Posted on 07/05/2010 6:39:06 AM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta
More and more as we get closer to the end, people want to see a time line of coming events. Questions about the order in which events will take place, the span of time between them and the likelihood of there being enough time for everything to happen in the time we have left are becoming more numerous with each passing week.
As you know the Bible doesn’t provide this level of specificity. But neither are we left to make unfounded predictions. There are a number of clues scattered throughout the New Testament that take much of the guess work out of things. With diligent study, we can put them together and make some pretty reasonable assumptions.
Romans 11:25
For example Romans 11:25 says Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in. I’ve shown several times how the phrases “full number” and “come in” point to the Rapture of the Church. In Paul’s day they were often used in a nautical context. The “full number” was the number of crew members a ship needed before it was authorized to set sail. As soon as the full number of crewmen had been contracted the ship immediately left the harbor to begin its journey.
The phrase “come in” means to arrive at the ship’s scheduled destination. It’s still in use today. People talk about how different life will be for them when their ship “comes in”.
From Romans 11:25 we get the notion that the Church has a full number, too. That’s the number of believers necessary for the rapture. Reaching that number frees us from the constraints of this world and we’ll immediately “come in” to our scheduled destination, Heaven.
Jesus told the disciples He was going to His father’s house to prepare a place for us, and then He’d come back for us to take us there (John 14:2-3). He didn’t say He’d come back here where we are to be with us here, as in the 2nd Coming. He said He’d come back to take us there to be with Him where He is. This has to be a reference to the Rapture. Once He’s done that, Israel’s time of hardening will come to an end and the time of their reconciliation will begin.
Isaiah 17, Psalm 83, And Ezekiel 38-39
Ezekiel said that one outcome of the battle he described in chapters 38-39 is that Israel will be awakened to His presence (Ezekiel 39:22). Since Paul said Israel’s awakening will follow the rapture and Ezekiel said it will be an outcome of his battle, we can assume the rapture will likely precede Ezekiel 38.
None of Israel’s current next door neighbors are mentioned by Ezekiel, even though they’re all antagonists, but the prophecies of Isaiah 17 and Psalm 83 feature them prominently. From this we can conclude these prophecies will be fulfilled ahead of Ezekiel 38 but there’s no way to tell if they will also take place before the rapture.
Acts 15:13-18
A set of parallel clues can bring us to the same conclusion about the relationship between Ezekiel 38 and the rapture. In Acts 15:13-18 James said that Israel was being set aside so the Lord could take out of the Gentiles a people for himself, after which David’s fallen Tabernacle would be rebuilt. The phrase “take out” comes from a Greek word that means to take hold of something for the purpose of carrying it away. It refers to the rapture of the Church.
David’s fallen Tabernacle is the Temple which was destroyed in 70 AD and will be restored. But there won’t be any need for a Temple until Israel is back in an Old Covenant relationship with God. And this will only happen after the Battle of Ezekiel 38. Being back in an Old Covenant relationship means Daniel’s 70th Week will have begun (Daniel 9:27). That means the Age of Grace will have come to an end and the Church will be gone.
Matt. 24:34, Psalm 90:10 and Isaiah 23:15
Based on these verses I believe Jesus said His 2nd Coming would take place about 70 years from the time Israel became a nation again in 1948. (As I demonstrated in “Why The Re-Birth Of Israel Is A Sign Of The End”, it doesn’t make sense to tie Matt. 24:34 to signs that happen just a few years before the 2nd coming.) Adding 70 years to 1948 brings us to the end of 2018. When Daniel’s 70th Week begins, there will only be seven years left until the 2nd coming. That means Daniel’s 70th Week will have to begin 7 years prior to 2018, in 2011.
Other clues indicate the 2nd Coming will likely happen on Rosh Hashanna, also known as the Feast of Trumpets and the Jewish New Year. Because it takes place at the time of the new moon rather than on a full moon, it’s often difficult to determine the exact time of its arrival. For this reason it was sometimes referred to in the past as the feast where no man knows the day or hour. Jesus used a form of this phrase 4 times in the span of 23 verses while referring to the time of the 2nd Coming (Matt. 24:42, 44, 50, Matt 25:13).
Computer projections tell us that in 2018 Rosh Hashanna will occur on Sept. 9-10. But it takes a confirmed visual sighting to make it official and Matt. 24:29 says the moon will not give its light following the end of the Great Tribulation, so no one will know the day or hour of His return until they see Him coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:30)
That’s All Folks
That’s as much of a hint as to timing the Bibles gives us. But remember Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38 are all called battles, not wars. If Israel acted without restraint Psalm 83 would likely require only a week or so to fulfill. Isaiah 17 involves only the firing of a missile or the dropping of a bomb. The Rapture of the Church will happen in the twinkling of an eye. God could annihilate the forces of Ezekiel 38 in an afternoon. My point is, this is not too much for Him to accomplish in the time that’s left.
