Posted on 09/17/2017 5:15:40 AM PDT by Kaslin
Yes, it would be wonderful if Jesus returned for His people next week, but it’s not going to happen. Count on it. The Second Coming will not take place this year on September 23.
How can I be so sure? The Bible tells me so, and not in some ambiguous, mysterious language.
Instead, Jesus told His followers what had to take place before He returned, and those things have not yet happened, nor can they happen in just a few days. That’s why I’m quite certain that His return is not scheduled for September 23, 2017.
What, then, do I think about the claims of Christian numerologist David Meade, who argues that “verses in Luke 21:25 to 26 are the sign that recent events, such as the recent solar eclipse and Hurricane Harvey, are signs of the apocalypse”? And what do I think of the alleged correspondence between Revelation 12 and the alignment of Jupiter, the sun, and the moon?
Actually, I don’t think about these things at all, any more than I thought about the claim that Jesus was coming back between September 11-13, 1988, or the claim that Judgment Day was coming on September 6, 1994, or the claim (made by the same author who predicted the 1994 date) that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011.
There was not a shred of scriptural evidence to support these claims, and there was a mountain of evidence against them. Why, then, bother to give them any thought?
“But,” you ask, “didn’t Jesus say that no one who knew the day or hour of His return? If so, how can you be so sure He’s not coming on September 23?”
First, the fact that He says no one knows the day or hour of His return (Matthew 24:36) means that it’s utter foolishness to predict a specific day. If Jesus says no one knows the day, we should quit predicting specific days. Simple.
Second, Jesus said we could not know the specific day or hour when He would return. He never said we could not know when He would not return.
Put another way, if I get on a boat to sail across the Atlantic from New York to London, you might not know the exact time of my arrival. But you can certainly know that I will not be arriving in one or two days. It takes longer than that to cross the ocean by boat.
So, Jesus spoke of great world upheaval that would take place (far greater than anything we have yet witnessed) and of great cosmic signs (again, of unprecedented nature), while Paul wrote of major world events that would transpire before the Lord’s return (see, for example, Luke 21 and 2 Thessalonians 2).
The Old Testament prophets also painted pictures of what we could expect before the end of the age, and it is clear their words have still not come to pass (see, for example, Zechariah 12 and 14).
But this doesn’t mean that we should grow complacent and say, “The Lord delays His coming” (see Luke 12:45). God forbid.
Instead, we should always live with readiness to meet the Lord, and we should labor with all our might to make an impact for Him, since we have only one life to reach our generation. As one of my colleagues once said, “I don’t know if this is the last generation. But it is our last generation.”
As for those who believe that there will be a secret rapture that could happen at any moment, when hundreds of millions of Christians are suddenly and stealthily removed from the earth, that will allegedly happen without any definite signs. In other words, it could happen today as well as any other day, since the timing of it is unpredictable. Why, then, are we bothering to make predictions?
By all means, we should understand the times in which we are living and know what we should do (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). And we must be sober and alert lest we fall asleep in the light.
But let us stop making foolish predictions. Not only do they make us look like fools in the eyes of the world. But they rob us of a multi-generational perspective, since we’re always thinking, “Jesus is coming any moment,” rather than thinking and planning in the long term.
Little wonder, then, that we’ve lost so much moral and cultural ground in recent decades. While our ideological opponents are planning ahead, we’re planning our escape.
In the last few years, I’ve spoken to leaders and believers about the importance of developing a multi-generational mentality, and the impact of those messages has been very deep.
Sadly, this message is foreign to many Christians today, which is why I devoted a whole chapter to the subject in Saving a Sick America: A Prescription for Moral and Cultural Transformation. If America is to be changed for the good, it can only be through multi-generational thinking.
As I look back on my own journey, I came to faith in 1971 at the age of 16, and we were told that Jesus was coming at any moment. The signs of the times were all there! Little did we think that, in 2017, we’d still be here and my wife and I would have a 16-year-old granddaughter.
Let’s not repeat the same mistake today.
Instead, let’s live with readiness, with urgency, with focus, with purpose, and with a long-term, multi-generational plan. And if the Lord chooses to interrupt our plans along the way with His return, that would be a welcome prospect.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus! We long to see Your return. Until then, we’ll stay busy and pass the torch to the generations to come.
metmom,
someday you will understand the Jesus you met in Rome isn’t the Word Made Flesh.
Just a counterfeit.
Rome has peddled another Jesus.and another gospel. just by using their calendar and catechism.
And His Calendar and Word can prove it.
And the loopy part is Islam, Judaism and her protestant daughters, and the secular world, follow rome.
Amazing to see but His Word says satan deceives the whole world.
Enjoy rome’s moon day..
I may have to retract my previous post (#27) after watching this video. (link below)
In this video, the author not only sets a date, but the hour as well with very strong biblical evidence. Even the seemingly contradictory scripture “nobody knows” is explained in detail.
I said before that I doubt that the rapture will occur on the 23rd of this year... but I also said that I was convinced SOMETHING significant would happen.
Now I’t looks like both sides are wrong, because this video claims that the 21st of September at sunset is the day and hour.
I’m not saying this is it, but the evidence is strong enough to be in prayer about it! Judge for yourself... but don’t just dismiss this out of hand!
If you disagree, I would be very interested in your argument for rebuttle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBWOowoCELY
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Give up!
Yeshua repeated the ancient traditional saying for the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah).
