Sorry to Tell You, But Jesus Is Not Returning on September 23

Townhall.com ^ | September 17, 2017 | Michael Brown

[Kaslin]

Yes, it would be wonderful if Jesus returned for His people next week, but it’s not going to happen. Count on it. The Second Coming will not take place this year on September 23.

How can I be so sure? The Bible tells me so, and not in some ambiguous, mysterious language.

Instead, Jesus told His followers what had to take place before He returned, and those things have not yet happened, nor can they happen in just a few days. That’s why I’m quite certain that His return is not scheduled for September 23, 2017.

What, then, do I think about the claims of Christian numerologist David Meade, who argues that “verses in Luke 21:25 to 26 are the sign that recent events, such as the recent solar eclipse and Hurricane Harvey, are signs of the apocalypse”? And what do I think of the alleged correspondence between Revelation 12 and the alignment of Jupiter, the sun, and the moon?

Actually, I don’t think about these things at all, any more than I thought about the claim that Jesus was coming back between September 11-13, 1988, or the claim that Judgment Day was coming on September 6, 1994, or the claim (made by the same author who predicted the 1994 date) that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011.

There was not a shred of scriptural evidence to support these claims, and there was a mountain of evidence against them. Why, then, bother to give them any thought?

“But,” you ask, “didn’t Jesus say that no one who knew the day or hour of His return? If so, how can you be so sure He’s not coming on September 23?”

First, the fact that He says no one knows the day or hour of His return (Matthew 24:36) means that it’s utter foolishness to predict a specific day. If Jesus says no one knows the day, we should quit predicting specific days. Simple.

Second, Jesus said we could not know the specific day or hour when He would return. He never said we could not know when He would not return.

Put another way, if I get on a boat to sail across the Atlantic from New York to London, you might not know the exact time of my arrival. But you can certainly know that I will not be arriving in one or two days. It takes longer than that to cross the ocean by boat.

So, Jesus spoke of great world upheaval that would take place (far greater than anything we have yet witnessed) and of great cosmic signs (again, of unprecedented nature), while Paul wrote of major world events that would transpire before the Lord’s return (see, for example, Luke 21 and 2 Thessalonians 2).

The Old Testament prophets also painted pictures of what we could expect before the end of the age, and it is clear their words have still not come to pass (see, for example, Zechariah 12 and 14).

But this doesn’t mean that we should grow complacent and say, “The Lord delays His coming” (see Luke 12:45). God forbid.

Instead, we should always live with readiness to meet the Lord, and we should labor with all our might to make an impact for Him, since we have only one life to reach our generation. As one of my colleagues once said, “I don’t know if this is the last generation. But it is our last generation.”

As for those who believe that there will be a secret rapture that could happen at any moment, when hundreds of millions of Christians are suddenly and stealthily removed from the earth, that will allegedly happen without any definite signs. In other words, it could happen today as well as any other day, since the timing of it is unpredictable. Why, then, are we bothering to make predictions?

By all means, we should understand the times in which we are living and know what we should do (see 1 Chronicles 12:32). And we must be sober and alert lest we fall asleep in the light.

But let us stop making foolish predictions. Not only do they make us look like fools in the eyes of the world. But they rob us of a multi-generational perspective, since we’re always thinking, “Jesus is coming any moment,” rather than thinking and planning in the long term.

Little wonder, then, that we’ve lost so much moral and cultural ground in recent decades. While our ideological opponents are planning ahead, we’re planning our escape.

In the last few years, I’ve spoken to leaders and believers about the importance of developing a multi-generational mentality, and the impact of those messages has been very deep.

Sadly, this message is foreign to many Christians today, which is why I devoted a whole chapter to the subject in Saving a Sick America: A Prescription for Moral and Cultural Transformation. If America is to be changed for the good, it can only be through multi-generational thinking.

As I look back on my own journey, I came to faith in 1971 at the age of 16, and we were told that Jesus was coming at any moment. The signs of the times were all there! Little did we think that, in 2017, we’d still be here and my wife and I would have a 16-year-old granddaughter.

Let’s not repeat the same mistake today.

