Grace Bible Church



The Fallacy Of Date Setting

"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Rev 6vs10.

What we have here is the earnest desire and fervent request of those saints (Christians) in heaven who have been freed from the deceptions of the world, the weakness of the flesh, the carnality of their fallen nature, the ignorance of a mind limited by our earthly realm.

These overcomers who will have no occasion to return to this dying world before judgment day, who also could inform us of the operations of heaven and more accurately instruct us in the purposes of GOD to come, having been there and also delivered from a corrupt body. Nevertheless they too are still subject to the law of ignorance concerning Christ return.

They are instructed to be content with Christ righteousness and his Kingdom of patience. "And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." Rev 6vs11.

If this be true for them, how much more so is it true for those here below, sinful men, men subject to lethal doses of pride and presumption, arrogance and self glory, who have asked in vain, for centuries, the same question? Who have sought to pry into the secret council of the Godhead and discover a mystery that Our Master Christ didn't even know when he walked this earth as our representative, clothed in our nature, very man of very man, the last Adam.

Who himself walked by faith and submitted to his Fathers will and did not , as a man, know all things, except as the Father revealed them to him. "For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel." John 5vs20. An omniscient GOD cannot be shown anything, he knows all things at all times, but a finite man can, see Luke 2vs52. "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Math 24vs36.

This is the man Christ speaking, teaching his disciples to be content with their duty and mission to preach the gospel, and not be detoured by the sensational and curious inquiry men will attempt, to be like GOD and know the future. Thus you read the new testament epistles and you will not find the slightest hint of some special knowledge of the LORDS return by the apostles. See Acts 1vs7, 1Thess 5vs1, and Deut 29vs29.

So then why have men since the first century attempted to discover the exact or approximate time of Christ return? Are you ready?....... EGO! That's all it could be. That thing that will put us all in hell if GOD in mercy doesn't put it in check. "I will do this, and I will do that. And I will know this and I will know that. And no one shall limit me, not even GOD".

Why it is preposterous to think that one can abrogate this divine limitation set for the good of all human creatures. Everyone who has attempted to break that hedge has been bitten by the serpent to one degree or another. Ecc 10vs8 "He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him." And sometimes the consequences are devastating. As intriguing as it is, no man knows!

The title of the this track is the FALLACY of date setting. The word fallacy means, to give a false appearance. To mislead the eye or the mind. To be deceptive in nature.

So GOD calls Himself TRUE and all men LIARS. Rom 3vs4 "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."

Here are several reasons why date setting is inherently fallacious.

(1) The whole preoccupation with the timing of the end of the world and Christ actual return is a major departure from the real need of man. The gospel! The commission given to Christ church is one thing, preach Christ. 1cor 3vs1 "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

The apostle John said this in 2John 9 "Whosoever transgresseth (goes beyond) and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not GOD. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he has both the Father and the Son."

In many ways the western churches especially have departed from Christ. The gospel is the last thing that your larger so-called Christian denominations are preaching. It is an evidence that the Spirit of GOD has departed.

His charge is to make Christ known to sinners. To make him known as Mediator, Redeemer, Savior, Advocate and LORD. As one preacher put it, the bible is GOD's hymn book, It's about HIM, Jesus Christ, not about his second coming, but his coming to lost and dying sinners who need mercy and grace, and salvation from the curse of the law and the just wrath of GOD Almighty.

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. The Christ of God is unknown to this highly religious generation. The Majesty of Christ and his omnipotent grace, is mocked as needless, except in a few modern songs, here or there. For the most part the churches are sleep, inundated by existential experience- based delusions, feeling oriented and void of sound doctrine. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2tim 4vs3,4

(2) Here is another reason that date setting is inherently fallacious. The systems generally used to mark out calendar details of Christ purported returns are predicated upon Old testament feast days, new moons and Sabbaths. They almost invariably use the calendars of the Jews to speculate when He will come, coupled with astronomical and general calendars.

Because in His first coming, the Son of GOD honored that covenant of works given only to the Jewish nation, he honored that covenant of shadows, pictures, promises, and ceremonies, which all pointed to him. Psalm 40vs7 and John 5vs40. It is therefore presupposed that he should come again through this charter.

Many have alleged that he would come on the day of atonement. Some the day of the feast of trumpets. Some the day of the feast of ingatherings. And some because they have seen the historically consistent failure of these attempts have picked more obscure feasts days, like the days of Purim and the like. But these also have failed, because they are under the same charter. ( The Old covenant system )

My friend, If I were to give you a map that is no longer in use because the road to your destination has been changed, would you be confident that I am leading you accurately where you wanted to go? Of course Not! Well that's exactly what we have here.

