Christ Not Coming Back Again (Part 3) - By Danilo T. Nacua

The Misinterpreted Passages:

John 21:22-23 (NIV)
“Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.’ Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, ‘If want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?’"

Okay, let’s analyze this statement. The phrase “If want him to remain alive until I return” is the one that caused the confusion of today’s self-professed Christians. Think again, would this promise “until I return” concern us today? I don’t think so! Please bear in mind that the cited conversation was between Christ and his disciples and we have nothing to do with it. We are just reading their story. The only thing we can do is to investigate the circumstances.

To whom did Christ refer “to him” that may still be alive until “his return”? Read John 21:20-21 (NIV) and learn that, “Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, ‘Lord, who is going to betray you?’) When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?”

The point of the promise is that the disciple whom Jesus loved may still be alive or may be dead until his return. In view of the above promise to return, what other conditions did Christ set as an indication of his arrival?

He prescribed some of these conditions in Matthew 16:27-28 (RSV) as, “For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming to his kingdom.”

Did this coming Son of Man refer to Christ? Luke 22:67-70 (NIV) proves this, “‘If you are the Christ’, they said, ‘tell us’. Jesus answered, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God’. They all asked, ‘Are you then the Son of God?’ He replied, ‘You are right in saying I am’.”

We don’t deny that John 21:22-23 is a promise of his coming. But if you’ll take a look also at the indicated conditions of the same promise in Matthew 16:27-28 you’ll also realize that the phrase ‘there are some standing here who will not taste death” will make your mind start thinking. It was not exclusive to the disciple whom Christ loved but also to some of his other followers. Would you be so naive so as to assume that until today those who were “standing here who will not taste death” are still alive, since they were the ones to see his return? Think of that.

Please be reminded again that Paul advised us 1 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV) that, “Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying ‘Do not go beyond what is written’...”

We reiterate that beyond what is written will be conjectures and is subject to errors. The only way to stay within what is written is to search the scriptures or the Bible. Isaiah 28:10,13 (RSV) gives the procedure as, “...precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little...therefore, the word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”

We have previously proved this precept upon precept, line upon line, and lesson upon lesson principle by specifying biblical examples. So again we take a precept here, and a line there, and a lesson there, and then join them together to arrive at the truth!

Did the promise in Matthew 16:28 already come to pass? 1 Corinthians 15:5-6 (TEV), “That he appeared to Peter, and then to all twelve apostles. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.” Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles. Last of all he also appeared to me-even though I am like someone whose birth was abnormal.”

Therefore, Jesus Christ has already fulfilled his promised “Second Coming” (with regards to John 21:22-23) during the lifetimes of the apostles and those whom he promised that some would still be alive (Matthew 16:27-28) in his Second Coming. Surely, the one whom Jesus loved was one of the twelve apostles that Christ appeared to when he had returned.

His promise to give gifts to men (in verse 27) was likewise fulfilled according to Ephesians 4:7-8 (The Living Bible, Catholic Illustrated Edition), “However, Christ has given each of us special abilities - whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts. The Psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and victory over Satan, he gave generous gifts to men.”
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Acts 1:9-11 (The Living Bible)
“It was not long afterwards that he rose into the sky and disappeared into a cloud, leaving them staring after him. As they were straining their eyes for another glimpse, suddenly two white-robed men were standing there among them, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has gone away to heaven, and some day, just as he went, he will return!”

Good writers of detective stories always drop hints on the scenes of the episodes they are writing in order to provide the basis for the readers to analyze as to how to solve the problem of the plot. Readers with aptitude anticipating in advance get the thrill of the story and would have to explain it to other readers with less aptitude. If you are fond of reading good detective stories, then you’ll know what I mean.

What I am saying is that the scenes on the resurrection and ascension stories of Jesus Christ are complete with hints to solve the centuries old enigma of the misunderstood second coming Jesus Christ.

Just like the other texts that we have untangled that seemed to support the claims of present-day Christians in waiting for Christ’s return today or tomorrow, the same is true with the text in Acts 1:9-11. This is another misunderstood statement that gave present-day Christians false hopes perpetrated by Bible teachers and leaders. The reason? Simple. They are spiritually blind and don’t possess the spiritual aptitude bestowed by the Holy Spirit incarnate in seeing the hints provided for in the story.

Okay, the scene in Acts 1:9-11 contains the clues “two white-robed men were standing” and “Jesus has gone away to heaven, and some day, just as he went, he will return”. The phrase “he will return” is the enigma that closed the minds and hearts of today’s Christians in digging deeper into the truth of the statement. They cling to this phrase because they thought that this is a future promise that will span the centuries and will happen in their lifetimes or still farther away in the future, maybe in the lifetimes of their children.

But that is not what Christ had in mind and that’s not what the scene in Acts 1:9-11 is all about. Look at the other hint on the scene - the two white-robed men standing with them. Who and where can we find these two white-robed men standing with them?

This scene is a progression of John 20:11-18 (The Living Bible) when Jesus was resurrected and showed himself to Mary Magdalene: “And by that time Mary Magdalene had returned to the tomb and was standing outside crying. And as she wept, she stooped and looked in and saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. ‘Why are you crying?’ the angels asked her. ‘Because they have taken away my Lord,’ she replied, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’”

So, the two white-robed men were angels who were sitting at the scene inside the tomb when Mary was looking for Jesus. Let’s continue with the scene:

“She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing beside her. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him! ‘Why are you crying?’ he asked her. Whom are you looking for?’ She thought he was the gardener. ‘Sir,’ she said, ‘if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.’

‘Mary!’ Jesus said. She turned toward him. ‘Master!’ she exclaimed. ‘Don’t touch me,’ for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, ‘I have seen the Lord!’ Then she gave them his message.”

Here’s another clue : “Don’t touch me,’ for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father”. What was the significance of this prohibition? It simply meant that after Christ had ascended to the Father and has returned to back to earth a second time, exclusively for his disciples, he would allow them to touch him!

Now, to solve the phase “he will return”. Was his “return” meant to earth or to heaven? Let’s go back to the scene clue : “Jesus has gone away to heaven, and some day, just as he went, he will return.” Where did Jesus go? To heaven! Just as he went, where would he return? Also to Heaven! Not back to earth! Now the finalé clue. To whom was the promise given to witness that event? Men of Galilee! And who were these men of Galilee? Naturally, they were the Disciples of Christ who gathered together when Mary Magdalene told them that Christ wanted to see them before he went to the Father.

Here’s the proof. Acts 1:6-7(NIV), 9-11 (The Living Bible) tell us that, “So when they meet together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

When Christ returned to earth the second time after he went to his Father in heaven after his resurrection, did he allow his disciples to touch him? Yes. And this is the proof of his second coming. In Luke 24:39 (NIV), “Look at my hand and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see: a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you I have!”

Since the condition prescribed by Christ that he was not to be touched before he had ascended into heaven was fulfilled, that simply meant that by letting them touched him, he had returned from heaven, regardless of whether we have seen him or not because it is not for us to see that event (neither we are privileged to witness it) but only its implications as told by his disciples!

Therefore, Christ’s second coming was already fulfilled to the concerned disciples and we are not privileged to witness it but can only read about it. This goes without saying that the scene in Act 1:9-11 about Christ’s return to heaven (not to earth) would be re-enacted without the authors of the gospels describing it again.
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May 27 at 1:00pm