Where is the DRAGON of the Revelation 12, September 23 alignment?
Mark Biltz mind blowing 2017 Eclipse info and Large Rapture window
It’s obvious once you think about it.
Should We Use The End Times To Inspire Our Teenagers To Live For Christ?
I’ll never forget the first time I watched a Christian movie on the Rapture. It was a 1972 poorly produced film called “A Thief in the Night.”
But what this movie lacked in production quality it made up for in premise…When Jesus comes back you should be ready or you will be left behind. The song in the movie still pops in my head from time to time. It’s Larry Norman‘s “I’d wish we’d all been ready.” Here are the cryptic, catchy lyrics,
“Life was filled with guns and war
And all of us got trampled on the floor
I wish we’d all been ready.
The children died, the days grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish wed all been ready.
There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come and you’ve been left behind.
A man and wife asleep in bed
She hears a noise and turns her head he’s gone
I wish we’d all been ready.
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears and ones left standing still
I wish wed all been ready.
The father spoke, the demons dined
How could you have been so blind?
There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come and you’ve been left behind
There’s no time to change your mind
The son has come and you’ve been left behind
I hope we’ll all be ready
You’ve been left behind.”
This movie set the bar low for the long-line of cheesy Christian movies that would follow. But, in spite of it’s poor production quality, it had it’s desired effect. “A Thief in the Night” scared the living tar out of everyone who watched it…including me.
No, I wasn’t afraid of being left behind. I had put my faith in Jesus and was sure of my salvation. But I was afraid of others being left behind. And that righteous fear became part of my evangelistic fuel.
Yes, I come from a pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, pre-everthing background. The dispensational, fundamental teaching I was raised on ingrained in me an urgency factor when it came to evangelism (because Jesus could come back at any time) and a readiness factor when it came to personal holiness (because Jesus could come back at any time.) This urgency helped shape both me and the ministry I lead today, Dare 2 Share.
While the Lord has enabled me to scrape off many of the legalistic views I was raised in, by his grace, I’ve been able to keep much of my urgency. And I’m deeply thankful for that.
Regardless of your eschatological leanings most of us can agree that a primary purpose of prophecy is to be ready for the return of Jesus. The Lord himself said, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” Matthew 24:42.
We must be on the alert. We must be ready. We must be sharing Jesus.
So how does the reality of the impending return of Christ help fuel teenagers spiritually? In the same way it fueled me when I was a teenager. It sparks urgency in them!
Use natural phenomenons (blood moons, solar eclipses, etc), natural disasters (floods, hurricanes and earthquakes), wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6-8) as an excuse to talk about end-times readiness. Of course, along with this, we want to do what we can about helping those who are hurt by them now. But we don’t want to miss the opportunity to point to the skies and say, “What if today is the day that Jesus returns?”
Obviously this requires wisdom and balance. In no way to we want to listen to the date-setting, fearmongering koo-koo-catchoos out there. But we don’t want to miss the point of what Jesus was reminding his disciples of either. He was reminding them and us to be ready and to make sure everyone we know is ready, because he is coming back someday when we don’t expect it.
Consider doing a series on end-times prophecy in youth group. Maybe you could show a cheesy end-times movie and then have a serious open Bible disciussion about it afterward. Perhaps you could invite someone in who is a Biblically solid end-times prophecy teacher and let your teenagers do a Q & A session with him or her.
Whatever you do don’t avoid the subject. It provides a much-needed DNA strand to our motivational muscle. It can help fuel holy living and Gospel giving.
On September 23rd we are doing Dare 2 Share Live, an unprecedented live simulcast event in 70 cities across the nation. We are praying that we can inspire, equip and unleash 50,000 teenagers to have 300,000 Gospel conversations in a single day!
Someone asked me recently, “Did you choose the date because some are saying the apocalypse will begin on September 23rd?” They went on to explain that there are a whole bunch of end-timers online saying that September 23rd will mark the beginning of the end.
My answer to them was, “No, we didn’t pick September 23rd because of any other reason that it happened to be the Saturday before See You at the Pole. That is the only reason.”
But, to be honest, down deep inside I think it’s kinda cool that Dare 2 Share Live happens to be on a date that some people are buzzing about. It adds to the “what if?” factor. Do I think that September 23rd will mark the return of Christ? Nope. But do I think I should live everday like it could be that day? YES!
Let’s use every Biblical truth possible to motivate our teenagers to live for Christ and share the Gospel! Let’s help build the urgency DNA in each of them. Let’s do it in a way that smacks of urgency, not insanity.
Hope to see you and your teenagers on September 23rd at Dare 2 Share Live.
Don’t be left behind! 😉 (Click to Site)
Originally posted at dare2share.org
Is the RAPTURE a BIRTH? HEAVENLY VISION Confirmation!
Fake News Fox Attacks Unsealed
Fox posted a click-bait headline and story, “Christian Doomsdayers say the World is Ending Next Week”. It is the most infuriating piece of inflammatory garbage I’ve seen this side of CNN. The agenda driven piece lacked even a basic understanding of Biblical Prophecy and End Times Events. It was designed to discredit an entire field of study and discourage people from looking into this themselves.
