The Times... They Are a-Changing (Part 3)

 Are the sands of time really running out? 

For almost two thousand years, believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ have searched His Holy Writ for signs and clues to as to when He would return and redeem this sin-soaked world, and in the words of Scripture, Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them pieces like a potter's vessel. Psalm 2:9 KJV

Jesus Christ is returning, The Bible is constant on that promise! There is nothing that humanity can do to stop that tumultuous event...we may as well try and push back time...  Around the turn of the first millennium (A.D 1000) there was much religious fervour as the anticipation of Christ's return grew. This period culminated in the Crusades, as the "power base" of Church and State in Western Europe attempted to wrest control of the Holy Land from Islamic rule. I don't think that it's any coincidence that similar efforts have gone on over the later part of the 20th century, and on into the early years of century 21.

The changing millennium has been marked by world-wide religious/social fervour, and change. Many western churches fully expected Jesus to return as we slid into the third epoch since His birth, death and resurrection. The enmity that exists between Islamic/Arab nations and God's people, firstly the ancient Hebrews, then those adopted or grafted into the faith established by Jesus Christ, is almost as old as time its self, and can be traced back to the birth of Abraham's twin seed, Ishmael and Isaac. “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” Galatians 3:29 NIV

The real problem in trying to work out just where we are on God's timetable  is this... growing up in Charismatic/Pentecostal churches in the 1970's, 80's and 90's I repeatedly heard that we were living in the "End Times". Now almost one quarter of the way through this century, are we still living in the End Times, and if so, just how long are those times going to go on for? Logically there must be an end to the End Times.  

I have lost count of the number of times that I have heard some preacher or teacher make the bold claim that Jesus would return by such and such a date. Scripture is very clear on this point. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Mark 13:32 NKJV and to be doubly sure about the unknowable nature and time of Jesus' return it's also recorded in Matthew 24:36 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Many teachers and preachers of End Times theology have attempted to span the 2000-year gap since Jesus spoke to His disciples (as recorded in Matthew 24, and the parallel accounts in Mark 13, and Luke 21) by trying to establish a "prophetic bridge" between then and now. Such efforts display a deep and fatal misunderstanding of how prophecy and time-lines work. 

We are living in the dispensational age known as The Times of the Gentiles. Strictly speaking, "The End Times" (this term is not used in the Bible) applied to the closing of the Old Testament age with the final destruction of Biblical Israel in A.D. 70 when the Roman Empire destroyed the Temple,and the Jewish nation, followed by the diaspora of the Jews, when the people of ancient Israel were scattered to the nations, (for their own protection) The period between Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension, and the destruction of the Temple (about 40 years) is known as the "time of the new order"  They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. Hebrews 9:10 NIV 

The Amplified Bible renders this verse. For [the ceremonies] deal only with clean and unclean meats and drinks and different washings, [mere] external rules and regulations for the body imposed to tide the worshippers over until the time of setting things straight [of reformation, of the complete new order when Christ, the Messiah, shall establish the reality of what these things foreshadow--a better covenant]. Hebrews 9:10

For many people, my assertion that the term "The Last Days" refers to a period long gone, will be hard to accept. After many years of study, observation of the times, study of history, both secular and church, I have come to the only conclusion that fits. Yes, we are living in deeply troubling times, but these times are a direct result of the "great falling away" that began some 200 years ago. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV 

We are living in what the Bible calls "The Times of Distress" the interim period between the Times of the Gentiles, and the times when the Jews accept Jesus as their Messiah. The time of man is rising to its peak, and will eventually collapse under its own weight. Faith in God has been replaced by faith in humanity, human wisdom, human government and our ability to achieve peace and prosperity through our own efforts. The human dream is the cause of the horror seen and unseen in our world. The human dream will fail, and its inevitable collapse will be a time of great tribulation,

 

 

The Times... They Are a-Changing (Part 4) A Great Hope