Fig Tree Generation, Shemitah, and 2nd Coming
Oct 15, 2021 11:27:08 GMT -6
uscgvet, disciple4life, and 1 more like this
Post by bruce on Oct 15, 2021 11:27:08 GMT -6
Hi all, I haven't posted for a while, but I have had some thoughts percolating for a while about how the rapture and tribulation could ultimately fall out that I wanted to share. I have seen some of these thoughts shared by others in other places, but I have a few observations of my own to add. Part of what has prompted this is that there are many commonly held ideas in the watchman community that I think are generally correct, but may be off a little with the details. So I'll get to it:
1. Fig Tree Generation
It is generally thought that the fig tree is Israel and the generation that sees Israel become a nation will see Jesus return (with the rapture at least 7 years prior). This prompts the question of when the final generation started? And how long is a generation? To the first question, the most commonly given answer is May 14, 1948, the day the state of Israel was proclaimed. To the second, 70-80 years, based on Psalm 90. If both of these assumptions are correct, then we are already past the time when the tribulation should start (May 2028 - 7 years = May 2021). Some have proposed a "dreaded overtime" on the idea that the second coming could go a full year past the 80th anniversary and still fall within the idea of 80 years, but this reckoning also will expire in a few months around May of 2022, and unless the tribulation starts this fall, this reckoning would seem to put the end of the tribulation at some other time of year and thus not aligned with the fall feasts.
I think the 70-80 year generation makes a lot of sense, but I wonder if May 14, 1948 is indeed the best date to start the generation. I have observed before that Israel was not a nation at peace until nearly a year later. They didn't have a government until 1949 and the final armistice in their war of independence wasn't signed until July 1949. I only recently learned that they did not proclaim Jerusalem as their capitol until December of 1949. At the time they only controlled the parts of Jerusalem west of the Old City which they gained in the 1967 war, but they none-the-less established Jerusalem as the capitol (the parts they controlled) at the very end of 1949. There was also a lunar tetrad at that time spanning 1949 and 1950. Is it possible that instead of focusing on 1948 we should be looking at 1949 when the nation finally established a government and capitol after winning their war of independence? It seems reasonable to me. I expect many watchmen to throw up their hands if we get past May 2022 (or even sooner if they believe the 2nd coming must happen in the fall of 2028) thinking that the fig tree generation interpretation is wrong, but it may not be as wrong as they think. They just need to tweak the start date.
2. Shemitah
If the Shemitah is possible to discern, I think that the commonly held view of when it is is likely correct, i.e. 2021-2022 and every 7 years prior (2014-2015, 2007-2008, 2000-2001, etc.). World economic patters of the past few decades do seem to correlate to this 7 year cycle. That would mean that we just entered the Shemitah this past Feast of Trumpets (whether that was in September or last week is a topic for another post) and the new cycle of 7 years will begin in the Fall of 2022. The Shemitah after that would be 2028-2029. Some have argued why it might make sense that the Tribulation would occur during a 7 year Shemitah cycle. I could see that happening two ways: since the Shemitah is a year of rest, it could start in a 7th year and end in a 6th year so that there would be rest after the Tribulation. It could also simply follow years 1-7. Assuming the latter view, the Tribulation would likely start in the fall of 2022 and end in the fall of 2029.
3. 2nd Coming
What I have described above would lend itself to a 2029 Second Coming. A few more observations about 2029 seems to add weight to this being the year of Christ's return, though as a disclaimer, I am merely speculating, not date setting. First of all, I hold to the 33 AD view of the timing of Jesus' death and resurrection. This view is most compellingly presented by Rick Larson who made the Bethlehem Star documentary. I have not found theories proposing other years to be as compelling, so what follows assumes a 33 AD crucifixion/resurrection. If 33 is the correct year, then Jesus' ministry likely would have begun 3 1/2 years prior in the fall of 29 AD. When Jesus quotes Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry, he implies that they are in a Jubilee year. 2029 will be 2000 years later. As 2000 is divisible by 50, that would possibly make 2029 also a Jubilee year, and thus a compelling year for Jesus' return. A second coming in the fall of 2029 would also occur before the 80th anniversary of the proclamation of Jerusalem as Israel's capitol in December of 1949.
4. When is the rapture?
If the above is correct, then the rapture would need to occur before roughly the middle of the fall of 2022. That gives a window of about a year. I have been rapture watching intensely for 10 years now. I have explored the connections of the rapture to all of the feasts and other days as well. You name a feast date and I can probably tell you why it would make a good fit for the rapture. I have also explored why the rapture doesn't have to happen on a feast, and that case is similarly compelling. Paul proclaims that the rapture is a mystery meaning it was a hidden truth until he revealed it. The timing may likewise be hidden. While God definitely uses types and shadows and parallels, He can also do something new, so the rapture could happen on a day we do not expect. If the Tribulation were to start next fall (2022) then a strong case could be made that the rapture should happen very soon. When we look at Revelation 4-6 we see the saints in heaven before Jesus opens the seals. The first seal is the antichrist. How much time elapses between our gathering in heaven and the riding forth of the antichrist we cannot say for sure, but it's not unreasonable to speculate that it won't be instant. The rapture will likely be a gut punch to the world, and it may take time, possibly months or even a year, before the antichrist can consolidate power and rise to the position of world dictator. I can't rule out that it could happen in a short gap that only lasts a few days, but months seems more plausible. That means the rapture really could happen any day and could very likely happen very soon!
