Unbeliefism

I am amazed by the lack of desire to know what is really true.  You see this “unbeliefism” against Christian belief all over the internet.

“Unbeliefism” is a created word combining “unbelief” and “ism”, meaning: an oppressive and especially discriminatory attitude or state of not believing, lack of faith, skepticism, especially in matters of religious faith, where one carries doubt, dubiety, dubiosity, uncertainty; distrust, mistrust, suspicion; apprehension, misgiving, qualm (extracted from Babylon definitions)

Many internet sites are entirely dedicated to promulgating this “unbeliefism”. Let’s look at one who is influenced totally by his unbeliefism toward the Christian faith.  See the comments by Robert Conner (in colored text), from October 29, 2016, here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unsystematictheology/2016/10/evangelicals-trump-and-the-politics-of-apocalypse.    (full text of the blog entry is pasted at the conclusion of this article)

Here are some of Conner’s assertions, all of which are due to misunderstanding the Bible and what Christian’s actually believe.

It’s October 29, 2016 and the Good News is that Jesus didn’t come back. Again. And again.
And some other times. And then some more times.
Here’s a short list of the thousands of apocalyptic predictions that didn’t come true.
– Robert Conner (in colored text), from October 29, 2016

Exaggeration proves nothing. “Thousands – really?  It’s easy to exaggerate.  It’s much more arduous to take a disciplined approach and examine the Scriptures as the Bereans did.  Read this account about the Apostle Paul’s experience because of “unbelievism”, in Acts 17:1-13:

17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ^3 [a]explaining and ^[b]giving evidence that the ^[c]Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the ^[d]Christ.” ⁴ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, ^[e]along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and ^[f]a number of the leading women. ⁵ But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. ⁶ When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ^[g]the world have come here also; ^7 [h]and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸ They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. ⁹ And when they had received a ^[i]pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

Paul at Berea

¹⁰ The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, ^[j]and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, ^[k]for they received the word with ^[l]great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, ^[m]along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. ¹³ But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

Nothing much new under the sun, eh?  The internet provides a voice for unbelievers to come here as well, “agitating and stirring up the crowds“, as it were – on the internet.

It is correct to say that “Jesus didn’t come back“.  However, He will some day!  Jesus is coming again, a second time, but we know not the hour:

Matthew 24:36
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

1.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner)

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you,
some who are standing here
will not taste death
before they see
that the kingdom of God
has come with power.
– Mark 9:verse 1

Didn’t happen. They all died (according to Robert Conner).

Actually, it did happen, and they did not all die.  And there was a huge power exhibited!

That verse very easily refers to His own resurrection from the dead after being crucified by the Romans and Jewish religious leaders.  Some died before that, but as Jesus said, “… some who are standing here will not taste death before….” (v1).  The event which Jesus was referring to here – took place not many days after Jesus predicted it: His own crucifixion and resurrection from the dead!

The resurrection was an actual historical event on earth that astonishingly shows us that “the kingdom of God has come with power” (Mark 9:verse 1).  The event: God, in the form of a man, Jesus the Messiah, came back from the dead!  This event was witnessed first-hand by hundreds of people.  Many of these witnesses later died for their witness, not recanting – because they knew what they saw was true. Their testimonies hold-forth verifiable evidence.

The kingdom of God came with power: 1) With the resurrection power, and 2) with the Kingdom of God resident in the hearts of believers full of the Spirit of God in them.

2.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner): “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place”

Even so, you too, when you see these things happening,
recognize that He is near, right at the door.
Truly I say to you,
this generation
will not pass away
until all these things take place.
– Mark 13:29-30

Nope, that generation passed away (according to Robert Conner).

Actually, it is obvious that “that generation” refers to peoples other than those people alive at that time.  It most reasonably refers to the wider sense of the term – “a race of men”.  If you are actually trying to believe, instead of trying to find fault… this interpretation is more reasonable.

