Jesus Revised His Own Eschatology!

Eugene Shubert

It was just a few days before His crucifixion when Jesus told His disciples these comforting words:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Soon after this, in a prayer to His Father, Jesus expressed this same longing: “Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am, in order that they may behold my glory, which Thou hast given me; for Thou didst love me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24).

A home in heaven was never expressed before, until now. Jesus here altered the long established prophetic view of a glorious reign forever on earth. In this thread, let’s outline the way events were to occur before this change took place. I suggest that we read several well-known passages in context, notice that nothing is said of heaven, and imagine what the words originally meant without the later revision.

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 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.” Matthew 24:29-31.

“And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being cast out” (Lk 13:29,28 Mt 8:11,12). Picture the saints being gathered to Jerusalem as all the wicked are being gathered outside for judgment: “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And 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 side, and the goats on the left.” ... “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt 25:31-33,46)... “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to His deeds” (Mt 16:27).

Jesus repeatedly affirmed His plan that the terrestrial kingdom of God was to be established at His Second Coming. The wicked were to be removed by death from His kingdom on earth and the righteous were to remain. We continue to study Christ’s words in their context to give additional proof to this thesis.

Jesus likened the end of the world to a harvest in His parable of the wheat and the tares (Mt 13:24-30,36-43). Both the wicked and the righteous grow together until that time. The angels are the reapers and at the time of the harvest Christ gives them the command: “first gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn” (vs. 30). So the wicked are ‘gathered out of His kingdom’ and cast into the furnace of fire (vss. 41-42). Then the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father (vs. 43).

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 13:47-50). “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt 24:37-39). The parallel passage in Luke is quite illuminating: ... “they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Lk 17:27). Clearly, those taken away are the ones who are destroyed.

“I tell you, on that night there will be two men in one bed; one will be taken, and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken, and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left” (Lk 17:33-36). The disciples ask the expected question: Taken where Lord? Jesus replies: “Where the body is, there also will the vultures be gathered” (Lk 17:37). Again, those taken are taken by death. (Or perhaps taken away to death. See Prov 24:11).

Jeremiah records the Lord speaking of the wicked as grapes on the vine and as figs on the fig tree. Notice what happens to them. “At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down,” declares the Lord, “I will surely snatch them away” (Jer 8:12,13). The wicked are also snatched away in Amos 3:12 (see NASB). We find these terms employed exclusively to describe death: either the death of men or of birds and animals — as in Jer 12:4.

lt2nick · Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2003 8:53 pm Post subject: Eugene!

Well, first of all what version of the Bible do you use?

Secondly, The verses you quoted were speaking of the Second coming of Christ!

And the "glorious reign on earth" is the new earth that the will righteous will commune with God at the end of the world!

Another Question! Is this part of your new light?

"EUGENE, GOD NEVER CHANGES!!!!!!!" Ps. 89:34, Mal. 3:6,

RonA · Seventh-day Adventist Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 17

It certainly was never stated in the OT that the Lord would reign with his saints in heaven, but that he would be King over ALL THE EARTH.See Zechariah chap. 14. Actually, John 14:1-3 doesn't mention the word "heaven".It is implied. Jesus simply stated where I am, there you shall be also. The actual location of the saints being with Christ in heaven is really brought out much clearer in Revelation 20:4-5. Here the saints are pictured ruling with Christ in heaven for a thousand years. But it is not til AFTER this thousand years that the holy city comes down OUT OF HEAVEN to rule over the earth. Rev 21:2. After the thousand years.