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Question: Will Jesus set His feet on the earth when He comes again.?

Answer: According to the way I understand the Scriptures, the answer is "No." But that will, no doubt, require some projection and explanation, and I do not guarantee that I can explain it to everyone's satisfaction.

In Revelation 20:11-13, we have a description of the judgment scene in these words: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the EARTH and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Note, it says in this passage that the EARTH fled away from the presence of Him Who sat on the throne. The earth was corrupt and cursed because of sin (Genesis 3:17, Genesis 6:12, and Isaiah 24:5-6). When Jesus came the first time, He came clothed in a fleshy body, "...In the likeness of sinful flesh,..." (Rom 8:3), and He walked on earth here among men and identified with men and took their sins on Himself that He might bear them to Calvary and there make an atonement for them. Now that has been accomplished. When He comes again "...without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28), in complete holiness and in the naked, unsheathed glory of the Father and surrounded with all the holy angels, He will not count the corrupt and defiled earth as a suitable and fit place for Himself and those who will accompany Him to come in contact with. He will be through with the earth forever, so He will just banish it from Him as He approaches.

Peter wrote, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." II Peter 3:10. Paul declares that this will be "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,..." and that it will be "...at the last trump:..." And Paul describes this coming of the Lord and sounding of His trumpet in these words in I Thessalonians 4:14-17, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

Now I am somewhat familiar with the doctrine of the "Rapture" which is read into this passage and so generally taught in Christendom today. But I do not identify with that teaching, and for the simple reason that this passage makes no reference at all to the saints coming back here at the end of seven years to reign in Christ's kingdom here on the earth for a thousand years or any length of time. Quite the contrary. It says they will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall they EVER be with the Lord up there. This is further proof that Christ will not touch His feet upon this earth again, but will come in the clouds of heaven and catch His saints up to meet Him in the air.

I Corinthians 15:52 is speaking of the same thing as I Thessalonians 4:14-17, and there this trump is called the last trump. Also, Jesus said that saints would be raised on the last day (John 6:39-40, 44, 54.) Can you see the folly of trying to believe or prove there will be a thousand years or any number of days at all after the last day or the last trump to call forth the wicked dead for judgment after the righteous dead have been resurrected to reign with Christ in His kingdom on the earth? The holy Scriptures do not teach such a thing, and neither do they teach that Christ will ever set His feet upon this earth again.

Now we will look at a text in Zechariah 14:4, which is strongly set upon by advocates on the Millennium doctrine. It reads: "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." This chapter opens with the statement, "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,..." Verse 3 says, "Then shall the Lord go forth,..." Then verse 4 says, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,..." Then it is clear that it is the Lord's feet that will stand there and that it will be in THE DAY OF THE LORD. Several times in this chapter reference is made to "IN THAT DAY" (verses 6, 8, 13, and 20, besides this verse 4 which we are considering). These references all refer to the DAY OF THE LORD (verse 1). No doubt, this 14th chapter of Zechariah is referring directly to events pertaining to literal Israel. Many scriptures and prophecies that pertain to literal Israel also have a clear fulfillment in spiritual Israel (the church in this dispensation).

I feel that Zechariah 14:4 is in this classification as well as several other verses in this chapter. We know that Jesus often went to the mount of Olives and spent considerable time there with His disciples when He was here upon the earth. In fact, it was the last place on earth that His feet touched and He ascended to heaven from there. Jesus Christ ushered in the gospel day (the DAY OF THE LORD) and shed abroad the burning, shining light of the gospel in the world. At that time He stood on the mount of Olives time and again. But the scriptures referred to above strongly infer that He will never touch foot on any spot on this earth again.

However, I feel that Zechariah 14:4 is prophetic and figurative and refers to spiritual truths in Christ's kingdom. This mountain stood on the east side of the city of Jerusalem and afforded a commanding view of the city and the temple. The city and its temple were both types of the Church of God. Then figuratively Jesus stands on the mount of Olives overlooking and observing all the operations of the Church. The mountain cleaving in the midst and forming a very great valley between, some have interpreted as the atonement of Christ extending back to include people in the law age and extending forward to cover this grace dispensation. There is some basis for this, inasmuch as Christ was a Lamb "...slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8.) Others have interpreted it as referring to the removing or breaking down of the mountain or barrier or "middle wall of partition" (Ephesians 2:14-15) of the law system with its ordinances and rituals which stood as an insurmountable barrier to the Gentiles and opening the way through faith and grace for the Gentiles to have an access and entrance into the Church. I can see good basis for this also, since the mountain cleaved to the east and to the west and also removed to the north and to the south, which would include all the cardinal points of the compass and signify the gospel to the whole world and the bringing in of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people (Revelation 7:9.)

I correlate or parallel this with what is said of the ministry of John the Baptist in Luke 3:4-6, "...Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." In other words, it signifies the coming of Christ, the establishing of His kingdom and the effects of His gospel to all people.

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Question: In the light of such scriptures as Revelation 20:11, II Peter 3:7-14, and Mark 13:31, please explain Psalm 104:5, which says, "Who [God] laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever."

Answer: First, let us get these scriptures set forth. Revelation 20:11 says, "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." I will not insert all of II Peter 3:7-14, but just the verses that apply directly to this question. Verse 7 says, "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Verses 10-12 say, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" In Mark 13:31, Jesus said "Heaven and earth shall pass away:..."

