Repent! but the end is NOT near

[PJM]

=Ron Conte;6448123]We are all sinners, and so we should all regularly examine our consciences and repent from any sins that we have committed, and obtain forgiveness frequently in Confession.

Each person does not know how long his life will end, and when he will die and be judged by God. And so anyone who has committed serious sin should repent promptly and obtain forgiveness from God. You do not know when your own end will occur.

But the end of the world is not anytime soon.

The tribulation is the time of intense suffering for the Church and the world which precedes the Return of Jesus Christ. Some persons think that the tribulation will be brief; some say 7 years, others say 3 1/2 years.

But my view is that the tribulation is divided into two parts, and the two parts are separated by a few hundred years. The first part of the tribulation lasts 30 years, then there is a brief time of peace and holiness on earth. Next, there is a long time of a few centuries of gradually increasing sinfulness. Finally, the second part of the tribulation occurs, including the 7 years of the Antichrist’s reign, and the last half of his reign (3-1/2 years) which is the time of the worst suffering for the Church. And only after all these events does Christ return.

So the end of the tribulation and the return of Christ does not occur anytime soon, and does not occur for this generation, but for the distant future. But the beginning of the first part of the tribulation is near.

Repent now, and go to Confession. Once the tribulation begins, there will be long lines at the confessional, and many people will think that the end is near. The end is not so soon, but it is always best to repent promptly and to avoid all serious sin.

[Matthew]
{24:6} For you will hear of battles and rumors of battles. Take care not to be disturbed. For these things must be, but the end is not so soon.

[Luke]
{12:42} So the Lord said: “Who do you think is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his Lord has appointed over his family, in order to give them their measure of wheat in due time?
{12:43} Blessed is that servant if, when his Lord will return, he will find him acting in this manner.
{12:44} Truly I say to you, that he will appoint him over all that he possesses.
{12:45} But if that servant will have said in his heart, ‘My Lord has made a delay in his return,’ and if he has begun to strike the men and women servants, and to eat and drink, and to be inebriated,
{12:46} then the Lord of that servant will return on a day which he hoped not, and at an hour which he knew not. And he will separate him, and he will place his portion with that of the unfaithful.

***The world’s End may or May Not be near? BUT your end, my end, everyone’s end certainly is! We have BUT one Life to prove our humble, loving Obedience to the God that Created us. When our bodies die; we have then “rolled the dice” the decision of where we choose to spend Eternity has been made and it is UNCHAGEABLE. God ONLY affirms what we ourselves have decided.

So getit RIGHT the first time***

 

[Traditional_Ang]

***The world’s End may or May Not be near? BUT your end, my end, everyone’s end certainly is! We have BUT one Life to prove our humble, loving Obedience to the God that Created us. When our bodies die; we have then “rolled the dice” the decision of where we choose to spend Eternity has been made and it is UNCHAGEABLE. God ONLY affirms what we ourselves have decided.

So getit RIGHT the first time***

PJM & everyone else:

The Apostles and the Post-Apostolic Church Fathers ALL expected our Lord to return in their generations. That’s one reason they were SO EAGER to evangelize the world. The same for the first few centuries after them, that’s why they esteemed the things of heaven so highly they were willing to die rather than let the Eucharist fall from their hands or tell unbelievers the secrets about “the Mysteries” or give up the books of the Gospels or the renounce the Lord who bought them. That’s why they were willing to risk their lives to go into pagan lands, so the barbarian pagans would hear the Gospel before the Lord returned.

We’re the only ones who talk about a Rapture so we can avoid the Tribulation or talk about the Lord delaying His return so we don’t feel the obligation to spread the Gospel to those who haven’t heard, to those who are lost…

Maybe we need a little “Pep Talk”.
Keith Green - (Talks about) Jesus Commands us to Go (Live)
youtube.com/watch?v=g2fmARpy0qU
Keith Green - Jesus Commands us to Go (Live)

youtube.com/watch?v=FlOsVvgMHWQ
Keith Green - Asleep in the Light
youtube.com/user/xxAnne#p/search/28/nhSOKBTVuFg

This should really be our response…
Keith Green - Here I am, send me

And, For this to be our response, WE need to believe that the Lord could return at any moment. Otherwise, we’ll get complacent. sure, we might do the spiritual work on ourselves, but we REALLY won’t have the URGENCY those early Christians had when it came to spreading the Gospel of Christ, or my old friend (who’s planted 9 churches since 1993) has about spreading the Gospel of Christ, or the TAC has had in the Torres Straits, or Pope John Paul II & Pope Benedict XVI have had in trying to bring Christians back to Catholic Church…

Harvest International Ministries
harvestinternational.host22.com/
TAC - The Church of Torres Strait (Almost all of the Parishes are newly planted & the buildings are newly built)
churchoftorresstrait.org/

Telling people, esp. followers of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, “The end is NOT near,” gives them the Wrong MESSAGE, one which has never been endorsed by the Catholic Church.

