Will the Parousia occur during our lifetime?

[polonius]

Jesus prophecized that the second coming would occur while some of his generation were still alive, but it didn't.

There is some claim that really occurred in 1914. But it didn't. So, what's the claim now?

www.britannica.com/topic/Jehovahs-Witnesses

The Adventist movement emerged in the 1830s around the predictions of William Miller, who proclaimed that Jesus Christ would return in 1843 or 1844.

When Christ did not return as Miller prophecied, Adventists divided into a number of factions.

During the 1870s, Charles Taze Russell established himself as an independent and controversial Adventist teacher.

He rejected belief in hell as a place of eternal torment and adopted a non-Trinitarian theology that denied the divinity of Jesus. He also interpreted the Second Coming in accordance with the literal translation of the original Greek term, parousia (“presence�), suggesting that Christ would come as an invisible presence and that the Parousia, or “Millennial Dawn,� already had occurred, in 1874.

The coming of Christ’s invisible presence signaled the end of the current order of society and would be followed by his visible presence and the establishment of the millennial kingdom on earth in 1914.

Although the kingdom did not come, Russell’s teachings motivated a number of volunteers to circulate his many books and pamphlets and a periodical, The Watchtower, and to recalculate the time of the Parousia.

So when will Christ's visible presence and the establishment of the millennial kingdom on earth occur?

[brianbbs67]

Should we take man's word on the 7 day cycle or just stick with what God has told us?

[Checkpoint]

Any formulation or algorithm will not uncover any time or season that targets the return of Jesus.

Much agreed. It's futile, actually. To reduce the purposes of God to any kind of "formulation" or "algorithm" is ridiculous.

But the algorithm is from the scriptures as inspired by God! Does that give it any credibility?kjkjllp

===================== Here it is again ======================

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The sabbath is identified as a sign:

It is a sign... (Exodus 31:13)

It is a sign... (Exodus 31:17)

I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign... (Ezekiel 20:12)

Ah yes, the Sabbath is indeed a sign; bullseye!

Oh no, you left in the air what God said it was given for, what or who it signalled...

"This will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy."(Exodus 31:13)

"It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ �(Exodus 31:17)

"
"I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them." (Ezekiel 20:12)

So, it is quite evident what the sign was intended to convey.

It cannot be arbitrarily used for any other purpose or to convey any other meaning.

How about a mathematical equation, then?

A Sabbath is a period of rest following six equal periods of work. The periods are not always equal to a day. Examples are given of days, years, and a thousand years.

And according to the Bible, there will be a period of rest or sabbath for God's people.

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

This is a scripture with a dual meaning. Most of God's people will die their first death and rest in their graves awaiting their resurrection and rebirth as spiritual bodies at the Second Coming of Jesus.

The second meaning of this verse is that it is a prophecy of the millennium.

Both the sabbath and the millennium are defined as a period of rest.

Believers have been working against Satan. The millennium is indeed a period of rest as Satan will be bound during that thousand years!

But for the millennium to be a Sabbath, it must have been preceded by six equal periods of work.

Therefore, from the Genesis creation of man, we should have six one thousand year long periods of work before the millennium thousand year Sabbath begins!

This is the sign which the six-day Genesis recreation followed by the Sabbath day of rest points to! It is what we are living through presently! This is the age of man.

The age of man will be six thousand years of work, or six days to God since a thousand years is like one of our days, followed by a thousand years of rest which is the millennium Sabbath.

Therefore, the Second Coming will occur 6,000 years from the creation of man!

Can that be described mathematically?

YES, as it involves numbers. -- click here

Mmm, the numers game combined with the times and seasons one, and the use of a "sign" that is misused and/orminvalid.

Know what? "A day is as a thousand years"is a scripture popular with some, ... to which 2 Peter 3:9 adds "and a thousand years is as a day", making it apparent that it is not intended to be taken literally in the multiplication of numbers.

2 Peter 3 uses it as part of his explanation of perceived delay in the Lord's return.

Hebrews 4 is a whole chapter on "rest" that is called "My rest".

Hebrews 4:

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day.

9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, e just as God did from His.

11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

That rest is not a number: it is forever.

[PinSeeker]

There are no "algorithms."

Here's an algorithm:

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Date of the next sabbath = 7 days from this sabbath

LOL! No, this is actually a decree. My goodness.

[myth-one.com]

Should we take man's word on the 7 day cycle or just stick with what God has told us?

If that man is simply repeating what God states, there is no difference.

[myth-one.com]

There are no "algorithms."

Here's an algorithm:

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Date of the next sabbath = 7 days from this sabbath

LOL! No, this is actually a decree. My goodness.

Algorithm: process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations.

It's a simple algorithm.

Step 1: Obtain a calendar.

Step 2: Identify the seventh day of the week. (Saturday).

The date of the following sabbaths can then be identified using the following algorithm:

Date of the next sabbath = 7 days from this sabbath

====================================

The date of the previous sabbath can be calculated using this additional algorithm:

Date of the previous sabbath = date of this sabbath minus 7 days

====================================

Decree: an official order issued by a legal authority.

Here is a decree:

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

[PinSeeker]

Algorithm: process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations.

Yeah, I knew that was going to be your response. Thank you. God did not present a set of rules here, to be used for any kind of problem-solving. Therefore, it's not any kind of "algorithm." He merely said, in effect, "This is the case." It's a statement regarding how things are and shall be; a decree, or an edict.

Decree: an official order issued by a legal authority.

Right, and here's another:

• "...the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work..." [Exodus 20:10]

Grace and peace to you.

[Checkpoint]

Should we take man's word on the 7 day cycle or just stick with what God has told us?

Stick to what God has told us.

[Checkpoint]

[Replying to post 126 by myth-one.com]

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

The second meaning of this verse is that it is a prophecy of the millennium.

Both the sabbath and the millennium are defined as a period of rest.

The passage quoted does not have a second meaning. It is not a prophecy of the millennium.

The millenium is not defined as a period of rest.

[myth-one.com]

Hebrews 4:

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day.

9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His.

11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

That rest is not a number: it is forever.

Following that millennium rest; Satan will be loosed for awhile, all deceased nonbelievers will be resurrected as humans, and face judgment.

Born again believers will participate in the judgment process, and then we will reign forever with our Lord and Savior.

As opposed to resting eternally, it appears that we will be rather busy!

The millennium rest will last for 1,000 years.

[PinSeeker]

The millenium is not defined as a period of rest.

Yeah, the millennium is anything BUT a period of rest. There's some bad things going on these days, man.

But... take heart. Jesus is with us in the midst of our troubles. And we are more than conquerors in Him. In Him, the battle is already won, though in this life it still rages. But that will come to a glorious, triumphant end.

In the final words of Revelation 22, come quickly, Lord Jesus.