Adventists Answer the Question: Why did Jesus Leave Earth?

[BobRyan]

Bible Gateway passage: Daniel 7 - King James Version

I just looked back at post 2, I do not see your point. It looks like verse 9 is on earth.

Not possible since according to the chapter (so then read all the verses not just one) - the saints are persecuted the entire time that the judgment event is going on. And as we see in Job 1 and Job 2 - deliberating over cases even in heaven "takes time" and affects those one earth who are under debate and being persecuted the entire time of that deliberation.

Also in Dan 7 the entire judgment event completes BEFORE the world and its kingdoms are turned over to Christ - which means that in your speculation above - you would have God and zillions of perfect beings on Earth while the wicked torment the righteous for the entire time of that deliberation process. You have to eisegete that into the text - it is not there otherwise. And the majority of Bible scholars on planet Earth do not appear to be speculating such an odd scenario for Daniel 7.

And of course Rev 14:6-7 declares the Bible fact that while the judgment in heaven is fully underway - the gospel continues to go out to the entire world on Earth.

having said that - you of course have free will and can go to whatever extreme position you wish. I am not objecting to that.

 

[ViaCrucis]

As King our Lord took up His throne as King Messiah at the right hand of the Father, who as the Son of Man brought before the Ancient of Days, has been given all power and authority (Matthew 28:18) and everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:14). As King Messiah ben David, He reigns at the right hand of the Father through His Church, which He promised to be with us always (Matthew 28:20), having also said, "I will not leave you as orphans" John 14:18.

He ascended, taking His throne of glory, sending the Spirit to empower the Church to be the Church, to empower the Apostles to be His witnesses (Acts of the Apostles 1:8); and now He exercises His royal power and dominion through the Church by the power of the Spirit.

He did not "leave the earth", but rather ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. His Ascension does not mean He has left the earth, that He has left His Church. He never left His Church, instead He has sent the Spirit that He should be present in His Church through the power of the Spirit at work through Word and Sacrament.

For He has said that when two or three are gathered in His name, He is in their midst (Matthew 18:20), as He Himself took the bread at the Last Supper and said "This is My body, broken for you" and then took the cup of wine saying, "This is My blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many". By the institution of this Holy Supper of Christ He has given us His very body and His very blood, for which reason we continue to celebrate, as the Apostle St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:16, that the cup which we drink from is partaking of the blood of Christ, and the bread is partaking in the body of Christ.

Christ is with us, in our midst, through the power of the Holy Spirit, through Word and Sacrament, in the bonds of fellowship of His people as His Church.

Christ is here, in His Church, His own Body; as the Body of Christ we are members of Christ, united to Christ by our Baptism, sharing in Christ by the grace of God and our participation in Christ by His own giving of Himself in Word and Sacrament, and then calling us out into the world to continue to preach His Gospel, proclaim the everlasting kingdom of God for the poor and the broken.

He who has said, "I will never leave nor forsake you" is Faithful to His word. And so our Lord rules and reigns as King and Lord, through His Church, for the building for the kingdom and the work of His kingdom through the proclamation of His Gospel to all of creation.

"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David," - Luke 1:32

"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

He will raise a signal for the nations
and will assemble the banished of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
And the Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching breath,
and strike it into seven channels,
and he will lead people across in sandals.
And there will be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that remains of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt." - Isaiah 11

"Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool."'

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.'" - Acts of the Apostles 2:29-39

-CryptoLutheran

 

[BobRyan]

As King our Lord took up His throne as King Messiah at the right hand of the Father, who as the Son of Man brought before the Ancient of Days, has been given all power and authority (Matthew 28:18) and everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:14). As King Messiah ben David, He reigns at the right hand of the Father through His Church, which He promised to be with us always (Matthew 28:20), having also said, "I will not leave you as orphans" John 14:18.

and we have this --

2 Cor 4:4
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Rev 13:
7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,

...12 For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you with great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

1 Cor 13:
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

John 14:
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be. 4 And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

Acts 1
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

2 Thess 1:
6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Pet 1:13
rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ

NASB - fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

2 Thess 2:
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

Phil 3:20
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

2 Pet 3:12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

Matt 24
29 “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. 30 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. 31 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.