rightly dividing the Word of Truth." The only valid to ascertain the correct view of nay Biblical doctrine is to collate all the scriptures on a given subject and then rightly divide them, that is, harmonize them. Only then can we be sure of the correct understanding. When all the scriptures on a give subject are brought together, they will harmonize. They will not contradict.

It is generally admitted that some scriptures are symbolic, for example, the fig tree of Matthew 234:32 which represents the nation Israel and the eagles of Luke 17:36 which symbolize faithful Christians. The problem does violence to reason or places the passage in direct antagonism to plain statements of Scripture, it is a good indication that the passage should be considered figuratively and interpretation as a symbol should be sought in harmony with obviously plain and literal passages.

Remember John 14:19; 1 Timothy 6:16; Acts 22:6-9, 11-14 and Luke 17:20 are all plain statements to the effects that the returned Lord cannot and will not be seen by the human eye. These scriptures should be read and reread. They are literal statements that cannot be taken symbolically.

Mental Perception

Now, for a consideration of the other set of scriptures (Matt. 24:30-31 and Rev. 1:7), which speak of all mankind seeing the returned Lord. Are they literal or symbolic? In both texts, the Greek word translation "see" is optimai. The following definition is from An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W.W. Vine:

Otomai - to see; used a) objectively, with reference to person or thing seen, or b) subjectively, with reference to an inward impression or a spiritual experience or a mental occupation.

Thus we see opomai can mean literal sight or mental perception. The following are examples of how the Greek word optomai is used in Scripture to denote mental understanding.

Luke 3:6 - "And all flesh shall see [optomai] the salvation of God." One doesn't literally see salvation, one understand it.

John 1:51- "And he [Jesus] saith unto him [Nathanael], Very, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see [optomai] heaven open, and the angels of God ascending an descending upon the Son of man." Nathanael never saw this. In an allusion to Jacob's ladder, Jesus is saying that the Son of man would decome the real ladder of communication between haven and earth.

Three more examples of optomai are found I the following:

Revelation 19:10 - "And he said unto me, See [optomai] thou do it now.

Matthew 24:4 - "… …And they said….. see [optomai] thou do that.

Matthew 24:24 - "…. I am innocent … see [optmai] ye to it."

These scriptures reveal that the Bible does not optomai, translated "see" I Matthew 24:30-31 and Revelation 1:7, in symbolic sense to denote metal understanding.

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For your interests.

Much love in our dear Redemer

Sr. Chai