Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 6/29/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have a quick question.The whole 2012 thing about Nostradamus predicting the end of the world and the Rapture coming in 2012,do you think that it's real?
In the Bible,it says that no man shall know the time or date when Christ comes back,so is it true?

ANSWER: Dear Corrina,

You’re right. Jesus said:

Matt. 24:36  "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Be careful when people say that they know when Jesus will come. They cannot be telling you the truth. I don’t care whether Nostradamus or anyone else tells you it will be in 2012. Don’t believe it. (Nostradamus wasn’t a prophet of God. His works say whatever the person who reads them wants them to say. It’s the interpreter who is making the predictions. And most of them don’t come true.)

We shouldn’t live by being excited about the time He will come. No one will be able to predict just when that time will come. You will not be able to say that He will come in one, two, or five years. But you shouldn’t put it off  by saying that it may not be for 10 or twenty years. The time is not important. Jesus said:

Matt. 24:42  "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

He also warned us:

Mark 14:38  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

The fact is, since we don’t know when Jesus will come, we need to BE ready all the time. We can’t wait another hour for getting ready. WE MUST BE READY ALL THE TIME!

But how can we be ready? Jesus said we should “watch and pray.” The Bible says:

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Take your sins to God in prayer. Confess them to Him as specifically as you can remember. He’ll forgive you and cleanse you from all the uncleanness that is in your life. Read the Bible every day, and talk to Jesus (pray) every day. Tell Him your joys and sorrows, and take Him into every part of your life. He will be with you all the time, and your life will be one of peace and happiness. Then, you will be ready for Jesus to come—all the time.

You may not know WHEN He will come; but you can BE READY for Him to come all the time. So that when He DOES COME, He’ll be happy to welcome you to meet Him in the air (physically—1 Thess. 4:16, 17; 1 Cor. 15: 51-53).

Thurman
pettypress@gmail.com

P.S. Corrina, if you would write me at my personal e-mail address, you'd make it possible for me to be of more help to you. I think you already know that I'm not like those other guys. My interest in you is not physical, but to help you to know Jesus, and to be in His kingdom forever.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well can I ask you a question about blasphemy?

ANSWER: Corrina,

Yes, you can ask me a question about blasphemy.

So's you won't have to ask, I'll explain it to you.

The Bible presents two actions/attitudes, among others, that constitute blasphemy:

! For a man to claim to be God: John 10:33  "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

! For a man to claim to forgive sins: Luke 5:21  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

I doubt that you've committed either of these. So on the witness of these texts, you've not committed blasphemy.

A more serious threat, however, is brought to light in Matt 12:31, 32. In connection with the accusation of the Pharisees that Jesus' miracles were of the devil, Jesus said:

Mat 12:31, 32  And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

The Holy Spirit serves us in many and various ways. He teaches, counsels, comforts, reproves of sin, and draws us to repentance. If we consistently resist the Spirit in any of these areas we soften His voice so it is less likely we'll hear when He speaks to us next time. Especially in the area of sin and repentance we should be careful to listen and heed.

These verses describe what we call the "unpardonable sin." "This sin occurs when we persistently reject Christ and deliberately choose options contrary to the principles of His kingdom, when we no longer view sin for what it is, when we mistake darkness for light, when Satan's lies become to us the truth, and when our hearts are so hardened they no longer recognize the need for forgiveness." Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Feb. 26, 2002

One of the aspects of this subject lies in the way we treat the Holy Spirit.

Eph 4:30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

How can we grieve the Holy Spirit? By refusing to seek forgiveness of sin by the blood of Jesus. The Bible says:

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, and the Bible says that when we confess our sins, God will forgive them. Now what if we refuse to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness? The Holy Spirit will continue to convict us. But if we continually refuse, there may come a time when the Holy Spirit feels He is no longer welcome, and leaves us.

So blasphemy, grieving the Holy Spirit, and the refusal to confess sin are all referring to the same thing: the "unpardonable" sin.

In this scenario, then, any persistence in refusing to confess sin can become blasphemy and grieve away of the Holy Spirit.

The issue is that, if the Holy Spirit has left us, we no longer feel His drawing us toward a holy life. We would no longer be concerned about whether or not we are saved. The very fact that you are concerned about blasphemy vs. being saved indicates to me that you haven't committed it. You must not have grieved away the Holy Spirit or committed the unpardonable sin. You still have hope of salvation in the Lord.

"God works by the manifestation of His Spirit to reprove and convict the sinner; and if the Spirit's work is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul. The last resource of divine mercy has been employed. The transgressor has cut himself off from God, and sin has no remedy to cure itself. There is no reserved power by which God can work to convict and convert the sinner. "Let him alone" (Hosea 4:17) is the divine command. Then "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Hebrews 10:26, 27 (KJV)."  Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 405

Thurman

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well what if a saved person blaspemies against the Holy Spirit but they ask for forgiveness and are repenting of it?
Can they be forgiven?

Answer
Corrina,

When a person blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, they will not want to repent--at least for sincere reasons. You see, the Holy Spirit is the One who brings us to repentance, to the point where we want to ask for forgiveness. If we've driven Him away then He cannot draw us to repentance and we won't want to repent, to ask for forgiveness.

Of course, when a person who blasphemes and drives the Holy Spirit away realizes what the punishment is, he might want to ask forgiveness in order to escape the penalty. He would be sorry he would receive the punishment, but not sorry that he had committed the crime.

A prison chaplain was walking down the corridor of the prison when he heard an inmate crying. He went to the cell and asked, through the bars, "Why are you crying?" The inmate sobbed, "I'm so sorry, so sorry." "You're sorry for what?" asked the chaplain. "I'm sorry I sneezed. The people woke up and I got caught. I'm so sorry I sneezed!"

You see, some people will repent--with "crocodile tears"--because they're going to be punished, not because they're really sorry for grieving the Holy Spirit away. That's not true repentance.

In real repentance, God accepts the confession and forgives the sinner.

Thurman