Posted 12-13-00
I looked this word up about 2 years ago because it made no sense to say God "answered by a "voice"---obviously anyone who "answers" is using a voice. Therefore the word should be translated "shout" which even further confirms the shout at the Rapture.
Also, the verse about "looking up" etc. reminds me of a verse about Isaac and Rebecca and when one had saw the other "he/she lifted up their eyes." I don't have time to look that verse up now. See what you think?
> > the verse about "looking up"
Gen. 24:61-64 says, "Rebekah (type of Bride of Christ) AROSE, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and THE SERVANT (i.e., Holy Spirit) TOOK REBEKAH, AND WENT HIS WAY (picture of the Rapture). And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he LIFTED UP HIS EYES, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah LIFTED UP HER EYES, and when she saw Isaac (type of Christ), she lighted off the camel." Also, Gen. 22:4 says, "ON THE THIRD DAY Abraham LIFTED UP HIS EYES, and saw THE PLACE afar off" (representing Heaven afar off).
Now let's consider another possibility for the Rapture besides Ascension Day or Pentecost.
Job 8:8-10 says, "enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because OUR DAYS UPON EARTH ARE A SHADOW:) Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?" We need to consider types too.
Ex. 24:16 says, "the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud." Moses went up. They arrived at Sinai on Sivan 1 (Ex. 19:1). The 6 days brings us to Sivan 6. The 7th day would be Sivan 7. The Jews keep both Sivan 6 and 7 as Pentecost. At the Rapture, we rise to meet Christ in the clouds. Ex. 24:18 says, "Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount" (Sinai, which represents Heaven).
However, notice that the trumpet is not mentioned on that 7th day. The "trump of God" sounds at the Rapture (I Thess. 4:16), and the "voice of the trumpet exceeding loud" did sound at Sinai, but on what day? Ex. 19:1 says, "In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai." Since no day number is mentioned, we are to assume the 1st of Sivan, because the same word means month and new moon. The 1st is the new moon.
Ex. 19:10,11,13 says, "the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day (Sivan 1) and to morrow (Sivan 2), and let them wash their clothes (i.e., confess their sins so they will be wearing spiritual white wedding garments), And be READY against the third day (Fri., Sivan 3, May 25, 2001?): for THE THIRD DAY THE LORD WILL COME DOWN in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai....WHEN THE TRUMPET SOUNDETH LONG, THEY SHALL COME UP to the mount." The third day could also hint at the 3rd year (1998 + 3 = 2001).
Verses 16-20 say, "it came to pass on the THIRD DAY in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and THE VOICE OF THE TRUMPET EXCEEDING LOUD; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And MOSES BROUGHT FORTH THE PEOPLE OUT OF THE CAMP TO MEET WITH GOD; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because THE LORD DESCENDED upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when THE VOICE OF THE TRUMPET SOUNDED LONG, AND WAXED LOUDER AND LOUDER, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice (shout). And THE LORD CAME DOWN upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and THE LORD CALLED MOSES UP TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNT; AND MOSES WENT UP." This could represent the Rapture on Sivan 3. The Israelites did not all go up. That would not fit, because national Israel is not the Bride at the 1st Rapture, the church is. The church is made up of believers, Jew or Gentile.
Hos. 6:2: "After two days will he revive us: IN THE THIRD DAY HE WILL RAISE US UP, and we shall live in his sight." Jn. 2:1: "THE THIRD DAY THERE WAS A MARRIAGE in Cana (the nest) of Galilee (circle, i.e., a sphere); and the mother of Jesus was there." Jesus made the water wine. Mt. 26:29: " I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you IN MY FATHER'S KINGDOM."
Isa. 18:4 (KJV) says, "the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider (nabat, look intently at, regard with pleasure, see) in my dwelling place (Heaven) like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest (Pentecost)." This sounds like we might already be in Heaven on Pentecost.
