Religious fluthers.. how is Jesus returning?

It won’t be the birth thing again. Been there, done that.
It will be a sudden appearance, but don’t focus your attention on that. When He comes back, He is gonna be pissed, and I don’t mean the British word for drunk.

Question about question title: By “religious” do you mean religious Christians?

@answerjill clearly christians…..and messianic jews perhaps….

the Lamb will return as a lion, and judge us all!

I always wondered this too. He’s supposed to come back, and there are different ideas about when he’ll be back. But how? And where?

This is an interesting question, I hope people do keep their yap shut so we can learn what Christians really think on the topic. I was just about to ask a question about the Messiah to Christians, but I will hold off for now. Whenever I do ask religious questions I get PM’s from Christians because they are afraid to answer, because people can be so critical of their beliefs.

Revelations 1:7 Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, A-men.

So I get the impression that the entire earth will be able to look up and see him at one time.

@chyna That makes more sense to me than the way God suppposedly did it the first time.

I think there are going to be a lot of good ol’ boys in the bible belt who are going to be totally shocked when Jesus returns in the form of a little old black woman from Harlem.

There are several appearances that will take place and a couple have already. But when he comes in his glory he will come and EVERYONE will see him coming. He will be bringing back millions of individuals with him and some other things that have been taken from the Earth. As the sun comes up in the morning so shall the coming of the Son of God be and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. And he will be asked what are these marks in thy hands and thy feet and he will answer these are the marks I recieved in the house of my friends.

@Summum – “a couple have already”? Can you explain? I’m serious, I’m not Christian and I don’t know to what you’re referring.

He has appeared to a select few already to prepare for his coming in glory.

[mod says]: Please remember that this is a general question, folks.

If Jesus returned in a humble fashion (and that seems more his style) I would think that many would probably doubt who he is (similar to how it happened the first time). Assuming this, anyone could claim to be the returned Christ, and admonish any who challenged him. So how could Jesus return, have everyone except him for who he is, without being forced to do miracles to prove himself (which he would be against)? It’s an interesting question.

When he comes again there will be NO doubt at all.

@Summum do mainstream Christians think that? That He has appeared more than once to a select few? Or, is it sects like Jehovas and Mormons (I mention those randomly, I am not picking on any particular group, and I am not saying they are not Christians, I believe they are).

Most Christians really do not know who Christ is so no it is not mainstream Christians that understand this.

@Summum Then who is it that understands it?

@Summum I am interested in knowing which branch of christianity this belief comes from, because most branches are pretty scattered on the issue whatever branch you are speaking from seems to have a clear answer for their people.

There are many things that are called the mysteries of God and they are for everyone to seek and find as it states. I am just one that has sought and found. Doesn’t make me any better than anyone else but it does carry more responsibility than most will have.

I have been taught that when Christ returns it will be a triumphant return, there will be no doubt. He will come in glory and all who see him will know who he is.

@dubsrayboo Yes that is true when he comes in his glory all will know.

@Summum so you don’t go to a church of any organized religion who also shares this belief than?

@Summum I call that being cryptic, and not a straight answer to my question. But that’s ok. I don’t say that to be offensive, I just have never understood why God would be cryptic, make people guess, and hunt for clues, when he is supposed to love us. I don’t want to get the Q off track though. I asked a fluther question a while back on exactly that topic, so better to just stick with the current question at hand.

I am not going to Church now no and I haven’t in several years. The Church (any Church) was made for man and not man for the Church. It is there for our use not to be used by it.

You would have to understand the entire nature of God and who he really is. He is not the Christian God that many think he is.

So your Theory that Jesus has already revealed himself to a select few and will soon reveal himself to the population at large is not a belief you share with any church we would know of, but its more of a personal knowledge?

There is a Church that believes it but it is also from personal knowledge.

I can understand that, what church…that was my question from the start

@Summum – I have to agree that you’re being a little vague. I’m interested in what you have to say, but it seems you’re evading the question. Who are the select few to whom Jesus has appeared? How do you know? Your answer to my previous question didn’t really answer anything. I’m just curious, and it seems that others are too, but it feels like you’re answering a “why” question by simply saying “because”.

The LDS (Mormon) church believes that he came to Joseph Smith in the Grove and also a couple of other times as he interpreted the BOM with the Urim and Thummim. There are two different comforters the first comforter is the Holy Ghost and the second is the Christ. It is called being Justified and then Sanctified or having your calling of Election made sure. Those that receive this receive the Christ in this life.

Thank you

@Summum – Thanks; you’ve given me some starting points to find out more.

Did you all know you can activate your DNA strands that are not being used and when you do so the world of the spiritual is opened up to you?

That other comment has nothing to do with me. I’m just observing the discussion.

Here is a site that explains the Baha’i belief that Christ has already returned in the person of Baha’u’llah.

