Posted 3-10-01
Thanks for making me take another look at the parable of the wheat and tares, the good seed is the children of the kingdom, that which the good seed, the word (Mt. 13:19), has produced in the field (world, Mt. 13:38). In v. 39, Jesus said, "the harvest is the end of the world (lit., CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE). This parable covers the time up to the end of this age and the beginning of the millennial Day of the Lord. Therefore, this reaping of the wheat is the Pre-Wrath Rapture.
At that time, there are 2 reapings with a sharp sickle in Rev. 14:14f. The first is the Pre-Wrath Rapture (Tishri 1). The 2nd is when the "grapes are fully ripe" (same day, Tishri 1, the vintage). These are cast into the "great winepress of the wrath of God" on the same day, but following the rapture of every believer.
That indicates to me that the remaining wheat not yet harvested at Pentecost will be harvested on the Feast of Trumpets. Regarding Pentecost, Lev. 23:22 explains, "when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt NOT MAKE CLEAN RIDDANCE of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, NEITHER SHALT THOU GATHER ANY GLEANING of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God."
Then this main wheat harvest does end at Pentecost. I should have realized that long ago. My thanks to CAPS too for helping me see this. However, the remainder of the wheat will be gathered into the Lord's "barn" on Tishri 1. Just think, with the Bride group salt of the Earth caught up on Pentecost, the ratio of wheat to tares changes. Trouble is brewing at that point.
This ties in with the wise and foolish virgins. I think the wise will be harvested on Pentecost (hopefully in 2001) and the foolish on the Feast of Trumpets in 2007. We want to be in with the thick wheat harvested first, not in the thin stand on the edges of the field.
> > for the rapture at the completion of this firstfruits harvest.I also believe the conclusion of this age.
The age ends when the Millennium begins, on the Feast of Trumpets that is the 2300th day of the shortened Tribulation. I think that day, and the Pre-Wrath Rapture, will be Tishri 1, 5768 (Sept. 13, 2007), when the last trump of God sounds (I Cor. 15:51,52). Agape
In the Bible, the sea, or the great sea, is usually the Mediterranean, and the great city is usually Jerusalem. Rev. 11:8 refers to Jerusalem as the great city. It says, "their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."
> > It does talk about great Babylon, and may be a reference to this great city being divided into three parts. Therefore, I don't see why the great earthquake couldn't be the worldwide earthquake at Christ's 2nd coming to Earth.
The worldwide earthquake is 7 months before the Second Advent. The Jews bury the bodies to cleanse the land so the Lord can return in glory (Eze. 38:20; 39:12,13). The earthquake is at Jerusalem the day Jesus touches down on the Mt. of Olives, not a worldwide earthquake. The worldwide one is when the 2 asteroids impact Earth 7 months before the Second Advent.
When Babylon is destroyed, it will be hurt so bad that no man will ever walk there again. Jer. 50:13 says, "Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate." Verse 40 says, "As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof (obliterated by an asteroid impact), saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein." Verse 46 adds, "At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations."
Isa. 24:1 says, "Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof." When the Earth is turned upside down, Jer. 51:42 says, "The sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof." That is a tsunami because the next verse says, "Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby."
One of the asteroids falls into the Mediterranean Sea. Jer. 47:2 says, "Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land (of the Philistines, i.e., the coast of Israel), and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl." The 2 asteroids will strike at noon. Zeph. 2:3-5 says, "seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger (the Pre-Wrath Rapture takes place that day). For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast."
Coals of fire will fall on Jerusalem. Eze. 10:2 says, "Go in between the wheels (orbits), even under the cherub (Satan's planet Rahab exploded, then he lived on the asteroid named Wormwood that will impact Earth and open the bottomless pit), and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims (terrestrial planets), and scatter them over the city" (Jerusalem). That is the Day of God's Wrath, not the day of the Second Advent.
> > they could start prophesying 3 1/2 days before the mid-point of the tribulation and be killed 3 1/2 days before the conclusion of the entire tribulation period, and be resurrected and ascend into heaven to join Jesus and his returning saints in the air at his 2nd coming to Earth.
