Symbolic Meaning of Matthew 24:30-31 Heaven and heavens are often symbolic of corrupt religious systems (2 Pet. 3:5-10; Isa. 34:5-4; Joel 2:9-11). See can denote mental perception (Luke 3:6; John 1:51; Rev. 19:10; Matt. 27:4, 24). Clouds often represent trouble as in Joel 2:1-2, a parallel text of Matt 24:30-31. The word “angels” is translated from the Greek word aggelos which literally means messenger and often refers to any messenger of God (Rev. 2 and 3, the seven angels or…

Read More Read More

Mental Perception Now let us consider more thoroughly Rev 7: 1 and Matt 24:30, which speak of all mankind seeing the returned Lord. Are they literal or symbolic? “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth…

Read More Read More

“Having established scripturally (See our last two studies, “Signs of Christ’s Presence” and “I will Come Again”) that the second advent of Christ begins with a secret invisible presence  which is discernible only by the eye of faith, and only to those members of the Church who are awake and watching, the question logically arises, Will the future revealing to all mankind likewise involve mental perception or literal sight? Harmony must be sought between two sets of scriptures relative to…

Read More Read More

Evangelical and Fundamentalist Consent to “Presence” The Emphasized Bible translated by Rotherham is published by Kregel, an evangelical publishing house. Rotherham relates his struggle with the word parousia in the third edition of his translation. Although contrary to his theology, he acknowledged that parousia means “presence” and so translated it in every occurrence. He states on Page 271 in the Appendix: “In this edition the word parousia is uniformly rendered ‘presence’ (‘coming,’ as a representative of this word, being set…

Read More Read More

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3) When this age-abiding promise was first uttered by Jesus to his apostles, it did not make sense. To the naturally minded men who followed Jesus, they assumed the logical move would be for Jesus to take charge as a King, throw off the yoke of Roman bondage, exalt the Jews…

Read More Read More

Nations on the Run—another Remarkable Prophecy “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is…

Read More Read More