Your Brother & Servant in Christ, Michael

 

[diggerdomer]

“She [the Church] already possesses a science concerning future and final realities, the science of eschatology, and she continually urges her children to study the sublime truths which it embodies, so that they may prepare themselves for the final and decisive meeting with the Creator.” – Pope Paul VI

Truths about the future can be understood by a study of eschatology, and particularly by a study of Sacred Scripture. The book of Revelation is essentially a book of eschatology; it is about the future of the Church and the world, and particularly about the tribulation. And there are numerous other passages in Scripture that reveal information about the future.

An understanding of future events can be obtained by a study of eschatology. But, other than the day and hour of Jesus’ Return, is it possible to obtain the dates of future events from a study of Catholic eschatology? After studying and writing eschatology for many years, my answer is ‘yes’. Although the dates arrived at are not articles of faith and are not absolutely certain, eschatology can provide some insight into both future events, and the order and timing of those events, in my opinion.

Your answer may be yes, but the Catholic Church’s is not.

 

[Ron_Conte]

Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. (Mt 24:34)

Generation in this verse means lineage.

[Matthew 1]
{1:1} The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

[Matthew 1]
{1:1} The book of the lineage of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

 

[Ron_Conte]

I agreed with you up until your last paragraph. No, we cannot know by any amount of study when Jesus will return. Pursuing times and dates is, as I stated, futile. And it may be dangerous to one’s soul. It’s all too easy to think you’ve cracked it and then start to say you must be right and then why won’t the Church listen to you, and so on. I’m just letting you know the pitfalls of that kind of thinking. We are to be prepared at all times because we cannot know the time or the day or the hour. That is the best and safest way to approach this subject lest we get too caught up in our own speculations and miss the whole point.

I said ‘other than the day and hour of Christ’s return’. Jesus’ assertion that we can’t know the day and hour of His return does not imply that nothing about the future can be known, whether events, order of events, or dates of events.

There are a number of Saints who have taught that the tribulation, and the reign of the Antichrist must precede the Return of Jesus Christ. Some Saints taught that the reign of the Antichrist would last about 7 years. Even the Catechism teaches that the tribulation and the Antichrist precede the return of Jesus. So it is not true that He might return at any moment. Certain events, predicted by Jesus in His eschatological discourse, predicted by the book of Revelation, must occur first.

 

[Della]

I said ‘other than the day and hour of Christ’s return’. Jesus’ assertion that we can’t know the day and hour of His return does not imply that nothing about the future can be known, whether events, order of events, or dates of events.

There are a number of Saints who have taught that the tribulation, and the reign of the Antichrist must precede the Return of Jesus Christ. Some Saints taught that the reign of the Antichrist would last about 7 years. Even the Catechism teaches that the tribulation and the Antichrist precede the return of Jesus. So it is not true that He might return at any moment. Certain events, predicted by Jesus in His eschatological discourse, predicted by the book of Revelation, must occur first.

We cannot know exactly what Jesus meant by his statements about the end times except that he definitely was talking about the destruction of the Temple and the diaspora of the Jews. The Saints’ visions/ideas about the end times are not the stuff of doctrine/dogma as we all know. They could not know any more than anyone else what God has not revealed to men. Jesus can come at any time. He is not waiting for certain events that we think have to happen first. He will come when the Father tells him it’s time, and since we cannot know when that will be we must be prepared at all times, as the Church itself teaches.

 

[ryanoneil]

Generation in this verse means lineage.

[Matthew 1]
{1:1} The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

[Matthew 1]
{1:1} The book of the lineage of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

I have no problem agreeing that Mt 24 speaks to the son’s of Abraham. What can’t be overlooked is that the Greek for “generation” denotes about a forty-year time span. Meaning Jesus words would be accomplished within the lifetime of some of those listening to him.

