My first writing on religion is presented unredacted below. What surprised me were the Notes which follow the attempt at an essay. With some of the comments in the Notes, I said some of the things that I was attempting to say in my book. For example, "They saw someone they thought was Jesus" is almost identical to a sentence in the book. I had forgotten that I wrote these notes. I did not reread this early material, and I don't know if it still holds up.
Sermon for Billy Graham Pt. 1
Good morning. This is Billy Graham. Will the congregation please open up their Bibles and turn to 1 Thessalonians 4:15 – 17? Take a moment to read the passage. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Notice how Paul says “We who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord”. Here, Paul is implying that some of them will be left until the coming of the Lord. It would have been easy enough for Paul to talk about “those” who are left if he wasn’t convinced that one or more of the authors of the letter and/or one or more of the Thessalonians would be left. Indeed, Paul was convinced that Jesus would return either during his lifetime or during the lifetimes of more than one of his (Paul’s) contemporaries. In another letter, Paul writes “we shall not all sleep. (1 Corinthians 15:51)” By “sleep”, he evidently means “die” because in the same chapter he wrote that after Jesus rose again, “he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present but some are fallen asleep. (1 Cor. 15:6)” Falling asleep is the opposite of remaining or being alive. So in verse 15:51, Paul is saying that they would not all die. He adds that in an event in the future they “shall all be changed…the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall all be changed. (1 Cor. 15:51 & 52)” What’s interesting about this verse is that Pail gives no indication that he expects to be dead when this event takes place. He doesn’t say “I will be raised incorruptible” or “We will be raised incorruptible”. On the contrary, he talks about the dead in the third person as if he doesn’t expect to be one of them. Also in 1 Corinthians, Paul preaches “it remaineth that they that have wives be as though they had none.(7:29)” Why? Because “the time is short”. Where would he have gotten this idea? Please turn your Bibles to Matthew 16:27 & 28. According to these verses, Jesus said that some of the people who were alive at the same time as him (Jesus) would see the Son of Man coming with his angels before they died. Jesus talked about the Son of Man quite a bit. He also talked about the end of the world. In Matthew Chapter 24 verse 3, his disciples ask him, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Jesus answers them by saying that after this gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world, the end will come (24:14). He continues to describe events that will happen and says “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors.” The word “it” in this verse is translated “He” in the New American Standard Version and usually Bibles have a footnote indicating that the word can be translated “He”. “He” is a reference to the Son of Man. Therefore, Jesus said that when certain events take place, his disciples can expect the Son of Man to come soon. Luke records Jesus as saying almost the same thing but in Luke’s version, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God (Luke 21:31) instead of the Son of Man. Indeed, the phrases “Kingdom of God” and “Son of Man” are in some cases interchangeable. I just mentioned Matthew 16:27 & 28. Mark records Jesus as saying almost the same exact thing, only in Mark’s version Jesus talks about some of his contemporaries seeing “the Kingdom of God come with power” before they died (8:38 & 9:1). Indeed, the coming of the Kingdom of God with power and the coming of the Son of Man are connected in some way. What then is the Kingdom of God? Please, turn your Bibles to Daniel Chapter 2. In this story, King Nebuchadnezzar has dreams that trouble him. The king wants to know what the dreams mean. Daniel tells the King (verse 29) “As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets make known to thee what shall come to pass.” One of the things that is going to come to pass is the God of heaven setting up a kingdom “which shall never be destroyed”, a kingdom that “shall not be left to other people” but shall “break in pieces” and “consume” all the existing kingdoms and “stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44). This is, evidently, the Kingdom of God. Now that you know what the Kingdom of God is, it should be clear that when the Kingdom of God comes with power, it will cause the world as we know it to end. What then does Daniel have to say about the Son of Man? Quite a bit, actually. In Chapter 7, Daniel himself has a dream. In this dream, he sees “one like the Son of Man” coming “with the clouds of heaven” (verse 13). This figure is given “dominion and glory and a kingdom…His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (verse 14)” In other words, “one like the Son of Man” will be given the Kingdom of God. Who then is “one like the Son of Man”? “One like the Son of Man” is a symbol for the saints of the Most High (verse18). This dream, like King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is about the end of the world. Both end with God setting up a Kingdom on Earth “under the whole heaven (verse 27)” which shall not be destroyed. As we’ve seen earlier, Jesus talked about someone called the Son of Man who would come with angels and would be “ashamed” of people (Mark 8:38). Jesus also said that at the end of the world, the Son of Man would send his angels to “gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.” These people will then be cast “into a furnace of fire. (Matthew 13:40 & 41)” Jesus also said, “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. (Matthew 25:31)” These verses make it obvious that the Son of Man that Jesus spoke about is a person in the literal sense. The Book of Daniel, of course, never said this. However, the teachings of Jesus are not incompatible with the Book of Daniel. The Son of Man can be a symbol for the saints of the Most High and a person who sits on a throne and sends angels. The two teachings can be reconciled. For example: the interpreter of Daniels’s dream said “they (the judgment) shall take away his (the bad king’s) dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. (Daniel 7:26)” Add “by sending the Son of Man” to this verse and you’ve reconciled the two teachings. Likewise, it is said in Daniel that “the kingdom…shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. (7:27)” According to Jesus, the Son of Man will say to the blessed of his Father, “…inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:34)” So it is, apparently, the Son of Man who will give the saints the everlasting kingdom. The closest parallels between Jesus’ words and Daniel’s words are found in Matthew chapter 24 and 26. In Matthew chapter 24, verse 29 & 30, Jesus says:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Jump down a few verses to verse 34: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” What does Jesus mean by “this generation”? In Mark, when the Pharisees (who were, of course, alive at the same time as Jesus) “came forth and began to question with him (Jesus), seeking of him a sign from heaven (Mark 8:11)” Jesus responded “Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say unto you, There shall be no sign given unto this generation. (Mark 8:12)” The Pharisees seek a sign. This generation seeks a sign. Conclusion: This generation is the Pharisees living at the same time as Jesus. Jesus taught that the people who are living after the tribulation of those days would see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven. He also told Caiaphas, the high priest, this at his trial:
Matthew 26:64 – “I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
In other words, Jesus said that Caiaphas would still be alive after the tribulation. Not only that, but Jesus said that Caiaphas would still be alive after the stars fall from heaven. The word that is translated “heaven” in the King James Version is translated “the sky” in the New International Version (NIV) and the New American Standard Version. Caiaphas, like all people who were alive at the time of Jesus, has for a long time been dead but the stars still haven’t fallen from the sky. Therefore, Jesus was wrong. If anyone is convinced that the stars have already fallen from the sky despite the continuing presence of those things twinkling above the Earth at night then there is nothing I can say to convince you otherwise. Apparently, Luke “forgot” what Jesus said at his trial because when he tells the story, he records Jesus as saying “From now the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. (Luke 22:69)” In this gospel, Jesus doesn’t say that anyone at his trial would see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven. Likewise, in Luke Chapter 21, the parallel chapter to Matthew 24, Jesus doesn’t explicitly say that the stars would fall from the sky (See verses Luke 21:11, 25 & 26). Similarly, there is no saying about almost no “flesh” being “saved” (Matthew 24:22) in Luke Chapter 21. In fact, Luke changes another one of Jesus’ predictions. Recall how in Mark, Jesus said “Verily I say to you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death till they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power. (9:1)” Luke omits some of the words: “…shall not taste of death till they see the Kingdom of God. (9:27)” Now the prediction is correct because Jesus said that, in some sense, the Kingdom of God came “upon” his opponents (Luke 11:20) through his ministry and his disciples indeed saw that before they died. However, Luke mentions several times in the following chapters a Kingdom of God that will come in the future, evidently the Kingdom of God that would come with power, the Kingdom spoken of by Daniel. In verse 19:11, his disciples are thinking that the “Kingdom of God should immediately appear.” In Luke 21:31, Jesus says, “When you see these things come to pass, know ye that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” He says at the Last Supper, “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God shall come. (22:18)” Luke tells us that Joseph of Arimathaea “waited for the Kingdom of God. (Luke 23:51)” According to the New King James Version, the word “waited” means “waiting” (present tense). Also in Luke, Jesus says that many “will seek to enter in (presumably, the Kingdom of God). (Luke 13:24)” He continues, saying “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves are thrust out. (13:28)” He also says “And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and form the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God (13:29)”, implying that the Kingdom of God will be on Earth. The fact that previously dead people like Abraham will be in the Kingdom of God shouldn’t throw you off. Jesus considered Daniel to be a prophet (see Matthew 24:15) and Daniel said “many of them that sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)” The fact that Luke omits words from Jesus’ predictions indicates that they were erroneous. Otherwise, he would have left them alone. There is, however, a verse in one of Paul’s letters that may lead some to believe that the Kingdom of God had arrived in power by the time Paul was writing. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he says “The Kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” This could be interpreted to mean that the Kingdom was God was currently “in power” at the time he was writing. However, the way that this is translated in the New American Standard Version and the New International Version would not lead you to believe that. (The NASV says “The Kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.” The NIV says “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”) The New Authorized Version (2006) gives us a hint at what Paul was trying to say: “For the kingdom of God is not in mere words but in power. (emphasis theirs)” When you take the verse in context, the meaning is less clear. Paul said in the previous verse that he will know “not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.” Presumably, he will know the power because the Kingdom of God is, in some sense, found in power. Perhaps he means that when power is displayed, only then is the Kingdom of God, in some sense, there. Even if Paul was saying that the Kingdom of God was in power, these verses don’t say where. In heaven? On Earth? These verses don’t