This is quite a controversial subject, and I know what I say here will likely ruffle some feathers. However, I believe that it is important we speak what we believe to be true. Please know, my objective is merely to share what I now understand the Scriptures to say; I have no desire to deceive or lead anyone astray and I humbly ask that you keep an even open mind and take what I share into serious consideration.
TIME REFERENCES ABOUT THE LAST DAYS
The Scriptures repeatedly teach that the events of the last days, including the return, resurrection, and judgment were around the corner, using terms such as the following:
soon" (Rom. 16:20 & Rev. 1:1; & 22:6),
"quickly/shortly" (Rev. 2:16; 3:11; 11:14; 22:7; 22:12; & 22:20),
"near" (Rom. 13:11-12; Phil. 4:5; Heb. 10:25; Jas. 5:8; 1 Peter 4:7; Rev. 1:3; & 22:10), and…
"about to" (from the Greek word melló [3195]) take place (Acts 17:31; 24:15, 25; 26:22; Rom. 8:18; Eph. 1:21; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Peter 5:1; Rev. 1:19; & 17:8).
Another strong indicator of the time the last days events would be fulfilled is that the New Testament writers told Christians living then that they would be alive to see those last days events (such as the second coming and resurrection) happen. Look at the following verses, while keeping in mind the writers were writing to living/breathing Christians nearly 2,000 years ago:
"…so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 1:7-8).
"We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed ... the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed" (1 Cor. 15:51f).
"we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord" (1 The. 4:15).
"we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds" (1 The. 4:17).
"may your … body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 The. 5:23).
"It's only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted …when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven" (2 The. 1:6f).
The writers of the New Testament, while speaking to Christians back in the first century, were saying "you" and "we" while speaking of who'd be alive to experience the last days events. The writers of the New Testament were saying that the Christians alive back then would still be alive when those things transpired!
I've read/heard it stated that the New Testament writers were deceived and that the Spirit led them to write those words for us today, while simultaneously leading the apostles to believe it was for them then. However, there's nowhere in Scripture where it even implies that the New Testament writers were mistaken or were writing for people two or more thousand years in their future! In my opinion, this is a feeble and proof-less presumption.
Matthew 16:27-28
Let’s look at one last key passage by Jesus himself:
"The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to His deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matthew 16:28).
We see in verse 28 that some of those standing in front of Jesus that day wouldn't taste death (die) until they had seen Him returning in His kingdom. We must now ask, "What does Him coming in His kingdom mean?" If we check verse 27 it says that the Son of Man was going to come in the glory of His Father and repay everyone for his deeds. THIS verse defines what Jesus coming in His kingdom means. By using verse 27 to define verse 28, we are reading in context. We can't separate these two verses and make them speak of two separate events.
So back to what I was saying: The Son of Man coming in His kingdom, is when the Son of Man would come in the glory of His Father. Matthew 25:31 shows us that this is the final return of Jesus at the time of the final judgment! And Jesus said in Matthew 16:28, that some of the people standing in front of Him back then wouldn't die until that occurred!
Also, the Son of Man coming in His kingdom is the time when Jesus would repay according to men's deeds (vs. 27). Revelation 20:12 shows us this is also the final judgment. Again, Jesus said in Matthew 16:28, that some who were alive back in His day wouldn't die until that occurred!
According to Jesus in this passage, the time of His return and the judgment (which would also of course include the resurrection) would happen while some of His contemporaries were still living.
DOES GOD MEASURE TIME DIFFERENTLY? (Second Peter 3:8)
Let’s address the issue of Second Peter 3:8: "Don't allow this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day."
This verse has been cited by many to say that God measures time differently than we do, and though there are numerous time references we encounter in the New Testament that state Jesus’ return was soon, these have little to no meaning. In order to not outright deny Scripture, the alternative has been to say that the abundant imminent time statements have little value. Second Peter 3:8 has been used as the scapegoat for this belief.
I have two reasons why this verse can't be used in this way. Firstly, throughout the Scriptures God repeatedly communicated timeframes to humans in their own language and in a way they could comprehend. In Isaiah 8:7 there's the prophecy about a judgment on Damascus/Samaria: "the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, that is the king of Assyria with all his glory." And history tells us that this was about to happen when this prophecy was given.
Similarly, in Isaiah 13:6 there's a prophecy of a judgment on Babylon by the Medes: "Wail, for the day of the Lord is near. It will come as destruction from the Almighty." And history tells us that this event was near when this was prophesied.
Here's a prophecy of the destruction of Moab in Jeremiah 48:16: "The disaster of Moab will soon come, and his calamity has swiftly hastened." And history tells us that this did indeed come to pass soon after the time Jeremiah penned this.
One more—a prophecy of judgment on Israel in Ezekiel 7:8: "I will shortly pour out My wrath on you and spend My anger against you." And, again, history tells us that this was indeed a judgment that transpired shortly after this prophecy was given.
So when God used the words about to, shortly, near, and soon, they actually meant about to, near, soon, and shortly—in earth time! So when we read Second Timothy 4:1 where it states that the Lord was "about to judge the living and the dead," or James 5:8 where it states that "the coming of the Lord is near," or Revelation 1:1 where it states that the events stated would "soon take place," wouldn't they mean exactly the same thing as they did in the Old Testament? If not, why not?
The second reason Second Peter 3:8 can't be legitimately used against God speaking to humans in earth time is because of this: If the apostles believed God measured time differently than we do—with no one really knowing when Jesus would return or when the resurrection and judgment would happen, then why would they repeatedly say it was going to be happening soon or that it was near?
Now let's relook at the meaning of Second Peter 3:8 in which he was actually echoing Psalm 90:2-4: "Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. …A thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it passes by or as a watch in the night."
So if we read Psalm 90:4 in its context of verse 2, we can see it's speaking of God being ageless: He was God from before the mountains or world began, even from everlasting to everlasting! It's about Him being eternal, not about Him measuring time differently. But even if God's time-scale was different, He knows our time-scale and how we see it. He knows all too well how we view, see, sense, and measure time, for He's the One who created the universe, us, and the time limits of this material world: He provided our perceptions of time! Throughout Scripture God constantly communicated to humans according to how we measure time!
Second Peter 3:8 does not warrant ignoring/dismissing the time references in Scripture concerning end/last days. The time references are important and should be taken with serious consideration.
I know this is quite different than what is commonly taught in Christian circles, and I know these leaves a lot of unanswered questions, such as when did Jesus come on the clouds? What about heaven and earth being burned up? What about the beast? What about the Harlot? What about the lake of fire? All of these are legitimate questions that need answering, but they cannot be answered in one article as I’m sure you will understand.
However, what the scriptures I have shared say should cause us to seriously consider what we’ve been taught about what the bible says concerning the last days and Christ’s return.
There are too many clear and precise time references that place Jesus’ coming in the first century; especially what is said by Jesus in Matthew 16:27-28.
This leaves us all with tow options: We can admit that the church has made some mistakes, and then search to find alternative interpretations of the last days events; or we must say that Jesus and His apostles lied.
Which one of those two options are you more comfortable with?
(If you are interested in reading further about this view and finding answers to many aspects of the last days, please consider getting a copy of my book “How The End Times Ended In AD 70” by clicking on the link below. Currently free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited).
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