There is one established law for interpreting Scripture which is known as "The unanimity of faith." What that means is that any text on any given subject must be interpreted in harmony with every other text in the entire canon of Scripture on that same subject. If we find any text on the subject which contradicts our interpretation of a given scripture, we can be sure we have missed the mark somewhere. There are certainly no contradictions in the Scriptures when we understand them properly. II Timothy 2:13 says that God remaineth faithful and cannot deny Himself. And that is just exactly what He would be doing if He taught one thing in any part of the Scripture and a contradictory thing in some other part.

In this question we do have an apparent contradiction. Mark 13:31 says that "Heaven and earth shall pass away:..." and Psalm 104:5 says the earth shall "...not be removed for ever." Mark 13:31 is a direct statement of Jesus Himself; therefore, it cannot be gainsaid or tampered with. I therefore set upon it as an anchor text and that it establishes beyond all doubt that the earth will pass away. Then applying the fixed law of "Unanimity of faith" we will have to find grounds for making Psalm 104:5 harmonize with what Jesus said in Mark 13:31.

In Cruden's Concordance, at the top of his references of "for ever" he inserts this note: "Many believe that the words for ever or everlasting are not to be taken as synonymous with eternal, as being without end, but to be understood merely as meaning a very long time, to be left indeterminate. There seems to be a considerable amount of argument in favor of this in many cases, but it is not safe to conclude that it always should be limited." Matthew Henry, in his commentary, comments at this place, "To the end of time." With us in general and from time immemorial, the term "for ever" has been used as applying to the duration of a thing or to its termination.

I will insert some Scripture where "for ever" is used which in no way possible could be interpreted as referring to eternal or without end.

In Genesis 43:9, Judah said to his father, Jacob, concerning his youngest brother, Benjamin, "I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever." Again in Genesis 44:32, Judah said to his brother, Joseph, in regard to Benjamin again, "For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever." In both of these texts referring to the same thing, it is clear beyond question that the term "for ever" could not possibly refer to eternal or without end, because neither Judah nor his father would live that long or be bearing blame in eternity.

In Exodus 21:5-6, it says, "And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever." This would clearly refer to the remainder of his life and not eternally without end.

Leviticus 25:23 says, "The land shall not be sold for ever:..." Again "for ever" in this text would refer to the termination of a specified period because land is not bought and sold in eternity.

This could go on and on with this kind of scripture, but it is not necessary. This is sufficient to establish the fact that the term "for ever" is used quite generally throughout the Old Testament scriptures as referring to the duration or termination of any specified period of time, or a very long time.

But what about Psalm 104:5? It says the earth shall not be removed for ever. Well, when it runs head-on into our anchor text that the earth shall pass away (Jesus Himself said this in Mark 13:31), then we have to make Psalm 104:5, agree with what Jesus said because He is the supreme authority. But in view of the above texts and the general, common use of the term "for ever" in the Scriptures, this is not a very big problem. It will only be a problem to some folks who are hung up on some private interpretation to support some private doctrine. And all of these texts, and many more, give support to Matthew Henry's commentary at this place (Psalm 104:5) that "for ever" means "To the end of time."

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Question: Please comment on II Peter 3:6, which says, "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished."

Answer: In the first place, let us notice that it was the "world" and not the "earth" that was overflowed with water and perished. There is a difference. The earth is this terra firma on which we live. The people who live on this earth constitute the world which God loved and gave His Son to save. II Peter 2:5 says, "And spared not the old world,...bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly." The term world is also used to designate the system under which the unsaved portion of humankind operates. When Jesus said "Ye are not of the world," He did not mean that His disciples were not "of the earth, earthy" the same as other people were, but they were not dominated by the spirit, pattern of life, and mannerism of worldly, unsaved people. When Paul said, "Be not conformed to this world," he meant for saints to not follow the course of the unsaved portion of mankind and imitate them in our lives. All these texts as well as others which refer to the "world" have no reference to the "earth," but to the people on it and their manner of life.

In Genesis 6:5 we read, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,..." Genesis 6:12-13 says, "And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Where this text says "with the earth," the margin says "from the earth." This latter is clearly the correct rendering which is evident from what follows. In fact, Genesis 7:23 says, "...and they were destroyed from the earth:..." In Genesis 6:17 God told Noah, "...Every thing that is in the earth shall die."

The seventh chapter of Genesis gives an account of the flood and a description of it. Verse 17 says, "...the flood was forty days upon the earth;..." Verse 19 says, "And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered." None of these texts mention the earth being destroyed. In verses 21-23, it says, "And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth:..."

All this makes it clear what the destruction and the extent of it was at the time of the flood, and is an answer to II Peter 3:6. It was not the earth that was destroyed, but the living creatures including man upon the earth. The verses quoted from the seventh chapter of Genesis make this entirely clear.

Let us, however, make no mistake about it the day of this earth and all appurtenances to it will surely be destroyed by fire in that day. Going on from II Peter 3:6, Peter presents the truth regarding the future of the heavens and the earth. "...The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." This will be the complete and total dissolution of all things literal. There is no such thing described or even hinted at in the description of the flood. Peter said in II Peter 3:7, that the earth is "...reserved unto fire..."

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