Posted 11-10-00
It is a lonely path, believing in "end times" prophecy, as it is not a popular sermon topic in mainstream churches. I attend one of those in the Washington DC area and have determined that I must stay to continue to be a witness when I can be.
Time is so short, the other day at work I commented to a girl that THE EXORCIST has been re-released; she asked me if I believe in demonic possession; I said yes. She then looked at me with such an odd expression, an expression of disbelief. I told her to check out C.S. Lewis' THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS. Certainly demonic possession might be hard for her to digest, but demonic influence, as Uncle Screwtape counsels his nephew, is very much a daily activity.
Joshua, those who are left behind and come to a faith in Christ might do so because of your testimony left for them to read. Yes, it will be the greatest suffering the world has ever known, but those who come to Christ after the rapture will share in the same glory as those who did beforehand. I see you as an example of the parable of the workmen who get the same pay for working part of the day as those who have worked the whole day. I encourage you to chose Christ now. Let Him decide where best to use you. All the best
I used to see it the way you do, and a reader straightened me out. You have to read Gen. 7 very carefully. It is harder to see it in the KJV, but it can be done, as I will show you. Other translations are easier to understand on this.
Noah had been coming and going in the Ark throughout construction. On Cheshvan 10, the Lord told him "For yet seven days (i.e., on Cheshvan 17), and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights" (Gen. 7:4). At that point, Noah knew that it was going to start to rain on Cheshvan 17. He needed to load clothing, food and supplies during those 7 days.
On Cheshvan 17, Noah and his family went into the Ark the final time, and the animals came "unto Noah into the Ark" (7:7-9). This was 7 days after the warning on the 10th. The 17th was the same day the Lord shut them in and the rain started to fall.
Gen. 7:10-17 says, "it came to pass AFTER SEVEN DAYS (on Cheshvan 17), that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the SECOND MONTH, the SEVENTEENTH DAY of the month, the SAME DAY (Cheshvan 17) were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. IN THE SELFSAME DAY (Cheshvan 17) ENTERED NOAH, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; THEY AND EVERY BEAST....they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD SHUT HIM IN (on Cheshvan 17). And the flood was forty days upon the earth." Agape
From those types of the 2 Raptures, we can see that there is a good chance that we will know ahead of time.
In Mk. 13:23, Jesus said, "take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you ALL THINGS." What can we subtract from "all"? Amos 3:7 says, "Surely the Lord GOD will do NOTHING, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." In Lu. 8:17 Jesus said, "NOTHING is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad." In Lu. 12:2 Jesus said, "there is NOTHING covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." In Mk. 4:22, Jesus said, "there is NOTHING hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad."
> > I am truly writing to understand what I have to do to get into heaven
(1) Be absolutely certain that you have asked Jesus Christ to be your own personal Saviour. Rom 10:79,10 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
At that point, all your "OLD SINS" ( I Peter 1:9), are wiped off the books.
(2) Jesus told Peter that if He didn't wash his feet, Peter had no part with him. We are to confess all known sins after we accept Christ, so he can cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Use I Jn. 1:9 immediately when you slip and sin. Don't wait an instant, even if you have to say your prayer silently, because of the presence of others. Since the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, he will hear that silent prayer.
Sin builds a sin barrier between you and your Holy God. A sinner is out of fellowship with God. To get back in fellowship, we must get all known sins under the blood of Christ. I Jn. 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness." Jn. 13:10 says, "Jesus saith to him (Peter), He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean." If we are clean, we are wearing spiritual white robes of righteousness. We are ready to be included in the Bride of Christ that is caught up in the 1st Rapture.
We can learn this lesson the easy way, or we can learn it the hard way. Those caught up in the 2nd Rapture "have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14). Why wait and lose out on "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14)?
For the unsaved, it is not safe to wait. There will be "strong delusion" sent to unbelievers in the Tribulation. II Thess. 2:10-12 says, "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
> > is the second Rapture for people like me, the lukewarm many
Yes, BUT you really don't want to go that route. You will probably forfeit being part of the Bride of Christ if you do. Eternity is a long time to regret such a decision. Your lack of certain rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ will reflect such a decision.
It isn't hard. 1 Thess. 1:10: "wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. In Mt. 11:28-30, Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this. Agape
Otherwise I have left everything into god's hands but deep down my heart I know my father up there will not let me down.