The way the Middle East keeps heating up it’s possible the fulfillment of Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 could happen very soon. When the Gaza Blockade issue threatened to ignite into a full blown confrontation recently, I thought we were seeing its beginning. But sad to say it’s not if these two prophecies will be fulfilled but when. And from Scripture you can’t tell if they’ll happen before or after the Rapture. They could all happen at once.
But after they do, the Battle of Ezekiel 38 will follow, Israel’s awakening being necessary for Daniel’s 70th Week to begin. This will bring the anti-Christ to the forefront to confirm the treaty that allows for a Temple to be built. In the middle of the 70th Week he’ll claim to be God, kicking off the Great Tribulation, after which the Lord will return to establish His Kingdom.
Over the past few weeks we’ve taken a fresh look at Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39. We’ve also shown why the re-birth of Israel has to be the premier sign of the End of the Age. Hopefully, this perspective on how all these prophecies are related will provide the overview we need to understand how very close we are to the End of the Age. Even angels have longed to look into these things (1 Peter 1:12) but you and I are blessed to experience them firsthand.
You can almost hear the foot steps of the Messiah
Then would it be eastern standard time or GMT or Israeli time?Instead of 3pm it might be 3:02 pm and 3.1416 seconds if we figure Pi into the time scheme. I’m not trying to scoff, God will come when he figures he is going to!
“I heard that a record number of Jews are accepting Christ as the Messiah”
Perhaps from some of these or their offspring God will draw his 144 thousand special saints”whose song, no man could learn”!
But then don't come on my posts
Label it "Caucus", and keep the overt hostility down ("Caucus threads are closed to any poster who is not a member of the caucus. ... The “caucus” article and posts must not compare beliefs or speak in behalf of a belief outside the caucus."). Otherwise it's fair game.
then I don't want to read any more disparaging remarks about "futurists" or "dispensationalists" or any of the garbage I've been treated to for years.
Maybe I'll just bookmark that post for later use, the next time someone starts ranting about "antisemitic replacement theology".
Don't like "dispensationalist"? "Dispensationalist" is what your school calls themselves. What would you prefer? "Futurist", likewise, is fairly innocuous.
I've had outright denials of prophetic Scripture thrown at me for years.
Whats the matter? The post hit a nerve?
Don't like "replacement theologist"?
Because it's stupid. It's a word you-all use as a pejorative, and we do not use. We keep telling you-all what we actually hold, and you-all Just Don't Get It.
If you consider the factual name of your belief to be a "pejorative", then maybe there's something wrong with what you believe.
At least I can back up my "futurist" and "dispensationalism" with Scripture.
And we do get it. That's your problem.
By the way
It's what your religion teaches you to believe. Live it, love it, own it.
my religion is "Christian". Or do you deny that to people who don't toe the line of your eschatology?
It looks a lot like people who feel threatened. The same people, every thread, same responses that can't be substantiated with the Bible they claim to believe.
my religion is "Christian"
Well as you know from your faithful surfacing on all the Replacement Theology series I've been posting, Adolf Hitler was a "Christian" and a firm believer in replacement theology.
Sure you want to call yourself a Christian?
Not only does He want us to be on watch, He promises us a crown of righteousness for doing so.
"Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8).
You are a true friend and I look forward to meeting you in person shortly!
Thank you for the encouragement, presently no screen name.
It is wonderful in the midst of those who would love for us to just shut up!
AMEN, dear friend. We shall meet soon! Maranatha!
Where I think we might be misinterpreting Matt24 is thinking that it is a human generation. In v.33 Jesus says when you see all these things, know that it is near. IOW, the people that are alive at the time of the tribulation, not the first generation in a regathered Israel.
I completely agree that Jesus is addressing this to the Jews of Israel and not the Gentiles that become Christians. I think he is telling us that Christians aren't present during this in v.31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
I went to look that verse up and up came a reference to ‘writings of early church fathers’ that said there weren’t enough numbers of converted Jews for this number to come from them so they referred to Gentile Christians as a ‘Spiritual Israel’. WOW.
I love speaking with Jesus believing Jews because they have such a detailed grasp of the history, a knowledge of the OT that I could never gain by reading, but most times I have a clearer picture of forgiveness of sin and the Hope of Heaven. It seems together we have a complete story.
FWIW, in both passages I don't think the Fig tree represents Israel as it often does in Scripture. I believe in this instance and in Matt 24 that the trees are the signs we should recognize that the end of times is imminent.
Isn't this just disgraceful? Instead of believing God's Word, they just changed the meaning to make it fit. And the beginning of false prophets, false religions, and false doctrines were born. Just because they did not trust what God said.
I agree with you on this.
No, no, no. Lets argue, Scripture always holds up. If I'm wrong show my why in Scripture.
From what I've read Romans 11 makes Covenant Theology impossible. It's plain that God is not done with the Jews.
I get so much out of these threads when we go back and forth on something. Eschatology tends to get a bad rap, but it really opens up Scripture.
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