In the 1970s, American Christian writer Harold Lindsey claimed that the Lord would return for the second time, and the world would be witnessing it. However, it did not happen. And in the mid-2010s, another Christian scholar claimed to have found the error and predicted the possible time the world would see the second coming.
What did Harold Lindsey Claim?
Harold Lindsey wrote numerous books relating to apocalypse which indicated that The Rapture would be happening in the 1980s. As per his claims, he had predicted the ‘beginning of the end of the world’ by decoding the verses of Matthew 24:32-33.
Correlating the contents of the text, Lindsey said that the rebirth of Israel in 1948 represented the ‘fig tree’; and the people raised in this generation would be seeing the Second Coming.
Lindsey further added that a ‘biblical generation’ represented a period of 40 years, more or less; so the events could occur within 40 years or so from 1948.
What did The Other Scholar Claim?
When the events stated by Lindsey did not occur, both he and his predictions were criticized. However, not all of them looked it as a ‘wrong prediction’. At least, not the President of the World Bible Society F. Kenton Beshore.
Beshore, who passed in 2016, claimed that the prediction by Lindsey is correct, but had a major error – the length of the ‘biblical generation’.
Referring to Psalm 90:10 as supporting evidence, Beshore explained that the ‘length’ of the biblical generation would be 70 years and if by reason of strength, it would be 80 years. He further said that in Matthew 24:34 “the Lord says that ‘this born one’ or ‘this generation’ would not pass until all these things are fulfilled.
He pictures Israel as a Jewish boy would grow up to become old until He comes in glory to establish his millennial kingdom.”
The New Interpretation
Taking into account the text readings and the new length of the biblical generation, Beshore claimed the events to occur sometime in 2028, which is 80 years from 1948. But it would actually arrive seven years earlier if we remove the seven years for the Tribulation. This would mean the Rapture would occur in 2021, or earlier than that.
Note that this interpretation has been criticized as well. Matt Hitchcock, pastor of the Faith Bible Church, believes the ‘fig tree blossoming’ does not signify Israel. He said in 2016 that as per what the text reads, it could simply mean that as the world witnesses the events in the Tribulation period, the generation won’t pass until all the things are fulfilled.
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