Rev. David Holwick Q
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 15, 2011
Matthew 24:30-42
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I. In six days, it will all be over.
A. Billboards are announcing the end.
A billboard in Oklahoma proclaims, "Noah knew. We can know."
Another in Nashville says, "The wise men knew, we can know."
A billboard in another country, Tanzania, reveals a little
more information: "The rapture -- May 21, 2011.
The end of the world Oct 21, 2011." #63121
So the answer to my sermon title is NOT YET - you still have
five months.
B. There has been a long history of date-setting.
1) Harold Camping has a previous record of identifying dates.
a) He even wrote a book called "1994." [hold up]
b) But this time he "guarantees" it!
2) Previous to that, Edgar Whisenant predicted 1988 would be it.
3) People in the year 1000 thought Jesus was coming back.
a) Then again, some were expecting it in 900 and 800 and
1100 and...
4) Jews in Jesus' day had the expectation the end was near.
a) The Qumran community (producers of the Dead Sea Scrolls)
thought they had figured out the end of the world by
interpreting the book of Daniel.
b) Jesus was often asked, "When will these things happen?"
Matt 24:3
c) Jesus himself gave dates, at least in a broad sense -
"This generation shall not pass away before all these
things are fulfilled." Matt 24:34
C. The impact of believing in the imminent return of Christ.
1) False predictions have discouraged many through the years.
a) It causes many to mock Christianity.
Huffington Post internet article:
"21 Reasons Why May 21 Is NOT The End Of The World"
* Our Milk Doesn't Expire Until May 22.
* The Chicago Cubs Still Haven't Won A World Series
* Sarah Palin isn't President [etc...]
2) But the idea that God will break into the world soon has
brought many to faith.
a) My conversion in 1973 was largely due to reading "The
Late Great Planet Earth" in 1973. [hold up my copy]
The New York Times called it the "no. 1 non-fiction
bestseller of the decade."
b) The "Left Behind" book series has been about as
popular.
Many have become saved after reading them.
3) The Bible is clear that Jesus is coming back.
a) It is just as clear that your duty is not to figure out
when it will happen.
b) Your duty is to be faithful and watching.
II. How do people come up with these dates?
A. Variety of principles used to set the chronology.
1) Fitting history into a "week."
a) To God, a day is a thousand years. Ps 90:4, 2 Pet 3:8
b) Beginning in ancient times, commentators suggested
that since a day can be a thousand years, the week
of creation equals 7,000 years of history.
c) By calculating the date of creation, and taking off
1,000 years for a millennium, you come up with the
date of the Second Coming. (roughly, about now)
d) Camping has a variation of this, starting with the date
of Noah's flood.
2) The joys of numerology.
a) Numerology finds significant numbers in the Bible and
manipulates them to come up with predictions.
1> We all know that some numbers have symbolic meaning
in the Bible - 3, 7, 12.
2> Harold Camping finds other numbers:
A> 5 signifies redemption.
B> 17 signifies heaven.
C> 23 signifies God's wrath.
b) His particular scheme:
1> Multiply these three numbers twice (Gen 41:32 says
doing it twice shows God is firmly behind it).
2> The result (722,500) is the number of days from
Christ's crucifixion to the Rapture, May 21, 2011.
3) Detailed clues in the book of Daniel and Revelation.
a) Daniel 9:24 has been the source of many schemes.
b) Many believe it points to the first coming of Christ,
but there is no way it can predict a date for his
second coming.
4) Secular clues and personal hunches.
a) Since signs like earthquakes signal the end, any big
event makes us think Jesus is coming.
1> The Japanese tsunami is only the latest.
b) Mayan calendars, Egyptian pyramids, and other
non-biblical sources are often used to bolster schemes.
B. Is it all a bunch of baloney?
1) Many of these schemes misuse the Bible.
a) 2 Peter 3:8 is not teaching a week of history.
1> It is explaining why the Second Coming has not been
as fast as they first thought.
2> God's understanding of time is different than ours.
3> "A day is a thousand years" fits nicely into
Camping's scheme. But what about the second
half - "a thousand years is as a day"?
b) Camping also uses Ecclesiastes 8:5 to say we can know
the date.
1> That verse simply says "the wise heart will know
the proper time and procedure."
2> In context, it is only suggesting you don't second
guess a king or you'll get in big trouble.
3> It is ironic that two verses later it says, "Since
no man knows the future, who can tell him what
is to come?"
c) Numerology is a notorious dead end.
1> You can make any argument you want by using it.
2> No one else that I know of gives significance to
5, 17 and 23 but Camping finds meaning wherever
he chooses to.
