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INTRODUCTION: The title of this newsletter may seem strange. Two things will happen on this day, the Lord willing:
BACKGROUND:
Public interest in this date: Type "december 21 2012" in the Google search engine, and more than 4-million links will be retrieved, attesting to popular interest in this date. There are "official" Websites, "survival guide" Websites, and many other links. Books have been written about this date. Because so much has been written, I cannot summarize just the Internet information. I readily admit that I am not an expert in or a student of this date and the theories and predictions swirling around it. However, I wish to discuss some things the Bible tells us about the end of the Age of Grace.
Some prophecies or predictions about the end of time on or near this date include:
Indian myths: The Mayan and Aztec Indians shared certain beliefs. You have probably seen the richly carved, ornate Mayan/Aztec calendar, which was used to predict time. This calendar was divided into thirteen baktuns, a baktun consisting of 144,000 days. According to the Mayans, the present era began on August 13, 3114 BC and will end on December 21, 2012 AD. Did the Mayans expect the world to end at the winter solstice of 2012? Gullible persons apparently believe that catastrophes will occur on this date. The Novelty Coincidence Theory states that the winter solstice and the helical rising of the galactic center will coincide on this date, but the theory cannot explain what may happen. Some persons predict shifts of the earth's poles and other significant events.
Nostradamus' prediction: Nostradamus (Michel de Nostredame, French physician, occultist, and astrologer, 1503-1566) wrote Les Propheties, a book of nearly one-thousand quatrains (little poetic statements claiming to foretell the future). His predictions sometimes seem accurate, at other times completely inaccurate, and often deemed accurate by persons who want to believe his "prophecies" and are willing to make allowances for misspellings and misstatements. Nostradamus apparently predicted a collision of a "comet planet" with earth. Various dates are suggested by his followers— the seventh month of 1999 (woops) and 2012. I will not bother you with more about Nostradamus, but remember: God gave us a test to determine whether to believe a prophet. All of his prophecies must be true, but all of his prophecies must be ignored, if even one is false (Deuteronomy 18:22). A sometimes "accurate," sometimes inaccurate Nostradamus cannot be God's prophet.
Prediction of Pope Leo IX: In 1514, Pope Leo IX wrote: "I will not see the end of the world, nor will you my brethren, for its time is long in the future, five-hundred years hence" [that is, 2014].
St. Malachy's vision: Malachy, a twelfth-century monk from Armagh in present-day Northern Ireland, fell into a trance during a pilgrimage to the Vatican in 1139, while viewing the Vatican from one of Rome's hills. During the trance, he spoke short descriptive phrases (some say prophetic utterances) of the 112 popes from his lifetime until the end of the age. If Malachy's vision came from God, Pope Benedict XVI, the present pope, will be the last pope until the final pope, Petrus Romanus (Peter of Rome), feared to be an evil heretic. There is controversy whether Petrus Romanus was added to Malachy's vision at a later date. It is fascinating to read Malachy's utterances and compare them to characteristics of the actual popes. If Malachy's prediction is correct and Pope Benedict XVI is the last "good" pope before Peter of Rome, time may be fairly short, as Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) is now nearly 82 years old (born April 16, 1927).
And so forth: In this limited space, I cannot cover the many beliefs claimed by those who use Mayan prophecies, the occult, and other non-Biblical sources to predict "the end of time." Recent studies and polls have shown that many people accept these sources more readily than the Bible. Reliance on these sources is a sign of the end times. Jesus warns of "many" who will come at the end of the age to deceive people (Matthew 24:5; Mark 13:6; and Luke 21:8). Paul warns in his teaching of end-time apostasy (2 Timothy, chapter 3) that many persons will turn away from true faith. Continuing, Paul writes (2 Timothy 4:3-4): For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. ["Fables" is more literally translated "myths," from the Greek mythos.]
GOD'S DESTRUCTION OF THE EARTH: The Bible teaches that the Earth, while still existing as a planet, had its surface destroyed by God in the past to purge sin or remembrance of sin from the world, and this will happen again in the future.
First destruction (past) by water: The Bible teaches that God destroyed mankind because of wickedness (see Genesis, chapters 6 through 9). God promised through the Noahic Covenant (Genesis 9:1-17) never to again destroy Earth by flooding, and He set a rainbow in the clouds as a sign of His Covenant (Genesis 9:11-16).