say. Paul sometime talked about the Kingdom of God in metaphors so it’s anyone guess what, exactly, he means when that phrase comes up. For example: “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17)” In 1 Corinthians, Paul implies that the Kingdom of God will be inherited in the future. Paul said that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50)” He said that people would be “changed” from flesh and blood into something “incorruptible” in “twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. (verses 51 & 52)” The “last trump” is a reference to 1 Thessalonians 4:16 when Jesus returns. In other words, after Jesus returns, people can inherit the Kingdom of God. What would have been the point of God sending the Kingdom to Earth if people had to wait until Jesus returns to receive it? Also in the Bible, there is a letter by “Paul” where he says “(God) hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. (Colossians 1:13)” This verse suggests that Paul, Timothy and the Colossians have been transferred into the Kingdom of God already. Ask yourself: How is this possible? At the time “Paul” was writing, I assume that he, Timothy and the Colossians were all composed of “flesh and blood”. As we just saw, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.” How are these, at the time, flesh and blood people going to be moved into the Kingdom of God if they “cannot inherit” it? Moreover, they have to wait until the trumpet sounds and the dead to be raised before they can be changed from a “flesh and blood” mortal/“corruption” into “incorruption”. It’s illogical to think that Paul can be in the Kingdom before he can inherit it. For this reason, scholars don’t think that the same person wrote both 1 Corinthians and Colossians. One is almost certainly a fake. I’ll let you decide which one. So if you come across a verse like Hebrews 12:28 or 1 Thessalonians 2:12 that may possibly be saying that someone has received the Kingdom of God or has entered the Kingdom of God, remember: people can’t inherit, received or, apparently, enter the Kingdom of God before Jesus returns. The Amplified Bible (1987) adds a little note to 1 Thessalonians 2:12 to clarify what Paul is saying: “To live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His own Kingdom and the glorious blessedness [into which true believers will enter after Christ’s return].” Judging from these verses, there is no evidence that the Kingdom of God was present on Earth at the time of Paul’s writings. In Revelation, John says something that may be taken to mean that John is in the Kingdom of God (1:9) but the rest of the book casts doubt on this assumption. Later in the book, John says “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. (Revelation 4:1)” The New King James Version translates this “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. (emphasis mine)” One of the events that is supposed to take place “after this” is an event where “great voices” say “The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev. 11:15)” The verb “are become” is translated “have become” in the New King James Version. Another event that is supposed to take place “after this” is an event where “a loud voice” says in heaven, “Now is come salvation and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of Christ. (Rev. 12:10)” The New King James Version translates this “Now salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come.” If the Kingdom of God had come some time ago, this message wouldn’t be very newsworthy. On the contrary, the “loud voice” seems to be saying, in an event that takes place “after this”, that the Kingdom of God has just come. Furthermore, the word “for” in this verse means “because”; so there is a cause and effect relationship. In other words, because Satan was cast down, now the Kingdom of God has come. Therefore, the Kingdom of God’s coming takes place after Satan is cast down into the Earth. According to Revelation, Satan is cast down in the future. Conclusion: According to Revelation, the Kingdom of God’s coming takes place in the future. The Kingdom of God hasn’t come yet. The late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, famous for his “Thru the Bible” Commentary Series, agrees. In 1975, he wrote “…the kingdom of our God” is going to be established on the earth. Not until then will there be peace and righteousness and freedom on this earth…It will be wonderful when His Kingdom comes on this earth. This very statement reveals that the Kingdom was not established at the first coming of Christ. (“Revelation: Chapters 6-13”, 1991 Thomas Nelson Publishers)” It’s also worth noting that God gave John the Revelation to “shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. (Rev. 1:1)” It’s extremely doubtful that “shortly” meant “in two thousand years or so”. As the narrator adds, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand. (Rev. 1:3)” Just as Luke “forgot” some of Jesus’ words, John “remembered” some words that Jesus said that just so happen to cancel out the prediction in Matthew 16:28 and Mark 9:1. According to John 8:52, the Jews said to Jesus, “Thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death”. John must have had a pretty good “memory” because no saying like this is attributed to Jesus by Matthew, Mark or Luke (who also wrote Acts). One explanation for a saying like this appearing in a gospel is that someone made it up and attributed it to Jesus in order to throw people off. Before I move on, I have to ask “In Jesus’ sayings that match Daniel 7:13 (Matthew 24:30 & 26:64), is Jesus speaking figuratively or is he referring to the actual person?” Verse 26:64 is vague if taken by itself. The meaning of verse 24:30 is clearer because in the next verse, Jesus talks about the Son of Man sending his angels to “gather together his elect”. There is no mention of the Son of Man sending angels in Daniel Chapter 7. For these reasons, the verse in Matthew 24 should be taken literally. More evidence that Jesus was talking about a literal person when he talked about the Son of Man is found in the verses in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4, where I began this sermon. Paul almost certainly believed that when Jesus talked about the Son of Man coming he was talking about his (Jesus’) coming again, the “Second Coming”.
