Subject: “WHEN DOES IT BEGIN?”
Scripture: I Thessalonians 5:1-10

The term “the Day of the LORD” is used 25 times in the Bible. It is the day of God’s vengeance and wrath upon a world that has rejected Him. It is God’s revenge on the nations of the world for their attitudes and attacks upon Israel.

The question of “When does it begin?” has troubled believers throughout history. It is not an easy matter to resolve. Many have set dates only to be exposed as false prophets or misguided interpreters of Scripture.

The following views are held by Bible teachers throughout history:

(1) It began in 66 AD and ended in 73 AD – involves the Roman war and destruction of Jerusalem (preterist)

(2) It begins and ends with the Battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Messiah (post-tribulation)

(3) It begins with the removal of the two witnesses and ends with the end of the Tribulation (mid-tribulation)

(4) It begins with the pouring out of the bowls of wrath – seven last plagues (pre-wrath)

(5) It begins with the opening of the sixth seal (sixth seal)

(6) It begins and ends with the 70th week of Daniel and refers to the Tribulation – seven years (pre-tribulation)

(7) It begins with the start of the Tribulation period and continues until the end of the Millennium (all future events)

IT WILL COME AS A SURPRISE!
I Thessalonians 5:1-3 – “thief in the night” – cf. II Peter 3:8-10

IT WILL COME AS A SNARE!
Luke 21:34-36

IT WILL COME AS A SHOCK!
Luke 17:26-30

IT WILL COME AS A SEPARATION!
Matthew 24:37-41; Luke 17:31-36

A separation of FAMILIES – Mark 13:12 – and a separation of WORKERS
– Matthew 24:40-41

IT WILL COME AS A SUFFERING!
Matthew 24:19-20; Mark 13:17-20

IT WILL COME AS A SEDUCTION!
Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24; Mark 13:22
II Thessalonians 2:1-3 – “falling away first”
I Timothy 4:1; II Timothy 3:5

IT WILL COME AS A SURVIVAL!
Matthew 24:21-22, 34-35

CONCLUSION
The Bible clearly warns us and admonishes us to watch and be ready – Matthew 42:42, 44; 25:13; Mark 13:32-33, 35-37 – precisely because we do not know the day or the hour when it will begin.

(Editor’s Note: For a more thorough look at this problem, you might want to get a copy of David’s book “THE CASE FOR PRE-TRIBULATIONALISM” – order it from our web site store!)

It seems that this question is given to us every year about this time (celebrations of Hanukkah and Christmas). With all the secularism and commercialism of our day and the continual ignoring of the Biblical nativity story, believers are trying to cope with all these attacks upon the birth of our Lord Yeshua and are often confused. While this article may be a bit different from what you have heard previously, it is our hope and prayer that it will receive some careful consideration by Bible students everywhere.

In my university days, Ancient History was of great interest to me and became one of my major fields of study. I was especially interested in Rome because so much of our Bibles is related to that period of time. Here are a few facts that may help you in trying to answer the question “When was Yeshua (Jesus) born?” We will begin with Luke 2:1-14 where in verse 1 we learn that Caesar Augustus made a “decree…that all the world should be taxed.”

1. CAESAR AUGUSTUS ruled from 43 BC to 14 AD. His real name was Octavian and he was the grandnephew of Julius Caesar. It was under his reign that the Pax Romana (the Roman peace) was declared throughout the empire beginning in 30 BC.

2. CYRENIUS (Quirinius) is called the “governor of Syria” in Luke 2:2 and we are told that “this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.” The Greek text actually says that Quirinius “was governing” in Syria. Flavius Josephus refers to a census in 6 AD when Quirinius was the actual Governor. But, at this point (Luke 2:2) Quirinius was merely handling administrative duties in behalf of Varus, the actual Governor. Egyptian records state that a census was done by Rome every 14 years and that it took several years to accomplish it.