Most serious students reject the “Planet X” theory, but Fox found one and based their article around this fringe theory. They then roll out a skeptic who mischaracterizes the science of astronomy by calling it astrology, and then to add insult to injury, they featured a video from Unsealed to associate this ministry with their hit piece.
(Author’s note – The below is a down and dirty quick rebuttal meant to be copied and pasted into comment sections, Facebook responses, and shared on social media. Every single bit of the below is well documented, sited, researched, and backed up by Scriptures, and articles on this and other sites. I fired it off this morning over morning coffee – it’s a blog, not a research paper or scholarly article. Our readers know this stuff and those who will receive the information don’t care about the Scripture references, just give them the facts.)
For the record, there is no prophecy in the Bible that says, “Tomorrow the World will End”. There is instead a VERY clear timeline and order of things to come. There are very specific prophecies that have been fulfilled, the last major one was in 1947-1948 when the modern state of Israel was reborn. Since that moment, there has been absolutely nothing that had to happen Biblically in order for the events of the End of the Age to begin.
The Bible clearly gives a picture of what the world will look like toward the end of the age: increased knowledge, violence, immorality, disasters, self-love, and ineffective church ect. ect. Does that sound familiar?
Christians, for over 2000 years, have operated under the doctrine of Imminent Return also called, “The Blessed Hope”. Which means that we are instructed to always be alert and expect that at anytime the Lord may come and catch His Church away (The Rapture). We eagerly await the day and in the interim Watch the events unfold.
At some time after the Rapture, judgment begins. God justly punishes the wicked Nations and those who left behind who while they had the chance, rejected the grace and mercy of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Gone is the Lord’s focus on the Gentile Nations, this period of time is specifically for the Jews. It is to bring them back to Him, to restore them to His people. The ignorant, often refer to this as, “The End of the World”, it’s not. It’s the end of the Age and prophetically called the Tribulation. This hell on Earth lasts for 7 years.
At the end, the forces of the wicked will gather together at Armageddon to once and for all destroy Jerusalem. The Lord Himself will destroy them with the breath of his mouth, The Archangel Micheal will bind Satan into the bottomless pit. Jesus will touch down on the Mount of Olives and the mountain will split in two. This is the Second Coming.
The Lord will rule on the Earth from Jerusalem for 1000 years. It will be a Golden Age of peace, prosperity, and abundance. This is called the Millennium.
At the end of the 1000 years, the Devil will be released for a short period of time. He will once again tempt the Nations and foment a final rebellion against the Lord. He is swiftly put down with all who stood with him. That is the end of the Millennial Age.
From the end of the Millennial Age into eternity, our Scriptures say little other than the assurance that those who are in Christ will remain with the Lord always. Maranatha.
THE MALE CHILD OF REVELATION 12 IS THE CHURCH — TIME TO FILL YOUR LAMP
The argument that many are engaged in at the current time is whether or not the “male child” of Revelation 12:5, is Christ or the Church? The answer, the right answer, from powerful scholars throughout the ages is simply this: He is both.And the implications are astronomical!
THE RAPTURE AND THE GLORIOUS APPEARING ARE DISTINCT EVENTS
Because the male child is both, as Gary Huffman and I argue in THE REVEALING: UNLOCKING HIDDEN TRUTHS ON THE GLORIFICATION OF GOD’S CHILDREN, the “great sign” of Revelation 12 proclaims there is a rapture of the Church, and it happens at least 3.5 years (1260 days) before the visible return of Christ. In a separate post, I provided what I believe is incontrovertible evidence that the Bible teaches the two events (the Rapture of the Church and the visible, “Glorious Appearing” of Jesus Christ at the end of the age), are distinct events. Here is a link to the extensive chart I built to make this case plain. CLICK HERE —> Comparison 1 Thess 4 with Matt 24 9-1-2017 for the PDF.
In this post, I want to provide evidence from several excellent sources, that the male child of Revelation 12 is both Christ and the Church – the united head and body in its mystical union. If so, the passage goes on to make plain that the male child is “plucked up” (harpazo, the same Greek word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17) before the woman flees to the wilderness. (The woman is Israel – an interpretation seldom debated).
Let’s review the passage once more:
Rev 12:1-6 1Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Quoting from our book The Revealing, interpreting the meaning of “the Great Sign:”
There are three characters in this passage. There is a woman, there is a male child, and there is a fiery red dragon with seven heads and ten horns. No one disputes that the dragon represents the devil or Satan. And almost no scholar doubts that the woman represents Israel. After giving birth to the male child, the woman flees into the wilderness to a special sanctuary prepared by God for her safe keeping (tradition contends this is Petra or Mount Seir). The passage also indicates that the dragon stands ready to devour the male child as soon as he is born. While the woman is preserved by fleeing into the wilderness, the male child is protected from the dragon – he escapes his clutches – through a very special “airlift” rescue. That is, the child is “snatched away” (in the Greek, harpazo– pronounced har-pod-zho), the same word (Strong’s G276) used by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up(snatched up) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Revelation 12:5 states that the child will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Surely then, the child is Jesus, for Psalm 2 testifies that the Messiah will rule with a rod of iron. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Psalm 2:9) However, if we must make note that Revelation 2:27 has Jesus promising the Church at Thyatira they will rule the nations with a rod of iron – with Him. Therefore, we mustn’t jump to the conclusion the male child is just Jesus.[1] When it is snatched up, at the Rapture, the Church and Christ are united – they become one. Thus, a full account of the Scripture demonstrates that the Church will reign and rule with Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:12) – and this includes the “rod of iron” descriptor.
Consequently, we are left with a most definite impression that the male child who is plucked up to heaven is not Jesus Christ (who ascended visibly into the clouds as witnessed by the Apostles), but rather the Church of Jesus Christ who becomes fully one with Him. If so (and as we will see, many commentators insist this the male child comprises the Church and its “snatching up” comprises the Rapture), it begs the question whether the astronomical event (the arrangements of stars, planets, sun, and moon) which transpires on September 23, 2017, signifies the very moment when the rapture of the Church will occur.
The “$64,000 question” about whether this means the Rapture truly occurs in two weeks less two days, I will leave for the end of this article. My point here: demonstrate the male child is unquestionably Christ, the Head, and His body the Church. THAT the rapture occurs separately from the woman fleeing to the wilderness, holds enormous consequences dictating vital events transpiring in the last days.
WHO ELSE TAUGHT “CHRIST AND THE CHURCH COMBINED” COMPRISE THE MALE CHILD OF REVELATION 12?
Gary at Unsealed.org, a terrific prophecy news website providing analysis and commentary, did all of us a wonderful favor. They assembled an amazing list of scholars that, unlike what good friends of eschatology, Jack Hibbs and Joel Richardson have stated, concur on the identity of the male child as both Christ and the Church united.
Allow me here to provide a very brief summary of ten scholars that Gary at Unsealed.org identified, along with one or two sentences regarding their commentary concerning the identity of the male child:
- Theodore Beza (b. 1519), student of John Calvin, co-author of The Geneva Bible Commentary, stated: “That is Christ the head of the Church joined with his Church (the beginning root and foundation of which is the same Christ) endued with kingly power and taken up into heaven out of the jaws of Satan (who as a serpent did bite him on the cross) that sitting on the heavenly throne, he might reign over all.”
- Hanserd Knollys (b. 1599) early Baptist scholar, author of many books, including his Commentary on Revelation said this: “The man child brought forth was Christ, and his saints, the spiritual seed of this mystical woman, the church of the firstborn written in heaven, { Hebrews 12:22-23} the Jerusalem, that is above, which is the mother of us all. {Galatians 4:26} This child was prophesied of. { Psalm 2:6-10} And also her spiritual seed, the saints. { Revelation 12:16-17} Christ and his saints shall have the dominion over the nations, Daniel 7:27-28 and { Revelation 11:15}.”
- Matthew Poole (b. 1624) expressed firm conviction that the male child was neither Christ alone, or (as some were then arguing) the first Christian emperor of Rome, Constantine the Great (c. 320 AD). In his Latin commentary on Revelation, Poole stated, “It was prophesied of Christ, Psalm 2:9, that he should break the nations with a rod of iron. It is applied to the servants of Christ, who overcome, and keep Christ’s words to the end, Revelation 2:27. So as it is here applicable to believers, whom the church should bring forth, who shall judge the world, as the apostle tells us; and I had rather thus interpret it, (rather) than concerning Constantine the Great.”
- Matthew Henry (b. 1662) also stated the identity of the male child clearly and described the Rapture perfectly without using that term. We read from his massive six-volume commentary, “She was safely delivered of a man-child (v. 5), by which some understand Christ, others Constantine, but others, with greater propriety, a race of true believers, strong and united, resembling Christ, and designed, under him, to rule the nations with a rod of iron; that is, to judge the world by their doctrine and lives now, and as assessors with Christ at the great day. Care was taken of this child: it was caught up to God, and to his throne; that is, taken into his special, powerful, and immediate protection.”
- John Nelson Darby (b. 1800) the progenitor of Dispensationalism (the successor to Restorationism), certainly saw in Revelation 12:5 a powerful affirmation of the Rapture. Said Darby, “If the mighty man, the mystic man, the man-child of Revelation xii. is to act [in judging the world with a rod of iron], He must first be complete (of course He is so, essentially so, in Himself, but as Head over all things to the Church which is His body). The head and the body must be united before He can act as having this title before the world; because the mystic man as a whole cannot take it until the Church is taken up to Him. For not until then—until the Church, the body, is united to the Head, Christ, in heaven—is the mystic man in that sense complete; and therefore, the Church must be taken up before Christ can come in judgment…”
- William Kelly (b. 1820), an Irish theologian of the nineteenth century and member of the Plymouth Brethren, argued the same, “On this principle then I cannot but consider that the rapture of the man-child to God and His throne involves the rapture of the church in itself. The explanation why it is thus introduced here depends on the truth that Christ and the church are one, and have a common destiny. Inasmuch as He went up to heaven, so also the church is to be caught up.”
- G. H. Pember (b. 1845), whose works have become popularized in our day thanks to Chuck Missler and Tom Horn, states firmly that Revelation 12:5 speaks of the Church and its Rapture. Moreover, the Rapture must occur before the Nephilim reappear during the time of Great Tribulation! Says Pember, “We may mention our conclusion that the birth and rapture of the man child refer to the completion of the mystic Christ — of which the personal Christ is the Head and His Church the body — as manifested by the sudden translation of all waiting saints, whether dead or alive, to meet their Lord in the air. It thus appears that this long-expected event will precede Satan’s banishment from heaven, and, therefore, also its results…and the revelation of the Man of Sin. Like Enoch, the Church of Christ will be called away, before (the) earth is, for a time, abandoned to the Nephilim, before the fearful woes of the end.”
- Charles Stanley (from the nineteenth century, not the popular preacher in Atlanta present day!), who was a powerful evangelist in England during the nineteenth century, likewise confirmed the identical viewpoint in his book, The Great Tribulation or Time of the End, “Now the church is associated with Christ in this, as it is written in Revelation 2:26. ‘And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end; to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.’ And when Christ comes to exercise this judgment, the church comes with Him (Rev. 19:14-15). So that the full ascension of the man child is complete, when the church, His body, is caught up to be with Him where He is: and to come with Him when He comes.“
- Harry Ironside (b. 1876), a significant personality in the evangelical movement in the twentieth century, wrote explicitly on the topic and declared one’s understanding of Revelation 12:1-6 crucial to rightly understanding the outline of the end times. A lengthy quotation from Ironside:
This, clearly enough, is our Lord Jesus Christ, who is soon to reign over all the earth, and undoubtedly He is primarily the Man-child who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron, and the special object of Satan’s malignity. But we have already seen, in Rev. 2:26–28, that when He reigns He will not reign alone. . . . Is there then any incongruity in understanding the man-child to represent both Christ Jesus our Lord and His church? Surely not, for He is the Head of the body, the church, which is the fullness, or completion of Himself, so that the title, ‘The Church’ is applied to both head and body viewed as one in 1 Cor. 12:12. . . . We may then, on the authority of Scripture itself, safely affirm that the man-child represents the one New Man who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron—Christ, the Head, and the church, His body.[5]
- Chuck Missler (b. 1934) remains alive today as one of the revered sages of Bible prophecy, continuing his ministry to the blessing of the Church. Chuck said this about the identity of the male child:
For many, many years as I read verse five I recognized of course that the woman is Israel… the man-child is who? Jesus Christ. And her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. And I just took for granted that was an allusion to what? The ascension, right? It was G.H. Pember I believe, back probably in 1914, he was the first that I encountered at least, that saw this as possibly alluding to something else. Not the ascension, but the rapture. Her child, the Body of Christ, was caught up to God and his throne. That could be an allusion to the ascension, no problem. It also might be an allusion to the Body of Christ caught up in the rapture because the word ‘caught up’ there in the Greek is, guess what? Harpazo. Snatched. The same word that occurs in First Thessalonians chapter four.
The article from Unsealed.Org lists a total of 25 scholars that agree on the identity of the male child. There should be no doubt that Revelation 12:5 is teaching the Rapture of the Church, that it is a separate event occurring before the woman flees into the wilderness, and before Satan and his angels are cast out of heaven.
More Recent Commentaries Confirm the Same Truth
In addition to the scholarship of the ten scholars cited from the great study at Unsealed.org highlighted above, here are three commentaries we identifiedTHE SIGN IN THE HEAVENS – IS THIS A SIGN OF THE RAPTURE – FULL VERSION in The Revealing, that also confirm the perspective championed here:
- From the Faith Life Study Bible: “In Revelation, the number 12 is associated with the 12 tribes of Israel and also the 12 apostles as the Church’s foundation (Rev 21:14). Thus, the woman could symbolize the faithful people of God. The Messiah is born from God’s people, Israel, and His work continues with God’s people, the Church.”
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, on Revelation 12:5, voices the same opinion:
And she brought forth a man child – Representing, according to the view above taken, the church in its increase and prosperity – as if a child were born that was to rule over all nations. See the notes on Revelation 12:2. Who was to rule all nations – That is, according to this view, the church thus represented was destined to reign in all the earth, or all the earth was to become subject to its laws. Compare the notes on Daniel 7:13-14. [2]
- Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, regarding Revelation 12:5 agrees. The male child is the “mystical Christ”, i.e., “his members, who are called by his name.” Reading this statement in context:
And she brought forth a man child…. Not Christ, literally and personally considered, or Christ in his human nature, as made of a woman, and born of a virgin, which was a fact that had been years ago; but Christ mystically, or Christ in his members, who are called by his name, because he is formed in them, and they are the seed of the woman, the church.[3]
RECENT PAPER OF DR. MICHAEL SVIGEL, DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Finally, allow me to quote from a recent paper of Dr. Michael Svigel of Dallas Theological Seminary, who has provided us with an extensive exegetical study, connecting Revelation 12 with Isaiah 66, among many other key matters.
Attached here is a PDF of the 46-page paper by Dr. Svigel if the reader is eager to study this topic more thoroughly.
One key point I will share at this juncture concerns an intriguing, albeit complex, bit of grammar. Svigel surfaces the fact that when John the Revelator depicts the male child, he has either made a grammatical error in Greek or he is doing something intentionally that was expressed by his choice of words (an intentional mismatch of a noun and adjective in English terms, regarding agreement of the gender of these words). John uses the neuter case when identifying the modifier “male.” What is it that the Holy Spirit has inspired in the text as a clue to properly interpreting the scripture? It is technical, but see if you can follow along with Dr. Svigel’s argument:
John may intentionally have the neuter pronominal adjective ἄρσεν (instead of the masculine) irregularly modify the masculine υἱὸν. As observed above in the textual comparisons of Revelation 12 and Isaiah 66, the unusual grammar reflects the actual wording of the Isaiah text, where both the mention of ‘male’ and the corporate plural of ‘son’ (or ‘child’) occur in synonymous phrases expressing Jerusalem bearing in travail. That John has not made a careless grammatical blunder is clear from 12.13, where the masculine τὸν ἄρσενα is correctly used. On the other hand, some do not see a grammatical incongruity in the use of ἄρσεν, but view it as a noun in apposition to ‘son’, further describing it. . . . But this still leaves unanswered the question why the neuter occurs in 12.5 and the masculine in 12.13; in addition, the substantival use normally would be articular, as in 12.13. Thus, John’s use of “poor grammar” in Revelation 12:5 is intended to point the reader back to the images of Isaiah 66:7, which reads: “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.” The next verse demonstrates that the woman and child are not intended to represent individuals, but rather assemblies: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons (two sons?).” The passage switches from the singular “son” to the plural “sons,” and describes the birth of “a land” and “a nation.” Therefore, given the symbolic parallels between the description of the woman of Revelation 12:1 and Israel of Genesis 37:9 as well as the intentional verbal allusion to Isaiah 66:7, where the woman is clearly the nation of Israel, “Zion,” the conclusion that best fits the evidence is that when the scene of Revelation 12 opens up, the woman primarily represents Israel of the Old Testament in travail.
He goes further to clarify what this means in terms of the nature of the male child;
To take the male child, then, as only an individual man, Jesus of Nazareth, would be to break consistency within the symbols of Revelation 12:1-7. It is acknowledged that such an inconsistency is certainly the prerogative of the author, but it fails to come to grips with the fact that John is not composing the passage ex nihilo (i.e., without a context), but (is) describing a vision we believe actually occurred. Thus, the elements of the vision could be mixed; that is, the woman and the dragon could symbolize corporate entities while the male child is an actual human being. However, an interpretation that understands the male child to be a corporate entity does not contradict the context of the passage; it does, in fact, better suits the context.
A further note. Whereas, Isaiah 66:7-8 is normally associated with the birth of Israel in a single day, it may more likely refer to the birth of a nation, “a peculiar people, a holy nation,” i.e., the Church (1 Peter 2:9) being born in a single day. The fact that the nation is born before the woman (Israel) experienced birth pangs (perhaps meaning the Great Tribulation, the Time of Jacob’s Trouble?) certainly increases the likelihood that the Holy Spirit was inspiring the authors to “encode” the mystery of the Church and its destination within these passages, and their linkage as Dr. Svigel points out through his exegesis.
Conclusion
Recently, I wrote an article for the September issue of Prophecy in the News Magazine. Attached is the longer version of the article for your review here. The article takes up the subject of whether or not September 23, 2017, at the conclusion of Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets), will culminate in the actual Rapture of the Church. I encourage readers to take the time to read that article, for in it I explain why the Rapture could happen in 12 short days, but, certainly has brought forth a teaching from the stars that has been, for the most part, lost to the present day evangelical church. That is, Revelation 12 teaches us the Rapture is a distinct and imminent event. We will be caught up into the clouds BEFORE the woman flees into the wilderness at which time there is 1,260 days before the LORD returns visibly to the world. And as Gary Huffman and I write in The Revealing, before the Church takes on its new duties to administrate God’s cosmos, replacing the “powers and principalities” that occupy the second (and possibly the third) heaven today, the Rapture must happen FIRST. This truth, given all the debate about when the rapture occurs, is one that we need to hear, acknowledge, and incorporate into our beliefs about the last days.
For, and this is the crucial point, if the male child is the Church, the rapture will occur before the Glorious Appearing, perhaps 3.5 years, perhaps 7 years, perhaps longer. But it will not happen at the same moment as Post-Trib believers assert (well meaning though they be).
Here’s our article. Enjoy. Please share this article with your friends and family.
THE SIGN IN THE HEAVENS – IS THIS A SIGN OF THE RAPTURE – FULL VERSION
It is time to put oil in your lamp… which means it is time to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be expectant. “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh.” (Matthew 25:6)
For there is a crown awaiting all those who eagerly await the coming of the LORD.
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2Timothyy 4:8)
Notes
[1] Note the King James Version capitalizes Child, presuming the child is divine. The seventeenth-century translators therefore presumed (mistakenly I believe) that Jesus is the “exclusive” male child in Revelation 12.
[2] Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/commentaries/revelation/12-5.htm.
[3] Ibid.
[4] See http://www.plymouthbrethren.org/article/5721 (Click to Site)
The Big Picture & Questions Answered
Dear Friends,
I wanted to say thank you for your continued prayers, support, and participation. God has done some amazing things through this ministry and it has as much to do with the Gospel as it does with prophecy. The two go hand-in-hand. This summer we reached 300,000 unique readers per month with the truth of Christ, becoming one of the largest prophecy news websites on the planet. Our Revelation 12 Sign video has been seen in various languages over three million times and one of our ministry partners used our Gospel video on Facebook and it has gone viral – watched over one million times and shared all across the Middle East. A few of our articles were shared virally by you on Facebook this year and it caused a number of news organizations to take notice. It gave us the opportunity to share the message far and wide that Jesus Christ is really coming back. And soon.
I share this success with you because I want you to be empowered and motivated to imitate us as we imitate Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). Go and share the Gospel. Go and tell someone Jesus is coming soon. As you are all well aware, there may be little time left (Jn. 9:4, Gal. 6:10). We. Are. Nobodies. We take no profit. We receive no ad revenue. We’re not in it for fame or a following and have tried to personally avoid the limelight as much as possible. We’ve dedicated an incredible amount of time and our own financial resources, often at the expense of our personal lives and families, to bring you the hopeful message of grace and our soon coming King. Our heart has been to share the Gospel, pray without ceasing, and teach only what is true – leaving no stone unturned and changing course when we think we’ve taught something incorrectly. I pray for discernment daily. I think I can speak for the whole team – Greg, Jeff, Dolley, Sam, the leaders on our online community, and myself – and say we do this for your edification. We want you to know the truth and be aware and awake to the times, so that you are in turn empowered to go do greater things – and I personally know many of you are.
God hates the works of the Nicolaitans, those who would steal from His flock and rule as spiritual tyrants over the people. So many churches and ministries these days are cults of personality – their pastors’ faces are plastered everywhere and they have “their” flocks and “their” followers. They live on islands and don’t allow anyone to challenge them or speak into their lives (Prov. 18:1). They become their own source of spiritual authority not realizing that they are only foot-soldiers like the rest of us in the service of the King. They wave their pulpits, PhDs, and fame in your face to show you why you have to listen to them because they’re the shepherd and you’re just a sheep. Just like the priests and Nicolaitans of old who withheld the Word of God from Christ’s flock.
Jesus never gave any apostle a flock. Rather He told his apostles to tend His flock. The flock is Christ’s and we are just part of it. We will all be held to account for how we fed and tended His flock. There is only one High Priest and one Good Shepherd. All glory and honor and praise belongs to Him and Him alone. The news and the prophetic signs we share, if we’ve misinterpreted any of them, are nothing, and if we’ve interpreted them correctly all glory and credit goes to God alone who in His loving-kindness chose to reveal a bit of Himself and His plans to the Body of Christ through the least of these – the unqualified, rather than those who boast in their self-appointed position.
We are walking daily in community with other humble men of God who see these signs unfolding, so that none of us becomes an island and all of us have accountability in what we do, say, and teach. I want to give credit to these other brothers who we are fellowshipping with daily who are as much and even more a part of this last-minute wake-up call to the Church:
Adam, Barry, Brad, Daniel, Jim, Paul, and Scottie. God has done wonders through your ministries to open eyes, soften hard hearts, expose the traditions of men and wickedness in high places, and to further reveal truth to the Church. Greg, Jeff, and I appreciate you greatly. You are humble warriors and we salute you. There are many others who encourage us daily and continue to walk beside us – you know who you are and equal credit to you. I pray for many of you by name daily. Let us pray without ceasing. I’ve written a prayer here that I would encourage everyone to be praying with me and I know some of you are.
Honestly, it is hard waiting, not knowing exactly how or when things are going to unfold. We have to trust the LORD with the timing. As I’ve said before, I am now convinced that the literal fulfillment of Revelation 12:1-2occurs next week and to be honest, the connection of Revelation 12 to the rapture seems to be pretty clear at this point. That said, I refuse to set dates. I know exactly when this sign occurs, but I don’t know exactly when we go home. My timing and interpretations could be off and I don’t trust myself. I have to trust God, which can be difficult to do at times. Whether we’re before the Throne of God next week or in a year, the Great Sign is still the Great Sign and Jesus is still going to keep His promises. Right now I have many feelings: trepidation, joy, hope, faith, unease, and perplexity. Someone recently shared with me that what we are collectively feeling is probably a bit like what Jesus’ disciples felt after His death and before His resurrection and also what they felt after He ascended, but before Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given. It’s an uneasy feeling to wait, but we must cling to God’s promises no matter what. This song has been on my heart lately:
The Big Picture
The second thing I wanted to remind you of is not to overlook the big picture. Many of us have focused so much on the Revelation 12 Sign that it has seemed to create a sort of target for ridicule. The mockers, scoffers, and closed-minded both inside and outside of the Church think that if they can somehow debunk this then our hope falls to pieces. But it doesn’t. This year has seen the most incredible convergence of signs that we have ever seen. Here are a few of the biggest confirmations for me:
1. Every prophetic date in the modern era seems to have as its endpoint the year 2017.
1897 (120 years before): the First Zionist Congress and the founding of political Zionism where the world’s Jewry made a collective decision to pursue a Jewish homeland. 120 years was the divinely instituted period of probation before the first global cataclysm (Gen. 6:3).
1917 (100 years before): the land of Israel was conquered by the British. The land was transferred from Israel’s enemies to Israel’s friend and the Balfour Declaration made known to the world that it was the intention of the British government to establish a Jewish homeland in the Holy Land. Abraham was 100 years old when his promised son was born. Likewise we are waiting for the true Son of Promise to make His second appearance and take us home.
1947 (70 years before): the United Nations mandated the creation of the Jewish state. The decree was given and Israel declared its independence just six months later. 70 years is the only explicitly defined length of a generation given in the Bible (Psalm 90:10), which becomes hugely significant in light of the Parable of the Fig Tree, which says that the generation that sees the signs mentioned in the Olivet Discourse begin to come to pass would live to see all of it fulfilled, up to and including the return of Christ. 70 years was also the length of the first Jewish exile.
1948 (70 “prophetic” years before): the State of Israel was born. The prophecy of “weeks of years” given in Daniel 9 seems to use 360-day years for counting long lengths of history. Daniel and Revelation also seem to define a single period of “time” as consisting of 360 days (e.g., Dan. 7:25, 12:7, Rev. 12:6, 14). Based on this measurement, Israel experienced its 70th anniversary on May 12, 2017.
1967 (50 years before): Israel captured Jerusalem – the city at the very center of Bible prophecy. 50 years is the length of a biblical Jubilee when all slaves went free, debts were forgiven, and the land returned to its rightful owner. Israelis marked this Jubilee back in May with huge celebrations.
1977 (40 years before): the modern Middle East peace process began when Egyptian President Sadat delivered his November 1977 address to the Israeli Knesset. Then in December 1977 the first Middle East peace conference was held in Cairo. This led to the Camp David Accords the following year. 40 is a biblical period of testing. Rain fell upon the earth for 40 days leading up the Flood. The Israelites were tested in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus was tempted for 40 days.
1987 (30 years before): The Temple Institute was founded in Jerusalem in preparation for building the Third Temple. This organization has prepared all of the vestures and artifacts necessary for service in the Temple. They have also trained Aaronic priests, cut the Temple’s cornerstone, and built the main altar. Joseph, a type of both Christ and the Church, was 30 years old when he left prison and became second-in-command of Egypt (Gen. 41:46). Priestly service in the Tabernacle began at the age of 30 (Numbers 4). David was 30 years old when He became king (2 Sam. 5:4). Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His ministry (Lk. 3:23).
2. All of the apparent signs leading up to the initiation of Daniel’s 70th Week (a.k.a. the Tribulation) have converged and the setting for the end of the age is now in place. Now you might say this convergence will still be here next year or possibly the year after, but look, there is a shelf life to this. Eventually Jesus really is going to come back, a fact that many pastors, even teachers of Bible prophecy, seem to give lip service to, but not accept the reality of. Here are 19 reasons why the end of the age could begin this year and here is why2017 to 2024 is a prime candidate for the seven-year Tribulation.
3. The numbers. I know some people are uncomfortable with finding God in the details and seeing His sovereign hand at work in the minutiae of life, but all of these numbers and “coincidences” people have uncovered this year are beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. I would argue they defy probability and can’t easily be explained by confirmation bias. Read about these more here and here.
4. We may have just witnessed the fulfillment of key parts of Joel 2:30-31, like in just the last few weeks and Billy Graham’s daughter is now on record saying she sees a parallel between what has just transpired and the time leading up to Elijah’s rapture, but you know, close your eyes, cover your ears, and go back to sleep.
Just a final point here: from the time of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection in AD 33 (His first visitation) to 2017 is 1984 years. Strong’s 1984 is “visitation”. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were unaware and willfully ignorant of His first visitation and even tried to “shoosh!” the people when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, so it shouldn’t be any surprise to us that history is repeating itself and our religious leaders are again trying to quiet the welcoming party using the traditions of men to override the truth of Scripture. “Visitation” (Strong’s 1984) is only used a few times in Scripture. Look where it is used:
They will level you [Jerusalem] to the ground–you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.