Isa. 18:4-7 (LXX) says, "thus said the Lord to me, There shall be SECURITY IN MY CITY (New Jerusalem), as the light of noonday heat, and it shall be as a cloud of dew IN THE DAY OF HARVEST (Pentecost, beginning of wheat harvest). BEFORE THE REAPING TIME (i.e., before Pentecost, maybe on Sivan 3), when the flower has been completely formed, and the unripe grape has put forth its flower and blossomed, THEN SHALL HE TAKE AWAY (Rapture) THE LITTLE CLUSTERS (the wise virgins with fruit) with pruning-hooks, AND shall take away the small branches (having no fruit), and cut them off; and he shall leave them (i.e., the foolish virgins) together to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts (of Rev. 13) of the earth...IN THAT TIME (time of firstripe grapes) SHALL PRESENTS BE BROUGHT TO THE LORD OF HOSTS FROM A PEOPLE AFFLICTED AND PEELED, AND FROM A PEOPLE GREAT FROM HENCEFORTH AND FOR EVER; a nation HOPING and yet trodden down, which is in a part of a river of his land, to THE PLACE (Jn. 14:2) where is THE NAME of the Lord of hosts (Y'shua/Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, Isa. 44:6), the mount Sion" (the heavenly Zion).
Note: Instead of "afore the harvest," the Exegesis Bible has "ere the face of the harvest." I looked up "afore" in Strong's. It is 6440, paniym (or paneh, which is face) and is used for before. Gesesius says "face," see Strong's. Young's has Face, front, panim. If the designated time is before and FACING Pentecost, it seems that it would be PAST the other feast days and on the approach to Pentecost.
Mic. 7:15 says, "According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things." God is showing us marvellous things during this last 40 years. The spies being sent into the promised land ahead of the younger generation could portray the Pre-Trib Rapture at the time of firstripe grapes. Joshua leading the younger generation into the promised land at the end of 40 years could picture the Pre-Wrath Rapture.
When they were sent to spy the promised land, Nu. 13:17,20 says, "go UP into the MOUNTAIN (representing Heaven)...Now THE TIME WAS THE TIME OF THE FIRSTRIPE GRAPES." A representative of each of the 12 tribes was sent. They could represent the elders that go up at the Rapture. "And Moses called Osea the son of Nun (eternal) JEHOSHUA" (i.e., Joshua/Jesus, son of the Eternal God) (Nu. 13:16). Of the 12, Joshua and Caleb made it into the promised land. Joshua had the Hebrew name of J'shua/Y'shua/Jesus. Caleb had the tribe, Judah. To round out the picture, Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land, but he had gone in earlier himself to spy out the land.
Job 5:19-24 says, "He shall deliver thee (at the Rapture) in six troubles: yea, in seven (the Tribulation) there shall no evil touch thee. In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. THOU SHALT BE HID FROM the scourge of the tongue (the False Prophet that speaks as a dragon, Rev. 13:11): neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh (both are in the Tribulation): neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth (the Beast and False Prophet, Rev. 13). For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy TABERNACLE shall be in PEACE; and THOU SHALT VISIT THY HABITATION, AND SHALT NOT SIN."
Could the Rapture be the thing that would catapult the Beast and the 10 kings into office when the covenant is confirmed? The restraining influence of the Holy Spirit would be taken away at the Rapture. The False Prophet could then be revealed as he confirms the covenant. He can't be revealed while we are here.
A Rapture on Sivan 3 would agree with Rev. 17:12-14: "the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have RECEIVED NO KINGDOM AS YET; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they (the raptured Bride) that ARE with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." The 10 kings are crowned as the Tribulation starts in Rev. 13:1.
Esth. 5:1: "it came to pass on the THIRD DAY, that Esther (star, hidden, secret) put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house."
At the Transfiguration:
Mt. 17:1-3: "AFTER SIX DAYS (might indicate after 6 years) Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him." At the Rapture, Moses and Elijah are getting ready to come to Earth to prophesy during the 1st half of the Tribulation.
Lu. 9:27-31: "I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass ABOUT AN EIGHT DAYS (might indicate about 8 years, 1993 + 8 = 2001) after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory" (i.e., Heaven).
There are several other scriptures that mention the 3rd day.
Mt. 26:44-46: "he left them, and went away again, and prayed the THIRD TIME, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. RISE, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me."
I Sam. 20:5: "David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even."
II Ki. 20:5: "tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD."
II Ki. 20:8: "Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?"
Lu. 24:7: "The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." Agape
Note: I still think it is Pentecost. See next 2 ProCons (upcoming).
You wrote in your PC 451
> > "I think the Pre-Trib Rapture may come next Pentecost. The Pre-Wrath Rapture seems to be on Tishri 1, 5768 (our Sept. 13, 2007). There are then 7 months for the Jews to bury the dead. I think the Second Advent, when he puts his feet on the Mt. of Olives, will be on Nisan 1, 5768 (our Apr. 6, 2008)."
