Posted 12-28-00
The rainbow you saw happened on a good day, the Sabbath, the only day of the week I can remember being named in Scripture. Even Resurrection Day was called the first day of the week" (Lu. 24:1). The "Lord's day" of Rev. 1:10 may mean the Day of the Son of Man (Lu. 17:22), the Day of Christ, the day of the Rapture.
Lev. 23:3 says, "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the SABBATH OF THE LORD in all your dwellings."
Our word for the 7th day, Saturday, means Saturn's day, and I think Heaven is literally the planet Saturn, called the 7th planet by the Hebrews. Josephus was a Pharisee priest and Jewish historian. In Antiquities of the Jews, he said the candlestick "spread itself into as many branches as there are planets, including the sun among them" (Ant. III. VII. 7). In his Wars of the Jews, he said, "Now the seven lamps signified the seven planets; for so many there were springing out of the candlestick. Now, the twelve loaves that were upon the table signified the circle of the zodiac and the year" (Wars. V. V. 5). (Each of the 12 tribes was assigned a sign of the Zodiac. Judah's sign was Leo.)
The seventh planet to the Hebrews was Saturn: (1) Sun, (2) Mercury, (3) Venus, (4) Earth, (5) Mars, (6) Jupiter and (7) Saturn. To Paul, who counted from the Earth, it was the third heaven: (1) Mars, (2) Jupiter and (3) Saturn. In II Cor. 12:2, Paul indicated that he was "caught up (harpazo, i.e., raptured) to the third heaven," just as we will be "caught up (harpazo, i.e., raptured) together with them (the resurrected saints) in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:17). I think our destination from the clouds will be the third heaven, as demonstrated when Paul was caught up.
For 5 months out of the year, Saturn is a morning star. In Rev. 2:28, Jesus said of the overcomer, "I will give him the morning star." Saturn is a morning star at Pentecost. Jesus referred to himself as "the bright and morning star" in Rev. 22, because that is where his throne is located.
The truth shines through in spite of the enemy's trimmings to obscure it. Satan made sure that the days of the week were named after pagan gods to hide the true message contained in the name of this day. He even tried to hide the message of the Sabbath day by wrapping it in the pagan worship of the false god called Saturn by the Romans, who celebrated the Saturnalia.
In Hebrew, the number 7 is sheba, or shibah, weeks are shabua, the 7th day is Shabbat and the 7th heavenly body in our Solar System is Shabbatai, Saturn. Zech. 3:9 (LXX) says, "behold, I bring forth my servant The Branch. For as for the stone (i.e., planet) which I have set before the face of Jesus, on the one stone are seven eyes (ayin, circumlocutions [Gesenius], i.e., rings). In Eze. 1:28, we understand that Saturn has "brightness round about."
Symbolically, Saturn is "the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone" (Eze. 1:26). Sapphire means dear to the planet Saturn, from the Sanskrit Sani, Saturn, and priya, dear. Mt. Sinai reflects this meaning. Ex. 24:10 says, "they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven (heavenly body) in his clearness."
On p. 87 in "Signs in the Heavens," Avi Ben Mordechai wrote: "Saturn, with its huge rings, seven of them, was known in Talmudic Hebrew literature as a representation of the Shabbat (Sabbath). (Everyman's Talmud, p. 281ff) It earned this reputation because of its prolonged orbit around the Sun. "The planetary body Saturn, in the Hebrew language called Shabbatai comes from the three-letter word Shabbat. Shabbat, of course, refers to the seventh day of the week in Jewish reckoning. Shabbatai was the seventh planetary body known to the ancient Jews. Seven is a special number of rest and is addressed in Jewish numerology. "In the Tanakh, the heavenly body Saturn is referred to by the prophet Amos (5:26). Apparently the Babylonians named a god after Saturn and called it Chiun. Because this Babylonian god of stone was embraced by some of the Jews of the day, the One true G-d of their Fathers visited His anger upon them."
As we look into this, we need to remember that we are to worship the Creator, not the creation. Agape
But experts are still investigating the identity of a human skull found near the cave to determine if it could also belong to John, who the Bible says was the cousin of Jesus Christ, Waheeb told AFP.
He was commenting on a report published Wednesday by Al-Dustour newspaper, which said the skull found near the cave in Jordan's Wadi Kharrar "could be that of St. John the Baptist".
"The cave and the skull were unearthed last year," Waheeb said. "Reseach has determined that the cave belonged to St. John the Baptist, but experts led by Dr. Abdullah al-Nabulsi are still examining the skull," Waheeb told AFP....
The cave carved into the rock was dated to the 1st century A.D., Waheeb said....