Matthew: The Son of Man will come “in the clouds of heaven”.
Paul: The Lord (Jesus) “shall descend from heaven”.
Matthew: “…he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet.”
Paul: “…with the trump of God (the New King James Version says “trumpet” instead of “trump”)”
Matthew: “…and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds.”
Paul: “Then we…shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”
As you can see, Paul’s teaching evidently came straight from Jesus. Judging by this evidence, I’ve concluded that Jesus told Caiaphas that he would see a literal person “coming in the clouds of heaven”. This would explain why Luke changed the prediction; because, to the best of my knowledge, a literal person didn’t come in the clouds of heaven during Caiaphas’ lifetime. Who is this person then? Matthew Chapter 24 provides us with an answer. In Matthew 24:3 it says “And as he (Jesus) sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?” The New King James Version translates this “what will be the sign of Your coming?” Translation: Jesus’ disciples asked him (Jesus) what the sign of his (Jesus’) coming would be. When Jesus answers, he talks about the Son of Man’s coming in the clouds of heaven. Indeed, the Son of Man’s coming is Jesus’ Second Coming. This explains why Paul described the Second Coming of Jesus in virtually the same way as Jesus described the Coming of the Son of Man. The names “Jesus” and “Son of Man” are interchangeable. For example: In Mark, Jesus asks “Who do men say that I am? (Mark 8:27)” In Matthew, he asks “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? (Matthew 16:13)” Now, it is simple to determine what Jesus meant at his trial. Just replace “Son of Man” with “Me”. Now we have this saying:
Hereafter shall ye see Me sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Jesus told Caiaphas that he (Caiaphas) would see his (Jesus’) Second Coming. I am pretty confident that Jesus didn’t return during Caiaphas’ lifetime. Caiaphas died a long time ago yet people are still waiting for Jesus to return. After Caiaphas died, Luke had to cover up the fact that Jesus made a mistake. Solution: Cut out some words and hope that nobody sees Matthew or Mark and if they do, hope that nobody notices. Luckily for Luke, very few people have noticed and they will continue not to notice, thanks to the big budget disinformation campaign called Evangelism. If you are wondering where Jesus got some of his ideas, perhaps you should pay attention to the words of his friend, John the Baptist. John, like Jesus, said “Repent ye: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2 & 4:17)” According to Matthew, John told the Pharisees and the Saducees “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? … And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Matthew 3:7 – 10)” The ax is laid unto the root of the trees? It sounds like something was ready to happen.
NOTES
They saw someone they thought was Jesus.
They see Jesus (someone they think is John) -> John rose from dead.
è John appeared to us.
They see someone not equal to Jesus (someone they think is Jesus)
è Jesus rose from dead.
è Jesus appeared to us.
THEY SEE SOMEONE NOT EQUAL TO JESUS CAUSES BIBLE.
They see = Them seeing
Causes = Caused
CAUSE: THEY SAW SOMEONE THEY THOUGHT WAS JESUS.
The people see someone who isn’t John (Jesus) and they say John the baptizer has been raised and he appeared to them.
All they need to convince them that
a.) John rose from the dead.
b.) He appeared to them.
Was seeing someone who wasn’t John.
All Jesus’ followers would have needed to convince them that
a.) Jesus rose from the dead.
b.) He appeared to them.
Would have been seeing someone who wasn’t Jesus. <- Caused the Bible.
Would it have taken Jesus actually coming back to life and appearing to them? No, all it takes is for them to see someone who isn’t Jesus.
In the case of John the Baptist, they didn’t ask.
They didn’t ask?That’s what happened in the case of John the Baptist!
In the case of Al Capone, he was found guilty of tax evasion.
He was found guilty of tax evasion?
That’s what happened in the case of Al Capone.
They didn’t ask?
That’s what happened in the case of John the Baptist.
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