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Maybe soon part 2
Jewish Feast – Definitions and ClarificationThe Feasts of Israel
Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." Colossians 2:16-17 (NASB) This statement by the Apostle Paul refers to the Jewish Feasts as a "mere shadow" of things to come, the substance of them being found in Yeshua, the Messiah. What Paul is saying here is that the feasts were prophetic types, or symbols, that pointed to the Messiah and which would be fulfilled in Him. (NASB) Before we pursue that point to see how the feasts were fulfilled in Jesus, let's first of all familiarize ourselves with the feasts. Origin and Timing of the Feasts The feasts were a part of the Mosaic Law that was given to the Children of Israel by God through Moses (Exodus 12; 23:14-17; Leviticus 23; Numbers 28 & 29; and Deuteronomy 16). The Jewish nation was commanded by God to celebrate seven feasts over a seven month period of time, beginning in the spring of the year and continuing through the fall. (NASB) You will find the timing and sequence of these feasts illustrated on the chart below. As you study the chart, notice that the feasts fall into three clusters. The first three feasts Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits occur in rapid succession in the spring of the year over a period of eight days. They came to be referred to collectively as "Passover." The fourth feast, Harvest, occurs fifty days later at the beginning of the summer. By New Testament times this feast had come to be known by its Greek name, Pentecost, a word meaning fifty. The last three feasts Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles extend over a period of twenty-one days in the fall of the year. They came to be known collectively as "Tabernacles." Some of the feasts were related primarily to the agricultural cycle. The feast of First Fruits was a time for the presentation to God of the first fruits of the barley harvest. The feast of Harvest was a celebration of the wheat harvest. And the feast of Tabernacles was in part a time of thanksgiving for the harvest of olives, dates, and figs. Most of the feasts were related to past historical events. Passover, of course, celebrated the salvation the Jews experienced when the angel of death passed over the Jewish houses that were marked with the blood of a lamb. Unleavened Bread was a reminder of the swift departure from Egypt so swift that they had no time to put leaven into their bread. Although the feasts of Harvest and Tabernacles were related to the agricultural cycle, they both had historical significance as well. The Jews believed that it was on the feast day of Harvest that God gave the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. And Tabernacles was a yearly reminder of God's protective care as the Children of Israel tabernacled in the wilderness for forty years. The Spiritual Significance of the Feasts All the feasts were related to the spiritual life of the people. Passover served as a reminder that there is no atonement for sin apart from the shedding of blood. Unleavened Bread was a reminder of God's call on their lives to be a people set apart to holiness. Leaven was a symbol of sin. They were to be unleavened that is, holy before the nations as a witness of God. The feast of First Fruits was a call to consider their priorities, to make certain they were putting God first in their lives. Harvest was a reminder that God is the source of all blessings. The solemn assembly day of Trumpets was a reminder of the need for constant, ongoing repentance. The Day of Atonement was also a solemn assembly day a day of rest and introspection. It was a reminder of God's promise to send a Messiah whose blood would cover the demands of the Law with the mercy of God. In sharp contrast to Trumpets and Atonement, Tabernacles was a joyous celebration of God's faithfulness, even when the Children of Israel were unfaithful. The Prophetic Significance of the Feasts What the Jewish people did not seem to realize is that all of the feasts were also symbolic types. In other words, they were prophetic in nature, each one pointing in a unique way to some aspect of the life and work of the promised Messiah. 1) Passover - Pointed to the Messiah as our Passover lamb whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover, at the same time that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening. 2) Unleavened Bread - Pointed to the Messiah's sinless life, making Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus' body was in the grave during the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life. 3) First Fruits - Pointed to the Messiah's resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in I Corinthians 15:20 as the "first fruits from the dead." 4) Harvest or Pentecost - (Called Shavuot today.) Pointed to the great harvest of souls, both Jew and Gentile, that would come into the kingdom of God during the Church Age. The Church was actually established on this day when the Messiah poured out the Holy Spirit and 3,000 souls responded to Peter's first proclamation of the Gospel. The long interval of three months between Harvest and Trumpets pointed to the current Church Age, a period of time that was kept as a mystery to the Hebrew prophets in Old Testament times. That leaves us with the three fall feasts which are yet to be fulfilled in the life and work of the Messiah. Because Jesus literally fulfilled the first four feasts and did so on the actual feast days, I think it is safe to assume that the last three will also be fulfilled and that their fulfillment will occur on the actual feast days. We cannot be certain how they will be fulfilled, but my guess is that they most likely have the following prophetic implications: 5) Trumpets - (Called Rosh Hashana today.) Points to the Rapture when the Messiah will appear in the heavens as a Bridegroom coming for His bride, the Church. The Rapture is always associated in Scripture with the blowing of a loud trumpet (I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:52) 6) Atonement - (Called Yom Kippur today.) Points to the day of the Second Coming of Jesus when He will return to earth. That will be the day of atonement for the Jewish remnant when they "look upon Him whom they have pierced," repent of their sins, and receive Him as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:1-6, 25-36). 