Summary of Bible references on the Rapture
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All are welcome, but not to doubtful disputations
Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
The focus of this blog is the rapture. To me asking "when is the rapture" is a minor question, not the major theme. The major themes are
1. Who will be raptured and why?
2. Who will be left behind and why?
3. What role does the Great Babylon play and who is the Great Babylon?
4. What time is it on "Israel's time clock" and does that include the US?
5. What events will we see immediately preceding the rapture?
6. How do you reconcile various verses in the Bible which seem contradictory on this subject?
7. Can we know the year of the rapture?
If you notice "pre tribulation rapture" vs "post tribulation rapture" vs "Mid tribulation rapture" is not on this list. I have completely ignored it as being irrelevant because the real question is who is raptured and why. Instead what has arisen as a major topic is the "Once Saved Always Saved" doctrine, because it is directly related to the primary theme on this blog.
Also I don't promote or advertize this blog because I feel it is something the Lord should lead people to. What we are discussing here is not an item of the faith. It is a major theme of the New Testament, but how or what you believe about this topic is not central to your being saved. We are not to get into doubtful disputations over this doctrine. Jesus Christ, the redeemer, that is a subject we contend for, but the rapture is something we can be general about.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
This is the key reason. I am questioning accepted doctrines that many Christians take as sacrosanct. For example:
1. No one can know who the Antichrist is until after the rapture. This doctrine is based on a verse in Thessalonians which says the Antichrist is revealed after the restrainer is removed or steps aside. The interpretation is that after the rapture the Antichrist is revealed. I agree with that. But my question is this, that verse is talking about those who are left behind after the rapture, what about those who are raptured? They were one with the Holy Spirit restraining evil and that includes restraining the Antichrist, the verse does not say that the Antichrist is revealed to them once they get to heaven, it isn't talking about them. It is reasonable to conclude that if they were restraining the Antichrist then he was also revealed to them.
2. No one knows the day or the hour. The problem with this is Revelation 3:3 where Jesus tells Sardis to dig into the Bible and study it the way they did at first (presumably when they uncovered the truth about salvation by faith) or else they will not know the hour that He comes. Also in the Old Testament we are told that God does not do anything without telling His prophets. Since no Bible verse is of its own interpretation the only way these three work together is if we understand Jesus was speaking present tense. He didn't say "no one will know" only that "no one knows" right now. For example, Noah did not know the day or the hour of the flood coming as he spent 120 years building the ark. However, when Methuselah died he and his family entered the ark, God shut them in, and that was one week before the flood. Likewise, Lot did not know the day and hour that the fire would fall on Sodom and Gomorrah, however, the evening before the fire fell angels arrived to warn him and to get him out of Sodom before the fire fell. Jesus said that it would be as the days of Noah and as the days of Lot and in both cases they were given a heads up a few days or a few hours before hand. In the Old Testament Elijah being caught up in the whirlwind knew the day, as did Elisha and the prophets. That was a type of the rapture. So then when you return to the Lord saying "no one knows the day or the hour", His conclusion is that therefore we must watch. Lot was watching out for the angels, he knew it would be unsafe for them to sleep in the street, Noah was watching out for the prophecy concerning Methuselah to be fulfilled, and Elisha was watching Elijah.
Each one had something to keep their eyes on and as long as they did that they would know ahead of time the day and hour of the rapture.
Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
The focus of this blog is the rapture. To me asking "when is the rapture" is a minor question, not the major theme. The major themes are
1. Who will be raptured and why?
2. Who will be left behind and why?
3. What role does the Great Babylon play and who is the Great Babylon?
4. What time is it on "Israel's time clock" and does that include the US?
5. What events will we see immediately preceding the rapture?
6. How do you reconcile various verses in the Bible which seem contradictory on this subject?
7. Can we know the year of the rapture?
If you notice "pre tribulation rapture" vs "post tribulation rapture" vs "Mid tribulation rapture" is not on this list. I have completely ignored it as being irrelevant because the real question is who is raptured and why. Instead what has arisen as a major topic is the "Once Saved Always Saved" doctrine, because it is directly related to the primary theme on this blog.
Also I don't promote or advertize this blog because I feel it is something the Lord should lead people to. What we are discussing here is not an item of the faith. It is a major theme of the New Testament, but how or what you believe about this topic is not central to your being saved. We are not to get into doubtful disputations over this doctrine. Jesus Christ, the redeemer, that is a subject we contend for, but the rapture is something we can be general about.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
This is the key reason. I am questioning accepted doctrines that many Christians take as sacrosanct. For example:
1. No one can know who the Antichrist is until after the rapture. This doctrine is based on a verse in Thessalonians which says the Antichrist is revealed after the restrainer is removed or steps aside. The interpretation is that after the rapture the Antichrist is revealed. I agree with that. But my question is this, that verse is talking about those who are left behind after the rapture, what about those who are raptured? They were one with the Holy Spirit restraining evil and that includes restraining the Antichrist, the verse does not say that the Antichrist is revealed to them once they get to heaven, it isn't talking about them. It is reasonable to conclude that if they were restraining the Antichrist then he was also revealed to them.
2. No one knows the day or the hour. The problem with this is Revelation 3:3 where Jesus tells Sardis to dig into the Bible and study it the way they did at first (presumably when they uncovered the truth about salvation by faith) or else they will not know the hour that He comes. Also in the Old Testament we are told that God does not do anything without telling His prophets. Since no Bible verse is of its own interpretation the only way these three work together is if we understand Jesus was speaking present tense. He didn't say "no one will know" only that "no one knows" right now. For example, Noah did not know the day or the hour of the flood coming as he spent 120 years building the ark. However, when Methuselah died he and his family entered the ark, God shut them in, and that was one week before the flood. Likewise, Lot did not know the day and hour that the fire would fall on Sodom and Gomorrah, however, the evening before the fire fell angels arrived to warn him and to get him out of Sodom before the fire fell. Jesus said that it would be as the days of Noah and as the days of Lot and in both cases they were given a heads up a few days or a few hours before hand. In the Old Testament Elijah being caught up in the whirlwind knew the day, as did Elisha and the prophets. That was a type of the rapture. So then when you return to the Lord saying "no one knows the day or the hour", His conclusion is that therefore we must watch. Lot was watching out for the angels, he knew it would be unsafe for them to sleep in the street, Noah was watching out for the prophecy concerning Methuselah to be fulfilled, and Elisha was watching Elijah.
Each one had something to keep their eyes on and as long as they did that they would know ahead of time the day and hour of the rapture.
Romans 14:3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
Paul is clearly not talking about the Bible, the word of God. Every one of us lives by the word of God. In order to partake of this covenant you must eat the bread and drink the wine. However, there are other things that we consume. For example, some people watch the news and will watch many different sources while others will only watch the mainstream legacy news. Ever since the pandemic this has been a major source of division. The conspiracy theorists are prone to "despise" those who are not willing to consider the facts while those that stick to what CNN and MSNBC say are prone to "judge" the conspiracy theorists as "nut jobs". Regardless of what you think about the vaccine mandate, that is not an item of the faith, it should not prevent us from receiving one another.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
This is what we have seen. Those that questioned the vaccine were judged, mocked, ridiculed, fired from jobs and lost healthcare as hospitals would not allow them to be treated until they had the vaccine. But this has also been true of those who have been talking about the rapture. Many Christians interpret "no one knows the day or hour" as "don't talk about this subject". That is a clearly unbiblical interpretation. The Lord talked about this subject, the Lord charged us repeatedly to watch, and we are told clearly by the Lord and by Paul that all scripture is good for food, all scripture is good for us to study and exhort one another. I am open to a variety of interpretations as the word of God is a two edged sword. However the interpretation that "no one knows the day or the hour" is the Lord's way of telling us to "shut up and don't talk about the rapture" is clearly indefensible. It is absolutely impossible that that is a valid interpretation. The closest you can come is "Be very careful about discussing "when" the rapture is because the Lord has warned you, no one knows that. The only exception could be a direct revelation from Jesus Christ, and if you falsely claim to have that, then you are false teacher".
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
This is a very big theme in the watchmen community. Dr. Barry Awe is probably the biggest proponent of "esteeming one day above another". There is a prophecy that the some understand to mean that the rapture is on "an appointed day". The Bible is filled with "appointed days" and so Dr Barry Awe (and others) have focused on these appointed days, mostly feast days, as a possible day on which the rapture will take place. The problem is they all have pictures of the rapture. Passover has the day of resurrection, the first Feast of Firstfruits is Jesus rising from the grave with others, then you have a "second Passover", and then you have the second Feast of Firstfruits which is the feast for the first fruits of wheat harvest, which was also the true day of the Lord's ascension, and then you have Pentecost, the Feast of New wine, and then you have the 9th of Av, the 15th of Av, the Feast of Trumpets and the day of Atonement. In every case you can find a correlation with items of the rapture.
However, my thought on this is that although Colossians says that the Feast days are a shadow of things to come, that they are a dress rehearsal, they are not a shadow of the rapture. I say this because Jesus told us "no one knows the day or the hour" and that would not have been true of the Feast days, there were many who knew the day and hour of each of them.
