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Sorry to Tell You, But Jesus Is Not Returning on September 23
Townhall.com ^ | September 17, 2017 | Michael Brown

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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: bible; bibleverses; endtimes; jesus; prophecy; secondcoming
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To: SkyPilot

“Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Luke 21:36

Why would Jesus tell believers to do that, if they were going to be Raptured.....no matter what?”

I believe this passage was specifically referring to the approaching Roman/Jewish war and the persecution that happened around 70 AD, which was spoken about in Luke 21:20. Note the words “about to happen” which during that time wouldn’t have applied to the rapture, but to a different event. So rest easy knowing that when Christ returns for the church, your reservation is already booked for the party.


161 posted on 09/18/2017 10:48:02 PM PDT by ScottfromNJ
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To: BipolarBob

Even Jesus says he does not know, only the father does.


162 posted on 09/19/2017 4:30:08 AM PDT by Kaslin (Politicians are not born; they are excreted -Civilibus nati sunt; sunt excernitur. (Cicero))
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To: Safrguns

.
You need to grasp that one is a picture of the other.
.


163 posted on 09/19/2017 7:43:40 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: ScottfromNJ; SkyPilot

.
There is no “Rapture” in the word of Yehova.

Neither is there any “New Testament Church” to be found anywhere.

These things are apostasy that were born of the false apostles of the 4th century.

The gathering at the Last Trump is the entire Kehillah, excepting the 24 elders that were resurrected with Yeshua.

Jeremiah made it plain that the Renewed Covenant is with the House of Judah, and the House of Israel.

He made no mention of any church, and neither did any apostle. We become a part of that renewed covenant by sojourning with the House of Israel, and thus being “grafted in.”

Eschew Hal Lindsay-ism!
.


164 posted on 09/19/2017 7:55:15 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: Safrguns

.
>> “By “our” you are just now telling me you are Jewish Orthadox right?” <<

It is far beyond my imagination to grasp where you got that comical idea from!

The Orthodox are only now just beginning to see the reality of Messiach; just a small number of them.
.


165 posted on 09/19/2017 8:00:15 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: Safrguns

.
>> “I believe he makes biblical reference to when evening meets morning” <<

Nowhere does scripture indicate that Evening can meet Morning. They are separated by many hours of darkness, just as the birth of Yeshua is separated from his return by many hours of darkness.

Midnight is a sungod worshiper’s concept; paganism, ignorance.
.


166 posted on 09/19/2017 8:09:00 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: freedomjusticeruleoflaw

You spelled the name of a book in the bible wrong twice in one post. Your Sunday school teacher would be most displeased.


167 posted on 09/19/2017 8:26:22 AM PDT by LanaTurnerOverdrive ("I've done things in my life I'm not proud of. And the things I am proud of are disgusting.")
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To: editor-surveyor; SkyPilot; metmom

“There is no Rapture in the word of Yehova”

Derived from “Harpazo” see 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

“He made no mention of any Church, and neither did any Apostle”

Just one example, see Paul’s writings in 1 Corinthians 1:1-2


168 posted on 09/19/2017 8:54:54 AM PDT by ScottfromNJ
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To: LanaTurnerOverdrive

Huh?


169 posted on 09/19/2017 8:58:52 AM PDT by freedomjusticeruleoflaw (Western Civilization- whisper the words, and it will disappear. So let us talk now about rebirth.)
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To: freedomjusticeruleoflaw

Revelation. No s at the end.


170 posted on 09/19/2017 9:18:01 AM PDT by LanaTurnerOverdrive ("I've done things in my life I'm not proud of. And the things I am proud of are disgusting.")
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To: LanaTurnerOverdrive

Ok. I’m moving on now...


171 posted on 09/19/2017 9:23:00 AM PDT by freedomjusticeruleoflaw (Western Civilization- whisper the words, and it will disappear. So let us talk now about rebirth.)
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To: Hot Tabasco
The true test of one’s belief that Jesus is returning on Sept. 23 is their willingness to turn over their earthly possessions of houses, boats and late model vehicles to the non believers such as me............

Well, if things soon turn out the way quite a few of us are hoping, all those goodies will be left behind, unattended and available for the taking.

172 posted on 09/19/2017 9:46:58 AM PDT by pigsmith
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To: ScottfromNJ

.
A congregation is not a church.

Do not be confused by king James’ attempt to invent his own “church” and his translators using the words that pleased the king.

There is no church in Yehova’s word. A church is a human corporation, and has nothing to do with Yehova.


173 posted on 09/19/2017 11:04:26 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: ScottfromNJ

I see you’ve encountered our Roodite follower.

That is what belonging to a cult will get you.


174 posted on 09/19/2017 1:10:19 PM PDT by metmom ( ...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith..)
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To: editor-surveyor

>>> It is far beyond my imagination to grasp where you got that comical idea from!

My inquiry was of a Jewish culture nature... i.e. feast of trumpets.

Your response and use of Jewish terms and pronouns implied to me that you were speaking from a Jewish position of authority.

When you said “our” deliverance, with the stated belief that there is no pre-tribulation rapture, that was the first thought that came to my mind, because I know that Jewish Orthadox does not believe in pre-tribulation rapture.

Of what religious persuasion are you?


175 posted on 09/19/2017 2:30:16 PM PDT by Safrguns
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To: Safrguns

.
The feasts are not “Jewish” in any way. They come not from man made culture, but from the commandments delivered in the first Shavuot at Sinai.

The feasts are required of all. That is solely for our own good, since there is no way to be a “wise” virgin without learning them well enough for them to be part of your nature.

Without them your head will remain spinning until you see the Kehillah depart for the wedding. (and everyone will witness this event)
.


176 posted on 09/19/2017 3:50:51 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: editor-surveyor; ScottfromNJ; metmom; SaveFerris; Roman_War_Criminal
There is no “Rapture” in the word of Yehova.

Sure there is.

And as Scott from NJ stated:

When you make statements like this editor-surveyor, I really don't understand how you think you have credibility on this site.

177 posted on 09/19/2017 4:17:12 PM PDT by SkyPilot ("I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6)
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To: SkyPilot

Acts 8:39-40


178 posted on 09/19/2017 4:33:40 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: editor-surveyor

You didn’t answer my question...

but that’s ok... your not making much sense anyway.


179 posted on 09/19/2017 4:34:42 PM PDT by Safrguns
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To: SaveFerris
Yup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCrQbHstndk

180 posted on 09/19/2017 4:36:27 PM PDT by SkyPilot ("I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6)
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