by David J. Stewart
August
2006
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I
once received a letter from a sincere gentleman who believes the Lord
will return in 2018. He said that scientists are predicting the worst
solar storm in 150 years in 2012. He mentioned the high number of
recent devastating hurricanes, and the killer Tsunami in December of 2004.
He also brought up all the wars and rumors of wars over the past 100 years. He mentioned that China has a military of over 200,000,000 men. He wrote of the nuclear threat, and the genetics nightmare just getting started. He said that he was fully aware of Mark 13:32, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man..."
We know Biblically that men cannot know exactly when the Lord Jesus will return at the Rapture; but did God say that men could not discern the season of His return? This is an interesting question and worthy of study. Here is the letter that I received...
"In the Beginning God Created the heaven and the Earth, He took 6 days to Create the Heaven and Earth, and Rested on the 7th" -Genesis 1
Why Did God create 6 days to Create the Earth, and rest on the 7th, If he could have done it, In less then 1 second? But he didn't. He took 6 days and rested on the 7th. In the bible, It says 1000 years Is as 1 days In Gods Eyes, It also Says God Judges The end from the Beginning.
If God judges the end from the Beginning, In the Beginning He took 6 days to create the earth, and If 1 days is as a 1000 Years, Maybe God is trying to Tell us something, There were 4000 Years Before Christ or 4 days, And "ALMOST" 2000 Years After Christ or 2 Days. And when that time is up, It will be the 7th day or the last 1000 Years, Which is Christs Rein.
This is where it Gets really Interesting.
I know we are in 2006, However It is said That from 100B.C. Until 1582 A.D. A year around the world was counted as 360 days, Not 365.25 Days. So we lost time, We are not really in 2006. Technically we may have lost 25 years, and Are really in 1981.
Now lets say we are in 1981 in 12 Years from now, in 1993 or 2018, It will be 7 years from the year 2000 or 2025, And Since the Tribulation Lasts 7 years, The Tribulation will end in 2000 or 2025, Starting Christs Rein Until 3000 or 3025, Finishing the 7th days or the Full 7,000 Years Since God created the Earth."
Although his reasoning is very interesting
indeed, we must be CAREFUL not to set any dates, lest we end up like the
10,000 Millerites back in 1844 who gave away their possessions, quit their
jobs, sold their homes, and were greatly embarrassed when the Lord didn't
return in 1844. So they instead started the
Seventh-Day Adventist false religion to save-face. Seventh-Day
Adventism is a sure
road to Hell and damnation!
Setting a Date verses Believing the Lord Will Return Soon
There's a big difference between actually setting a date; or just simply believing that the Lord will return soon. The important thing is that we never cross the unbiblical line of specifying a date, or a year, or an event. I would certainly agree that the Pretribulation Rapture must be near. I DO agree with the man who wrote me the above letter that the Lord will return soon. The beast system is without a doubt being formed. The universal police state is being formed (using the 911 attacks and the bogus War-On-Terror as a pretext). The world's masses are falling for this great deception like cattle entering the slaughterhouse (2nd Thessalonians 2:10, "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth..."). Take a look at this. I just don't see how the Lord can stay away too much longer. The world has become a large insane asylum.
As the man mentioned above in his letter, the Bible teaches that a day is as a thousand years with the Lord; hence, from creation until present has been 6,000 years. If we add the 1,000 year Millennium, that would be 7,000 years total, which is God's number of completion. Again, this is only speculation and NOT solid Biblical teaching. It is a theory, and we would be WRONG to claim that it is factual Biblical teaching. We simply do NOT know when the Lord will return.
Matthew 25:13, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” I looked through the Scriptures and the word “season” does not appear in reference to the Lord's return. The Bible tells us that no man knoweth “the day nor the hour” of the Lord's return; but it doesn't say that we cannot know the season. I think it is abundantly clear from Revelation 17:10 that we can have a general idea of when the Lord will return. There have been 6 world powers throughout history: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Revelation 17:10 states, "And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." The first 5 were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The 6th was Rome, which was a world power at the time of the writing of Revelation. The 7th will be the beast system, the New World Order, which we see forming today. So we are definitely living in the End Times.
