It's been a long time since I've posted anything significant since Facebook (The Lamb's Wife) has been my communication of choice lately. I feel that I should go ahead and post my understanding of some words here:
TRIBULATION is something we've been experiencing since Jesus' death & resurrection during this "times of the Gentiles". I believe this represents the first four seals of Revelation (so called "the four horsemen"). Something I think most believers miss is that the seals began to be opened when the "Lamb that was slain" arrived at the throne of God in heaven and received the scroll! NO ONE was worthy to "open the seals" until Jesus arrived and He alone qualified.
As we get closer to Jesus' return the tribulation is getting worse and troubles are closer together, like "birth pangs" (labor pains). We have been seeing wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, signs in the sun, moon & stars: such as comets coming into the earth's atmosphere (a cosmic *close call* happened in 1993 when a comet broke up into 21 fragments striking Jupiter); mass animal & fish kills, massive insect & rodent invasions, etc, and those are increasing in severity with less time in between events.
IMHO, pre-tribulation folks make the fatal mistake of counting Tribulation as an -end of the age 7 year period- but in truth it's been going on for almost 2,000 years (2 days if counting a day as a thousand years) during this "times of the Gentiles" we are currently living in. I don't think we have another 7 years to wait before God's millennial kingdom arrives with Jesus, but rather I think we may see an end time 3-1/2 years of tribulation towards the Jewish nation and that will be the time of "Great Tribulation" that Jesus spoke of. At the end of that time He will come back to rule & reign. I believe there will be some sort of significant *treaty* with Israel, likely the dividing of the land with the *Palestinian state*, that will decay within 3-1/2 years culminating in Jesus' return to save the remnant of Israel at the hands of maybe Persia (Iran) who's deadly wound is being healed and it is arising to try to take power (over Israel) once again. That's my speculation anyway, time will tell.
TIMES OF THE GENTILES is this past nearly 2,000 years from Jesus' day ending soon ... I believe by the fall holy days between 2017-2018. I think we are nearing the end of these "times". After much research & study, I've come to the conclusion that the 50 days of counting the Omer between Passover (the day after the Sabbath - a Sunday) to Pentecost (the day the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to the church, considered the church's *birthday*) is significant in the long time count as well. If you consider that 50 day count, converted to years, and you liken it to the counting of the Omer & even counting the Jubilees (a 50 day/year count) you can see that for 2,000 years divided by 50 = 40 cycles/counts. In other words, these past 2,000 years not only relate to counting the Omer but also to counting Jubilees. Also, it may not be a -full 2,000 years- IF this is when the Lord will *cut the days short*. Even so, if you do the math using significant years for Israel you can see the numbers are very prophetic, more on that below.
When you look at why the Hebrews had to do this count and you see that Jesus Himself fulfilled the first three Hebrew Feasts and then we just skip over the significance of the Omer count right on to the fall feasts, we're missing something very important. Jesus did fulfill the first three spring feasts to the day. But, He left planet earth 40 days after His resurrection, leaving 10 days unfulfilled by Him. Again, significant. I don't believe the Holy Spirit's arrival into the church is that fulfillment, rather, the Holy Spirit is a token or a seal to the believers of Christ and having Him in us is how we are redeemed/resurrected. So the Holy Spirit isn't the fulfillment but rather the means to our resurrection. Jesus will return to fulfill Pentecost/Shavuot Himself, in the very near future ... it may be within the next few days as Pentecost is near but it may be within the next couple of years also. I am awaiting His return as a virgin with her lamp and her cruse of oil (awake & ready to go). I hope you are as well. As for the fall feasts, I believe this is the time when Jesus deals with the nation of Israel, after his interlude with the church is concluded at the end of the "times of the Gentiles". Be ready to go as our Bridegroom/King could arrive soon ... that's my advice!
WRATH in the book of Revelation is in regard to Jesus coming back in God's Wrath to take vengeance for the saints of this "times of the Gentiles" against the evil on this planet. God's Wrath is near, it will be swift and there will be few people left (compared to the current population) to enter the millennial kingdom. This is the time we should be watching for, which I believe is upon us now and will find it's conclusion by fall of 2017-2018. Jesus is coming back, sooner than most believe.