Got to run now...Thanks again.
---- (in India) tells me that you are well and happy. That is such good news. Praise the Lord. I'm so proud of you. You faced up to the challenge life dealt you and came through with flying colors. Bless your heart. I am so happy for you. You are so right. God never lets us down. We may let him down, but he never lets us down. When we are weak, we can rely on his strength to see us through whatever hits us. He cares. He cares a lot. He loved us before we loved him.
One of these days, Christ will come as the Bridegroom for the Bride of Christ group. Can you even imagine how thrilling it will be to be with someone as wonderful as He is? and in a better place besides? and to live forever with Him in that better place? He will wipe away all tears. There will be no sickness or sorrow. It will be wonderful, and worth everything we had to go through here in this testing ground.
I'm glad you found a job and a good church. May the Lord bless you in every way. I'll keep praying for you too. How is your precious daughter? I hope she brings you lots of pure joy. Read to her often as soon as she will listen. She will learn fast that way. In the early years, they seem to be able to learn faster than at any other time in their life. There is so much to know, so much that they are interested in. Look at all the wonder in her eyes. In Christ's love
And to arrive at this date I used your Pro & Con 600 which used Tishri 1 as the birth of Jesus which gives me pause to think Tishri 1 is the right date.
I looked up in my World Book Encyclopedia under reproduction and it said that human gestation was around 9 months. However I myself have always been partial to 40 weeks since it alludes to 40 meaning trials and tribulations instead of 9 which means fruit of the spirit following the new birth according to the "Arithmetic of God". Maybe Jesus was 10 days "early" and Mary didn't go through trials and tribulations during her pregnancy. We know he left 10 days "early" before the Holy Spirit arrived and empowered the Church. A lot of supposing there I suppose.
Also I don't think Jesus was conceived on necessarily December 25 but Kislev 25. I checked on the cycle of when Dec. 25th and Kislev 25th coincide and the last time was 1978 and the next one will be 2016 for a 38 year cycle. I checked 1940 and it also coincided. I realize that the Julian didn't quite keep as accurate of time as the Gregorian but extrapolating backwards 1978 - 52*38 = 2 AD which looks like it wouldn't match. Providentially it just looks like the 25th in both months. I have seen it pointed out that in many oriental countries conception day is celebrated instead of birth day. If we had this custom over here in the US I think it would give people more cause to think about what has been estimated at so far 60 million lives terminated.
In regards to whether the phrase in Esther 2:16 translated "in the tenth month" in Hebrew should have been translated "on the first day of the tenth month". I've heard this explanation before but wonder how the Hebrew would convey something happening during a month without being specific as to what particular day. The problem is the translators sometimes will specify the first day of the month, (I found 11 references to the phrase the "first day of the month" in the Bible including Gen 8:5, Gen. 8:13, Exodus 40:2). This is a minor point though.
Also I really don't know what to do with the 2300 days from January 23rd, 2001. It gets me to within 4 days of June 7, 2007 for those who view that ageneration is exactly 40 years and want to count backwards. However I don't hold this view of a generation and I know neither do you.... Also, the Bride's, along with everyone else's soul was, I agree, redeemed at Calvary. However verses like Romans 8:23 that state that "we are waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" means it is future tense. However I think I have answered my own question just by looking at this verse. The Bride will be adopted as sons by the Father formally at the Wedding. I was looking for the Father to redeem the Bride before the snatching away and it looks like it will take place at the Wedding. I think this interpretation makes sense.
Anyway-Thanks for the reasoned responses and-Shalom and God Bless
I have Green's Interlinear. Let's see if the translators specified the first day or if it was there in the Hebrew so it could not be misunderstood. In Gen. 8:5, under the Hebrew words, it says, "the month tenth; in the tenth (month) on the first of the month were seen the tops of the mountains." It is there in the Hebrew. Verse 13 says, "at the beginning, on the one of the month." It is there in the Hebrew. Ex. 40:2 says, "On the day of the month first, on the first of the month, you shall raise up the tabernacle." It is there in the Hebrew. The translators didn't supply it in these cases.
I was talking about when only the month is given. Because chodesh means both month and new moon, we are to understand the first of the month. The month began on the new moon. I learned this from Dr. Charles Feinberg, back when he was head of Talbot Theological Seminary. A brilliant man with a prodigious memory, he was their expert in Old Testament studies. Being Jewish, his background stood him in good stead in this area. I think he knew what he was talking about on this.
