The Appointed Times and Seasons
God has set in His own power
Zechariah 8:19: Thus He says YHWH of Armies The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness and for appointed times good ones
Comments: Zechariah 8:19 In this verse, English-translation-theology obscures understanding of the Creator’s appointed times and seasons by transforming the rich, literal, multi-faceted, and easy to understand term “appointed times” into nice to look forward to but quite vague “cheerful feasts.”
How many other times have translators done this?
Jesus spoke of appointed times and seasons. Daniel wrote of appointed times and seasons. We now see that YHWH of Armies spoke through Zechariah of appointed times and seasons. There should be no controversy that the Creator is carrying out a carefully executed plan according to precisely timed events, for not only the salvation of our souls but for the resurrection of our bodies, and for the renewal of this planet as well.
Some of God’s appointed times and seasons have already been fulfilled. We still await others. As of this writing, we currently reside in the time of “Christ in You” Colossians 1:27, the time of salvation of souls—the souls of those who comprise the Body of Christ—and who will, in their season, become His Bride.
Our souls must be saved before our bodies can be raised from the dead. The resurrection of the dead in Christ and the catching up of the living members of the Body of Christ, will conclude the season of “Christ in You” that we currently live in. And that event will herald the beginning of another season—for both the Body of Christ and those who remain on earth. There is another season Jesus referred to, that we still await, that he called “the Regeneration.” That will be when Jesus, the Son of Mortals, sits on the Throne of His Glory. And yet another appointed time and season follows even that.
Read about all of this and more in my book, REDEMPTION: Bible Prophecy Simplified, A Study of HOPE,
Understanding that there are set—appointed—times and seasons, puts to rest the theory that anyone or anything will hinder, hurry, or otherwise “usher in" the 2nd Coming of Christ. That time is set. Yet another witness to this, the Preacher, the Son of David, King in Jerusalem, prophetically declared that “To everything there is a season and time to every purpose under heaven.”
Jocelyn Andersen is the author of several non-fiction books, including, Redemption: Bible Prophecy Simplified, a Study of HOPE.
She will be releasing e-book and print [comprehensive] commentaries on every book of the Bible she features in this column. Click HERE to subscribe to book release announcements via her newsletter and for links to all her Substack columns. Connect with Jocelyn on Goodreads and LinkedIn.
Note from the editor: I read my Bible every day, always picking up today where I left off yesterday. I have been doing that for over 44 years. I read my Bible every day, always picking up today where I left off yesterday. I have been doing that for over 44 years. The posts on this column are notes on whatever passage I happen to be reading on that particular day. Read more about this commentary HERE.