The Kingdom was At Hand not At Foot
God never took it Kindly when He said something was SOON, or AT HAND, and everybody says "No way. It will Delay. It will Take a long Time"
When God says something is AT Hand it means At Hand not At Foot lol.
Stop saying "The Days Are Prolonged". It's inaccurate. No postponement
'And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’? Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.”’ But say to them, ‘“The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision. For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it,” says the Lord God.’”
Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done,” says the Lord God.’ [Ezekiel 12:21-28]
It should be fairly obvious that "At Hand" does not mean a long drawn out period, consisting of thousands of years, not requiring a forced gap to be inserted to avoid dissonance of its clear meaning. Scripture always indicated that "At Hand" means "Near, close, happening soon, will not be prolonged, even within your lifetime, not protracted, at most a couple of hundred of years"...
In case it is not clear, it would do us well to employ Sola Scriptura to understand how "At Hand" is used in scripture and get the meaning from the text and context, without it being subjected to any man's interpretation.
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Let's do a REAL Study on ALL AT HAND Scriptures to Discern the Biblical Patterns
1. AT Hand - Jerusalem Destroyed; 5 Years
Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, look, the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done,” says the Lord God.’ [Ezekiel 12:21-28]
- *At Hand*: Prophesied in 591 BC. Jerusalem fell in 586BC. At Hand meant 5 years. Reminds me of Rev 1:1. when John said these things must be fulfilled shortly. I don't want to be on the side of those saying "the days are prolonged", when the prophets clearly said "the days are at hand" to be accomplished "in your days" [that is the days of the hearers"] or as Jesus said in Matthew 16, 23, and 24 "in your generation".
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2. Isaac's Death is At Hand = 7 Years
*Isaac Does Not Have Long Again*
'So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart,"The days of mourning for my father are at hand ; then I will kill my brother Jacob." [Gen 27:41]
- Meaning Issaac was going to die soon, not 2000+ years
*At Hand= Less Than Seven Years*
"Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand ,' and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing" [Deut 15:9]
- Meaning as a Jamaican would say, "The year of the release would soon come" in seven years, not 2000+ years
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3. Day of Lord At Hand - Medes and Persians = 140 to 200 years
*The Day of the Lord is At Hand.*
"The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw....Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand !
It will come as destruction from the Almighty....Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them" [Isa 13:1,6,17] Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. [Isa 13:9-10]
- Isaiah prophesied this sometime after 740 B.C. when King Uzziah died and before 680BC. Fulfillment? Around 539 B.C., Cyrus’ army defeated Babylon. At Hand meant between 140 and 200 years, not 2000 years.
Note also the apocalyptic language, The stars, sun and moon were not literally darkened. It was a Hebrew idiom to express "The Sky is Falling"
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4. God AT Hand, Not Far
*God is At Hand, Not Afar off*
"Am I a God near at hand ," says the LORD, "And not a God afar off? [Jer 23:23]
- Yes He is a God of the eternal, but that does not mean He is afar off. He is "at hand". Very self explanatory.
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5. Moab Your Days are At Hand = 23 Years
*Moab, Your Days are Numbered, sorry At Hand.*
"The calamity of Moab is near at hand ,And his affliction comes quickly. [Jer. 48:16]
- Jeremiah's prophecy was fulfilled beginning in 581 B.C. when Moab was conquered by Babylon. A few years later Moab was invaded by Arabs and completely disappeared. "Near to come - Twenty-three years elapsed between the fourth year of Jehoiakim, when this prophecy was spoken, and its accomplishment by the invasion of Moab five years after the capture of Jerusalem." - Barnes Notes
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6. Jerusalem Your Days are Numbered = 23 Years
*Jerusalem, Your Days are Numbered too...*
'Alas for the day!For the day of the LORD is at hand ;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
Is not the food cut off before our eyes,
Joy and gladness from the house of our God?'
Blow the trumpet in Zion,And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day of the LORD is coming,
For it is at hand :
2 A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
"The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness. " [Joel 1:15-16; Joel 2:1-2, 10]
- Meaning the Book of Joel written in most likely around 609-586 B.C. The wave of locusts, were God's Army, the Babylonian Army. The Day of the Lord was Jerusalem's destruction in 596 BC. At hand meant about 23 years. Note again the "Sky is Falling" apocalyptic language.
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Other "At Hand" passages:
1. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand , and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. NKJV [John 2:13]
2. Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand . His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. [John 7:2-3]
3. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. [Phil. 4:5] [Note: Literally right at the door].
4. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand . [2 Tim 4:6-7] [Note: Yep, Paul knew his time was short.].
5. "You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand." [2 Tim 4:6-7 ] [Note: He did come in the clouds within that generation, in AD 70 and judged Jerusalem. God's coming in the clouds always meant judgment on the city (Jer 4:13; Ezekiel 30:3, Joel 2:2, Nahum 1:3, Zeph 1:15] ].
6. "But the end of all things is at hand ; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers" [1 Peter 4:7] [ Note: The End of the Ages, the End of Old Covenant was at Hand. Upon THEM the ends of the ages Have come [1 Cor. 10:11]. It was near and nearer. Completed in AD 70.]
7. "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand" [ Rev 22:10-11] [Note: Daniel sealed it because they were a long way off, until the time of the end[Dan. 12:4] which was at least 490 years ahead (70 weeks). Now in John's time when he wrote revelation it was time to Unseal it, for the time [of the END] was at hand.]
So what do you conclude? Was the Kingdom at HAND or at FOOT?
<Note the correct answer is as the writer in Hebrews said..."For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”" [Heb 10:17]>
He did not Delay... He did Come in the Clouds in AD 70 with the Destruction of Jerusalem. Stop saying there was a Delay.
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