I just happened to spot Ex. 40:17, because I have this verse underlined in red. It says, "And it was in the month first, in the year second, on the first of the month, was raised up the tabernacle." There can be no mistaking that this meant Nisan 1, the first day of not only the Jewish Sacred Year, but the Jewish Regnal Year, when all the Israelite kings officially took office. They were to make Nisan the beginning of months at the Exodus.
The Lord was to dwell, tabernacle, with mankind in the tabernacle. Jesus Christ dwelt with man at the First Advent and will dwell with man at the Second Advent. It makes sense that the tabernacle was raised up on the day Jesus will come to us at the Second Advent, when he is King of kings and Lord of lords. If the Second Advent is on the first day of the month, as Eze. 29:17,21 agrees with, don't you think the First Advent could be on the first of the month too? Hos. 6:3 says, "the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." The former rain starts Tishri 1, the latter rain on Nisan 1. To me, Jesus had to be born on Tishri 1 and will return on Nisan 1.
> > It gets me to within 4 days of June 7, 2007 for those who view that a generation is exactly 40 years and want to count backwards.
I gave you the verses that show that the 2300 days have to end on Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets, and that if you count back the 2300 days from Tishri 1, 2007, by Jewish inclusive reckoning, you arrive on the Feast of Weeks in 2001. That is a perfect day for the 70th week of Daniel to start, and it isn't true in every set of such years.
I'll tell you something else, but I can't take credit for figuring it out. Someone that emailed me figured it out. From Nisan 8 in 30AD, the day Jesus arrived in Bethany before "Palm Sunday," to the destruction of the temple was 40 years plus another 120 days. He had told the Pharisees that "All these things shall come upon THIS GENERATION" (Mt. 23:36). A generation was demonstrated then to be 40 years plus another 120 days.
To apply it to our days (Mt. 24:32-34), start when Israel took back the temple area on Iyar 28 (June 7, 1967). Add 40 years plus another 120 days and you will come to Tishri 1, 5768 (Sept. 13, 2007). To me, that is both the 2300th day of the 70th week of Daniel and the 1st day of the millennial Day of the Lord, which has to start on the Feast of Trumpets.
If we start on Sept. 13, 1993, when the Oslo Accords were signed, add 7 good years and 7 bad years, we arrive at Sept. 13, 2007. The Oslo Accords were ratified in Israel 3 days later, on Tishri 1, 5754. Add the 14 years, and we come to Tishri 1, 5768, which just happens to also be Sept. 13, 2007. I think God arranged that, don't you? Shalom and agape
No geographical site in the world has the Biblical significance of the Temple Mount. Indeed, it is virtually the only real "holy" site. Abraham called it the place where God will see (Genesis 22:14). David saw it as the site of house of the Lord and the altar of burnt offering for Israel (1 Chronicles 22:1). The first and second temples were built here. God declared that His name would be established at this site forever (2 Chronicles 7:16). It (Jerusalem) is the site where Jesus worshiped. It is the site of His death, resurrection, ascension and of His promised return. It (Temple Mount) will be the site of His reign in the age to come. We must conclude that this site has enormous significance for any Bible believer. Obviously, Moslems understand this better than most Jews and Christian do. Only by control of this site can Allah be demonstrated "superior" to the God of the Bible. Again we must establish the crucial point, the Temple Mount is important to Moslems only because it is important to Bible believing Jews and Christians.
The first seven months in the Jewish calender correspond to the rabbinical teaching that human history will cover a period of seven thousand years---from the creation of Adam to the Messianic Kingdom. [ He goes over each month and how it fits each 1,000 year period, but i will only mention the ones that might fit the rapture or reference the bride of Christ ]
* * The second month, Iyar (April/June) correspnds with the second millinium, in which Noah built a ship and encountered rain for
first time.
* * The third month, Sivan (May/June) corresponds with the third millenium and the marriage of Israel to God. The story of the
Exodus and the Mosaic Covenant fits perfectly with Sivan, and apparently gave rise to the custom of a "June Bride".
* * The months of Av and Elul are focused on the "grace of God". Which covers the dispensation of grace.