It’s not an official Baha’i website, but it does have a lot of good explanation regarding the various prophecies of Christ’s return and how they relate to Baha’u’llah.
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You can also find more information on the US Baha’i website:

Baha’i theology draws a distinction between the Spirit of Christ – infinitely glorious, absolutely unique and utterly indispensable as the only pathway to God – and the historical person of Jesus.

The Baha’i Scriptures affirm that Jesus is one of a series of Manifestations of God that includes Moses, the Buddha, Muhammad—and, today, Baha’u’llah—through Whom, from age to age, God has progressively revealed His Will and Purpose for humanity. All the Manifestations of God are like perfect Mirrors for the Spirit of God to come into the world.

@Summum if you activated the dna that’s not being used, you’d grow a tail and get webbed feet. There’s a REASON it’s not being used—because it’s no-longer useful.

I think Jesus will come to each of us in an individual way at the end of our world. I think the descriptions of Revelation are meant to be taken metaphorically. There will be no doubt because each one of us will have a direct personal experience of the rapture and we will be personally taken up to heaven. I don’t discount the possibility that it will all happen literally as discribed. I wouldn’t presume to say what god will or won’t do. But I am personally likely to doubt some big fireworks display with a giant Jesus tossing crowds of people up to heaven and down to hell. It just seems too flashy for a god who has a healthy self-esteem.

How , when or why? I have no idea.

@gorillapaws – do you think that all unused strands of DNA are no longer useful?
Or is there a possibility that we have unused strands of DNA that have yet to be used?

@stump I disagree. He will come loud and clear. There will be no doubt.
Matthew 24:23–31 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

@chyna How does a star fall from heaven in your opinion?

@chyna

It is immediately after those days which is of course the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet.

@Blackberry I honestly have never thought about that.

Clearly im an atheist and don’t believe anybody supernatural is coming anywhere….I do find it very interesting that in 2000 years so many different members of one group (christianity) have so many different opinions on christianity and what it means, I mean with so many different sects, each with a minor or major difference from the next….its very interesting to an outsider to view the social and community aspects of it all

@chyna Maybe you are right. I am not a Biblical scholar and can’t quote like you do. I just feel like the few times when I have felt personally touched by God it has been in quiet, still moments. I know God can be terrifying. I just hope I don’t feel like running away when He comes.

Revelation 1:7 as mentioned by @chyna works for me because her answer is based on scripture.

@stump I’m not a biblical scholar either, I just know where some of the stuff that interests me is located in the bible. I agree with you, I don’t want to be scared when it happens.

There is a key to understanding the second coming and it is called the Abomination of Desolation.

@chyna I’m a nonbeliever, but if it happened I wouldn’t be scared. I think I would react with a kind of fascination because of my nonbelief.If that makes any sense.

Though I am not a “Religious Fluther”... the Bible makes it very clear “how” Jesus will return. @chyna got it right and there are numerous verses to depict a “Cloud of Heaven”...

“BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him , even those who pierced Him ; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him” – Revelation 1:7

”...they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds.” Mark 13:26

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18

“But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:64
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Welcome to the Petabyte age of the Information Cloud.

Very soon, it will be impossible to lie to one another. Any statement will be verifiable immediately. Deception will be conquered, marking the reign of Truth… the reign of Christ.

The latest WikiLeaks scandal only serves to confirm the Revelation warnings that the wicked will be fearful of this.

The modern day Christian will miss the second coming of Christ every bit as much as they accuse the Jews of missing the first coming… They will not recognize him.

Ok, should we just revise the question to: Religious fluthers.. how is Jesus returning in your own opinion without quotes from religious texts?

The Christ returns not God and he will come for all to see. As for the stars falling from Heaven it is figurative to what happens after the Abomination of Desolation. There is a huge Earth quake that rocks the Earth and so much so that the atmostphere is covered in dust and all that is pushed around. This has an effect of making the stars look as though they are falling from Heaven and moon turnig color so that it looks like blood. The sun will be darkened and you will not see any light at all.

He will not have a physical presence and yet all will know He is there. The feeling will be so amazing that everyone will understand what it means to live a giving, supportive life. Soon, the righteous will join Him, without bodies as well.

No he will have his body of flesh and bone as we have now but he was resurrected.

He has risen and was touched by others after his death.

Well that was still during his first coming. He had never left earth or the physical realm at that point.

As well, when Jesus spoke himself about who he was, he never mentioned flesh and bone. He said but one thing about the who of Jesus Christ…

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

So I should suppose that when humanity witnesses the Way of Truth that brings spiritual Life, that would suffice to mark the second coming of Christ, be it embodied or not.

No when Christ first rose from the dead he told the women that were there to not touch him and he said “I have not yet assended to my Father”. After having done that he allowed others to touch him because he had been ressurected after seeing the Father.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies , true, He never mentioned flesh and bone but Joseph Smith the founder of the Mormons certainly did. In a famous sermon , Smith declared, “God (Jesus) has a body of flesh and bones” (paraphrased) “and is alive in yonder heavens.” I think, but dont have time to look up, that this sermon was at the burial or his eulogy of one of his most beloved followers. He was a great speaker, IMO. I did not “buy into” what he said but it was a fantastic speech.