That negates imminence. That negates what the Holy Spirit teaches us in nearly every book of the NT. You can't set a date, and have imminence at the same time. You ARE setting a date, and that IS in direct opposition of what the Holy Spirit teaches us.
Now - what do we do when we realize that we have been doing something that is against God? I try to stop doing it. Sometimes I'm more successful that other times.
I agree that we are to watch. Watch and be ready. That is taught over and over as well. And I agree that these times seem to "fit the bill". In fact, I find it hard to understand how anybody can't see that. Current events show us daily that the time is ripe for the rapture.
Think about your local firemen. They need to watch and be ready for a fire. They don't know when the fire is going to happen. Are they trying to figure out what day and hour the fire is going to happen? No. They know it's coming. They will be notified when there is a fire. They spend their time trying to get ready for it. That is what we are supposed to be doing. Making sure that we are ready. Not trying to figure out the day. Best regards,
Wow! that is strong language. You sound like the Pope. It also sounds as if you think Jesus could have come at any moment since he ascended. Eze. 38:8 says, "IN THE LATTER YEARS thou (Gog and his army) shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of ISRAEL, which have been always waste: but it is BROUGHT FORTH OUT OF THE NATIONS." It doesn't seem too likely to me that the Rapture would have been imminent until after Israel was back in the land. What if there are other prophecies that have to be fulfilled after that, but before the Rapture? Then is the Rapture imminent only after all such prophecies have been fulfilled? How do you know when the last one has been fulfilled? Do you know all the prophecies that well?
The Tribulation is the trial, or time of testing, that "shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell on the Earth" (Rev. 3:10). It is that special time of testing that we are to be kept from, so the Rapture is tied to the Tribulation, however loosely. Since the Tribulation is "IN THE LATTER YEARS," the Rapture must necessarily also be "IN THE LATTER YEARS." Then could the Rapture have happened many long years before the Tribulation? No. Has the Tribulation always been imminent? No. It has to take place "IN THE LATTER YEARS." If the Tribulation has not been imminent all these years, has the Rapture been imminent? or did it have to wait until the time drew near for this special time of testing that will come upon all the Earth? If it had to wait, it was not always imminent. Since it obviously was not always imminent, can you tell me exactly when the Rapture became imminent?
You didn't cite one Bible verse to back up your "infallible" position. Why? Don't you know any? If imminency is taught in "nearly every book of the NT," surely you should be able to find some verses. But maybe you don't know that in the KJV, the word "imminent" is not there at all. Is that why you didn't give any verses to back up your statements? Do you assume that there are so many that you won't have any trouble finding some if you need them?
Acts 17:11 says, "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." I guess we had better search the scriptures and see if this is so.
Let's see. What other words might be used? Is "impending" there? Nope. How about "ready to take place"? Nope. Try "about to take place." Nope. "Immediate" isn't there. "Immediately" is used several times, but Rev. 4:2 is the only one I can see that is associated with the Rapture. It is at the moment it takes place, not beforehand. How about "at any time"? Ah, now we are getting somewhere. In Lu. 21:34, Jesus said, "take heed to yourselves, lest AT ANY TIME your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so THAT DAY come upon you unawares." We know that if we just tend to the cares of this life and don't take heed to ourselves, THAT DAY can come upon us unawares. What does that mean we could be leaving out? Bible study? Watching? Praying?
After the word "unawares," Jesus went on to say, "For as a snare (pagis, trap) shall IT come on ALL them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. WATCH ye therefore, and PRAY always, that ye may be ACCOUNTED WORTHY TO ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (Lu. 21:35,36). We are to watch and pray that we may be accounted worthy to escape. The escape is the Rapture. To what does "IT" refer? Before it, Jesus mentioned "THAT DAY." After it he mentioned "ESCAPE," so I take it that he was talking about the day of the Pre-Trib Rapture, when we enter the kingdom of God in Heaven.
Right before this passage, Jesus gave us a parable. Maybe there is a connection between the parable and being worthy to escape in the Rapture. In Lu. 21:29-32, Jesus "spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree (Israel), and all the trees (nations); When they now shoot forth (proballo, throw forward, i.e., push at each other in the Six-Day War), ye see and know of your own selves that summer is NOW nigh at hand (the war started June 5, summer June 21). So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, KNOW YE that the kingdom of God is NIGH AT HAND. Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." So did the Rapture become imminent at the Sign of the End of the Age?
