From steve Baisden in a PM.... ACTS i. 11. -’ This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go unto heaven.’ Without any doubt, when you engage in serious discussions of the A.D. 70 Parousia of Christ, those in opposition will quickly appeal to Acts 1:9-11 as their “definitive proof” that Jesus did not return in A.D. 70. The argument goes something like this: Fact: Jesus left visibly in a physical body. Fact: The angel told the disciples Jesus would return “in like manner” as they had seen him go. Conclusion: Jesus must return visibly, in a physical body. In this brief article we hope to demonstrate some of the logical problems with this argument. Our main focus will be to examine Acts chapter 1 in light of other passages that the opponents of Covenant Eschatology also appeal to as descriptions of Christ’s Second Coming. Space prevents us from examining the Greek term translated as “in like manner” to show that it is most often used of a metaphoric likeness, and not a specific literal likeness.1 Instead, we want to examine Jesus’ coming in light of the Transfiguration as well as Revelation, and compare it to this passage in Acts chapter 1. We hope to demonstrate that those who so vehemently insist that Christ is coming back exactly as he left, are, to say the very least, totally inconsistent. Christ’s Transfiguration as a Vision of the Parousia The Transfiguration is not only one of the most awe-inspiring scenes and events in all of the New Testament, it is also one of the most eschatologically significant events. Yet, as many scholars have noted, it is all but ignored in discussions of eschatology. When Peter sought to refute the scoffers who were denying the Parousia, he appealed to one event, the Transfiguration, as his personal eye-witness account of a vision of the Parousia (2 Peter 1:16-18). Based upon Peter’s appeal, here is my argument, using the conclusion above as the starting point: Fact: Jesus is to return in the physical body of His Incarnation, the body that ascended. Fact: The Transfiguration was a vision of the Parousia (Matthew 17; 2 Peter 1:16-18). Conclusion: the Transfiguration should be a vision of Jesus’ return as predicted in Acts chapter 1. Yet, and this is incredibly important, Christ’s appearance at the Transfiguration in no way resembles His appearance at the Ascension! At the ascension Jesus was in his ordinary, physical body, with no altered appearance.2 He was, so far as the disciples could discern, the same as He had been from the very beginning. Yet, at the Transfiguration, the disciples could hardly even look at him because his appearance was so dramatically transformed (from the Greek word metamorphe). The appearance of Jesus on the Transfiguration mount, in no way, shape, form or fashion, even vaguely resembles his form in Acts chapter 1! Consider this: The Transfiguration was a vision of Christ’s Parousia. Yet, what the disciples saw on that mountain in no the traditional historical concept of the Parousia. We are told that Christ’s epiphany will result in the destruction of material creation. Did the disciples see a vision of that on the Mount? No. The Parousia is supposedly when every physically dead person who has ever lived is revived, restored and raised. Did the disciples see that? No. The Second Coming is supposed to be at the end of the current Christian age. Is that what the disciples saw? No, on the contrary, they saw a vision of the end of the Law and the Prophets! They saw the end of the Mosaic age, not the end of the Christian age! The Transfiguration was a vision of the Parousia of Christ foretold in Acts chapter 1. What the disciples saw refutes the traditional view of Acts chapter 1 and the Second Coming. It firmly defines the Parousia as the transformation from the Old Covenant glory of Moses and the Prophets, to the New Covenant glory of Messiah Jesus! Take note of the Transfiguration and what it says to us about the timing of Christ’s coming as predicted in Acts chapter 1. The coming of Christ predicted in Acts 1:9-11 is the coming of Christ seen in the vision of the Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:1618). But, the coming of Christ seen in the vision of the Transfiguration was a vision of the passing of the Old Covenant “Law and Prophets,” i.e., the passing of the Old Covenant age. Therefore, the coming of Christ predicted in Acts 1:9-11 would occur at the time of the passing of the Old Covenant “Law and Prophets,” i.e., the time of the passing of the Old Covenant age. The relationship and comparison between the Transfiguration and Acts 1 serves as a powerful refutation of the normal “He shall come in like manner” argument, for, when one compares the visible appearance of Jesus in the two events, there is virtually no “in like manner” appearance in them. That is a strong indication that we should look somewhere else for a description and definition of “in like manner.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Acts 1 Naturally, any eschatological discussion of Acts chapter 1 must take into consideration 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, and the Thessalonian epistles as a whole. If the Parousia of Christ foretold in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 is the same coming of Christ foretold in Acts chapter 1, and there are very few futurists that would deny this, then there is a severe problem when we do the “in like manner” comparison. 1 Thessalonians 4 is said to be one of the noisiest verses in all the Bible! Jesus is said to descend on the clouds with the shout, the voice of the Archangel, and the blast of the Trump of God! All the dead who have ever lived are supposedly biologically resusciraised. At that time the physical cosmos is either totally annihilated, or, at the very least, totally purged with fire and renovated. However, is there anything in the description of Acts chapter 1 that fits 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 when we press the “in like manner” argument? In Acts there is no shout of the Archangel. So far as the record is concerned the Archangel is not there. There certainly is no sound of the Shofar! There are only a handful of disciples that witness the ascension, and yet, we are told that “every eye shall see Him” when He comes again. Acts chapter 1 and 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 do not match in a “in like manner” literalistic