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When???

Prior to proceeding with this article, I would like to emphatically state that this is NOT an article of prophecy, predicting when our Messiah will return, but an article of preparation.  

We will look back at some of the past predictions as to when our Messiah would return. We will also explore some possibilities as to when He will return.  The underlying focus of this article is to emphasize that His return is both close and can happen at any moment.

There are several theories as to when a "rapture"  (removing of believers) and / or return will occur. 

Please note that the origins of the "rapture" theory are in question.  Even though there is debate as to when it first surfaced.  Here is a brief and recent history of supporters:

• 15 year old Scottish-Irish girl by the name of Margaret MacDonald had a vision around 1830 that was later published in 1861  
• John Nelson Darby popularized the "secret rapture" during the 19th century
• William Eugene Blackstone wrote "Jesus is Coming" in 1908 where the word rapture was first used
• Popularized by Hal Lindsey's book "The Late Great Planet Earth" in the 1970s
• Further popularized by Tim LaHaye's "Left Behind" series of books and movies

The first believers of our Messiah as accounted in the Book of Acts didn't talk about a removal of believers, but focused on our Messiah's return.  Through the centuries, the waters have been made cloudy by many.  When we look at the various theories of the "rapture", it in essence implies that our Messiah is actually returning twice.  Nowhere in scripture does it state that our Messiah will return twice.  Some have called this the "yoyo" theory.  

For a rather complete list of failed predictions relating to the return of our Messiah, you may click on the following link.  There are a total of 61 documented incorrect predictions as to the return of our Messiah from this date, looking back.  The table also includes three future predictions whereby the time has not yet come.

Here are a few of the more memorable predictions that failed to be fulfilled by our Messiah.  

Be careful as to not be deceived.

We ultimately won't know which "theory" is true until it actually happens.  The intent of this article is not to determine which theory is true, but to offer a warning, to be prepared, because our Messiah warns us:

"But when that day and hour will come, no one knows -- not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father."  Matthew 24:36

There have been many predictions made by many men, as to when our Messiah will return.  Looking at all of  the predictions up to this date, they have ALL been incorrect, further emphasizing our Messiah's statement that no man knows when He will return.  

That doesn't mean that our Messiah has left us without signs of the events to come.  To the contrary, there are signs already in place which indicate His return can happen at any moment, however, regardless of what theory you believe, there are still events yet to occur.  One such sign that has occurred is the fig tree, otherwise known as the regathered Israel, which became a nation again in 1948:

"Now let the fig tree teach you its lesson: when its branches begin to sprout and leaves appear, you know that summer is approaching.  In the same way, when you see all these things, you are to know that the time is near, right at the door.  Yes! I tell you that this people will certainly not pass away before all these things happen.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."  Matthew 24:32 - 35

You can also look at Israel as the valley of dry bones described by Ezekiel 37:1 - 14 

"With the hand of ADONAI upon me, ADONAI carried me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.  He had me pass by all around them - there were so many bones lying in the valley, and they were so dry!  He asked me, "Human being, can these bones live?" I answered, "Adonai ELOHIM! Only you know that!"  Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones! Say to them, 'Dry bones! Hear what ADONAI has to say!  To these bones Adonai ELOHIM says, "I will make breath enter you, and you will live.  I will attach ligaments to you, make flesh grow on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you. You will live, and you will know that I am ADONAI."'"  So I prophesied as ordered; and while I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound; it was the bones coming together, each bone in its proper place.  As I watched, ligaments grew on them, flesh appeared and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.  Next he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, human being! Say to the breath that Adonai ELOHIM says, 'Come from the four winds, breath; and breathe on these slain, so that they can live.'"  So I prophesied as ordered, and the breath came into them, and they were alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army!  Then he said to me, "Human being! These bones are the whole house of Isra'el; and they are saying, 'Our bones have dried up, our hope is gone, and we are completely cut off.'  Therefore prophesy; say to them that Adonai ELOHIM says, 'My people! I will open your graves and make you get up out of your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Isra'el.  Then you will know that I am ADONAI - when I have opened your graves and made you get up out of your graves, my people!  I will put my Spirit in you; and you will be alive. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, ADONAI, have spoken, and that I have done it,' says ADONAI."

In both prophecies, we have witnessed their fulfillment in the nation of Israel being regathered. 

There have been many prophecies (predictions) as to our Messiah's return that precede 1948.  They were all in error because the one primary piece was not yet in place - a regathered nation of Israel.   Even after 1948, the regathered nation of Israel wasn't complete.  The city of Jerusalem was a divided city.  It wasn't  until 1967, after the Yom Kippur war when the regathered nation of Israel regained complete control of the holy city of Jerusalem. 