The Pre-Wrath Rapture will take place before the 7th seal is broken (Rev. 7:9,14;8:1). Then the 7 trumpet judgments hit Earth. It is 7 months from then when the Lord returns. The full 2520 days of the Tribulation end 2 weeks after the Second Advent. That is when the Judgment of the Nations takes place and dominion is taken away from Satan. The 1260 days of the two witnesses' prophesying would last until 2 weeks after the Lord returns. There would be no need of them prophesying after the "last trump" Rapture and after the Wrath of God hit Earth. Agape
...It's conclusive evidence that Martian bacteria were in this meteorite Dr Imre Friedmann Nasa scientist... The argument centres on tiny crystals found in a potato-sized meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1984. The international team says the crystals are the same as those deposited by earthly microorganisms known as magnetotactic bacteria. Since the meteorite is from Mars, it can only be assumed that the same bacteria must have lived on Mars as well, they say. Signature of life The crystals in question are made of magnetite, a compound of iron and oxygen. The team's aim was to show that they must have been deposited by living organisms, rather than a simpler chemical process. Magnetite crystals deposited by bacteria on Earth show six key features that distinguish them from crystals of non-biological origin. This biosignature is what researchers have been looking for. Last year another group of researchers announced that they had found some, but not all, of the six key features. Crystal chain clue Now, in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Imre Friedmann, Jacek Wierzchos, Carmen Ascaso and Michael Winklhofer say they have now found the missing sixth element. The final clue was the arrangement of the crystals in the meteorite. Crystals left behind by bacteria on Earth form characteristic chains. Dr Imre Friedmann of Nasa's Ames Research Centre says they used a new method of electron microscopy to show that the Martian crystals are in chains, too.... Dr Friedmann says that the crystals are undoubtedly from Mars, because they are inside other globules of rock whose origin is uncontested....
The Bible doesn't say anything about no man knows for the Judgment day. Take a look at Mt. 24:35,36. There, no man "knoweth" (present tense, i.e., no man knew on that day) when the heaven and the earth "shall pass away." I think we can know now. That is why we were to watch. Of what use is watching if we can't learn something by doing it?
I think that will be the Day of God's Wrath, the Feast of Trumpets (Joel 2:1-3), Tishri 1, 5768 (Sept. 13, 2007). That is 40 years + another 120 days from when Israel regained the temple area on June 7, 1967.
I Cor. 10:11 says, "Now all these things happened unto them (Israel) for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world (ages) are come." In Mt. 23:36, Jesus told the Pharisees that all those things would come upon that generation. They did. Counting Palm Sunday, when they refused Jesus as king in 30 AD to Av 10, when the temple was burned in 70 AD was 40 years plus another 120 days.
If a generation was 40 years then, it should be 40 years now. From the time that Israel grew leaves (Sinai, West Bank, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip) and fulfilled the fig tree parable of Mt. 24:32-34 in the Six-Day War of 1967 to 2007 is 40 years. The last year has to be a Jewish Leap Year because there are 7 months (Eze. 39:12,13) between Tishri 1 and the following Nisan 1, when Christ returns (Eze. 29:17,21; Hos. 6:3) on the first day of the Jewish Regnal and Sacred Year. The year 5768 is a Jewish Leap Year. The Day of God's Wrath can't be slid 1 or 2 years in either direction.
Counting backward from Tishri 1, 5768 (Sept. 13, 2007) the 2300 days of the shortened Tribulation (Dan. 8:13,14) brings us to the Feast of Weeks in 2001. That is the perfect time for the 70th week of Daniel 9:17 to begin. I expect the Rapture to take place between now and then, Sivan 6, 5761 (May 28, 2001).
We should get all our sins confessed, as per I John 1:9, and be ready just in case. If we are foolish virgins and get left behind because we don't have enough oil of the Holy Spirit, we will have to suffer through 2300 days (Dan. 8:13,14) of the shortened Tribulation--if we can stay alive that long. The Pre-Wrath Rapture will pull every believer out of here before the asteroids of Rev. 8:8,10 hit Earth at noon (Zeph. 2:4,5). Agape
In Revelation 11:11 verse 10 we read: "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and MAKE MERRY and shall SEND GIFTS ONE TOO ANOTHER; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth". Now when do people SEND GIFTS ONE TOO ANOTHER and MAKE MERRY!! This has to be Christmas season. It does not have to be Christmas day but I think if when the two witness' are killed they will have Christmas a few days early. I have not figured the exact day they will be killed but I believe it will be around the first of December. Back up 1,260 days and you are at the time of PENTECOST! To me this is another clue as to when the general time of the beginning of the tribulation is and since we are pretrib believers this at least puts the rapture near Pentacost. Of course I believe you are correct that May 28th is the day we will go home! Just wondering if You have ever noticed this reference to Christmas or have heard anyone else mention it. Agape
The 2 witnesses are resurrected 3.5 days later and caught up to Heaven. That date is Cheshvan 27, when Earth was dried in Noah's day. That was when he removed the covering of the Ark (Gen. 7:13,14). It was also when God said, "go forth of the ark." Agape
All I can do is share a few points which are so clear to me and hope it sheds some light to others. First of all, have you ever wondered how it was that Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples a day earlier than the rest of the nation? The Jews of that day, as they still do today, determined the "new moon" by the sighting of the first crescent following the actual event. Jesus, being the Creator, knew when the astronomical "new moon" would actually take place and subsequently 15 days later was able to celebrate the Passover on the actual "full moon", a full day ahead of everyone else. The Jews and many Christians celebrate Passover as the moon begins to wane, which is still honored by the Lord, other than the fact that the Jews do not realize the true significance of the Passover.