2) These schemes also oversimplify complex issues.
a) The Bible doesn't give us enough information to
precisely date the Creation, or Noah's flood - or
even the crucifixion of Jesus.
b) Making a loud authoritative claim doesn't make you
right, either.
3) There is more to Camping's prediction than a date.
a) Camping also believes the "church age" has been over
since 1988 and all churches are now ruled by Satan.
b) If you go to church, you are not saved and will not be
raptured.
c) It is interesting that around May 21, 1988, Camping was
was removed as a teacher in his church in California.
III. Can the date of Christ's return ever be known?
A. Some believe the final generation will know the day is near.
1) Jesus - we can know the general time. Matt 24:32
a) When the gospel is preached through the whole world,
then the end can come. Matt 24:14
b) As a fig tree shows the season, so apocalyptic
events will reveal the end is near.
c) But those events include Jesus coming in a cloud of
glory (Luke 21:27) so there won't be much warning!
2) Paul - we are not in darkness and won't be surprised.
a) Those who are faithful and morally straight will not
have to worry. 1 Thess 5:4
B. Why every precise prediction will fail.
1) Jesus says no one can know the day or the hour - he doesn't
even know it himself. Matt 24:36
a) Harold Camping once said he wasn't giving the day and
hour, but the week and month.
b) (He is a lot more precise lately.)
2) Here is why we cannot know exactly - God will shorten the
time period before the end. Matt 24:22
a) Out of compassion, God may not carry out the full agenda.
b) Exact predictions are therefore meaningless.
IV. What if Harold is right?
A. Bible students in the past have made incredible predictions.
1) In the 1860's, Dispensationalists took a new approach to
interpreting the Bible.
a) Previous generations had assumed all the Old Testament
prophecies were fulfilled in a figurative way by the
Christian church.
b) It seemed ludicrous to think that God would fulfill
prophecies for the nation of Israel that had not
existed for centuries.
2) Dispensationalists argued the Bible prophecies should
be taken literally.
a) They said Israel would become a nation again, because
prophecies assumed it would exist in the future.
b) Almost 100 years later, in 1948, Israel once again
became a nation.
3) But note what these Bible scholars didn't claim.
a) They said Israel would become a nation again, but they
did not say when it would happen.
b) And some of their other predictions have not come true.
Hal Lindsey expected the European Common Market to
grow to 10 countries and become the realm of the
Antichrist.
Instead, the Common Market became the European Union
and now has 27 members.
There is no Antichrist on the scene unless you think
he is French President Sarkozy.
B. Camping could get lucky, I suppose.
1) Jesus can come back any time he wants.
2) If he came back now, would he take you?
a) Not everyone is ready for him.
b) The Second Coming is only a blessing for true believers.
V. You should always be ready.
A. Jesus says his coming will be like a thief in the night.
1) You don't know when it will happen, but you can lock
your windows. Matt 24:43
2) Be ready!
a) Readiness is not: figuring out the timetable.
b) Readiness is doing what your Lord wants you to do.
c) It means you don't carouse around and abuse fellow
believers. Matt 24:49
B. Know that nothing can separate you from God. Romans 8:35
1) Not tribulation, death - or even the end of the world.
2) While some of us MAY experience the rapture, all of us
will probably experience death.
a) I did a funeral last night at 8:00 p.m.
b) I visited a woman who is under hospice care.
c) If Jesus is with us, we don't need to fear.
C. Plan for a future.
1) The great reformer Martin Luther - plant a tree this
afternoon if you know the Lord is coming tonight.
2) Invite your neighbors to be part of God's kingdom.
3) Make sure you are part of it as well!
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#63121 “Will The Rapture Be On May 21?” by Ralph Tone, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, May 10, 2011.
Harold Camping’s numerology scheme can be found at
http://web.archive.org/web/20110620164429/http://www.familyradio.com/
graphical/literature/proof/proof.html (the original page was removed
in June 2011)
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
End of the world predictions
"44 failed & 1 ambiguous end-of-the-world predictions that were to occur
between 30 & 1920 CE"
http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl2.htm
SECULAR PREDICTIONS vs CHRISTIAN PROPHECY
http://www.religioustolerance.org/end_wrl5.htm
http://www.hurtingchristian.org/PastorsSite/weeklystudies/questionsalways/
study8.htm
"what if they are right?"
http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2011/01/precisely-predicting
-the-end-of-the-world/
"Can We Predict the End of Time?" by Mark Roberts
http://static.justchristians.com/abundantLife/091996/2.html
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