Edition 9. September 7th 2009
By Joel Joseph
John 16:13 "When He the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth...and show you things to come"
In this edition:
●The soon coming of our Lord
●Jerusalem: Palestinians seek state by 2011
●Damascus deception. Syria's covert nuclear program
__________________________________________
I have been in the journalism world since the early 1970s. I don't think there is a more important article I have ever written! I don't claim to know all that there is on this subject, but I have studied it extensively since 1980.
My aim and objective with this article is to set your heart soaring with our Lord. It is to fearfully present you with the most wonderful truths and inspire you to move forward with our great King and Saviour. This article is by no means exhaustive and just touches on the major themes. Please take this further yourself.
Do not underestimate this article or take it lightly. Consider it all carefully and prayerfully.
The soon coming of our great King, Lord and Saviour
Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, Jesus the Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, is coming soon. A lot sooner than you expect or believe!
The tragedy is that very few believers believe this. Most don't want to because it interferes with their own plans for a long happy family life. Interestingly there are over 10,000 verses of scripture dealing with the second coming of our Lord and surrounding events, two thirds more than on the first coming!
Many believers are totally ignorant of these things and others are simply deceived by hand-me-down deception from their heaped up false teachers.
Before we go any further, I need to refute some common deceptions and misconceptions around this subject.
"No one knows the time of the Lords coming" claim many deceived teachers. This is dangerous hogwash! There is a very big difference between "time" and the "day and hour" The Bible declares that "no one knows the day or hour of the Lords coming, not "time". "Day and hour" refers to a very pointed specific time, while "time" refers to a general season. That's just plain simple logic! As we will see even the term "day and hour" has a truly wonderful meaning in Jewish culture, not evident at face value.
In fact the Bible condemns those that say "no one knows the time" and commends and rewards in a most powerful way those that "look for His coming"!!!
Here are just a few of the many scriptures on this issue that paint a very clear picture.
2 Peter 3:3-4 "In the last days scoffers will arise saying "where is the promise of His coming?...all things will continue as they were"
2 Timothy 4:8 "There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness...but not only to me, but all who have loved His appearing".
Mathew 24: 32, 33 "Learn the parable of the fig tree, when its branch becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that the summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is very near even at the door". ('Know' is in the imperative tense, meaning it's a command. The verse should say "I command you to know")
Revelation 3:3 "...Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief and you will not know what hour I will come upon you"
Hebrews 10:25 "...exhorting one another, so much more as you see the Day approaching"
Hebrews 9:28 "...To those that eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time apart from sin for salvation".
1Jn 3:3 "Everyone who has this hope (coming of Lord) in himself purifies himself".
John 16:13 "When He the Spirit of truth has come He will guide you into all truth...and show you things to come".
1Thesselonians 5:4 "But you brethren are not in darkness so as this Day should overtake you as a thief".
Do you see it? Scoffers are condemned, those who love His appearing are rewarded. The command of God is to know the time! If you won't "watch" you are in trouble. You need to have "this hope" in you to walk in full holiness. If it's impossible to know the time, as many teach, why then does our Messiah condemn Israel's false teachers for not knowing the time of their visitation? "You hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the sky, but you can't discern the signs of the times" -Mathew 16:3
The importance of the Feasts of the Lord:
The Feasts of the Lord are extremely important. They are rich with symbolism, but also full of idioms and prophetic meaning. The graphic below represents the seven Feasts of the Lord with their prophetic symbolism and fulfilment applied. Note that the first four have already been fulfilled by our Lord and the last three have a future fulfilment. The next one is the Feat of Trumpets, signalling the start of the tribulation period and rapture.
If you do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, that's just fine, we can walk together. I am persuaded of the pre-trib position, which I will share in another edition. It is most certainly not an issue for division. The greater issues of literal, verses allegorical interpretation will most certainly divided us.
