Is there a way to temporarily close a form so when the embedded link is selected the user receives a message stating the form in not available now

I was previously using Adobe Forms central and their was an option to open and close a form. When it was open people could enter data into the form. When it was closed they would receive a message that the form was not available (custom message).

Hello detdiane,

Yes it is possible to achieve your requirement. You can enable/disable your form anytime you want. The following guide should help you:  http://www.jotform.com/help/180-How-to-Enable-Disable-a-Form 

When a form is disabled, a warning message is displayed on page. The text of this warning message can also be changed to any desired text. Please check the screenshot below:

Hope this helps.

Do get back to us if you have any questions.

Thank you!