7) Tabernacles - (Called Sukkot today.) Points to the Lord's promise that He will once again tabernacle with His people when He returns to reign over all the world from Jerusalem (Micah 4:1-7). One final note about the feasts. Six of them the first six are related to man's sin and struggle to exist. The last feast, Tabernacles, is related to rest. It is the most joyous feast of the year. It looks to the past in celebration of God's faithfulness in the wilderness. It looks to the present in celebration of the completion of the hard labor of the agricultural cycle. And it looks to the future in celebration of God's promise to return to this earth and provide the world with rest in the form of peace, righteousness and justice The seven feasts thus parallel what I call the "rhythm of God" that was established during the week of creation namely, six days of work followed by one day of rest. This rhythm is repeated over and over in the Scriptures, as illustrated in the chart below. A Summary of the Weeks of Scripture
Because God's division of time into sevens, or weeks, so thoroughly permeates the Scriptures, the Jewish Rabbis concluded before the time of Jesus that human history would extend over a "Week of Millenniums," or for a period of 7,000 years. According to the view most frequently expressed in the Talmud, there would be 6,000 years of human toil and strife followed by 1,000 years of peace. This Millennial Sabbath would be the period of the Messianic kingdom during which time the Messiah would reign in person over all the world from Jerusalem (Isaiah 24:21-23). In other words, the Jews had concluded long before the book of Revelation was written that the Lord's reign on earth would last a thousand years. Revelation 20 confirmed this deduction by stating six times that the reign would last a thousand years. The concept of the Millennium in the book of Revelation is therefore nothing new. The concept is rooted in the creation week of Genesis. It is reaffirmed in the week of feasts of Israel six feasts related to sin and toil leading up to a Sabbath feast of rest. As you can see from the chart below, we are near the end of the 6,000 years, which the Jewish Rabbis believed would usher in the Millennial Kingdom. We are standing on the threshold of the Sabbath Millennium. Yeshua is coming soon! Jesus was God's ultimate visual aid." Jesus Himself emphasized this when He said, "Anyone who has seen Me, has seen the Father" (John 14:9). The Jewish rituals were only temporary visual aids. God used them as object lessons to teach the Jewish people about their coming Messiah. We no longer need these rituals to show us the way to God. But this does not mean, however, that these Hebrew visual aids are no longer valuable to us as Christians. They still are very useful in helping us to better understand how to know God and walk with Him through a personal relationship with Jesus."
Why the Jewish Feasts One of the first things you will probably notice when studying any chart of the Jewish Feasts is that they do not fall on specified dates according to the Gregorian calendar that is used in the Western world. The reason is that the Gregorian calendar (adopted in 1582 during the reign of Pope Gregory XIII) is a solar one that is related to the earth's revolution around the sun. The Jews, in contrast, use a modified lunar calendar, or what might be called a lunar/solar calendar. A year on the Gregorian calendar runs 365 days. But since it takes approximately 365¨ days for the earth to make a complete circle around the sun, an extra day is added in February every four years, making a Leap Year of 366 days. The Jewish calendar is based upon the movement of the moon around the earth. A full circle takes about 29´ days. Thus, twelve of these lunar months add up to 354 days in a year. So, a solar year is 11¨ days longer than a lunar year. If the Jews followed a strict lunar calendar, as the Muslims do, the feasts would migrate completely around the calendar (as the Muslim feast of Ramadan does.) But the Jews could not tolerate this since three of their feasts are related directly to the agricultural cycle. Therefore, they devised a method of modifying their lunar calendar to bring it in line with the solar year. They did this by adding an extra month of 29 days about every three years (7 times in 19 years). This month is called the intercalary month. That's the reason that the feast of Passover, for example, can occur in either March or April. The feast migrates backward on the Gregorian calendar for three years and then is propelled forward 29 days when the intercalary month is added. Passover always falls on Nisan 14 on the Jewish calendar, but that date moves around on the Gregorian calendar. Another difference between the calendars that should be noted is that the Gregorian day begins at midnight and runs until the next midnight. The Jewish day begins at sundown (approximately 6:00pm) and runs until the next day's sundown. The Passover meal is always celebrated at the beginning of Nisan 14, which would be in the evening.
