TIME IS RUNNING OUT! THE RETURN OF JESUS IS VERY NEAR!

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Coreen 

 Are we really that close to the end of the age as many Christians believe and is this even possible for us to know?  The answer to these questions is a resounding YES! and although we will not know the exact day and hour that Jesus returns, we will most definitely know the time and season of this advent.  Further, because God has laid everything out in the Bible for us to read and study, He expects us to be watching and waiting expectantly for His return.

Matthew 16:1-3
1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

In Matthew 24, referred to as the Olivet Discourse, we read of Jesus’ reply to His disciples questions regarding His return and in discerning the signs of the times, I do believe that Jesus’ return is much nearer than most people realize.  Why I believe so has everything to do with the nation of Israel, described as the fig tree in the following passage.

Matthew 24:32-34
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

By taking a closer look at the fig tree we learn that Israel’s rebirth as a nation in 1948 set the clock ticking for the last generation who would see the Lord’s return.  But how long is a generation?  The Bible gives us the answer in the following passage; it is 70-80 years.

Psalm 90:10
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Adding 70-80 years to 1948 brings us to 2018-2028, which by any standard is very close but the Bible gives us even further understanding that I believe helps narrow the gap and it has to do with the Year of Jubilee which is a type and shadow of freedom from bondage and the restoration of land and property rights to the legal owners.  This is precisely what Jesus will accomplish for Israel on the day of His return as He is God’s perfect fulfillment of Jubilee.  Therefore, Jesus’ return will be in a Year of Jubilee and celebrations of it begin on Yom Kippur which is Israel’s holiest day of the year that foreshadows the very day on which Jesus will return to earth.  Remember, the spring Feasts of the Lord of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Pentecost were all fulfilled in order and on the exact Feast day by Jesus at His first coming; the fall Feasts will be fulfilled in like manner at His second coming.

Now because the regulations for the Jubilee year have not been observed by Israel for many centuries, there is discrepancy among individuals as to when the next Jubilee will be but by studying the fig tree, we have some very good clues.  What immediately comes to mind for me is the Six-Day War in 1967 when Israel miraculously regained control over the old city of Jerusalem.  This restoration of land to the rightful owners rings loudly of Jubilee but one cannot assume this is the case by just one event.  If 1967 was indeed a Year of Jubilee then 1917 would have been also and amazingly enough, the Balfour Declaration was signed on November 2, 1917 which paved the way for the return of the Jewish people to the land God had given them for an everlasting inheritance.  Now I do not know about you but this sure sounds like another Jubilee year to me!

If this is correct, then 2017 will be the next Year of Jubilee and quite possibly the year that Jesus returns.  It should be noted that 2017 is a date that falls in line with a generation being 70-80 years because when one subtracts 70 from 2017 it brings us to the year 1947; the very year the United Nations Partition Plan was signed which then led to the establishment of the nation of Israel in May of 1948.

But wait a minute.  How can we be in the tribulation already?  When was a seven year peace treaty made with Israel?  I do understand all of this as I had the same questions myself because the following passage has been interpreted to mean the antichrist will sign a seven year peace agreement with Israel but this is not what the text says.  Rather, it says the antichrist will confirm an already existing covenant with many, not Israel, and I fully believe this covenant has everything to do with the many Islamic nations plans to annihilate Israel.  Further, I am not so sure that it will be easy to pinpoint when this specific covenant has been confirmed but there should be no mistaking when it is broken as that is when Israel’s time of great tribulation will begin.

Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Also, because of the prophecy of weeks in Daniel 9:24-26, it is generally believed that the tribulation period is for seven years yet Daniel 12:6-7 tells us it will only be for three and a half years which is what scholars note as the Great Tribulation or Mid Tribulation.  Based on this understanding, it is now possible for us to already be into the final seven years that will culminate with Jesus’ return in 2017.  If this is so, the time of Jacob’s Trouble would begin in the spring of 2014 in order to run the course of three and a half years ending on Yom Kippur in 2017.

All of this brings the Feast of Trumpets to the forefront as to when we will meet the Lord in the air and I must say that I can almost hear the trumpet sound!

Far fetched?  I am not so sure that it is.  If 2017 is indeed a year of Jubilee but Jesus does not return at that time, the next Jubilee would then be in 2067 which now extends the final generation to 120 years from when the Jewish people were restored to the land; 50 years beyond the time the Bible says a generation would be.

So this brings me back to 2017 as a likely year for Jesus’ return and I have noted that others are highlighting this year as well but please do not take my word on any of this and carefully study this for yourself to see if it be so.

I realize there will be scoffers and mockers who will ignore all of this but I have chosen to share it anyway as I truly believe it is much, much later than we think.  Jesus is returning soon.  Are you ready to meet Him?

Until That Day…

1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.