What can I say? This stuff is really intriguing. It’s hitting the news faster than I can type. Anne Graham Lotz, Tony Evans… a lot, it seems maybe most, celebrity Christians believe the end is near.
Of course, Christians will always stop short of certainty on the matter, as we have consistently, but since my good friend Les has spent so many keystrokes describing some pretty complicated math, some original, some not so original, I simply must convey the obvious here. As Psalm 90 says: “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” So if the 1948 establishment of Israel is the “fig tree” that Jesus spoke of. Then 1948+70=2018, the beginning of a 10 year window of a generation.
2018 is coming fast and from the look of the the world there are about a million ways things might go badly very soon.
We know that our modern calendar is off by approximately 4-17 years. So, we’re actually somewhere in 2020-2033. (Using a calendar based on 30 day months, 360 days)
The Greek word for thousand in Matthew is chilia, which is *plural*, Strongs says ‘of uncertain affinity’. It is a noun when there is no determiner before it. We’re in the ‘millennium’- which is not one thousand years, as we’ve erroneously been taught. So, being plural, it is two-thousand years or more.
The culmination of the first 69 of Daniel’s 70 weeks was in approximately 33 AD when the Messiah was cut off (as prophesied).
33 AD plus 2,000 for His saints to rule as Kings and Priests with the iron scepter of Truth puts a plausible return date of 2033. If you subtract 7 years for the 70th week (the ‘tribulation’) that puts the start for that in 2026. We know we’re somewhere in the timeline of 2020-2026 (as were know we’re clearly not yet in the tribulation).
We absolutely should be paying attention to the times and signs. The saints should be wide awake, not sleeping, watching for the prophesied man of sin who will wear out the saints.
You’re so right: we’re on the cusp…
Oops, don’t know why I said Matthew, I meant Revelation 20. Sorry.
And meant to agree that 1948 was absolutely fulfilled prophecy. Amos 9:14 ‘And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel.’ One of many:)
What do you think about those that believe that the “man of sin” was Nero? I myself ascribe to the “shadows and types” perspective. I talked it through with one of them before, I mentioned New Jerusalem and lightning being seen from the east to the west. To that he responded that those things probably have yet to be fulfilled. It’s tough to discuss this topic with folks so convinced of their own theory, especially when their theory has so many holes in it. Can only get so far before they get offended for one reason or another.
You’re right. Most are so deafened by opinions and traditions of man they won’t listen (which we know God says He hardens and deafens).
To your point about shadows- you nailed it. Shadow is the word skia and it means a shade. We know the old test is the shadow (a shade of things to come) and the new test the very image. Antiochus was a shade of the man of sin.
New Jerusalem is the church, we are the bride adorned for our husband, Christ. Galatians says New Jerusalem is our mother. Babylon is the mother of all idolatry. Two mothers, two fathers (God and the Devil), two children: the Sons of God and the non-elect.
So many want to ascribe babylon to the vatican alone. Yet, while it seems to clearly be a component it also seems very likely that much of the institutional state-church system that exists in various forms would also be complicit. It’s man’s church vs. Christ’s Church. Rev 18:4: “Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues..”
I’m about half way through “The Pilgrim Church” by EH Broadbent. For being originally published in 1931 it does a fantastic job of identifying Christ’s remnant separately from the institutions that the remnant participated with to varying degrees. It goes through generation after generation in order and the common themes seem to be:
1. True believers have been martyred in some form or another for all of history.
2. Being martyred did not prove the rightness of their cause.
3. Partnership with the state has consistently been a mistake resulting in more pain & suffering than it ever alleviates.
4. The reformers, as an institution, did not behave much differently than the Roman Catholics, many a burning and drowning came at the hands of reformers.
5. The true Church has not been represented by a specific denomination or group since shortly after the Acts Church.
God bless brother.
Can we ever really know? If ever the Son of Man doesn’t know the hour, how can we?
I’m not saying the world won’t end in 2018. It might. For all I know, it might end in the first second of 2018. But it might last another thousand years. Or two minutes.
So can we even know until it does?
We are told by Jesus to “Be Ready” in multiple places. We’re also told to be aware of the signs of the times. Jesus spends a lot of precious Biblical red letters on this topic, and I think it’s because we’re always to live as though Christ will return today. So while I cannot disagree specifically with your statements, I do believe that Jesus taught us to be alert, be watching, be aware, and expect Him. Paul demonstrates pretty thoroughly in his letters that he suspected he might see Christ return in his lifetime. As he got older his expectation waned, but I’m here to say don’t let it wane! Whether the world ends tomorrow or just I myself kick the bucket. Life is short and society is bombarding believers more today than ever with entitlement and pride-of-life that leads to dangerous arrogance. One weapon against that arrogance is contemplation of our Master’s return and what He will find us doing.
Isn’t this beyond us? If even the Son of Man doesn’t know the day or hour, how can we?
I’m not saying the world won’t end in 2018. It might. For all I know, it might be exactly the first second of 2018. Or in another thousand years. Or in two minutes.
So my point is, can we ever really know until it happens?
I do know that in roughly 90 years, it will have happened for me, and probably for you, no matter what is left behind us when we go. It could be tomorrow too. There’s a reason Christians have pondered this for millenia, because Jesus told us to, over and over again.
So sorry for posting that twice! I didn’t see it the first time so I figured my internet had glitched again. Please forgive me!
No worries. We appreciate the contributions even the redundant ones. Haha.
Lol! 🙂
How many times does an idea have to be wrong before the paradigm is discarded as false? “88 Reasons Christ will return in 1988” etc. etc. etc. The reason the world is in bad shape isn’t because it’s the end, it’s because the church is teaching the doctrines of men, (Darby & Finney to name a couple) that have nothing to do with the Bible. Daniel is told to seal the book because it WON’T happen in his time, John is told NOT to seal the book because the time is at hand. Go through Revelation and highlight every time it says soon, quickly, at hand, etc. If the stuff in Matthew 24 didn’t happen to the generation Christ was talking to He was a false prophet, He was not, it did happen to that generation. Check out DeMar, Sproul, Hannegraaf if you would like to understand the Word of God better. I write this as a former dispy who has read and sat at the feet of Dwight Pentecost.
So Matthew 24:27 happened in AD 70? What is this time now, heaven?
If you follow of Hannegraaf, don’t you know about “Types and Shadows”?
Do you not find 1948 to be significant at all?