Why Jesus Christ May Be Returning in 2017 Part 1
Before I start, I want to make 3 things clear about what I am sharing here.
I came across this information by research, not by revelation, dreams, visions or a voice in my head telling me "Thus says the Lord". This is simply a compilation of prophetic and eschatological information available elsewhere on the internet.
I am not sharing this information to make a statement of when exactly the rapture will happen, rather it is a general time frame that certain prophetic and eschatological sources are pointing to. While there is a particular date that comes up because of a certain astronomical alignment that is going to appear this year, anything or nothing may happen on that date, and the Bible is not specific in saying what will happen with on the day of that alignment, only that it is a "great sign in the heavens". More about that later.
When I write of the "return of Jesus Christ" I am referring to the rapture which I believe will happen 7 years before the second coming of Jesus Christ. I am well aware that there are other rapture theories which place the rapture either during or after the 7 year tribulation. To be exact, Jesus Christ will return and meet with the church "in the air" as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Having said that, if the mid- or post-tribulation theories are correct, then the beginning of the tribulation could happen at any time, without warning, perhaps even on the same date that some are saying the rapture will happen.
So, why 2017? Well, there are a number of different prophecies, as well as a certain scripture passage in Revelation 12 which all point to this year, but one source of information I came across was a website http://www.BiblicalChronology.com whose author, researcher Ron Conte has calculated that Jesus Christ was born in about 15 BC, and therefore could have died in either 17 or 18 AD.
This revised chronology differs from the calendar we have been using since 525 AD, and if it is correct, proves that the creator of the Anno Domini calendar, Dionysius Exiguus, got his calculations wrong. As Ron Conte's main premise is based on astronomical data and software that wasn't available 15 centuries ago, this is indeed very likely. Ron's working theory is that the error made by Dionysius relates primarily to the antedating of the Roman calendar that preceded our calendar, by the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar, who dated the beginning of his reign, and thus the calendar, 10 years earlier than when it is commonly accepted that he came to power, because he based it on the year of his adoption by the previous emperor Caesar Augustus, when Tiberius effectively took over the reins, rather than the year that Augustus eventually died. The first full year of Tiberius’ reign was A.D. 1 (his first full year after adoption by Augustus)
http://biblicalchronology.com/tiberius.htm
Other errors relate to events that happened while Caesar Augustus was emperor, mainly the census that is commonly used to date Jesus' birth. Apparently there were 2 censuses during which Quirinius was governor of Syria, and the earlier one is the correct one according to Ron Conte.
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria." (Luke 2:1-2).
http://www.biblicalchronology.com/census.htm
The reason that this discovery becomes significant is because of the Millennial Day Theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennial_Day_Theory from which it is theorized that Christ will return to set up his millennial kingdom after 2000 years. If it is possible that Jesus Christ died, rose again and ascended to heaven in 17 AD, then that 2000 years is up in 2017.
So, that's one source that points to 2017.
I will do another post later with more reasons why 2017 may be the year of Christ's return.
