"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things." (Matt. 17: 11)
"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself." (Dan. 9: 25-26 kjv)
"And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ." (Luke 2: 25-26)
What do these verses have in common?
1. They show that the people living in the days preceding the first coming of the Lord should have known the time when Christ would be born. They should have known at least the year (and even the day as I believe along with others).
2. Simeon was given special revelation about the time of Christ' return, believing that Christ would come before he died. I have no doubt that many of the saints who live unto the second coming of the Lord will also be given revelation of Christ coming in their days.
3. The coming of Elijah in the person of John the Baptist signaled that Christ was coming on the heels of the Baptist heralding his arrival.
4. Elijah will come again also, in a more literal way than in the Baptist, and before the second coming of Christ, for he is one of the two witnesses who appear before the visible coming of Christ in the heavens as the Apocalypse shows.
Those who scoff at those of us who believe that we can know the time of the second coming (for we know the signs of his coming, or the times and seasons, so that the day of the Lord will come as we are expecting) are harming themselves and others who are only following scripture. Yes, we do not know the day or hour of the second coming of the Lord, but to say that we cannot know the season, and perhaps the year (2030) is denying what was the pattern that was set for his first coming.
Someone cries - "every date setter so far has been wrong." Ergo, all date setting is wrong.
How fallacious is this reasoning! If we followed it we would have to say that because a weatherman was wrong on one of his/her forecasts (predictions) we should therefore think he/she can never be right. The same with those who make economic forecasts. Why is all religious forecasting of prophetic events to be rejected? So what if some false prophets gave false prophecies, or false interpretations of prophecies? That fact does not mean all predicting is to be ignored.
Jesus said his coming would be like a woman being in travail (labor pains). Doctors predict the time when a newly conceived baby will be born, even giving a "due date" for the birth. Many times a mother gives birth before the "due date" and some after. Very few doctors miss being right in forecasting the month of the birth. So too we may not know the exact day or hour of the Lord's coming, but when the travail of our planet begins (Rom. 8: 22-23), we will then know the coming forth of the baby is immediate.
Was Daniel a date setter for giving the time when Christ would be born? Was John the Baptist a date setter? Was Hosea who said "after two days he will revive us" and "in the third day he will raise us up and live in his sight"? (Hosea 6: 1-2)
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