See various explanations (searching Google) such as this one, http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/4309/what-does-jesus-mean-by-this-generation-and-all-these-things-in-mark-1330.  Or read this one with several commentaries:  http://biblehub.com/commentaries/mark/13-30.htm

30. this generation shall not pass] The word thus rendered denotes
(1) birth, age, as in the phrases “younger,” “older in age;”
(2) descent;
(3) a generation of men living at the same time;
(4) in a wider sense, a race. He, Who surveys all things as an Eternal Present, “turns the thoughts of His disciples to two horizons, one near and one far off:”—

(i)  In reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, He declares that the generation of the literal Israel then living would not pass away before the judgments here predicted would fall upon Jerusalem, just as God had made their forefathers wander in the wilderness “until all the generation was consumed” that had come out of Egypt “and done evil in the sight of the Lord” (Numbers 32:13);

(ii)  In reference to His own Second Coming, and the world at large, He affirms that the race of men, and especially the generation of them that sought the Lord (Psalm 24:6), the faithful seed of Abraham, should not pass away until all these things should be fulfilled.

3.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

…we tell you that we who are still alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will be with the Lord forever.
– 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

Also didn’t happen. Nobody Paul wrote to is “still alive.” (according to Robert Conner)

Actually though, Paul was not referring to those alive around him.  Very simply put, Paul is referring to a collective “we” of believers who will still be alive when this happens. As the Benson Commentary explains: “This figure in the mouth of Christ’s disciples has a singular propriety, because all of them making but one collective body, of which Christ is the Head, and which is united by the mutual love of all the members, individuals may consider every thing happening to the members of this body, as happening to themselves.”

I like this Benson commentary found here at the BibleHub, but there are many which say the same thing:

1 Thessalonians 4:15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord — By a particular revelation from him. No words, as Dr. Doddridge observes, can more plainly assert that, in what follows, the apostle declares precisely what God revealed to him, and consequently that there can be no room for any such interpretation of this passage, as supposed him to be at all mistaken in any circumstance of the account he gives. That we who are alive and remain — This manner of speaking intimates the fewness of those who will be then alive, compared with the multitude of the dead. It is well observed, says Whitby, by the Greek scholiasts, that the apostle speaks these words, not of himself, but of the Christians that should be found alive at the second coming of Christ: so Chrysostom, Theodoret, Œcumenius, and Theophylact; for he well knew that he was not to live till the resurrection: yea, he himself expected a resurrection, saying to the Corinthians, He that raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus, and present us with you, 2 Corinthians 4:14. He laboured that he might attain to the resurrection of the dead, Php 3:11.

Yet some divines have inferred, from this and some other places in the epistles, that the apostles themselves thought and taught, that they might live until the second coming of Christ; and that St. Paul afterward changed his opinion on this subject, and admonished the Thessalonians of it, 2 Thessalonians 2:2-6.

But this certainly is a dangerous mistake, and highly prejudicial to the authority of the apostles, and therefore to the Christian faith. Indeed, if the churches of Christ had once received this doctrine from them, and afterward had understood, even from their own confession, that it was a mistake, this would naturally have led them to conceive that the apostles might have been mistaken also in any other doctrine, and to suspect the truth of all that was contained in their epistles. This the apostle seems to insinuate, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2.  But that this apostle taught no such doctrine in either of his epistles to the Thessalonians, will be exceeding evident,

1st, From the following words in that chapter, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Let no man deceive you by any means, declaring them deceivers who either taught this doctrine, or imposed it on them as taught by the apostles; and also having said, in opposition to such an opinion, that day was not to come till there was a falling away first, adding, Remember you not that when I was yet with you I told you these things? He therefore had taught them the contrary before he had written either of these epistles, and, of consequence, cannot rationally be supposed to contradict himself.

2d, From the very words used in proof of this opinion, which are introduced with this solemn declaration, This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, &c., in which words he most plainly vouches the authority of Christ for the truth of what he says; and therefore, if he were mistaken, either our Lord himself must have erred with him, or the apostle must vouch Christ’s word, and his authority, when Christ had spoken no such word, and given him no authority to declare such doctrine in his name; both which assertions overthrow the certainty and truth of all St. Paul’s epistles.

And hence it follows that the apostle could not deliver this assertion in any other of his epistles, for all the learned agree in this, that these epistles to the Thessalonians were the first epistles St. Paul wrote; whence it must follow that he could not deliver, in his following writings to that church, or any other churches, that doctrine which he had so industriously before confuted, and declared very dangerous, in his epistle to the church of Thessalonica.

