All of the Church has been derailed by the religion(s) of "church-ianity".
Absolutely agree.....as it was foretold, the "church" would be corrupted in exactly the same way as Judaism was when Jesus came the first time.
But he would again find God's worship polluted by the "traditions of men" upon his return. Only a minority would be eager to ditch the obvious corruption in favor of the truth. The majority would treat them as heretics without realizing that they themselves had swallowed heresy, hook, line and sinker. (John 15:18-21)
In all actuality, there are three appearances/comings of the Lord:
1. In the likeness of our mortal flesh.
2. In the Holy Spirit of truth.
3. In the immortality of His newness of Life.
Yes, 1) Christ came in human form in order to fulfill his role as redeemer of the faithful, and to teach his fellow Jews the truth about his Father....something that had been lost over the centuries since God's last prophet was sent to them.....The Father was now sending his son to collect the
"lost sheep of the house of Israel". Jesus had already consigned the hypocritical Jewish leaders to "gehenna"...they were incorrigible.
John 18:37....
"
So Pilate said to him: “Well, then, are you a king?” Jesus answered: “You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.”
2) Since there is no scripture that speaks of the holy spirit as God, I do not see the holy spirit as a manifestation of Jesus, but as a means to demonstrate that God had shifted his favor from the old Jewish system to the newly formed Christian arrangement.
The gifts of the spirit along with the deeper truths imparted by it, cleared up a lot of things that were not yet understood by the chosen ones.
And still deeper truths were to come by means of those who had God's spirit (Christ's apostles) and these were able to impart its gifts to others.
3) I see Christ's return as his second manifestation......his "presence" (parousia) which was to come first, was to guide and direct his slaves in the work he had assigned to them. This was not a visible presence but revealed in a "sign" which involved important world events. (Matthew 24:3-14)
His disciples were always engaged in the preaching of the "good news" of God's Kingdom, but it was rather confined in the first century.
Before he left the earth, Jesus said that he would be "with" his disciples in the greatest preaching work that world had ever seen....to be accomplished in
"all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations". (Matthew 24:14) This was to take place as part of the "sign".
Then we have the third manifestation when he comes as judge of all mankind....at the conclusion of the last days, when he would bring "the end" of this entire world system (Daniel 2:44)...and the introduction of his Kingdom as the only ruling authority on earth. What a relief that will be for redeemed mankind. (Revelation 21:2-4)
I do believe that all here can choose which of the three is virtually unobservable.
John 14:15-20.
John.14[
18] I will not leave you comfortless:
I will come to you [being the Comforter of His Holy Spirit].
The holy spirit was sent from the Father to comfort Christ's disciples because animosity would grow as the persecution against them increased.
Why does the Bible use such personal pronouns as “he” and “himself” with reference to the “Spirit of truth”? If the spirit is not a person, does the Bible refer to the “helper” or “Paraclete” as “he” instead of “it”?
Pa·raʹkle·tos is Scripturally treated as the masculine form of the word. In Greek, if one uses the word “Paraclete", the pronouns applied to it must match in gender—“he” and “him”. It does not personify the holy spirit.
Edit: Also see
Revelation 3:20
Is that not what Jesus did when he was invited for an evening meal, such as with Lazarus and his sisters? (Luke 10:38-42)
Christ's disciples are acting as his representatives when they call on people with his message of salvation. (Matthew 10:11-14) As hospitality was incumbent on Jewish hosts, it was not unusual for people passing through to be welcomed in for a meal and to have their feet washed and even a place to spend the night.
This message to the congregation in La·o·di·ceʹa was an appeal because Jesus told them...
"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or else hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. 17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,” but you do not know that you are miserable and pitiful and poor and blind and naked. . . . .All those for whom I have affection, I reprove and discipline. So be zealous and repent." Then he spoke the words of Revelation 3:20, telling them that he was right there ready to take a meal with them when they repented.