Still, if the Feast of Trumpets is a shadow of things to come I thought it very important to study this as it would point to something significant even if it is not the rapture. If you consider the Feast of Trumpets to be an event ten years before the day of judgement (it is on the 1st of Tishrei and the Day of judgment is on the 10th) then that is quite important. Not only so but the wedding (Feast of Tabernacles) is on the 15th. Interestingly the Pandemic was all about the Feast of Trumpets. It is likely that the virus first escaped the lab on the Feast of Trumpets in 2019, on the Feast of Trumpets in 2020 the Pandemic was truly a global event with the WHO making this declaration, and in 2021 illegal vaccine mandates should have eliminated any doubt as to this. The Feast of Trumpets is called "the longest day" and can span two whole days. From Feast of Trumpets in 2019 to 2021 was a full two years. This would make 2029 the day of judgment and interestingly that is the year a meteor called "wormwood" is projected to possible hit the US and be "a planet killer". This would also mean that 2034 is the wedding. This is a "math problem" and we were always taught to check our math by doing the problem different ways. There are at least four different ways to calculate the end of the church age using the Bible. If we include the calendar of the Essenes there are five ways. Each of these ways can then be double checked to correspond to current events and all five should give you the same year for the start of the seven year tribulation.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Therefore both approaches are valuable and necessary. Then to make things more complicated it is not as simple as "the day of the rapture". There are a lot of other moving parts as well. There is the flipping of the money changers tables, there is the judgement on the Great Babylon, and there is the three days of darkness. Also it is unlikely that Antichrist is revealed the same day. Instead it appears there is a period of silence, of shocked and stunned silence where people are literally in shock. It is also quite possible that the rapture event itself knocks out global communications. But regardless it seems there will be this period of time, perhaps two weeks, with global communications is down. When it comes back up it will be fully in the control of the Antichrist. So even though we may not know the day and hour of the rapture, do we know the day and hour that Antichrist is revealed? Antichrist is given 84 months to rule and reign, it is "seven years" which is 84 x 30 days or 2,520 days. It is a legally binding time period. But if he reigns for seven years wouldn't that reign start on the first day of the year? That is simply a common sense question. There are about 40 calendars in use today, so that doesn't really tell you that much. Plus the Jews have four different "first days of the year" and they themselves have the "Hebrew Calendar" as well as the "Essene calendar". Still the "Antichrist" is a false Christ who comes "in place of" Jesus Christ. As such I would think we could eliminate all the other calendars except the Jewish one as the day he is revealed will be especially significant to Jews. This is simply another possible way to confirm a date, but not a way to calculate it.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
And this is also important. When you get into this topic you discover that the signs in the heavens are very important. There are many prophecies that refer to the signs in the heavens. We have seen the Revelation 12 sign in 2017, and we saw the Writing on the Wall sign in the heavens from 2017 to 2024 (solar eclipses in august of 2017, October of 2023 and April of 2024 wrote out Aleph Tav on the US, that is Alpha and Omega in Greek). The Bible is crystal clear that God has given us signs in the heavens to tell us the times and seasons. I don't study these, some do, so we need their research to help us put together this puzzle. I say this because another sign is that there is a solar eclipse prior to a lunar eclipse signaling the start of the seven year tribulation.
Paul is clearly not talking about the Bible, the word of God. Every one of us lives by the word of God. In order to partake of this covenant you must eat the bread and drink the wine. However, there are other things that we consume. For example, some people watch the news and will watch many different sources while others will only watch the mainstream legacy news. Ever since the pandemic this has been a major source of division. The conspiracy theorists are prone to "despise" those who are not willing to consider the facts while those that stick to what CNN and MSNBC say are prone to "judge" the conspiracy theorists as "nut jobs". Regardless of what you think about the vaccine mandate, that is not an item of the faith, it should not prevent us from receiving one another.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
This is what we have seen. Those that questioned the vaccine were judged, mocked, ridiculed, fired from jobs and lost healthcare as hospitals would not allow them to be treated until they had the vaccine. But this has also been true of those who have been talking about the rapture. Many Christians interpret "no one knows the day or hour" as "don't talk about this subject". That is a clearly unbiblical interpretation. The Lord talked about this subject, the Lord charged us repeatedly to watch, and we are told clearly by the Lord and by Paul that all scripture is good for food, all scripture is good for us to study and exhort one another. I am open to a variety of interpretations as the word of God is a two edged sword. However the interpretation that "no one knows the day or the hour" is the Lord's way of telling us to "shut up and don't talk about the rapture" is clearly indefensible. It is absolutely impossible that that is a valid interpretation. The closest you can come is "Be very careful about discussing "when" the rapture is because the Lord has warned you, no one knows that. The only exception could be a direct revelation from Jesus Christ, and if you falsely claim to have that, then you are false teacher".
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
This is a very big theme in the watchmen community. Dr. Barry Awe is probably the biggest proponent of "esteeming one day above another". There is a prophecy that the some understand to mean that the rapture is on "an appointed day". The Bible is filled with "appointed days" and so Dr Barry Awe (and others) have focused on these appointed days, mostly feast days, as a possible day on which the rapture will take place. The problem is they all have pictures of the rapture. Passover has the day of resurrection, the first Feast of Firstfruits is Jesus rising from the grave with others, then you have a "second Passover", and then you have the second Feast of Firstfruits which is the feast for the first fruits of wheat harvest, which was also the true day of the Lord's ascension, and then you have Pentecost, the Feast of New wine, and then you have the 9th of Av, the 15th of Av, the Feast of Trumpets and the day of Atonement. In every case you can find a correlation with items of the rapture.
However, my thought on this is that although Colossians says that the Feast days are a shadow of things to come, that they are a dress rehearsal, they are not a shadow of the rapture. I say this because Jesus told us "no one knows the day or the hour" and that would not have been true of the Feast days, there were many who knew the day and hour of each of them.
Still, if the Feast of Trumpets is a shadow of things to come I thought it very important to study this as it would point to something significant even if it is not the rapture. If you consider the Feast of Trumpets to be an event ten years before the day of judgement (it is on the 1st of Tishrei and the Day of judgment is on the 10th) then that is quite important. Not only so but the wedding (Feast of Tabernacles) is on the 15th. Interestingly the Pandemic was all about the Feast of Trumpets. It is likely that the virus first escaped the lab on the Feast of Trumpets in 2019, on the Feast of Trumpets in 2020 the Pandemic was truly a global event with the WHO making this declaration, and in 2021 illegal vaccine mandates should have eliminated any doubt as to this. The Feast of Trumpets is called "the longest day" and can span two whole days. From Feast of Trumpets in 2019 to 2021 was a full two years. This would make 2029 the day of judgment and interestingly that is the year a meteor called "wormwood" is projected to possible hit the US and be "a planet killer". This would also mean that 2034 is the wedding. This is a "math problem" and we were always taught to check our math by doing the problem different ways. There are at least four different ways to calculate the end of the church age using the Bible. If we include the calendar of the Essenes there are five ways. Each of these ways can then be double checked to correspond to current events and all five should give you the same year for the start of the seven year tribulation.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Therefore both approaches are valuable and necessary. Then to make things more complicated it is not as simple as "the day of the rapture". There are a lot of other moving parts as well. There is the flipping of the money changers tables, there is the judgement on the Great Babylon, and there is the three days of darkness. Also it is unlikely that Antichrist is revealed the same day. Instead it appears there is a period of silence, of shocked and stunned silence where people are literally in shock. It is also quite possible that the rapture event itself knocks out global communications. But regardless it seems there will be this period of time, perhaps two weeks, with global communications is down. When it comes back up it will be fully in the control of the Antichrist. So even though we may not know the day and hour of the rapture, do we know the day and hour that Antichrist is revealed? Antichrist is given 84 months to rule and reign, it is "seven years" which is 84 x 30 days or 2,520 days. It is a legally binding time period. But if he reigns for seven years wouldn't that reign start on the first day of the year? That is simply a common sense question. There are about 40 calendars in use today, so that doesn't really tell you that much. Plus the Jews have four different "first days of the year" and they themselves have the "Hebrew Calendar" as well as the "Essene calendar". Still the "Antichrist" is a false Christ who comes "in place of" Jesus Christ. As such I would think we could eliminate all the other calendars except the Jewish one as the day he is revealed will be especially significant to Jews. This is simply another possible way to confirm a date, but not a way to calculate it.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
And this is also important. When you get into this topic you discover that the signs in the heavens are very important. There are many prophecies that refer to the signs in the heavens. We have seen the Revelation 12 sign in 2017, and we saw the Writing on the Wall sign in the heavens from 2017 to 2024 (solar eclipses in august of 2017, October of 2023 and April of 2024 wrote out Aleph Tav on the US, that is Alpha and Omega in Greek). The Bible is crystal clear that God has given us signs in the heavens to tell us the times and seasons. I don't study these, some do, so we need their research to help us put together this puzzle. I say this because another sign is that there is a solar eclipse prior to a lunar eclipse signaling the start of the seven year tribulation.
Do your job
Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
Everyone of us belongs to the Lord. None of us are a jack of all trades, we need each other. When the Lord leads we will often go down a path that seems like death. Some brothers and sisters were interested in the signs in the heavens. They were attacked because what they were doing was confused with astrology. The occult studies the movement of celestial bodies saying they have an influence on human affairs. That is not what God said in the Bible. God said the signs in the heavens are given by Him, just like a road sign on a highway. They tell you where you are on the prophetic timeline. On the other hand others are led into very influential ministries. We need both, we need those who can act like a megaphone to get the message out to millions and we need those to dig into certain topics that many of us would fear to touch.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
This is another amazing thing about the church. We have members who used to be Satanists, who used to be witches, involved in the occult and all the things of darkness. We need these ones that are truly converted and following the Lord. How else could we "not be ignorant of Satan's devices"? How else could we be trained to rule over the whole Earth. If we are going to fight a spiritual warfare it is important to have a scouting report of our opponent. When Jesus died and was in the tomb He took a tour of hades and visited all those who were held in prison awaiting the day of judgment. The Lord knows the things of heaven, having descended from heaven and He knows the things of hell having descended to the various holding cells under the earth.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
This is not directed at the one who is being shunned or mocked or ostracized. Rather this is directed at the one who is shunning and ostracizing. If you are suffering persecution for being faithful in following the Lord Jesus then you should rejoice, it means that you are now on the same battlefield as the prophets that went before you. However, this is focused on those who cut off certain brothers and sisters. You are cutting off the Lord's word and His communication with you. When I was very young in the Lord I had some direct speakings from the Lord. It made me much more earnest to know the word of God. When you share a direct word the Lord has spoken to you it is easy to be mocked, attacked, and ridiculed. However, if you are standing on the more sure word of God, then it is much harder. It is like the difference between being in the infantry and being in a tank. In the infantry you are out there in the open, exposed, easily killed by any sniper. But in the tank the bullets just bounce off. The word of God is a tank, I try to make sure everything I say on this blog is safely inside this tank known as the word of God. However, the word says that God will speak to us in dreams and visions. So in this blog I have posted many of these. I appreciate that those who share their dreams and visions are out in the open for the enemy to take pot shots at. The worst part of it is that most who are taking pot shots claim to be Christians. I appreciate that they have the courage to do what they are doing knowing that they will come under intense attack. I think it is foolish to set them at nought. Now despite me posting many links to many of these with Dana Coverstone and Vicki Goforth Parnell being the most prominent, there are also many I have not posted. You have to use discernment. Anyone who is claiming to be giving you a direct word from Jesus Christ will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Jesus will deal directly with anyone making a false claim to be hearing from Him. However, if you claim a brother or sister who is speaking from the Lord is a false teacher, well then, you will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged for saying that as a false teacher. With what judgement you judge you shall be judged.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
This is something I have learned. The Lord examines the hearts. Why does he play around with these prophecies? Why does He make it so easy to assume some prophecy was false when in fact it was genuine? The answer is right here, every knee must bow to the Lord. We don't discern prophecies with our natural mind, we go to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit. If they have a problem then we should have a problem, if they don't have a problem then we shouldn't have a problem. Just because you don't understand should not mean you have a problem. Be patient, a prophecy given three years ago may all of a sudden make sense and click today.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
The Christian life is incredibly difficult or incredibly easy depending on how you live it. If I am trying to do it on my own it is incredibly difficult, I will be judged for the things I have said and done and I'll also be judged for the things I didn't say and didn't do. On the other hand if you focus on hearing the Lord's voice and recognizing when the Holy Spirit is taking away your life and peace as a warning, then it is easy. I do what the Lord tells me, I heed the warnings, and I am full of life and peace knowing that my head is covered. My account will be "Jesus told me to do that" or "Jesus didn't tell me to do that".
