THE SECOND COMING AND THE HOLY SPIRIT - PART 2

The 'Last Days' in the New Testament is a reference to the Old Testament's prophecy of when the Messiah was to reign on Earth and spread the Holy Spirit to the all the nations.

Jesus coming down after he died on the cross

This is a continuation of PART 1 where I discussed the true meaning of ‘the coming of the son of man’. After the death of Jesus Christ, the gates of Heaven became opened to everyone on Earth through faith in Jesus Christ. Prior to the sacrifice of Jesus, the Holy Spirit wasn’t able to help anyone unless they followed the strict Mosaic Laws of the Old Testament.

Before Jesus died on the cross, he told his apostles that ‘God will send the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name’. He then goes on to say he will be ‘coming back’ to do this:

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you.

²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

²⁸ “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

²⁹ I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

- John 14:25-29

Then after Jesus died on the cross, he came back to his apostles and said that he fulfilled those Mosaic Laws and now he’s able to send the Holy Spirit to the all the nations through his name:

⁴⁴ Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

⁴⁶ And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.

⁴⁷ It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’

⁴⁸ You are witnesses of all these things.

⁴⁹ “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

- Luke 24:47-49

Since Jesus fulfilled these Mosaic Laws and never sinned, he was the perfect sacrifice. After he died, his pure Spirit acted as a pathway for the helper to enter into any man who put their faith in Jesus. That is why the Holy Spirit is referred to as:

• The Spirit of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:19)

• The Spirit of His Son (Galatians 4:6)

• The Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7)

The ‘Coming of the Son of Man’, which many refer to as the ‘Second Coming of Jesus’, was always talking about Jesus returning to Earth after his Resurrection and blessing anyone who puts their faith in Jesus with the Holy Spirit.

The more I dive into this topic the more I realize that all the prophecies of the Old Testament were referring to the 1st coming of the messiah / Jesus Christ and the prophecies in the New Testament were referring to the 2nd coming of the messiah / Jesus opens the Holy Spirit to the whole world after his Resurrection.

The authors of the New Testament were being heavily persecuted and they only had a certain amount of time to try and persuade people that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. They were ultra focused on explaining the importance of Jesus’s message and how the Holy Spirit worked. It’s illogical to think they were writing about a futuristic coming of Jesus in Jerusalem far off into the future.

History of the New Testament

The New Testament was written by the apostles of Jesus Christ after he died on the cross for our sins. Most historians agree the books of the New Testament were written between the years (35 AD - 115 AD) in Greek. These early sources were then collected, organized and created into the first Bible, which included the Old and New Testament, called the Codex Sinaiticus. This Bible was written after the year 325 AD.

Codex Sinaiticus

While Christians were being persecuted throughout the Roman Empire, the religion was also exploding in popularity, which forced the Pagan Emperors to make Christianity the official religion of Rome in 325 AD. Constantine wanted to combine the Pagan festivals / traditions of the Roman Empire into Christianity, so he created the Roman Catholic Church.

The translations of the Bible by Rome however seemed to not be altered from the sources of the Apostles when the Roman Catholic Church translated the Greek Bible into Latin. The Latin Vulgate Bible was written and translated in 382 AD by Jerome, a Christian priest in Rome. He translated the earliest forms of the Bible that were written in Greek, the Codex Sinaiticus, which was written 50 years prior.

Latin Vulgate

For over a thousand years (382–1530 AD), the Vulgate was the most commonly used edition of the most influential text in Western European society.

In my THE SECOND COMING AND THE HOLY SPIRIT I show that the first English Bible, Wylicffe’s Bible, translated the Roman Vulgate Bible in 1382 AD from Latin to English.

The Wycliffe’s Bible is a very reliable source to what the author of the Bibles actually wrote because it’s only 4 steps / translations aways from the words that were spoken by Jesus. It also the oldest English source of the Bible that translated one of the Oldest Bibles in the world.

1. Life of Jesus (0 AD - 33 AD)

2. Writings of the Apostles (35 AD - 115 AD)

3. Greek Codex Sinaiticus (After 325 AD)

4. Latin Vulgate (382 AD)

5. Wycliffe’s Bible (1382 AD)

Wycliffe had come to regard the scriptures as the only reliable guide to the truth about God, and maintained that all Christians should rely on the Bible rather than on the teachings of popes and clerics. He said that there was no scriptural justification for the papacy.

Wycliffe Bible

Below I will show how the Codex Sinaiticus, Latin Vulgate and Wycliffe’s Bible are all very similar and close to the source by breaking down one verse in Thessalonians.

In the Coming of the Lord

Most modern Bibles in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 switched out the word ‘IN’ for ‘UNTIL’ to push a futuristic aspect of the Second Coming of Jesus. Here’s an example from the New International Version of the Bible:

¹⁵According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.”

The Wycliffe Bible uses the word ‘IN’, which is close to the source of the biblical authors:

¹⁵ And we say this thing to you in the word of the Lord, that we that live, that be left in the coming of the Lord, shall not come before them that be dead. [Soothly this thing we say to you in the word of the Lord, that we that live, that be residue, or left, in the coming of the Lord, shall not come before them that slept, or died.]