3. HEROD THE GREAT was alive at the time of the Messiah’s birth according to Matthew 2:1. One of the problems which scholars have had in dealing with the time of our Lord’s birth is a reference in Josephus where he records an eclipse on March 13, 4 BC and says that it was “shortly before Herod died.” However, the actual date of the eclipse was December 29, 1 BC. Time between the birth of the Messiah and Herod’s death is necessary since Joseph and Mary with the baby fled to Egypt and did not return until after Herod’s death according to Matthew 2:18-21. The actual date of Herod’s death (Roman history) was January 14, 1 BC.

4. TERTULLIAN, church leader and historian, said that the birth of Jesus was 41 years after Augustus began his rule, and that Augustus died 15 years after the birth of Jesus. The actual date of the death of Augustus Caesar was August 19, 14 AD. It is interesting to note that Tertullian also said that Jesus was born 28 years after the death of Cleopatra who died in 30 BC.

5. IRENAEUS, a disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle John, says that Jesus was born in the 41st year of the reign of Caesar Augustus. Eusebius, a great church historian, also says about the same thing. The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of 2 BC to the autumn of 1 BC.

6. ZACHARIAS, the father of John the Baptist, was a priest “of the course of Abia (Abijah)” according to Luke 1:5. There are 24 courses (divisions) of priests according to I Chronicles 24. Abijah’s course (division) was the 8th course among the 24 courses. When the Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Roman Governor Titus on August 5, 70 AD, the first course of priests had just taken office. By tracing back carefully, the 8th course would have ended their duties on July 13, 3 BC. The birth of John the Baptist would be 280 days later – around April 19-20, 2 BC (which, interestingly, was Passover that year!). The birth of Yeshua (Jesus) would have been six months later (Luke 1:36) which would place it in the fall of 2 BC. The very interesting fact in all this is that the actual date in the fall of 2 BC would have been Tishri 1 on the Jewish calendar – which is Rosh HaShanah – the Feast of Trumpets!

Our conclusion (if we have gotten all the facts straight!) is that the Messiah, our blessed Lord Yeshua was “probably” born on September 29 in 2 BC.

Personally, I am happy to celebrate the birth of the Messiah on any date of the year you wish it to be! The good news is that in the city of Bethlehem, ISRAEL, the city of King David, the Savior was born, and He is “Christ the Lord” – Messiah – KING of kings and LORD of lords!

Thanks again to those of you who are enjoying our Bible study articles about EGYPT in Biblical history and prophecy. So far we have studied the following major subjects:

ITS ETHNIC ROOTS
ITS EARLY RELATIONSHIP to Abraham
ITS ENORMOUS RIVER
ITS EXPANDING RESOURCES
ITS EXTENSIVE ROLE in the bondage and deliverance of ISRAEL

We now come to a sixth point in our study….

ITS ENDURING REACTIONS to nations and events in the Land of ISRAEL

Throughout the Bible we run into EGYPT in relation to other nations and events. For your own personal study, we give you this listing:

1. ISRAEL

There are two major events (in addition to the bondage of ISRAEL in EGYPT for over 400 years): One deals with King Solomon. In I Kings 3:1 he made a “treaty with Pharaoh” of Egypt. In I Kings 10:28 Solomon imported horses from Egypt as well as chariots (mentioned in verse 29). We also have the relationship of Solomon to the daughter of Pharaoh mentioned in I Kings 11:1-4. The second major event is that mentioned in I Kings 14:25-28 and concerns Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. This event is pictured on the walls of the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt. It is the time when Shishak, King of Egypt attacked Rehoboam and took all the treasures of the Temple and the King’s house to Egypt. These precious gold treasures were then replaced with brass items.

2. ASSYRIA

The following Israeli kings were involved in the connections between Egypt and Assyria: Hoshea, Hezekiah, Josiah, Jehoahaz, and Jehoiakim. The passages include II Kings 17-19 and II Kings 23.

3. BABYLON

Connections with Israel and Babylon and Egypt happened under King Jehoiachin and King Zedekiah as well as a man named Gedaliah, the Governor. You can read about these events in II Kings 24 and 25.

4. GREECE

The Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great was broken up between his four generals, Lysimachus, Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucid. This amazing story and its effect upon the Land of Israel is recording in Daniel 11.