When I was younger I played on a Pee Wee football team that was undefeated for two years. We won our championship games and our bowl games. Most kids that age want to make the play. I want to make the tackle or score the touchdown. But on that team we were trained extensively to where the only thing I wanted was to be in the right place doing the right thing. I knew after every game we would go over the film and if you were blocking the wrong man or in the wrong place you would be fully exposed in front of the whole team. It didn't matter if you were making the tackle. I saw several times where some kid made this play, the coach would at first talk about the great play and then say "hold on" rewind, start from the beginning and show that the kid was not doing what he had been assigned to do, and then he would get reprimanded. These reprimands were no joke. The week before our championship game the second year the coach pulled the kid who had been middle linebacker for the last four years (Jr. Pee Wee and Pee Wee) and put me in his place. He was moved to defensive end (in my opinion the worst position, while middle linebacker was the best position). I was moved into his position and played in the championship game as well as our bowl game in Dallas. I see the day we stand before the judgement seat of Christ as the same. We'll watch the game films of our life and when that happens I want to be found faithful, in my position, doing what the Lord told me to do.
Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
Everyone of us belongs to the Lord. None of us are a jack of all trades, we need each other. When the Lord leads we will often go down a path that seems like death. Some brothers and sisters were interested in the signs in the heavens. They were attacked because what they were doing was confused with astrology. The occult studies the movement of celestial bodies saying they have an influence on human affairs. That is not what God said in the Bible. God said the signs in the heavens are given by Him, just like a road sign on a highway. They tell you where you are on the prophetic timeline. On the other hand others are led into very influential ministries. We need both, we need those who can act like a megaphone to get the message out to millions and we need those to dig into certain topics that many of us would fear to touch.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
This is another amazing thing about the church. We have members who used to be Satanists, who used to be witches, involved in the occult and all the things of darkness. We need these ones that are truly converted and following the Lord. How else could we "not be ignorant of Satan's devices"? How else could we be trained to rule over the whole Earth. If we are going to fight a spiritual warfare it is important to have a scouting report of our opponent. When Jesus died and was in the tomb He took a tour of hades and visited all those who were held in prison awaiting the day of judgment. The Lord knows the things of heaven, having descended from heaven and He knows the things of hell having descended to the various holding cells under the earth.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
This is not directed at the one who is being shunned or mocked or ostracized. Rather this is directed at the one who is shunning and ostracizing. If you are suffering persecution for being faithful in following the Lord Jesus then you should rejoice, it means that you are now on the same battlefield as the prophets that went before you. However, this is focused on those who cut off certain brothers and sisters. You are cutting off the Lord's word and His communication with you. When I was very young in the Lord I had some direct speakings from the Lord. It made me much more earnest to know the word of God. When you share a direct word the Lord has spoken to you it is easy to be mocked, attacked, and ridiculed. However, if you are standing on the more sure word of God, then it is much harder. It is like the difference between being in the infantry and being in a tank. In the infantry you are out there in the open, exposed, easily killed by any sniper. But in the tank the bullets just bounce off. The word of God is a tank, I try to make sure everything I say on this blog is safely inside this tank known as the word of God. However, the word says that God will speak to us in dreams and visions. So in this blog I have posted many of these. I appreciate that those who share their dreams and visions are out in the open for the enemy to take pot shots at. The worst part of it is that most who are taking pot shots claim to be Christians. I appreciate that they have the courage to do what they are doing knowing that they will come under intense attack. I think it is foolish to set them at nought. Now despite me posting many links to many of these with Dana Coverstone and Vicki Goforth Parnell being the most prominent, there are also many I have not posted. You have to use discernment. Anyone who is claiming to be giving you a direct word from Jesus Christ will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Jesus will deal directly with anyone making a false claim to be hearing from Him. However, if you claim a brother or sister who is speaking from the Lord is a false teacher, well then, you will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged for saying that as a false teacher. With what judgement you judge you shall be judged.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
This is something I have learned. The Lord examines the hearts. Why does he play around with these prophecies? Why does He make it so easy to assume some prophecy was false when in fact it was genuine? The answer is right here, every knee must bow to the Lord. We don't discern prophecies with our natural mind, we go to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit. If they have a problem then we should have a problem, if they don't have a problem then we shouldn't have a problem. Just because you don't understand should not mean you have a problem. Be patient, a prophecy given three years ago may all of a sudden make sense and click today.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
The Christian life is incredibly difficult or incredibly easy depending on how you live it. If I am trying to do it on my own it is incredibly difficult, I will be judged for the things I have said and done and I'll also be judged for the things I didn't say and didn't do. On the other hand if you focus on hearing the Lord's voice and recognizing when the Holy Spirit is taking away your life and peace as a warning, then it is easy. I do what the Lord tells me, I heed the warnings, and I am full of life and peace knowing that my head is covered. My account will be "Jesus told me to do that" or "Jesus didn't tell me to do that".
When I was younger I played on a Pee Wee football team that was undefeated for two years. We won our championship games and our bowl games. Most kids that age want to make the play. I want to make the tackle or score the touchdown. But on that team we were trained extensively to where the only thing I wanted was to be in the right place doing the right thing. I knew after every game we would go over the film and if you were blocking the wrong man or in the wrong place you would be fully exposed in front of the whole team. It didn't matter if you were making the tackle. I saw several times where some kid made this play, the coach would at first talk about the great play and then say "hold on" rewind, start from the beginning and show that the kid was not doing what he had been assigned to do, and then he would get reprimanded. These reprimands were no joke. The week before our championship game the second year the coach pulled the kid who had been middle linebacker for the last four years (Jr. Pee Wee and Pee Wee) and put me in his place. He was moved to defensive end (in my opinion the worst position, while middle linebacker was the best position). I was moved into his position and played in the championship game as well as our bowl game in Dallas. I see the day we stand before the judgement seat of Christ as the same. We'll watch the game films of our life and when that happens I want to be found faithful, in my position, doing what the Lord told me to do.
Romans 14:13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
On the other hand this advice is so easy and simple. You are to do your job, that is clear and that may require training your ear to be sensitive to the Spirit and to the Lord's speaking. I get it, there will be a lot of correction and we have a natural man to contend withwho will always want to add his two cents. But on the other hand the advice about what not to do is so simple and easy to follow. Don't do anything that might harm your brother or sister doing their job.
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
I have no problem questioning verses in the Bible based on the principle that no verse is of its own interpretation. But if you can't do that, fine. You need to follow the Lord according to your conscience. I have no problem listening to dreams and visions, but if you can't that is also fine. I have no problem questioning the Biblical basis for doctrines in Christianity, like when the day of ascension was or when Pentecost was. If you can't that is fine. I have no problem with people sharing signs given in the heavens, but if you can't that is fine.
15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
I realize there are things covered in this blog that grieve some Christians. That is why I made the title the way it is, I see it as the opposite of click bait. I am trying to discourage anyone from coming to this blog unless this is what they want to study. This is also why I don't advertise. If someone asks me what I do I tell them, but I do not try to get people from church to read the blog. This is for those who want to read it. I started this for me, because I wanted to know and because this topic is not covered in church. I made it public because I figured there might be a few other people who were also interested. But the only way you find this is if you look for it.
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
It doesn't matter if 10 people or 800,000 read this. What matters is if I am in right standing with the Lord and if I am filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. A while back I was not filled with peace and joy. The Lord was displeased because I was not addressing the "Once Saved Always Saved" doctrine. I was avoiding this topic and the Lord was displeased. Since then I hit it every chance I get and the peace and joy returned. This is why I say the primary function of this blog is to investigate who gets raptured and why, and who gets left behind and why.
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Just because someone criticizes us does not mean it is persecution or "an attack". Suppose someone said "I don't think you should be advertising this blog". You could take that as an attack, but in reality it could have been from the Lord. On the other hand it is very hard to have an issue with this blog since the title is crystal clear and definitely not click bait and there is no advertising so the only way people find this is if they are looking for it.
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
That is what I am trying to do. I quickly realized that I could spend five hours a day on this topic while people who had jobs and a family would only have 20 minutes. I thought if I could provide links and posts that I thought were most relevant it would save people time. The goal was to edify, to assist others. This is why the tagline is "freely you have received, freely give" meaning anyone can cut and paste anything they want without any concern about copyright.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
The work of God is the church. There are subjects we teach in college which we do not teach in elementary school. I wanted a ministry that would aid those in college while not harming those in elementary school.
21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
This is how I feel often. Every week there are major discoveries. Even this week we had a massive discovery and confirmation. I have posted it here in the blog, but the Lord advised us to keep it discreet. On many of these topics I have faith, but I also realize I need to have it to myself before God.
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
This is also a big deal for those involved in this study of the rapture and the prophecies. You can't doubt. You can't be tossed about by every wave. There are people who see the study of the rapture as a "cheat code". They think if they know the day then they will have some advantage. If you understand who is raptured and who is left behind you would see the fallacy of that. I think the book of Romans has done a wonderful job of showing that. When I finish chapter 16 of this study I'll put the whole thing on a Pdf that anyone can download. That should be this Friday.
On the other hand this advice is so easy and simple. You are to do your job, that is clear and that may require training your ear to be sensitive to the Spirit and to the Lord's speaking. I get it, there will be a lot of correction and we have a natural man to contend with
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
I have no problem questioning verses in the Bible based on the principle that no verse is of its own interpretation. But if you can't do that, fine. You need to follow the Lord according to your conscience. I have no problem listening to dreams and visions, but if you can't that is also fine. I have no problem questioning the Biblical basis for doctrines in Christianity, like when the day of ascension was or when Pentecost was. If you can't that is fine. I have no problem with people sharing signs given in the heavens, but if you can't that is fine.
15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
I realize there are things covered in this blog that grieve some Christians. That is why I made the title the way it is, I see it as the opposite of click bait. I am trying to discourage anyone from coming to this blog unless this is what they want to study. This is also why I don't advertise. If someone asks me what I do I tell them, but I do not try to get people from church to read the blog. This is for those who want to read it. I started this for me, because I wanted to know and because this topic is not covered in church. I made it public because I figured there might be a few other people who were also interested. But the only way you find this is if you look for it.
