CHRISTMAS YET TO COME

Chapter 1- Date Setting and the Tribulation
The word Christmas comes from the two words Christ (the anointed one) and mass (the celebration of communion). So, although literally it means “the celebration of Christ’s communion”, Christmas commonly refers to the birth and first appearance or advent of Jesus Christ. The timing of that first Christmas was prophesied throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible called the Tanakh. Many Bible chronologists have studied and used those prophecies to declare that Jesus was not only the promised, anointed one but that he appeared precisely at the time that was foretold throughout scripture. Assuming that they are correct and that Jesus’ first appearance was forecast to the exact day, then it would seem likely that God would also supply the necessary information to determine the timing of His second appearance, a Christmas yet to come. Like Christmas Future in Charles Dicken’s novel A Christmas Carol, this Christmas yet to come is prophesied to include death and destruction but ultimately will end in restoration and eternal life for mankind.
Indeed, there is an abundance of scripture that gives specific days, months and years regarding the chronology of the end times. In fact, there is more prophecy concerning Christ’s second coming than there is for his first. It is the hope here to show you a possible, if not probable, timeline developed based solely on God’s holy word. There is a majority of opinion that “no one can know the day or the hour” of Jesus’ second coming and that this is clearly stated in the Bible. So, one primary concern is whether or not an attempt should even be made to determine when this Christmas yet to come, Christ’s second return, could occur. Again, there are many verses in the Bible related to the end times, and many of these provide specific dates and times. Consequently, it only seems reasonable that these specifics were put there for a reason.
However, the most frequently cited objection to seeking a more exact timing to Jesus’ return is one verse.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. Matthew 24:36
It is just assumed that because this verse states “no one knows”, that no one will ever know. Yet, Jesus never reprimanded his disciples for wanting to know the time of the end but actually encouraged them to seek it.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:32
In fact, He actually rebuked the Jewish leaders of the time of His first coming for not knowing the time of that first appearance.
For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation. Lk 19:43-44
Since there are about five hundred prophecies in the Old Testament that refer to Christ’s Second Coming; and, one out of every twenty-five verses in the New Testament deals with the return of Christ [Reagan, 2011]1, it would seem wise to examine and study God’s word thoroughly in order to establish as closely as possible the time of His next appearance.
The phrase “the day or hour” implies that although the exact specific time may not be known, it does not prevent us from knowing the general time frame of his second coming. In addition, this phrase is known to refer to a specific feast day in the Jewish culture, the Feast of Trumpets, one of the main Jewish holidays that occurs in the Fall. Because the Feast days are based on a lunar calendar and rely on the presence of a new moon, it is difficult to determine the exact day of most of the Feast Days, including the Feast of Trumpets. Many believe that because of this phrase (“of that day and hour no one knows”), it will be on a Jewish feast day that Jesus will make His second appearance on earth.
Now, if it is not wrong to seek the time of His coming, the next question is whether it is even possible to determine when that time takes place. Certainly, many men have tried to set specific dates, and all have failed, going down in history, to the glee and mocking of doubters, as failures and often referred to in a derogatory manner as “date setters”.
Of course, many in the past have thought that their time on earth was the “time of the end”. The Early Church Fathers thought that Jesus was coming back soon. Our grandfathers and our fathers have been calling for the return of Christ in their lifetime. Yet, still it has not happened. Will it happen in our lifetime?