If you consider other's understanding false, why do you think yours is not?
It looks like you want to make dissapear other's biblical analysis to impose yours. Sorry, but that won't work with some of us. I guess it may be useful for your church though.
παρουσίας is correctly translated as PRESENCE
... "coming" is in Greek a diferent word: ἔλευσις
As you very well say: many things some people teach are erroneous, but not what the Scriptures say.
Dear ElieG12,
If you consider other's understanding false, why do you think yours is not?
I used to believe much as orthodox Christianity believes. However, everything changed for me on Oct 8th, 2005. On that day, Christ came a second time to me and poured out the Latter Rain. When a believer receives the Latter Rain, Christ heals their spiritual blindness and scripture opens up to them. In other words, Christ is no longer "veiled".
Note: When Christ comes to an unbeliever to call them out from the world, He gives them the Early Rain which is an earnest of the Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). Since the Spirit is given in measure, the believer is left carnally minded and spiritually blind. These are the believers who make up the churches of the world.
The day I was converted was an earthshaking day with thunder, lightning and trumpets (spiritually speaking). My worldly paradigm changed to a spiritual paradigm.
Also, after I received the Latter Rain, the sun was darkened and the moon turned to blood. This event is a spiritual event and it represents that I could no longer could receive my truth from the natural sun (Satan) of this world. I could now only receive truth from Christ, my new Sun.
What I experienced was spiritually very similar to how Peter described his and the others conversion on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-22).
Also, I was at home when I converted and it happened very suddenly. I was not expecting it in any way. This is what this verse teaches:
1Thes 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 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.
The reason Christ comes as a thief in the night is because the Elect are dwelling in darkness in the apostate church (dwelling in peace and safety under the deceptions of Satan). When Christ comes to one of His fallen away Elect, He brings "sudden destruction" to them as travail upon a woman with child. The woman is shown because she is about to give birth to a new child of God. She is part of the birthing analogy used in scripture. After the sudden destruction occurs, the believer is converted and as become a child of God.
The church which I attended had nothing to do with my conversion, nor could they understand what had happened to me after I tried to explain it. The church I attended was just one of the many spiritually blind apostate churches in the world. After that "day", I quickly left the church and I have never attended any church since. When Paul said that none of the flock would be spared by the wolves, he truly meant it. There are zero churches in the world that have not become apostate. They are all following "another gospel" which teaches a mixture of works and faith.
Since the day of my conversion, I have had a passion for studying and learning God's Word. Over the years, the Lord has blessed me far more than I ever expected.
Here is one of the scriptures where Christ teaches
when He heals a believer's spiritual blindness. As with all of the teachings of Christ, it is presented in His spiritual language through "types" and "symbols":
Mark 8:15 And he charged them, saying, take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, it is because we have no bread. 17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21 And he said unto them, how is it that ye do not understand?
In these verses, Christ is giving His disciples a lesson on the spiritual language of God's Word - His language. At this point in time (before they were converted at Pentecost), the disciples had not yet received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Latter Rain) and because of such, they were still spiritually blind. They had been called out from the world (as was the whole Nation of Israel), but they still could not understand what Christ was teaching them. After Christ’s short lesson, He ends it by asking them this question:
“How is it that ye do not understand”? No response from the Apostles is recorded in scripture. However, Christ answers His own question in the very next four verses.
Mark 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
Since Christ is the Word of God, He teaches us not only through His words which are recorded in scripture but also by the things He did. In answering the question that He proposed to the disciples in verse 21, Christ goes to Bethsaida and gives us His answer in
type by the healing of a blind man. This type is the same type which Christ uses with the Old Testament events to teach His spiritual truths.
In verse 23, Christ leads a blind man out of the city. Once outside the city, Christ places spit on his eyes and touches him with His hands. These actions occur as the blind man is looking down which symbolizes the carnal aspect of His healing. Christ does not have to tell the blind man to look down, the blind man just does it naturally. The spit (water) symbolizes the blind man receiving the
Early Rain of the Spirit with its accompanying vision (understanding). This event represents the time when an unbeliever is called out from the world and enters the church. After Christ asks the man what he could see, the man looks up and says that he could see men walking as trees. "Walking as Trees" is a spiritual symbol for called out believers who walk by sight rather than by faith. At this point, the blind man is a type of a called out believer. The man’s blindness was not total any longer but he was still very near-sighted.
This first healing of the blind man reflects the true spiritual condition of a new believer when they first enter the church. At that time, they are left carnally minded and spiritually near-sighted. They can see a little but that only opens the door to Satan's deceptions - deceptions which each new believer readily accepts due to their carnal nature still being in control of them. This is taught by Christ in Mat 12:43-45.
Peter says this near-sighted condition is the same as being blind:
2Pet 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
In the final verse of the story, Christ lays His hands upon the man’s eyes again, but as He does, Christ has the man look up instead of down. This second healing represents the
Latter Rain of the Spirit when true spiritual vision is given to the believer. The man’s upward gaze represents the spiritual aspect of the healing in contrast to the carnal aspect when the blind man was looking down at the earth. From that moment onward, we now know that the blind man is a type of a called and chosen believer who has received both the Early and Latter Rains. He has been given eyes that can see. From his new ability to understand God's Word, he will then come out from Satan's deceptions and will begin walking by faith. He will be included in the resurrection of the First Fruits and will receive life during the ages.
What I have presented above is some of the reasons why I believe what I teach is the truth of God. I hope it answers your question.
Can you understand the story of the blind man and "see" what Christ is teaching?
Joe
