It begins here.......
Recently there have been many signs in the heavens such as Comet
Lee's rendezvous with earth's orbit, the sun starting to go into
Solar max at about the same time, and a couple of rare planetary
alignments. There is a Biblical concept that there are 7000 years
of time; 6000 years of man's rule followed by 1000 years of
Christ's rule on earth. Let's explore this hypothesis.
The Genesis account says creation took six days and on the seventh
day God rested. The ancient Jewish prophets and scholars often
equated this seventh day of rest to the Day of the Lord. It was
believed that the ``Day of the Lord'', as well as the previous six
days, would each last for one thousand years. They based this
teaching on Psalm 90:4, which says: ''for a thousand years in thy
sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the
night.'' This seventh day is commonly referred to as the
``Millennium'' or ``Messianic Kingdom''.
Genesis 1:1 says: ``In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth.'' Genesis 1:2-2:1 describes the seven days of creation
from the earth's perspective. Some scholars say Genesis 1:1 took
place in the dateless past and then, at some future point in time
God completed creation over six days, with the seventh day being a
day of rest. Irrespective of this view, it is important to realize
that the seven days of creation were seven literal 24-hour
days.
However, it appears that the seven days of creation could also be
prophetic, with each day (based on Psalm 90:4) representing a
thousand years of human history.
We need to determine how many years of human history have passed
since Adam's birth date. This can be done by carefully following
the genealogy of Adam, considering the time the Jews spent in
Egypt, the reigns of the kings of Judah, the Babylonian captivity,
etc. Many scholars have done these calculations. Archbishop Usher
in 1650 AD calculated back from the birth of Christ, based on the
dates and chronological data given in the scriptures, and arrived
at the date 4004 B.C for Adam's creation. Thus Christ was born
approximately 4000 years after the birth of Adam (which would be
the end of the forth "Day"). If we know Jesus' exact birth date,
then going forward 2000 years will tell us when 6000 years will
have passed and the ``Day of the Lord'' begins. Jesus should come
again to redeem the earth, according to the law of redemption,
after six days or 6000 years. Based on Bishop Usher's analysis, a
simple calculation would mark the fall of 1997 as the end of 6,000
years. Having said that, we must recognize that calandar changes
over the years has made an exact calculation impossible. In
addition, there is an ancient Levitical book of Jubilees which
indicates that Adam and Eve did not transgress God's law until
seven years from the time of creation and one could conjecture that
we need to count from the time of the fall which would indicate the
fall 0f 2004 as a possible completion of man's
6,000 year rule over the earth (Prophecy Flash, Vol 15, No.
2).
Calandar differences aside, recent data from the field of astronomy
gives us September 29, 2 BC as the birth date of Jesus (3). It is 2
BC based on today's calendars, because of the Gregorian Calendar
reform and other calander adjustments that have occurred over the
years. Also, note that there is only one year between 1 BC and 1 AD
therefore, if this is correct, as the fall of 1999 may have started
the 2000th year since Christ's birth and the 6000th year since
Adam's creation. The 6,000 years would end on Rosh Ha'Shannah 2000.
This daye could have marked the time of "Jacob's Trouble" leading
up to the return of Jesus. If consider that Adam and Eve may not
have sinned until seven years in the garden, then counting from
there would mark 2007 as the end of man's 6000th year of reign of
planet earth. Or it could be several years [some have calculated as
late as 2012] later due to the calandar reforms and modifications
that have taken place over the years). Biut the point is that we
are getting close.
We know from the book of Daniel that Christ's return is preceded by
a seven-year period commonly known as the Tribulation period. The
Tribulation is broken into two parts, the first half of relative
peace, followed by the worst three and one-half years in the
history of mankind. Therefore, if Christ is returning to redeem the
world by the year 2012 at the latest, we could be in or on the the
verge of entering the Tribulation and our countdown to eternity is
about to begin.
To better understand the requirements of redemption, we need to
understand Jewish law. Under Jewish law, if you lost your property
by forfeit (as Adam lost the title deed to the earth), it remained
with the new owner for a period of six years. In the seventh year,
you had the right to purchase your property back as long as you
could fulfill the requirements that were written down on a scroll
and then sealed. If you couldn't redeem your own property, then a
relative or near-of- kin (called a ``Kinsman Redeemer'' or in
Hebrew a ``Goel'') could step in and redeem it. In the seventh
year, if no one were able to redeem the property, then it would
remain with the
new owner permanently.
