Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
Pray for south Texas & now Louisiana. Pray for a break in the storms. Pray for communities, states, & a nation to come together. Let’s worry less about what we think a President should be doing or a preacher that we are judging. Decide how best we can help. Now isn’t the time to point fingers. Let’s be a nation of doing & not a nation that sits back & complains about what others are doing or not doing.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Revelation 12:1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
One of the customs of the 40 day period of Teshuvah is to visit a cemetery. Jewish belief is the resurrection will occur during the period of Teshuvah. Specifically, the resurrection is to occur on the new moon holiday of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Christians refer to this as the Feast of Trumpets.
The Revelation 12 Sign occurs within the 40 day period of Teshuvah in the Gregorian year 2017 on September 23rd. Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets will start the civil Hebrew year 5778. When the new moon is identified by two witnesses and confirmed by the high priest, this will initiate Tishri 1.
The notion the rapture is a signless event is false. The rapture is not the next imminent prophetic event. Scripture is very clear. The resurrection of the dead comes before the rapture. The dead in Christ will rise first and ascend into Heaven before the rapture occurs. Yes, there is a historical event that will precede the rapture. It is the resurrection. The Apostle Paul points this out on two occasions.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
The idea of sleep communicated by the Apostle Paul is physical death. When we die, our body is buried and sleeping in the ground like a seed as stated earlier in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. Sleep implies the body will wake up at some point in the future.
The new information conveyed is we will not all sleep. Translation, believers will not all physically die. The sequence of events is described next. One, the dead will be raised imperishable (resurrection). Two, believers in Jesus who are alive and remaining…we will be changed (rapture).
The order of events is confirmed a second time in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. The resurrection happens first. Then the rapture occurs second. Dead believers go first.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Living believers will be tipped on the coming of the rapture by the resurrection of the dead. The issue is the time gap between the two events. The time frame between the resurrection and rapture is not stated. There is no time marker. It could be seven seconds or seven years or whatever. The text does not say. But, the resurrection of the dead in Christ does come first. I suppose the timing of the two events would be relative to “imminent”.
When the inhabitants of planet earth see thousands upon thousands of people arise from their graves and rise into the air, this will cause a variety of responses which will likely include chaos and confusion. This is not the Zombie Apocalypse the culture is expecting. Living believers should know their ascent into the clouds to join the resurrected and Jesus Christ is next in the order of events.
Imagine having the best possible dad who is teaching you, his child, how to ride a bike, but you fall off and scrape your knee. Would your dad be disappointed?! Of course not! He would help you back up, give you a hug, put a band aid on your knee if it’s bleeding a lot, and encourage you to get back on the bike to try again. He smiles but he is not disappointed.
Your Father loves you with a kind of love that holds no record of wrong. He isn’t keeping score. He took the score-pad and nailed it to the cross. He was way winning so decided to “finish” that game and begin a new one where we all win! His new game caused us to win even while we are still playing! He peaked at our cards when weren’t looking and steered the game in our favor lol. He’s such a really good Papa! There’s no keeping score in this game. The nail scars in His hands remind us not to ever try keeping score with anyone. All debt and disappointment is “PAID IN FULL”. Now we only love. And forgive. And build. And create. And learn good stewardship of our lives. And help whomever He puts in our paths. And keep the oil lamp burning. And follow His lead. And remain in the Vine. And occupy until He comes. And if we fall down, we get back up and try again knowing we can never disappoint a dad who peaked at our cards!
We all need to learn or relearn who our Father really is. He is only Love. And He set us up to win. But it is His game and His instruction book (Bible). ❤️Love y’all and have a blessed day!
“And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
– Matthew 3:17
“…you have been raised with Christ… seated at the right hand of God… For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
– Colossians 3:1-4
“…God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
– 1 John 4:8-9
Isaiah 17:1 The oracle concerning Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin.”
Ezekiel 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet…
Historically, Iran has been called Persia until the name change in the 20th century. Iran is a key player in the Ezekiel 38-39 narrative. The Bible says Iran will be aligned with modern day Russia and Turkey for an invasion of the mountains of Israel.
August 28, 2017: Iran continues to fill the void of a defeated ISIS. Initially, Iran was building a single missile factory. Now, Israel is reporting multiple missile factories are being built in Syria and Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had the following comments.