Yeshua/Jesus, the apostles and the early church observed the Feats of the Lord! The modern church got its instructions not to from Rome / Babylon / Satan!
In the symbolic way of looking at this, the Feast of Trumpets signals the start of the tribulation period and the Day of atonement signals the end of the tribulation and the second coming. We know that this period is seven years long. This seven year period is made up of Jewish years, which are 360 days long. Now, we also know from Daniel 9 and 12 that this period will be 2550 days (1260+1290 days = seven years)
So, it is 2550 days from the Feast of Trumpets to Atonement.
It is also very important to note that our Lord declares in Mathew 24:32-34 that the generation that sees the birth of Israel as a nation (and other signs) will not pass away until all these things (tribulation) are fulfilled. Israel became a nation in 1948. So if the terminal generation starts at the birth of Israel and ends with the second coming, the question is simply, how long is a generation?
Psalm 90:10 says that the "days of our life are 70 years" We could say then that a Biblical generation is 70 years.
Now, if we simply add 70 years to 1948 we come to the year 2018. We need to come forward seven years for the tribulation, which brings us to 2011 for the start.
If this is correct then we could look to the Feast of Trumpets 2011 for the rapture / tribulation start.
Before I go one bit further I need to address date-setting. With these things there could be a small margin of error. So, please note my words carefully. I am saying "could be, should, possibly" etc. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! I would rather be looking for the Lord's coming and be wrong (and get rewarded for looking) than not look and be condemned!
The overall point of this article is not to prove beyond doubt any specific date. It is to look for the coming of the Lord in compliance with His will.
Lets now have a look at the 2550 days for the tribulation. The Feasts of the Lord work on a time scale set by the moon and not the solar-based calendar. The Feast of Trumpets is also called by five other names. One of these is the 'The Feast that no one knows that day or hour' The reason for this is that it starts at the sighting of the new moon. This has been the case throughout Jewish history. The new moon could have been out by a day or two hence "no one knows the day or hour" or the exact time. The Feast is also known as the "Feast of the last trump" because when the new moon was sighted, a rams horn is blown with different tones and time lengths between the blasts. The last trump blast is a long single tone and signals the start.
Now of course we know the familiar portion of scripture in 1 Corinthians 15:51 "Behold I tell you mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed- in a moment in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead will be raised, incorruptible and we shall be changed.
Now have a look at the table below (thanks to Laymanswatch.com) and note that 2011 and 2014 both have 2550 days between Trumpets and Atonement. The others are out by a day or two, due to the moon phases. So, could it be 2014 for the start of the tribulation? I think not simply because that then doesn't tie in with the 70-year generation.
Trumpets 2011 to Atonement 2018 (seven years) ties in perfectly with the 70-year generation prophecy. (Again 70 years added to Israel's birth year of 1948 comes to 2018) Trumpets 2011 could signal the rapture and tribulation start and Atonement 2018, the end of the tribulation and the second coming of our Lord.
There are far too many things dove-tailing together and pointing towards the 2011 to 2018 seven-year period for it all to be coincidence. Again there may well be a small margin of error, but again, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!
Here are a few other startling indicators:
2018 would have been a jubilee year. The Jews stopped celebrating jubilees long ago. This is if we count as though they had not stopped. We know that a jubilee is a time of release, freedom, victory, rest for the land, restoration of land to original owners etc. So there is lots of typology here.
Six is the number of man under sin, seven, spiritual perfection and eight resurrection. Now if we apply Peter's 'day for a thousand years' principle and count up all the genealogies in the Bible, it give us 6000 years. So we could presume that the millennium will begin as we cross into the 7000 year mark. Based on the Jewish calendar corrected for previous mistakes (well documented) have a look at the diagram below:
Interesting isn't it! These things could be out by a little here or there, but the overall point is that time is short!
Non time-specific, but season-specific signs:
There are simply far too many to list here, but these are some of the biggies!