By saying those words he assured them that the prophetic feast marked the day he would gather his Kehillah.
The day was also set out by Daniel’s recording of the multi-layered 70 week prophecy.
His return has never been imminent as Paul explained to the Thessalonians. There are events that must take place to set the stage for his return, the most conspicuous one being antichrist standing on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
From that point it is 42 months to Yeshua’s coming to gather his Kehillah in the spirit.
The time is very much set in stone, so to speak.
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>> “I said before that I doubt that the rapture will occur on the 23rd of this year. <<
Very good!
There are seven years of Daniel’s 70th Shabbat between now and the gathering of the Kehilla.
The Day of Trumpets, which begins at sundown on September 21, marks the beginning of that Sabbath of Years.
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>>> The Day of Trumpets, which begins at sundown on September 21, marks the beginning of that Sabbath of Years.
So are you saying you believe the rapture occurs at sundown on the 21st as the video I linked claims?
I found it very interesting, and a well made case.
However, the dangers of date setting is also strong.
Also, maybe you can help me with another question...
I’m wondering how the “Last trump” of the feast of trumpets can occur in the middle of that period. Specifically, what determines WHEN they blow the 100th long blast?
If man cannot know the day nor hour then that means you cannot definitively say it won’t be Sept. 23.
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I have to disagree with the narrative of the video.
There are two things that stand out.
He doesn’t understand that Satan’s Tribulation begins in the middle of the last Sabbath, and lasts 42 months.
He also misses the obvious fact that the moment of Yom Teruah is that brief period when the new moon appears in the evening sky at dusk, at the Temple mount.
That is how the feast has been since Israel was gathered at Sinai.
Does he even understand that it is that moment that ends the Tribulation? - I don’t think so.
It sounds like he still clings to Hal Lindsay’s circus.
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The only men that will not know the day and the hour are those mentioned in Revelation ch 3 that “will not watch.” (watching is the keeping of the feasts)
Give up? Why. To complete insanity. There is nothing hidden about when the day of Trumpets will occur. Paul never mentioned the day of Trumpets in the Old Testament sense at all.
For all you end timers a question.
Rev. 1:1 “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.”
“must soon take place”
I suppose, in your world, “soon take place” is an Jewish idiom that means “after hundreds and thousands of years”.
Yep, that has to be it; otherwise, you would have to take it literally.
“The time is very much set in stone, so to speak.”
The DAY was verified by Jesus as known only to the Father. Certainly not you. You deceive yourself if you think you can search out the mysteries of God that were unknown even to Jesus. Jesus knew the book of Daniel fairly well, I am sure, and it gave him no clue about the day.
The gathering of the Bride will be at the beginning of the Day of Trumpets, in about 7 years.
We will be “changed,” not raptured. The change is as described by Yeshua in his message to Nicodemus in John 3:8
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
After the change we will be a part of the realm of the Father, not of the Earth, so instantly we will see that realm, and not be seen in this realm.
We will be literally born again as specially, individually created sons of Yehova.
>>> He also misses the obvious fact that the moment of Yom Teruah is that brief period when the new moon appears in the evening sky at dusk, at the Temple mount.
He arrives at that date by subtracting 2583 from the date of the feast of tabernacles in 2024 I think (2550 days of tribulation + 33 days uncleanliness after giving birth).
So the first sliver of visible moon determines when the last trump sounds? is this correct?
Where can I find this in scripture?
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What is this “old Testament sense?”
Yes, Paul did specifically spell out “at the last trump.”
That is what the feast is all about. It is our deliverance.
There is absolutely nothing hidden about our deliverance. I will come in about 7 years, at the day of Trumpets.
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The brief sighting of the new moon begins every Biblical month; is that fact new to you?
The seventh month is special in that the feast begins as the month begins.
Trumpets is our deliverance, not Tabernacles.
Tabernacles marks our return with him to defeat his enemies. The 1335 days is to “The last Great Day,” the last day of Tabernacles.
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>>> Does he even understand that it is that moment that ends the Tribulation? - I don’t think so.
I believe he makes biblical reference to when evening meets morning, so it would make sense that the beginning of the day is the same as the ending of the previous one.
Not defending his claim here... just trying to scrutinize it with very little understanding or knowledge of when the last trump sounds and why, according to scripture.
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Oops!
“I” = “it.”
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The brief sighting of the new moon begins every Biblical month; is that fact new to you?
No... i knew this. What I don’t know is what determines WHEN the 100th long blast of the shofar is given and why.
Do you have scriptural reference which dictates the blowing of trumpets during the feast of trumpets?
This is the only time in something like 10,000 years this particular set of astronomical bodies are lining up exactly as stated in Revelation. That doesn't mean Jesus is coming back, but it certainly indicates that date is important for some reason. It may even be a reason we don't know about until years later.
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There aren’t 100 trumps in the prophecy, there are seven.
>>> Trumpets is our deliverance, not Tabernacles.
By “our” you are just now telling me you are Jewish Orthadox right?
>>> Tabernacles marks our return with him to defeat his enemies. The 1335 days is to “The last Great Day,” the last day of Tabernacles.
I would be very interested in seeing an eschatological time line from the Jewish Orthadox perspective.
>>> There aren’t 100 trumps in the prophecy, there are seven.
During the feast of trumpets, 100 blasts of the shofar are made. I’m not talking about the seven angels prophecy.
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