The truth is, such expressions as these, we who are alive, (1 Thessalonians 4:15,) we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, &c., (1 Corinthians 15:51,) are not to be understood of the writers themselves: they are mere figures of speech used by the best authors to draw their readers’ attention, or to soften some harsh or disagreeable sentiment; without intending to represent themselves either as of the number, or of the character, of the persons with whom they class themselves. Thus Hosea says, (Hosea 12:4,) God spake with US in Bethel; and the psalmist, (Psalm 66:6,) WE rejoiced, namely, at the Red sea, when divided; and, (Psalm 81:5,) I heard a language I understood not, that is, in Egypt, though neither were in existence at the times when the facts referred to happened. This figure in the mouth of Christ’s disciples has a singular propriety, because all of them making but one collective body, of which Christ is the Head, and which is united by the mutual love of all the members, individuals may consider every thing happening to the members of this body, as happening to themselves. We shall not prevent — Or anticipate; them who are asleep — Shall not receive our glorified bodies before them.

4.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

Conner quotes the verse in this version: “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”  But I prefer this NASB version: 

⁶² And Jesus said, “I am;
and you shall see
the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power,
and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
– Mark 14:62

So didn’t happen (according to Robert Conner).

Actually, it hasn’t happened yet because it is a future event which Jesus is predicting!  You have to put it in the context of what Jesus was teaching.

See commentary about Mark 14 in this from StudyLight.org:

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable

Previously Jesus had veiled His messiahship because publicly claiming to be the Messiah would have precipitated a premature crisis (cf. Mark 1:43-44; Mark 8:29-30; Mark 9:9; Mark 11:28-33; Mark 12:12). Now He openly admitted His messiahship because the time for crisis had arrived. Matthew may have given us Jesus” exact words ( Matthew 26:64) and Mark their substance. Jesus added that He was not just a human Messiah but the divine Son of Man. The passages He claimed to fulfill predicted His enthronement in heaven following His resurrection ( Psalm 110:1) and His return to earth with God”s authority to establish a worldwide kingdom ( Daniel 7:13-14; cf. Mark 8:38; Mark 13:24; Mark 13:26; Revelation 1:7). As such He was claiming to be the Judge of those who sat to judge Him. Jesus knew that this confession would seal His conviction. “Power” was a recognized circumlocution for “God.” [Note: Ibid, p537.]

Copyright Statement    These files are public domain.    Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography    Constable, Thomas. DD. “Commentary on Mark 14:62”. “Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable”. “https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dcc/mark-14.html“. 2012.

5.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

²³ “But whenever they persecute you in one city,
flee to the next;
for truly I say to you,
you will not finish going through
the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.
– Matthew 10:23  (NASB)

Also didn’t happen. Again (according to Robert Conner).

If you are looking for the truth, there is a great explanation of the verse at this site, The Christian Courier: https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/668-what-is-the-meaning-of-matthew-10-23

If we apply this principle to the situation at hand, it is reasonable to conclude that the phrase “till the Son of man comes” represents a “judgment” coming of the Savior upon the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.It was a just punishment for their culminating act rebellion in rejecting their Messiah, the Son of God.

This article explains it well: Wrestling With Matthew 10:23 –March 31, 2011, Austin Brown in Theology.  The conclusion says:

In a nutshell, I think this is what Matthew 10:23 is saying:

My paraphrase:  “When they persecute you, don’t waste your time there.  Move on!  Go to the next city.  Time is of the essence.  In fact, the Son of Man is so at hand, which you know means the coming of the Kingdom of God, it’s going to arrive before all the cities are covered.”

And when Jesus rose victorious, it happened.

See also Daniel 2:44-45.

My two cents,
Austin

Also you might gain insight with this article by Norman Geisler, quoted at the site, Defending Inerrancy:   Matthew 10:23—Did Jesus promise to return to earth during the lifetime of the disciples?   [This excerpt is from When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992). © 2014 Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe.]