“(Iran’s) base of military entrenchment as part of its declared goal to eradicate Israel. It is also building sites to produce precision-guided missiles towards that end, in both Syria and in Lebanon. This is something Israel cannot accept. This is something the U.N. should not accept.”
Israel is prepared to act independently to stop Iran’s military expansion in Syria.
Israel has also stated a defined objective. An Israeli official stated President Assad’s palace would be targeted. Assad’s palace is located in Damascus, Syria. Israel sees the situation inside of Syria changing rapidly with Iran asserting itself in the country.
Israel states they will not acknowledge cease fire agreements reached by the United States and Russia.
Trouble is building in Syria and throughout the Middle East. Iran is replacing ISIS. Shia Muslims are replacing Sunni.
Consider the Burden of Damascus (Isaiah 17, Jeremiah 49:23-27) and Magog’s Invasion of Israel (Ezekiel 38-39) happening at the same time. Iran moving into Syria may be the catalyst. It is starting to look like this is a possibility. God has options.
Thanks to the Watchmans Post on Twitter. This is a great resource for current events in the Middle East. Check him out https://twitter.com/rapturewatchers
Revelation 12:1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Pockets of the Christian community are buzzing about this verse. This fall on the Feast of Trumpets also known as Yom Teruah, this configuration of heavenly bodies will form in the sky. Many think that because this “sign” is appearing on and around the Feast of Trumpets, this points to the rapture on or near September 23, 2017.
The Greek word for “sign” is σημεῖον/sémeion. Per Strong’s Concordance it means: a sign, miracle, indication, mark, token.
HELPS Word Studies defines the term as following: a sign (typically miraculous), given especially to confirm, corroborate or authenticate; emphasizes the end-purpose which exalts the one giving it.
So the question becomes, does the “sign” indicate we have arrived at the destination of rapture of the church? Or does the “sign” indicate the event is approaching? When we are driving down the interstate, a sign says “St. Louis 250 miles”. There is also a sign that declares we have arrived in St. Louis. So where are we? Are we approaching rapture? Or is the rapture this Feast of Trumpets, September 23, 2017?
It is not the intent of the author to defend or articulate the position of those with this point of view. They can speak for themselves. It is my intent to give some points of consideration.
Statistical data regarding uniqueness of the event is unquestionable. Thanks to math of Johannes Kepler and his laws of planetary motion and physics, we are able to calculate the movement of heavenly bodies. The equations and calculations are run on computer software. The heavens are a finely tuned clock which can be run forward and backward.
The sign appears to be a once in 7,000 year event. If one subscribes to a literal seven day creation as stated in the Bible, the earth and universe are about 6,000 years old. This “sign” is a once in a creation event. It is a statistically rare astronomical event intentioned to get our attention. I am not getting in the way of that math assuming it is correct.
As human beings, we need to keep ourselves in check. We are fallen in our current state of humanity. We make mistakes. Rigid, inflexible dogmatic positions will lead to brokenness. And we do not possess the mind of God.
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. -The Lord God
Many of the folks supporting the Rapture Fall 2017 position utilize the internet program Stellarium.
But there are questions. Does the Stellarium software (or any other for that matter) take into account Joshua’s long day? How long was Joshua’s long day? Software can only apply what it knows in the present. There needs to be a known, accurate point of comparison in the past to confirm the math in the present.
Joshua 10:12-13 At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.
Kepler himself misapplied his math when looking for the Star of Bethlehem. He was off by about a year or two. My point is one or two years matters. To quote Einstein, “God does not play dice.” He is not loose or sloppy with His timing. God invented math.
This is the first in a series of posts regarding the Revelation 12 Sign.
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” –Jesus according to Matthew 24:37-39
So now we have two questions.
1. Where can we find a time that would indicate a flood at the end of the interval between the 69th and the 70th Week?
2. Does that flood indicate the coming of the Son of Man?
Our second question: Is there an indication of the coming of the Son of Man at that time of the flood? Yes!
The people themselves declare that the “great day” of the wrath of the Lamb has come. They confirm the coming of the Son of Man. Similar to the “Left Behind” story where people were sealed in an airliner in flight, these people sealed in underground bunkers see their bunker mates disappear and figure out what happened. And in the very next chapter there is a depiction of the rapture from a heavenly perspective.