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
It doesn't matter if 10 people or 800,000 read this. What matters is if I am in right standing with the Lord and if I am filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. A while back I was not filled with peace and joy. The Lord was displeased because I was not addressing the "Once Saved Always Saved" doctrine. I was avoiding this topic and the Lord was displeased. Since then I hit it every chance I get and the peace and joy returned. This is why I say the primary function of this blog is to investigate who gets raptured and why, and who gets left behind and why.
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Just because someone criticizes us does not mean it is persecution or "an attack". Suppose someone said "I don't think you should be advertising this blog". You could take that as an attack, but in reality it could have been from the Lord. On the other hand it is very hard to have an issue with this blog since the title is crystal clear and definitely not click bait and there is no advertising so the only way people find this is if they are looking for it.
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
That is what I am trying to do. I quickly realized that I could spend five hours a day on this topic while people who had jobs and a family would only have 20 minutes. I thought if I could provide links and posts that I thought were most relevant it would save people time. The goal was to edify, to assist others. This is why the tagline is "freely you have received, freely give" meaning anyone can cut and paste anything they want without any concern about copyright.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
The work of God is the church. There are subjects we teach in college which we do not teach in elementary school. I wanted a ministry that would aid those in college while not harming those in elementary school.
21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
This is how I feel often. Every week there are major discoveries. Even this week we had a massive discovery and confirmation. I have posted it here in the blog, but the Lord advised us to keep it discreet. On many of these topics I have faith, but I also realize I need to have it to myself before God.
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
This is also a big deal for those involved in this study of the rapture and the prophecies. You can't doubt. You can't be tossed about by every wave. There are people who see the study of the rapture as a "cheat code". They think if they know the day then they will have some advantage. If you understand who is raptured and who is left behind you would see the fallacy of that. I think the book of Romans has done a wonderful job of showing that. When I finish chapter 16 of this study I'll put the whole thing on a Pdf that anyone can download. That should be this Friday.
Ezekiel 38:4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
The success of BRICS as a reserve currency depends on being able to buy oil using the currency. If Trump can shut that off from both Venezuela and Iran BRICS will collapse and the US will continue to be the reserve currency. No doubt Russia's agreement to be part of BRICS includes it being able to protect the oil flowing out of the Middle East to BRICS nations. That security agreement is a hook in the jaw of Russia. What we are seeing right now with this gathering war on Iran is the hook in the jaw of Russia bringing them down to fight in the middle east. Interesting that right now for them to do this would require them being turned back from Ukraine.
The success of BRICS as a reserve currency depends on being able to buy oil using the currency. If Trump can shut that off from both Venezuela and Iran BRICS will collapse and the US will continue to be the reserve currency. No doubt Russia's agreement to be part of BRICS includes it being able to protect the oil flowing out of the Middle East to BRICS nations. That security agreement is a hook in the jaw of Russia. What we are seeing right now with this gathering war on Iran is the hook in the jaw of Russia bringing them down to fight in the middle east. Interesting that right now for them to do this would require them being turned back from Ukraine.
He makes a very interesting point about how few people will be raptured.
65% of Americans identify as Christian. If 65% of Americans were to all go in the rapture then how could the Antichrist have a "great delusion" that aliens removed the "bad" people? Everyone would know people at work, in their family and in their community that were taken.
He says it is closer to 0.2% of the population. A town of 10,000 would have 20 people taken. Out of 500 people one will be taken. I taught at a high school with 400 students and about 40 faculty. The number of people taken will be so small that you can believe that it was "only the bad people". Even if I know one person who is taken, it is unlikely I know 2. I might think that person was a very good person, but then how do you really know? Maybe there was some secret you didn't know about.
Suppose every single Christian in the town was taken, all the churches are now empty, that would be obvious. But, if less than 1% of Christians are taken you would have no way to know they were Christians. A city of 100,000 might have a congregation of 200 taken, but then there would be many, many Christians in churches left behind. In that city of 100,000 65,000 identify as Christian and yet only 200 are taken?
I think the key point for what he is saying is that this remnant will be far smaller than most people anticipate. Previously I had estimated 2% of Americans. My estimate is ten times what his estimate is, but still it is a very small number.
Conversation with Claude.AI about Purim
Because of the significance of global events in light of the prophecies spoken concerning this Purim on March 2/3rd I had a conversation with Claude.AI that can be viewed as a summary of where we are prophetically right now.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eFBimTsHhuhNbToPHw1t3gqlYHV6ls1r/view?usp=sharing.
The conversation is right here, you can download it, I think it is 16 pages long.
Because of the significance of global events in light of the prophecies spoken concerning this Purim on March 2/3rd I had a conversation with Claude.AI that can be viewed as a summary of where we are prophetically right now.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eFBimTsHhuhNbToPHw1t3gqlYHV6ls1r/view?usp=sharing.
The conversation is right here, you can download it, I think it is 16 pages long.
This is who the church is supposed to be
Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
This is what a family is. Every single one of us starts out as a baby which is very weak and must be cared for and then we often will end up in old age also being very weak and needing to be cared for.
2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
This is what a community is. We should be watching out for one another. Gated communities with their own police security and a gate you must go through, this is evidence of a community that is divided and doesn't care for one another.
The church is both the family of God and the city of God.
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
In both cases, a family or a community, you cannot be self centered. The question cannot be "does this benefit me" but rather "does this benefit us". This is how the church has survived and grown for 2,000 years. It is a relay race, either we as a group arrive or else no one arrives.
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Consider Paul, think of how much hope he must have had that this word of his would be received, and be preserved, and be passed down. In the end these words are eternal life. Jesus promised to give us eternal life if we believe in Him and the proof of that promise is this word from Paul. Not only is it full of life, but it gives us hope for eternity.
5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
The last chapter ended with "whatever is not of faith is sin". This chapter begins with whatever is of faith is eternal life and full of hope. Patience is real power. It is the power that comes from faith. Patience is manifested in those who do not quit. Larry Bird was famous for playing to the last second of the game, he had the patience that comes from faith. Same thing with Tom Brady. George Foreman is another example. In every example these guys continued to hope when everyone else had thrown in the towel. This is how Michael Jordan became the leader of his team in his rookie year. They were playing a very good team, they were down by a lot of points after three quarters and everyone else was ready to accept defeat. He is in the huddle and in very strong and colorful language says "this game is not over". So they gave him the ball, he has a big fourth quarter and they win the game. The Patriots were down 28-3 midway in the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl and they came back to win the game against the Falcons. What was remarkable was that no one on the team thought the game was over, that is how much confidence they had because they knew that Brady wasn't going to quit on them. George Foreman was in his forties and came out of retirement to continue his heavyweight boxing career. Everyone thought this was some kind of joke until he won the crown and became heavyweight champion again, for the second time.
6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As long as we have Jesus we have hope. He is not going to quit and He has the resurrection power. The church is likened to a golden lampstand in Revelation. The golden lampstand is fashioned after the branches of an almond tree. In the Old Testament when God selected the high priest the leaders of each tribe gave Moses a rod from each tribe. He put them into the Holy of Holies for the night. The next day Aaron's rod had budded and brought forth almonds. That was God saying this is who He wants for high priest. This is what the church is supposed to be. Gold signifies the word of God in the Bible. We are composed of the word of God, we shine light in the dark because we are full of oil, signifying the Holy Spirit. And in appearance we are an almond tree, a tree that is filled with the resurrection power. In Hebrew the word for the almond tree is the same word for "watcher". This is because the almond tree is the first tree to bud after the winter, it is the first one to "resurrect" from the dead of winter. This is who the church is.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
So then when your brothers and sisters first wake up and they wake you up, receive it. I was sleeping right up until the pandemic, that was when I woke up. But I discovered other brothers and sisters had woken up in 2017 when the Revelation 12 sign had been seen in the heavens. There have been a whole lot of "Christians" who have refused to receive them, they have refused the call to wake up. But this is who the church is supposed to be, the watchers shining a light in the dark.
Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
This is what a family is. Every single one of us starts out as a baby which is very weak and must be cared for and then we often will end up in old age also being very weak and needing to be cared for.
2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
This is what a community is. We should be watching out for one another. Gated communities with their own police security and a gate you must go through, this is evidence of a community that is divided and doesn't care for one another.
The church is both the family of God and the city of God.
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
In both cases, a family or a community, you cannot be self centered. The question cannot be "does this benefit me" but rather "does this benefit us". This is how the church has survived and grown for 2,000 years. It is a relay race, either we as a group arrive or else no one arrives.
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Consider Paul, think of how much hope he must have had that this word of his would be received, and be preserved, and be passed down. In the end these words are eternal life. Jesus promised to give us eternal life if we believe in Him and the proof of that promise is this word from Paul. Not only is it full of life, but it gives us hope for eternity.
5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
The last chapter ended with "whatever is not of faith is sin". This chapter begins with whatever is of faith is eternal life and full of hope. Patience is real power. It is the power that comes from faith. Patience is manifested in those who do not quit. Larry Bird was famous for playing to the last second of the game, he had the patience that comes from faith. Same thing with Tom Brady. George Foreman is another example. In every example these guys continued to hope when everyone else had thrown in the towel. This is how Michael Jordan became the leader of his team in his rookie year. They were playing a very good team, they were down by a lot of points after three quarters and everyone else was ready to accept defeat. He is in the huddle and in very strong and colorful language says "this game is not over". So they gave him the ball, he has a big fourth quarter and they win the game. The Patriots were down 28-3 midway in the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl and they came back to win the game against the Falcons. What was remarkable was that no one on the team thought the game was over, that is how much confidence they had because they knew that Brady wasn't going to quit on them. George Foreman was in his forties and came out of retirement to continue his heavyweight boxing career. Everyone thought this was some kind of joke until he won the crown and became heavyweight champion again, for the second time.
6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As long as we have Jesus we have hope. He is not going to quit and He has the resurrection power. The church is likened to a golden lampstand in Revelation. The golden lampstand is fashioned after the branches of an almond tree. In the Old Testament when God selected the high priest the leaders of each tribe gave Moses a rod from each tribe. He put them into the Holy of Holies for the night. The next day Aaron's rod had budded and brought forth almonds. That was God saying this is who He wants for high priest. This is what the church is supposed to be. Gold signifies the word of God in the Bible. We are composed of the word of God, we shine light in the dark because we are full of oil, signifying the Holy Spirit. And in appearance we are an almond tree, a tree that is filled with the resurrection power. In Hebrew the word for the almond tree is the same word for "watcher". This is because the almond tree is the first tree to bud after the winter, it is the first one to "resurrect" from the dead of winter. This is who the church is.
