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Matthew 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world(age)?
Many of the "experts"
say that there will be physical--worldly signs
which must take place before the second coming, but are all of these
signs - outward signs or are some signs spiritual and symbolic ??
Biblical Passage | Literal Interpretation | Spiritually Symbolic Interpretation | Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
and then shall the end come. | Before
Jesus returns, the Bible will have to be taught to every single person on earth, then the world will end?
| Most people will have to agree that the Bible has been
preached to some degree in every nation in the world, and that there is at least one witness (believer) in each nation. The
earliest report of this can be linked to 1843-1844. | Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him
understand:)
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whole world will have to come to Jerusalem and stand inside the holy place(temple?) and watch the abomination of desolation
take place, and then they will see Jesus ? { There are multiple opinions on what Daniel the Prophet meant,
but only one interpretation will line up with all of the other prophetic time lines } See the links page.
| The abomination of desolation ended when Jews were allowed
to return to Israel, which began in 1844 = The Edict of Toleration. Israel became an officially recognized country in 1948
= 60 years ago. The holy place is related to making sure your heart is pure and ready for the conditions
of His return. | Matthew
24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be. | Jesus
is going to return by riding in on a bolt of lightning and everyone on earth will see Him and hear the thunder, at the same
time? | When Christ returns, He will come
from the east of Israel (just like Abraham.) The brilliant light of His message and personage will start in the east and travel
the world = west. | Luke
21:27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. | Jesus will float in / on
a cloud with the words "Power and Glory" written on it. This cloud will go around the world as He waves hello to
every single person on earth? | Clouds
can represent the state of confusion, lack of clarity or a veil that will prevent many(but not all) people from seeing his
true spiritual power and glory ----given to Him by God. | Luke
21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and
shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles
be fulfilled. | Every non-believer will
fall on to the edge of a sword and get cut or die and then be taken away to a jail in every nation on earth ? Gentiles will trot around Israel until who knows when? | This passage is two fold= it literally happened, but the spiritual interpretation is that the edge
of the sword is the tongue or words of Jesus, and those that choose not to accept Him into their hearts will suffer the pains
of being without Him and captive to all nations = earthly material things. The gentiles time being fulfilled relates to the above mentioned conditions which began in 1844-1948
= the gentiles are no longer in charge of Jerusalem !
| Luke 21:25: And there shall
be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and
the waves roaring; 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things
which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. | Jesus is scaring people into believing Him, because if they don't, unwanted calamities will come upon
the earth and sky? And those who do not believe, will live in constant fear and they are all going
to have heart attacks? | People
are eagerly waiting for Jesus to return and carefully trying to see the literal signs of His coming, but some are perplexed
because He should have come already and are fearful that He won't come or maybe that they missed it. They will be too
worried about the outward-literal-material fulfillment of his coming and neglect the spiritually symbolic fulfillment of his
coming. Maybe the signs in the sun, moon and stars are symbolic, not literal.
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"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man in heaven." By these words it is meant that when the sun of the heavenly teachings hath been eclipsed, the stars
of the divinely-established laws have fallen, and the moon of true knowledge -- the educator of mankind -- hath been obscured;
when the standards of guidance and felicity have been reversed, and the morn of truth and righteousness hath sunk in night,
then shall the sign of the Son of man appear in heaven. By "heaven" is meant the visible heaven, inasmuch as when
the hour draweth nigh on which the Day-star of the heaven of justice shall be made manifest, and the Ark of divine guidance
shall sail upon the sea of glory, a star will appear in the heaven, heralding unto its people the advent of that most great
light. In like manner, in the invisible heaven a star shall be made manifest who, unto the peoples of the earth, shall act
as a harbinger of the break of that true and exalted Morn. These twofold signs, in the visible and the invisible heaven, have
announced the Revelation of each of the Prophets of God, as is commonly believed.
Baha'u'llah,
The Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude)
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