Back to TopThe Exciting DiscoveryPreface Historically speaking, there have been more than a few popular instances in which predictions of rapture and the beginning of the tribulation have been made, some generating more interest than others at the time. Because of that, it has damaged opinions on watching end times as well as speculating on possible timing of these events. If analyzed, many of the predictions had little merit or based on very loose speculation. Regardless, they still attracted interest, and some believed the predictions to an immense degree and were consequently rather disappointed when the events did not occur as expected. Here are some of the historical predictions:
1 Chuck Smith, 1978
predicted the rapture would come in 1981.
To some degree the following is no different. It is speculation. The proposed timing is not certain. Ultimately, the timing is up to God. However, the signs are so amazing and scripturally grounded, that it would be careless to fail to discuss these signs. The above is either a prediction at a whim, such as with Ruckman, or grounded in obvious exaggerated assumptions, as with Lindsey.
Any suggestion that the below are mere coincidences would like generate a heart attack in any educated statistician. It is so likely, that the below speculation warrants attention, that a sense of urgency in watching should be declared. In reviewing and examining the material, tread carefully and intentionally, seeking God’s discernment and guidance throughout. I suspect you will determine that the below is very different and provocative. Before proceeding, make sure you understand the concepts of basic Christian theology, the rapture, the Great Tribulation, Daniel’s 70th week, and the Jewish feasts. If you require a review of this material, details can be found in earlier sections. Back to TopSigns in the Heavens
Luke 21:25 (New King James Version) 25"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.
Isaiah 13:9-11 (New King James Version)
9
Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Isaiah 24:23 (New King James Version)
23
Then the moon will be disgraced
Joel 2:10; Joel 2:11 (New King James Version)
10
The earth quakes before them,
Joel 2:30-31 (New King James Version)
30
“ And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Joel 3:14-15 (New King James Version)
14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
Matthew 24:29-30 (New King James Version) 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Revelation 6:12-13 (New King James Version) 12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold,[a] there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon[b] became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.
Revelation 8:12 (New King James Version) 12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. I have come across an interesting
discovery that I believe is worthy of thinking about.
Then he went back to see if and when in the last century four blood moons occurred on the Jewish Feast days, and discovered that this phenomenon happened in 1967 and 1968, during the re-capturing of Jerusalem in the Six-Day war! Going back a little farther, he found the next occurrences in 1949 and 1950, right after Israel became a nation. This already has to have your attention. Already, this is profound. God is amazing! In addition to the four lunar eclipses in 2014-15, Mark also found two solar eclipses. They will occur on: Adar
29/Nisan 1, March 20, 2015 These two dates are quite significant because they are special days in the Jewish calendar. For example, it was on Nisan 1, the first anniversary of the Exodus, that Moses raised up the tabernacle for the first time and the glory of God descended. Two weeks later, the Chosen People observed their first Pentecost since the Exodus. Nisan 1 marks the beginning of the religious festival cycle. Six months later, on Tishri 1, the Jews observe Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets. This day is highly prophetic, because it is said to be the anniversary of the Creation of Adam. It is Adam’s birthday. And, even though it is a Jewish observance, it is prophetically significant as a day for Gentile nations. It is the day when God will sit down upon His throne of Judgment and take the books in his hand. That is when He will begin the judgment of the world. So, a solar eclipse on Rosh Hashanah could precede the Second Coming of Christ in power and great glory, and fulfill the biblical description.