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
So then when your brothers and sisters first wake up and they wake you up, receive it. I was sleeping right up until the pandemic, that was when I woke up. But I discovered other brothers and sisters had woken up in 2017 when the Revelation 12 sign had been seen in the heavens. There have been a whole lot of "Christians" who have refused to receive them, they have refused the call to wake up. But this is who the church is supposed to be, the watchers shining a light in the dark.
And they will be one tree
Romans 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
The circumcision identifies the Jews as a culture. The practice began with their father Abraham, it separated them from all the nations, and the practice had great significance, just like a wedding ring does. It was evidence of a covenantal promise that they had with God. Therefore Jesus had to be a minister of the circumcision because God is a covenant God who keeps His promises. The fact that God was willing to give His son that we might be saved is evidence that He is faithful, what He has promised He will do. But God is also merciful. Dying on the cross to save the Gentiles was evidence of His mercy. The Old Testament reveals both, that God is both faithful and merciful.
10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
These two things, His faithfulness and His mercy are what join the Jews and the Gentiles together. We can both rejoice in this.
11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
Why would the Old Testament tell all the Gentiles to praise the Lord if it were not for the fact that the gospel would be to both Jews and Gentiles? Our definition of a "whore" is different from the Jewish definition. The Jewish definition of a "whore" is a person who does not keep covenant. The Jews understand that yes, they have a covenant with God, but they must keep it. So Paul is showing them that the covenant they had in the Old Testament includes the Gentiles receiving the gospel. They are not breaking the covenant by worshipping Jesus with the Gentile believers.
12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
On the other hand the Gentiles need to see that they are not worshipping a Jewish God. Jesse and David were Jews, but we are worshipping their root. You can graft a Gentile branch onto this root just as you can graft a Jewish branch and they will be one tree.
Romans 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.
The circumcision identifies the Jews as a culture. The practice began with their father Abraham, it separated them from all the nations, and the practice had great significance, just like a wedding ring does. It was evidence of a covenantal promise that they had with God. Therefore Jesus had to be a minister of the circumcision because God is a covenant God who keeps His promises. The fact that God was willing to give His son that we might be saved is evidence that He is faithful, what He has promised He will do. But God is also merciful. Dying on the cross to save the Gentiles was evidence of His mercy. The Old Testament reveals both, that God is both faithful and merciful.
10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
These two things, His faithfulness and His mercy are what join the Jews and the Gentiles together. We can both rejoice in this.
11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
Why would the Old Testament tell all the Gentiles to praise the Lord if it were not for the fact that the gospel would be to both Jews and Gentiles? Our definition of a "whore" is different from the Jewish definition. The Jewish definition of a "whore" is a person who does not keep covenant. The Jews understand that yes, they have a covenant with God, but they must keep it. So Paul is showing them that the covenant they had in the Old Testament includes the Gentiles receiving the gospel. They are not breaking the covenant by worshipping Jesus with the Gentile believers.
12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
On the other hand the Gentiles need to see that they are not worshipping a Jewish God. Jesse and David were Jews, but we are worshipping their root. You can graft a Gentile branch onto this root just as you can graft a Jewish branch and they will be one tree.
A witness of the mercy of God
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
There are two kinds of hope. You have the hope that is filled with joy, and you also have the joyless hope. A joyless hope is like that branch in the winter. There is no life, no leaves, no buds, no fruit. The hope that is filled with joy is like that tree in the spring time. As the tree wakes up and is filled with life it spreads hope that spring is coming to those around it.
14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
When you are filled with hope even though the score is 28-3 no one understands. But when one person makes a play and then another and another and now the score is 28-10 you can see you are full of goodness. Each person is stepping up to make a play and that is evidence that no one is quitting. Now everyone is filled with the knowledge that you are hoping against hope and you aren't quitting. They can then use that knowledge to admonish one another not to quit.
If you quit and in your mind you have already thrown in the towel but you see one guy on your team who hasn't quit you think he is a fool. But then he starts making these big plays and you are thinking it is too late, he won't be able to pull it off. But then he does pull it off. At that point the knowledge will admonish you, it will rebuke you for quitting, and that is how you build faith and trust in one another. That was the most incredible thing concerning the Patriots come from behind win when they were down 28-3. They had miked up players on both teams and no one thought the game was over because everyone knew that Brady wasn't going to quit.
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
Peter had the ministry to the circumcision and Paul to the uncircumcision. But that ministry included the fact that both Jews and Gentiles were to be one. The first four gospels in the New Testament were very Jewish centered. The background was Israel and Judaism. It permeated and was woven into the entire gospel message. But Romans is a fifth gospel that is very Gentile centric. Paul was chosen by God to be the minister to the Gentiles because of the great mercy shown in saving him. Paul pointed out that he was less than the least of all saints. He wasn't simply a murderer, but he was a murderer of the saints. The Gentiles need to see this level of mercy to know that they too could be forgiven and built up into the body of Christ.
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
There are two kinds of hope. You have the hope that is filled with joy, and you also have the joyless hope. A joyless hope is like that branch in the winter. There is no life, no leaves, no buds, no fruit. The hope that is filled with joy is like that tree in the spring time. As the tree wakes up and is filled with life it spreads hope that spring is coming to those around it.
14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
When you are filled with hope even though the score is 28-3 no one understands. But when one person makes a play and then another and another and now the score is 28-10 you can see you are full of goodness. Each person is stepping up to make a play and that is evidence that no one is quitting. Now everyone is filled with the knowledge that you are hoping against hope and you aren't quitting. They can then use that knowledge to admonish one another not to quit.
If you quit and in your mind you have already thrown in the towel but you see one guy on your team who hasn't quit you think he is a fool. But then he starts making these big plays and you are thinking it is too late, he won't be able to pull it off. But then he does pull it off. At that point the knowledge will admonish you, it will rebuke you for quitting, and that is how you build faith and trust in one another. That was the most incredible thing concerning the Patriots come from behind win when they were down 28-3. They had miked up players on both teams and no one thought the game was over because everyone knew that Brady wasn't going to quit.
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
Peter had the ministry to the circumcision and Paul to the uncircumcision. But that ministry included the fact that both Jews and Gentiles were to be one. The first four gospels in the New Testament were very Jewish centered. The background was Israel and Judaism. It permeated and was woven into the entire gospel message. But Romans is a fifth gospel that is very Gentile centric. Paul was chosen by God to be the minister to the Gentiles because of the great mercy shown in saving him. Paul pointed out that he was less than the least of all saints. He wasn't simply a murderer, but he was a murderer of the saints. The Gentiles need to see this level of mercy to know that they too could be forgiven and built up into the body of Christ.
A witness of the glory of God
Romans 15:17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
Mercy is not pity. Paul was not a poor, pitiful Christian. He was a Christian whose life and experience of Jesus Christ was glorious and full of glory. The gospel is not that God is having pity on us, poor, miserable sinners. Rather the gospel is that God was merciful on us poor, miserable sinners, making us sons of God who can be filled with the glory of God.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
There are people who try to take credit for what others have done. Paul does not "dare" to do this. This word is ministering faith to the hearers. But you have to be very careful what goes into the food you are feeding the children. Many will be obedient to this word and if this word includes taking credit for things you didn't do think of the harm that will do. Think of this attitude as a carcinogen that Paul would not dare to feed to the saints. Once you take credit for something you didn't do you become an actor, a hypocrite. You are building up your faith as a phony. We have seen many preachers and tele evangelists exposed as phonies. That always results in a shameful, ruinous collapse to a ministry. Think of a builder who must build up to code. Some will bribe the inspectors so they can save money, but in the end the whole thing is exposed. In China they refer to these buildings as "Tofu Dregs". The buildings look great but they are the dregs built out of tofu.
20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: 21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
A lot of people have done an exegesis on Romans. I have not used any of those as a foundation for this study. I came at this book looking to see what it says concerning the rapture. Likely a very unique angle. If you are a phony you will not be able to do that, rather you will simply repackage what others have done. Think about AI, that is precisely what AI does. Many have complained that it steals their work without any attribution. We are building the church, that foundation was laid by the revelation of the apostles, particularly the work of Paul. That is not what Paul is referring to here because he tells us in 1 Corinthians that we all must build on that foundation. Instead what he is talking about is what AI does and what plagiarism is. If you have a phony Christian, a worker of Satan disguised as an angel of light, and he wants to mimic a preacher or teacher he will not have light and inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Therefore he must pretend, and to do that he goes and repackages what some other teacher taught.
22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.
Paul wants to make sure everyone in his gospel territory has heard from him directly because there are charlatans who are imitating, plagiarizing, twisting and distorting the word of God. Peter warned us that they were doing this with Paul's ministry. We see this all the time today with "Fake News". The lies and distortions fall on a spectrum. Sometimes they are clearly distortions, sometimes it is more that they have left out important truths, and sometimes they condemn truths as heresies by confusing the language. Paul has a mission to spread the gospel and Satan has a mission to stop him. Our job is to discern who is who. Whose ministry is filled with the glory of God.
Romans 15:17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
Mercy is not pity. Paul was not a poor, pitiful Christian. He was a Christian whose life and experience of Jesus Christ was glorious and full of glory. The gospel is not that God is having pity on us, poor, miserable sinners. Rather the gospel is that God was merciful on us poor, miserable sinners, making us sons of God who can be filled with the glory of God.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
There are people who try to take credit for what others have done. Paul does not "dare" to do this. This word is ministering faith to the hearers. But you have to be very careful what goes into the food you are feeding the children. Many will be obedient to this word and if this word includes taking credit for things you didn't do think of the harm that will do. Think of this attitude as a carcinogen that Paul would not dare to feed to the saints. Once you take credit for something you didn't do you become an actor, a hypocrite. You are building up your faith as a phony. We have seen many preachers and tele evangelists exposed as phonies. That always results in a shameful, ruinous collapse to a ministry. Think of a builder who must build up to code. Some will bribe the inspectors so they can save money, but in the end the whole thing is exposed. In China they refer to these buildings as "Tofu Dregs". The buildings look great but they are the dregs built out of tofu.
20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: 21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
A lot of people have done an exegesis on Romans. I have not used any of those as a foundation for this study. I came at this book looking to see what it says concerning the rapture. Likely a very unique angle. If you are a phony you will not be able to do that, rather you will simply repackage what others have done. Think about AI, that is precisely what AI does. Many have complained that it steals their work without any attribution. We are building the church, that foundation was laid by the revelation of the apostles, particularly the work of Paul. That is not what Paul is referring to here because he tells us in 1 Corinthians that we all must build on that foundation. Instead what he is talking about is what AI does and what plagiarism is. If you have a phony Christian, a worker of Satan disguised as an angel of light, and he wants to mimic a preacher or teacher he will not have light and inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Therefore he must pretend, and to do that he goes and repackages what some other teacher taught.