Jesus celebrated the Passover on what the Jews of His day thought to be the night of the 14th day (astronomically the 15th). The night of the 14th day followed the evening of the 13th day which came towards the end of the 13th. The evening was not what we might consider evening, the period of time after the sun goes down. "Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out." Jer. 6:4. Here the sun is still up as there are shadows, albeit stretched out as the sun begins to set.
Jesus' betrayal was the night of the 14th, following the Passover with His disciples and His time of prayer on the Mount of Olives. He was taken, tried and subsequently crucified on the 6th through the 9th hour of the 14th, even as the lambs were being sacrificed for the Jewish Passover. Scripture goes on to say that Joseph of Arimathaea asked Pontius Pilate for his body which was taken down from the cross, wrapped and covered with spices and laid in Joseph's tomb all before the beginning of the double "sabbath", the Passover and the seventh day, the 15th of Nisan. This all took place during the evening of the 14th, the day of preparation."
It was then at the evening of the 14th or simply the end of the 14th that the Passover began, at the onset of the 15th of Nisan. In whatever day of the week that Passover fell it was considered a sabbath. It has been pointed out by one of your readers that the specific Hebrew word for the weekly sabbath was never used for feast days or special observances other than the seventh day sabbath. The same word is used for the Day of Atonement however. It does apply to the Passover day as well, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The day following is the Waving of the Sheaf of Firstfruits the 16th of Nisan. This is the same day that Jesus ressurected from the tomb, first descending into Hell to lead captivity captive and then ascending unto His Father, the waving of the Sheaf of Firstfruits. This day was also day one of the fifty days until Pentecost.
Concerning the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Many believe, as do you, that this feast begins on the day following Passover. This is because the reference in Lev. 23 states that the Passover is to be at even (evening) of the 14th day, while the Feast of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th day. They are one and the same. Lev. 23:5, 6. Again, Passover begins on the 15th day as the evening of the 14th closes. Ex. 12:17,18 states, "And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even." Passover is the first day of Unleavened Bread.
* Nisan 10 - The lamb was to be set apart.
* Nisan 14 - In the afternoon the lamb was to be slain (Jesus the Lamb of God was crucified).
* Nisan 15 - As the evening of the 14th draws to a close the 15th begins, the Passover begins as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
* Nisan 16 - The Waving of the Sheaf of Firstfruits (Jesus rises from the dead).
* Nisan 21 - Last day of Feast of Unleavened Bread.
This year Nisan 1 begins in Jerusalem at 3:21 U.T.C. on the 25th of March or 5:21 P.M., P.S.T. on the 24th of March. Interestingly enough this year the Rabbis have Shavuot on May 28th/29th which is according to the astronomical calculation and not according to the traditional sighting of the first crescent. Blessings from Jesus to you and your family
To the Jews, there were 12 hours of night, then 12 hours of day for each date. The 6th hour of Nisan 14 is Midnight. The 9th hour of Nisan 14 is 3 AM. If you are talking about the day, the 6th hour would be Noon. The 9th hour would be 3 PM. Jesus was Crucified about the 3rd hour of the day (9 AM). The darkness was from Noon to 3 PM. Mt. 27:45 says, "from the sixth hour (Noon) there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour" (3 PM). He died about the 9th hour of the day, when the priests started killing the lambs.
The lambs had to be killed at the temple between the evenings, at the going down of the Sun, between 3 and 5 PM on Thursday, Nisan 13, Apr. 6, 30 AD. The Sanhedrin always met on Thursdays. The lambs had to be roasted and eaten before midnight, 6 hours after Nisan 14 started at 6 PM. What was left of the lambs became a burnt offering by morning. Jesus died about 3 PM, Nisan 13, as the priests were killing the first lambs. Midnight of Nisan 14 was 9 hours after 3 PM on Nisan 13. There were 3 hours left of Nisan 13, and then there were 6 hours until Midnight on Nisan 14. Nisan 14 had no other midnight than the one that was at the 6th hour of that date.
> > his body which was taken down from the cross, wrapped and covered with spices and laid in Joseph's tomb all before the beginning of the double "sabbath", the Passover and the seventh day, the 15th of Nisan. This all took place during the evening of the 14th, the day of preparation."
Jesus was buried in haste on Nisan 13, just before 6 PM. De. 21:22,23 says, "if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled." Passover, Nisan 14, was a high sabbath. No burial could take place that day. Nisan 13 was the day of the preparation of the passover. John 19:14 says, "it was the preparation of the passover." The preparation day precedes the feast day. Since the Passover was Nisan 14, the preparation of the passover was Nisan 13. John 19:31 says, "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation (of the Passover), that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day (Passover, all feasts are sabbaths, no work may be done), (for that sabbath day (Passover) was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."
