You err in your undersanding of what
dispies believe.
Ed, I don’t think you have a clue as to what the average dispie teaches.
I know of no dispy who says "had to occur BEFORE
Jesus returned." It is a far cry from that to say:
"shows the time is nearer than before".
Actually the main force that makes the time more imminent
now than before is the relentless marching on of TIME.
Ed, if the bible teaches that certain events are to happen before Christ returns then they MUST occur before He returns.
Lets actually see what modern dispies say:
Thomas Ice
Here is his definition of imminence:
DEFINITION OF IMMINENCY
What is the biblical definition of imminency? Dr. Renald Showers defines and describes imminence as follows:
1) An imminent event is one which is always "hanging overhead, is constantly ready to befall or overtake one; close at hand in its incidence." ("imminent," The Oxford English Dictionary, 1901, V, 66.)
Thus, imminence carries the sense that it could happen at any moment . Other things may happen before the imminent event, but
nothing else must take place before it happens . If something else must take place before an event can happen, then that event is not imminent. In other words, the necessity of something else taking place first destroys the concept of imminency.
http://www.according2prophecy.org/perhaps.html
As we near the year 2000, many contemporary events are pointing to our Lord's return. The fact that Israel has been back in her land for 50 years constitutes "
God's super-sign for the end times." In our lifetime, the stage is being set for the end-time drama that has been laid out for us in the Bible.
Except for Luke 21:20 - 24, which clearly speaks of the A.D. 70 judgment upon Jerusalem,
the rest of the passages picture Israel in a position from which God will deliver them from their enemies through His second coming. Even their allegorical approach to the biblical text cannot hide the clear fact that tribulation passages describe our Lord's salvation of Israel, not His judgment upon them. (From: the Pocket Prophecy Series, The Truth About The Tribulation; published by Harvest House)
How does the current return of Jews to Israel and Jerusalem relate to the dispensational view of distinction between Israel and the church? I think that we have to say that Israel's presence in the land and continuing return from the Diaspora is the beginning of fulfillment of passages like Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37 clearly indicates that Israel will return to the land in unbelief and in stages, which fits the contemporary experience. The stage is set for their mass conversion during the tribulation.
This means the Bible teaches that God will return the Jews to their land before the tribulation begins (Isa. 11:11-12:6; Ezek. 20:33-44; 22:17-22; Zeph. 2:1-3). This has been accomplished and the stage is set as a result of the current existence of the modern state of Israel.
Hal Lindsey
(Dispensationalist Dementia;Matthew 24:34)
"What generation? Obviously, in context,
the generation that would see the signs -- chief among them the rebirth of Israel. A generation in the Bible is something like forty years. If this is a correct deduction, then within forty years or so of 1948, all these things could take place. Many scholars who have studied Bible prophecy all their lives believe that this is so." (The Late Great Planet Earth, p. 54)
"Jesus said "this generation shall not pass,
till all these things come to pass ." What generation ? The generation that would see all these signs. We are that generation! I believe you cannot miss it.
We're that generation , and I believe we're rapidly moving toward the coming of Christ." (Apocalypse Planet Earth videotape, 1990, HLM)
John Walvoord
(On Matthew 24:15)
"
Such a temple will be rebuilt and these prophecies literally fulfilled . If upon this revival of their sacrificial system such a future temple is suddenly desecrated, it would constitute a sign to the nation of Israel of the coming time of great trouble just preceding the second coming."
If this prediction means what it says,
it is referring to a specific time of great trouble which immediately precedes the second coming of Christ. As such, the prediction of the
great tribulation is 'the sign' of the second coming , and those who see the sign will be living in the generation which will see the second coming itself.
David Hocking
CONCLUSION: It is clear from the Biblical evidence that
the modern State of Israel is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy . The Bible makes it clear that God will NEVER cast away or forsake His people - the nation and its land will exist forever!
http://www.pre-trib.org/article-view.php?id=212
For these prophecies to be fulfilled, it appears that sacrifices will be reinstituted in some form. Daniel 12:9-13 describes the abomination of desolation as occurring at "the time of the end" in conjunction with the cutting off of sacrifices. Apparently the Jews will again initiate sacrifices at or near Jerusalem; armies again will surround Jerusalem, and the sacrifices will be halted.
Israel needs a third Jewish temple or some designated "holy place" for this to happen. Before its establishment as a state in 1948, this seemed impossible. Many observers have noted the overwhelming odds against Israeli statehood. Yet it happened!
http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn54/israel.htm
8. The Jews would return to their ancient homeland
Examples: Amos 9:14-15, Deuteronomy 4:25-30, Deuteronomy 30:3-5, Ezekiel 20:34, Ezekiel 34:13, Ezekiel 36:24, Genesis 28:10-15, Isaiah 27:12-13, Isaiah 43:5-6, Jeremiah 23:3-6, Jeremiah 32:36-37, Jeremiah 32:37-41, Zechariah 8:7-8.
During the late 1800s, after about 17 centuries of exile, the Jews began to return to their ancient homeland, which at that time was called Palestine and was ruled over by the Ottoman Empire. A few million more returned shortly before and after the World War II Holocaust, in which the Nazis sought to destroy all Jews as part of their so-called "Final Solution." When the Jews reclaimed sovereignty for Israel in 1948, it was the first time in about 2000 years that the Jews had sovereignty over any part of their homeland. It was also the first time in about 2900 years that Israel was both a united and sovereign country. Has any other country endured such lengthy intervals of independence? Has any other country endured such intervals with the additional challenge of having its residents exiled and scattered throughout the world?
http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/accuracy.htm
If dispies believe these thing happen BEFORE the Second Coming then they
"had to occur BEFORE Jesus returned."
Simple logic Ed.
Now if you believe His Second Coming is imminent, then you believe all these have been fulfilled:
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 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.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Your first premesis about 'had to occur' is false
and so is your conclusion.
No it isn’t. The bible says certain things happen before He returns. What do you think the signs were for anyway?
The comilng of the Lord is as imminent now as it was
in 96AD when Revelation was written. BTW, if Jesus
had come back in 70AD, wouldn't John's Revelation
be a lie?
No, because Revelation was written before AD70. Do some research. Scofields notes don’t count as research. If Revelation was written in AD95, then you are correct saying Revelation is a lie, because it says the events were shortly to happen and near.