22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. 23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.
Paul wants to make sure everyone in his gospel territory has heard from him directly because there are charlatans who are imitating, plagiarizing, twisting and distorting the word of God. Peter warned us that they were doing this with Paul's ministry. We see this all the time today with "Fake News". The lies and distortions fall on a spectrum. Sometimes they are clearly distortions, sometimes it is more that they have left out important truths, and sometimes they condemn truths as heresies by confusing the language. Paul has a mission to spread the gospel and Satan has a mission to stop him. Our job is to discern who is who. Whose ministry is filled with the glory of God.
Now the God of Peace be with You all
Romans 15:25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Paul is not yielding to the Judaizers, on the contrary the burden is to knit the body together so that both Jews and Gentiles can be one body.
27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
A basic principle in the spiritual realm is that things are reciprocal. You cannot be "the dead sea". The water that flows into you must also flow out of you to others. We have a blessing from God that we can deposit our treasure in heaven in this way.
28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.
This is written about ten years before the fall of Jerusalem when Titus destroyed the city. Jesus told the Jews that had rejected Him as Messiah that they would be given the sign of Jonah which included a 40 year warning from that point that the city would be destroyed. During these forty years the gospel was preached throughout Israel telling them to repent. Meanwhile during these same forty years the gospel to the Gentiles was being fully formed like a chicken in an egg before it hatches. Think of the destruction of the temple as that chicken breaking out of its shell.
29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
The only way you can be sure of this is if you are faithful and obedient to Christ. In order for that to be true you would need a reverential fear of God not to be a phony. Judas was a phony, he chastised others that money needed to be given to the poor not because he cared about the poor but because he held the money bag and stole what was in the bag. This is the motivation for someone to be phony. Either you want to know Jesus and experience Jesus, or else you want to pretend to for what reason? So that you can steal money? One path leads to life and being filled with the glory of God and the other path leads to shame and a ruinous heap.
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.
This is what we should be praying for. God is building His church and has many genuine servants, pray for them that they would be delivered from the foxes and wolves that wish to harm the church and silence the ministries. Right now shadow banning, doxing, slander, as well as twisting and distorting the words is very common. This is why I don't advertise. If Satan tries to do these things to this blog then he will be advertising it for free. This is also why I tell everyone in every post that they can cut and paste whatever they want for free. Empower everyone who reads this to be a minister of the word. Satan can squash one person, he is more powerful than an individual, but he is not omnipotent. Stay hidden under the Lord's wings and keep on speaking, the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.
Also pray that the church could be one. Satan will try to divide the saints, spread strife and division. So we pray that we could serve one another in love and knit the body together in love, protecting it from Satan's attacks. He puts potholes in the road, so if we are filled with joy it is like a car with a great suspension and tires filled to specifications. Being filled with joy is a great defense against the murmuring and complaining that Satan will try to infect us with.
Also pray that God's will will be done. His ways are higher than ours, He is wiser, they are beyond our understanding. We would never pray for Paul to be bit by a viper and yet that was the will of God, causing many in the island to be saved.
Finally pray that the church would be nourished, fed and refreshed. This is how we grow in grace and maturity.
33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Romans 15:25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Paul is not yielding to the Judaizers, on the contrary the burden is to knit the body together so that both Jews and Gentiles can be one body.
27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
A basic principle in the spiritual realm is that things are reciprocal. You cannot be "the dead sea". The water that flows into you must also flow out of you to others. We have a blessing from God that we can deposit our treasure in heaven in this way.
28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.
This is written about ten years before the fall of Jerusalem when Titus destroyed the city. Jesus told the Jews that had rejected Him as Messiah that they would be given the sign of Jonah which included a 40 year warning from that point that the city would be destroyed. During these forty years the gospel was preached throughout Israel telling them to repent. Meanwhile during these same forty years the gospel to the Gentiles was being fully formed like a chicken in an egg before it hatches. Think of the destruction of the temple as that chicken breaking out of its shell.
29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
The only way you can be sure of this is if you are faithful and obedient to Christ. In order for that to be true you would need a reverential fear of God not to be a phony. Judas was a phony, he chastised others that money needed to be given to the poor not because he cared about the poor but because he held the money bag and stole what was in the bag. This is the motivation for someone to be phony. Either you want to know Jesus and experience Jesus, or else you want to pretend to for what reason? So that you can steal money? One path leads to life and being filled with the glory of God and the other path leads to shame and a ruinous heap.
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.
This is what we should be praying for. God is building His church and has many genuine servants, pray for them that they would be delivered from the foxes and wolves that wish to harm the church and silence the ministries. Right now shadow banning, doxing, slander, as well as twisting and distorting the words is very common. This is why I don't advertise. If Satan tries to do these things to this blog then he will be advertising it for free. This is also why I tell everyone in every post that they can cut and paste whatever they want for free. Empower everyone who reads this to be a minister of the word. Satan can squash one person, he is more powerful than an individual, but he is not omnipotent. Stay hidden under the Lord's wings and keep on speaking, the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.
Also pray that the church could be one. Satan will try to divide the saints, spread strife and division. So we pray that we could serve one another in love and knit the body together in love, protecting it from Satan's attacks. He puts potholes in the road, so if we are filled with joy it is like a car with a great suspension and tires filled to specifications. Being filled with joy is a great defense against the murmuring and complaining that Satan will try to infect us with.
Also pray that God's will will be done. His ways are higher than ours, He is wiser, they are beyond our understanding. We would never pray for Paul to be bit by a viper and yet that was the will of God, causing many in the island to be saved.
Finally pray that the church would be nourished, fed and refreshed. This is how we grow in grace and maturity.
33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Purim -- A shadow of the Pre-tribulation rapture
There is a lot of excitement about Purim, I have posted all of the various links to different videos on the subject, however, I feel compelled to summarize the reasons for the interest.
There is a lot of excitement about Purim, I have posted all of the various links to different videos on the subject, however, I feel compelled to summarize the reasons for the interest.
- There are two books in the Old Testament with the names of women, Ruth and Esther. These two books are seen as particularly focused on the rapture. Ruth is the 8th book signifying new beginning and Esther is the 17th book signifying a division between the earthly and heavenly. In the New Testament we are told the last shall be first and so we should not assume that Ruth coming first indicates that she will represent those taken first. Ruth is clearly a book about the tribulation saints. It begins with those who were backsliders, die young, and then Ruth is a widow who returns in total poverty, having lost everything and living in the shame of being a Moabitess in Israel. Esther has none of that. We do see Mordecai in sackcloth in the street, but that is by his choice. He is praying for the salvation of the people of God. According to the New Testament the Christians are being trained to rule and reign with Christ. Esther shows the completion of that process. Mordecai is descended from King Saul who failed because he ruled and reigned according to his opinion and good ideas. He chose to keep the good things of the flesh and only deal with the bad. Mordecai is now going to make things right by standing absolute against the flesh and the antichrist who we see in Haman. In this book Haman’s evil plot and identity is not revealed until after Mordecai is glorified, a picture of the rapture. But the book does not end with Mordecai being glorified, unlike Ruth which concludes with her being married to Boaz and being blessed. After the rapture of Mordecai in a figure they still must fight against Haman, the antichrist figure, and that war would foreshadow the tribulation period. There is a reversal of fortunes in the book of Esther comparing Mordecai and Haman. We can see a very clear contrast between the two. When asked what would be the best way to honor someone that the king wants to honor, Haman wants Public adoration. He wants a parade that would honor him. However, Mordecai is the one paraded around and you get the feeling that didn’t matter to him, what he was concerned about was the impending destruction of the children of God. Also we see a direct relationship with what happens to Mordecai to the Greek word “Harpazo” which means to be snatched out of certain death, and is the term we use in referring to the rapture. Haman was going to the king to get permission to put Mordecai to death when instead he was told to honor him. The gallows were already prepared to kill Mordecai in a very public way when instead he was snatched up, dressed up in the King’s robes and paraded around. It is a precise picture of the Harpazo depicted in the New Testament. One is concerned about the welfare of the people and the other is concerned about public adoration. There is also a contrast between Esther and Vashti, the former queen. In the book of Ruth, Ruth lost her husband, but then married Boaz. In the book of Esther the king lost his queen, but then married Esther. When Jesus was rejected as the Messiah by the Jewish leaders that was analogous to Vashti rejecting the King’s call for her to come into the banquet, leading to her being divorced and the King looking for a new bride. In the same way Jesus was crucified and so raised up the church, a new bride. So Esther, who is a Jew, represents the Gentile church. Ruth who is a Moabitess represents the Jews who get saved as a nation. The Jews despised the Gentiles as “dogs” and now during the tribulation the tables will be flipped and they will be the ones who are the despised offscouring of all things. If we look at the church age as “one year” then this year begins with Jesus’ ministry which led to His crucifixion and resurrection. This is when He instituted a new covenant in His blood. This is the spring time when all the seeds of the kingdom are planted by the apostles and when the New Testament is completed. Later the crops were harvested, and by the end of the year we have the church ready to rule and reign. This is demonstrated with Esther and Mordecai. Following this we can have the revealing of the False Christ, the counterfeit, depicted by Haman and His evil plot to kill all of God’s people, forcing them to worship him by taking his mark. This contrast between Jesus Christ and the Antichrist will help all those left behind to realize they need to be absolute for the Lord and it will bring in a great harvest. This is what we see with Ruth who is married at the harvest and she is blessed to be the great grandmother of king David.
- That is an overview of the rapture being depicted in the book of Esther. But there are other feasts. For example, Paul talks about the rapture being at the last trumpet and some have related that to the Feast of Trumpets. Others have related Pentecost, the 9th of Av and the 15th of Av to the rapture. So then, where do these events fit in, which are a shadow of things to come according to Paul in the book of Colossians:
- Feast of Trumpets: Joel describes what takes place right before the day of the Lord. The Hebrew word he uses means "next door". He describes a global pandemic from a bug created in a lab made from five different bugs, that attacks the economy. God says that what is happening is He is declaring a sabbath for people to fast and pray. The book begins by saying this has never been seen before. So it isn't just an epidemic, we have seen that multiple times including the time of David. But the only time in human history we had a global shutdown of the economy was during the Pandemic. I think a very close parallel between the book of Joel and the Pandemic can be made and that means 2020 was "right next door" to the seven year tribulation.