If you could redeem it, you would call for the elders of the city
to meet with you before the city gates. You would bring out the
scroll that had the requirements on it. You would break the first
seal and show your ability to meet the requirements or pay the
price recorded therein. You could purchase the property back for
yourself in the seventh year, the year of redemption. Similarly, if
you were sold into slavery, you would remain a slave for six years,
but in the seventh year you would be set free. This was the Jewish
law of redemption; being set free. (2)
Jesus came to redeem mankind and the world back to God after 4000
years. He paid the price of redemption on the cross; ``we are
redeemed not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but
with the precious blood of Jesus Christ''. Through His sacrifice
Jesus bought the world, but He has yet to take possession of it. As
we approach the end of the sixth millennium, the time of redemption
is almost over. ``God has placed all things in subjection under
Him, but we do not yet see all things in subjection to Him.''
Soon that will change, as that familiar scene in the fifth chapter
of the Book of the Revelation takes place. Jesus was found worthy
to take the scroll from the Father and open its seals, allowing the
four horsemen of the Apocalypse to gallop forth bringing judgment
upon the earth. As the seals are loosed, judgment begins, and we
will have either been redeemed or face the judgment of the
tribulation period based upon the choices we have made. Shall we
receive from God the free gift of salvation available through Jesus
Christ, or shall we choose to have nothing to do with spiritual
things? Once we die, our eternal destiny is fixed. Jesus says ``I
put before you life or death; choose life.''
Jesus wants to be our ``Kinsman Redeemer''. But this is only
possible if we make Him our ``near-of-kin'' by being adopted into
the family of God. God is spirit; therefore, to be adopted requires
a spiritual rebirth. This is what Jesus was talking about when he
told Nicodemus that he must be born again (born from above [John
3:3]). If we're not born into the family of God, Jesus can't redeem
us. But if we'll just ask God to forgive our sins and ask Jesus to
become Lord of our lives, then He will also become our Kinsman
Redeemer. We will be spiritually regenerated (reborn) into God's
family. God will seal us with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our
redemption when Jesus comes again. (Eph 4:30).
So if you now recognize that man was sold into slavery through
Adam's sin 6000 years ago, you must also recognize that the period
of the right to redemption is almost up.
Many people have difficulty trying to reconcile the six days of
creation with Science's calculation that the universe is 16 billion
years old.
Jeffrey Schroeder, a world-class Jewish physicist has recently
written a book, called "Genesis and the Big Bang", that helps
reconcile these two views. In this book he documents, through
application of Einstein's general theory of relativity, an
incredible discovery. (4)
Einstein's theory tells us that time is not a constant, but varies
with speed and mass. NASA has proven Einstein's work to be true --
the faster we travel, the slower time goes. Through the use of two
atomic clocks, one on the earth and one on a satellite, they
demonstrated that the clock on the satellite went slower. This is
the theme we've seen dealt with on science fiction programs where a
space traveler travels to a distant world at a significant fraction
of the speed of light. When he returns, his brother is an old man,
but the traveler has hardly aged at all.
Physicists have recently determined the mass of the universe and
the speed at which it is expanding. Therefore it is now possible to
apply Einstein's theory and determine how much time has passed from
the perspective of the space traveler 16 billion light years away
from earth.
Well, Schroeder did the calculations and, as incredible as it might
sound, from the perspective of an imaginary space traveler on the
expanding wave front of the universe, only six DAYS had passed on
earth -- an incredible coincidence! The Jewish Rabbis have a quaint
saying: "Coincidence is not a kosher word".
In other words, everything is by supernatural design. There were
six days of creation and yet, based on Psalm 90:4, the six days
also seem to represent 6000 years of human history. Creation took
six days, but God, according to Isaiah 57:15, inhabits eternity and
is therefore outside of our time domain. God is outside of time;
thus He could have completed creation in zero days. This is
documented in Psalm 33, which tells us that ``By the word of the
Lord, the heavens were made........For He spoke and it was
done''.
He spoke and it was done; no time was required. Yet the Bible
records that God did, in fact, create the universe and everything
that dwells in it in six 24-hour days. From Schroeder's work, it
appears that this is literally true.