**When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. (Mt 10:23)

Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." (Mt 16:28)

Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate. (Mt 23:36-38)**

I think the mistake you are making is trying to fit the bulk of Daniel into Mt 24. The initial fulfillment of Mt 24 applies to the signs that occur after Jesus ascension- leading up to the Temples destruction. When looking forward to a final fulfillment there is no reason to insert hundreds of years into Mt 24.

 

[PJM]

=Traditional Ang;6462704]PJM & everyone else:

The Apostles and the Post-Apostolic Church Fathers ALL expected our Lord to return in their generations. That’s one reason they were SO EAGER to evangelize the world. The same for the first few centuries after them, that’s why they esteemed the things of heaven so highly they were willing to die rather than let the Eucharist fall from their hands or tell unbelievers the secrets about “the Mysteries” or give up the books of the Gospels or the renounce the Lord who bought them. That’s why they were willing to risk their lives to go into pagan lands, so the barbarian pagans would hear the Gospel before the Lord returned.

We’re the only ones who talk about a Rapture so we can avoid the Tribulation or talk about the Lord delaying His return so we don’t feel the obligation to spread the Gospel to those who haven’t heard, to those who are lost…

Maybe we need a little “Pep Talk”.
Keith Green - (Talks about) Jesus Commands us to Go (Live)
youtube.com/watch?v=g2fmARpy0qU
Keith Green - Jesus Commands us to Go (Live)

youtube.com/watch?v=FlOsVvgMHWQ
Keith Green - Asleep in the Light
youtube.com/user/xxAnne#p/search/28/nhSOKBTVuFg

This should really be our response…
Keith Green - Here I am, send me

And, For this to be our response, WE need to believe that the Lord could return at any moment. Otherwise, we’ll get complacent. sure, we might do the spiritual work on ourselves, but we REALLY won’t have the URGENCY those early Christians had when it came to spreading the Gospel of Christ, or my old friend (who’s planted 9 churches since 1993) has about spreading the Gospel of Christ, or the TAC has had in the Torres Straits, or Pope John Paul II & Pope Benedict XVI have had in trying to bring Christians back to Catholic Church…

Harvest International Ministries
harvestinternational.host22.com/
TAC - The Church of Torres Strait (Almost all of the Parishes are newly planted & the buildings are newly built)
churchoftorresstrait.org/

Telling people, esp. followers of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, “The end is NOT near,” gives them the Wrong MESSAGE, one which has never been endorsed by the Catholic Church.

Your Brother & Servant in Christ, Michael

***Hi Michael GREAT post!

Putting the Rapture asside, I agree with your summation. I certainly did NOT intend to imply that the “end is not near!” WE SIMPLY DON"T KNOW [and that is the Bibles position]. Certainly we must always have our “spiritual baggage packed” and be ready when Christ Comes.

Like “Paul and company” I would not be surprised if it’s sooner than later. Given Abortion and Oboma and company. BUT NOT MY WILL BUT THY WILL BE DONE LORD!***

Love and prayers,
Pat

 

[Agrippa]

I said ‘other than the day and hour of Christ’s return’. Jesus’ assertion that we can’t know the day and hour of His return does not imply that nothing about the future can be known, whether events, order of events, or dates of events.

There are a number of Saints who have taught that the tribulation, and the reign of the Antichrist must precede the Return of Jesus Christ. Some Saints taught that the reign of the Antichrist would last about 7 years. Even the Catechism teaches that the tribulation and the Antichrist precede the return of Jesus. So it is not true that He might return at any moment. Certain events, predicted by Jesus in His eschatological discourse, predicted by the book of Revelation, must occur first.

Ron,

How’s your eschatalogical batting average? Good Friday 2009? Good Friday 2010? Now, it’s Good Friday 2011?

Do you consider yourself an authority in this area?

 

[diggerdomer]

IEven the Catechism teaches that the tribulation and the Antichrist precede the return of Jesus…

Where?

 

[Agrippa]

I believe that the beginning of the tribulation occurs this year.

Ron,

I know that you don’t answer many posts, which is your prerogative. It’s not like you’re professor in a classroom who has to answer his students’ questions. But can you state the date or approximate date that the tribulation starts in 2010?

 

[ryanoneil]

Where?

CCC 675-677

 

[Langdell]

CCC 675-677

Thanks. I was wondering about this.

.

 

[ryanoneil]

Thanks. I was wondering about this.

.

You’re welcome!