- You can tie the pandemic directly to the Feast of Trumpets. It is very possible that the bug was first released from Wuhan bioweapons lab on the Feast of Trumpets in 2019, in 2020 at the Feast of Trumpets W.H.O. declared a global pandemic, and at the Feast of Trumpets in 2021 the US and others were mandating an experimental vaccine illegally. The Feast of Trumpets is called "the longest day" because it can span a two day period, in this case it spanned two years.
- The feast of trumpets is when you blow the trumpet to announce the coming of the king. You blow the trumpet on the first day of Tishrei but the day of Judgment is not until the 10th day and the wedding is not until the 15th day. If 2019 was the start of the Feast of Trumpets then we can conclude that 2029 will be the start of the day of Judgment. In 2029 we have a comet coming extremely close to earth and that may hit earth. This could be Wormwood which is prophesied in Revelation and kicks off the Great tribulation. Seven days later the high priest is taken into the chamber of the temple to be kept safe and to prepare for the day of judgment. That is the picture of the pre-tribulation rapture (Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.).
Purim a shadow of the Pre-Tribulation rapture (2)
But still, even though Purim is the best shadow of the Pre-tribulation rapture we still don’t know the day, we have had almost 2,000 Purim’s since Jesus was crucified.
- see previous post
- Pentecost: Christianity has given the wrong date, the correct date for this Feast is the Feast of New Wine which is 50 days after the date that Christianity celebrates. The date they use is the day Jesus ascended and the date they celebrate that is off by about ten days. Jesus said when He was crucified that He would not drink of this wine again until He drank it new (Matthew 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.). This is the word spoken in Matthew which has an agenda for the Jews who will be saved as a nation, just like Ruth. But this word is not in Luke which is written with the agenda of the pre-tribulation rapture, just like Esther. This suggests that the rapture of the Jews as a nation takes place on the Feast of New Wine, which is the 8th of Av, again signifying a Harpazo, being snatched right out of the way of certain death.
- The 9th of Av is when those who gave a bad report and those who embraced the bad report were cursed to die in the wilderness. Both temples were destroyed on this day. It is likely the day of Armageddon.
- The fifteenth of Av is the day they realized the curse was over. Neither of these days would signify the pre-tribulation rapture because these are the ones who are saved out of the tribulation.
- Hanukkah – the other holiday we should consider is Hanukkah. This is also a story that depicts being saved out of the tribulation. Antiochus Epiphanes is a type of the Antichrist, he persecutes the Jews, they flee to the mountains, they fight and ultimately they prevail. I have talked quite a bit about this in the blog, but again, it is not a shadow of the pre-tribulation rapture. Esther is clearly the book that is a picture of that, and Purim is the Holy day that is the dress rehearsal. This is the only story where the shadow of the rapture (Mordecai being Harpazo’d and glorified) takes place before the Antichrist is revealed along with his plot to kill the people of God.
But still, even though Purim is the best shadow of the Pre-tribulation rapture we still don’t know the day, we have had almost 2,000 Purim’s since Jesus was crucified.
- Joel tells us the Pandemic was a sign that the day of the Lord was “at hand” or “right next door”. Since Joel also tells us this is the Feast of Trumpets it gives us a timeline of ten years. March 11, 2020 is called “the day everything changed”. The WHO declared a pandemic. The NBA shut down its season. President Trump banned travel from Europe. Interestingly Purim was March 9th and 10th in 2020. So then this Purim is the seventh anniversary of “the day everything changed”.
- The Psalm 83 war, it never happened previously in human history that all those different groups were aligned in a war against Israel and the Psalm concludes with Gaza becoming chaff in the wind and this never happening again. I believe this took place in 2023 and 2024.
- THE PSALM 83 COALITION – The psalm lists a specific confederation — Edom, Ishmael, Moab, Hagarenes, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre, and Assyria — with the explicit stated goal "that the name Israel be remembered no more." What's significant is that this is not a conventional military alliance of nation states but rather an ethnically and religiously motivated coalition seeking the complete annihilation of Israel as a people, not merely territorial concession. The October 7th attack involved Hamas from Gaza — ancient Philistia, Hezbollah from Lebanon — ancient Tyre and Gebal, Houthi involvement from Yemen — connected to ancient Ishmael and the Hagarenes, Iranian backing representing Assyrian geography, and broader Arab and Palestinian nationalist participation mapping onto Edom, Moab, and Ammon. Never before in history had that precise combination of groups simultaneously coordinated against Israel with that explicit eliminationist intent — "let us wipe them out as a nation."
- THE GAZA AS CHAFF CONCLUSION – Psalm 83:13-15 specifically asks God to make them like chaff before the wind, like tumbleweeds, like a forest consumed by fire. The imagery is of complete dispersal and devastation of a specific place and people. Gaza's current condition following Israel's military response is historically unprecedented in its totality — the physical infrastructure essentially destroyed, the population displaced, Hamas as a governing entity effectively dismantled. The psalm's conclusion suggesting this configuration never repeating makes sense prophetically — once Psalm 83 is fulfilled it clears the stage for the next prophetic act, which most scholars identify as the Ezekiel 38-39 Gog Magog war involving a completely different coalition of nations.
- THE SEQUENTIAL PROPHETIC LOGIC – This is important structurally. Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 involve notably different coalitions. Psalm 83's groups are Israel's immediate neighbors — the inner ring. Ezekiel 38 involves Russia, Iran, Turkey, Libya, Ethiopia — a much larger outer ring conspicuously absent from Psalm 83. The standard explanation is that Psalm 83 must precede Ezekiel 38 because the inner ring nations need to be neutralized before the outer ring moves — a weakened or destroyed inner coalition explains why those nations aren't mentioned as participants in Gog Magog. If October 7th and its aftermath represent Psalm 83's fulfillment, then the geopolitical stage is currently being set for Ezekiel 38 — which itself is generally placed either just before or at the very opening of the Tribulation period.
- THE ABRAHAM ACCORDS CONNECTION – This adds another layer. The Abraham Accords represented unprecedented normalization between Israel and Arab states — Saudi Arabia's potential inclusion being the most significant domino. If Saudi Arabia normalizes with Israel it essentially completes the fracturing of the old pan-Arab anti-Israel consensus. Daniel 9:27 describes the Antichrist confirming a covenant with many — some scholars see the Abraham Accords framework as the existing diplomatic architecture that gets "confirmed" or upgraded into that seven year covenant. The sequence would then be — Psalm 83 clears the inner ring, Abraham Accords framework provides the covenant structure, Ezekiel 38 brings the outer ring nations against a temporarily secure Israel, and the Antichrist emerges from the aftermath.
- Ezekiel 38 – I think that the BRICS coalition is trying to replace the US dollar as the reserve currency with a gold based standard. In order for that to succeed they must be able to buy oil with their currency. Trump is putting a stop to that by his actions in Venezuela and now with the war brewing in Iran. If he can cut off Iran and Venezuela then BRICS will collapse. I believe Russia is responsible for protecting Iran. In Ezekiel 38 it says that God will put hooks in his jaw and draw Russia down with their troops. I think the hooks in their jaw is a reference to a covenant they have made for this BRICS coalition. Interesting Ezekiel 38 begins by saying that Russia will be turned back militarily, I think that refers to Ukraine. They will have to leave off this war in Ukraine to go and defend Iran.
Purim -- Shadow of the Pre-tribulation Rapture (3)
But there is more. What really alerted people to Purim is that it is the third year in a row with a blood moon on Purim. On average a blood moon occurs once every 24 months. To have three in a row on the same date would be a one in 13,824 chance. However, to have them for three years in a row is even more rare. Some have claimed the last time this happened was when Jesus was crucified, it took place on a blood moon, the third in a row taking place on Passover.
The second major sign in the heavens is the Writing on the Wall sign. From 2017 to 2024 three solar eclipses crossed the US from one coast to the opposite. For this to happen once is rare, to happen three times in seven years is unheard of, perhaps the first time in human history. Not only so but these three eclipses wrote out the Hebrew letters Aleph and Tav. In Greek we would say “Alpha and Omega”. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega and this was His putting His initials on the US. In Daniel when the writing on the wall took place they called Daniel to interpret. If we consider that interpretation to have taken place the following year in 2025, that would be very significant because in the same evening that Daniel interpreted the dream Babylon was overthrown. Esther describes a hidden plot against the king and this sign indicates a hidden plot against the king of Babylon is about to take place. If we consider Nisan 1 to be the start of the year we are still in 2025 based on that calendar, and it would be late into the night.
- see previous post
- THE BRICS PETRODOLLAR THREAT – The dollar's reserve currency status rests almost entirely on the petrodollar system established in 1974 — all oil priced and settled in dollars, creating permanent global demand for dollar holdings. BRICS replacing that with a gold-backed alternative currency would be the single most devastating blow to American economic hegemony imaginable — potentially triggering hyperinflation and the collapse of the debt-based system simultaneously. The two critical chokepoints are — Iran and Venezuela together represent enough oil supply outside dollar settlement to potentially make a BRICS currency viable. Without them the alternative system lacks the critical mass of oil backing to function as a genuine reserve currency replacement.
- TRUMP'S STRATEGIC LOGIC – Viewed through this lens Trump's actions aren't merely political — they're existential defense of the dollar system. Venezuela and Iran aren't random targets. They're the precise vulnerabilities in the BRICS architecture. Cutting off both simultaneously would collapse the alternative currency project before it reaches critical mass regardless of how many nations have nominally signed on. This also explains the urgency and the willingness to accept significant geopolitical risk. The window for stopping BRICS currency viability may be narrow.
- THE HOOKS IN THE JAW – The traditional reading identifies the hooks as God sovereignly compelling Russia southward without explaining the mechanism. But Ezekiel's language implies something that was already pulling Russia in that direction — a commitment, an obligation, an entanglement that God then uses as the instrument of compulsion. A formal BRICS mutual defense and economic covenant with Iran fits that description precisely. Russia has already effectively guaranteed Iranian security as part of the broader anti-dollar coalition architecture. If Iran is threatened existentially Russia faces a choice between abandoning the entire BRICS project and its credibility as a security guarantor, or fulfilling its covenant obligation and moving militarily. God doesn't need to override Russia's will — he simply tightens the hook of a commitment Russia already made.
