Saturday, September 26, 2009

Come, Lord Jesus...? Where did He go?!?

Just today, I received one of those, "look - the world is getting worse and worse -- surely we are in the end times, surely Jesus will return soon" emails. (Actually, I get them a lot.)

Most of the time, I ignore them ... but today, I responded, and the person asked for more information, about what I'm seeing ... how I see the "end times."

I thought I'd share my response here, in case it offers another alternative-thought to anyone else. Now, by all means, if the "the world is about to come to a cataclysmic crescendo, and 2/3 of the humans will be slaughtered, and then the earth will be fried to a crisp -- so that a minority of us can life in utopic perfection" message *work* for you -- then go with it.

As for me -- it ain't working no more.

Here's what I'm seeing -- here's what's working for me:

I'm seeing that everything prophesied in the scriptures, including what we have traditionally termed "end times" -- is all fulfilled, and was fulfilled in 70AD. When scripture was written, during the first century (all prior to 70AD), they were then still awaiting the return of Jesus ... which happened (albeit not in accordance with the way the Christian church has taught for the past 200 years), in 70AD, with the destruction of the Temple and the ending of the old covenant.

Just as Jesus prophesied in the Olivet Discourse (Mt. 24, Mk. 16 & Lk 21). He even told them, then, that some of them standing there, hearing Him speak, would still be alive when it happened ... and while most of them did indeed get martyred, a few were still alive.

The end of the age (not "world" -- aion means age) was the end of the old covenant age ... and it already happened. We live now in the new covenant ... as described by Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel ... all fulfilled, God is now all in all.

The problem, of course, is that most don't realize it, don't see it, and thus don't experience it. As a man thinks in his own heart, so is he. If we believe that we're waiting on God to *do* something, then we'll live in that perpetual limbo (as Christianity has these past nearly 2,000 years, forever awaiting the *soon* return of Jesus).

Further, since Christianity has made the same mistake that Israel did (in assuming that the prophetic fulfillment would be *literal*, rather than the superior spiritual fulfillment), we missed His parousia (second coming), just as the Jews missed His advent (first coming).

I remember Jesus saying, "until *all* is fulfilled of the law and the prophets, not the tiniest portion of the Law will pass away." IF we were still awaiting His return (which was prophesied), then we're *still* under the Law.

Yes, they had to pray, "Come quickly Lord Jesus" for they were living in the "overlap" of the two covenants, with the old covenant then "becoming obsolete and about to disappear", and the new one emerging. They were awaiting the removal of the old (the "veil" that blinded), in order that the new (what had always been) could fully be "seen" and realized.

We have no need to pray for Him to come ... He is here, moreso than when He walked the earth. It was better that He would go, so that the Spirit could manifest... IN us, AS us... for there is only One Life. We are never, and have been never, separated from Omnipresence.

So -- what about the future? What about these seemingly threatening world events...?

What that means is that we are creating our own future ... based on the insanity of our own collective, dark (blinded) thinking. There is no looming judgment of God ... all wrath is past. The Kingdom is here, at hand, only it's spiritually entered -- there is no future-literal throne to come, no literal anything to arrive ... the Kingdom is in our midst, within us -- unobservable with human eyes. The spiritual is always superior to the literal/tangible/physical.

The events of the planet are man's doing, the consequences of insane thinking. We imagine ourselves to be separate from one another ... we imagine that we are competing for resources -- when there is enough of everything. As long as we promote and defend the "haves" benefiting from the "have-nots", as long as we see ourselves as separate, as long as greed is idolized as a way of life, we will continue to suffer, and have crises ... we, like the Prodigal son, need to wake up in our pig-sty, come to our senses, and return Home - to the Mind of God.

After all, we're told we have (present tense) the Mind of Christ ... the problem is we keep relying instead on the carnal/egoic mind of illusion -- and there's nothing stronger than the force of the mass of humanity believing the same collective illusion ...!

*Except* for the power of Love -- which is drawing ALL men to Himself ... and all men into all Truth... as we can bear it.

The good news (& it's always good news!) is that more and more are awakening to God -- to His true nature (rather than as He's been portrayed by man), and to what unfolded in time (to show us what had *always* been -- for the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world -- we were never separated from God -- we just *thought* we were...!).

More and more are seeing this ... that we are One with God, and One with each other ... and lives are being transformed, to live free of ALL fear, to live the Abundant Life, to freely love God and neighbor, in this Kingdom which we enter by going past the veil of appearances ...

So ... that's how I'm seeing it ... it played out in history (culminating in the first century, at the transition of the covenants), and yet, from God's perspective, it had always been -- we have never been separated from God, except for *in our own minds* - Jesus came to show us that, to bust apart our illusions, to set us captives free from our own dark thinking.


And that, my friends, is what's working for me ... even as I await further revelation, from the One who is leading me (& you!) into all Truth..!

Shalom, Dena

4 comments:

Harry Riley said...

Makes sense to me, Dena:)

You might like to say what it is about the events surrounding the destruction of the Temple that lead you to believe that Jesus did in fact return then. The evidence you present here is pretty convincing, but what is it in the actual accounts that you feel confirms this?

~Molly~ said...

Oh this is awesome!!! Thank you!!

Molly

cheryl marie said...

Some years ago I stumbled across (I believe it was called "preterist" teaching) online and it really made sense to me, that many of the things we consider "end times" are actually things that *did* happen at the end of the age (circa 70 AD). I remember being a bit perplexed by it but have held it in the back of my mind now for occasional pondering over the years. I will look into this more, but I will admit, part of me is scared and part is excited as the things I thought I believed are completely shaken up.

Ok, one little question I just thought of: If this really was the return of Christ in 70 AD, did John who wrote Revelation understand this? Did those who followed Jesus at the time understand it?

Bless you Dena!

Dena said...

Hey y'all...!

Looks like I opened a can of worms, or at least newish-thoughts, here.

Yes, I'll follow up on this, for I've experienced it as a pivotal understanding ... without the twin-fears of "hell" and the "soon and looming judgment/return of Christ", we're set free to live in the Kingdom which is here, at hand, in our midst, within us.

I'll compile a "how I came to see this" post for tomorrow ... thanks for your questions, and for wanting to see the "much more" that God has for us to see.

Shalom, Dena