Posted 1-15-01
You asked if I agreed with his meanings for numbers. Not with all of them. I have no idea how he came up with that long list. To me,
1 = Unity, first
3 = Resurrection, Trinity
4 = Earth (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, as in the candlestick, as the Pharisee Josephus said)
5 = Division (2 against 3)
6 = Man (created on the 6th day)
7 = God, perfection, completion, Heaven (7th planet of the candlestick)
8 = New order
13 = Satan's number
40 = Testing, probation
666 = Number of the Beast
> > Re: This article implies that China will be ready in 2008 to go to War with the USA...this seems to fit closely with your date of Armagheddon. If they feel powerful enough at that time to fight us, then they should also be ready for the battle at Armagheddon. I find it confirming, do you?
Yes.
> > I havn't been able to get on your site for several days and I've noticed you haven't answered my emails...is everthing ok? Hope you and Ed are ok! Praying for you both! Because of Him
Note: pe is down, I UL to the mirror sites. I have a miserable cold, spent most of the day in bed, will see Doctor tomorrow. We are thanking the Lord that we both got in clinical trials for a new drug for hypertension. Will each get 1 of 2 free ACE inhibitors to replace those we are taking now. We don't get paid for participating, but free ACE inhibitor for a few weeks will help. A comforting thought, this is the final trial. The new drug has already been through 7 years of trials. The alternate one is FDA approved and in use now. I'm praying that Ed will get the one that will help him the most. We found out why he has trouble walking. He had a TIA, transient ischemic attack, a little stroke, during heart surgery. It was on the card they gave me at Cardiac Rehab, but I hadn't read that part at the bottom. His EKG now looks exactly like the one they took at Cardiac Rehab last February, so he is stable. He just has to try to make his brain tell his body to take normal sized steps instead of baby steps.
You're wrong, Mike. I can't convince you of that, but God can. So, I'm going to pray for you, and I'm going to ask others to also pray for you. And, Mike, I KNOW that my God answers prayers.
Dear Abba Father, I bring before you Mike. Father, You and You alone know Mike's heart, and You love him, and You are unwilling that he should perish in his denial and unbelief. For You so loved the world that You sent Your only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
Abba Father, I pray that You would send your spirit upon Mike right now, convicting him of his sins, leading him to repentance and confession and acceptance of Christ Jesus as his personal Lord and Saviour. I pray Father that you would move many others to pray likewise for Mike. In Jesus Christ's holy and precious name, Amen
May God richly bless you, Mike.
That is the day Gog's army attacks Israel (Eze. 38). It is when a stone (asteroid) impacts the Mediterranean Sea (Zeph. 2:4,5, Rev. 8:8, Eze. 38:20). It is the day the trumpet judgments hit Earth and the bowls of wrath are poured out. Agape
What do you think, you have done much more indepth studying than I.
> > unleavened bread-believer's life of victory over sin
That fits I Cor. 5:7: "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." We are unleavened at the moment of Salvation. Our "old sins" (II Peter 1:9) are wiped off the books. We are counted as pure virgins until we sin again.
Lev. 23:6 says, "seven days YE MUST EAT unleavened bread." Mt. 26:26 says, "as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, TAKE, EAT; this is my body." Lu. 22:19 says, "he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." I can see that the unleavened bread the people were to eat depicted their eating (accepting) the true Bread of Life, Christ. Seven is the number of perfection and completion. Therefore, it is the Lord's number. He is perfect, our Passover broken for us, and our Bread of Life.
> > when Israel is regathered to the land (Feast of Trumpets)
I think the gathering of Israel will be at a later time, after Christ returns. When the Feast of Trumpets is fulfilled on the first day of the millennial Day of the Lord (the 2300rd day [Dan. 8:13,14] of the 70th week of Dan. 9:27), it will be a day like no other--ever. I think it will be Christ's Coronation Day, also the day of the Marriage of the Lamb and the Judgment Seat of Christ, all in Heaven. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, all believers are given their rewards in Heaven and the unbelievers on Earth are given their just rewards for their unbelief (Rev. 11:18), the 7 trumpet judgments and 7 bowls of God's wrath. At that point, all believers are in Heaven, the Bride of Christ, having been caught up in the Pre-Trib Rapture (Rev. 4:1, 5:9) and the rest of the Body of Christ caught up at the Pr-Wrath Rapture (Rev. 7:14) on this same Feast of Trumpets.