As we stand today, we have seen both prophecies of the valley of dry bones becoming alive again and the fig tree bring forth its leaves and come into its fullness and bear fruit in terms of Israel becoming a complete nation again.  With the fullness of Israel in place, what's next? 

What is The Importance of Israel?

Israel, a nation created by God through one man - Abraham, whose covenant is eternal.  Even though the nation has fallen away, blinded by God to the truth of Messiah, has not been forgotten and will be of primary focus regarding the return of our Messiah.

First, what many in the church believe as Israel being replaced by the church is simply false:

"In that case, I say, isn't it that God has repudiated his people?" Heaven forbid! For I myself am a son of Isra'el, from the seed of Avraham, u of the tribe of Binyamin.  God has not repudiated his people, v whom he chose in advance. Or don't you know what the Tanakh says about Eliyahu? He pleads with God against Isra'el,  "ADONAI, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars, and I'm the only one left, and now they want to kill me too!"w  But what is God's answer to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not knelt down to Ba'al."  It's the same way in the present age: there is a remnant, chosen by grace.  (Now if it is by grace, it is accordingly not based on legalistic works; if it were otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.)"  Romans 11:1 - 6

The blindness placed upon the nation by God is mentioned in Romans 11:

"What follows is that Isra'el has not attained the goal for which she is striving. The ones chosen have obtained it, but the rest have been made stonelike,  just as the Tanakh says, "God has given them a spirit of dullness eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, right down to the present day."  And David says, "Let their dining table become for them a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a punishment.  Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can't see, with their backs bent continually.” Romans 11:7- 10 

is there for a reason and is temporary:

"In that case, I say, isn't it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away?" Heaven forbid! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. a  Moreover, if their stumbling is bringing riches to the world - that is, if Isra'el's being placed temporarily in a condition less favored than that of the Gentiles is bringing riches to the latter - how much greater riches will Isra'el in its fullness bring them!"  Romans 11:11 - 12 

"For, brothers, I want you to understand this truth which God formerly concealed but has now revealed, so that you won't imagine you know more than you actually do. It is that stoniness, to a degree, has come upon Isra'el, until the Gentile world enters in its fullness."  Romans 11:25

They are a people that when our Messiah does return, all Israel shall be saved.  

"and that it is in this way that all Isra'el will be saved. As the Tanakh says, "Out of Tziyon will come the Redeemer; he will turn away ungodliness from Ya'akov 27 and this will be my covenant with them, . . . when I take away their sins."” Romans 11:26 - 27

Let us look further into the parable of the fig tree, whereby our Messiah states  "this generation shall not pass, till all these things are fulfilled."  Just how long is a generation that our Messiah is talking about?  

How do we define a generation?

Let us look at two scenarios found in God's Word that could relate to the time frame of a generation:

1.  40 years - it took 40 years for the generation that came out of Egypt to be replaced by the generation that would enter into the promised land.  It took 40 years to replace an old generation with a new generation.

"ADONAI's anger blazed up on that day; and he swore,  'None of the people aged twenty or more who came out of Egypt will see the land I swore to Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov; because they haven't followed me unreservedly -  except Kalev the son of Y'funeh the K'nizi and Y'hoshua the son of Nun, because they have followed ADONAI unreservedly.'  Thus ADONAI's anger blazed against Isra'el, so that he made them wander here and there in the desert forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of ADONAI had died out."  Numbers 32:10 - 13

"because the people of Isra'el walked forty years in the desert until the whole nation, that is, the fighting men who had left Egypt, had died out; because they had not heeded what ADONAI said. ADONAI had sworn that he would not allow them to see the land which ADONAI swore to their ancestors that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey."  Joshua 5:6

2. 70 to 80 years - Psalm 90 "A Prayer of Moses" states that a lifetime is between 70 and 80 years.  " The span of our life is seventy years, or if we are strong, eighty; yet at best it is toil and sorrow, over in a moment, and then we are gone."  Psalm 90:10

Now that we have identified two possible scenarios of generation length, what will this generation see after the nation of Israel has been regathered into its fullness?  Specifically all things stated in Matthew 24:4 - 28 that precede Our Messiah telling of the parable of the fig tree:

"Yeshua replied: "Watch out! Don't let anyone fool you!  For many will come in my name, saying, `I am the Messiah!' and they will lead many astray.  You will hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off; see to it that you don't become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come.  For peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world;  all this is but the beginning of the `birth pains.'  At that time you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and put to death, and all peoples will hate you because of me.  At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other,  many false prophets will appear and fool many people;  and many people's love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah.  But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered.  And this Good News about the Kingdom will be announced throughout the whole world as a witness to all the Goyim. It is then that the end will come."  Matthew 24:4 - 14

Where Are We At?