Now, let’s look at the places in the Bible that speak of the sun being darkened and the moon not giving her light. First of all, Isaiah wrote: “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger … the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible” (Isa. 13:9-11). We are told that this will occur in the “day of the LORD.” It is the time when God will punish the Gentile nations for their wickedness. We are not talking about ordinary everyday living, but gross wickedness against God and His Chosen People. God calls them arrogant, proud and haughty. He says that they are terrible, evil and wicked. It seems to me that he is referring to the nations that are trying to destroy Israel. Again, Isaiah said: “Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously” (Isa. 24:23). Since neither the sun or moon has a conscience, the references to being confounded or ashamed seem to be metaphoric of the condition of man on earth. The darkening of the sun and moon, therefore, are signs of man’s condition. These conditions will prevail at the time of the Lord’s return to judge the wicked and establish His kingdom. Isaiah was the first prophet to write about solar and lunar eclipses, but Joel’s passages are the most widely quoted. Joel wrote: “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: “And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:10,11). Again, Joel said: “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:30,31). Finally, Joel said: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. “The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (Joel 3:14,15). Isaiah and Joel are the only Old Testament prophets that mentioned solar and lunar apparitions in the day of the LORD. In each case, however, it is apparent that they are referring to events that precede the messianic kingdom. Joel adds earthquakes, blood, fire and pillars of smoke. I think he is describing the battles that attend the Tribulation Period, especially the final Battle of Armageddon. Passages From the New Testament In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:29,30). In His Olivet discourse, Jesus described His glorious appearing at the close of the Tribulation Period. My guess (and its only a guess) is that the darkening of the sun and moon could be eclipses. Stars falling from heaven could be missiles used in the war. Powers of the heavens being shaken could refer to many nuclear explosions around the world, disrupting the atmosphere. The “sign” of the Son of Man, could be His actual appearance in “the clouds of heaven.” The clouds may be an ancient description of celestial vehicles, rather than simple clouds. The only clouds that prompt fear today is the kind with a twister coming out of them. Therefore, I think the term “clouds” is used to describe something that flies in the sky. The Gospel of Mark repeats the Savior’s statement: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light” (Mark 13:24). Luke also records the occasion: “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27). On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted Joel’s prophecy: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:20,21). In the book of Revelation, John enlarged upon the prophecy: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; “And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind” (Rev. 6:12,13). “And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise” (Rev. 8:12,). The idea that a third of the sun is smitten may be a reference to a partial eclipse, similar to the one that will occur on Rosh Hashanah in the Jewish year 5775 -- September 13, 2015. Three sets of blood-red moons that corresponded to significant events: The Spanish Inquisition final year 1492 when the Alhambra Decree ordered all remaining Jews who would not convert to Christianity to leave Spain, the 1948 War of Independence and the 1967 Six-Day War had back-to-back, blood-red moons occur on the first day of Passover and Sukkot the following two years or beginning the same year of the 1967 Six-Day War for two years. The Spanish Inquisition — 1492
* Passover, April 2, 1493 The War of Independence — 1948
* Passover, April 13, 1949 The Six-Day War — 1967
* First Day of Passover, April 24, 1967
Wow! Could God have been any more blatant? What will occur in the 2013–2015 time period?