Remains of three other ancient churches were found around the cave, demonstrating the "sacredness" of the site, where Waheeb and the Jordanian ministry of tourism say Jesus Christ was baptised.
Over the past few years, Jordanian archeologists led by Waheeb have uneartherd ancient churches and huge baptismal pools in Wadi Kharrar, known in antiquity as Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
It is located just east of the Jordan River and opposite Jericho. The gospel of Saint John the Evangelist says Jesus crossed to the east bank of the river to be baptised by John the Baptist.
Further east is located the biblical site known as Machaerus, where John the Baptist is said to have been beheaded on the orders of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee....
Israel and the Palestinians claim that Jesus was baptised in a spot on the western bank of the river known as Qasr el-Yahud.
Back then, Israel's enemies widely believed that they could dispatch the Jewish state with one good blow. Their overconfidence explains why, with no one planning or wanting it, full-scale war broke out in June 1967.
Israel's astonishing victory in the Six Day War then seemingly destroyed Arab exuberance and forever closed the question of its permanent existence.
But it was not to be. The Oslo process, along with other signals of Israeli demoralization over the past seven years, reignited Arab overconfidence and wakened the sleeping dogs of war.
During the past two months, especially, in ways reminiscent of the years before 1967, the enemies of Israel are again tempted by the military option.
In brief, the security that war had achieved for Israel, diplomacy has undone....
At this point, concludes the Report, "All-out war on all fronts is one pull of the trigger away." Who would pull the trigger? Saddam is a likely candidate. A Palestinian source notes that "What Saddam wants is to spark a regional war which he can lead." Israelis agree: a senior military officer expects that the Iraqis "would love to participate" in a conflict against Israel.
If such a descent into war is not to take place, Israel must carefully calibrate its actions to achieve two nearly contradictory goals: deter potential enemies (be willing to use force and lose lives); and not agitate the Arab street (deploy violence in an intelligent and controlled way).
This is an exceedingly difficult pair of objectives and they are getting even harder to achieve as each new day of violence simultaneously diminishes Israeli deterrence and heightens Arab anger.
To be sure, the government of Israel has taken some steps (for example, sending a private warning to Damascus and reinforcing troops on the Golan Heights) but such easy gestures alone will not suffice.
The sooner Israel begins the effort seriously to dissuade its potential enemies, the better its chances to dispel the winds of war.
One of the main rituals associated with Chanukah or Hanukkah, which begins at sunset on Kislev 25, 5761(Friday, December 22, 2000), is the lighting of the Menorah. The Menorah, an eight branched candelabra, is lit to commemorate the great miracle which occurred at the time of the Maccabees: a flask of oil which could only last for one day miraculously lasted for eight days. The Aruch HaShulchan writes that it is preferable to use olive oil when lighting the Menorah because it is easily drawn into the wick, its light burns clearly, and the miracle of Chanukah happened with olive oil. There is another aspect to olive oil that makes it an appropriate choice for use on Chanukah. The Medrash Rabba, when discussing the use of olive oil for the Menorah in the Mishkan (Tabernacle), mentions a parable. "Rav Avin said 'It is comparable to a king whose legions rebelled against him. However, one of his legions remained faithful and did not rebel. The king said that this legion that did not rebel, from them I will take for my rulers and governors.' So did Hashem say - This olive brought light to the world in the time of Noah, as we see 'the dove came...and it had an olive branch in its mouth."
The Rada" explains when exactly the olive did not "rebel" against God, thus earning it a special place in history. In the time of Noah, the entire world was corrupt. The Talmud Yerushalmi explains that not only did mankind engage in immoral, base, and corrupt behaviour; (sounds familiar to the present times) the animal and plant world did as well. One specie of animal tried to breed with a different one, and one type of plant attempted to "graft" itself to other forms of vegetation. The only plant that withstood the corruption that permeated the entire world at that time was the olive tree. It remained pure. It withstood the pressures to engage in the perverse behaviour that was in vogue at the time. The olive remained faithful to the world order as God created it, and for that reason, it is considered the "legion that did not rebel." Because it remained faithful to God, the olive was chosen to be the sign of rebirth and renewal after the flood. It was chosen to be the source for light in the holiest place in the world. It was chosen to be the source of light for generations to come.
Chanukah is a holiday on which the Jews celebrate their freedom from religious oppression. The Syrian-Greeks' oppression of the Jews was not physical. They did not want to annihilate the Jews. They did, however, want to annihilate Judaism. They applied what ever pressure they could to "convince" the Jews to abandon the ways of their fathers. Many Jews indeed succumbed to this pressure. Hellenism made inroads in to the Jewish communities. At times, the pressure to give in to popular culture was overwhelming. Ultimately, the Jews withstood this pressure and fought with all their might against it. The Jews were victorious. Today, all that we know of the Syrian-Greeks is from history books, while Judaism lives on. When we look at the olive oil burning bright on Chanukah, the Jews should be reminded that the olive is a symbol of the fortitude that their forefathers had. The olive withstood the pressure to deviate from the word of God. Their forefathers at the time of Chanukah withstood the pressure to deviate from the word of God. We should allow the light of the olive oil to inspire us to stand steadfast against the pressure, what ever it may be, to deviate from the word of God.