Maranatha!
1. Fig Tree Generation
It is generally thought that the fig tree is Israel and the generation that sees Israel become a nation will see Jesus return (with the rapture at least 7 years prior). This prompts the question of when the final generation started? And how long is a generation? To the first question, the most commonly given answer is May 14, 1948, the day the state of Israel was proclaimed. To the second, 70-80 years, based on Psalm 90. If both of these assumptions are correct, then we are already past the time when the tribulation should start (May 2028 - 7 years = May 2021). Some have proposed a "dreaded overtime" on the idea that the second coming could go a full year past the 80th anniversary and still fall within the idea of 80 years, but this reckoning also will expire in a few months around May of 2022, and unless the tribulation starts this fall, this reckoning would seem to put the end of the tribulation at some other time of year and thus not aligned with the fall feasts.
I think the 70-80 year generation makes a lot of sense, but I wonder if May 14, 1948 is indeed the best date to start the generation. I have observed before that Israel was not a nation at peace until nearly a year later. They didn't have a government until 1949 and the final armistice in their war of independence wasn't signed until July 1949. I only recently learned that they did not proclaim Jerusalem as their capitol until December of 1949. At the time they only controlled the parts of Jerusalem west of the Old City which they gained in the 1967 war, but they none-the-less established Jerusalem as the capitol (the parts they controlled) at the very end of 1949. There was also a lunar tetrad at that time spanning 1949 and 1950. Is it possible that instead of focusing on 1948 we should be looking at 1949 when the nation finally established a government and capitol after winning their war of independence? It seems reasonable to me. I expect many watchmen to throw up their hands if we get past May 2022 (or even sooner if they believe the 2nd coming must happen in the fall of 2028) thinking that the fig tree generation interpretation is wrong, but it may not be as wrong as they think. They just need to tweak the start date.
2. Shemitah
If the Shemitah is possible to discern, I think that the commonly held view of when it is is likely correct, i.e. 2021-2022 and every 7 years prior (2014-2015, 2007-2008, 2000-2001, etc.). World economic patters of the past few decades do seem to correlate to this 7 year cycle. That would mean that we just entered the Shemitah this past Feast of Trumpets (whether that was in September or last week is a topic for another post) and the new cycle of 7 years will begin in the Fall of 2022. The Shemitah after that would be 2028-2029. Some have argued why it might make sense that the Tribulation would occur during a 7 year Shemitah cycle. I could see that happening two ways: since the Shemitah is a year of rest, it could start in a 7th year and end in a 6th year so that there would be rest after the Tribulation. It could also simply follow years 1-7. Assuming the latter view, the Tribulation would likely start in the fall of 2022 and end in the fall of 2029.
3. 2nd Coming
What I have described above would lend itself to a 2029 Second Coming. A few more observations about 2029 seems to add weight to this being the year of Christ's return, though as a disclaimer, I am merely speculating, not date setting. First of all, I hold to the 33 AD view of the timing of Jesus' death and resurrection. This view is most compellingly presented by Rick Larson who made the Bethlehem Star documentary. I have not found theories proposing other years to be as compelling, so what follows assumes a 33 AD crucifixion/resurrection. If 33 is the correct year, then Jesus' ministry likely would have begun 3 1/2 years prior in the fall of 29 AD. When Jesus quotes Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry, he implies that they are in a Jubilee year. 2029 will be 2000 years later. As 2000 is divisible by 50, that would possibly make 2029 also a Jubilee year, and thus a compelling year for Jesus' return. A second coming in the fall of 2029 would also occur before the 80th anniversary of the proclamation of Jerusalem as Israel's capitol in December of 1949.
4. When is the rapture?
If the above is correct, then the rapture would need to occur before roughly the middle of the fall of 2022. That gives a window of about a year. I have been rapture watching intensely for 10 years now. I have explored the connections of the rapture to all of the feasts and other days as well. You name a feast date and I can probably tell you why it would make a good fit for the rapture. I have also explored why the rapture doesn't have to happen on a feast, and that case is similarly compelling. Paul proclaims that the rapture is a mystery meaning it was a hidden truth until he revealed it. The timing may likewise be hidden. While God definitely uses types and shadows and parallels, He can also do something new, so the rapture could happen on a day we do not expect. If the Tribulation were to start next fall (2022) then a strong case could be made that the rapture should happen very soon. When we look at Revelation 4-6 we see the saints in heaven before Jesus opens the seals. The first seal is the antichrist. How much time elapses between our gathering in heaven and the riding forth of the antichrist we cannot say for sure, but it's not unreasonable to speculate that it won't be instant. The rapture will likely be a gut punch to the world, and it may take time, possibly months or even a year, before the antichrist can consolidate power and rise to the position of world dictator. I can't rule out that it could happen in a short gap that only lasts a few days, but months seems more plausible. That means the rapture really could happen any day and could very likely happen very soon!
Maranatha!
to celebrate Feast of Booths, and this number has grown rapidly over the last ten years. It is being fulfilled now, but not fully. 