> > It was then at the evening of the 14th or simply the end of the 14th that the Passover began, at the onset of the 15th of Nisan.
The Passover began at 6 PM as Nisan 13 became Nisan 14. You are skipping one whole day in your thinking. Nisan 14 has 24 hours to be accounted for before the 15th can begin. The Passover is the 14th, not the 15th. Lev. 23:5 says, " In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's passover." The pass over in Egypt was at midnight on Nisan 14, 6 hours after Nisan 14 began.
> > It does apply to the Passover day as well, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The day following is the Waving of the Sheaf of Firstfruits the 16th of Nisan.
I agree with you that all the feasts are sabbaths and that these three feasts are on three consecutive days, Nisan 14 (Passover) Nisan 14 (Unleavened Bread) and Nisan 16 (Firstfruits). For each date, we have to account for 12 hours of night then 12 hours of day. Midnight of any one date arrives 6 hours after that date began.
> > Firstfruits the 16th of Nisan. This is the same day that Jesus ressurected from the tomb, first descending into Hell to lead captivity captive and then ascending unto His Father, the waving of the Sheaf of Firstfruits. This day was also day one of the fifty days until Pentecost.
I agree. Nisan 16 (Firstfruits) is day one of the 50.
> > Concerning the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Many believe, as do you, that this feast begins on the day following Passover. This is because the reference in Lev. 23 states that the Passover is to be at even (evening) of the 14th day, while the Feast of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th day. They are one and the same.
They can't be one and the same. Nisan 14 has 24 hours, and it starts in the evening. Nisan 15 has 24 hours, and it starts in the evening. If you superimpose them, you lose one whole day in your thinking. The even that starts Nisan 14 is 24 hours before the even that starts Nisan 15. Midnight on the 14th is 18 hours before the even of Nisan 15. From midnight on Nisan 14 to midnight on Nisan 15 is 24 hours.
> > Lev. 23:5, 6. Again, Passover begins on the 15th day as the evening of the 14th closes.
You just skipped one whole day. Passover "begins" as Nisan 13 becomes Nisan 14. Lev. 23:5,6 says, "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD." That Feast of Unleavened Bread has to start 24 hours after the feast of Passover starts. It is as if you were using a folding ruler and left a portion folded. You are taking nearly all 24 hours of the 14th away, just dropping it out of the march of time.
> > Ex. 12:17,18 states, "And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt
The Jews lived in On (Heliopolis), Rameses and a few other places. Pharaoh gave Jacob "leave to live with his children in Heliopolis; for in that city the king's shepherds had their pasturage" (Josephus. Ant. II. IX. 6). When the Israelites started to move out on the 14th, they first mobilized their armies in Rameses, borrowed things from the Egyptians, and finished clearing out of Rameses on the 15th. Ex. 12:17 says, "And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your ARMIES out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever."
> > observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even." Passover is the first day of Unleavened Bread.
Passover is the first day of unleavened bread, but the Feast of Passover is not the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were not to eat unleavened bread on the 14th or the 15th through the 21st. The Jews actually ate unleavened bread 8 days. Ex. 12:5-8 says, "Your lamb ...ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in THAT NIGHT (Nisan 14), roast with fire, and UNLEAVENED BREAD."
Ex. 12:15 says, "Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first (roshown, former, before, i.e., prior) day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel."
> > Nisan 14 - In the afternoon the lamb was to be slain (Jesus the Lamb of God was crucified).
Ex. 12:6-12 says, "ye shall keep it (the lamb) up UNTIL the fourteenth day (when Nisan 13 became Nisan 14)...kill it in the evening...take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post...eat the flesh in THAT NIGHT, roast with fire...let nothing of it remain until the morning...eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's PASSOVER. For I will pass through the land of Egypt THIS NIGHT (the only night Nisan 14 has), and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt."
Ex. 12:29-36 says, "at midnight (on Nisan 14) the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night (of Nisan 14), he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night (of Nisan 14), and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians." They started on the 14th. That was why they were dressed and had shoes on their feet. The Passover took place on the 14th night and Israel mobilized to Rameses during the 14th day. Then they cleared out of Rameses on the 15th.
> > Nisan 15 - As the evening of the 14th draws to a close the 15th begins, the Passover begins as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
As the 14th draws to a close the Passover is ending and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is ready to begin. They are on two consecutive days, not both on the same day. Agape
Jesus Christ was resurrected on the Feast of Firstfruits. He was the seed of the woman in Gen. 3:24. It says, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Also on Resurrection Day, some saints came out of their graves and were seen in Jerusalem (Mt. 27:52). These saints seem to be the rest of the sheaf of barley offered on Firstfruits. Jesus took them to Heaven and returned that same day. John 20:17 says, "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Later on that day, he could be touched. Agape
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