●The sign of homosexuality. The Bible declares that days of the coming of the Lord will be as in the days of Noah and as in the days of Lot. Those days were when homosexuality was rife. God destroyed the twin cities where this was prevalent. ●Another characteristic of those days was that people were carrying on life as normal with no regard for the warnings of impending judgement.
Other season-specific signs include ●the restoration of Israel as a nation in 1948 and the return of Jerusalem to the Jews in 1967. ●The great apostasy of the church and the salvation of the Jews at large is just starting to gather speed now. (See the previous two editions) ●Most of the worst occurs in the tribulation period, but a lot will occur in the period leading up to the tribulation.
Some general signs from various portions of scripture include: ●Disease, ●pestilence, ●famine, ●natures upheavals, ●roaring seas, ●believers betraying one another, ●signs in the heavens, ●increased deception, witchcraft, false doctrines, ●ethnic wars and on the positive side, ●the gospel being preached in all the nations of the world.
How things could unfold:
●The Wall Street Journal reported on August 26th that Palestinian Prime Minister Salem Fayyad is calling for a Palestinian state by the end of 2011 regardless of any negotiations. The plan reflects an unprecedented emphasis on self rule with East Jerusalem as its capital. The plan will also see the establishment of their own airport and a military force. Israel described the plan as "provocative"
●The International Atomic Energy Agency (IEA) reported a week ago that Syria is again attempting to construct a covert nuclear program with the help of North Korea. Isaiah17:1 declares that Damascus shall cease from being a city and lie a ruinous heap. Damascus is the oldest city in the world never to have been destroyed in its history. This prophecy will have a fulfilment in the near future.
The Feast of Trumpets will usher in the Tribulation which will begin with the stroke of a pen. The Bible declares that the event that reveals the antichrist and kicks off the seven year tribulation will be the signing of a peace pact between Israel and the person who will become the antichrist. For the signing of a peace pact there needs to be a climate of war, not so? Do we have this now?
One of two possible scenarios will soon unfold:
The first scenario could easily be created by Israel being pressurised into the signing of a peace-for-land deal with the Palestinians. Possible?...I think so! As we know from scripture (Joel 3) the dividing up of the land will invoke the wrath and fury of God. (Note the Wall Street Journal headline above and that date!) Israel could sell out for a pocketful of peace promises made with a pretender.
Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in My holy mountain...tremble, for the Day of the Lord is at hand" Verse 15 "Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast...gather the people...Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber and the bride from her dressing room"
Possible scenario two is the yet unfulfilled prophetic wars with Israel and Syria (Isaiah 17) and the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war with Russia, China and other Muslim allies. The descriptions of these wars indicates that they will be nuclear. These conflicts are on the horizon and could also be the event that leads to the signing of the fateful peace treaty. The Bible doesn't date either of these wars but places them in the last days, so we are in the season!
1 Peter 4:7 "The end of all things is at hand, be serious, be watchful in your prayer..."
As we enter the twighlight of present world history and move towards a whole new world dispensation we need to be cautious. This time period will see an outpouring of the Spirit of God as well as an intensification of deadly deception.
There are many, many more amazing, wonderful indications of this incredible time period. I will share more with you in upcoming editions. Some include the importance of the symbolism within the measurements of the ark of Noah, the temple and the ark of the covenant. I will look at the spectacular subject of number in scripture and other things related to the soon coming of our King of Majesty
My friends, these events are all right on the door step and could easily unfold soon and quickly. I appeal to you...make sure you are ready. Be ready in heart and belief and do not be reckless with your life. These things are a lot more than possible, they are probable!
In the midst of all this incredible drama...the greatest drama of all time, our Lord will have a graceful army growing in stature, strength and wisdom, knowing Him intimately and ready to fulfil His plans and do His will.
________________________________________
In closing here is an impression of war by the wonderful artist Marc Chagall
Kind regards and many blessings...Shalom and hang in there!
