No Man Knoweth the Day
I was just thinking that if the LDS are to build the New Jerusalem in response to the Tribulation and for protection against the coming Wrath of God; I was thinking it makes sense that there is no dates given in the Bible for the Second Coming. I mean, scripture suggest that Christ will hasten his appearing. Or in other words, the Saints may hasten the appearing of Christ to New Jerusalem by prayer, purifying themselves, and working hard to build and complete the city of New Jerusalem here in North America. (If you build it, He will come). So, it makes sense that scripture does not give a date, because Christ's coming may depend on us. But other dates may possible be known with regard to Daniel's 70 weeks, the 1/2 hour silence, and the 7 year tribulation.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 (NIV) Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
Ezekiel 7:25 (NIV) When terror comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none.
Jeremiah 6:14 (NIV) They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace.
Dan 8:25 (KJV) And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
Dan 9:25-26 (KJV) Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.26And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Daniel 9:27 (NIV) He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’ but in the middle of that ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And one who causes desolation will place abominations on a wing of the temple until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
In the the 70-week prophecy of Daniel, each week is equal to a year. Daniel's 70 weeks also refers to 70, 50-year periods called Jubilees. In the time of Christ, the 70 weeks started with the the birth of Christ and ended with the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The significant event that occurred in the 62nd week or 62-63 AD according to Dan 9:26 is the martyrdom of Peter, Paul, and James of Jerusalem. By the way, Rome tried to kill John the Beloved but he survived being thrown into the fiery furnace and was exiled to Patmos instead. Not long after, Rome came against Jerusalem beginning in Sept 66 AD. First Gallus was repulsed, Vespasian abandoned the war in 68 AD to be crowed Emperor, and then General Titus completed the invasion in 70 AD. Massad was taken in 73 AD.
If the same 70-week prophecy is to be re-fulfilled in the Last Days, then what would be date 0? Some say the beginning of the 70 weeks is the creation of the State of Israel on May 16th 1948. If that is the zero date, then could 2010-11 could be the start of tribulation? Has anything happened this year that could signify the sounding of the trumpets spoken of in Revelation?
This year we are seeing countries like Iceland, Greece, Ireland, and Portugal declare bankruptcy resulting in civil unrest and rioting stemming from the banking failures in 2008. Also, we have economic sanctions and a covert (black ops) war being waged against Iran approved by Congress on June 24, 2010. We also saw the water turn to blood this year following the Gulf Oil Spill on April 20th, 2o1o. We also have a quiet war in Mexico raging between government and drug cartels that has been spilling over onto US soil.
On a spiritual down note, we had an agreement on Sept 1, 2010 by the LDS Church to prohibit and remove proxy baptism records for Jewish holocaust victims. But on a positive note, the Chinese government gave their approval that Chinese LDS who are baptized while living abroad may may attend LDS services in China.
At some point, very soon, will Israel and Turkey reach an agreement about rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem? The temple institute has already completed work on the actual (not copies) kosher temple vessels, furniture, priestly robes, and priestly training that will be used in the 3rd Temple. they claim that if permission were given, that they could have the temple built in 1 year. The 70 Jubilees may come into play. According to my understanding of it, there were 50 Jubilee years from Adam to the Exodus. Israel entered into the land of Cannan about 1416-1406 BC. If this date is correct, 70 Jubilee years later will be 2015-2024. It is believed that during the 69th Jubilee year in 1967, Israel fought the 6-day War and regained possession of the City of Jerusalem. That would put the 70th Jubilee at about 2017. The problem is that no one is sure the exact start date of Daniel's 70 weeks, and rabbi's debate whether the 50th Jubilee year is 49 or 50 years long.
As far as the temple location goes, we know the Dome on the Rock was built over Herod's Temple. But could it be that Herod's temple was built next to Zerubbabel's Temple in 19BC and not on top of it? It is said that Zerubbabel's temple was torn down and Herod's built in it's place, but in Josephus "Wars of the Jews", Herod is critical of the temple of Zerubbabel's temple built by Darius and Ceres, and says his temple is built to a higher elevation (20 cubits) like Solomons. Could this commentary mean that Herod believed Zerubbabel's temple was not built in the correct spot? Herod was of the assumption that the location of the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite was not at the pinnacle of Mount Moriah but maybe a flat slope of exposed bedrock off to the side. Accordingly, this it may be possible to rebuild the 3rd Temple next to the Dome on the Rock in the original place of Solomon's and Zerubbalel's temple while the Dome on the Rock occupies the location of Herod's temple in the court of the Gentiles.
In current events, will a more open, formal war escalate between America and Iran bringing the armies of many nations to Jerusalem? If the first 2 trumpets have sounded (financial crisis, oil spill), is the 3rd trumpet ready to sound (wormwood)? There has been a lot of talk about missing Cobalt-60 in the media as well as Adnan Al Shukrijumah who with several other al-Qaeda co-conspirators were trained in nuclear engineering at McMaster University in Canada. A Cobalt-60 dirty bomb anywhere in the Mississippi-Missouri watershed area could cause big problems for downstream water users.
The important point in all of this, is not trying to figure out the exact dates, but when we see these events happen, we should feel inspired to prepare ourselves and our families spiritually and temporally for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. For the wicked the day will be terrible, but for the righteous, the day is promised to be truly wonderful. What are you doing to prepare?