Second destruction (future) by fire: After the Christ's Millennial Kingdom and before future eternity in New Jerusalem (Heaven) begins, God will cleanse the Earth of all reminders of man's sin and Satan's temptations by completely incinerating the face of the earth (2 Peter 3:10): But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. The psalmist was also aware of a future revision of the Earth (Psalm 102:25-26): Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, all of them will grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed,....
WHY WILL THERE BE AN EARTH, WHEN THERE IS HEAVEN?
WHEN WILL THIS OCCUR? Know certain things the Bible reveals about the end of the present age.
The Parable of the Fig Tree: Jesus teaches the Parable of the Fig Tree (Matthew 24:33-35; Mark 13: 28-31; and Luke 21:29-33) to explain the general time frame for His return. Two trees (olive, fig) are often used as symbols for Israel. In this parable, Jesus tells us to watch for His return, by teaching: When the fig tree branches, becomes tender, and puts forth leaves, summer is near. Paraphrased, Jesus says: When Israel [the fig tree] is re-established [through return of Jews to their Covenant homeland, which began in 1948], know that summer [the season of harvest— that is, the harvest of believers at Jesus' return at the Resurrection/ Rapture] is near. We live in the final summer harvest of souls, awaiting Jesus' return for His church (believers).
Additional prophecies about the necessary return of Jews to Israel: Against all odds and truly a miracle from God, Jews (the Covenant People) returned to Israel (the Covenant Land) in May, 1948, shortly after the atrocities meted out by Nazi Germany. This return fulfilled numerous prophecies. I cannot discuss all of these prophecies in this short newsletter, but consider the following that have been fulfilled by the Jews' return:
When will you return, Jesus? The disciples, curious about Jesus' return, ask Him two important questions (Matthew 24:3c), "What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (See also Mark 13:4b; Luke 21:7.) Jesus answers these questions in His very important prophetic teaching, the Olivet Discourse (Matthew, chapter 24; Mark, chapter 13; and Luke, chapter 21). Note that the question is about the end of the age, not the world (as poorly translated in the King James Version). The Greek word used here is aion (pronounced, eye-OWN), which is better translated as "age"— that is, the Age of Grace in which we now live. The Greek word kosmos would probably be used for "world."
Jesus' indefinite, but certain answer: In answering this question, Jesus assures us that He will return for us. At a time closer to Passover, I will distribute at least one e-newsletter about the Spring Mosaic feasts— Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. Jesus was resurrected from death, as the First Fruit of (the proof of) God's New Covenant with man. A few weeks later, He ascended to Heaven to be with the Father, leaving the Comforter (Holy Spirit) in His place (John 14:16, 26 | 15:26 | 16:7; Acts, chapter 2; and other Scriptures), with the promise that He would return (descend in the clouds above the Earth) in the same manner that He ascended to Heaven (Acts 1:9-11). Jesus' return is a clear and unconditional promise from God. Several persons, who identify themselves as Christians, have responded to my newsletters, telling me that there will be no Rapture, Jesus will not return, the "Christian myth" is no more valid than any other religious teaching, and so forth. These "Christians" need to experience salvation, and they, then, will understand the Bible's true teachings and the future.
"Like a thief in the night:" Jesus compares His return to a thief who breaks into a home, when no one expects (Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39). Jesus will return as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2; Revelation 3:3; 16:15). Paul also explains that the season of Jesus' return will develop slowly, as a woman's labor pains (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Labor pains at first develop slowly, may be misinterpreted as non-labor back pain, and are mild. But, they become closer together and more intense as delivery is approached. End-time prophecy fulfillment started slowly; as the end of time approaches, there is a torrent of prophecy fulfillment. A good God provides abundant proof of His Word to any person who seeks to learn.
The fullness of the Gentiles: Paul teaches (Romans 11:25) that Israel cannot be restored "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." Jesus teaches (Luke 21:24) that "Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." In Romans, Paul uses the Greek pleroma (pronounced, PLAY-row-mah); in Luke, Jesus uses the Greek pleroo (pronounced, play-ROW-oh). Both of these words imply completion of a specific number, as filling all the slots of a boat's crew before sailing. God apparently has set a number of Gentiles who must be saved during the Age of Grace before Jesus returns.
Who know when Jesus' return will be? Christians believe in One God in Three Persons— God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. While incarnate (in human body), Jesus suspended His supernatural knowledge in order that He might live as a human, experiencing human events and communicating on a human level. When asked to set a time for His return, Jesus declined to be specific (Mark 13:32): "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son. but only the Father." (See also Matthew 24:36.)
CONCLUSIONS: Several conclusions can be learned from these Scriptures:
Maranatha!