Instead, let’s live with readiness, with urgency, with focus, with purpose, and with a long-term, multi-generational plan. And if the Lord chooses to interrupt our plans along the way with His return, that would be a welcome prospect.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus! We long to see Your return. Until then, we’ll stay busy and pass the torch to the generations to come.

[Sontagged]

Thanks; I think the “Rapture Before the Wrath!” folks are the ones onboard with this idea.

Didn’t know how many of them were FReepers until a couple showed up on my Jesus was probably born on September 11th thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3584899/posts?page=50#50

While I believe those left on earth will be “raptured” at Christ’s Second Coming if they are still alive, it will be as Christ said:

“When the Son of Man returns to the Earth, will He still find faith?”

[SkyPilot]

A very interesting thread and debate.

I realize we have folks here on every spectrum of the debate: from Christians who disagree on the September 23rd sign, to folks who may not even believe in Christ.

So many salient points have already been made here by other Freepers, and I don't want to reiterate those. I would simply add that I am in the camp that Christ's words 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", in context to the rest of Scriptures was stated before His death, resurrection, and of John writing Revelation. Moreover, I don't think it is a coincidence that Christ used the words "neither the day nor the hour" - which are a Jewish idiom for the Feast of Trumpet (Yom Teruah).

The next feast day on God's calendar to be fulfilled is the Feast of Trumpets. Given Scripture and its language, combined with Biblical hermetics, I believe there will be a Rapture (from the Greek "Harpazo"....literally a snatching away) of His true believers before the 7 year Tribulation, and I give credence to the theory that Christ will come for His bride on the Feast of Trumpets.

Regarding the celestial alignment this week, that some are calling the Revelation 12 sign. There is a lot of terrible reporting and outright lies being stated out there, both in the secular news and in the Christian community. One of the biggest falsehood out there are saying that this exact alignment has occurred 84 times in history. It has not. Period.

There are aspects of the alignment that have occurred, but not every facet of it. The Stellarium software has been run 10,000 years in the past, and 10,000 years in the future - and it is a unique event. When people state things that are not true, and then expect the rest of their argument to be given credence, they are demagogues or fools.

Does this sign mean the Rapture is upon us? I don't know. Who does?

But I do know this. 1 Thessalonians 5:4 states that true Christians will not be caught unaware like the rest of the world, or as lukewarm Christians will be. I also know that the world is going crazy and downhill - fast! The rest of Matthew 24, when He said "as in the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man" is upon us, or very close.

We all know this. Even a few years ago, things were not as bad as they are now. Even Hussein Obama was making statements against "Gay Marriage" a few years ago! Think about that.

I pay extra attention to God's feast days anyway. So yes, I am paying extra attention now.

Perhaps this sign means something else - that the last days are just around the corner.

[Hot Tabasco]

The true test of one’s belief that Jesus is returning on Sept. 23 is their willingness to turn over their earthly possessions of houses, boats and late model vehicles to the non believers such as me............

[SkyPilot]

We see professing believers who have always opposed the pre-trib rapture joining with others to mock, scorn, and insult. Watch this clip about 42 minutes in for my reason as to why that group of disinterested Christians will be excluded from the Rapture and enter the Tribulation. A hef="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGIGfT9Jbmg

Thanks for that video Eli. I did watch a few minutes of that, and I will check out the rest.

The parable of the 10 virgins has always fascinated me (and to be honest, scared me a little).

I have always believed that 2 John 2:18 states that those who are watching for Christ, those who are diligently looking for His return, will receive a reward on the Judgment Seat of Christ:

"Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully." In the video that Eli posted, the author actually puts forth the theory that those who are not looking for His return, even though they are saved Christian, may not be taken in the Rapture.

That is something I have sometimes considered, and I must say it is a sobering thought.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Christ will remove believers before the horrible Tribulation begins:

"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

Luke 21:36

For those who heap scorn on those who are watching, yet still are saved, are they also prepared to be with the Lord through the Rapture? What do they say at the wedding banquet of the Lamb: "Gee everyone at my table.....sorry about what I said. But really glad to be here!" Will Christ ask them to endure through the Tribulation, knowing they were not ready, but also knowing that they will be a blessing to those left behind?

