For the 70th anniversary of the modern State of Israel, Bob Enyart reviews what we've covered this week.
- The prophecy (about Jerusalem and Israel)
- 4,000 years of Jewish ethnic identity (preserved by circumcision and the Mosaic ordinances)
- Christian anti-Semitism (as explained at kgov.com/luther)
- Christians who love the Jews to hell (by saying they can be saved by Moses apart from trusting Christ)
- America's embassy move to Jerusalem (to save the Palestinians from their delusion that Israel isn't a legitimate state
- The leading End Times preachers all dying of old age (something they would never have expected)
- Christ’s Second Coming has always been imminent (as even the Apostles believed)
- God is free (so Peter said we can "hasten" the coming of the Lord and Jesus said those days could be "shortened".
So then BEL lists some of the many dates that Bible teachers predicted would mark the end (from A.D. 500, to 800, to 1000, to 1850, to 1844, to 1914, to 1981, to 1988, to Y2K, to 2007, to 2014 (the blood moons), to... Well, you get the idea. So let's love the Lord, look forward to His appearing, and "rightly divide the word of truth" so that we "need not be ashamed".
* Leading End Times Preachers All Dying of Old Age: Did all the big-name end times teachers think that they would die of old age?
- Tim LaHaye (1947 - 2016, Left Behind Series)
- Chuck Smith (1927 - 2013, founder, Calvary Chapel)
- Chuck Missler (1934-2018, end times teacher)
- Hal Lindsey (b. 1929, 88 years old, Late Great Planet Earth)
- Irvin Baxter (b. 1945, 72 years old, Endtime Ministries)
- John Hagee (b. 1940 is 78 years old; recent error: Blood Moons)
- Jack Van Impe (b. 1931 is 87 years old; 60-year-anniversary with Rexella Van Impe a while back; began in ministry in 1948 and as a preacher in 1952).
* Calculating of Dates: Here's an example of the never-ending, and so far, universally incorrect, calculating of end times dates by a Christian author, and then another example by the leader of the Jehovah's Witnesses...
* Remember When: Christians were told that the following dates were significant because they represented end-times markers. Of course the Lord will return one day, and hopefully, soon. But confused teachers using events and dates like these confused others.
- 1850 for the ascent of the Anti-Christ (calculated by London's protestant scholar Robert Fleming, V.D.M in 1701 by adding to 608 A.D. the "1260 days" of Revelation, converting each day to a year
- 1948 the nation of Israel is reconstituted in the Middle East
- 1957 European Common Market (ECM) established with six nations
- 1973 The ECM added three more nations, prophecy teachers added this up to Daniel's "ten toes"
- 1980 In the decade of the 80s, three more nations joined the ECM, still adding up to Daniel's ten toes
- 1993 The European Union (EU) was formed with 12 nations
- 1995 Ten Nation European Alliance (WEU) formed, claimed to be Daniel's 10-toed prophecy
- 2001 Islamic terrorist attack on America, claimed to represent the end times
- 2010 Ten Nation European WEU decides to disband claimed as major fulfillment of prophecy
- 2011 Ten Nation WEU officially disbands and absorbed into the EU
- 2016 The now 28-nation EU begins to unravel with the UK's Brexit and Italy's no-confidence vote
* It's Been a Long Time Since: It's been...
1,518 years since A.D. 500, the year when Irenaeus, et al, predicted that Jesus would return
1,218 years since A.D. 800, the year when Sextus Julius Africanus predicted Armageddon
1,018 years since A.D. 1000, the year when Pope Sylvester II, et al, predicted the beginning of the end
174 years since 1844 when the early 7th Day Adventists believed Christ would have returned
168 years since 1850 when Robert Fleming, writing in 1700 A.D., calculated the anti-Christ's reign
140 years since 1878 when Jehovah's Witnesses said would be the last year for the church on earth
114 years since 1914 when the Jehovah's Witnesses said it would be the end
97 years since 1921 when the JW's said millions now living will never die
82 years since 1936, the year when Herbert W. Armstrong predicted the end (updated to 1943, '72, '75)
70 years since 1948 when Israel became a nation again after World War II
61 years since 1957 when the European Common Market was Daniel's ten-nation alliance
37 years since 1981 when Chuck Smith, et al, taught the seven-year tribulation would begin
33 years since 1985, the year Lester Sumrall wrote about in his book, I Predict 1985
36 years since 1982, the year Pat Robertson predicted would be the end of the world
30 years since 1988 a generate after Israel became a nation with 88 reasons for the Rapture in '88
24 years since 1994, the year that Harold Camping predicted would start the great tribulation
21 years since 1997, the year that Bishop James Ussher predicted would be the end of the world
18 years since 2000, when the Y2K bug was predicted to herald the end times, and when and Lester Sumrall predicted would be the end, and when Jerry Falwell predicted would see God's judgment.
17 years since 2001 when America was attacked on 9/11
11 years since 2007, the year Pat Robertson wrote in 1990 would be the end
4 years since 2014 when the blood moons were supposed to indicate the end times
* Last Days vs. Last Minutes: When the events listed above occurred, popular prophecy teachers claimed they represented end times prophecies. Well, it's been a long time since these events occurred. The "end times" is a lot longer than any of them would have predicted. As we say at Denver Bible Chruch to those misinterpreting last-days prophecies, "From now only, will you only tell us about last-minute prophecies?" Afterall, the most famous end-times teachers are all dying of old age and these last-days interpretations have been hanging around for more than half a century.
Today's resource:
What We Believe and Why We Believe It: Do you know anyone who does not believe in Christs resurrection? What a fantastic witnessing tool we have in this Mount Moriah video! Bob brings secular resources to bear on the question of the resurrection of Jesus. Non-Christians can write a letter requesting a free copy of this video (non-Christians only: mail your request to Bob Enyart, PO Box 583, Arvada CO 80001). If you are already a Christian, youll be thrilled when you learn about all the evidence that exists which supports the resurrection, from prophecies to history, to archaeology, to details of the city, the geography, the skull, the garden, and the tomb.
This entertaining video will show you:
- evidence of Christ's resurrection that has remained for 2,000 years
- the link between the crucifixion and Isaac's Moriah experience
- The link between the ram caught in the thorns and Christ's crown
- what ancient Hebrew prophecies predicted about Christ's death
- what God said about this one particular hill in Jerusalem
- the New Testament clues which still point to Christ's actual tomb
- the geographic reasons why God chose Jerusalem
- that 1,500 years after He carved the law in stone, God carved grace in stone
- how to answer those who ask...
There's a mountain of evidence for Christ's resurrection!
Now available in streaming video rental for $5 for a month.