6.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

²⁸ “Truly I say to you,
there are some of those who are standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man
coming in His kingdom.”
– Matthew 16:28

Nope, didn’t happen either. All dead (according to Robert Conner).

Actually, it happened just as Jesus predicted.  See this study at the GodVine.com:

Clarke’s Commentary on Matthew 16:28

See this article from http://www.ligonier.org: Some Standing Here Will Not Taste Death — The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology, from Keith Mathison May 14, 2012

Also see: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/16-28.htm

7.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

²⁹ But this I say, brethren,
the time has been shortened,
so that from now on those who have wives
should be as though they had none;
– 1 Corinthians 7:29

Au contraire, plenty of time. Take a second honeymoon in Ireland. Take your gay spouse (according to Robert Conner).

8.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

¹¹ Now these things happened to them
as an example, and
they were written for our instruction,
upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
– 1 Corinthians 10:11

Sorry! Wrong again! It’s all still here (according to Robert Conner).

You, Robert Connor, are an example, perhaps (?), of the many who have not yet personally taken heed to the instruction, nor heeded the example.

9.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

¹¹ Do this,
knowing the time,
that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep;
for now ^[a]salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
¹² The night is almost gone, and the day is near.
Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and
put on the armor of light.
– Romans 13:11-12

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here… (Romans 13:11-12)

Almost here? Not even close.

By whose measuring stick?  You have not read the Bible to know that God’s time is not our time.

Don’t try to hold God to your daylight savings time!  He makes the rules – and He is on His own time.  He is being patient to let you rethink things… the Gospel of Jesus, salvation in Christ, your eternal damnation without Christ — giving you more time to come to repentance and be saved.  Now is the day for salvation, because tomorrow may never dawn for you.

10.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says,
“Yes, I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
– Revelation 22:20

Don’t wait up.

Actually we are to prepare and be ready for that day.  Because there is no second chance.

Matthew 25:13
Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

11.  …apocalyptic prediction that didn’t come true: (according to Robert Conner):

⁴ This will be their line of argument:
“So Jesus promised to come back, did he?
Then where is he? He’ll never come!
Why, as far back as anyone can remember,
everything has remained exactly as it was
since the first day of creation.”
– 2 Peter 3:4

Good question!  (according to Robert Conner)

Yes, He promised to come back!  Where is He?  In His “heaven time” time frame, Jesus is preparing a place for us there!  Jesus told His disciples,

14 “Do not let your heart be troubled;
believe in God, believe also in Me.
² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places;
if it were not so, I would have told you;
for I go to prepare a place for you.
³ If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again
and receive you to Myself,
that where I am, there you may be also.
⁴ And you know the way where I am going.”
⁵ Thomas said to Him, “Lord,
we do not know where You are going,
how do we know the way?”
⁶ Jesus said to him,
“I am the way,
and the truth,
and the life;
no one
comes to the Father
but through Me.
– John 14:1-7

There is only one way to get to heaven – and that way is Jesus.

Believe
in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved… 
– Acts 16:31

Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unsystematictheology/2016/10/evangelicals-trump-and-the-politics-of-apocalypse/.  See the comment by Robert Conner, from October 29, 2016.

Here is the full text of the blog entry by Robert Conner:
Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unsystematictheology/2016/10/evangelicals-trump-and-the-politics-of-apocalypse/

It’s October 29, 2016 and the Good News is that Jesus didn’t come back. Again. And again. And some other times. And then some more times. Here’s a short list of the thousands of apocalyptic predictions that didn’t come true.

And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. (Mark 9:1)

Didn’t happen. They all died.

Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (Mark 13:29-30)

Nope, that generation passed away.

…we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

Also didn’t happen. Nobody Paul wrote to is “still alive.”

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62)

So didn’t happen.

When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Matthew 10:23)

Also didn’t happen. Again.

Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:28)

Nope, didn’t happen either. All dead.

What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none… (1 Corinthians 7:29)

Au contraire, plenty of time. Take a second honeymoon in Ireland. Take your gay spouse.

Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)

Sorry! Wrong again! It’s all still here.

And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here… (Romans 13:11-12)

Almost here? Not even close.

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)

Don’t wait up.

They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” (2 Peter 3:4)

Good question!