The 1st Rapture, at the first "trump of God" (I Thess. 4:13-18) takes place in Rev. 4:1. John is one of the 24 elders. As he is caught up, the other apostles and 12 patriarchs of Israel are caught up and are seen sitting on their thrones in Rev. 4:4. The rest of the saints that are caught up in the 1st Rapture are seen in Heaven in Rev. 5:8,9. It says, "saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." This group is seen in Heaven before the 1st seal is broken in Rev. 6. They are the wise virgins, the Bride of Christ, caught up in the Pre-Trib Rapture.
The 2nd Rapture, at the "last trump" (I Cor. 15:51,52) takes place between the breaking of the 6th and 7th seals. The 6th seal is broken in Rev. 6:12, the 7th in Rev. 8. Between these we find "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9). This multitude "are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." These are the foolish virgins, the Tribulation saints caught up in the Pre-Wrath Rapture.
These 2 trumps are symbolized by the 2 silver trumpets Moses was to make. Nu. 10:1-4 says, "Make thee TWO TRUMPETS of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them FOR THE CALLING OF THE ASSEMBLY, AND FOR THE JOURNEYING of the camps. And when they shall blow with them (both), ALL (i.e., the Pre-Wrath Rapture) the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And if they blow but with ONE TRUMPET (i.e., the Pre-Trib Rapture), then the princes (elders), which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee."
There are 7 months (Eze. 39:12,13) between this Feast of Trumpets (Tishri 1) and the return of Christ on the following Nisan 1, first day of the Jewish Regnal and Sacred Year. Therefore, the last year of the Tribulation must be a Jewish Leap Year, with the 13th month, Adar II, added.
We can tell from Hos. 6:3 that the Lord's 2 Advents are on Tishri 1 and Nisan 1. It 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 on Tishri 1 and the latter rain starts on Nisan 1.
Eze. 29:17,21 also indicates that the Second Advent will be on Nisan 1. The date is set in v. 17, "in the first month, in the first day of the month" (Nisan 1, Eze. 45:18,21). Then, v. 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 Logos, the Word) in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am the LORD."
> > the millennial kindgom (Feast of Tabernacles
I think the millennial Day of the Lord will begin on the Feast of Trumpets, the 1st day of the Jewish civil year. Mal. 2:3 says, "your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it." Hos. 9:5-7 says, " What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD? For, lo, they are gone because of destruction... The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet (False Prophet) is a fool, the spiritual man (Tribulation Pope, the Beast) is mad." 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." Joel 2:1,2 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; 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 (Gog's army is attacking Israel, Eze. 38); there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations."
> > two will be in the field and one taken- wouldn't that mean the rapture would be when workers are in the field during harvest time the fall, Sept or Oct corresponding with the Feast of Trumpets
"The field is the world" (Mt. 13:38). Pentecost is the beginning of wheat harvest and seems to be the most likely for the Pre-Trib Rapture. Song of Sol. 2:10-14 says that winter is over, the rain is over and gone, there are green figs and firstripe grapes. Rise up, my love, sounds like the rising up of the Bride of Christ. The former rain starts Tishri 1. The latter rain starts Nisan 1. Therefore, from Tishri 1 to the end of Nisan is Israel's rainy season. If the rain is over and gone, that knocks out both the 3 fall feasts of Tishri and the 3 spring feasts of Nisan. Only Pentecost is left, and it is still in the spring.