The Genesis account also records that on the seventh day God rested
and instituted the Sabbath (meaning rest). Without a doubt, God was
not tired. So why the chronology of the seven days of creation when
God could have done it in a moment of time? Perhaps He was
revealing to us His plan of redemption, which was to be carried out
over 7000 years. ``I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring
the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are
not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
pleasure,.." (Isaiah 46:9b-10).
Let's look at the concept of 7,000 years of time a little
closer.
The Rabbi's taught that there were 7,000 years of time. They
divided time into a 6000-year segment followed be the 1,000-year
Messianic kingdom. They based this on Psalm 90:4, which says that
to God a thousand years, is as a day. What the Rabbi's taught was
that as the week of creation was 7 days, that is seven 24- hour
days, and each day stood for a thousand years with the seventh day
as a day of rest -- the day of the messianic kingdom.
2 Peter 3:8 - Peter confirms that the "Day" of the Lord, the
messianic kingdom of 1,000 years, which will come as a thief in the
night.
Clearly, God has set apart the 7th day as the day of rest, the day
of the Messianic kingdom. We see it has that definition in Hebrews
chapter 4..."there is yet a seventh day of the Lord to come; a day
of rest."
There are lots of meanings of the Sabbath; a rest of God in the
literal weekly Sabbath day; in Jesus the Messiah who gives peace
that surpasses all human understanding. We can all look forward to
the day of rest, yet to come, which is a 1000 years long
There are several pictures or allusions of the 7000-year plan of
God throughout the Scriptures. Let's look at a few of them:
Allusion 1:
Genesis account of creation:
First Day -
GEN 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And
God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from
the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he
called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first
day.
Forth Day-
Gen 1:14-19 "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of
the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for
signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be
for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the
earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater
light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he
made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and
over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God
saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the
fourth day.
Notice, that light was created on the first day, but the Sun and
Moon (lights) were not created until the fourth day. This is a clue
as light should have been a result of the creation of the Sun and
Moon on the forth day.
"Seven" in the Bible, it is a number of completeness or spiritual
perfection. It also represents a menorah. The servant candle in the
center represents Messiah Jesus. Counting from left to right we
find out that the servant candle is the forth from either end. As
it turns out, after four days (4,000 years) we should see the Sun
of
Righteousness arise with healing in His wings.
The Hebrew name for "Sun of Righteousness" is spelled the same as
Shamash, the word for the servant candle (except for certain vowel
pointings) which is a clue to Jesus being the servant candle. It is
a clue to when the Messiah will appear with Healing in His Wings.
To fully understand the concept of the menorah and Jesus as the
servant candle, order the video "The Mystery of the Menorah", from
J. R. Church's ministry "Prophecy in the News" -- you will nor be
disappointed (http://www.prophecyinthenews.com)
1-800-475-1111.
MAL 4:1-2 "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace.
All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day
that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not
a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you, who revere my
name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.
And you will go out and leap like calves released from the
stall.
Menorah - Jesus is on the center light, the shamesh, the servant
candle...it is the forth light of the 7 lights. After 4000 years,
Messiah will appear. The Hebrew word for sun and servant candle is
identical except for certain vowel pointings. Did Jesus appear
after 4,000 years with healing in his wings? .
Allusion 2: (5)
In John 1 we have seven days described -- it is an allusion to the
7,000-year plan of God.
In John 1:19-28 - Priests sent messengers to ask John who he was
and he quoted Isaiah Chapter 40...this is day one.
John 1:29- - day 2 behold the Lamb of God who takes away... John
1:35 - day 3 next day John "behold the Lamb of God" John 1:43 - day
4 we should see Jesus and in fact we find Jesus wanted to go to
Galilee and he found Phillip and said follow me.
Now Galilee in Hebrew means a circle or circuit and circle in
Hebrew is a synonym or idiom for heaven.
So in this account, we see Jesus came down to the earth after 4000
years, at the end of the forth day. He will then disappear for two
days, or two thousand years, when He will appear again with the
shout of the Archangel and the trump of God. But before Jesus left
the earth He told his disciples to spread the Good news.
