Well all those predictions about Jesus returning in 2021-2022 did not happen. And there is a good reason. Our Lord told us, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows,” (Mark 13:32), “For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night,” (1 Thessalonians 5:2), and “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.” (Matthew 24:44). It is easy to get swept away in Parousia Fever, the expecting Christ to return by a certain date, but the truth is we need to be ready for our Lord’s Return at any moment, not a certain time, day, and year.
This is why its imperative we be Biblically literate, knowing the Scriptures as well as we know our favorite trivia and facts about fictional characters and shows. People get mislead 99.9% of the time because they do not know The Scriptures and so are seduced by every wind of doctrine, “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”(Ephesians 4:14). The many predictions of Jesus’ Return all fail the test of those three Scriptures aforementioned, that we will not “know the day or hour,” and Christ will come when we least expect it. There are signs of his coming like the Sign of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27), The Apostasy/ Falling Away From The Faith of Many (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and The Rise of the man of sin (lawlessness, the antichrist, Beast of the Sea, see 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8, Revelation 13:1-18). These signs tell us we are close, but still Jesus comes when He comes, the Man of Lawlessness may rule the nations for 3 and half months, 3 and half years, 30 and half years or more before Christ Returns and destroys him with his breath (2 Thessalonians 2:8). We don’t know how long prophecy will take to unfold, it could be days, years, or centuries. I mean it says Jesus came at the Culmination of the Ages, also called the End of Ages, “Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” (Hebrews 9:26), which means the end had been playing out since circa 33 A.D. until He comes again.
It is very hard for us 21st Centuriers. We like diagrams, time tables, and maps; to know when and how stuff plays out. The Eschatological books and chapters of the Bible have maps and diagrams and how, but when, that is the exact time tables is unknown and up to God. The apostle Peter talks about how this frustrates us time bound creation, how God lives outside of time and so his time table may look different than ours:
“that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:2-9).
The apostle admonished us to trust the prophecies of our Lord’s Return (2 Peter 3:2), but to remember its on his time table, that a “a thousand years is a day to the Lord, a day is a thousand .” (2 Peter 3:8). This is the hard part of prophecy, letting God be in control to deliver the events and timing. It was for those who forsaw Christ’s first coming and the New Covenant, there was even a 400yr period between the Old and New Testament periods, between the last old testament prophet and Christ’s birth. Four centuries alone is a long time to wait for us, but for God it was a blink.
So what do we do now? We do what the apostles said, be ready at anytime for Jesus to return. But how do we do that? Well I refer to another scripture , “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake (alert) and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame.” (Revelation 16:15 AMP, AMPC). The words here playing on other words in Scripture, Paul & Peter mentions we are clothed in Christ, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ,” (Galatians 3:27) and to stay awake, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation (revealing, return) of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13). Its all about Christ, that you be born again and abide in Him through a relationship (John 17:3-21) and keep His commands to love Him and one another (Revelation 2:4-5, John 13:34-35). That is how to prepare for the unexpected, to be ready for the return when we arn’t sure of when He will return.
I admit when prognosticators try to use numerology and esoteric spiritual visions together to predict a date when Jesus will return it excites, and makes you feel more inclined to maintain your resolve and be ready, but when the date they contrived with blood moons, numbers, and etc passes by, you are left with a sting that now it feels as if nothing will happen. I am sure that is how Jews in the Maccabean days felt. God had stopped using prophets, and all was quiet till God spoke to Zachariah and then sent an angel to Mary, and then came in human flesh. It must have seemed that all would go on as if always had during Inter-testament period. What if we are in inter-paraousia period? As waiting for Jesus Second Coming, when those in Maccabean period were waiting for the Messiah’s First Coming. Now we must be patient, for it could be minutes away, months, or years. The point is relate to Jesus now in spirit (John 4:24), through a relationship and by faith, and then you’ll be ready for His return. Amen.
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