The old testament feast days and ceremonial law, is an obsolete map. It has no credibility, with GOD. Christ is the end of the LAW. Rom 10vs4 and Heb 8vs13. That is the old covenant and testament kept a chronological method of bringing in the Messiah.

The Apostle Paul made it abundantly clear that the age of shadows have passed. So that to use a shadow when it's substance is come, is preposterous. Colossian 2vs16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."

It is easy to see with hindsight the coming of our Savior in the old testament both in the types and in the chronology of the scriptures. But that is exactly the way God wanted it, hindsight. But now that the SEED who was promised in the garden has come, and for which strict genealogies were to be kept, there is no more need for genealogies or timelines. Christ has COME! And he has come in the fullness of the times. 1Tim 1vs4 "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. 5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:"

Not a calendar system to the return of Christ !

While your various groups, the Jehovah witnesses, the Seventh day Adventist, the ancient Donatist, and many sects and cults in between have attempted this forbidden practice, and all with various methods, yet their basic structure was very similar, an old testament feast day starting point. They have all had the same dismal results, failure again and again.

Because they were using a map that is obsolete!

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

Passages like these have been used to justify the fervor and zeal behind date setting, date suggesting, date assuming, whatever you wish to call it.

But these passages do not give license to go beyond the prohibition set by Christ, the great Prophet of the church, who said that many would be saying "And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them." Luke 21vs8.

Rumors of war. The calamities of life. The difficulties of the times. The wars and rumors of wars. The constant apostasies of the churches, unfortunately are used to draw and attract people to ministries or churches or groups, needlessly. That is for the wrong purpose. "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." Matt 24vs6.

What the people of God are instructed to do, by Jesus Christ himself, when noise, rumors, tumults are in the newspaper, or in the mouths of church members, and pastors, is to rest! BE NOT TROUBLED !

Sadly this advice is never ever hearkened to until extensive psychological and emotional not to say economic damage, is done to many who are driven by the winds of sensationalism. For example! Y2K

Would you take some advice as to how to deal with this rumor? "Be not troubled." We live in a world that is a sunk ship. Earthquake faults, hurricanes, tornadoes, famines, etc.

Y2K is a man made dilemma, of limited consequences. The threat of it's ramification only tells us how dependent we are upon mans inventions, instead of the true and living God. Jeremiah 17vs5 "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." Store up a little water, food, money, but don't make a doctrine out of it. Don't sell the hype for monetary gain, that's fraud! Fear mongering is the devils way of denying the real and legitimate rumor and war. To develop a coldness and insensitivity to the real threat! Judgment day

There is day coming which is far worse than Y2K. Far worse than nuclear threats. And that is the GREAT day of GOD in judgment. Rev 20vs11 "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

Between the infidels that run the majority of religious seminaries, with their modern thought philosophy designed to make the true and the living GOD to be no more relevant and significant than the false gods of the pagans, by their systematic attempt at destroying the veracity of the scripture, which has done a great deal to put unregenerate men and women upon a false hope of self help, and the extremist who blemish the cause of Christ by their superstitious and unlearned zeal, with the unprofitable and sensational doctrine of eschatology, which hurt and ruin unstable souls. The true threat is put far away from the hearts of all mankind as never to happen!

Ask your average professing Christian " do you really believe in a final judgment day where all men will stand before GOD almighty and give an account for the things that they have done in this life"? 2cor 5vs10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences."

Listen my friend, the date is set. It is a continuous date. Men have their date with God daily. Every moment the date set by God comes to pass and men and women are departing from this earth to meet their Maker. But there is another date set, for public trial, which date God only knows. You and I had best spend our time making our election and calling sure.

If we are his sheep, follow him! John 10vs27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" If you know the truth, speak only it, in love! Eph 4vs14,15 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"

And the truth is in Jesus! Eph2vs21 "If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:"

If the church of Jesus does this it will demonstrate that true unity by which the celestial Kingdom that it is will testify and convince the world of the validity of Christ claims as Lord and Savior of the World. John 13vs35 "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

"Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way" Ps119vs104

Summary

The Fallacy of date setting

(1) It deviates from the true mission of the Church which is to preach the everlasting Gospel of our GOD and Savior.

(2) It attempts to do something that is impossible as well as prohibited by Christ.

(3) The Maps used to allege a time sequence for His return are obsolete and without merit with GOD.

(4) It reeks havoc in the life , family and churches of those who are naive enough to cross that line and engage in the sensational, very much like your sign and wonder movements of today.

(5) Remedy? Know the truth, which is in Christ, which is the Word of God alone .

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14vs6.

Preaching the Sovereign Grace of God through Christ alone!

Pastor JesseGistand
Grace Bible Church
San Leandro, CA 94572

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