To reiterate the point I made earlier, personally, I am not
convinced that Jesus was saying that the budding fig tree
represents Israel. Other Christians, such as the person who
wrote to me, embrace a different view. In his message to me,
he very specifically stated, and I quote, "He said that the
'generation' that lives to see Israel become a nation would
not pass from the earth.". I'm sorry, but Jesus didn't say
that in Matthew, or in any of the other three Gospels. That
is simply how this person has chosen to interpret the verse,
or else he is accepting someone else's interpretation of the
verse.

But the end result is that because they've become convinced
that Jesus was cryptically suggesting in His Parable that
the fig tree represents Israel becoming a nation in 1948,
they are now faced with the challenge, and the dilemma, of
figuring out exactly how long a Biblical generation is, as
well as when this "last generation" began, and when it will
end. The idea seems to be that if they can correctly figure
out the math, they will know exactly what year the Lord will
be returning. But is this really the case?

Now, before you are quick to answer in the affirmative, and
tell me that Jesus was dropping us a hint by inferring that
the fig tree represents Israel becoming a nation in 1948, so
that we can do our number crunching, and thus know the exact
year when He'll be returning, allow me to remind you of what
else He said in the aforementioned verses. Verse thirty-six
plainly states:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels
of heaven, but my Father only."
Matthew 24:36, KJV

Please stop and think for a moment. Does it make any sense
to you that the Lord would supposedly drop a hint regarding
1948, (via the Parable of the Fig Tree), so that, according
to some Christians, we could begin counting the exact number
of years until His Arrival, only to turn around and state in
the same breath that nobody will know the day of His Advent?
If we accept these Christians' interpretation of the Lord's
words, then if we read those five verses together, (v32-36),
it is as if Jesus is saying, "Here is a huge hint. This fig
tree sprouting leaves represents Israel becoming a nation.
When that event occurs, when Israel becomes a nation, start
counting the years; because the generation that witnesses
that historical event will not pass until I return. Oops,
sorry, forget it. My Father says that you aren't supposed
to know when I'll be returning to the Earth."

Are you beginning to see the light yet? There is something
clearly wrong with that picture, isn't there? Jesus would
not behave in that manner, would He? He wouldn't tantalize
us with a clue supposedly concealed in the Parable of the
Fig Tree, and then turn around and say that we really have
no business knowing when He will return, would He?

So, in my opinion, here is the lowdown: There is absolutely
nothing wrong with Jesus' words. I'm becoming convinced that
the real source of the problem is that these Christians have
been led to believe that Israel being declared a nation in
1948 is represented by the fig tree in the Lord's Parable;
and because they have adopted that view, they are trying to
force Jesus's words to fit their particular understanding.
They are making the mistake of trying to assign a specific
number of years to Jesus' words, when perhaps that isn't
what the Lord meant at all; and I will attempt to prove my
point in just a moment.

As I have mentioned before, trying to force Bible prophecy,
particularly time-based prophecies, to fit into our personal
understanding is dangerous business. Not only that, but it
can be quite embarrassing when we are proven to be wrong. In
the case of some of these high-profile preachers, it can be
disastrous; because making such a specific time prediction,
such as the precise year when Jesus will return, can totally
discredit them, and cause people to lose faith in them, and
in their ministry, when their prediction fails to come to
pass. In my own writings, I have always been very careful to
never make this mistake. I have lived long enough to watch a
number of these popular radio and TV evangelists fall from
their pedestals in disgrace, because of this very thing.

But what truly amazes me, is that in spite of the fact that
some of these men have been clearly proven to be frauds and
false prophets, a lot of Christians are so blind and foolish,
and so mesmerized by these fast-talking preachers, that they
continue believing in them, attending their "mega-churches",
and giving them their hard-earned money. Just like a lot of
modern politicians, they implement damage control, and their
blind followers just keep on following them. The attitude
seems to be "to forgive and to forget".

False prophets are really nothing new. As I point out in the
article "Office Of A Prophet", they have been around since
the time of Moses, and probably earlier than that. If you
want to know what the Bible instructs us to do once we have
become aware of such a false prophet, then I encourage you
to read that article. You may also want to read the related
article, "Modern False Prophets And Worldly Ecumenism".