Two are said to be in the field at both Raptures. The Pre-Trib Rapture is as the days of Noah. "Then shall two be in the FIELD; the one shall be taken, and the other left" (Mt. 24:40). No fire fell when Noah was floated up in the Ark, only rain, symbol of the Spirit of Christ. The Pre-Wrath Rapture is as the days of Lot. The "same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all" (Lu. 17:29). At that time, "Two men shall be in the FIELD; the one shall be taken, and the other left" (Lu. 17:36). I think the Pre-Wrath Rapture is on the Feast of Trumpets.
At the first Rapture, the "trump of God" sounds (I Thess. 4:16). 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 (nations, i.e., the One World Gov't); and when HE BLOWETH A TRUMPET, hear ye. For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider (see) in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest (i.e., the Pre-Trib Rapture on Pentecost). 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 with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches (the foolish Laodicean virgins are cut off, Lu. 12:46). They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall SUMMER upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall WINTER upon them." This sounds like the Rapture to me. The only other time the Lord sounded the trumpet was at Mt. Sinai around the time of Pentecost. That was the first trumpet of the Bible too.
At the time of the 1st Rapture, the foolish Laodicean virgins will be spued out of Christ's mouth (Rev. 3:16, Mt. 25). Lu. 12:46 tells us about this. It says, "The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder (lit., cut him off), and will appoint him his portion (2300 days of the Tribulation) with the unbelievers." Mt. 24:51 adds, "shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites (pretenders): there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This casting outside Heaven's door is seen in the parable of the marriage feast. The man without a white wedding garment is cast outside the door, "For many are called, but few are chosen." Believers should confess all sins committed since they accepted Christ, so God can cleanse them of all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Then they will be wise virgins and can go with the Bridegroom when he comes. They will have enough oil of the Holy Spirit. Agape
We have so little time for study now, I think getting right into the Bible itself would be best. I have read lots of books about the Bible, spent 7 years reading constantly from the BIOLA library Seminary Collection, but I learned faster when I prayed for understanding and stuck to the Bible and Strong's. The other books came later. Before I started reading any books about the Bible, I made sure I read Scripture first so I could compare it to what I was reading.
If you are new to Bible study, don't make the mistake I did at the very beginning of my studies, starting to read the Bible at its beginning, unless you already know quite a bit about Bible prophecy. I got stalled 4 times. The begats and Israel's ancient history are rather hard to wade through until you know the prophecies. Read the New Testament first. That tells you what the new covenant is all about and how to walk the Christian walk. Revelation is the main prophecy book for our times. It is an outline into which you can place the various end-time prophecies found in the Old Testament. Revelation keeps us straight on the sequence of events here at the end of this age. You should go back and reread Mt. 24, Mk. 13, Lu. 17:20f and Lu. 21 after reading Revelation. They will mean more than they did the 1st time. Then start with Isaiah and read the rest of the Old Testament. As you read those prophetic books, you can tie different parts in with Revelation. After you know the main prophecies, you can start at the beginning and read the rest of the Old Testament. What makes all that dry history interesting is that, by the Lord's plan, dramatic skits were played out by the Israelites to help us understand prophecy. They are types of what is to come later.
When I first tried to read the Old Testament, I wondered why we didn't sacrifice. I had to learn that there was an old covenant and a new covenant. On top of that, God gave mankind different instructions at different times.
There are a few things I have learned that have helped me organize the material I was reading in my head. This is over simplified, but helpful. The Bible is about roughly 7000 years of Time, made up of seven 1000-year days. Within this 7000-year span, there are three 2000-year ages plus the Kingdom of Jesus Christ during the last millennial Day of the Lord. We are only given a few bits and pieces about before and after the 7000 year Great Week of Time.
Within the first 6000 years, there are three 2000-year ages. During the Age of the Gentiles, God dealt with all mankind. During the Age of the Jews, God dealt mainly with the Jews. During this Age of the Church, God is mainly dealing with the Church. Some of God's instructions in one age are in force throughout time. Other instructions are only for a certain time.