I hope that you and Ed are doing well, I still enjoy your Prophecy Corner very much it is my daily food for thought. Thank you for all your hard work, even though you enjoy it :) God Bless. Love
Pegasus is a white horse, so it stands for the white horse Christ will ride at the Second Advent.
I now expect the Rapture next Pentecost. Believers are wheat. The wheat harvest begins on Pentecost. The Spirit of Christ came on Pentecost in 30 AD, just as Christ may come on Pentecost. Israel was at Sinai on Pentecost (Ex. 19), when she was espoused to the Lord (Jer. 2:2). Song of Sol. 2:10-14 says that winter is past, the rain (of Nisan) is over and gone. There are green figs and firstripe grapes. That says Pentecost to me. The latter rain of Nisan and the former rain of Tishri knock out the other 6 feasts.
I think it will be on a feast day. Heb. 12:23's general assembly is "panegurei," a festal assembly (Thayer). Agape
I saw the C in the sky the day before on TV. I think it is neat that there was a C shown in the sky, also a rainbow over Bethlehem to celebrate Jesus' conception. I think his birth was actually on Tishri 1, the Jewish New Year. Agape
Thank you greatly for all the work you have done, it is greatly appreciated. I await your reply. A brother in Christ
There are 6 blocks of years in the 400s in the Bible, 400, 430, 450, 480, 483, 490. Adding each of these to 1517, when Martin Luther tacked his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, on Oct. 31, 1517, produces this series: 1917, 1947, 1967, 1997, 2000, 2007. Important things do seem to take place in these years.
1917 - 7 eclipses (maximum possible in 1 yr)
Nov. 2, Balfour Declaration
Dec.11, Gen. Allenby officially took possession of Jerusalem
1947 - Nov, 11, UN approved partitioning Palestine
1967 - June 5-10, Israel put forth leaves (Mt. 24:32-34) in Six-Day War
Last generation begins. June 7, Israeli army broke through Lion's Gate and controlled old city for the 1st time in 1897 years.
1997 - Parable of barren fig tree (Lu. 13:6-9) may have begun
2000 - Beginning of last 7 years of this age
2007 - Last generation ends (1967 + 40 = 2007)
Oct. 31, 1517 was the Jewish year 5278. Adding the same blocks of years to 5278 gives us the following series: 5678, 5708, 5728, 5758, 5761, 5768.
5678 (our 1917/1918)
The Balfour Declaration was signed Nov. 2, 1917
Gen. Allenby officially liberated Jerusalem on Dec. 11, 1917
5708 (our 1947/1948)
Israel declared their Independence Iyar 5, 5708 (May 14, 1948)
5728 (our 1967/1968)
The year 5728 began on the Jewish New Year in 1967, 120 days after the Sign of the End of the Age appeared in June, when the parable of the fig tree in Mt. 24:32-34 was fulfilled in the Six-Day War. I think Israel's taking back the temple area marked the beginning of the last years of probation that are a countdown to the return of Christ.
5758 (our 1997/1998)
This seems to have been the 6000th year since Adam was cast out of Eden and the beginning of the 4-year "space to repent" (Rev. 2:21) of the parable of the barren fig tree (Lu. 13:6-9), (1) 5758, (2) 5759, (3) 5760, (4) 5761.
5761 (our 2000/2001)
I now think the Rapture will take place as the Tribulation begins on Pentecost, 2001 (May 28, 2001).
5278 + 490 years = 5768 (our 2007/2008)
I expect the Pre-Wrath Rapture Tishri 1, 5768 (Sept. 13, 2007) and the Second Advent Nisan 1, 5768 (Apr. 6, 2008).
> > You use the year 5728, however, upon some research of my own, I have found that the 6 day war occured in the year 5727 and thus, I would assume that the 40 year generation should begin immediately after Israel had gotten the land. Going from there, I added 40 years, and reached 5767.
If you had gone to the last day of 5767, I think you would have hit the very end of this age. I expect the millennial Day of the Lord to start the next day, Tishri 1, 5768.
There are 40 years plus another 120 days from Nisan 8, the day Christ travelled from Jericho and arrived at Bethany the day before he presented himself as King of Israel on Palm Sunday in 30 AD to the burning of the temple on Av 10 in 70 AD. Thus the generation that started with his coming to the temple on Palm Sunday as day #1 could be counted as 40 years + another 120 days when the temple was lost in 70 AD.
