The "Second Coming" Idea

(Revised 8-8-2008, 5:59 PM, PDT)

When you understand Judaic prophecy and the actual prophecies of the Christ Jesus, you will see why the idea that he will "come again" some time in the future is a myth. In fact, the one who now fulfills all religious prophecies of the "one to come" is the next in a long line of messenger-teachers who are called and chosen to express divine will and intent. (See the page on Prophecies Re: The "One To Come.")

In the first place, nowhere in the "Old Testament" Judaic Hebrew Scriptures is there any prophecy about a certain Moshiach/Messiah coming, then going, and then coming again.

In the Judaic Scriptures there are some prophecies about the Messiah known as the Christ Jesus, but there are even more prophecies about the next spiritually anointed son of man that Jesus said would come, as the messenger for the Spirit of truth.

The problem is that neither religious Jews nor religious Christians understand that, which is why they are divided and unwittingly misguided. And religious Muslims are just as misguided. None of them understand the real prophecies of the son of man, the witness and servant-messenger of God, and the Muslims do not understand the prophecies about the Imam Mahdi.

Basically, Isaiah said the witness and servant of God would be stricken and afflicted, send his work before him to deliver judgment and not cause his voice to be heard in the street or in public, but would be rejected so long that he would fear his work was in vain and for nought. And that is why Jesus said that this son of man to come would first be rejected by his generation and suffer many things, but, as the messenger for the Spirit of truth, he would issue judgment, guide you unto truth, show you things to come, glorify the Lord God, and glorify the Christ who is in heaven with God.

But, the modern son of man glorifies the Christ in heaven not as an idol for worship, not as "God Himself," but as a son of man and the Sacrificial Lamb of God that he was.

You see, while Jesus fulfilled certain Judaic prophecies, such as being born in the line of David as his father Joseph was, and "receiving stripes" (from being whipped) and "being brought as a lamb for slaughter" as a martyr, the modern son of man fulfills the rest of Judaic prophecies, as well as the prophecies of Jesus.

The modern son of man says, Worship God only, for as Jesus and Isaiah said, only God is the Holy One, only God is the Savior, and only God is worthy of worship. No man has ever been, or ever will be, God "Himself," because as Moses wrote and as all truly enlightened human beings have known, God is not a man, nor a son of man. And even though the most enlightened ones, like Jesus and others who founded or expanded other religions, spoke as the Holy One, they did so for the Holy One who is within and above us all. For the Inner Self is the True Self of All, even though our ego does not know that unless and until we are truly reborn of the Spirit.

The trouble is, most of the early disciples and apostles of Jesus may have either misunderstood him, or embellished and exaggerated stories about him. Either that, or later followers did when they copied and translated the original gospels. Consequently, many Christians misunderstand statements and prophecies in the Christian gospels, because some of the statements and prophecies are simply in error or misleading, and, while some of the true statements and prophecies are literal, much of them are not literal but purely symbolic.

Of course, Jesus did mean it literally that many would come saying "I am Christ." After all, many have made such false claims. Jesus also meant it literally that many would claim that they know the Christ, and either claim that he is here or there, or that they know when and where he will come. And he also meant it literally that many people would be deceived by the false Christs, false prophets, and hypocrites. All that has happened.

But, most Christians do not know that the Christ Jesus gave those warnings about false Christs and false ideas about the Christ, because he himself would not actually "come again" but instead send the Spirit of truth in the next son of man. (See the page on Prophecies Re: The "One To Come.")

The Christ Jesus also meant it literally when he said that prior to the coming of this modern son of man, there would be wars and rumors of wars, but it would not be the end of the terrible tribulation. He said not only that nations would rise up against other nations, but there would be the "seven plagues" (diseases, famines, pestilence, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and droughts) and "many other terrible things" in many places in the world, and that the sorrows of most people in the world would get worse until the Spirit of truth is acknowledged. And Jesus was quite right, even though it should be understood that he did NOT mean this ordeal and tribulation would be God’s doing, but Man’s, as Jesus and many other prophets foresaw and foretold.

As for most of the other things that were written pertaining to what would happen prior to or during the coming of the modern son of man, they were mostly symbolic.

For example, Jesus said: "For as the lightening that lightens one part under heaven shines unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the son of man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by his generation." (Luke 17:24-25)

Of course, traditional Christian belief is that Jesus was speaking of himself there, but that misunderstanding was because Jesus did speak of himself when he said something very similar. That is, Jesus said of himself: "this son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain."

That is indeed similar, which is why it was assumed that what is written in Matthew and in Luke 17:24-25 (about the son of man first suffering many things and being rejected by his generation) was also about Jesus. But it was not. Granted, Jesus certainly was a son of man. He certainly was rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and he certainly did suffer and was slain as a martyr and sacrificial lamb of God. However, his suffering was not first or beforehand. It was only at the very end of his life and after his mission was fulfilled.

Furthermore, even though Jesus was rejected by those in power (by the elders and chief priests and scribes), he was not rejected by his generation. In fact, Jesus was accepted by multitudes from every generation at the time. That is made clear throughout the book of Matthew and in the book of Luke. It was also confirmed by an impartial Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, who wrote at the time that Jesus "won over many Jews and many of the Greeks."