Within the 7000 years, there are also 7 Dispensations. There were some instructions that were different in each one. Here are the Dispensations and how long they last--to the best of my knowledge:
Innocence - 40 yrs - Adam's creation to his explusion from Eden
Conscience - 1616 yrs - Adam's expulsion to Noah's Flood
Human Government - 427 yrs - the Flood to Abraham
Promise - 430 yrs - Abraham to the Exodus
Law - 1559 yrs - the Exodus to the Crucifixion
Grace - 1977 yrs - the Crucifixion to the end of this Age
Kingdom - 1000 yrs - the end of this age to the end of the millennial Day of the Lord
The reason I said the plan of the 7000 years was an oversimplification is that there are some extra years added to the Dispensation of Grace. They seem to cover the "space to repent" of Rev. 2:21 and the 70th week of Daniel that we call the Tribulation, the trial that is to come upon the whole world to test those on Earth (Rev. 3:10). Actually, I think all 3 Ages will all have this extension, but run concurrently. Also, I think Adam's 40 years in the Garden of Eden were before the 7000-year test of mankind who is mortal and knows both good and evil. So the total of all these Dispensations is 7049.
During these Dispensations, God gives mankind specific instructions that they are to obey. Of course, mankind as a whole fails in every Dispensation, but certain individuals pass their test. They are the ones that are saved. The reason for mankind to be tried in these different economies is to demonstrate that mankind as a whole will fail in different economies and even when they have Christ as a perfect king during the Millennium. We all need a Saviour. Without Christ, we are all lost. We will not be able to say that if we had had a different kind of economy, we would have passed our test. We will not be able to say that the Lord does not understand what it was like for man. He lived on Earth as a man. We are totally without excuse--and lost without Christ. The Lord's plan for Time is perfect, the meaning of the number 7. No wonder the basic framework of time is 7000 years. Agape
> > I am not sure what right and whats wrong.
Read the New Testament. The Lord gave it to us to show us how to be saved and how to walk the Christian walk. In II Peter 1:4-11, we are given a list of things to add to our faith "that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature (i.e., the Holy Spirit), having escaped the corruption that is the world through lust." This is the Holy Spirit that is in our vessels (bodies) besides the sealing we receive when we first accept Christ. At that time, we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but as soon as we sin, the level drops somewhat. We are quenching the Holy Spirit and are out of fellowship with our Holy God. Sins builds a barrier between us and God. We need to use I John 1:9 then to get back in fellowship. It says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." After that, the level of the Holy Spirit will be like a fountain of water rising within us.
We are to add to our faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and agape love, God's kind of love. "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind (like the Laodiceans (Rev. 3:14f), and cannot see afar off (Heaven), and hath forgotten that he was purged from his OLD SINS (ones committed before he accepted Christ). Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your CALLING and ELECTION sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance (at the Pre-Trib Rapture) shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
Phil. 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren (believers), whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
> > I don't know if I believe that God will not except you into heaven if you don't go to church.
Did the thief on the cross go to church? No. Yet, he was going to Heaven because of his faith in Jesus Christ. We could go to church without ever accepting Christ and be lost. Going to church is good, but it is not our ticket to Heaven. Accepting Christ will get us to Heaven. We go to church to worship God and to learn more about the Bible. One Christian has a very real fellowship with other believers too. They can help each other.
> > I believe if I could show him there is a God then I would be more likely to follow.
We all need to deal with reality. You must accept the fact that as of now he is not going to lead you where you should go spiritually. You can't follow him. You will have to forge ahead and hope he follows you. Show him by example. Let him see the change in your life. He might want what you have, you know. Inner peace and joy shine through. Pray for him, and ask the Lord for the wisdom to deal with this situation.
All of creation shows us that there is a God, so we are without excuse. Our bodies are so intricate that there is no possible way for them to happen by chance. Just to have planned the food chain is beyond our ability. Each life form must have its own kind of food or it dies. We can't even understand how bacteria and tube worms can live by the hot black smokers in the bottom of the sea. The high heat should kill them both, but it doesn't. God is a whole lot smarter than we are. Agape
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Updated 1-15-01