Will Christ return in 2017

1. Will Christ returnin2017 –15th
March2017
“But aboutthat day or hour no one knows,not even the angels inheaven, nor the Son, butonly the
Father.”(Matthew24:36).
The date-settersare at itagain.AlthoughJesustoldthat noone knows whenHe will return - as stated
above foundinthe passage from Matthew 24:36–44, some people insistonmakingpredictions
concerningthe timingof the rapture and/orthe secondcoming.A currenttheoryisthat Jesuswill return
in2017, basedon the ideathat 2017 isa Jubilee yearthatwill fulfill amedieval rabbi’sprophecy.
The ideathat Jesuswill returnduringayearof Jubilee comesfromsome calculationsmade byRabbi
JudahbenSamuel inAD 1217. Accordingto the rabbi,there wouldbe a certainnumberof Jubileesfrom
benSamuel’stime until the Messianickingdomwouldbegin.The year2017 is saidto be the endof that
predictedperiod;thus,some peoplelookforJesus’returnduringSukkot(the Feastof Tabernacles) in
2017 (October4—11).
There are some problemswiththistheory,besidesthe factthatitattemptsto seta date forChrist’s
return.One problemisbasedonthe Mosaic Law. Leviticus25:10, “Consecratethe fiftiethyear and
proclaimlibertythroughoutthe landto all its inhabitants.Itshall be a jubileefor you; each of youis to
return to yourfamilyproperty and to your ownclan.” The “land”here isIsrael,and“all its inhabitants”
are those livingwithinIsrael’sborders.Jewishinterpretationof thiscommandhasalwaysbeenthatthe
Jubilee isonlyobservedwhenthe twelve tribesof Israel are intheirlandanddwellingintheirallotted
territories.Afterthe northerntribesweredeportedby Assyriain722 BC, the observance of the Jubilee
lawceased,andit has neverbeenresumed.
Also,there isnoway to be certainthat 2017 isan actual yearof Jubilee.And,evenif itis,it wouldnot
signal the returnof Christ.Accordingto some Jewishsources,nocommemorationof Jubileeisinorder
whenthere isnoSanhedrin—andtherehasnotbeena Sanhedrinsince the destructionof the second
temple inAD70. Inancienttimes,the Jubilee yearbeganwiththe Sanhedrin’sblastof the shofar – the
ram’s horn.
Anotherproblemwiththe theorythatJesuswillreturnin2017 to setup His kingdomisthatthe Bible
saysthe kingdomwill be precededbya seven-yeartribulation inwhichGod’sjudgmentsare pouredout
on the earth.Basedon that chronology,the tribulationbeganin2010! Apostle Paul tellsusnottobe
deceived;theremustfirstbe agreat apostasy,thenthe Restrainer mustbe takenoutof the way,and
thenthe man of sin – whichisthe Antichrist- will be revealed aswe canlearnfrom2 Thessalonians2:3–
4, “Don’tlet anyonedeceive youin any way,for that day will not come until the rebellionoccurs and
the man of lawlessness[a]
isrevealed, the man doomedto destruction. 4
He will opposeand will exalt
himselfover everything that iscalled Godor is worshiped,sothat he sets himselfupin God’stemple,
proclaiminghimselftobe God.” The Antichristwill holddictatorial power foratleastthree anda half
years,so byany measure the 2017 date isa fallacy.
We can readfrom part of an article writtenby JohnPiperinreference tothe secondcoming: “Letme
stressthat the disagreementoverpre- andpost-tribulationismisnotone thatI thinkshouldthreaten
our fellowship.Itshouldnotbe divisive.The thingsonwhichwe agree are sostupendousasto
overwhelmourheartsincommonlove forthe Lord andhisappearing.Letus notmake the second
cominga centerof controversy,buta cause forworshipandearnesthope andliberatingconfidence for

2. the ministrybefore us! (JohnPiperPastorof BethlehemBaptistChurch,Minneapolis,Minnesota.He is
author of more than 50 books.)
It ispossible thatthe rapture of the church couldoccur in2017—or in a few days—orina few centuries
to come!The factis… we don’tknow!Because Jesussaid: “Butaboutthat day or hour no one knows,
not even the angelsinheaven, nor the Son, but onlythe Father.”(Matthew24:36). The importantthing
for all Christians istobe readywhenHe comes andnot keeplisteningtofalse doctrine.We needto
make sure that we are inChristand “keepwatch,because youdonot know the day or the hour. We can
learnwhen JesussaidinMatthew25:13, “Therefore keep watch,because you do not knowthe dayor
the hour.”