In our account in John chapter 1 we find Philip spreading the word
that Messiah has come. Again, we don't see Jesus anymore in this
account on the 5th or 6th day, until the 7th day (the 3rd day after
the 4th day). It is the 7th day and then we see will the messianic
kingdom; which starts with the coronation of Messiah followed by
the wedding of Messiah. In the scriptural account, on the 3rd day
we find there was in fact a wedding in Canaan and the mother of
Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were at the wedding. They
ran out of wine, Jesus turned the water into the wine, etc.
This is a clear picture of the 7000 years plan of God to redeem
mankind after 6 days.
Allusion 3:
Another allusion is found in 2 Chronicles 9: The temple of King
Solomon is picture of the Messiah - in fact his name means peace;
he is full of Wisdom. There has never been a kingdom like His
kingdom, as people came from all over the world to see the majesty
of his kingdom.
On his throne there were 6 steps (2 Chron. 9:1
with a footstool of Gold which were fastened to the
throne with an armrest on either side of the seat with two lions
stood before the armrest. To the left and right of the six steps
were 12 lions. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other
kingdom. The picture is six steps and then the throne itself just
as we are climbing up a stairway of time to the kingship of the
Messiah after 6 steps or 6,000 years.
Allusion 4: -
Matthew 16:28 Jesus said something in this account that seems like
a contradiction, "some of you shall not see death until you see
Jesus coming in His kingdom." As far as I know, they are all dead;
and Jesus has not come in the fullness of His kingdom. Is this a
contradiction?
Look at the next verse. After 6 days (6000 years), Jesus took
Peter, James and John to His transfiguration. Jesus face shown as
the sun and His clothes became as white as the light...Moses and
Elijah were there. These are the two witnesses - part of the Jewish
wedding - friends of the bridegroom.
Eschatologically speaking, Moses is seen as the friend of the
bridegroom. The other friend is assigned to the bride whose
responsibility to take care of the needs of the bride and to escort
the bride to the wedding.
The "friend" assigned to the groom is seen as Elijah - his job is
to stand at the door and when the wedding is consummated and they
become one, the groom will cry out to Elijah and he will inform all
those assembled that their is a marriage. In John 1:21, John says
he is not Elijah, but in Luke 1:17, we find that John went forth in
the Sprit of Elijah. Remember that John was of the spirit of
Elijah.
In Matthew 111:14, Jesus tells us John is Elijah. God does not do
reincarnation. So what is going on? John was not Elijah, God had
carried Elijah away to heaven, but according to Luke 1, he was of
the spirit or commissioning of Elijah.
John makes a statement in John 3:26, and following, that he is the
friend of the bridegroom.
Go to Matt 17, Peter, James and John had seen Jesus in His Glory
and heard the Father say, this is my Son and in him I am well
pleased. They know he is the Messiah, but in verse 10 they ask for
clarification about Elijah, who they had been taught will preceed
the Messiah.
This is a Jewish expectation, waiting for Elijah the prophet to
come.
Every Passover the children are sent to the door to see if Elijah
is coming.
Jesus tells them in verse 11 - that Elijah WILL come and WILL
restore all things (future tense), then Jesus tells them that
Elijah did come already, but was not recognized...and the Disciples
then understood Jesus was talking of John the Baptist. It is a
requirement that Elijah preceed the appearance of the
Messiah.
MAL 3:1 "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way
before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his
temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,"
says the LORD Almighty.
Mal 4:5-6 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that
great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts
of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to
their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a
curse."
There will be an Elijah who preceeds Jesus at His Second
Coming.
In Rev 11:3 we see the 2 witnesses.
REV 11:3-6 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they
will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." These are the
two olive trees and the two lamp stands that stand before the Lord
of the earth. (This is a reference from Zach 4) If anyone tries to
harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies.
This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have
power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time
they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into
blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as
they want."
Historically, it was Elijah who called down fire from heaven (2
Kings chapter 1). It was Elijah when it did not rain for 3 1/2
years. (1 Kings 17-1
Allusion 5:
Genesis 7:6 We are going to have a Judgement after 600 years. Noah
was 600 years old when the flood of waters was on the earth. Isaac
is 40 years old (4000) when He gets married, just as Jesus comes
forth and pays for a bride (us) at 4000 years. Isaac is 60 years
old when he has Jacob (Israel) just like Israel will be assume its
God ordained place after 6000 years during the millenium.
Allusion 6:
Genesis 29: Children of Leah (seven children are prophecies of the
7000 year period). Leah was not loved. Asks God for a son.