They are still saved. They are not going to Hell. But will they have to endure the Tribulation, because they refused to watch, to accurately study the Scriptures, to be a blessings to those who hope for His return (Titus 2:13)?

A hard scenario to consider.

We live in a time and age when things are changing rapidly. I find myself these days struggling in the flesh like I always have, yet even more hyper-aware that I must endure for Him, because we are closer to our Salvation than when we first believed. I am also locked in some Spiritual warfare right now, and it isn't easy. But I believe God is using me, and for that, I am so grateful.

So brothers and sister - be encouraged!

Christ will not leave us as orphans. He loves us. I hope to see you all sooner rather than later - in His house.

[SkyPilot]

The true test of one’s belief that Jesus is returning on Sept. 23 is their willingness to turn over their earthly possessions of houses, boats and late model vehicles to the non believers such as me............

Those who are waiting for Christ are not Harold Camping. I am not selling possessions or camping on a mountain top. But I am watching for Him, and trying to endure and to be ready for Him. I have to give an account for my life. So do you.

If you are not watching for Him, and you do not believe in the Scriptures that speak to His coming, to hold fast, and of the coming storm, then you of the world, and not of the body of Christ.

Sorry, but that's they way it is.

[mad_as_he$$]

Thank you for your measured response.

Only a few more days and we will know who is right.

[sailor76]

Yes, they should put their money where their mouth is.

(don't hold your breath)

[dfwgator]

Two men say they’re Jesus, one of them must be wrong.

[FourtySeven]

It would be a great birthday present for me if He returned on Saturday, but I suspect the biggest thing that will happen that day is I will over eat and get socks again for the fifth year in a row. Which isn’t bad I can always use new socks.

I will be turning 47 this year though so maybe that means something. I wonder if that coincidence is in the Bible somewhere: “...when He returns in Glory, a FReeper’s screen name will herald the Judgement...”.

I think I may have missed that verse. Maybe it’s in an apocryphal manuscript.

[Sontagged]

As long as none of these calculations come from the pagan liars at NASA, you might have something there.

Otherwise, meh.

Has nothing to do with saving faith in Christ, at all. In fact, Christ would tell us to beware the lying delusions that mystery occultists at NASA are cooking up for us:

the Disciples; “What is the sign of your second coming and the end of the world?

And Jesus replied: “Beware deception...”

Believing in what men say about the Rapture has nothing to do with what God will or will not do at the time He returns for His church.

[delchiante]

quote-waiting for some one to post his actual schedule

Whose schedule?

[SubMareener]

If one believer goes out and gets some extra oil for their lamp, this will have been worth the scorn.

[SkyPilot]

Amen.

[Chickensoup]

...not returning September...

Pity.

[WalterSkinner]

I pay extra attention to God's feast days anyway. So yes, I am paying extra attention now

..amen

[metmom]

"Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully." In the video that Eli posted, the author actually puts forth the theory that those who are not looking for His return, even though they are saved Christian, may not be taken in the Rapture.

That is something I have sometimes considered, and I must say it is a sobering thought.

I do not believe that any believers will be left at the rapture, whether they are watching or not.

None of us is perfect and making being taken in the rapture puts on works, when everything we have is by grace.

Now, it certainly is feasible that those not watching will lose reward in heaven, but that is a different matter, IMO, than being left to endure the horrors of the Tribulation.

[smokingfrog]

Still ... it’s probably a good idea to be prepared — just in case.

[Fred Hayek]

Not only numerology, but also astrology. Surprised that divining spirits are not thrown in. All Biblically off limits.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

.

[metmom]

The true test of one’s belief that Jesus is returning on Sept. 23 is their willingness to turn over their earthly possessions of houses, boats and late model vehicles to the non believers such as me............

Nice opinion, for you to be sure.

But since the date is not set in Scripture and it isn't Jesus telling us He's coming back Sat, then no believer is under any obligation to turn over anything to anyone.

God we trust. Man? Not so much.

Besides, once the rapture happens and all believers are gone, their stuff will be up for grabs, first come, first served.

You can then go and help yourself to anything left behind.

It always amuses me what non-believers can think of for believers to do to *prove* their faith to them. Turn over all our possessions to you. Fat chance.

I'd give it to someone less greedy first if I really though that way.