BIBLE PROPHECIES
"It is Not For You to Know"
The questions on the minds of the disiciples of Jesus was, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?" The risen Jesus answered them clearly. "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority" (Acts 1:6-7).
But from the numerous predictions about the exact date of Jesus' return, you would think that Jesus had never said the above words.
Watch out for millennium predictions
If the last millennium is anything to go by, we can expect countless predictions about the end of the world. We've already seen many which were linked in some way to the year 2000. And now here we are in the year 2002.
Past Predictions
*1000 As the year 999 came to an end, crowds of people pushed their way into the old basilica of St. Peter's in Rome, expecting the end of the world to occur at the dawn of the new millennium.
*1528 Hans Nut, a German bookbinder and self-declared prophet, claimed that the world would come to an end in 1528.
*1933 According to the respected Bible teacher Oswald J. Smith, in his bok Is the Antichrist at Hand?, revival of the Roman empire, reign of the Antichrist and the battle of Armageddon must take place before the year 1933.
*1988 If you had contributed $4 in 1988 to Ministries Inc., in Montgomery, Alabama, you could have received a book by Rev. Colin Deal entitle Christ Returns by 1988 - 100 Reasons Why.
False Claims
As far back as the day sof the New Testament, people were making false claims about the time of Jesus' return, and events linked to it.
Paul warned: "Do not become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, false report or letter supposed to ahve come from us, saying that the Day of the Lord has already come" (2 Thessalonians 2:2).
1. The Birth of the Antichrist - Before the end of the fourth century, Martin of Tours confidently stated that the Antichrist had already been born.
2. The Date of the Battle of Armageddon - The spiritual leader of the Lighthouse Gospel Tract Foundation, Maupin, predicted that:
*Satan would appear before December 1984
*Satan would rule the world until May 14, 1988
*The Battle of Armageddon would take place on May 14, 1988
3. The Date of the Rapture - The word "rapture" refers to the act of transferring a person from earth to heaven. It specifically refers to Christians being united with Jesus at His second comeing: "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (I Thessalonians 4:17).
*A writer, using the pen name "Ted" in Deadline 1981, Mockers Beware, Vol. 1, declared that the rapture was about to arrive in August 1980, or at the latest by June 20, 1981.
*According to Dr. Charles taylor, the rapture was to take place on September 25, 1975.
*October 28, 1992 was the predicted date for the rapture, according to an undated tract entitled Mission For the Coming Days, Orange County Division, Orange County, Califiornia.
4. The Mormon Prediction - The founder of the Mormons, Joseph Smith, predicted that the second coming of Jesus wuld take place before the end of 1891.
5. The Seventh Day Adventist Prediction - The Seventh Day Adventist, William Miller, predicted that Jesus would finally return between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844.
It is easy to be taken in by the enthusiasm of false prophets. Paul once described the misplaced enthusiasm of the News: "They are zealous ... but their zeal is not based on knowledge" (Romans 10:2).
Jesus said, "If anyone says to you, 'Look here is the Christ!' or 'There is he!', do not believe it" (Matthew 24:23).
Jesus will return when the end of the world comes.
The personal return of Jesus is sometimes called his "second coming". While these two words "second coming" do not appear in the Bible, the event is mentioned about 300 times in the New Testament.
At Jesus' ascension, two angels told Jesus' disiciples, "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven" (Acts 1:11).
Where to Read About Jesus Coming Again
*Gospels:
Mark 13:24-37
Luke 12:35-48; 21;25-28
"The sun wll be darkened, and the moon will not give us light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Mark 13:24-25).
*Letters:
1 Corinthians 11:25; 15:15-58
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10
2 Peter 3:10-12
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
*Revelation:
Revelation 19:11-21
"But the best was captured, and with the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf" (Revelation 19:20).
When, exactly, will Jesus return?
Many godly people have studied the Biblical prophecies and identified some of the events whi will take plae before Jesus' return, from which they have concluded that Jesus' second coming is imminent (see Luke 21:8-12).
Events associated with the time of Jesus' return are: war, rumors of war, earthquake, famine, revolution, pestilence, great signs from Heaven, persecution of God's followers.
