Many contributors and readers at AATW know that I believe the return of Christ is near. I will not state a year or make any of the specific predictions that date-setters do. I do not believe He will return in the next year; all I can say is that, in my spirit, I feel the coming and believe it will be within my lifetime.
I have held this belief for some time. It is born from an intuition, deep within, and from reading Scripture. Jesus in His Olivet Discourse gave a sequence to help us understand when His return would be near: the Abomination of Desolation; the Great Tribulation; the darkening of the sky; the sign of the Son of Man and the return of Jesus on the clouds.
Without a proper understanding of this sequence, the Olivet Discourse becomes unintelligible. The intertextuality between the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Daniel, followed up by the Book of Revelation, allows the reader to form a more complete picture of the end of the age.
The Abomination of Desolation referred to by Christ has not happened yet. Those who assert it happened in AD 70 make an error in their typology and misread what Josephus, our most important source on the sack of Jerusalem, has to say on the matter. Josephus did not understand AD 70 as a mirror to Antiochus’ desolation of the Temple in 167 BC. Antiochus’ desolation happened in the Jewish month of Chislev. The sack of Jerusalem in AD 70 happened on Tisha b’Av, the same day as the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC. Josephus understood AD 70 as a mirror to the Babylonian Exile, not as a mirror to the Seleucid persecution.
Whichever generation witnesses the Abomination of Desolation will also see the return of Christ. When He returns, He will set up His millennial Kingdom. The good works of the saints will follow them into the Kingdom (AKA the “Messianic Age”, the “Millennium”, etc), but much that we associate with “how we do Church” will not survive.
The Millennium represents a challenge to our perspective and our way of doing things. Its approach forces us to consider our priorities and question our attachment to things that are not essential to the Kingdom.
Sometimes, a glimpse of the reality of the Kingdom is enough to clear our mental fog, helping us to focus on what is really important.
…and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come…
-Hebrews 6:5
The first Christians saw these powers in the miraculous signs that accompanied the preaching of the Gospel. These signs testified to the reality of the risen Christ, including His promise to return, and showed them what heaven on earth would be like. Healing wonders revealed God’s love and compassion and the perfect state He planned for the world. Speaking in new tongues represented a reversal of the confusion caused at Babel: mankind would be one in Christ. Note that our national tongues were not abolished by this miracle: the catholicity of the early Church did not destroy the variation and distinctiveness that God spread among humans. The ability to strike enemies blind also emphasised the authority of Christ in heaven and on earth: nothing would be permitted to hinder the proclamation of His Gospel.
As we think about the approach of this Kingdom and see hints of its quality in the wonders of God, we must incorporate Kingdom thinking into our approach to today’s challenges.
All Along the Watchtower 
“The Abomination of Desolation referred to by Christ has not happened yet. ”
Hmmm.You don’t say.
“Those who assert it happened in AD 70 make an error in their typology ”
No, they aren’t making an error….they are lying through their teeth, and the ones that truly believe that have an anterior motive. Its a common catholic excuse to say it already happened and that most of Revelation has happened and over and done with. This pitiful plea hopes to take the heat off the CC. The catholics routinely deny they are the woman who is dressed in purple and scarlet and hold a gold cup and is in Rome. They say it was someone else, and in the distant past at that.John said it was for the future, not his time. I guess if I was a Mary worshiper I would claim my religion is blameless and pure and white.
So brother Nicholas, What is your belief about when Jesus comes soon again? You mentioned he will set up his kingdom. You didn’t mention the most important thing…..he comes twice. The next time he comes, his feet don’t touch the ground. He comes as a thief in the nite. We, the saved, willmeet him in the air and will be whisked off. The peoples of the earth will see us disappear. That’s when the fun starts. From this starting point the timer starts. From then its 7 yrs of Satans rule and then Jesus sets foot on the earth, with his saints, all riding horses. The blasphemous catholics think all those saints will be catholic saints. They will be the saints who died in Christ, not those who died clutching a graven image.Catholics are taught that there is no rapture, even though Jesus spoke of it and so did Paul. Yes, for them there is no rapture. And the prot denoms don’t understand it. The unsaved don’t understand. Sure they have heard about it and maybe seen a movie about it and a few got saved because of it, but the rest think its crazy.
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This WordPress theme is v awkward on my phone so please ignore ‘like’ marking for this comment. I understand point but it would be better to be more gracious in criticism, imho.
