(Ed. This
page is part of the Admin's Blog section, therefore being the
private view of Max Jefferies
- NOT a
representation of any view within the Christian Brethren
movement.)
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FRIGHTENING -
EXCITING - CHALLENGING
Preface
Here we go - another
prophecy date-fixer! I have kept quiet about my thoughts on
the return of Jesus, fearing the typical expected backlash, but
now feel that I must come out in favour of this view that is
becoming more widely aired on the internet these days. To me this
is so exciting and what a challenge - to live your life with the
purpose of investing all you have into God's Kingdom before His
VERY NEAR RETURN. How much money do you have - to meet the Lord Jesus and
still have many thousands of dollars still in your bank account or
invested when it could have been used to distribute Bibles or
spread God's message in countries hungry for the Good News, would
be a great shame. And your time - spent on things of this world
instead of working earnestly to further Christ's message and love
before His near return, would be rather pointless. Get excited
about Christ's return - get active - it is your last chance this
side of heaven.
________________Rapture_AD_2020-2022_________Jesus_Return_AD_2027-2029________________
1
A Logical Date
On the lead up to the
year 2000 I began thinking about how close the return of Jesus is
and added 2,000 years from the death of Jesus that brought in the
new covenant, which is said to have occurred about AD 27 - 29,
which gives a simple figure of the years AD 2027 - 2029. Pretty
simple really! BUT, WOW!! This is frightening,
exciting and challenging to us, the followers of Christ! There have been
numerous dates set for Jesus' return over the years, most needed a
Ph.D. to follow them, but it must be said now THAT ALL THOSE DATES
ARE NOW IN THE PAST, so you can forget about them. The only future
date that has any real biblical weight to it is 2,000 years from the
cross of Christ. It is estimated that Jesus was born about 6 - 4
BC., not on year 0 as many would assume.
( Our years compared to
Bible years: Over a 40 year period, the Bible period is equal to
our normal years in today's calendar. This excerpt from a
website explains: "In our modern calendar, a 'normal' year has
365 days, with every 4th year having 366 days [365.25 days per
year]. In the modern Hebrew calendar, a 'normal' year has 354
days, but upon every 2 or 3 years a leap month is added with 384
days in that year. Likewise, the 'normal' 360-day year of the
Prophetic Calendar adds a 30-day leap month at regular intervals,
with that year having 390 days. All three of these calendars are
about the same in accuracy over relatively short periods of time.
However, the 360 Prophetic Calendar soon shows itself wonderfully
supreme in every way, as it spans and divides time into biblical
generations of 40 and 100 years...." Source:
http://www.360calendar.com/#Part One )
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2
No Day or Hour, but the Year?
Many people jump on
you when you talk about dating the second coming of Christ, that
we are told we can not know the day or hour - clearly seen in what
Jesus says in Matthew:
"Now learn this
parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become
tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So
you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at
the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no
means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth
will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of
that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but
My Father only." (Matthew 24:32-35 NKJV)
But Jesus does say we
will be able to see the timing of His return in a more general
sense, when it is at your door, and that we MUST be prepared for
it! To talk about the approximate YEAR of His return is not to go
against the Bible passage above, but to put it into the real world
that we are living in. As the next few years develop, it will
become more obvious that the end of this era is drawing to a RAPID close.
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3
God's 7 Day / 7,000 Year Plan
This is something I
found on the internet that got my attention and thought. In Isaiah
God says He declares the end from the beginning. The beginning was
the creation week, but how does this show the 'End' of things?
"Remember the former
things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and
there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying,
"My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.""
(Isaiah 46:9-10 NKJV).
"...saying, “Where is
the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all
things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For
this they wilfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens
were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water,
by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with
water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by
the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one
thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning
His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward
us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the
works that are in it will be burned up." (2 Peter 3:4-10
NKJV)
This understanding that God has established a 7
day / 7,000 year master plan for His creation of
mankind on planet Earth is a intriguing concept. The 'beginning'
was 6 days of creation and a day of rest, the Sabbath. 7 days!
We are almost to 6,000 years since creation and we are looking
forward to Christ's return to earth for what the scripture says is
a thousand year reign of rest - making a total of 7,000 years -
then the Judgement Seat of Christ will occur. Let us read the Book
of Revelation chapter 20 for a better understanding:
"Then I saw an angel
coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and
a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that
serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a
thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But
after these things he must be released for a little while.
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who
had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his
mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and
reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the
dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has
part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be
released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to
gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the
sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the
camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from
God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them,
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and
the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found
no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing
before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened,
which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to
their works, by the things which were written in the books. The
sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered
up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one
according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found
written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."
(Revelation 20:1-15 NKJV)
After the previous
chapters in the book of Revelation describing the 7 years of
'Tribulation', we see this 1,000 years of rest, then the final
battle with Satan, then the end of the age with the Judgement Seat
and the Book of Life. Then the 7,000 years are complete. 7 days of
creation / 7,000 year history of the earth. We are almost to the
end of the 6,000 year period.
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4
The Fig Tree and Israel
Just days before
Jesus’ death, He told a parable that greatly helps us
pinpoint when his 2nd Advent will occur:
"Now as He (Jesus)
sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately,
saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the
sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew
24:3 NKJV)
"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has
already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer
is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it
is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation
will by no means pass away till all these things take place." (Matthew 24:32-34
NKJV)
Sometimes in Scripture
the fig tree is a representation the nation of Israel. God told
the prophet Hosea: “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first
time” (Hosea 9:10). And during Jesus’ 3½ year ministry, he often
used the symbol of a fig tree when communicating things about the
nation of Israel. When the nation of Israel came back on the map
again in AD 1948 (after almost 1,900 years of non-existence), it
is seen that Israel (the Fig Tree) has put forth her leaves once
again! So Jesus was declaring that there will be some of those who
were alive at that time will still be alive when Jesus returns to
earth once more. So how long are we talking about in years here?
The observation in the text below is about 80 years (but now would be
longer still).
"The days of our lives
are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty
years..." (Psalm 90:10 NKJV)
So if you add 80 years
to the foundation date of Israel in 1948 it yields AD 2028. This puts
it well within the timeframe of Jesus Christ returning
to Earth 2,000 years after the crucifixion, AD 2027 - 2029.
________________Rapture_AD_2020-2022_________Jesus_Return_AD_2027-2029________________
5
The Tribulation Years & the Rapture of the Church
So given the
above, this means the final 7 year tribulation period prophesied
in Scripture will begin somewhere around AD 2020 - 2022, BEFORE
the end of the 6,000 years. So we need to abandon our focus on
things of this world and put all our resources and energy in to
sharing the good news of salvation from our sins and freedom in
Christ, to those wanting to hear. There are people in some
countries eager for the truth of God's Word, for Bibles and
teachers of scripture, and we need to release our accumulated
money into sharing Jesus with them NOW, before it is too late. But
not just our financial resources, but ourselves as well.
For those who hold to
the view of the church being raptured (taken up) to meet Jesus in
the air before the tribulation begins (pre-tribulation rapture),
then the time for the harvest of souls for God's Kingdom is so
much shorter, the time being just a few years away around AD 2020
- 2022. The following is a quick view of the three main 'Rapture'
views within the Christian church today.
The 'Rapture of the
Church' comparison chart:
