Matthew 24:29-30

[EKnight]

I am re-reading Exposing the "Secret Rapture" and I am confused (once again). Matthew 24:29-30 says:

29"Immediately after the distress of those days
   " 'the sun will be darkened,
      and the moon will not give its light;
   the stars will fall from the sky,
      and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'[c]

30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

And then it goes on to say in Matthew 24:36-40

36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

And then Ray says:

PROOF FOR WHEN THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME

Let us be clear, that the "day of the Lord" is the time period of Christ's return to this earth to punish Babylon the Great and to pour out His righteous indignation on her (and on those nations who follow and worship her) for her evil crimes of inhumanity and blasphemy. Here is the order of events (Mat. 24:29-30). It's as simple as one, two, three:

"Immediately AFTER the affliction [great affliction, or great tribulation--ver. 29], of those days ...

"... the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not be giving her beams, and the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken ...

"And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of Mankind in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land shall grieve, and they shall see the Son of Mankind coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory.

So it seems like there are signs that the Lord is coming.  How then can it be said that we will not know?  All those "Immediately after" references are a pretty clear clue that the Lord will be appearing.

Please reconcile these apparent conflicts for me.

Eileen

p.s. what are the scriptures regarding Satan being reined in for 1000 years?  Or do I have that wrong?

[Akira329]

Hey Eileen!

Yes the Lord will be appearing! but............
Verse 36:
Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

You don't know the day nor the hour he will appear.
After his appearance you will know that he has appeared.

Yes, thats the order of events
easy as 1,2,3
Verses 29,30,31

Can you know when? Yes, after it(his appearance) has already happened.
Don't forget, we don't know when(day, hour, minute, sec) that he will make his appearance.
We won't know until it has happened.

Here a an excerpt from Lake of Fire 13:
And so our Lord's testimony of a beast out of the sea is a beast out of the sea, "which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME." For just once in your life BELIEVE your Lord, and just maybe you will begin to learn and understand the truly "DEEP things of God."

But how can I say that this beast out of the sea is something that already existed at the time of John's writing? Was he not to write about "...things which must shortly COME TO PASS..."? (Rev. 1:1). Is this not then making all that John sees, things that are all in the future from the time of his vision? No. Everything in this book is part of Christ's testimony, "which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME." It is needful that we read several verses now to catch the significance of, from what perspective it was that John wrote this prophecy:

"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ ['which IS, WAS, and WILL BE'].

I was IN THE SPIRIT on the Lord's day, and heard BEHIND ME a great voice, as of a trumpet [a trumpet is a symbol for a POWERFUL MESSAGE],

Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What you see, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are [they ALREADY existed at the time that John writes about them] in Asia...

And I TURNED to see the voice that spoke with me. And BEING TURNED, I saw seven golden candlesticks." (Rev. 1:9-12).

Ah yes, John heard this trumpet (or message) "behind him" and therefore, had to TURN BACK in order to see, hear, and understand the message! And so John writes about the things he sees "BEHIND" him (1:10), and "...things which must be HEREAFTER."

I hope that helps

As for Satan:
Rev 20:1  And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2  And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
Rev 20:3  and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.

Eileen I hope this helps.

Antaiwan