Knowing when Messiah returns.. Part 1

Knowing when Messiah returns…. Part 1

The world immediately says that we cannot possibly know when Jesus will return. Your average American conservative evangelical immediately offers up the canned answer of their current pulpit pastor. Matthew 24:36-38 “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark”

This offering makes it appear that Messiah will be like a jack-in-the-box, the music plays and out of nowhere, half a crank on the handle and “POW” there he is! This blind side ambush of humanity is the artistic license of none other than Satan himself. It is the perfect partner to the rapture doctrine. It gives no incentive to heed the words, let alone study the words, of the Scriptures. Cherry picking is not producing fruit, we must find the scriptures that define these scriptures.

The reference to Noah in particular has me thinking about the complexity and depth of the meaning. Noah knew. Noah knew that the minute the ark was complete that the rains would begin. I am not much on Hollywood, however, I can see where the depiction of Evan Almighty being assisted by the larger animals in moving lumber and supplies to aid his task makes perfect sense. Nevertheless as the animals appeared Noah would know the time for the destruction was moving closer to being at hand. God had given Noah the vision and the warning of the end of the world as he knew it well in advance along with the instructions for his personal safety.

The question now becomes, “has God done the same for this generation?” and in my humble opinion I would have to say yes. It is up to us to find the answer in the scriptures. To understand this we have to look at the nature of God and His creation. We have to understand the term “moed” which is a Hebrew term meaning “appointed time”.

If we were to use that term today in a text message it would look like this: Wife “doctor’s moed?” Husband “2:30”

In the scriptures we can see when the moed was established. Genesis 1:14 “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”

Seasons (H4150 – 1. (properly) an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season. 2. (specifically) a festival.)

(H4150 is from root H3259  1. to fix upon (by agreement or appointment). 2. (by implication) to meet (at a stated time).

The Bible says nothing of the Garden of Eden having the seasons of spring, summer, fall or winter; would it have had a perfect temp for growing of all the plants, fruits and veggies at all times? I would believe that to be true as the text does not describe these taking place until after the flood, the flood having changed the topography of the planet immensely. Adam & Eve would have lived moed to moed meeting with God at appointed times for instructions and other times for fun and fellowship.

Drawing from the cliché “don’t put the cart before the horse” we have to look at the classic platform presented from the pulpits today. Their philosophy falls heavy on the scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:2 “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” This is the cart; we need to back up one verse to get the horse. 1 Thessalonians 5:1 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.” The first century Judean Christian would have known the times and seasons or the festivals that coincided with Gods prophetic calendar.

Let’s look on the rest of this scripture in context: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”

The only people shocked by the coming of the Lord are those walking in darkness. That does not mean unsaved, but those not walking in the light. Yeshua said He was the light of the world while John’s gospel says he was the Word from the very beginning.

• John 1:1, 4-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
• John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

 

The psalmist tells us in Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Those walking in the light, are those that know the Word of Torah, know the times and the seasons according to Torah. This just leaves us with the possibility they do not know the day or the hour. This is best summed up in the parable of the 10 virgins.

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

There is that day and hour issue rearing it head again. A couple of important things to consider here as we look at this parable and the history of Hebrew weddings: These 10 virgins are believers – because atheists aren’t waiting for this Bridegroom! Believers are the only ones eligible to enter the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Revelation 19:9 “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

Oil in scripture is connected to anointing and truth. The Word of God is the Oil of truth. John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” When the 5 wise tell the 5 foolish to go and buy oil they are telling them to go to the teachers of the Torah and learn of the truth. Torah has often been labeled as “Law”, while this seems to be the most widely accepted definition, we can see it better defined in the Hebrew as “instructions”.

The best interpretation of the word Torah is to break it down into the Paleo Hebrew, or pictographic Hebrew language, and it is described Torah as “The Covenant of The Nail is the Head of Revelation”