5. FUTURE

Egypt is once again mentioned in relation to a future King who is described in detail at the end of Daniel 11. Most Bible scholars believe this future King to be the same person as the “Man of sin” or the “Beast” or the “Antichrist.” According to Daniel 11:42-43, Egypt will also receive the attacks of this future King – also called “the coming prince” in Daniel 9:26-27. Many scholars also connect this person to the “little horn” of Daniel 7.

One of the exciting realities of the future (as it relates to EGYPT) is the prophecy of Isaiah 19:23-25. There is a day coming when ISRAEL will be “the third with Egypt…even a blessing in the midst of the land.” The LORD of hosts will even say “Blessed be EGYPT My people.”

One more part of our study is…..

ITS ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE TO THE GOSPEL!

EGYPT took care of the Messiah Himself (Matthew 2:13-21 – cf. Numbers 24:8 and Hosea 11:1), but the conversion of people in EGYPT resulted from the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch – Acts 8:26-38. The Coptic believers of today trace their history back to this event in Acts 8.

We hope you have enjoy this little study of EGYPT and that it will inspire you to “dig in” to what the Bible has to say in terms of history and prophecy!
God bless you all!

So far we have looked at the following subjects as we are examining the place of EGYPT in Bible history and prophecy:
ITS ETHIC ROOTS
ITS EARLY RELATIONSHIP TO ABRAHAM
ITS ENORMOUS RIVER
ITS EXPANDING RESOURCES
ITS EXTENSIVE ROLE IN THE BONDAGE AND DELIVERANCE
OF ISRAEL

Under this last subject we have looked at the following:
The PURPOSE of God
The PROTECTION of God
The PREPARATION of Moses
In the land of EGYPT
In the land of MIDIAN

We now come to a fourth point concerning EGYPT’s EXTENSIVE ROLE in the bondage and deliverance of ISRAEL – the PLAN of God. There are three things that we should point out about God’s PLAN in the life of Moses and the children of ISRAEL.

1. In the CIRCUMSTANCES of life – Exodus 2:23 says “the king of EGYPT died” – God is in control more than any of the political and military leaders of the world want to admit. He sets up kings and takes them down. God rules in the affairs and circumstances of human life and His will is being performed though we do not often see it or understand it.

2. In the CRIES of His people – Exodus 2:23-24a – We are told that the groaning and crying of the children of Israel “came up to God” and in verse 24 we read “God heard their groaning.” It is of great comfort to the child of God to know that God hears, cares, and will respond to the cries of His people. Of course, His timing is crucial – it does not always happen like we desire, but after a period of time we can look back on what happened and see that God had a PLAN behind all that we suffered.

3. In the COVENANT He has made – In Exodus 2:24b-25 we learn that God will never forget His promise nor fail to perform His will. God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was unconditional (not based on human performance or ability or worth) and everlasting (it will NEVER end – God will NEVER forsake His people ISRAEL – NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!).

After this brief look at the PLAN of God and three things upon which it was based, it is time to turn to the subject of the POWER of God. No nation has ever experienced the mighty POWER of God as did ancient EGYPT. There are four simple but profound truths that we learn about the demonstration and display of God’s POWER in ancient EGYPT:

(1) God’s POWER EXPLAINS the purposes of God – Exodus 5:22-6:9

His POWER explains His purposes for the children of ISRAEL – Exodus 6:6-8 and 10:1-2. In the years to come, God’s people would tell their children, grandchildren, and all their descendants the mighty POWER that was displayed through the signs and miracles done in ancient EGYPT – the purpose of which is that all future generations would know that He is the LORD!

His POWER explains His purposes for the people of EGYPT as well – Exodus 7:5 makes it clear that the Egyptians would then know He is the LORD. Exodus 9:14 demonstrates that these miraculous signs would make God known all over the earth as well!

(2) God’s POWER EXPOSES the weakness of EGYPT’s religious leaders –
read Exodus 7:11-13, 22; 8:7, 18-19; 9:11

As the Apostle Paul wrote in II Timothy 3 – these religious leaders have a “form of godliness” but they, in fact – “deny the power thereof.”

