A Christian computer scientist predicted that, based on her calculations and analysis of the 70 “sevens” prophecy mentioned in the book of Daniel, the return of Jesus to earth is imminent—and it won’t even reach 2017.
Nora Roth, a self-proclaimed Bible student, said the second coming of Christ will happen in three weeks, specifically on New Year’s Eve. Her findings, written on her blog “The Mark of the Beast,” are based on the biblical pattern of following the sabbath.
Roth cited that God mandated the seventh day of the week to be the sabbath day. He also instructed the Israelites to observe the sabbath year or sabbatical year, which is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle.
Leviticus 25: 3-4 says: “For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord.”
Roth used this principle and applied it to the prophecy in the book of Daniel.
“The 70 ‘sevens’ prophecy in Daniel 9:24 has two fulfillments. First, the 70 ‘sevens’ are 70 sabbatical cycles—490 years, pointing to the first coming of Jesus as our Savior from sin,” Roth wrote.
“Second, the 70 ‘sevens’ are 70 Jubilee cycles—3,431 years, pointing to the second coming of Jesus when His people will be permanently freed from sin. In the fall of 2016 the 6,000 years of sin on earth will come to an end, everlasting righteousness will be brought in, and Jesus will come again.”
After this, she said the earth will rest for 1,000 years.
“The most important thing we can do right now is to give ourselves completely to God in humility and repentance and by faith to receive Jesus as our personal Savior,” Roth said. “Now is the time to seek God, while He may be found. Now is the time to repent. Today is the day to choose to receive Jesus Christ fully and to abide in Him.”
Roth is not the first one to predict a specific date for the second coming of Christ. Just a few years ago, author and pastor Ronald Weinland said Jesus would return on September 29, 2011. When it didn’t happen, he moved the date to May 27, 2012, and when that also failed, he moved it again to May 18, 2013.
Televangelist Jack Van Impe had given previous predictions of Jesus’ return, the latest being 2012, but none of them came to pass. He has stopped giving predictions since.
Harold Camping, a preacher from California, also predicted Jesus would return on May 21, 2011. His prediction was widely known, perhaps because of the great effort and money amounting to millions of dollars poured into information campaigns to let people know about Jesus’ return. Camping’s prediction of the Judgment Day was seen on billboards and trucks.
When Jesus did not return to earth as predicted, Camping changed the date to October of the same year. However, it did not come to pass either. In 2012, Camping acknowledged his prophecy was wrong, informing his followers through a letter on his website that he had no evidence proving his prediction.
"We realise that many people are hoping they will know the date of Christ's return. We humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing,” he wrote. Camping passed away in 2013 at the age of 92.
Evangelist Billy Graham, in an article for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, gave a reminder that the Bible has warned us against “making precise predictions about Jesus’ return.”
“Jesus declared, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). If God has concealed it from the angels and His Son, why would He reveal it to a mere person?” he wrote.
In another BGEA article published last May, Graham said the world is returning to the days of Noah, a time of great wickedness, as Jesus described in Matthew 24. He said the continued increase of wickedness on earth is a sign that the Day of Judgment is near.
“The days of Noah are returning to the earth, and a catastrophe as great and terrible awaits those who refuse to enter into the ark of salvation, which is Jesus Christ. … there are many indications that we are now living in the closing period of history, and we are warned from the Scriptures that we are to repent and return to Christ as that day draws nearer,” Graham wrote.
He encouraged the readers to repent of their sins and go back to God.
“Let me ask you—do you know Christ? He is the only One who can redeem us. But before He can come in, we must be broken, repentant and contrite,” he said.