In his message to me, this person also briefly mentioned the
year 2000 fiasco. As some of my readers may already know, I
am referring to the fact that at that time, there was a lot
of excitement within the Christian world; that is, at least
within American Christendom. Many American Christians were
apparently in a heightened state of euphoria, because some
of their learned so-called spiritual leaders had convinced
them that 2000 was it; it was THE year; and Jesus was about
to appear in the clouds of Heaven to gather together His
beloved children.

The Y2K date problem was fuel for the fire, and only served
to further strengthen some Christians' belief that the world
was about to fall apart, so Jesus must surely be returning
at any moment. The fact that we would soon be leaving behind
one millennium, and entering another one, also made the year
2000 seem to some Christians like the appropriate time for
Jesus to make His Appearance. The common view amongst these
Christians was that there was no better time for Christ to
usher in the long-anticipated Golden Age of the Millennium,
when He would initiate His Reign upon the Earth, as we find
described in the Book of Revelation, than at the beginning
of the Seventh Millennium, according to the Biblical record.
For more information regarding these events, allow me to
refer you to my article "From Armageddon To The New Earth".

As some of you may know, the number seven is regarded as a
very holy number in the Bible. Not only is this number very
prominent in the actual printed text of the Bible, such as
in the mention of seven Angels, seven trumpets, seven vials
of wrath, seven plagues, seven days of Creation, etc., but
it's also been revealed in recent years that the Scriptures
exhibit a very intelligent, intricate, mathematical design;
and in the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages, the
number seven is heavily interwoven throughout the text.

To add to this mystery surrounding the number seven, based
upon the seventeenth century work of James Ussher, who was
the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh, (the smallest of the six
counties which today form Northern Ireland), some Christians
are of the opinion that the planet Earth, and the Universe,
were created about six thousand years ago. After conducting
considerable research, Ussher arrived at the date of October
23, 4004 BC as being the first day of Creation. Some of his
contemporaries arrived at similar dates, give or take a few
decades. Thus, leaving room for error, this would explain
why some Christians believed that the year 2000 marked the
end of the Sixth Millennium and the beginning of the Seventh
Millennium, when Christ would return, and begin ruling upon
the Earth.

In other words, if we add the 4,000 years which had passed
prior to the birth of Christ, to the additional 2,000 years
which had passed up until 2,000 AD, we arrive at a total of
about 6,000 years . . . six full millennia.

Of course, in order to convince their followers that what
they were saying was indeed true, that is, that the Lord's
Return was imminent, these American false prophets had to
provide Biblical proof to back up their claims. I remember
that one of the arguments which was used by some of these
men, was to tell their flocks that the Oslo Accords was the
fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the seven-year Holy
Covenant, which is discussed in various books of the Bible,
including Daniel, Revelation, 2 Thessalonians 2, as well as
the Gospels.

As some of my readers will recall, the Oslo Accords, which
were also referred to as the Declaration Of Principles, were
signed in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 1993 by Mahmoud
Abbas, who represented the Palestinians, (and who is now the
Palestinian president), and by Shimon Peres, who represented
the Israelis. Also present were PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat,
Israeli P.M. Yitzhak Rabin, U.S. President Bill Clinton, and
other dignitaries.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the seven-year Holy
Covenant, some Christians, myself included, believe that the
aforementioned books of the Bible predict that Jesus Christ
will return to the Earth following a series of political and
religious events which will span a period of seven years. The
seven-year period may commence with the signing of this Holy
Covenant, or peace treaty, which, among other stipulations,
will allow the Orthodox Jews to rebuild their temple on the
Temple Mount that's located in East Jerusalem. For centuries,
this controversial site has hosted the Muslim al-Aksa Mosque
and the Dome of the Rock. This treaty will be abrogated at
midpoint, (or after three and a half years), by a political
leader who is commonly referred to in Christian circles as
the Beast, or the Antichrist. For more information regarding
these events, please consider reading such articles as "The
Kings Of The North And The South".

Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files.  We Use Hermes II


--- Hermes Web Tosser 1.1