This was meant to be a comment..

..but it was too long I guess so it wasn't allowed, and I didn't want to lose it, so this was the solution. My apologies for that.

I am enjoying the discussion and comments as well. A pleasant surprise to see you here, Dublin Mick and thanks for stopping in. I stop in at Visible's site regularly and enjoy your contributions and perspectives.

Regarding the discussion of Jesus' Second Coming and whether this miraculous event has already taken place. After Jesus was persecuted and crucified, He rose three days later and ministered on the earth in His glorified body for forty days to His disciples and many others as well as a crowd of 500 of which some of were asleep (didn't believe), and when the time arrived, He ascended into clouds to Heaven. I hope we can agree this far. The Bible says that in the same way Jesus was witnessed leaving the earth is the same way we will see Him return:

Acts 1:10-11 (King James Version)

10And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

The disciples were taught and proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is at hand; very near because God in all His infinite wisdom and love for His creation wants to be sought after sooner rather than later. Most people are likely to take a matter more seriously if they believe something is imminent rather than later. We are to live each day as if it is the day that He will return because nobody knows but the Father. Which comes into the point of Jesus being God, or god of lesser substance. If nobody but the Father knows the hour of Jesus' physical return, then how can they be of the same entity. All things are possible with God and Jesus is God. The miracles He performed and the prophecy He fulfilled should be enough to substantiate His words (His words are sufficient enough for me), but surely to deny His works is to deny His deity. The best way I can put it into words is one God in different forms, and Jesus questioned Philip about not knowing who He is in John 14:9 :

9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

...and the Jews accepted Jesus as the Son of God, but when He claimed equality with the Father, they wanted Him killed:

John 5:18 (King James Version)

18Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Dave, the verse 5 of Revelation 1, I believe John is speaking of those the Lord had blessed to spread His message and rewarding and exalting them by making them kings and priests. We can walk as boldly as the disciples, as we should always be doing, and what is it you feel can be or should be done in order to destroy evil once and forever, and inherit the earth? I would just like to say that only God can make things new, and to inherit this world without the Lord Jesus making it new again, I wouldn't want to inherit it.

Thank you for giving me the chance to share my faith and my love for Jesus, complete man and complete God. How amazing is He. The Savior of the world and lover of your soul. Praise His holy name and give Him thanks. Stay blessed and keep looking up. For He is coming and it will be amazing.

I come in peace, too, Sandra! Hey, is Yakima still on fire? My state made the news today for missing radioactive material from the local hospital...but they don't think it was stolen, but they don't know. Yep, they walk among us! I ask because my sister who is visiting from Washington told me that Yakima is agricultural and it is very unusual to have a fire there. Dublin Mick knows that millions of seedlings were just mysteriously destroyed in Australia, and was thinking that maybe the fire is another attack on the food chain could possibly be taking place. Thinking out loud...probably shouldn't do that.

South America is having a snowstorm on one side and hundreds of penguins washing up dead on shores on the other side. Baby birds are falling dead out of their nests here (I have seen 3 in two days), possibly due to the extreme heat; others are leaving:

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2010/07/american-robins-move-into-arctic.html