Other Story 99
* It is my contention that it is necessary to test any spirit to be assured that it is from God.
1 John 4:1 [John]
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
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1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 [Paul]
do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.
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* It is my further contention that the testimony of at least 2 witnesses is a helpful guide, especially when one’s spiritual life is concerned.
Deuteronomy 19:15
“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.
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Matthew 18:16
“But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
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I Timothy 5:19
* Those who are generally considered to be an acceptable witness, and also mention some aspect of the “RETURN” are as follows:
1. Old Testament prophets:
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Micah
Habakkuk
Zechariah
Malachi
John the Baptizer
2. Jesus:
Sayings attributed to Jesus included in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (the synoptic gospels)
Sayings of Jesus that are generally accepted to be authentic
The intent of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospel of John
3. Apostles:
Peter:
a: 1 Peter
b: 2 Peter
Portions of the gospel of Luke
James:
a: James
John:
a: Gospel
b: 1 John
c: 2 John
d: 3 John
e: The Revelation
Levi (Matthew):
a: “M” material unique to the gospel of Matthew
Luke:
a: “L” material unique to the gospel of Luke
“Q”:
Material in both Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark
Paul:
a: Portions of Acts
b:Pauline letters
4. Disciples:
Stephen’s personal vision
5. Angels:
Statements reported by witnesses
* Details about the RETURN, that have at least two witnesses, are as follows:
A) “like a human” = The Son of Man = The Messiah = The Christ = Jesus
Daniel 7:13-14
“I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
“And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
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Matthew 13:41 [Matthew]
“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness
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Synoptics: [Jesus]
*Mark 13:26
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
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*Luke 21:27
*Matthew 24:30
Revelation 1:13 [John]
and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
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Acts 7:56 [Stephen]
and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
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Mark 8:29 [Peter]
And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
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B) Right hand of God
Acts 7:56 [Stephen]
and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
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1 Peter 3:22 [Peter]
who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
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C) Coming
Synoptics: [Jesus]
*Mark 13:26
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
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*Luke 21:27
*Matthew 24:30
Acts 1:11 [Angels]
They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
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1 Thessalonians 3:13 [Paul]
so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
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Revelation 1:7 [John]
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
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D) Unexpected time:
Q:
*Matthew 24:44
“For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
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*Luke 12:40
1 Thessalonians 5:2 [Paul]
For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
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2 Peter 3:10 [Peter]
E) Cloud (God’s glory):
Exodus 16:10
It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
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1 Kings 8:10-11
Ezekiel 10:4
Synoptics:
*Mark 13:26
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
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*Luke 21:27
*Matthew 24:30
Revelation 1:7 [John]
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
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F) Angels:
Matthew 13:41 [Matthew]
“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness
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Mark 13:27 [Mark]
“And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.
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Synoptics: [Jesus]
*Mark 8:38
“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
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*Luke 9:26
*Matthew 16:27
1 Thessalonians 4:16 [Paul]
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
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G) Judgment:
Isaiah 1:19-20
“If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land;
“But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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Isaiah 11:1-5
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
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Micah 4:3
And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
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Matthew 25:31-46 [Matthew]
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not 1take care of You?’ “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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Romans 2:16 [Paul]
on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
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2 Timothy 4:1
H) Trumpet sound:
Matthew 24:31 [Matthew]
“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
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1 Thessalonians 4:16 [Paul]
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
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