RAPTURE or "catching away" is something every Christian should agree on, it's biblical ... we are awaiting the return of Jesus and our being "caught up" to meet the Lord in the air and from then on to forever be with our Lord. I'm not concerned about the word "rapture", rather, I think the disagreement is WHEN this will occur (see above for my thoughts on that).
RESURRECTION is also called our redemption, or being redeemed. Resurrection is something only Jesus has achieved. Resurrection is the change from the physical body to a body "like Jesus", a new creation in which the old (physical) body is *changed* to a new body that we won't understand until we "see Him face to face". Most people say when a person has -come back to life- they've been resurrected, nothing could be further from the truth. Lazarus was NOT resurrected. Elijah & Enoch (the only two humans that haven't died yet) have not been resurrected. ONLY JESUS has been resurrected. Everyone else has been "revived" (see below).
REVIVED is something that happens to some people that have died and come back to life. The reason we shouldn't call this resurrection is pretty plain ... you are still in the same physical body, therefore it's revived. ONLY JESUS has a new body and therefore ONLY JESUS is resurrected. We await that day when we will be "like Him" but no other person has been anything but revived from the dead. Same body = revived ... NOT resurrected!
TWO WITNESSES will be Enoch & Elijah, the only two humans that have NOT died. They still have their physical bodies and God is preserving them somewhere unknown to us. They will probably be revealed soon, during the final 3-1/2 years where they will minister to Israel and the world and at the end of that time they will be killed ... then, after their dead bodies have laid in the streets of Jerusalem for three days the Spirit of God will enter them and they too will be Resurrected (new bodies) and be caught up to God in heaven. At the end of that time the Lord will return to rule & reign and the Millennial kingdom will begin. They do not need a resurrected body during the time of their ministry, God will keep them protected until their time of death. I believe they know of their mission and are ready to perform their tasks at the Lord's command.
So, in summary, don't confuse: tribulation with wrath -nor- revived with resurrection
Now for the count of significant years for Israel (as mentioned above) ...
1217 + 800 years = 2017
-----> Rabbi Samuel ben Judah *10 Jubilees* prophecy
-------(10x50=500 years total) prophecy predicted in 1217
1517 + 500 years = 2017
-----> Rabbi's prophecy begins in 1517, 300 years after he predicted.
-------Ottoman Turks take control of Israel/Jerusalem for 400 years
1897 + 120 years = 2017
-----> First Jewish Zionist Congress
1917 + 100 years = 2017
-----> Rabbi's prophecy fulfilled from 1917-1947 (400 years)
-------Ottoman Turks ruled Israel/Jerusalem 1917-1947 (400 yrs)
-------Ottoman Turks defeated by Brits, The Balfour Declaration decreed
-------Jerusalem (British control) no-man's-land 1917-1967 (50 yrs)
1918 + 100 years = 2018
-------Battle of Megiddo began in 1918, interesting *name*!
1947 + 70 years = 2017
-------UN Partition Proposal to "divide Palestine"
1948 + 70 years = 2018
-------Israel declares itself a State, USA first to recognize it as such
1967 + 50 years = 2017
-------Six-Day War, Jerusalem back to Israel's control
2017 - 2018 Jesus returns?
-----> Rabbi's prophecy ends in 2017 with the final jubilee (50 years)
-------400+50+50=500 years (Rabbi's 10 Jubilees) from 1517-2017
-------800 years after Rabbi predicted 1217-2017.
More *math* to come, perhaps in another post ;o}
I know of the "blood moons" (total lunar eclipses - TETRAD) of 2014-2015 being on Hebrew Holy Days and I do believe they are significant. I also know of Rabbi Jonathan Cahn's "Shemitah years of 2014-2015" followed by what he believes to be the final "Jubilee" of Fall 2015-2016. Time will tell if he's right or not. In the meantime ... "people get ready, Jesus IS coming"!
For the record: I don't believe the current state of Israel is an *occupation*. They are divinely in the land as prophecy said they would be! It was long ago predicted that Judah would return to the land before all of Israel.
God bless you in Jesus, He is coming sooner than most believe!
Thanks for reading ;o}