1) Rueben - "Seed" or "Son". 2) Simeon - "Hearing" 3) Levy - "To be
Joined" - prophetic, commissioning of the tribe of Levi -- to join
to God the people of Israel.
With the 4th son, we should see an allusion to the appearance of
Jesus the Messiah.
4) Judah was born- Judah means "Praise". Jesus was born at the end
of the fourth day (after 4,000 years) into the tribe of Judah. He
is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Now Leah's womb is closed, she has no more children. Just like
Israel is put to the side, so to speak. Now there is this contest
between Rebecca and Leah to have babies that they are buying time
to spend with Jacob.
5) Ishacar - "My Hiring" Perhaps indicative of the Jews in
Diaspora.
6) Zebulum - "Dwelling with" We will dwell with God at the end of
6000 years. Then at the sound of the last trump, so we will remain
with God forever.
7) Girl - Dena - "Judge" We will sit in judgement during the
Millenium - to rule and reign with Messiah.
Allusion 7:
Hosea 6:1-2 Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn,
but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After
two days (after 2000 years) He will revive us; on the third day
(1000 years - the messianic kingdom) He will raise us up, that we
may live in His sight.
Hosea tells us that after 2 days, or two thousand years, at the end
of the sixth day - the beginning of the seventh day will be
Messiah's coming and the beginning of the "Day of the Lord."
Allusion 8:
ESTER 5:1-2 "Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on
her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace,
across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal
throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. So it
was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she
found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the
golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and
touched the top of the scepter."
This is clearly a picture of the Bride of Christ, the glorious
church, coming to Messiah the King on the third day, when He holds
out the scepter (symbolic of His rule) and takes the bride unto
Himself.
There many of these illusions throughout the Bible, however, the
subset above should be sufficient to give you understanding that
this is a valid concept and Jesus is in fact coming soon!
But for this to be a valid possibility, we do have to ask, did in
fact Jesus appear after 4,000 years? If he did, then we can expect
him again after 6,000 years.
YES! THE BIBLE CHRONOLOGY FROM ADAM TO CHRIST is 4000 YEARS. If you
will go to Genesis chapter 5 you can determine this. Start with
Adam and then add up the years when Adam had Seth (130 years), and
then note hat Seth was 105 when he begat Enosh, etc down to Noah.
Continue to add the age of each descendant of Adam when they had
their first son. (130+105, etc.) Then when Noah comes off the ark
we are given the genealogies of His children and we continue to add
up the age of each father when he had his son and we can do this
all the way to Abraham, Abraham was 100 when He had Isaac who was
60 when he had Jacob, Jacob was 135 when he came into the land of
Egypt were they stayed a certain amount of years. We are told when
they crossed the Jordan River to when King Solomon built the temple
is 430 years. Then add up the reigns of the kings of Judah, for
example Reaboim reigned for 42 years, etc. to the point where they
spent 70 years in Babylonian captivity, etc. We will find it was
4000 years or 4 days.
It turns out that from Adam to Messiah is 4000 years or 4 days. The
Jews were dispersed for 2000 years or 2 days. Therefore, Messiah's
Second Coming is to be at end of 6th day and the beginning of 7th
day.
Jesus' birthday, based on today's calendar, is generally accepted
as 4 BC, However, there calculations utilize Josephus' recording of
an eclipse and assume it to be the one on March 13, 4 BC which was
just before Herod's death, but the eclipse of December 29, 1 BC may
have been the one Josephus was speaking of since Herod, according
to some writings, died on January 14, 1 BC.
Tertullian, born around 160 AD) stated that Augustus began to rule
41 years before the birth Jesus and died 15 years after that event.
Since Augustus died on August 19, 14 A.D., we have Jesus' birth
consistent with the 2 B.C. birth date hypothesis. Tertullian also
notes that Jesus was born 28 years after the death of Cleopatra in
30 BC, which is also consistent with the 2 BC birth date.
Irenaeus, born about a century after Jesus, notes that the Lord was
born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since Augustus
began his reign in the autumn of 43 BC, this also appears to
substantiate the birth of Jesus in 2 BC.