Counting from when Israel took the temple area back on Iyar 28, 5767 (June 7, 1967), there is 1 day left of Iyar, 30 days of Sivan, 29 days of Tamuz, 30 days of Av, 29 days of Elul, and 1 day of Tishri for a total of 120 days. On the Jewish calendar, these months never vary in length, so this is true in any year. This seems to be planned this way for a very good reason.
There are 120 days from Iyar 28, 5727, when they took the temple area back on June 7, 1967, to Tishri 1, 5768, when I think the Coronation of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords will take place in Heaven. Thus this generation seems to also be 40 years + another 120 days, i.e., from Iyar 28, 5727 (June 7, 1967) to Tishri 1, 5768 (Sept. 13, 2007).
The 120 days in the 1st century started with Christ's presenting himself as King and coming to the temple, of which the Holy of Holies represented Heaven. The 120 days ended with the loss of the temple.
The 120 days in these latter days is sort of a mirror image. Instead of them starting with Christ as King, I think they started with regaining the temple area and will end with Christ's actually being crowned King in Heaven on Tishri 1, 5768, the 1st day of that year.
We know that the Day of God's Wrath, the 1st day of the millennial Day of the Lord, is the Feast of Trumpets on Tishri 1. Mal. 2:3 shows that it is a feast day. It says, "Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it." There will be a taking away (Pre-Wrath Rapture) of the Pre-Trib saints just before the catastrophe on the Feast of Trumpets, also many unbelievers will be killed on that Day of God's Wrath.
Since dung is mentioned in connection with "solemn feasts," Joel 2:3 may have a double meaning. In Phil. 3:8, dung is associated with loss. Paul said, "I count all things but LOSS for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the LOSS of all things, and do COUNT THEM BUT DUNG, that I may win Christ."
The parable of the barren fig tree in Lu. 13:6-9 mentions digging about and dunging the fig tree, which is Israel. The digging about probably refers to Israel giving up land for peace. The dunging can refer to this LOSS.
The dunging could also refer to the evil unsaved people being LOST, left behind, at the Pre-Trib Rapture on a feast day. Thus the Pre-Trib Rapture's taking away the wise virgins and leaving behind the foolish virgins might also fall on a feast day--Pentecost, the same day as the confirming of the covenant as the Tribulation begins.
We can see from Joel that the Day of God's Wrath is on Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets, the 1st day of the millennial Day of the Lord. Joel 1:15 says, "Alas for the day! for the DAY OF THE LORD is at hand, and as a DESTRUCTION from the Almighty shall it COME" (i.e., on the 1st day). Joel 2:1,2 describes that Feast of Trumpets. It says, "Blow ye the TRUMPET in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the DAY OF THE LORD COMETH, for it is nigh at hand (i.e., the next day after this age ends); A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of THICK DARKNESS, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations."
Gog's army (Eze. 38) is attacking Israel on the last day of this age. Eze. 38:18,19 shows that this is when God's fury comes up in his face on the Day of God's Wrath. Verse 20 describes the asteroid impact of Rev. 8:8 in the Mediterranean Sea. It and the asteroid piece called Wormwood that destroys Babylon (Rev. 8:10) cause the worldwide earthquake of Eze. 38:20 and Rev. 16:18.
> > the rapture would happen within the next week.
I hope it does, but I can't see scriptures that indicate that it will. I think it will happen on a feast day. Heb. 12:23's "general assembly" is panegurei, a festal assembly (Thayer)(see the NAB, Berkeley Bible, RSV and Phillips translation).
There are 7 feasts, 3 in Tishri, 3 in Nisan plus Pentecost (Sivan 6). According to Song of Sol. 2:10-14, winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The former rain falls in Tishri. The latter rain falls in Nisan. To me, this eliminates 6 feasts, because they fall in rainy months. Only Pentecost fits Song of Sol. 2:10-14. There are turtledoves. They are in Israel Apr. - Oct. Winter is past, so it is spring. The rain of Nisan is over and gone. There are green figs and firstripe grapes. That fits the end of May or early June. Pentecost in 2001 is May 28. It fits.
Pentecost is also called the Feast of Weeks. That Feast of Weeks, May 28, 2001 is exactly 2300 days (Dan. 8:13,14), counted by Jewish inclusive reckoning, from Sept. 13, 2007 (Tishri 1, 5768). Not only does the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost fit the Rapture, it is the ideal time for the beginning of the 70th week of Dan. 9:27. I expect the Rapture and the confirmation of the peace treaty by the 2 beasts of Rev. 13 on that day. Agape
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Updated 12-28-00