—> And then shall be seen the attesting miracle of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the people of the earth shall beat their breasts in anguish, and they shall see the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. “And He shall send on a mission His angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together in one place His chosen-out ones from the four winds, from the uttermost parts of heaven to the other.”
Neither occurred.
Christ said they would.
>> And then shall be seen the attesting miracle of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the people of the earth shall beat their breasts in anguish, and they shall see the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. “And He shall send on a mission His angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together in one place His chosen-out ones from the four winds, from the uttermost parts of heaven to the other.”<<
>>Neither occurred. Christ said they would.<<
How do you know they did not occur? What is meant by “parts of heaven”? What is meant by the “clouds of heaven”? Describe the miracle of the Son of Man in heaven.
The Greek word φυλή is typically translated as “tribes” or “kindreds,” not people. See:
Mat 19:28, 24:30; Luk 2:36, 22:30; Acts 13:21; Rom 11:1; Phi 3:5; Heb 7:13-14; Jas 1:1; Rev 1:7, 5:5, 5:9, 7:4-9, 11:9, 13:7, 14:6, 21:12
Paul said this to the Thessalonians:
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” — 1Th 4:16-17 KJV
The “we” in “Then we which are alive...” is a 1st Person Plural Pronoun. Paul said that some in his audience of Thessalonians would still be alive when Christ returned. Recall:
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” — John 16:13 KJV
Either the Holy Spirit lied to Paul and did not show him “things to come,” or the Lord returned exactly when and the way Paul said he would. I choose the latter.
Mr. Kalamata