Sealed for a Day That Has Passed: Understanding the First‑Century “Day of Redemption” and Life in the New Covenant Age

[Jack]

And there in lies you problem
Mormons, Jw's, many cults and lany sects of Christendom are also allegorists and either partial or full preterists. They get their info from as you also claim to and you all disagree with one another.

And to be a preterist you have to do massive reinterpretation of what are know as Eschatological passages to get the bible to conform to your theories instead of letting your theories conform to the Bible as written., and not some secret code found hidden between the lines or needingsome "spiritual interpretation" of the words.

MASSIVE indeed!

Why should we believe you ropinion more than the legions of others who do the same interpreting spiritually as you do.

I'm a literalist. I don't need to interpret what God said.

Jesus is God, Hell is eternal and Israel is Home to stay in the Land of the Bible. No interpretation needed.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

MASSIVE indeed!

I'm a literalist. I don't need to interpret what God said.

Jesus is God, Hell is eternal and Israel is Home to stay in the Land of the Bible. No interpretation needed.

Well if you are a literalist then why did you acknowledge with bingo (normally a word used to denote correctness) when I asked if you were a preterist and allegorist?

Preterism in and of itself requires a massive allegorical eschatology.

 

[Jack]

Well if you are a literalist then why did you acknowledge with bingo (normally a word used to denote correctness) when I asked if you were a preterist and allegorist?

To be perfectly clear, I am not a Preterist nor allegorist.

Preterism in and of itself requires a massive allegorical eschatology.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

To be perfectly clear, I am not a Preterist nor allegorist.

Well by holding to teh OP, you hold to a preterist view of eschatology.

 

[Jack]

Well by holding to teh OP, you hold to a preterist view of eschatology.

Preterists have WILD imaginations. I don't. lol

 

[amigo de christo]

I think what Matt is tooting is Universalism. In spite of the many warnings in the Bible against it!

its of that . but is commonly called inclusvism . What they do not realize is
this inclusive god is NOT THE GOD ,NOR brings the love of GOD .
it brings a lie that it calls love to them .
THE LOVE OF GOD is that we KEEP his commandments .
TO BELEIVE ON JESUS CHRIST and to love one another .
THEY REMOVE THE BELIEV E ON JESUS PART . so yeah ITS VOID AS VOID can be my friend .
And remove the severity of GOD . the lake of fire has at best now
become perhaps a lukewarm bathtub . Things are not looking good at all jack .
But if one loveth a lie , He loveth a lie and the love of the TRUTH cannot be found IN A LIE
NOR WILL GOD ever BE FOUND IN A LIE . NEITHER WILL SALVATION ever be found IN A LIE .
But this group sure thinks it is . As for that lake of f ire they say dont exist
and this real big fat broad path that includes sin and unbelief they created to GOD .
WELL its the big path that dont exist and this broad inclusive path , OH IT ENDS IN A very real LAKE OF FIRE TOO . as do
all who travel it and TROD JESUS UNDER FOOT for a lie .

 

[MatthewG]

Brother, I hear your concern about inclusivism, but let me clarify something. I’m not removing belief in Jesus, nor am I softening the severity of God. The love of God is keeping His commandments—believing in the Son and loving one another. On that, we agree completely.

Where we differ is not on the authority of Christ, but on the nature of His fire. You’re treating any mention of God’s fire having a purpose as if it’s a denial of judgment. It isn’t. The lake of fire is real, severe, and final. I’ve never called it a “lukewarm bathtub,” and I don’t teach a broad path that includes sin or unbelief. Sin destroys. Unbelief condemns. Scripture is clear.

My point is simple: If God Himself is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29), then His fire is not separate from Him. It is not a lie, nor a human invention. It is His presence—holy, purifying, and terrifying to those who reject Him.

You say “God cannot be found in a lie.” Amen. But neither can God be reduced to a human caricature of judgment.

The gates of the Kingdom are open (Revelation 21:25). The Lamb is in the midst of the fire (Revelation 14:10). These are not my ideas—they’re Scripture.

If someone chooses a lie, they will face the consequences of that lie. If someone tramples the Son underfoot, judgment is certain. But judgment does not erase the reality that God is present even in His fire.

I’m not preaching inclusivism. I’m preaching what the text actually says. A narrow path. A real lake of fire. A real Savior in the midst of it. A real separation between those who desire God and those who reject Him.

If someone wants a lie, they can have it. But I refuse to call God’s fire a lie simply because it doesn’t fit a human system.

 

[marks]

Paul’s phrase “the day of redemption” is not isolated. It is rooted in the Old Testament prophetic expectation of “the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Malachi 4:5). This day was not about the end of the physical universe, but the end of a covenant age — the Old Covenant world centered around the temple, priesthood, sacrifices, and national Israel.