The Six-Day War in 1967 + a 40-year generation (Mt. 23:36) = 2007. Do you suppose the end of the Age is in 2007? We are supposed to compare scripture with scripture to get the complete picture, so let's look at the fig tree parable in Mt. 24:32-34. Jesus said, "learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch (klados, scion broken off for grafting, i.e., modern Israel grafted into her old rootstock) is yet tender (apalos, young, i.e., no more than 19, as when they came out of Egypt), and putteth forth leaves (in the Six-Day War, Israel was 19 and she grew Gaza Strip, West Bank, Sinai and Golan Heights), ye know that summer is nigh (the war started June 5, summer started June 21): So likewise ye, WHEN (not before) YE SHALL SEE ALL THESE THINGS (Israel back in the land and growing leaves), KNOW THAT IT (the kingdom of God, i.e., the Rapture) IS NEAR, EVEN AT THE DOORS. Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION (40 years, Mt. 23:36) shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Could the Rapture have been imminent before the Six-Day War?
Or did the Rapture become imminent after Israel became a nation? Hos. 6:2 says, "After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. This was fulfilled in 1948, which was in the 3rd millennium since they went into captivity at Babylon. So far, so good, but the next verse starts out with, "THEN SHALL WE KNOW." What shall we know after Israel is back in the land? It goes on to say, "if we FOLLOW ON to know the LORD: his going forth is PREPARED as the morning." Is the morning imminent? Can it come at any time? No? Then the Lord's coming is a PREPARED time. The rest of the verse says, "AND he shall come unto as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." He came on Tishri 1 as the former rain and will return on Nisan 1 as the latter rain. Those are prepared times.
Joel 2:23 says, "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month." When a day number is not mentioned, we are to assume it is the first day of the month, because the same word means month and new moon.
You can see the Nisan 1 Second Advent in Eze. 29:17,21. Nisan 1 is revealed in verse 17: "in the first month, in the first day of the month." Then verse 21 says, "In that day will I cause the horn (king) of the house of Israel (Christ) 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." Did you know that was in the Bible? Truly, "his going forth is PREPARED."
Why does Hos. 6:3 say, "if we FOLLOW ON to know the LORD"? What important thing could happen in that "follow on" period after Israel is back in the land? I think the Sign of the End of the Age appeared. As I see it, only after that could the Rapture become imminent.
In Mt. 24:3, the disciples asked Jesus, "what shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world (lit., consummation of the age). My mind grabs onto that. It sounds like this coming of his is between the Sign of the End of the Age and the end of this Age. From my Bible studies, I already know that this Age ends before the Pre-Wrath Rapture or the Second Advent take place. The Pre-Wrath Rapture takes place just before the Wrath of God hits Earth on the first day of the millennial Day of the Lord. After that are 7 Jewish months for Israel to bury the dead before the Second Advent (Eze. 39:12,13) on the following Nisan 1. Backing up 7 months in a Jewish Leap Year shows us that the Millennium starts on Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets, probably in 2007, for the Jewish 5768 is a leap year. It starts Sept. 13, 2007.
Therefore, we can figure out that the Rapture will be between the Sign of the End of the Age in 1967 and the end of the Age in 2007. Maybe the Rapture became imminent at the Sign of the End of the Age. Maybe the Sign of the End of the Age was what we were watching for.
In Rev. 3:3, Jesus said to the churches, "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." That scares me, because he comes as a thief at the 2nd Rapture, and I already think I know the date of that, Sept. 13, 2007, the end of the shortened Great Tribulation. Rev. 16:15,16 says, "Behold, I come as a THIEF. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."
I wan't to be accounted worthy to ESCAPE the Tribulation. Turn Rev. 3:3 around. What will be know if we do watch? Then it would be the reverse. If I watch, He will not come on me as a thief, and I SHALL KNOW what hour he will come upon me. Whew! That is comforting. II Thess. 4:18 tells us to "comfort one another" with the words given there about the Rapture.
We know that the shortened Tribulation lasts 2300 days (Dan. 8:13,14). Counting backward from the Feast of Trumpets in 2007, we find that the 70th week of Daniel starts on the appropriate Feast of Weeks in 2001. Therefore, the Rapture is now imminent between today, Dec. 8, and next May 28. Right?