Some people have been bold enough to predict the year, the time of day and the place of Jesus' return. Every prediction has shown the falibility, the inaccuracy and the presumptiousness of humans.
Others say that God will give no signs, and that nobody knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return. Jesus will return when He is least expected (see Matthew 24:36-44).
The Gospel will be preached throughout the world
in the whole world as a testimony to all nations,
and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14)
The Bible has been translated into over 2,000 languages and dialects, and the Christian message has been sent throughout the world by radio, TV and on the Internet. Therefore, many believe that this prophecy has already been fulfilled.
By referring to certain parables, some people have concluded that many years will pass before Jesus returns:
*"My master is staying away a long time" (Matthew 24:48)
*"The bridegroom was a long time in coming" (Matthew 25:5)
*"After a long time, the master ..." (Matthew 25:19)
But some would consider that this verse from 2 Peter 3:8 is an arguement against Jesus' return being a long way away:
and a thousand years are like a day"
Bible prophecy has predicted that certain events will take place before Jesus returns.
1. There will be more false prophets
*"The spirit clearly says that in the later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (1 Timothy 4:1)
*"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you" (2 Peter 1:2).
2. There will be global distress on an unprecedented scale
*"There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then" (Daniel 12:1).
*"The great Day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly. ... a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness" (Zephaniah 1:14-15).
3. Some people will be unprepared and some will lose their faith
*"In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is the coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginnign of creation'" (2 Peter 3:3-4).
4. Many Christians will be expecting Jesus' return
It will be just like Jesus' first coming, when people such as Anna and Simeon, were waiting for Jesus to appear.
*"While we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).
5. Believers will be transformed
Those who are alive at Jesus' return will not die, but will be transformed.
*"We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lrod in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
6. Satan's opposition to Jesus and His kingdom will be at its height
*"Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's Temple, proclaiming to be God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
7. The Battle of Armageddon
The Bible states the name and place of the final conflict between God and Satan. It is the Plain of Esdraelon, which runs from the port of Haifa on the coast of Israel to the River Jordan.
*"Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hewbrew is called Armageddon" (Revelation 16:16).
The "last days' are the final period of human history. In the sense that the Christian era is the last great epoch before God ends the world, we are already in the "last days".
Millenarianism is the belief that there will be a future millennium proceding Christ's return, during which time He will reign in peace. It is based on Revelation 20. Christian views on how and when the millennium will take place follow three main interpretations: amillennial, postmillenial and premillennial.
The Amillennial Interpretation
The amillennial view interprets Revelation 20:7-10 in a spiritual,
rather than a literal, way.
*The thousand years means an indefinite period of time, not literally
one thousand eyars, between the death of Christ and His return.
*Satan will be bound before Jesus' appearance. Jesus will appear
at His second coming.
*The covenant relationship promised to Israel is inherited by the
Church in a spiritual way.
*The "first resurectino" is when people go from death to life by
becoming Christians. They reign with Christ in death. The "rest of
the dead" are the non-Christians who will come to life to face
judgement.
The Postmillennial Interpretation
This view suggests that there will be a literal thousand years during which the Church will be very active.
*The preaching of the gospel will usher in the millennium.
*A time of spiritual growth will come before the end.
*Jesus' return will be after the millennium, when judgement takes place.
The Premillennial Interpretation
This interpretation assumes that Revelation 20 is referring to an actual future event.
*The Antichrist will rise to power.
*Jesus will appear, in bodily form, before the millennium.
*Jesus will reign on earth for a thousand years in peace and righteousness.
*Satan will lead a rebellion at the end of the thousand years, which Jesus will defeat.
*The day of judgemetn follows the final battle between good and evil, the world is destroyed and a new earth and heaven are created.
Points of Agreement
While Christians differ over points of detail, they agree on the following basic beliefs about the future:
*Jesus will return.
*Jesus' "saints" (faithful followers) will be resurrected.
*It will be a time of judgement for sinners and sin.
Thanks to my friend Glen Landers for this Bible Prophecies study outline
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