"His Majesty's Government (the world power of the time) view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."
as relates to the second advent of Christ. The basic concept is attributed to Christian Witness founder, Albert B. Simpson, ABS, (1843-1919). ABS believed the restoration of Israel was a necessity for Christ Advent1. The Balfour declaration could be taken as starting the Diaspora-end and Israel's gathering out of "all the nations".
The CW&MA, ABS's organization, also held the view, that General Allenby's liberation of Jerusalem (11 Dec. 1917) from Ottoman rule marked the end of the gentile age1.
Luke 21:24-25 (KJV): And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
The following verse from Genesis equates four hundred years to four generations. This equates to one generation being one hundred, 100 years, more or less. If one takes the Exodus account, a generation equates to 107.5 years.
Genesis, chapter 15: "And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. "
Exodus 12:40-41
Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.
So is given that a generation by one biblical account is around 100 years. The end of the last Diaspora was initiated November 1917. The significance of the two facts was told by Jesus in Mark 13:28-30:
"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
Notice Jesus did not say, 'when the fig tree is mature', but rather, 'when it starts to grow or put fourth'. Indicating the clock starts counting from the moment the event is initiated. Some eschatological counts start from 1948. However by 1948, the Diaspora-end was well underway, with substantial immigration to the holy land by 1948. The immigration was substantial enough for formation of militant groups to resist Crown administration of Jerusalem, prior to 1948.
Additional clarification was added by Jesus when he stated, "this generation shall not pass away until all these things be completed". Possibly the generation to which he referenced are those born since the end of the Diaspora starting in 1917. If so, then, counting places the end of the church age somewhere between 2017 and 2024.5 A.D. Arrived at by counting the length of a Genesis generation and adding those years to the date of Balfour's declaration.
Teach us to number our days
The last WW-1 veteran died in February 2012. There were about 65 million personnel in active service for that conflict. Presently, July 2012, there are less than 78 people documented to be older than 110 years. This is out of a global population of some 7 billion, give or take a billion. Clearly the 100 to 107.5 year span of a generation agrees with known mortality dynamics. My granny was one of the few who live past 100 years, she was born 1901 and passed late 2002 at nearly 102. The end of the Balfour century is fast approaching. Are you prepared for Christ return to take away his followers?
If not, please take a moment and ask Jesus to forgive your sins by the atonement of Calvary's Blood. Then, seek out a church to attend and meet weekly with those who encourage your decision for Christ.
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Footnote 1
Sawin File on A. B. Simpson: His Personal Life p253 Dear Friend: We are on the eve of stupendous things. That have begun [Nov 11, 1917] with the capture of Jerusalem a few weeks ago. They have all been foretold in the prophecies of the Bible. Your pastor invites you to come and follow this wonderful story the next few weeks in the Gospel Tabernacle, 44th Street and Eighth Avenue, New York on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m." A Stroke on January 18, 1918 cancelled these sermons.
ABS, The Coming One, 1912 NY NY Christian Alliance Pub. Co.
Page 78: There is no need for comment on such a record. How long it will take Him to finish the restoration of Israel we cannot tell. But it has begun, that is the political restoration. The dry bones are coming together, but there is yet no breath. It is a political society without God. & P191; The remarkable awakening in connection with Zionism is surely a sign of the times and of the end. P195: We may therefore expect that the end of Gentile rule and the restoration of Israel will come about in the same way by gradual processes. … find(ing) several successive points of departure in our measurement and several points of arrival corresponding. The whole process resembles a ribbon cut diagonally at both ends so that a number of lines carried horizontally from anyone end to the other would be equal.
ABS Sermons biblical sequence "The fall of Jerusalem in the Light of Prophesy" sermon title, St. Paul, Dec 1917 p73
Footnote 2
The 400 year or 435 years is taken not of necessity of total time in Egypt, (Gal.3.17). The equating of 400 years to 4 generations is specifically provided in the same bible passage, Genesis, 15:13-16.Notes on mortality tables from USA census data and other sources
The following stats are provided to document the credibility of biblical concept of a century as length of a generation.
American Census data show one in eight people are over age 65. The ratio of persons aged 95 and older to those over age 65 is about one percent. The implied ratio is only one in eight-hundred will live past 95. A further extrapolation is less than one in 8,000 will live past age 100. The exponential decrement factor is clearly shown when one considers that less than one in a million will age past 110 years of age. These stats give additional credence to the century concept of generation time span. Wiki lists less than 80 potentially verifiable living super centenarians (people who have attained the age of at least 110 years). Worldwide, the total numbers are extrapolated to be 300 – 450 living super centenarians. The wiki estimate of total world population by year 2020 is about 8,000 million or eight billion, and 7 billion in 2010.