Unfortunately, many Christians misunderstand the Christian gospels because they misunderstand the Judaic scriptures in the Old Testament. They don’t understand the symbolic language about the "lightning," the "darkened sun and moon," the "sign of the Son of man in heaven," the "signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars," and his "coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." And they misunderstand the symbolism in the language that foretells that God shall "send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

All that kind of language symbolizes the spiritual events that have been taking place and will increasingly take place. It’s the same kind of symbolism as the "final war between good and evil," the war of "Armageddon," and the "fall of Babylon."

You see, Paul got it right when he wrote that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal or lethal, but they are mighty through God for pulling down even the most powerful stronghold of misused military power. The "weapons" of God are divinely inspired words, written in the Spirit of truth, just as Jesus said.

But, as I’ve explained on the page on The Fall of Babylon and other pages, much of the book of Revelation is symbolic and was not meant to be taken literally.

The problem is that many Christians don’t understand that because they misunderstand the symbolism in the terms and language that are used in both the old and new testaments in their Bible.

For example, as I wrote in my first and third books, Jesus knew that in the very first chapter of Genesis, the first book in the Bible, it states: "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years." (Genesis 1:14) That’s why Jesus said, "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars..." (Luke 21:25)

Most people don’t know it, but the Magi, the followers of Zoroaster, knew that the Christ Jesus had been born because of the signs in the night sky. They knew because they were astrologers, as so many people were at that time, and long before. The prophet Daniel was an astrologer, as is so evident from the symbolism he used in his writing, as I explained in the page titled The Fall of Babylon.

That’s because the ancient Kaballah, the mystical part of Judaism, incorporates astrology and numerology, as well as pictorial symbolism. That’s why the Bible is full of astrological symbolism, and symbolism from the original Sacred Tarot. For example, even in the currently used versions of the Tarot, the four cherubic emblems, the bull, lion, eagle and man, which are mentioned in the book of Ezekiel and the Christian book of Revelation, are featured on three keys in the Major Arcana. The bull refers to Taurus and Earth, the lion to Leo and fire, the eagle to Scorpio and water, and the man to Aquarius and air. They are the "fixed signs" and the "four elements" of Astrology.

Another example is that John wrote: "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth." (Revelation 10:1-2) That is a direct, obvious reference to Tarot Key 14, titled Temperance, which fits that description perfectly. And there are many other examples of such symbolism in the Bible and in the Tarot, and are depicted in the 32 paths of wisdom on the Kaballistic or Qabalistic "Tree of Life," which is mentioned eight times in the Old Testament and three times in the New Testament in the Bible. (For more explanatory information on the Sacred Tarot, read the page on Another Prophecy, and my first and third books.)

Anyway, to get back to the "signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.," spiritual astrologers know, in the same way that the Zoroastrians did when the Christ Jesus was born, that the modern son of man is here now. And in fact, as I described in Memoirs of a Prodigal Son of man, in 1979, when I realized who and what I am, I witnessed a miraculous sign in the night sky.

Now, many Christians also do not understand the meaning of this: "The Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations; and then the end shall come." (Matthew 24:14).

The fact is that the Christian gospels have already been preached to all the nations, increasingly during the last sixteen centuries. And the term "the end" means the end of the age (Aeon), which Jesus spoke of, not the literal end of the world, even though some English mistranslations of the gospels still use the term "the end of the world."

Furthermore, the prophesied judgment which comes now at the end of the age will render all of the arrogantly proud and militant bigots and hypocrites contrite in the face of truth, and it will enable the humble and meek to inherit the earth, make peace, and transform "swords into plowshares." (See the pages titled New Declaration of Independence, How the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth, The Future, and other relevant pages.)

You see, Jesus knew and said that this would be a time when people do not abide by "sound doctrine," but adhere instead to the false "commandments of men for doctrines." He said hypocrites would claim to do "many wonderful works in the name of the Lord," when they actually "work iniquity."

That’s why it is quite true where it is written in the gospels that "according to their own desires they will choose teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and go after fables." And it is quite true that religious bigots and hypocrites have been and still are clinging to fables and myths to justify their aggression and imposition, and their violent efforts to rule the world in the name of religion.

That’s why it is quite true where it is written that: "For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power."

But, ironically, arrogantly proud and militant right-wing religious bigots and hypocrites who claim to be godly Christians (or Muslims or Jews) do not understand that most of those words apply to them!

"And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart …… for the earth is filled with violence through them." (Genesis 6:5-11).

That applies exactly and precisely to the time we are going through. It is exactly why there is so much violence in the world, and why the Lord God and this servant and witness of God grieves!

I tell you truly that the idea of a "second coming" of the Christ Jesus was created by men who may have thought they had good intentions, but it is a myth. It is every bit as much a myth as the myth about the "virgin birth" of Jesus, and the myth that he was "the only begotten son of God," or even "God Himself." (See the pages on The Virgin Birth Story, The Martyrdom of Jesus, and Prophecies Re: The "One To Come.")

The worst thing about the myths is that ever since the fourth century they have enabled a lot of "Christian" Popes, Emperors, Kings and subsequent Heads of State to indulge in war, military imperialism, colonialism, and even genocide, all in the name of spreading Christianity. And those myths are the main reason why so many Christians, Jews and Muslims do not recognize that they belong to one family of religions that includes all religions.

It is time for myths to be exposed and dispelled. It is time for all peoples, nations and religions to recognize that they all are members of one family of God. And it is time for the Spirit of truth to issue judgment, guide you unto truth, and show you things to come.