Posted on 12/21/2004 11:49:02 PM PST by JohnHuang2
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
By Joseph Farah
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness. From then on and forevermore ..."
– Isaiah 9:6-7 (NASB)
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ this week and prepare for 2005 next week, I can't help but think about how close we must be to the Second Coming – when the Lord will return for His church and personally rule over the Earth for 1,000 years.
Oh, I know, some of you don't believe in such things. You think it's just a bunch of silly superstition. Even some Christians don't believe in the Second Coming. Many prefer I stick to writing about news events of the physical world rather than arcane spiritual matters.
But, as a journalist, I can't ignore hard evidence – no matter where it may lead me. And the more I study the prophetic scriptures of the Holy Bible and look at the condition of our world today, the more convinced I become that we are nearing that time. In fact, I think we are very close.
For just as Jesus' virgin birth in Bethlehem was foretold by the Hebrew prophets hundreds of years earlier, so, too, was His return to Earth predicted. The only question is when.
The most dramatic evidence for His imminent return our generation has witnessed was the rebirth of the nation of Israel more than 50 years ago. The Jews, God's chosen people, were, as prophesied, scattered over the whole earth for nearly two millennia beginning shortly after Jesus' death on the cross. Yet, in my opinion, the scriptures leave no doubt that the Jewish state would exist once again before He returned.
Interestingly, Orthodox Jews have long taught that the world would last for 6,000 years before the Messiah would come and usher in a 1,000-year period of restful human history. Since God created the world in six days, according to Genesis 1:31, and rested on the seventh day, according to Genesis 2:1, they reasoned the world's history would climax the same way. They cite Psalms 90:4, which says: "For a thousand years in Thy sight are like yesterday when it passes by."
Likewise, Christians have looked to II Peter 3:8: "But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
The early church understood this "six-day theory" of world history. It was widely accepted teaching for the first three centuries of the church. From the time of Adam, we've got genealogical records to show that 4,000 years passed until the time of Christ. From Jesus' time until the present age represents another 2,000 years for a total of 6,000 years or six days.
There's also a three-day theory: Jesus rose on the third day. Would the beginning of the third millennium – or thousand-year period – not be the likely time for His return to Earth? There is even strong scriptural evidence for such a theory provided in Hosea 6:2: "After two days will he revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight." Note that this prophecy is not about the Resurrection of Jesus – it's either about the resurrection of Israel after 2,000 years of dispersal or the physical return of the Lord.
In 1772, Edward Gibbons published "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," in which he cites early documents suggesting the Christian disciples of the first century were taught that Jesus would return after 2,000 years. We'll soon find out if they were right.
For many reasons, I believe Jesus is returning soon. But I'm especially drawn to II Timothy 3:1-5, which describes the state of the world in the "last days." Tell me if this doesn't sound like our world:
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
To me, that sounds like our world today.
Christmas represents a time of great hope for Christians. Of course, we're grateful that Jesus came about 2,000 years ago and died for our sins. Now we should be hopeful and expectant of His imminent return.
Merry Christmas. And happy birthday, Jesus.
Please keep watching those statistics.
The fat lady has not begun to sing yet.
I sort of agree.
I have a hypothesis that a major reason ONLY THE FATHER KNOWS is because if Christ and Holy Spirit knew . . . it would be a firm point in the timeline. Only THE FATHER KNOWING could give Him some wiggle room according to Believers' and earth's citizens' behaviors.
But that's just wild conjecture. I could argue both sides of it.
"It's supposed to get ALOT worse than this before He comes"
People alive 100 years ago couldn't imagine the hellish world we live in. We've been boiled like frogs for so long that we don't recognize that we might be living through the tribulation RIGHT NOW.
We've been brainwashed (as a nation) into believing that good is evil and evil is good. Much of this brainwashing has come from Hollywood and Madison avenue. We are controlled by government as never before and are persecuted for the smallest transgression.
Regardless of human interpretation; traditions; doctrines of men or even of demons . . .
BEING CAUGHT AWAY Scriptures WILL BE LITERALLY FULFILLED.
I don't think anyone has it all figured out. I don't think It's God's time for us to have it all figured out. God is a great general and doesn't always display His secrets for the enemy to know.
I suppose.
But I still expect people alive when Israel became a nation again in a day--to be alive when history as we have known it is finished, wrapped up, concluded and Christ is reigning overtly from Jerusalem/The New Jerusalem.
BILLDO/DILLBO AND SHRILLERY ARE TOOOOO OVERTLY EVIL to fit. But I do believe they know the AntiChrist or at least the AntiChrist's assistants. And I believe they are bucking eagerly for the AC's junior tyrants over North America or any other high level tyrannical power monger's job.
Thanks. I hadn't ran across the FALL season thing. But I've long felt we could know the SEASON. Seems straightforward enough Scripture on that score!
Will have to check those threads out.
AMEN! THX.
Interesting question.
umm doesn't that mean the end of the world and all the non-christians get cast into a firey lake?
If so, then i sure hope he's not! :)
umm doesn't that mean the end of the world and all the non-christians get cast into a firey lake?
If so, then i sure hope he's not! :)
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
To me, that sounds like our world today.
AMEN.
I do think, though, that even with Believers leaving with Holy Spirit resident within them . . .
1) God is likely to have some special characters on special missions still here.
2) God's Spirit sustains every atomic and subatomic structure of Creation. Even in hell, God is, as David put so poetically.
AMEN!
Whose calendar do we use to reckon the 2000 years? The year 2004 is the year 5765 on the Hebrew Calendar. That pushes things back another 35 years.
I think the "fig tree" Jesus refers to are the signs he gives in Matthew 24. Some of those prophecies had relation to the Roman's destruction of Israel (specifically the instructions for those Judea to flee to the mountains and the Abomination of Desolation mentioned in Daniel) in 70 A.D. and others had reference to the latter days, such as the appearing of the sign of the Son of Man and the gathering of his elect from the four quarters of the earth.
GW
AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!
And I agree, the list could grow longer, easily.
Excellent article! Jesus Christ will, indeed, return. There will be a great many who will be shocked beyond words when it happens too.
This is just my opinion, but I think it is possible that Satan has been preparing an anti-Christ for every generation since the first century, because he does not know when the second coming will be either.
We don't know they day nor the hour of His coming... but we are to be ready.
Nobody knows, no one will be able to predict it. Quit worrying about the second coming, make sure you're ready to meet Him at any time, as you will surely meet Him when your time here on earth is up.
This kind of stuff is why I do not attend church. I beleive in God just not man's church. How can any MAN pretend to know God's plans? Yet preachers and psuedo preachers everywhere swear that they do. God will come when he is good and ready
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