There are many other "proofs" of the September 29, 2 B.C. date. It
should be noted that this date was Rosh Ha'shana in 1999. It is
also interesting that if you back up 280 days from this date, the
normal gestation period for a human being, that this means Jesus as
conceived on December 25. For more information on the September 29,
2 BC birth date for Jesus see "Personal Update", August/September
1992 and "Prophecy in the News", December 1992 edition.
It is interesting that the Hebrew Calandar year that starts with
the Feast of Trumpets in September, 1999 is the Hebrew year 5760
and not 6000. There are many conjectures as to why it is not 6000,
but apparently God knew the Hebrew year would be 5760. Consider the
following:
The Hebrew letters for the phrase "six days" in the Hebrew is
comprised of the following Hebrew Letters: "Tav", "Shin", "Shin",
"Mem", "Yod", "Mem", "Yod". (7) Each Hebrew Letter has a numeric
equivalent similar to Roman Numerals. Multiplying the numeric
equivalent of "six days" yields a multiple of 5760 (Specifically
400*300*300*40*10*40*10 or 5760000000000).
In addition, if you take the term "third day" as is found in Hosea
6:1-2 ("Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but
He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two
days (after 2000 years) He will revive us; on the third day (1000
years - the messianic kingdom, the 7th Milleniam) He will raise us
up, that we may live in His sight.") you get the following Hebrew
letters: "Heh", "Tav", "Lamed", "Tav", "Mem", "Vav", "Yod" Again,
adding up the numeric equivalent of "third day" yields a multiple
of 5760 (Specifically 5*400*30*400*40*6*10 or 5760000000000).
The point is that possibly on some Rosh Ha'shanna between 1999 and
2012 or shortly thereafter might be the completion of the 6,000
years of man and the start of the Millenium. This begs the
question, where does the seven-year tribulation period in all of
this.
If the Millenium is a 1,000 year reign of peace by Jesus physically
upon the earth, how can the tribulation period be part of the
Millenium. Some believe that the rapture will occur, and for the
saints of God, the millenium begins in heaven while on the earth
the seven-year tribulation rages. To me, this makes no sense as the
Millenium is a 1,000 year reign of peace physically upon the earth.
One other posibility is that the tribulation period is
parenthetical. If the 70th week of Daniel was an interruption in
time as layed out by Gabriel in Daniel 9:27, then perhaps the
Tribulation (the 70th week of Daniel) resumes on Rosh Ha'shanna
this September with the conclusion of the 6,000 years and then the
1,000 year Millenium begins. This is only conjecture, however, the
point is there may be precious little time until the Tribulation
period begins. Are you prepared to meet your God?
We are now in 2004. Will Messiah's return for His children this
year or soon thereafter? We'll soon find out. It's just a matter of
time.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR CHRIST'S RETURN
The Bible indicates that there will be two groups of people on the
earth when Jesus suddenly returns. The first group consists of
those individuals that have received Jesus Christ's free gift of
Salvation. These are the Children of Light. They know the signs of
His return and are anxiously awaiting Him (1 Thes 5:1-4). The other
group will consist of those whose love for the Lord has grown cold
and the Unbelievers who want nothing to do with Jesus' free gift of
salvation.
This latter group is like the people who lived in Noah's time. In
that day, the people were completely caught up with the affairs of
everyday living and wanted nothing to do with spiritual things
until the flood came. By then, it was too late. For this group, it
will be ``as in the days of Noah"; judgement will suddenly come,
and they will be totally surprised and unprepared (Matt
24:37-39).
We are living in the period of history that the Jewish rabbis call
the ``Footsteps of the Messiah''. We can hear His approaching
footsteps as the time of Jesus' return draws near. Soon we will
rise to meet Jesus in the air or be left behind to face judgment,
having hardened our hearts to the call of God.
Is Christ's returning really close? People, in their zeal and love
for the Lord, often jump the gun when they see a specific prophecy
fulfilled by trying to set dates for His return. However, there is
something different going on at this time in history that has not
occurred since the Messiah came 2000 years ago. Every major theme
of biblical prophecy is coming together at the same time.
Jesus is coming soon. Those individuals who have not received Jesus
into their life as Lord and Savior and those whose love for Him has
grown cold (Rev 3:16) will face God's judgement.
"I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will
come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD
Almighty." (Hag 2.7)
"Watch and pray, therefore, that you would be counted worthy to
escape the judgment that is coming upon the earth and be able to
stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).
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