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Why ignore the like comment good brother Richard? Don’t you agree with my well documented comment?
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You seem to be rather cock-sure about your own salvation Bosco and therefore your possession of faith. I would only ask if you have surpassed the assurance of John the Baptist who declared:
John 1:29 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him, and he saith: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world.
And yet, just before he was beheaded he did the following:
Luke 7:20 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
20 And when the men were come unto him, they said: John the Baptist hath sent us to thee, saying: Art thou he that art to come; or look we for another?
So are you more sure of your faith than John the Baptist? How about Peter who said he would not deny Christ and yet did? Are you holier than these men and more sure of your faith than they? Beware of claiming holiness for oneself: your life is not yet over my friend and it is best to pray for perseverance in faith rather than making empty claims which only God Himself can know and reveal to you at your personal judgement.
I’m sure you sincerely believe this but did not John the Baptist and Peter also sincerely believe what had been revealed to them by God; and yet both showed doubt or fear at the end of their lives? Might you be wrong as well, Bosco?
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Good brother scoop, I am subject to being wrong as much as any human. Now, in my above comment, everything is from scripture. I just repeated it, but you come along and suggest im wrong. These aren’t Boscos thoughts…they are the holy ghosts words. Am I holier than John the Baptist? We are all fellow pilgrims. John noticed Jesus was the lamb who takes away the sins of the world, and then later wants to know if he should look for another. That always bothered me. I thought he already knew.Me personally, my faith doesn’t waver like his did. You know why? Because I was born again and he wasn’t. He was still carnal, but yet he will be saved. Hes got nothing to worry about. Your supposed first pope was human. He denied Christ to keep from being killed. But after he was bborn again, he couldn’t deny him any more. Am I greater than Peter or holier? We are both fellow pilgrims and neither is holier. We are flesh and blood and have no holiness. You false religion people think others have holiness and others have less or none. Oh thou false religious man, don’t you know that no human is holy? Do you not search the scriptures?
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I’m speaking of your prideful inclusion of yourself to those who are taken up in the clouds and the damning of all those left behind. You speak as such quite often Bosco. All I’m saying is pride goes before the fall.
What do you make of St. Paul’s comment:
1 Corinthians 9:27 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
27 But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway.
You don’t seem to even try to exercise the humility of the Paul and you take dismiss entirely the idea that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Seems you simply have it in your head that you are saved and people not like your are not. Must be nice and reassuring to you to know God’s mind and His future decisions in such matters.
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All I’m saying is pride goes before the fall
If any man should boast, let him boast in the Lord.
Good brother scoop, I believe the bible, and since you sort of keep track of what I say, you should realize that im not damning everyone who doesn’t get raptured. After the rapture, many will get saved, but it will come at the cost of beheading.
The born again can tell a fellow pilgrim very fast once they talk about our Lord. We both know the same person. And they can share when and how they were born again. Then again , we can tell if someone doesn’t know the Lord. Sometimes it get hard to tell an unsaved if they know lots of the lingo of the born again and mimic it. I used to watch this 3ABN show on TV. They sounded like a born again group of people, but something was nagging me. So I watched it every day for 3 weeks and then I found it. They never mentioned a name of their religion. That kept me guessing. But they finally did and it was the 7th Dayers, and their hook is that they are gods people because they honor the Sabbath. Oh they had me fooled at first, but it became obvious they didn’t know the Lord. The saved don’t do that “we against them” stuff and form a group of saved people who all you have to do is observe something.
So, you and others get pissed when I remind them that they are yet carnal. How dare Bosco say that when I pay my tithes to my sick sad religion to tell me im saved. My costumed holyman said I was born again….and to come back next week and get born again because it wears off. How dare Bosco say those things.
Well, its for your own good I tell you this.
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Fascinating ‘coincidence’ as I’ve drafted a post for tomorrow on Heb 6:5
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The post you shared from your friend about the Wheat and the Tares, spurred me to start writing on this topic. I hope that I can in some way contribute to the preparation with posts like these – the next steps is to become dedicated in prayer.
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Reblogged this on Richard's Watch and commented:
This by Nicholas is especially recommended for I suspected he’d follow up on our short public and private discussion on this topic by publishing his thoughts on this matter, on which I too have prepared a post on The Age To Come to follow this re-blog. In particular, we’re on the same page re last sentence of his opening paragraph…
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