(3) God’s POWER EXPRESSES the love of God for His people!
Exodus 8:22-23; 9:4, 26; 10:23; 11:6-7

Yes, the bondage of EGYPT was a terrible burden for the children of ISRAEL, but God had NOT forsaken them then – or NOW! He loves His people!

(4) God’s POWER ELIMINATES the influence and control of paganism
upon the people of this world – Exodus 12:12; Numbers 33:4

Egyptians believed that the Nile River was the bloodstream of the god Osiris – in the light of this historical fact it is fascinating to read Exodus 7:17-18. Pagan literature records the following in a document called “HYMN TO THE NILE” – it says that the Nile River is “the bringer of food, rich in provisions, Creator of all good, Lord of majesty, sweet of fragrance.” Ancient Egyptians taught that fish were protected by the gods, and it is quite amazing to read Exodus 7:21 where we learn that all the fish died!

We hope you are enjoying this study of EGYPT from the Bible’s record. Our next article will deal with EGYPT’s reactions to nations and events in the past and in the future! Don’t miss it!

We have been examining the place of EGYPT in Bible history and prophecy and have looked at the following subjects:
Its ethnic ROOTS
Its early RELATIONSHIP to Abraham
Its enormous RIVER
Its expanding RESOURCES
Its extensive ROLE in the bondage & deliverance of ISRAEL

Under this fifth point we looked at the following:
The PURPOSE of God
The PROTECTION of God
The PREPARATION of Moses

We commented initially about the preparation of Moses in the land of EGYPT, focusing on Acts 7:22 and Hebrews 11:24-27. We now want to take a look at how God prepared him in the land of Midian – Exodus 2:15-22 – where he spent the second 40 years of his life in that desert land.

HE RECEIVED A WIFE – ZIPPORAH – one of seven sisters, daughter of a priest. Midian was the son of Abraham through his second wife – Keturah.

HE RECOGNIZED A WAY TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE WILDERNESS – In Exodus 3:1 we learn that Moses was “kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.” How fascinating! In the near future, Moses will be bringing the children of Israel through that same area! God was preparing him for his future ministry. It is interesting to see how God uses all the things that occur in our lives to prepare us for future ministries that he has for us!

HE REALIZED THE WILL OF GOD FOR HIS LIFE – Exodus 3:1-4:23 – There are two things that Moses learned through this time:

1. The EXPERIENCE of the “burning bush” made him aware of the greatness of God – Exodus 3:1-6.

2. His EXCUSES clearly revealed his need in doing the will of God – these “excuses” are often what we all use in trying to defend ourselves as we avoid doing the will of God in our lives. There are at least five excuses that Moses used:

(1) WHO AM I? – Exodus 3:11-12

Such a question reveals personal insecurity. Moses needed to realize (like we all do!) that it is not dependent upon you!

(2) WHO ARE YOU? – Exodus 3:13

God’s true identity is crucial when we are confronted with His will for our lives. We need to trust the Lord to be consistent with His own character and to demonstrate it whenever necessary!

(3) THEY WILL NOT BELIEVE ME! – Exodus 4:1

We often worry about the response of people and their possible indifference to what we might say, but we, like Moses, need to leave the results to God (v. 9)!

(4) I AM NOT ELOQUENT! – Exodus 4:10

The problem here is that of personal inadequacy, worrying that we don’t have what it takes to serve the Lord. However, Acts 7:22 says that Moses was “mighty in words.” Moses is not speaking truthfully at this point. We all need to accept the fact that God made us like we are and He can use us if He wants to do so – Exodus 4:11-12!

(5) SEND SOMEONE ELSE! – Exodus 4:13

A lack of personal commitment to the Lord can lead us to “back off” from doing what the Lord wants us to do. We need to do what He tells us to do NO MATTER WHAT!

The preparations of God are a part of His plan to use us. In our next study we will take a look at THE PLAN OF GOD!