This is as close as we can get to knowing WHEN the Lord will return. It is obvious that we are nearer the end times than ever before. However, Rome surrendered their world domination around 476 A.D. Although there are several super power nations today, there have been NO world powers since Rome (and Rome was indeed a super-power, as represented by the iron legs in Nebuchadnezzar's image in Daniel 2:33). We do not know how long it will take for Satan's New World Order to complete. We can only speculate at best; but, we are certainly closer to the Lord's return each and every passing day. Let that be our happy thought.
It's ok to say that we firmly believe that the Lord will return soon, and state the reasons why; BUT, we must NOT claim it is a FACT, or use Scriptures in an attempt to set a time for the Lord's return. Although it is clear that we are living in the Last Days, it is wrong to specify a date, time, or event when the Lord will return. Only God knows when He will return. The New World Order has been in the works for Millenniums, since the tower and city of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9.
The Jehovah Witnesses are masters of deceit! Their founder, Charles Taze Russell, crunched a bunch of numbers together from the time of Israel's demise under king Nebuchadnezzar (586 B.C.) until WWI, in an attempt to construct the heresy that Jesus returned during World War I. JW's claim that Christ only returned spiritually, which was manifest by WWI. Jehovah's Witnesses claim they are God's visible organization on earth, to usher in the Kingdom of God.
Of course, JW's teach heresies and lies of the Devil. The Lord HASN'T returned yet! My point is that the Jehovah's Witnesses constructed a demonic heresy because they twisted the Bible around using some crazy thinking. Look friend, you and I have every right to think that the Lord may return soon; BUT, no one has a Biblical right to be dogmatic on WHEN the Lord is going to return.
The
Bible does NOT set a date. The Lord's warning to His disciples in Mark
13:35-37 should be a clear message to all of us, "Watch ye therefore: for
ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or
at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you
sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Watch! That is the important thing. We should be aggressively
soulwinning in these perilous times in which we are living.
I Believe the Lord Jesus Will Be Returning Soon!
Personally, I think Jesus is coming back VERY soon, within the next 20 years; however, I have no proof, nor Scriptural evidence to be adamant on the issue. This is merely my personal opinion. I will be very surprised if the Lord hasn't returned by 2025. Again, I AM NOT setting a date—I don't know when the Lord will return; however, I have every right to believe that He will return soon. Do you see the difference? I trust you do. The Apostle Paul sincerely believed that the Lord would return in his day, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1st Thessalonians 4:17).
It's been nearly 2,000 years since. Many people thought the Lord was going to return during the cruel Spanish Inquisition. Many people thought the Lord was going to return during the Revolutionary war, and during the Civil War. There has always been earthquakes, Tsunamis, wars, pestilences, et cetera. Because of modern communications, we hear about more and more events in the world; hence, it appears that those events are becoming more frequent. We must be extremely cautious in this area of the Lord's return. Will Jesus return soon? I hope so! I think so! However, we don't know. The Apostle Paul never set a date, because he didn't know. Even Jesus Himself didn't set a date, or a year. Personally, I believe that all signs and events are pointing to the soon coming of Christ; but that's only my opinion.
Further evidence is the world's readiness to receive the Antichrist. One of the most compelling indicators to me that the Lord's return is near is the prevalence of Luciferian worship in the world today. It is unprecedented throughout history to see so many people flashing satanic hand signs showing recognition and allegiance to Satan. ACDC has sold over 68,000,000 copies worldwide of their album BACK IN BLACK, featuring the song HIGHWAY TO HELL. Tens-of-millions of people around the world gleefully sing that they're on a Highway to Hell. Can the return of the Lord Jesus Christ be far away? Look at this video of the Rational Response Squad, a group of bratty atheists who operate the BlasphemyChallenge.com website denying the existence of the Holy Spirit of God. How evil! Don't you tell me that the Lord's return is not near!
