Why hasn't Jesus come back yet?

summerville said:

The fig tree bears fruit twice a year.

Jesus told them before the crucifixion that when they see the Abomination of Desolation (like in Daniel) they should flee to the mountains.

They did so.. His followers fled to Pella.

Considering what was going on, the advice of Jesus seems pretty obvious to me.

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summerville said:

Do you have evidence for two tribulations?

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Davy said:

Yes, there's such a thing as the winter fig, what God's Word calls 'untimely figs'.

Thing is, the disciples in Jesus' day didn't see the "abomination of desolation" fulfilled, which if they had, they surely would have written about it, because that event involves the appearance of the pseudo-Christ that is to exalt himself as God in the temple in Jerusalem. The Romans tried to seize the 2nd temple, but it burned down beforehand. So the Daniel 9:27 prophecy was never fulfilled, not even to this day.

And the last sign Jesus gave there before the parable of the fig tree, was that of His 2nd coming and gathering of His Church.

There's actually a totally deceived group of Preterists that believe Jesus' 2nd coming has already happened, and that it happened in the Apostle's days! There's just no end to number of ways that some brethren deceive themselves, simply by not staying in God's Holy Writ.

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DavidPT said:

As to what eventually happened in 70 AD, none of that involved a great tribulation. In the Discourse it is the church that are the main targets of great tribulation. Compare with something such as the following.

Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.


These in verse 14, they which came out of great tribulation, can't be meaning any of the unbelieving Jews that lost their lives when the Romans attacked Jerusalem. And it can't be meaning any Christians at the time since they all escaped unharmed before the Romans laid siege to the city. Yet this same great trib they come out of in Revelation 7:14 has to be meaning the same great tribulation in Matthew 24:21, in my opinion anyway. Therefore only one great trib and not two instead.

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DavidPT said:

As to what eventually happened in 70 AD, none of that involved a great tribulation. In the Discourse it is the church that are the main targets of great tribulation. Compare with something such as the following.

Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.


These in verse 14, they which came out of great tribulation, can't be meaning any of the unbelieving Jews that lost their lives when the Romans attacked Jerusalem. And it can't be meaning any Christians at the time since they all escaped unharmed before the Romans laid siege to the city. Yet this same great trib they come out of in Revelation 7:14 has to be meaning the same great tribulation in Matthew 24:21, in my opinion anyway. Therefore only one great trib and not two instead.

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Ed Parenteau said:

Dave, it goes on to further explain who the 144,000 are specifically.
Rev 14: 3......No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins(2 Corinthians 11:2). It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
Pentecost=Shavuot=feast of first fruits of the grain harvest.
Acts 21: 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed,(myriad=10,000, many myriads=10's of thousands) and they are all zealous for the law;
Romans 8: 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
James 1: 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Which "the tribulation" was John in?
Rev 1: 9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

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mindlight said:

After 2000 years why are we still waiting for the return of the King of Kings?

It was a clear expectation of the early church that Jesus would return soon. Peter even made a special effort to debunk the intellectual pagans and false teachers of his time who suggested that this was a lie and that there would be no return. In 2 Peter 1:16-21 Peter used, as the basis of his refutation of this false accusation, the experience of James, John and Peter of the Transfiguration on the Holy Mountain (where the Messiah is expected to return). Because they had seen the glorified Christ they knew that He would one day return in that same glory as the King of Kings. No one on this earth had a comparable majesty , so only Jesus could be the King we waited for. The martyrs went to their deaths in the various persecutions of the Roman empire under Nero, Domitian and later Trajan and Marcus Aurelius singing the praises of this King and in the expectation that their King, the Returning King Jesus, would soon hold corrupt demonically inspired authorities to account and that the Emperor would get his comeuppance. But 2000 years later we are still waiting. It is the strongest prophecy of the Christian church, it is the overwhelming expectation of the church, ensuring that we live lives in expectation of our final review by the returning King. It is written into our creeds.

"He will return in glory to judge the Living and the Dead and his Kingdom will have no end"

But where is he, what possible reason could there be for keeping his bride waiting so long?

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