Last Days Prophecy

“We are the fig tree generation of Matt. 24:32.”

“The rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948 was the start of the prophetic clock.”

“Jesus said that he would return during the fig tree generation.”

“ In Scripture a generation is 40 years.”

“ So, although we don’t know the day or the hour, Jesus will return before 1988!”

This is the message of the best selling “non-fiction” book of the 1970’s.

Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth has been translated into 54 languages and has sold over 35,000,000 copies.

Mr. Lindsey was wrong about when Jesus would return, but nobody seems to care… he continues to churn out “non-fiction” last days prophecy books. And he is venerated as a Bible scholar. Here is the way that he is described on raptureready.com

“It is undeniable that Hal Lindsey is a true expert in the field of Bible prophecy. His books are a great place for any serious student to study.”

Last days prophecy is big business and Mr. Lindsey is one of the moguls of the industry. His success has inspired others such as Tim LaHaye, and John Hagee. And their last days doctrines have become accepted theology in Bible schools and churches around the world. But all of these great theologians have missed one of the central teachings of the Bible. It is not easy to accept what I am about to tell you. Jesus told his disciples when he would return!

• Over a dozen times the writers of the gospels quote Jesus telling his disciples that he would return before they had all “tasted death” (Matt. 16:27,28). He said that he would return before that first century generation had “passed away” (Matt. 24:34) Our leaders use convoluted mental contortions to deny what these Scriptures teach, but Jesus’ disciples knew what he meant…

• We know that they expected him to return before they had all died because in John 21:23 we read that they expected that John would live to see Jesus’ return.

One of the central themes of the New Testament is the writers’ eager expectation of Jesus’ imminent return. Here are a few examples:

• “…the coming of the Lord is at hand… the Judge is standing at the door.” (James 5:8,9)

• “Yet a very little while and he who is coming will come and will not delay.” (Heb. 10:37)

• “Do not seal up the words of prophecy of this book for the time is near.” (Rev. 22:10)

• “I am coming soon.” “I am coming soon.” “I am coming soon.” (Rev. 22:7,12,20)

Dear bamboozled reader, we have been deceived by generations of theologian-Bible scholars who don’t actually study God’s Word! Our gurus of last days prophecy don’t even notice that Paul told the people in Corinth that the rapture would happen before all of them had died. Here is a familiar Scripture, the time of the rapture is hidden in plain sight!

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.     (1 Cor. 15:50-52)

Do you see it? Paul wrote to believers in Corinth and told them that some of them would live to be raptured… (“not all sleep” means “not all die.” “Sleep” is a common euphemism for “die.”)

So what does all of this mean?

If none of the Corinthian Christians were not raptured in the first century, then Paul is a false prophet. And if Jesus didn’t return before all of his disciples had died, then the Bible is nonsense and if he did return, then all of our last days prophecy is nonsense.

Mr. Lindsey’s books should move from the “non-fiction” to the “fantasy” section.

If you’d like to know the truth about the Jesus’ second coming and the rapture, read Bamboozled Believers and subscribe to our Bible study. It is called Meat Not Milk.