Tick Tock

Things are sure pointing to the imminent, not soon, return of Christ for His bride. On July 3, 2015 one of the top Jewish rabbi’s in Israel, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, made an amazing proclamation. I don’t know if this has ever happened before in Israel’s history, especially since 1948, but this leading and highly recognized rabbi announced, as a result of his studies and current events, the imminent arrival of the messiah. With this announcement he has also made a call to Jews all around the world to return to Israel in preparation of this event, noting that it would add to the glory of the messiah if all the Jews were there when he came. He’s even told some Jews visiting Israel to not even go back to where they came from believing the messiah’s arrival is imminent.

It has also been reported that everything needed for the rebuilding of the third temple and the implementation of the temple sacrifices has been completed, and that various groups and governmental agencies have recently begun working together to see this come to pass. There has risen recently an excitement among Jews that the messiah’s arrival is imminent and that they are to make all the necessary preparations for that time.

When Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky has been asked about the timing of the messiah’s arrival, he has emphatically and consistently indicated it would be after the end of this sabbatical year. When is the end of this sabbatical year? On the Gregorian calendar it would be Saturday, September 12, 2015, ironically the day before Rosh Hashanah. So, where does all this leave us?

To begin with, the messiah the Jews are currently looking for is not Jesus, but we know from Bible end-time prophecies that the Jews will initially embrace the anti-Christ as messiah, someone that scripture also tells us will not be revealed until after the rapture of the Church. While it is true that we do not know when Jesus will return for His bride, there is significant reason to believe it will be on Rosh Hashanah, whether it’s this year or not we don’t know. Rosh Hashanah, one of the seven feasts God instituted and commanded the Israelites to observe, represents the rapture, or the catching up of the bride of Christ. Also, of those seven feasts, Jesus and the birth of the church fulfilled the first four on the exact day of the feast, and the next feast to be fulfilled is Rosh Hashanah. Whether or not Jesus will return on Rosh Hashanah of this year is yet to be known, but there are a lot of things pointing to major changes to life as we know it coming this September. It would be one thing if it were only Christians believing something was on the horizon within the next two or three months, but even those who do not profess to be Christians or even believe in God are believing life as we know it will change globally in September, some even forecasting a major financial meltdown in the United States during that time.

The signs of the end times are not only seen all around us, but they are screaming out to us of Jesus’ imminent return. Things are happening at such an increasing rate and intensity that more and more Christians are beginning to call out to Jesus to come quickly, but sadly only a small percentage of them. In the last book of the Bible, a book that was written about 60 years after the ascension of Christ, we read in Revelation 22:12-17 that the Spirit and the bride say “Come!”. How many of you are calling out to Jesus to come, and to come quickly?

I remember growing up and people talking about how the time was 11:59pm on Gods prophetic timetable, and that Gabriel was putting the trumpet to his lips. Well, I think the time on Gods timetable is now 11:59:50pm, and Gabriel is now taking a deep breath getting ready to blow that trumpet. The times we live in are such that it would be very hard to argue that we’re not in the last days, and that the worst days of mankind are right around the corner.

This is not the time to be non-chalant about our walk with Christ. Instead, this is the time to make sure we are actively preparing ourselves for His return. Is our life centered around Jesus and honoring Him in all we say and do? Are we motivated to please Him with our life, or to please ourselves and others? Do we find reasons to justify sin in our life instead of removing it, rationalizing it one way or another looking for perceived “loopholes” in the scriptures? Do we love Him enough to follow His commands even when we don’t like or understand them, or do we embrace the view that we are somehow exempt from them as though we’re not accountable to Him anymore? Your answer to any of these questions can indicate whether or not you are prepared for His return. Some think that all Christians will be raptured up, but scripture plainly tells that this is not the case. Jesus made it very clear to us that we are to prepare for His return, and He even commanded us to “watch!” for His return and not be caught off guard. Are you?????

John Johansson

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