All my life I have heard preachers and others say that we are living in the endtime, the last generation before the return of Christ.
There were other people who had heard that same thing about 2,000 years ago and that THEY were that chosen endtime generation.
1Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Yes, later translations say "race" instead of generation but since Christendom is a mixture of more than one race, the word cannot mean "race" but literally, "generation". That they were the chosen generation is confirmed by Paul.
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
So, there you have it. THEY were the chosen and PREDESTINED endtime generation when all things written would be fulfilled.
Luke 21:22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
It was the same days of vengeance promised to the scribes and Pharisees - in their days, in their time 2,000 years ago.
Matt. 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Matt. 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Sometime after that 40 year generation came to a close and . . . no return of Jesus . . . people began to ask a very legitimate question.
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
And, it's been excuses ever since, beginning with the thousand years as one day thing. A thousand years may be the same as one day to a god but to the people who were promised that it would be in their chosen generation it's a lot longer.
They are generally not ones who would read or post here but the Preterists have great answers for you.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know the preterists have great answers but unfortunately, just looking around me, I don't see the kingdom that should have grown into a great mountain by now, nor have I seen any empty graves.
ReplyDeleteNope, preterism doesn't work without doing an awful lot of twisting and spiritualizing.
You're very correct, Corky. I have to say the Preterists helped me greatly to free myself from the madness of the futurism as taught by the WCG when I was there.
ReplyDeleteAnd it certainly is all about interpretation. The futurists keep spinning the scriptures in order to keep the prophecies just a few years ahead in fulfilment.
Then, of course, the Preterists keep a spin going to support their ideas of past fulfillment. They are quite honest in their acceptance of the NT meaning of "soon" and "this generation" as being as generally understood by the English reader.
After much more study, reading and reflection, my eventual conclusion was that both groups are trying desperately to hold the "Jesus" character from being found out as a liar.
The futurists accept the meaning of a kingdom as being real and on earth. The time statements are spiritualized.
The preterists do just the opposite. They spiritualize the kingdom and accept the common meaning of the time statements.
Both groups led me to the freedom of atheism. Xtianity is simply a very old scam.
"Both groups led me to the freedom of atheism."
ReplyDeleteOr as I like to call it, "reality."
Paul Ray
Ex-Android,
ReplyDeleteI found my way to the freedom of atheism in almost the same way.
I didn't know about preterism back in those days though.
I just figured out on my own that the futurists and historists were explaining away clear passages that said Jesus would come back soon and set up his kingdom over 1900 years ago.
It didn't take much to figure out that the reason for explaining away those passages was to perpetuate the myth.
There's a lot of money to be made preaching that myth and a great danger of people waking up to the facts and feeding the preachers to the dogs.
So, they have a vested interest in keeping as many people brain-washed as possible. It's not hard to do either, people are taught from childhood to be sheep. They are taught to stand in line, wait their turn, follow the leader, respect teachers, preachers, the police and all other "authority" figures.
There are always a few who figure out that they are only being "jerked around" and taken advantage of. Those few always have to be shouted down and ridiculed, persecuted and discriminated against by the "righteous" so that the righteous can cover their own asses.
You know what's really strange? Some people are super intelligent about other things but when it comes to their religion they become idiots.
This brings back some rock n roll memories. Here I was, a young high school student, always hearing about the end time generation at sabbath services. Then, suddenly, the Who burst on the scene with the song "My Generation". There were a lot of words that were in sync with our WCG experience, like "hope I die before I get old". Obviously, since HWA considered us to be the most sinful generation in the entire history of the earth, all the words about people putting us down because we got around, and even the stuttering effect when confronting authority figures blended in perfectly as a sound track for our many of our youthful WCG experiences.
ReplyDeleteHappy Jack was good, too, for the lines, "but they couldn't prevent Jack from being happy". Any kid who was ever domineered over by WCG authority figures would "get" that line!
There were other all time classics, like "The Seeker", and "Won't Get Fooled Again". Like I say, the Who wrote the soundtrack for a WCG "Teenage Wasteland".
They were just awesome.
BB
I guess BB's comment helps me understand him a bit more. No wonder he's heavy into the Jesus thing.
ReplyDeleteHey! He used the word "awesome."