According to Jewish tradition, the twelve heavenly consellations correspond to the twelve months of the year. ELUL is represented by the constellation that resembles a virgin bride. "The sun moves into Virgo during this time, alluding to the spiritual significance of the virgin bride. The chase young woman unfettered by ties to anyone, is the perfect symbol for depicting this purity that resides in every Jewish soul.....Perhaps the most famous allusion to ELUL in all of the Tanach (Old Testament)is that voiced by Solomon's Song, ' I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." (Song of Solomon 6:3) The fist letters of each of these words, when combined, form the word ELUL.
J.R.Church also mentions in his his article that when the apostle John was taken to Heaven and his description of the rapturous event he had experienced, he arrived just in time to view God sitting upon His throne of judgement ( a Rosh Hoshanna event); holding a scroll (another Rosh Hashanna event), and hearing the trumpets sound. (another Rosh Hashanna ritual).....
Since it seems that John was raptured just before these Rosh Hashanna events it seems likely that maybe the Rapture will be just before Tishri 1. There is also the information about the word ELUL just above hidden in the Song of Solomon.
What do you think....is ELUL a good bet for the time we will hear the sound of the trump? Agape.
> > The second month, Iyar (April/June) correspnds with the second millinium, in which Noah built a ship and encountered rain for first time.
The Sacred Year started at the Exodus. Noah died 2 years before Abraham was born. The 2nd month in Noah's day was Cheshvan in the fall.
> > 'I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." (Song of Solomon 6:3). The fist letters of each of these words, when combined, form the word ELUL.
That's interesting. I haven't run across that before. In Song 6:13, it asks, "What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were (symbolic language) the company of TWO ARMIES" (i.e., the two Rapture groups). As Elul 29 becomes Tishri 1 does seem to fit fairly well both when Eve was taken out of the body of Adam and the 2nd Rapture.
> > J.R.Church also mentions in his article that when the apostle John was taken to Heaven and his description of the rapturous event he had experienced, he arrived just in time to view God sitting upon His throne of judgement ( a Rosh Hoshanna event); holding a scroll (another Rosh Hashanna event), and hearing the trumpets sound. (another Rosh Hashanna ritual)
I don't think the Judgment Seat of Christ happens at the 1st Rapture, but after the 2nd Rapture, which seems to be in the night that begins Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets. In Rev. 4 and 5, we see the 1st Rapture, then Christ is given the book, the Title Deed of the Earth. It is before any of the 7 seals are broken in Rev. 6.
The 2nd Rapture (Rev. 7:14) is between the breaking of the 6th (Rev. 6:12) and 7th seals (Rev. 8). The 7 trumpet judgments are unleashed as the 7th seal is broken at the Judgment Seat of Christ. See Rev. 11:18. All saints will be receiving their rewards in Heaven at the same time the unbelievers on Earth will receive the 7 trumpet judgments.
> > What do you think....is ELUL a good bet for the time we will hear the sound of the trump?
I think the spring is most likely for the 1st Rapture (see Song of Sol. 2:10-14) and Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets for the 2nd Rapture. If we go by Cheshvan 17 (Nov. 15, 2000), when Noah entered the Ark, I will think we will have to wait till next spring, maybe Ascension Day. Agape
I really think spring is most likely for the Rapture. See Song of Sol. 2:10-14. The scriptures seem clear that Jesus will return at the Second Advent on Nisan 1.
In De. 11:14, the Lord promised, saying, "I will give you the rain of your land (Israel) in HIS DUE SEASON, the first rain (former rain, First Advent of Christ) and the latter rain" (Second Advent).
Hos. 6:3 says, "the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." In Israel, the former rain starts Tishri 1, which I think is the birthday of Jesus. The latter rain starts Nisan 1, the first day of the Jewish Regnal and Sacred Year. It looks like Jesus will return as King of kings and Lord of lords on the same date that all the other Israelite kings officially took office.
Eze. 29:17 sets the date as Nisan 1. It says, "in the first month, in the first day of the month. Then v. 21 says, "In that day (Nisan 1) will I cause the horn (king) of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth (the Word, the Logos) in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD." Nisan 1 is the first day of the Jewish Regnal Year and Sacred Year. It looks like Christ will return as King of kings and Lord of lords on the same day all the other Israelite kings officially took office. Agape
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Updated 11-10-00