The New World Order is becoming more and more visible everyday throughout the world. Increasingly we are witnessing the development of Global Government. The United Nations was created by The Council On Foreign Relations, as a vehicle by which to achieve global domination. Although there have been numerous world powers throughout history, technology sets the New World Order apart from all the rest. Never before in history has it been possible to DNA catalog, monitor, and enslave humanity as it is today. Never before has mankind been so easily swayed and brainwashed by the television. Things are very different today. Don't you tell me that the Lord's return is not near, when TSA are naked-body-scanning passengers at all the airports. It is unthinkable. All morality is gone today. We are living in woeful times of crime, apostasy, and wickedness.
Years ago I heard Pastor Jack Hyles preach a sermon on 10 reasons why he personally believed the Lord would return soon. It's one of the few sermons he ever preached where he didn't need to open his Bible. He spoke of man's irresponsibility with nuclear weapons, biological weapons, pollution, deforestation, abuse of the earth, et cetera. He spoke of war, corruption, immorality, homosexuality, abortion, and every sin imaginable in unprecedented levels (as in the days of Noah, Matthew 24:37-38). He spoke of apostate churches, neo-evangelical deadbeats, false Bibles, and a lack of church attendance. I can't recall all the reasons, but he went down a list of why man was going to DESTROY himself if the Lord DIDN'T return! I agree with Dr. Hyles 100%. Pastor Hyles was wise enough not to set a date for the Lord's return; but he personally believed, as I also do, that the Lord's return is imminent.
Why the
Antichrist Must Come Soon |
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Most Believers Misunderstand 2nd Timothy 4:8
"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." —2nd Timothy 4:8
Carefully notice that the 2nd Timothy 4:8 doesn't promise a crown to those who watch for Christ's return. Rather, the crown is promised to those who "love His appearing." In other words, to those who were living for the Lord, and were busy soulwinning preceding the Lord's return. The unsaved world will NOT see the Lord's return, so they are not the one's mentioned in this Scripture. Many believers will dread the Lord's return. Those believers who squandered their time here on earth, who were choked by the cares and riches of this world, who did nothing to win souls to Christ—will be so very sad and disgusted with themselves on Judgment Day (2nd Corinthians 5:101-11).
I think the Lord will return soon. The Pretribulation Rapture of the saints must be oh so near. How do I know it will be a Pretribulation Rapture? Carefully consider that before God destroyed the world by flood, He delivered Noah and his family. Before God destroyed Sodom, He needed to remove the righteous. Lot was a sinful; yet righteous man (2nd Peter 2:7). Lot was a born again believer. God sent angels to deliver Lot and his immediate family from the imminent destruction. Likewise, the Lord will remove His children from this evil world before the Tribulation Period happens. God is a just God. 1st Thessalonians 4:17-18 says to “comfort one another” with the teaching of the Rapture. There would be no comfort if the Church was going to suffer through the Tribulation, a time of sorrow and woe like never before.
The most important thing nowadays is that we aggressively share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with lost sinners. I was handing out Gospel tracts yesterday with my kids. Our time is short, even if the Lord doesn't return, because our life is as a vapor. James 4:14 proclaims, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." Let's all get busy soulwinning and do everything we can to bring lost sinners to the Precious Savior, Jesus Christ!
Only 8 people survived the flood. Noah preached the righteousness of Jesus Christ for 120-years prior to the flood, but not one person repented. NOT ONE!!! Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:37-38 that the Last Days would be as it was in the days of Noah before the flood, when wicked people only live to eat, drink, marry, and party. We live in perilous times. People are NOT listening to God.
Perilous Times
(by Pastor Danny Castle |
Download sermon)
Entering the Realm of the Antichrist
I Believe the Rapture is Imminent
Biblical Proof of a Pretribulation Rapture
The Rapture Could Happen Today!
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." —2nd Corinthians 4:6