* First Day of Passover, April 15, 2014
Fall Feasts in 2015
* Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets),
Sept. 14 This year's blood-red moon During this year's Feb. 21 "blood-red" moon, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi spoke of preparation for war with Hezbollah and Hamas, and both those terror organizations leaders were bold in their rhetoric against Israel in this time of great tension. The Temple Mount and blood-red moons Also, do a search and examine the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the two connections to peace talks and the blood-red moons of July 16, 2000, and Aug. 28, 2007. The Blood-Red Moon, the Temple Mount and the Bible Other interesting facts
* Passover is the first annual feast These are the biblical passages that deal with the subject. It cannot be said with certainty that the solar and lunar eclipses that will occur in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015 are the fulfillments of Biblical prophecy, but they are fascinating enough to issue, not a warning, but a watch. Historically, these eclipses mark something prophetically significant for Israel. The last and most significant prophetic event that has not yet occurred is the rapture, tribulation, the Lord’s return, and the beginning of the Kingdom age. Could 2015 be the year that Jesus returns? That is some strong speculation, but it is also a very strong possibility. So let us examine this further to see if we can either support or refute that speculation. What does all of this mean? We have these specific types of eclipses on specific Jewish feasts in 2014/2015 that have only occurred historically around times that have been prophetically and significantly centric to Israel. As mentioned, and historically demonstrated this is likely an amazing sign, but a sign for what? The root word for signs in Matthew 16:3 (“You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”) according to Strong’s Concordance means “To mark, indicate or signify” and the Webster’s gives the word SIGNAL as one of the words to define signify. Are these celestial happenings signals to us? It is very interesting at the least! Are we to know when the Lord is to return just like the Jews were supposed to know the exact date that he was to arrive in Jerusalem, or how the wise man knew the exact day of Jesus birth based on signs in the heavens? We often take the scripture,
“that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in
the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2) to mean
that we will have no idea when the Lord is coming back. But Paul goes onto say
in that same passage, “But
you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a
thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night
nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and
be sober.” It is also interesting to note that in Gen 1:14, an argument can be made that “seasons” could actually mean festivals or feasts, signifying when prophetic events might happen on feasts through solar and lunar activity. Gen 1:14 Now relate that back to the discovery of the blood moon tetrads that have occurred throughout known history and also occur in 2014/2015. One of the reasons most often given to disclaim that the resurrection of the dead and the catching away of the believers is on Rosh HaShanah is the statement given by Yeshua (Jesus) in Matthew 24:36, as it is written, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only." Because Rosh HaShanah was understood to be the hidden day, this statement by Yeshua is actually an idiom for Rosh Hashanah. Thus it should be given as further proof that He was speaking of Rosh HaShanah because Rosh HaShanah is the only day in the whole year that was referred to as the hidden day or the day that no man knew. It is also interesting to note that Rosh HaShanah is actually a two day event. This all supports that the The Feast of
Trumpets is when the “last trump” of the Rapture of 1 Cor. 15 is blown. Apparently in Israel the Rabbis stand on the hilltops looking for the new moon, you can't actually see the new moon because it’s dark, this is why Rosh Hashanah has no set date, it varies. It will be the same process for 2008 as well, they do not exactly know the day nor the hour that the feast will begin!
Back to TopSome Interesting Mathematical ExaminationsSince we are starting a new 7 year cycle this Rosh Hashanna/Feast of the Trumpets 2008, and that 2015 just happens to conclude a rare and historical Israel centric significant blood moon tetrad event, are there any other signs that suggest the timing is on target if Jesus is going to return, hypothetically speaking, on the Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur of 2015, and set up the millennial reign on the Feast of Tabernacles in 2015? The above suggests that it is very possible. Let us continue to examine this from a scriptural perspective.
2008 to
2015
The
recapture of Jerusalem (June 7th, 1967) to Yom Kippur 2015 (Sept. 23, 2015) is
exactly 49 Biblical years. Back to TopA Purim Connection: if the Great Tribulation Begins on Rosh Hashana/Feast of the Trumpets 2008 and Ends on the Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur 2015The previous material has layed out a strong but speculative case that the Great Tribulation could very well start this Rosh Hashanna/Feast of the Trumpets 2008 to the Day of Atonement 2015. If this is truly the case, and the speculation is actual truth, then the days of the tribulation have to be in sync with Scripture in both timing and with prophetically significant events. Let’s then examine this window in detail. We have examined Daniel’s 70th
week in earlier sections, but let us review Daniel’s 70 weeks in detail again as
it relates to this hypothetical window of the Great Tribulation to determine if
there are any other coincidences. 69 weeks have passed so far (7 weeks and 62
weeks - See book of Daniel). The 69 weeks began with the Decree of Artaxerxes to
rebuild Jerusalem on March 14th, 445 B.C., and ended on Palm Sunday April 6th,
32 AD when Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
Now let us review the blood moon tetrads again:
It appears we may have the last three Feasts to be fulfilled literally. If Jesus is going to set foot on the Mt. of Olives Sept. 23rd, 2015 to fulfill the Feast of Atonement (and then, five days later fulfill Tabernacles), then that means the Tribulation starts seven years before that, which brings us to 2008. It also leaves the Feast of Trumpets to be literally fulfilled, which many believe will be fulfilled with the rapture. The Feast of Trumpets falls on Sept. 30th/Oct. 1st 2008 as discussed in earlier sections.