Genesis 6:3-4 (KJV) And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
People verified by wiki as having reached 120 years are put at one or two:
Rank, Name, Sex, Birth date Death date Age (as of 18 July 2012) Country
1 Jeanne Calment F 21 February 1875 4 August 1997 122 years, 164 days France
2 Sarah Knauss F 24 September 1880 30 December 1999 119 years, 97 days USA
Aliyah - Return of Jewish people's to the Holy Land
As noted above there were various 'buddings' to the olive tree. December of 1914 found some 11,000 displaced Aliyah refugees living in Alexandria Egypt. They had either fled or been expelled from Palestine by Turkish administrators of Palestine. The USS Tennessee was one conduit for swelling these numbers from Palestine. The younger refugees were eager to liberate Palestine from Turkish rule to realize the dream of a Jewish homeland. Some of whom were later admitted to form a Jewish British Army unit, the Zion Mule Corps. Perhaps the name most easily recognized from the ZMC was David Ben Gurion, 1st Israeli state president, who volunteered at rank of private.
Aliyah, From Wiki article
"First Aliyah (1882–1903) ... First Aliyah Between 1882 and 1903, approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated to the south-western area of Syria, then a province of the Ottoman Empire. The majority, belonging to the Hovevei Zion and Bilu movements, ... Second Aliyah (1904–1914) ... Second Aliyah Between 1904 and 1914, 40,000 Jews immigrated mainly from Russia to south-western Syria following pogroms and outbreaks of anti- Semitism in that country. ... The suburb of Jaffa, Ahuzat Bayit, established at this time, grew into the city of Tel Aviv. During this period, some of the underpinnings of an independent nation-state arose: The national language Hebrew was revived; newspapers and literature written in Hebrew published; political parties and workers organizations were established. The First World War effectively ended the period of the Second Aliyah. Third Aliyah (1919–1923) ... Third Aliyah Between 1919 and 1923, 40,000 Jews, mainly from the Russian Empire arrived in the wake of World War I, the British conquest of Palestine; the establishment of the Mandate, and the Balfour Declaration. ... the population of Jews reached 90,000 by the end of this ... Additional national institutions arose: The Histadrut (General Labor Federation); an elected assembly; national council; and the Haganah, the forerunner of the Israel Defense Forces."
The Two days or 2000 year concept of the church age.
Lending credence to the Balfour Century concept is a teaching from Charles Capps of England, Arkansas. Capps takes the concept of "a day with the Lord is as a thousand years"
Psalm 90:4 (KJV) "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night." And again in 2 Peter 3:8-10 (KJV) "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
and looks on the following scripture as meaning the church age is appointed as two thousand years:
Ecclesiastes 6:6 (KJV) "Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?" And Hosea 6:2 (KJV), "After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight."
Commonly applied as prophesy relating to the Lord's resurrection but could also relate toward the Second Advent or rapture. That two thousand years are appointed for the church age and in the beginning of the third day, as was with the Lords' resurrection, so also shall it be with the church's calling away.
This concept is presented as it seems to lend further credence to the Balfour Century concept, should one be so inclined to believe.
2 Peter 3:3-5 (KJV) Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4. And saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
What is the second advent?
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 (KJV) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Acts 1:10-11 (KJV) And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11. Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
What means "the time of the Gentiles"?
Matthew 24:14 (KJV) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come
Romans 9:24-33 (KJV) Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? 25. As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. 27. Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: 28. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 29. And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. 30. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 32. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; 33. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Notice verse 28, "For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth."
Since Jerusalem restoration to the Jew, there seems to be acceleration in spreading the gospel. Perhaps some crowning achievements in making the gospel available to man are; improved transportation systems, satellite, fiber optics, the Internet, and mobile phone. Presently, all but a few groups are out of reach, namely: illiterates and small language groups. Otherwise, it is safe to say all others have access to some form of the gospel message. Be sure; these last few unreached will hastily be reached over the remaining years.
Are you advocating Christians make drastic life style changes? Generally, Christ parables advocated using your talents, not hiding them. His warnings were only about abusive life styles. Otherwise, it seems we are to strive to be our best in personal and professional life. The biblical term was, use your gifts and to not hide your 'talents'. Since Christians will leave no body for a death certificate, perhaps modification of your Will to include wording relating to the 'calling away and or death'. Most likely that would be appreciated by any relatives left behind.
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