So, 2019 will bring 70 years since Israel was formed as a nation.
2017 will bring 50 years since the 1967 war.
2013 was 40 years since the 1973 war.
At what point does "this generation" become stretched to the point that Dispensationalism loses its credibility?
Are dispensationalists dealing with this problem? Or are their heads buried in the sand? Their predictions in this matter are starting to look like the predictions of the JWs.
Oh that wasn't very nice, muzicman. Our predictions weren't so ridiculous, if you knew what the story was surrounding them. 1914 was thought to be when Jesus would come for his anointed ones to rule with him in heaven, but even though this didn't happen, Charles Russell knew that 1914 was a
significant year. He got the part right about the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled. (Luke 21:24) 1975 was a year that the WT said was "most likely" or "probably" the year that the Great Tribulation would break out, but it wasn't set in stone. They thought that because it was the 6,000th year since Adam was created, according to Bible chronology. When it didn't happen, they realized that it has to be counted from the time of EVE'S creation, and we don't know when that was. All innocent guesses, informed guesses though they were. I was baptized in 1975. I never thought that it was
definitely supposed to be the end. My friends and I said, well, if it happens, good. If it doesn't, that's OK too.
You know---just about every religion has had leaders that guessed when the end would come. Why are JWs picked on so much?
Anyway....what is happening to physical Israel doesn't matter anymore. SPIRITUAL, heavenly Israel is now God's focus. (Matthew 21:43; Matthew 23:37,38; Acts 15:14; Galatians 3:28,29; Galatians 4:24-26; Galatians 6:14-16; IPeter 2:9,10)
The nation of Israel as a whole rejected Jesus as their Messiah and actually had him killed (Acts 2:36). After that, God went to the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name (Acts 15:14). His "holy nation" (IPeter 2:9,10) is now the Christian congregation.
So rather than trying to figure out what's going on by looking at physical Israel, we should be looking at the
sign of Jesus' presence and of the end of the age. He listed everything that would be happening at once, to make up that sign. (Matthew 24:3-21) We have seen all of those things, except the start of the Great Tribulation. In fact, we are just waiting for the calling out of "Peace and security," a situation that will somehow involve the nations and will fool many into thinking that man can solve the world's problems. (I Thessalonians 5:3)
So that is what we have to look for now. The churches won't tell you this. JWs are telling everyone, so that you can be prepared. Things will happen very rapidly when they start. The two things we are looking for are:
(1) Nations saying "Peace and security!"
(2) The destruction of all false religion (Babylon the Great; Revelation 17:15-18)