This earthquake and flooding provides a perfect “cover” for the rapture event. When those who are underground during the events of the Sixth Seal return to the surface, there will be many missing people and perhaps scattered stories of those who claim to have witnessed believers disappearing before their very eyes just as the events unfolded. But because of the massive devastation, there will be plausible deniability by those who refuse to believe it and they will say they were lost in the floods and earthquake damage.
After the Rapture, a strong delusion will be sent upon those who have no regard for the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 …and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Revelation chapter Six ends with massive devastation with people in their bunkers. In chapter Seven, we see a multitude that no one can count has appeared in Heaven waving palm branches and praising God for being saved! I believe these are the raptured saints.
Jesus refers to the things that happen before the end as “birth pangs”. When a woman is with child and the “water breaks” the delivery of the baby comes rapidly. I believe this flood at the end of “it” is the breaking of the water and the delivery of the Church.
God has an established pattern of delivering through water; Noah, Moses, and Joshua. Jesus walked on water and the wind and the waves obey Him. It makes perfect sense that He will deliver His Church through the water of the flood at the end of “it”.
So when you see the events of the 6th Seal occurring do not lose faith! Look up! For your redemption draws near!
Do not take my word, or anyone else’s about this. Study these things in God’s word for yourself to see if it is so.
In any kind of relationship, the relationship will thrive when you try to outdo each other in kindness & giving. Not for selfish reasons, but because it’s the right thing to do. Not for expectations of what might be given back, but because you truly want the other as happy as you want yourself to be. Those that are a blessing will be blessed.
Be kind to others & make them feel accepted. Feeling like an outsider is a terribly lonely feeling. We are all the same & want the same things at the end of the day really. Just treat others as you’d have them treat you. Nobody is better than anyone else.
Romans 2:11 For God shows no partiality.
Romans 15:7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Acts 20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak & remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Proverbs 11:25 The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.
Ezekiel 39:2 And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel.
The prophet Ezekiel is talking to Gog of Magog. Magog is widely considered to be modern day Russia.
August 21, 2017: Sputnik news out of Russia issued the following statement about Scythian artifacts and history. A collection from Russia’s Hermitage Museum was released to London for exhibition. The collection tells the story of the “Scythians, powerful nomadic tribes from Siberia”. A majority of the artifacts have never left Russia until now. The discovered items have been preserved in Siberia’s ice, snow, and permafrost.
Here are a couple of quotes from the story.
Scythians – groups of formidable warriors that roamed the vast open plains of modern-day Siberia 2,500 years ago and stretched as far as the Black Sea and even the edge of China.
Scythians’ encounters with the Greeks, Assyrians and Persians were written into history. Feared and admired, the masters of mounted warfare were forgotten over time until now.
A Russian news story is identifying Scythians as Siberian Russians. Ancient historians consistently equate Scythians with Magog. Modern day Russia = Scythians = Magog per Russians.
Ezekiel 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet…
Iran was Persia throughout history until the name change in the 20th century.
August 23, 2017: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel met with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia. The primary concern of the meeting was the Iranian military build up in Syria. Iran is taking the place of ISIS as they are removed from the region.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu made the following release on Twitter. The bottom line is Iran is not welcome in the region. Israel finds Iranian presence unacceptable. For the first time, the word “war” was inserted into the conversation regarding Iran. Israel states it will defend itself in any form.
Click on the link below to listen. The tweet is from Netanyahu himself. Comments are less than one minute.
Following the comments, Israel announced they were strengthening their Air Force. Israel’s concern is a nuclear Iran. The Jewish state announced it will be receiving two additional stealth F35 fighter jets. Israel indicates they “will provide complete air superiority in the region for the next 40 years”.
Approximately 2,600 years ago, the LORD (military term) God revealed His weaponry to the public. He informed Gog, the leader of Magog, of His intentions.
Ezekiel 38:21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
Ezekiel 38:22 “With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur.”
Ezekiel 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD. -Lord God
Imagine having the best possible dad who is teaching you, his child, how to ride a bike, but you fall off and scrape your knee. Would your dad be disappointed?! Of course not! He would help you back up, give you a hug, put a band aid on your knee if it’s bleeding a lot, and encourage you to get back on the bike to try again. He smiles but he is not disappointed.
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” –Jesus according to Matthew 24:37-39
Following the comments, Israel announced they were strengthening their Air Force. Israel’s concern is a nuclear Iran. The Jewish state announced it will be receiving two additional stealth F35 fighter jets. Israel indicates they “will provide complete air superiority in the region for the next 40 years”.
