Both these views were adopted by the disciples of Jesus, who
harmonized them by referring the one to his first and the other to his
second appearance.
Now to the imaginations of these earliest disciples the belief in the
resurrection of Jesus presented itself as a needful guarantee of his
Messiahship. Their faith, which must have been shaken by his execution
and descent into Sheol, received welcome confirmation by the springing
up of the belief that he had been again seen upon the face of the earth.
Applying the imagery of Daniel, it became a logical conclusion that he
must have ascended into the sky, whence he might shortly be expected to
make his appearance, to enact the scenes foretold in prophecy. That
such was the actual process of inference is shown by the legend of the
Ascension in the first chapter of the "Acts," and especially by the
words, "This Jesus who hath been taken up from you into heaven, will
come in the same manner in which ye beheld him going into heaven." In
the Apocalypse, written A. D. 68, just after the death of Nero, this
second coming is described as something immediately to happen, and
the colours in which it is depicted show how closely allied were the
Johannine notions to those of the Pharisees. The glories of the New
Jerusalem are to be reserved for Jews, while for the Roman tyrants
of Judaea is reserved a fearful retribution. They are to be trodden
underfoot by the Messiah, like grapes in a wine-press, until the gushing
blood shall rise to the height of the horse's bridle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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