Hebrews 9:28 & "Appear"

by SharonUT 4 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  SharonUT

  I am trying to understand upon what basis the Jehovah's Witnesses equate the word "appear" with "invisible" in Hebrews 9:28. In the KJV it says, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he APPEAR the second time without sin unto salvation."

  Looking at the dictionary:
  [Middle English aperen, from Old French aparoir, aper-, from Latin apprre : ad-, ad- + prre, TO SHOW.]

  Synonyms: appear, emerge, issue, loom, 1materialize, show

  These verbs mean to come into view: a ship appearing on the horizon; a star that emerged from behind a cloud; a diver issuing from the water; a peak that loomed through the mist; a job offer that materialized overnight; a shirtsleeve showing at the edge of the
  jacket. Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.

  Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
  appear \Ap*pear"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Appeared; p. pr. & vb. n. Appearing.] [OE. apperen, aperen, OF. aparoir, F. apparoir, fr. L. appar?re to appear + par?reto come forth, to be visible; prob. from the same root as par?re to produce. Cf. Apparent, Parent, Peer, v. i.] 1. TO COME OR BE IN SIGHT; TO BE IN VIEW; TO BECOME VISIBLE.

  1. And God . . . said, Let . . . the dry land APPEAR. --Gen. i. 9.

  2. To stand in presence of some authority, tribunal, or superior person, to answer a charge, plead a cause, or the like; to present one's self as a party or advocate before a court, or as a person to be tried.

  3. We must all APPEAR before the judgment seat. --[hand] Cor. v. 10.

  One ruffian escaped because no prosecutor dared to appear. --Macaulay.

  4. To become visible to the apprehension of the mind; to be known as a subject of observation or comprehension, or as a thing proved; to be obvious or manifest.

  It doth not yet appear what we shall be. --1 John iii. 2.

  Of their vain contest appeared no end. --Milton.

  5. To seem; to have a certain semblance; to look.

  They disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. --Matt. vi. 16.

  Syn: To seem; look. See Seem.

  Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

  appear v 1: give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect; "She seems to be sleeping"; "This appears to
  be a very difficult problem"; "This project looks fishy"; "They appeared like people who had not eaten or slept for a
  long time" [syn: look, seem] 2: come into sight or view; "He suddenly appeared at the wedding"; "A new star
  appeared on the horizon" [ant: disappear] 3: be issued or published, as of news in a paper, a book, or a movie; "Did
  your latest book appear yet?" "The new Woody Allen film hasn't come out yet" [syn: come out] 4: seem to be true,
  probable, or apparent; "It seems that he is very gifted"; "It appears that the weather in California is very bad" [syn:
  seem] 5: come into being or existence, or appear on the scene: "Then the computer came along and changed our
  lives"; "Homo sapiens appeared millions of years ago" [syn: come along] [ant: vanish] 6: appear as a character on
  stage or appear in a play, etc.; "Gielgud appears briefly in this movie"; "She appeared in `Hamlet' on the London
  stage" 7: present oneself formally, as before a (judicial) authority; "He had to appear in court last month"; "She
  appeared on several charges of theft"

  I don't get it. If they insist that it is an "invisible appearance" - then how can Revelations 1:7 be true saying that "Behold he cometh with clouds; and EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM, AND THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM: AND ALL KINDREDS OF THE EARTH SHALL WAIL BECAUSE OF HIM...." How can we "SEE" an invisible appearance? How can those who "pierced him" "SEE" Him if they are in "soul sleep?" Thanks.
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  God_knows

  I have no clue where the JW gets the idea that Jesus came back in an invisible presence, for not only has He NOT come back yet (though He will soon) the bible makes it PERFECTLY clear that when He does, EVERYONE shall see Him very well, thank you....There are many proofs of this too, Matth. 24:30 is a good one to begin with.

  Greatest love and blessings to you!!!
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  Larsguy

  This is a very good point! Many scriptures indicate that Jesus would return in the flesh. He has to in order to do some of the things it says he would do, like teaching in the broadways of the apostates and eating one last Passover meal, etc. Plus the Bible says the "antichrist's" expression would be saying that Jesus did not come in the flesh. If we presume that is one way to identify the antichrist, which I do, then by deduction that would be a strong confirmation Jesus was to return in the flesh.

  At any rate, whether he has arrived or not depends upon which group of "virgins" you are in. Just note that while all the virgins started out together to see the Messiah and get into the wedding feast, and all of then were caught "nodding" when the Messiah arrived, meaning they would not realize until the very last moment when he would arrive or his arrival would surprise them and wake them up, only the wise virgins with the EXTRA Biblical OIL in their lamps saw the Messiah early on. The foolish virgins didn't come to the wedding feast until later and were too late.

  So everybody doesn't see the Messiah when he first arrives "in the clouds" which means in itself his coming would be partially "clouded" and thus somewhat mysterious and secretive.

  Bottom line though, it revolves around closely paying attention to scripture. If you do, then you'd believe Jesus' words that he would arrive before the end of a generation expired after the signs of the "time of the end" began which began with a world war (i.e. "nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom"). Presuming that was World War I, the Messiah has to arrive before 1994 and that is already passed.

  So it boils down to the wise virgin class of anointed ones knowing that Messiah must have already arrived versus the foolish virgins who think the hasn't arrived yet; the foolish virgins, thus paying no attention to his words about the generation limit. In addition, obviously, the foolish virgins don't pay enough attention to scripture to understand where or how the Messiah would arrive and are looking for the wrong thing. Thus it is only when it is too late that they find the Messiah wanting to get into the kingdom and he tells them "I don't know you...get away from me you workers of lawlessness."

  The wise virgins know the Messiah arrives before 1994 so they adjust their Biblical understanding of the scriptures according to that.

  1994 is over. The Messiah must have already arrived...right? It's been nearly 8 years since then.

  LG
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  SharonUT

  Larsguy - are you a JW? I'm confused here.
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  God_knows

  You can't be setting dates like that, LARS, or listening to others that do. This whole 1914 thing is nonsense to begin with.
  and when Jesus comes back it will not be a big secret, ALL will see Him for His coming will be like the lightning. Read Matt. 24:30. It says that they shall see the Son of Man, ALL the tribes of the Earth.
  We are not supposed to set dates in any way, only to have faith and confidence that His coming is soon. He did NOT come back in 1914, 1975, 1994, whatever.
  First of all what has to happen is the Rapture of the Church, (Rev. 3:10, 2 Thess. 2:7) And then the Antichrist will appear setting up a seven year peace plan, and only at the end of the seven years will Jesus return (2 Thess 2:8)

  do not let anyone deceive you in any way, but ask for the guidance of God through the Holy GHost.