The midpoint of the Tribulation is a point of interest for a couple of reasons. One it is the death of the two witnesses in Revelation, who are to preach for 1260 days. The other is the assassination and resurrection of the Antichrist (then likely indwelt by Satan). Let us begin to count the days as if this was the tribulation and examine the results. If we count 1260 days back from Sept. 23, 2015 (Atonement) and we land on April 12th, 2012. If we count 1260 days ahead from Sept. 30th, 2008 (Trumpets) we land on March 12th. There is a 30 day gap.
Counting from Trumpets this year (Sept.
30th) 1260 days for the witnesses to preach, we'd end up on March 12, 2012. On
March 8th, 2012, on the Jewish calendar the celebration of
Purim begins (See Esther 9). Assuming the
witnesses are assassinated on the 8th, they rise 3 and a half days later (12th),
and that would end their witnessing on the earth at 1260 days.
Now, if you read Daniel 12:11, it says
that in between the time that sacrifices are abolished and the abomination of
desolation is set up there will be 1290 days. This accounts for the 30
day gap mentioned above that the Jews will need to cleanse the temple. This
would map out the days of the tribulation as follows: 1260 days for the two
witnesses, 30 days for the cleansing of the temple, and 1260 days for the last
half of the tribulation, which totals to 2550 days as described in Revelation
and Daniel’s prophecies.
Another interesting connection: If we take the assumption that the 2nd
coming would be on 9/23/15 (Yom Kippur) and that the tribulation would start on
Oct 1, 2008, the Feast of the Trumpets, and then calculate 1260 days ahead of
the start to arrive at March 14, 2012, we then arrive at the mid-point of the
tribulation
Back to TopRegarding the Jubilee (Yovel) Year and Isaac NewtonNewton was a devout believer in Christ and Bible scholar, fluent in ancient languages, and who translated directly from the Hebrew and Greek. He was unusually drawn to the prophet Daniel, which he began studying at age 12 and continued until he died at age 85. In fact, The Columbia History of the World, a secular history book, remarks, "At the end of his days he spent more time studying and writing about the prophecies in the Book of Daniel than he did in charting the heavens." Apparently, God Himself put in Newton's heart this burning desire to study Daniel, then gave him the key to the timing of Christ's return. Could this be the final profound secret the Lord revealed to this godly genius near the end of his life -- a secret "accidentally" discovered in the Library of Congress and republished just in the last few years -- a secret so simple that most have missed it? If Newton was correct in his interpretation of Daniel, the prophet to whom God gave specific timing, then the return of the Lord Jesus Christ will be very, very soon, indeed! Newton's understanding of one key passage in Daniel chapter 9 is fundamentally different from that of most common interpretations. In about 550 B.C., God gave the prophet Daniel a view of history to the end. From Daniel 9:25, scholars usually add the "seven weeks (of years, or 49 years) and 62 weeks (434 years)" to get 483 years and calculate the time of Messiah's First Coming. However, Newton says there is no linguistic basis for adding those two numbers (49 and 434), and to do so is "doing violence to the language of Daniel." Newton says the two numbers separately speak of both the First and Second Coming, both being counted from the "going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." Some commentators agree. Newton says the "62 weeks," or 434-year part was fulfilled at the First Coming, and the "seven weeks," or 49-year part will apply to the Second Coming. And three centuries ago he saw in the Scriptures and wrote about the rebirth of Israel at a time when such a thought was preposterous. Amazingly by faith and understanding of the Scriptures, he foresaw a "friendly kingdom" someday again issuing the "commandment to restore and build Jerusalem." Now, centuries later, that "friendly kingdom" may have been the United Nations, which decreed Israel's rebirth in November, 1947, causing Israel to be reborn in May, 1948. The Lord revealed to Newton, that Jesus would return 49 years from the date that Israel once again has control of Jerusalem (This occurred on June 7, 1967 when the Temple Mount was recaptured). Newton also thought that the Second Coming of Jesus would be at the start of a Jubilee year on the Day of Atonement. ...if you use exactly 49 Jewish (360-day, prophetic) years from the day Israel captured the Temple Mount on June 7, 1967, you get 49 X 360 = 17640 days, which amazingly takes one exactly to September 23, 2015, the Day of Atonement 2015 and is the start of a new Jubilee year! This just happens to be another coincidence with the date of September 23, 2015. Back to Top |
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