- UKRAINE AS EZEKIEL 38'S OPENING – This is the detail most people miss. Ezekiel 38:4 says God will turn Russia around — the Hebrew suggests a reversal of current direction. Russia is currently committed westward into Ukraine. For Russia to come down into the Middle East theater in force it must first disengage from or conclude the Ukraine conflict. A negotiated settlement or frozen conflict in Ukraine — which current diplomatic movements suggest is possible — would free Russian military assets and political attention for redeployment southward. What looks like a diplomatic resolution of Ukraine may actually be the prophetic pivot point that repositions Russia for Ezekiel 38. Trump's pressure for a Ukraine settlement takes on additional prophetic significance in this framework. He may be unwittingly or providentially facilitating the very repositioning Ezekiel described.
- THE COALITION COMPLETING – Ezekiel 38 lists Persia — Iran, Cush — potentially Sudan or Ethiopia, Put — Libya, Gomer and Togarmah — Turkey and Central Asian states. Turkey is already a NATO member moving toward BRICS alignment. Iran is the keystone. The coalition Ezekiel described maps with uncomfortable precision onto the current anti-dollar, anti-Western alliance structure.
- THE TIMING RELATIVE TO THE RAPTURE – Most pre-trib scholars place Ezekiel 38 either just before the Tribulation or at its opening. The destruction of the Gog Magog coalition by supernatural intervention — fire, brimstone, earthquake, confusion — is so overwhelming that Israel spends seven years burning the weapons for fuel. That seven year period aligns suspiciously well with the Tribulation period itself, suggesting the battle may open the Tribulation rather than precede it. If that's correct then the sequence running from your timeline would be — Joel's pandemic warning 2020, Psalm 83 fulfilled 2023-2024, BRICS petrodollar conflict escalating now, Ukraine settlement freeing Russia, Iranian crisis drawing Russia southward, Ezekiel 38 triggering at or near the Tribulation's opening — with the Rapture snatching the remnant at the precise moment the hooks are set and the gallows are completed.
- 2,520 days – My understanding of Antichrist is that he has a very specific legal right to rule for 7 years, defined as 84 months that are 30 days each or 2520 days. He will rule as a counterfeit Christ. Now if you give him 7 years it does not make sense to me for it to start on any day but the first day of the year. Since he is a counterfeit Messiah you have to use the Hebrew calendar. They have four different days that start four different years, but the one that would be most significant to the Messiah would be the religious year which begins on Nisan 1. That is slightly more than 40 days from now. Daniel and Revelation are remarkably specific — 42 months, 1260 days, time times and half a time, all pointing to the same 2520 day total using the 30 day prophetic month. This isn't approximation language — it's covenant legal language, the kind used in binding agreements. The precision implies a specific start date matters enormously, not just a general season.
- THE COUNTERFEIT MESSIAH LOGIC – If the Antichrist is specifically counterfeiting the Messianic role he must operate within the Messianic calendar framework. Using any other calendar would be a counterfeit of the wrong thing. Nisan 1 as the religious new year — the calendar God himself established in Exodus 12 saying "this month shall be the beginning of months for you" — is the only starting point that makes covenantal sense for someone claiming Messianic authority.
- WHAT WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN FIRST – For the Tribulation to begin on Nisan 1 of this year several things would need to fall into place rapidly — the Rapture of the remnant, the emergence of the Antichrist as a recognizable figure, and the confirmation of a covenant with Israel as Daniel 9:27 describes. That's an extraordinary amount of prophetic movement in a very compressed timeframe. If the Rapture is 1 in 850 people globally that's roughly 9 million people disappearing — significant enough to cause chaos but small enough to be explained away, especially with AI-assisted narrative control already in place. The covenant confirmation could follow quickly in the resulting geopolitical vacuum.
- THE HONEST TENSION – Jesus's words about no one knowing the day or hour — even reinterpreted through the Feast of Trumpets idiom — should make any specific date identification held with humility rather than certainty. Many careful prophetic students across history have identified compelling convergences that didn't culminate as expected on the anticipated timeline. That said, I am simply observing a remarkable convergence of independent prophetic, calendrical, and geopolitical lines pointing toward a very narrow window.
But there is more. What really alerted people to Purim is that it is the third year in a row with a blood moon on Purim. On average a blood moon occurs once every 24 months. To have three in a row on the same date would be a one in 13,824 chance. However, to have them for three years in a row is even more rare. Some have claimed the last time this happened was when Jesus was crucified, it took place on a blood moon, the third in a row taking place on Passover.
The second major sign in the heavens is the Writing on the Wall sign. From 2017 to 2024 three solar eclipses crossed the US from one coast to the opposite. For this to happen once is rare, to happen three times in seven years is unheard of, perhaps the first time in human history. Not only so but these three eclipses wrote out the Hebrew letters Aleph and Tav. In Greek we would say “Alpha and Omega”. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega and this was His putting His initials on the US. In Daniel when the writing on the wall took place they called Daniel to interpret. If we consider that interpretation to have taken place the following year in 2025, that would be very significant because in the same evening that Daniel interpreted the dream Babylon was overthrown. Esther describes a hidden plot against the king and this sign indicates a hidden plot against the king of Babylon is about to take place. If we consider Nisan 1 to be the start of the year we are still in 2025 based on that calendar, and it would be late into the night.
Here is the Pdf of the last 3 posts on Purim. It will be easier to read.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H4b0kXSFXe2QN6z4CBQFPleHnCQi4Xn0/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H4b0kXSFXe2QN6z4CBQFPleHnCQi4Xn0/view?usp=sharing
100% SOLVED
Purim, a shadow of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture (4)
[I was asked to add this as they felt it is a critical piece of the puzzle.]
Key Details on the 2025 Red Heifer Activities:
Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
Clearing the Red Heifer Conundrum! | Mondo Gonzales
(This is a reference to support what I have said concerning the Red Heifer).
A second issue is the need for “the temple” to be “rebuilt”. First of all the verses in the New Testament referring to the idol being put into the temple by the Antichrist is not a reference to the building, but rather to the Holy Sanctuary. This could be in the Tabernacle. Second, there is no prophecy anywhere in the Old or New Testament that says the Jews will rebuild a temple on the temple mount during the seven year tribulation. The one relevant prophecy to the end of days is Amos 9:11which says the tabernacle of David will be raised in Shiloh. According to the Torah you have to sacrifice the Red Heifer looking into the Holy Sanctuary. Since they have claimed they sacrificed the Red Heifer according to the law of Moses it implies that the tabernacle of David has been raised in Shiloh, fulfilling this prophecy. The final issue with this doctrine that the Jews must rebuild the temple first is it doesn’t make sense. No one knows the day or the hour of the rapture, the world will be taken by surprise just as at Noah’s day. Even the church is warned in Revelation 3 that they too would be taken by surprise if they don’t study the word as they did at first. How would anyone be taken by surprise if Israel rebuilt the temple? Also, how long would it take to rebuild the temple in “perilous times”? If they start during the tribulation it would seem remarkable that they could finish in three and a half years. Third there is a prophecy in the New Testament that Jesus is building His church which is the temple of God and then in Revelation we see this Temple descending from heaven to earth. There is no mention of a third temple being in the way or being built or being destroyed. Why would the Bible leave out such a huge event? In conclusion there is no Biblical requirement for a Temple to be built, only that the sacrifices and oblations be started, and that has happened with the sacrifice by a Priesthood of this Red Heifer.
[I was asked to add this as they felt it is a critical piece of the puzzle.]
- Red Heifer Sacrifice – On July 1, 2025, a red heifer was slaughtered and burned in a practice ritual ceremony in northern Israel, not directly at the historical site of Shiloh, though the heifers were kept there. Organizers like Boneh Israel conducted this to prepare for a future, biblically mandated purification ritual intended to facilitate rebuilding the Jewish Temple. While some reported it as a genuine sacrifice, it was largely considered a rehearsal, with reports indicating it was not a valid sacrifice. However, it was confirmed that out of the five “red heifers” they had, two were certified to be a red heifer and they sacrificed one of the two certified ones. This did not make sense based on the “official” narrative that it was simply a “practice run”. However, it was later explained that this was done according to the Torah, some feel that it must be done according to the Talmud. The big difference is the Talmud says the Red Heifer must be sacrificed on the Mount of Olives, the law of Moses does not say this. The other issue is that the threat of Israel sacrificing the Red Heifer prompted Hamas to attack in 2023, therefore it is reasonable they are trying to downplay this event. But we do have first hand reports that were on recorded on the Prophecy Watchers Youtube channel during interviews from those who were there that they sacrificed a certified red heifer, one of the two they have, and that they gathered and kept the ashes, and that this was done according to the Torah.
Key Details on the 2025 Red Heifer Activities:
- Location: The ceremony occurred on a remote hilltop in northern Israel, following the,,keeping of the heifers in Shiloh, where the ancient Tabernacle once stood.
- Purpose: To prepare for the purification of priests and the public, which is necessary before building a third Temple in Jerusalem.
- Significance: The ceremony, involving five Red Angus cows imported from Texas, is highly anticipated by specific Jewish and evangelical groups as a sign of the end times.
- Context: The event has caused significant religious and political debate due to its proximity to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, which is a highly sensitive, volatile site.
Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
Clearing the Red Heifer Conundrum! | Mondo Gonzales
(This is a reference to support what I have said concerning the Red Heifer).
A second issue is the need for “the temple” to be “rebuilt”. First of all the verses in the New Testament referring to the idol being put into the temple by the Antichrist is not a reference to the building, but rather to the Holy Sanctuary. This could be in the Tabernacle. Second, there is no prophecy anywhere in the Old or New Testament that says the Jews will rebuild a temple on the temple mount during the seven year tribulation. The one relevant prophecy to the end of days is Amos 9:11which says the tabernacle of David will be raised in Shiloh. According to the Torah you have to sacrifice the Red Heifer looking into the Holy Sanctuary. Since they have claimed they sacrificed the Red Heifer according to the law of Moses it implies that the tabernacle of David has been raised in Shiloh, fulfilling this prophecy. The final issue with this doctrine that the Jews must rebuild the temple first is it doesn’t make sense. No one knows the day or the hour of the rapture, the world will be taken by surprise just as at Noah’s day. Even the church is warned in Revelation 3 that they too would be taken by surprise if they don’t study the word as they did at first. How would anyone be taken by surprise if Israel rebuilt the temple? Also, how long would it take to rebuild the temple in “perilous times”? If they start during the tribulation it would seem remarkable that they could finish in three and a half years. Third there is a prophecy in the New Testament that Jesus is building His church which is the temple of God and then in Revelation we see this Temple descending from heaven to earth. There is no mention of a third temple being in the way or being built or being destroyed. Why would the Bible leave out such a huge event? In conclusion there is no Biblical requirement for a Temple to be built, only that the sacrifices and oblations be started, and that has happened with the sacrifice by a Priesthood of this Red Heifer.