Yes the Mormons believe that God exists on a real planet somewhere towards the center of our galaxy. That’s definitely a unique take on it.

I also think the Jehovah’s Witness believe that Christ has already returned, sometime back in the 40’s.

Don’t hold me to any of this because I do not study those religions. Simply what I’ve heard.

So what you’re saying @Summum is that Christ has already come and gone twice, and what we’re really waiting on is his third coming?

No it has always been that he second coming was when he comes in his glory he has not done that yet. When he does everyone will know without doubt. He visits the Earth now and quite often.

He visits our planet quite often? Wow; this is really becoming interesting!!

Yes he does as do many of his followers.

I thought I might add, since the original question was for religious people, that the way I understand it the Jews believe the first coming, or the advent of the messiah coming, will lead to the messianic age/era, a great time of peace. I believe it is in Isaiah. I like that concept. I guess this explains why the Jewish people do not feel Jesus fulfilled all of the qualifications to be considered the messiah; we sure are not living in a great time of peace.

The problem @JLeslie is that the coming Jewish Messiah is considered by Christians to be the Anti Christ.

No the Jewish will see Christ and know that they had crucified him as the mount of Olive splits in 3 places. I don’t know of a Christian that believes that the Anti-Christ or the beast is the second coming.

So tell me @Summum. When Christ mentions his return on the Clouds of Heaven, how will he do that and what exactly do you believe the Clouds of Heaven are?

Have you seen the show Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Look at what the clouds do.

@RealEyesRealizeRealLies Really? I need to make a separate question. I am interested in what Christians think about it, and I don’t want to pull this thread off track too far.

All the biblical account is about the Earth being organized to recieve life.

Yes @JLeslie. Christians believe that the Anti Christ will rise as a deception among the Jewish people to be confused as the Jewish Messiah. They accept him as their King and thereby usher in three and a half years of prosperity and three and a half years of hell on earth equals the Seven Year Tribulation, upon which the real Christ will return and set the world upon a thousand years of peace…

if you believe in that sort of thing

@Seelix I think the point is that Deity doesn’t live anywhere in any physical realm. They’re not supposed to be physical entities at all, whereas Extraterrestrials are. Perhaps in my lazy days I may believe differently.

@Summum The Biblical account of Genesis has just as much to do with setting the universe in place as it does setting earth in place. How does an Extraterrestrial entity create a universe, space, and time?

The jews believe that jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies as he did not lead the jews back to israel and they believe the messiah will be a man not a god in any way only a man, this is how the jews interpret the messiah.

I made a joke about this earlier and I appologize for my immaturity. Altho, I don’t believe in religion, who am I to say Jesus doesn’t exist or never will. I have no proof. For all we know, Jesus could be among us if real. I just think it would be really hard to prove something like that to the people nowadays. You know, with all these magaicians and such that can do anything. For all we know, somebody like Criss Angel could be Jesus.

There is no eternal punishment. There are higher forms of beings that have been here since this world began which is to say since Man was brought here from another planet. These beings are still watching this Earth and waiting for the evolution that the Earth is about to take. This Earth is alive and will progress soon and receive its paradisiacal glory. There have been many beings helping this world. Look at the Egyptians and the Mayans for an example.

How do these other beings feel about the second coming of Christ as a man to live on earth?

Well Christ is half of one of them so they are here to make sure things happen as they should. There are currently 43 species of beings here. How do you think Mary got pregnant? She was artificially injected that is how she remained a Virgin.

I see.

[mod says]: Please remain on topic. The question is about how Jesus will return to earth. Please keep your comments related to that subject.

He as like as not will step out of a Greyhound bus and look around. When he tells us who he is he will not be believed. When he shows as the scars in his hands he will still not be believed.

@Summum are you saying the Twelve Apostles visit our planet? What for?

The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25
1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’

12“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’

13“ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour

@chyna is absolutely correct. That is what the bible says. It will be loud, and no one will be snuck away. The secret rapture is unscriptural.

The are some – me among them – who believe He has already returned. He came to this world as an ordinary Man.

He would come with great glory an honour, with a parade of Angels behind him, trupeting his return.

Anyway He wants too!

@SuperMouse Interesting, i’m not at all familiar with this religion, but in the article you posted it says ”Baha’u’llah is the latest in this long line of Divine Messengers, which has included Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster and the Bab.” But to us Christians Jesus really was both the son of god and god incarnated. Is that how you see Baha’u’llah? no pun intended, i’m just curious.

@KasperPrip, Bahá’í‘s believe that all the people you listed, including Jesus are Manifestations of God. While they, and all the other Manifestations, are perfect mirrors for the spirit of God, none are God’s incarnate on earth.

Returning in a manner of speaking. Allegorical meanings are not the same as literal meanings.

As long as we don’t hate other people and as long as we ask for forgiveness for our trespasses, as we will forgive others that trespass against us, Jesus’s ideas live on.