Isa. 18:3-6 says, "All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign (flag) on the mountains (kingdoms, i.e., the UN or OWG flag); AND when HE BLOWETH A TRUMPET, HEAR YE. For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs (LXX, 'take away the little clusters,' i.e., the wise virgins showing fruit at the Rapture) with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They (the unfruitful small branches, i.e., the foolish virgins) shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth (the Beast and False Prophet): and the fowls shall SUMMER upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall WINTER upon them." Therefore, I think the Rapture will be in the SPRING. Do you?
Back to Lu. 21. Just before the fig tree parable, Jesus said in verses 25 and 28, "there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars (lit., constellations); and upon the earth distress of nations...And when these things BEGIN to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." This verse is for watchers. Only watchers will recognize the signs.
Here are some things that seem like signs to me. Twenty-one pieces of comet Shoemaker-Levy crashed into Jupiter, starting on the day (July 16, 1994) that the anniversary of both temples being set fire arrived at 6 PM, Tisha B' Av. That should speak to the Jews. Those pieces crashed into Jupiter, bam, bam, bam, for 7 days, showing us what Rev. 8:8,10 depicts for Earth in 2007. We had the enormous, most violent ever seen, Gamma Ray Burster in Bootes' spear on 1-23-99. On Pentecost (Sivan 7), we had a new star appear, Nova Velorum, in the sails (Vela) of the ship Argo, which has a representation of Christ's face at the waterline below and a lion's head above on the prow. This ship represents our being in Christ, as Noah was in the Ark. That should speak to the Gentiles. After that, we had another new star appear, Nova Aquilla, on 12-1-99. It is a wounded eagle that depicts Christ our Saviour. Besides these, we had one anchor cross appear in the Sun 1-21-99 (published 7-1-99) and another one in Vela on 6-9-00. These are all unusual events that only God could have known about ahead of time.
One other important event happened on Sept. 13, 1993. The Oslo Accords were signed, the forerunner of the covenant of Dan. 9:27 that is to be confirmed as the Tribulation begins. Adding 7 good years and 7 bad years, as when Joseph was in Egypt, brings us to Sept. 13, 2007 again. The Accords were ratified in Israel 3 days after the signing, on Tishri 1, 5754. Adding the 7 good and 7 bad years to that brings us to Tishri 1, 5768, which is Sept. 13, 2007. That is too good to have happened by chance. It smacks of something God would do as another signpost along the way for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.
The Lord's coming is near. Keep watching, as he instructed us over and over. Mt. 24:42 says, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Notice that it doesn't mention the day, month or year, just the unknown hour.
As for Pentecost being a likely time, it is in the spring. It is the beginning of wheat harvest. It is when the Spirit of Christ came to the church in 30 AD. Rom. 8:9 says, "ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Whether the coming of the Spirit of Christ prefigures the coming of Christ at the Rapture or not, I don't know, but it seems a good time to watch. I, like you, know that our time is getting short.
The first trumpet of the Bible was blown by the Lord at Sinai on or near Pentecost. To me, it seems reasonable that the first "trump of God" (I Thess. 4:16) will sound on Pentecost. The feasts are all "holy convocations" (mikraw kodesh). "Mikraw" is something called out, an assembly called together, a rehearsal. All these would fit a Pentecost Rapture.
The Rapture is as the days of Noah. Noah knew 7 days ahead of time when it would start to rain. Who knows if the Lord will give us another sign before the Rapture? I am watching expectantly. According to the book of Enoch, he knew when he would be taken up. Noah knew when he would enter the Ark. Elijah knew when he would be raptured. Elisha and others knew when Elijah would be taken up. The precedent has been set. I aim to keep watching until the Rapture takes place. I am ready. I have used I John 1:9 and confessed my sins to God so he can cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I am ready and waiting, but not wasting time or walking with my eyes closed.
Jesus told the Pharisees, "O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" (Mt. 16:3). I don't want to be one of those who cannot discern the signs of the times.
In Mark 13:23, Jesus said, "take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you ALL THINGS." What would you take away from "ALL"?
In Mark 4:21-24, Jesus "said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is NOTHING hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given."
> > They will be notified when there is a fire.
And maybe we will be notified when the Rapture becomes imminent. Agape
THE Pope has amended a Vatican pronouncement that the Roman Catholic Church was the "only way to salvation", saying that Heaven is open to all as long as they are good.
He said at an audience that "all of the just on Earth, including those who ignore Christ and his Church" were "called upon to build the kingdom of God"....
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