application. Consider 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. The description of Christ’s coming there is graphic and horrifying! Christ is said to descend in flaming fire with His angels, taking vengeance on the oppressors of the saints. (Lamentably, 99% of all exegetes ignore who was persecuting the saints at that time, and ignore the entire Biblical testimony about the time of the avenging of the blood of the martyrs as predicted by Jesus in Matthew 23)!3 Again, when one does a comparison between Acts chapter 1 and Thessalonians, the “in like manner” argument fails, and it fails badly. There is no “in like manner” comparison to be made! Revelation and Acts 1 Likewise, in Revelation 1:13-16, Jesus appeared to John in his post-ascension form, and that description, that apocalupsis (revealing) of Jesus, in no way resembles the ascension appearance of Jesus. Yet, the vision of Jesus seen by John does compare very well with the Transfiguration!4 In the midst of the seven lamp stands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; his feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. (Revelation 1:13-16). Notice that John saw, “One like the Son of Man.” The One he saw was so resplendently different than that One he had known, had seen, had touched (1 John 1:1-3), in His incarnate existence, that John could only say that the One he now saw was like (ὅµοιον), the Son of Man. Most assuredly, what John saw on Patmos did not resemble “in like manner” the Jesus he saw ascending on the clouds in Acts chapter 1! Consider the detailed description of Christ’s Parousia in Revelation chapter 19 as well. He is depicted as riding on a white horse out of heaven. A sword proceeds out of his mouth. His eyes are like flames of fire. He has many crowns on his head. He wears a robe dipped in blood, and is followed by the armies of heaven. What a scene! Yet, in Acts chapter 1, Jesus did not ascend on a white horse, with a sword protruding from his mouth, leading the army of heaven, did he? His eyes did not burn with fire, and so far as we know he was not wearing any crowns on his head. Where is the “in like manner” comparison here? It is clear that this appearance of Jesus was not Jesus in the flesh. This was not Jesus in his post-resurrection earthly form. There is no physical, bodily likeness between this vision and what the disciples saw at the ascension. Thus, to press the “in like manner” of Acts 1:9-11 to identicalness is unjustified. Both the Transfiguration and John’s vision on Patmos reveal Jesus’ epiphany, and there was nothing of his earthly form revealed in either vision. In both of these visions we see Jesus revealed as Deity, not as a man. Hebrews 9, the Atonement, and Acts 1 Finally, we should view Acts chapter 1 in the context of Hebrews chapter 9, and Jesus’ High Priestly function. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus was ascending in the “glory cloud” to enter the Most Holy Place “into the presence of God, to prepare a place” (Hebrews 9:24-28). He was to enter there “once” (hapax, once for all time, Hebrews 9:12), and his appearing “a second time” was to be “in the glory of the Father.” This coming of Christ, in the glory of the Father, means that he was to come in judgment in the same way as the Father had manifested Himself in the past, the way the Son had seen the Father manifest Himself (John 5:19-23), and that alone precludes a bodily, visible descent of Christ out of heaven. It must be remembered also, that the writer of Hebrews affirmed—in no uncertain terms—that the second appearing, the coming of Acts 1, would occur “in a very, very little while” (Hebrews 9:28; 10:37). So, if one argues that the Parousia of Hebrews 9:28 is indeed the coming of Christ to consummate the atonement, then they must likewise concede that the inspired writer affirms in the most positive way, regardless of our concepts of the nature of the Parousia, that it was to occur in a very little while. We have briefly compared the prediction of Acts chapter 1 with other key eschatological predictions of Christ’s “Second Coming.” We have seen that the description of Christ’s coming found in these other passages, when compared with Acts chapter 1, yields virtually no “in like manner” similarity. It behooves us therefore, to not focus on the physical appearance of the events of Acts chapter 1, but to focus instead on the spiritual significance of that event, and what it was in that regard, that the disciples “saw.” This is what “in like manner” must refer to. I am personally convinced that the Transfiguration is one of the most eschatologically significant events in the entirety of the Biblical corpus, and yet, many scholars have noted that it is virtually ignored in eschatological studies. This is lamentable, for the Transfiguration defines the Parousia, and the description of the mountain event falsifies every modern description and definition of the Parousia! I discuss the Transfiguration and its relationship to Acts chapter 1 extensively in my book Like Father Like Son, On Clouds of Glory. I have also delivered papers on the Transfiguration at several venues, and tapes of those presentations are available. These resources can be ordered from my website: eschatology.org I am cognizant that many believe that Jesus’ pre-ascension, post-resurrection body was in fact His immortal, transformed body. I reject that view as scripturally untenable. It seems to me that Jesus and scripture go out of their way to prove to us that the pre-ascension, post-resurrection body of Christ was the identical body, in every manner, that was laid in the tomb. I also discuss this extensively, and interact with some of the objections, in Like Father Like Son, Coming on Clouds of Glory. See my book In Flaming Fire, for an in-depth analysis of 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. I demonstrate that Paul was predicting the soon coming judgment on Old Covenant Judah for her long bloody guilt of killing the saints, including those of Paul’s day. The book is available at: eschatology.org Dorothy Lee, Transfiguration, New Century Theology, (New York, Continuum, 2004) 115+. Lee also believes that John’s gospel contains many echoes and allusions to the Transfiguration. Read more: worldwithoutend.info/wwewp/?p=688
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 14:59:59 +0000
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