Malachi warned that Elijah would come before this day. Jesus identified John the Baptist as that Elijah (Matthew 11:14; 17:10–13). That means the “great and dreadful day” was imminent in the first century, not thousands of years in the future.

This is the same day Paul calls “the day of redemption.” It is the same day Jesus describes in Matthew 24. It is the same day John the Baptist warned about. It is the same day the prophets foresaw as the climactic judgment on Old Covenant Israel.

You are by fiat blending together things that are not the same, without any foundation to do so.

Hear the Word of the LORD:

James 3:1 EMTV
My brothers, let not many become teachers, knowing that we shall receive greater judgment.

Don't kid yourself that "we shall . . ." doesn't mean you if you purpose yourself to teach. Simpy declaring this means that doesn't make it so.

I know you are going to ignore this warning, just the same, it's been given.

Much love!

 

[MatthewG]

You are by fiat blending together things that are not the same, without any foundation to do so.

Hear the Word of the LORD:

James 3:1 EMTV
My brothers, let not many become teachers, knowing that we shall receive greater judgment.

Don't kid yourself that "we shall . . ." doesn't mean you if you purpose yourself to teach. Simpy declaring this means that doesn't make it so.

I know you are going to ignore this warning, just the same, it's been given.

Much love!

You think that I’m going to hell or something. I get that you don’t agree with me, but are you actually condemning me, or are you just saying you disagree?

On the Christian Theological Board, beliefs that differ from the site’s main positions are allowed. People with different interpretations are free to speak here. Did you know that?

Judge me harshly if you want. I don’t care. Tell me I’m wrong, tell me I’m going to hell, tell me I’m taking hope away from people. Whatever you want to say—whether it’s in front of me or behind my back—I’m just being straightforward about what I believe.

 

[MatthewG]

I think people who disagree with me are completely free to do so, and that’s fine. Scripture shows that believers have always had different expectations and interpretations (Romans 14:5).

A lot of people feel their hope is taken away if Jesus already came as He promised to that generation He spoke to. Their hope is built around seeing Jesus come through the clouds here in America or wherever they live. I understand that. But those are personal, subjective beliefs. Just as people don’t have to accept anything I say, I don’t have to accept their expectations either.

There are many people on here who would say I am a devil, a charlatan, a liar, or that “Matthew is on his way to hell.” That’s all fine. My faith is simple: I believe Jesus did not fail the people He promised to return to, and some people really hate that idea. But Jesus said plainly, “This generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34). I trust His words.

By faith, I believe He came and was seen, just as He said He would. I’m sorry if that disturbs you. I also believe Jesus achieved complete victory over everything—“He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:25). And I believe people are not thrown into eternal torment but remain outside the kingdom, which Jesus Himself described (Matthew 8:12).

I can’t help what Scripture implies about its own timeline and audience. My faith rests on Jesus’ words, not on modern expectations or traditions. Whether people agree or disagree, I’m simply sharing what I believe with sincerity and peace.

 

[marks]

You think that I’m going to hell or something.

No, I didn't say that.

I've repeated James' warning to you. It's up to you to examine yourself in the Holy Spirit to know how to apply this. Myself, I'm concerned for you, that you've laid hold of all these ideas, promoting them across the board, and it concerns me.

Much love!

 

[MatthewG]

What’s concerning? For people to think for themselves that is big.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

Preterists have WILD imaginations. I don't. lol

So then why did you write that sealed for a day has passed, day of redemption is 1st century and life in the NT age? Do you also believe the seals, bowls and trumps already passed as well?

 

[Ronald Nolette]

Introduction​

Few phrases in the New Testament are more misunderstood than Paul’s statement that early believers were “sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). Many Christians today assume this sealing applies to every believer in every generation, often interpreting it as a guarantee of salvation at death or at a future end‑of‑the‑world event. But when we examine the historical, covenantal, and scriptural context, a very different picture emerges.

This study explores what the “day of redemption” meant to the apostles, why the sealing was necessary for the first‑century church, and why believers today are not sealed for a day that has already come and gone. Instead, we now live in the New Covenant age — the new heavens and new earth — and our hope is not a future apocalyptic rescue, but the promise of being with God after this life and walking with Him through the trials of this one.

Yo0u are a preterist from your writings and your aqssumptions are way way off. You have had to allegorize scriptures to get to your conclusions and that is just wrong.

 

[Jack]

So then why did you write that sealed for a day has passed, day of redemption is 1st century and life in the NT age? Do you also believe the seals, bowls and trumps already passed as well?

Nope, just a misunderstanding

 

[marks]

I think people who disagree with me are completely free to do so, and that’s fine. Scripture shows that believers have always had different expectations and interpretations

That's not the mindset God teaches us. We're not just a bunch of individuals each with their own ideas and that's OK.

Ephesians 4:11-16 KJV
11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14) That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16) From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Much love!