There have been many wars and rumors of war.  There have been famines, pestilences and earth quakes in various places.  Could it be that we are going through the beginning of sorrows?  There is currently a great deal of hatred in the world for believers in Messiah (Christians).  Are we to the point where it is all nations?  We could be getting close.

"For there will be trouble then worse than there has ever been from the beginning of the world until now, and there will be nothing like it again!  Indeed, if the length of this time had not been limited, no one would survive; but for the sake of those who have been chosen, its length will be limited.  "At that time, if someone says to you, `Look! Here's the Messiah!' or, `There he is!' don't believe him.  For there will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing great miracles -- amazing things! -- so as to fool even the chosen, if possible.  There! I have told you in advance!  So if people say to you, `Listen! He's out in the desert!' don't go; or, `Look! He's hidden away in a secret room!' don't believe it.  For when the Son of Man does come, it will be like lightning that flashes out of the east and fills the sky to the western horizon. 2Wherever there's a dead body, that's where you find the vultures."  Matthew 24:21 - 28

Beware of the false messiahs and false prophets that our Messiah warns about in verse 24.  Here is a sample of some of the more recent claimants:

Regardless of the time, what should we be doing to make ourselves aware of where we are in this future account given by our Messiah?

KEEP YOUR EYES FOCUSED ON ISRAEL 

• Watch for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.  As our Messiah states:

"So when you see the abomination that causes devastation spoken about through the prophet Dani'el standing in the Holy Place" (let the reader understand the allusion),  "that will be the time for those in Y'hudah to escape to the hills.  If someone is on the roof, he must not go down to gather his belongings from his house;  if someone is in the field, he must not turn back to get his coat.  What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers!  Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on Shabbat"  Matthew 24:15 - 20

When the Temple is completed, the "abomination of desolation" otherwise known as the anti-christ will be able to fulfill this prophecy spoken of by Daniel and referenced by our Messiah.   Therefore, keep your eye focused on Jerusalem and the construction of the third temple.

• Watch for nations coming against Israel, as mentioned in Ezekiel 38, specifically Magog (Russia) her allies -  Persia, Ethiopia and Libya.  (Ethiopia and Libya are not the African nations that we know of today, but refer to the nations surrounding Persia, today known as Iran)

"The word of ADONAI came to me:  "Human being, turn your face toward Gog (of the land of Magog), chief prince of Meshekh and Tuval; and prophesy against him.  Say that Adonai ELOHIM says, 'I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshekh and Tuval.  I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with all your army, horses and horsemen, all completely equipped, a great horde with breastplates and shields, all wielding swords.  Paras, Ethiopia and Put are with them, all with breastplates and helmets;  Gomer with all its troops; the house of Togarmah in the far reaches of the north, with all its troops - many peoples are with you.  Prepare yourself, get ready, you and all your crowd gathered around you; and take charge of them."  Ezekiel 38:1 - 7

Could this be the predicted third world war...Russia, Iran and other Arab nations come against Israel, bring America and other western nations into the conflict, defending Israel?   For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: Matthew 24:7 

What Do We Do Until Then?

Until then, our Messiah warns us directly and through parables to be prepared:

"So stay alert, because you don't know on what day your Lord will come.  But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you too must always be ready, for the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him."  Matthew 24:42 - 44

"The Kingdom of Heaven at that time will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom.  Five of them were foolish and five were sensible.  The foolish ones took lamps with them but no oil,  whereas the others took flasks of oil with their lamps.  Now the bridegroom was late, so they all went to sleep.  It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, `The bridegroom is here! Go out to meet him!'  The girls all woke up and prepared their lamps for lighting.  The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, `Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.'  `No,' they replied, `there may not be enough for both you and us. Go to the oil dealers and buy some for yourselves.'  But as they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.  Later, the other bridesmaids came. `Sir! Sir!' they cried, `Let us in!'  But he answered, `Indeed! I tell you, I don't know you!'  So stay alert, because you know neither the day nor the hour."  Matthew 25:1 - 13

Our Messiah clearly states that no one knows the day or hour in which He will return, except the Father.  As believers, we are to press on in this walk of faith that we have both chosen and been chosen for.  Are you doing what He has called you to do?

Is your lamp stand full?  

Are you ready for when the Bridegroom comes?

Once the door closes, anyone on the outside will be left on the outside.

Do Not be deceived!!!

We will be exploring the history, prophecy and significance to believers regarding the fall Feasts given to Israel by God in our next group of articles.

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Permission has been granted to Jewish Heritage Revival for the use of Scripture quotations in its articles, taken from the Complete Jewish Bible, copyright 1998 by  David H.  Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications,  Inc., 6120 Day Long  Lane, Clarksville, Maryland 21029.  www.messianicjewish.net/jntp