I've been meaning to respond to this, but it slipped by me!
Correct. But we are not there in person. We cannot be while we are still in our sinful bodies
Somewhat speculative since we cannot call what God cleansed unclean. I think it is more a matter of spiritual defilement (plus the opportunity) that prevents people from going to the throne.
We know Enoch and Elijah are both in Heaven in physical form.
...We are seated with Christ at the right hand of God in faith, above all principality and power. We have that faith through in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The "in Him" thing is mysterious indeed! You truly are seated In Him there. Yet, your physical body is right here. It is difficult to form hard-fast doctrines since our knowledge and understanding truly is in part.
...He told them that He must go to His Father so that the Holy Spirit could be sent to indwell believers.
He was already with them, was He not? Also, in another gospel, He breathed on them and they received the Spirit of God. Truly He would not have come in the manner that He did without Jesus' ascension. I think it was the position of Him as High Priest to fulfill the covenant that enabled the Spirit of God to come and fill the church with power.
He has always been on the earth as declared in the scriptures. I believe the translation of the Word there is a little lacking in fullness.
If Jesus has appeared in person to people, this has to mean that the Second Coming has already come.
Well, we say "in person". Are we not splitting hairs? He appeared to you as you described earlier. I doubt that He left the place in Heaven He occupies, and I also believe that He "gets' around" Heaven too. He's the Son of God. In the Word where it says that when He returns again in like fashion, the angel was speaking of His return in judgment. We call this the "second coming", but He moves among His Body freely and like yourself, He has appeared to many thousands and thousands of people. It's probably more a little striving over words and we basically agree that He is "appearing" all over the place (just like yours)!
He warned His disciples that false prophets will say "here is Jesus", and "there is Jesus", but do not believe them.
And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
Mark 13:21-23
Is He not speaking of the perilous times where lying signs and "wonders" are performed. When they say, "He is here!" They are saying the worker of these lying signs will say that they are the Christ. When He comes for His people, it will be first for His church and not as the deceivers of the world will say.
To say that God can do anything is a human philosophical notion, and is not consistent with His Word.
That's true. He won't violate His Word. In the context of this discussion, we're saying (Taylor) that when Jesus says He will manifest Himself, that He wants to take it to a higher level than the general expectation of the church. No doubt appearing much like He did to you. No argument at all really.
...He is not a "law to Himself" in the sense that He behaves irrationally and haphazardly. Jesus will not say that He is going away, and then on the spur of the moment decide to come back in person to selected individuals.
He will be with us always, till the end. His decision to manifest Himself to those He wants to is not a self-willed act in defiance to the Word. I believe it is the real fulfillment of the intent of the Word. I believe it is that way for many promises. We've barely tasted the manifestation of God like He wants and will.
The Scripture says that God is no respecter of persons. If He is going to reveal Himself in person to selected people, He should be revealing Himself to every believer in the same way. God does not play favourites. We are all filled with the Holy Spirit and have equal access to the leading and guiding of the Spirit.
I think this agrees perfectly with what Taylor is saying. It's time for His people to get this into their spirits and cultivate a greater expectation (based on your paying the price).
If you don't understand the clear and unmistakable things that Jesus said in plain language, it might mean that you are trying to "spiritualise" Scripture instead of taking what Jesus said literally.
I believe in taking it as it is! If he said He would manifest Himself, then who are we to say otherwise? We are just judging based on our experience.
...The problem with many of us is that we have a wrong view of God, making Him to be this airy fairy person who runs around the universe doing just what He likes. This is quite wrong. God is a very ordered, holy Person who is bound by His own moral law and the integrity of His promises and His Word.
It all agrees and of course that is the only way it would work. We just have something of a "box" that we think God is confined to in the way that He manifests, that's all.
If Jesus is, in person, seated at the right hand of the Father in glory, and the actual presence of God with us is the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, then that is the reality.
I said "I will be with you". "I will come to you."
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
John 14:23
There's a lot more to the "presence of God" than usually meets "the eye". A lot more to His omnipresence than our perception.
This is why I believe that any "personal" appearance of "Jesus" is a demonic counterfeit designed to deceive even the very elect if possible, so they are distracted away from the true plan and purpose of God, into looking for sensory experiences and "spiritual" guidances irrespective of what the Scripture clearly says.
I understand caution. Yet you said you saw Him and you didn't feel that was a counterfeit. It was personal to you because you were the only one at that time to see Him. So it is with many of these appearances.
If you read Taylor's book, you'll probably find that it preaches a deeper relationship, greater hope and expectation, with the reward much like you received at one time. It happens to Taylor a lot and who wouldn't want that?
..."I am not interested in meeting Jesus until I see Him in Glory. Get behind me satan! I resist your counterfeiting deception in the name of Jesus!".
I guess it's all about understanding and maybe the book might broaden your horizon a little. On the one hand it's important because you'll be prone to view Taylor and others who see Jesus as deceivers. Of course we want to know it for what it is, but being open at least leaves the possibility of some increase.