When I was in college I heard some people report that the fortune tellers and others who looked into the future could not see anything after 1974. If we subtract the seven year tribulation, that meant that 1967 was possibly the year that Jesus would rapture His church. (Disclaimer: I knew that these guys were charlatans, and it meant nothing, but... So just for good measure I watched the end of 1967 pass with no rapture and was pretty sure. Then, just in case, we watched 1974 come and go and we went right into 1975 and beyond. The prognostications were spurious.)
I just heard a guy say that the recent eclipse was very significant. It was pretty unusual, in that the totality was confined to the United States and it passed a certain point in the Atlantic Ocean before racing off into space. Then Hurricane Harvey hit “exactly” (I didn’t check) exactly 40 days after the eclipse. That points to September 23 as the definitive date on some calendar. Maybe Jesus will come back then.
Or not. Sadly, Christians have been embarrassing themselves by refusing to believe Jesus when He said that no one knows the day or hour. So unfulfilled prophesies continue to spew forth and continue to muddy the water of the Bible’s credibility. Actually, every false one should reinforce the veracity of Jesus’ comment. Nobody knows. But people keep trying.
I heard one person say that God would not do anything without telling His prophets, so we should expect a prophet to warn us. We will look at that verse later. Someone else said that we are to look for signs (Matthew 24) and these speculations are merely the fruit of “obeying” that command. (This does not require comment on conflicting comments by Jesus. That is bogus on its face.)
Part of the problem is that people misinterpret Matthew 24. It begins with Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the temple. Then his disciples asked what would happen next. (Verse 3) “Tell us, when will these things happen, (Temple destruction), what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered the questions in reverse order. He did not do this to be obtuse. He addressed the most important question first. When will the end of the age come? Second He dealt with signs of His return. Actually, He did not give a date for the destruction. That, like some of our questions today was not important. We are given the information that we need. And trying to extract the rest from questionable interpretations of obscure Scriptures almost seems presumptuous. If He wanted us to know, He would have told us and not leave “hidden clues.” But it was pretty clear when the destruction happened.
Jesus did comment about the end of the age (V. 4-31) Then He turned to the matter of when He would come back. Notice the difference between the Glorious Return (v. 29-31) and His other coming. We know this is a different one, because He said that no one knows when this one will happen. (V. 36, 42, 44, 50) The Glorious Return will come at the end of the seven year Tribulation, so it can be predicted once the Tribulation begins. (Treaty between anti-Christ and Israel. Daniel 9:27)
The differences between the two “comings” in Matthew 24 point to the dilemma we face today. “When will He return?” 1 Thessalonians 4:16 describes this other return.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
This is not the Glorious Return. It is too different. For one thing, notice that this coming is for His people. The Glorious return says He comes with His saints. (Revelation 19:14 White linen is a mark of believers and not angels.) And notice the final verse.“Comfort one another.” By capitalizing on curiosity, some preachers have introduced a distinct level of discomfort to this prospect. Jesus said, “Be ready.” Paul said “Take comfort.” Other messages are false.
Going on, we find some “signs” of His coming. (Glorious appearing. At this point, the Rapture had not been revealed, and His disciples were looking for the “end.”.) Some signs specifically are the abomination of desolation (v. 13) from Daniel 9 and the failure to shine of the sun and moon and stars falling. (v. 29) These are events described in Revelation 8:12, 16:8-10, and 6:13. These all happen during the Tribulation. (After the Rapture.)
Matthew 24:32 and following turn to the question of His coming. Note that Jesus again reiterated that no one knows the actual time. But He did say that we can tell when “it is near.” And Jesus was hinting about His “other” coming. The particulars are an interesting study. I recommend it.
To summarize again, Jesus comes back to take the believers (1 Thessalonians) back to heaven. Then the final event, the Tribulation, begins and the “signs” in the earlier verses lead to the “end.” Note, again, that we can predict the time of the Glorious Return. It will be seven years after the Treaty of Daniel 9.
Back to our question. Interestingly enough Isaiah and Jeremiah both encountered false prophets who counter-prophesied what the true prophets had been told by the Lord. We have noted and marveled at the end of such pseudo-prophets. I would be circumspect about making any such prophesies, if I were these guys. There is a legitimate question as to what all of this may mean. We just need to be careful about extrapolating our curiosity into conclusions as to the time of Jesus’ return.
Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about false prophets. God knows what the false prophets would say. Ezekiel 11:5,
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and He told me, “You are to say: This is what the Lord says: That is what you are thinking, house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your mind.”
In both Isaiah and Jeremiah we read of guys “prophesying” that Babylon would be defeated and sent back home. Judah would survive and prosper. These were diametrically opposed to what God had told both Isaiah and Jeremiah. And Babylon did destroy the city and the temple. Nuff said.
God did have “big plans” for them. Just not now. That was the promise in Jeremiah 29:11.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
That was fulfilled about 70 years later. Now let’s examine the idea that we will have “signs” now. The idea comes from Amos 3:6-8
If a ram’s horn is blown in a city, aren’t people afraid? If a disaster occurs in a city, hasn’t the Lord done it? 7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets. 8 A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?
So, are we to receive additional prophesies? I would suggest that the “revealing” has already been done. Amos was Old Testament. They did get prophesies to warn them. Then Jesus and Paul and Peter warned the believers in the New Testament. Why would we need anything more? Why would we want anything more? Especially since Jesus said that no one will know the specific time. (Has that idea sunk in yet?) We are to be ready, like the home owner in Matthew 24. Asking for more seems almost presumptuous and entitled. It is almost as if we say, “God owes me more guidance.”
Flash. He has given enough. If we do not listen to that, it is our fault, not the prophets’. And for those who titillate the ears of eager followers, there seems to be a certain (unhappy) result. Just as days have come an gone in the past, so September 23 has passed. (Note the draft of this was composed before the date. Confidence. PS There was a new date, October 21 which is a couple of days away. We will be able to read this after that as well--unless Jesus comes first.)
When I was in grade school, it seemed like it took forever for each six weeks to end. Then the semester took three times longer. And the end of the year seemed like an eternity away. But there was a master plan and the school and my teacher knew exactly when each of those milestones would occur.
In the same way, waiting for Jesus’ return seems endless to us, but we can know two things for sure. First, there is a “master plan” and the Planner has it in mind. And second, every day brings us one day closer than we were before.
That, kind of like the destruction of the temple, is enough to know that it will happen. The superfluous knowledge of exactly when is not necessary for us to know. It is enough to know that it will happen. Guessing at the timing is both superfluous, and self gratifying and glorifying. It implies that we are more favored than those who went before.
I think I will just wait. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
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