On September 5, 2010, during Sunday Evening Story-Time, the Cunning Royal Jester repeatedly said that 1 Thess 4:17 (when we meet the Lord in the air, to ever be with Him) was ‘obviously NOT talking about PHYSICAL PROXIMITY’ (nearness).
Question: Well .... why not?
Answer: Because HE said it wasn’t.
1 Thess 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 [sun] him.
15 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.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with [en] a shout,
with [en] the voice of the archangel,
and with [en] the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together
with [sun] them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with [sun] the Lord.
I don’t want to start a Greek war, especially since I am one of those who can’t even recite the Greek alphabet (that the Cunning Royal Jester mocked). But since I got away from him, I have learned and I am able to study the translation and meaning of Greek words.
The Cunning Royal Jester, with HIS vast, ‘unquestionable’ Greek knowledge, stated that there are 15 different Greek words that are translated ‘with’. OK. Then he mentioned 3 of them. He said,
[meta] means ‘physical proximity’,
[sun] means union, agreement .... like fellow, joint, and oneness,
and [en] means -- (He spoke so fast, I didn’t write this one down, but when I looked it up, it is written 2,800 times, and translated ‘in’ 1,902 of them and ‘with’ 140 times).
When I researched the Greek word [meta] .... using the Cunning Royal Jester’s ‘physical proximity’ meaning .... I found several verses where that meaning did not fit the context. Thus, for HIM to assign ‘physical proximity’ to the Greek word [meta] .... and thereby, EXCLUDE us being NEAR the Lord for ever (since [meta] is not used in 1 Thess 4:17) .... is his condescending way of intimidating people into trusting what HE says. I don’t fall for that scam anymore.
He has to eliminate ‘physical proximity’ from the way we will ‘ever be with the Lord’ .... because he teaches that who-he-identifies-as ‘the body of Christ’ (Paul’s converts only) will stay in heaven eternally .... while Jesus Christ and God the Father will be living on the new earth forever in the new Jerusalem (which PAUL, by inspiration of God, said is the mother of us all in Gal 4:26).
The Cunning Royal Jester spoke with a forked tongue, because he taught that the alive saints will have a great REUNION with the dead saints .... ‘WITH’ [sun] them in the clouds .... obviously IN their ‘physical proximity’ --- but then he CHANGED the use of the same Greek word [sun] about us ever being ‘WITH’ [sun] the Lord, stating that it was NOT talking about our ‘physical proximity’ with the Lord. The Cunning Royal Jester made the same word [sun] (‘with’) .... be different .... in the same verse! What a cunning royal jester he is!
Naturally reading the verse (1 Thess 4:17), when we "meet the Lord in the air" .... we will be in His ‘physical proximity’ .... near Him. ".... and so shall we ever be with the Lord" is in the same manner. I understand it like, ‘in the same way we meet Him, we will always be with Him’. We will be near Him when we meet Him, and we will be near Him when we are ever with Him. THEREFORE, when HE comes to earth to set up His kingdom .... WE will come to earth WITH Him. No joke! (But the Cunning Royal Jester and his Jokers are planning to stay in heaven. Fine with me! I wish they would, but I don’t want them to deceive others with their folly.)
This is David Dowell saying, "Think about it!"