Now lets translate the same verse in the Latin Vulgate.

Here’s the link for 1 Thessalonians 4:15 in the Latin Vulgate. And here’s the passage in Latin:

¹⁵hoc enim vobis dicimus in verbo Domini quia nos qui vivimus qui residui sumus in adventum Domini non praeveniemus eos qui dormierunt

And here’s the passage translated into English:

¹⁵For we say to you in the word of God, that we are alive who we are left in the coming of the Lord, do not anticipate those who have fallen asleep

To me this proves that the Latin Vulgate was also a reliable source because the Oldest Bible, the Greek Codex Sinaiticus, also uses the word ‘IN’ for 1 Thessalonians 4:15.

Here's the link to the Codex Sinaiticus and here's the Greek words for 1 Thessalonians 4:15:

¹⁵τουτο γαρ ϋμιν λε γομεν εν λογω κυ οτι ημειϲ οι ζω τεϲ οι περιλειπο μενοι ειϲ την πα ρουϲιαν του κυ ου μη φθαϲωμε τουϲ κοιμηθεν

Here's the English translation using Google Translate:

¹⁵This is why we say that we are the living, but the rest are in the presence of the Lord, and we do not touch his sleep

Notice how it says IN the presence of the Lord.

Not only has the term ‘Coming of the Son of Man’ been twisted over generations of translations of the Bible but so has the term ‘The last days’.

The Last Days

Many people are saying we’re living in End Times and point to it being biblical prophecy but did you know there are ZERO mentions of the phrase ‘End Times’ in the Bible. There is however mentions to the ‘Last Days’, which many people point to be proof of an End Times prophecy.

You would think there would be many quotes about the ‘Last Days’ in the Bible but in reality there’s not that many references at all and the quotes that do mention them, never mention a scenario of the world ending. Below are the known quotes in the Bible that mention ‘Last Days’ and it will show the true meaning of the phrase:

In the Book of Hebrews, the author refers to the ‘Last Days’ as the days right after Jesus Christ died. Before the author uses the term ‘last days’, it describes the past of their ancestors, meaning the prophets of the Old Testament:

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

- Hebrews 1:1-4

In the Book of Acts, Peter references a quote from the Old Testament Book of Joel, where God referenced ‘the last days’, as a time when he would pour the Holy Spirit onto all his people:

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.

¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹ And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

- Acts 2:14-21

So it seems like every time a New Testament author would refer to the ‘Last Days’, they were using the terminology of the Old Testament to refer to those days as ‘Now’, in the authors present time. The Last Days were days that Israelites were waiting for in the Old Testament to refer to the days the Messiah would come and the days after.

Christians have been living in the ‘Last Days’ every since the death of Jesus Christ. Modern day followers of Judaism are still waiting for their ‘Last Days’ because they turned their backs on Jesus.

So what better way to trick Christians, then to trick them into thinking the ‘Last Days’ haven’t arrived yet?

Even the Romans knew this, which is why they switched the entire calendar system to represent this new way of thinking. This is where we see the AD and BC calendar system, which is still used to this day. AD is short for Anno Domini in Latin, which translates to ‘in the year of the Lord’, referring to the start of the ‘Last Days’, mentioned in the Old Testament.

This is also why Freemasons and followers of Judaism use the calendar systems ‘Anno Lucis’ and ‘Anno Mundi’, which don’t acknowledge the life of Jesus Christ at all.

Here’s another example of the ‘Last Days’, written by Paul to his student Timothy:

¹But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,

⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—

⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

- 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Now that you know the TRUE definition of the ‘Last Days’, it makes more sense that Paul was warning Timothy about the people who turn their back on Jesus will become even more evil than the people of the Old Testament. Paul is warning of the challenges that lie ahead for God’s people, the believers of Jesus Christ.

So next time you hear that someone is waiting for End Times, remember that is in line with how the followers of Judaism think. They are waiting for their ‘Last Days’ because that’s when the Old Testament says the Messiah will come.

As a Christian:

• The ‘Last Days’ are already here and have been flourishing since the death of Jesus Christ.

• The ‘Coming of the Lord’ is already here if you want it through faith in Jesus Christ to receive the Holy Spirit.

• The Kingdom of New Jerusalem has been here on Earth for 2000 years because Jesus Christ, the sacrificial lamb, died for our sins. The Book of Revelation is a beautifully crafted symbolic closing book on the entire Bible, which describes how the Sacrificial Lamb received his power. I discuss it here:

The End Times narrative is there to keep Christians away from the beautiful words that were spoken in the Bible and to draw them closer to Judaism’s Messianic Age. If you put your faith into Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will guide you closer to words of God.

Have a Merry Christmas and make sure to pray to Jesus throughout the Holidays to separate yourself from the celebration of Pagan festivals. Hopefully these articles are bringing you closer to Jesus Christ and it’s giving you a better understanding of the true battle of this world, which is Good vs. Evil.