And
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Questions Answered
In this last section I want to begin answering various questions and critiques that have been coming our way. We get a lot of questions through comments, email, and social media and these have been piling up. Please be aware that we see them, but we are impossibly under-resourced to respond to everything. Below I will respond to a few of the most frequently asked questions and critiques and if you have any other please ask it in the comments section below. Again – I can’t get to everything, but I will try.
Q: You’re date-setting and/or saying the world is going to end on 9/23/17.
A: This is largely false. We actually believe the world will never end (Ecc. 1:4), except for possibly a very brief period of time as described in Isaiah 65:17 and Revelation 21:1 when God creates a new heaven and earth (there is debate regarding whether this means God creates an entirely new creation or if He rejuvenates the existing creation). In any case, we definitely do not believe the world is going to end on 9/23 nor anytime this year. Also, absolutely zero ministries that are promoting the Revelation 12 Sign are saying the world is going to end this year (at least that I’m aware of). It’s fake news.
We are also not saying the rapture has to happen next week. I would steer clear of being dogmatic either way. It would be foolish to say the rapture will happen sometime next week and it doesn’t happen. It would be far, far more foolish to say it won’t happen next week and then it does – or happens sometime later this year. I’m open to any possibilities. God is the One in charge and He knows the timing.
I am date-setting in one sense, though. I believe the Revelation 12 Sign is going to happen on 9/23 or 9/24. I believe that is now a firmly established fact based on what Scripture plainly says. No one has yet debunked this aside from recycling the same untruths in article after article (e.g., “it’s astrology”, “it’s not unique”, “it’s just figurative of past history”, etc).
Q: Could the male child of Revelation 12:5 be the 144,000 sealed Israelites mentioned in Revelation 7 and 14?
A: I’ve seen a few people throwing around this theory, but I see little basis for it. In my humble opinion it suffers from some of the same problems that the theory that the male child is only Christ suffers from. For starters, the male child is going to “rule all the nations with a rod of iron”. This promise is made only to Christ (Psalm 2:7-9) and the Church (Rev. 2:26-27) – never to the 144,000. Secondly, the child is caught up to God’s throne. Again, this promise is only made to Christ and the Church (Rev. 3:21), not the 144,000. Thirdly, Revelation describes Christians and Tribulation Saints in Heaven (Rev. 6:9-11, 7:9, 12:5, 10-12), but this description is never applied to the 144,000. To the contrary, they are not before the throne of God, but are gathered to Mt. Zion (Jerusalem), apparently at the time of Jesus’ physical second coming. Fourthly, as Harry Ironside is famous for saying, correctly identifying the characters in Revelation 12 is foundational for a correct understanding of the rest of the book. The woman is Israel and perhaps also figurative of “heavenly Jerusalem” (Gal. 4:26). The woman is not the Church and neither is the woman only Mary. The Church didn’t give birth to Israel and neither can Israel give birth to itself. Each character has a unique identity.
I tend to agree with the traditional, historical-grammatical interpretation of the purpose and ministry of the 144,000 (see here).
Q: Will there be a partial-rapture and do you have to be watching to be raptured?
A: No to both (in my understanding). There are a few people who are promoting these views and they have caused a lot of fear in the Body of Christ in addition to causing some to even abandon their faith in Christ’s blood and instead to trust in self. Woe to them. And having carefully studied their views, I see some major Scriptural twisting and self-righteous assumptions going on. You don’t want to be trusting in your works and “worthiness” when the trumpet sounds. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. The Gospel + anything = nothing (Rom. 11:6, Gal. 5:12). Worse even than the sexual immorality and wordliness that has crept into Christianity over the past 50 years, is the abandonment of sola fide among evangelicals. A recent Pew survey finds only half of Protestants in the United States still believe in the cornerstone Protestant doctrine. And sola fide isn’t a new invention – it was just as true in the early Church as it is today (see here). Augustinian allegorism, coupled with a number of other heresies slowly crept into the Church, denying the plain truth of God’s Word, and became the dominant school of thought in Christianity for some 1500-1700 years.
There are a number of more detailed exegetical issues with the partial-rapture theory, which is why most premillennial, evangelical scholars disagree with the theory. Time does not permit me to unpack all of those here, but if you want to study the issue further for yourself, take a look at articles I’ve written here and here. The male child of Revelation 12:5 is the Church and the whole baby gets taken to Heaven. The whole Body of Christ is united to the Head. A Christian’s performance is not judged by being taken or left. It is judged for rewards at the Bema Seat when we all stand before the Son of Man (1 Cor. 3:10-15, 2 Cor. 5:6-10). The Book of Revelation is absolutely clear about the Gospel (Rev. 1:5). The raptured Church is only in Heaven because of Jesus’ blood (Rev. 12:10-11) and the later martyred Tribulation Saints are in Heaven for the same reason (Rev. 7:14).
To be absolutely clear: I believe that Scripture clearly teaches that all Believers will be raptured to Heaven and thus we are to encourage one another rather than cause fear and our brothers and sisters to lose heart (1 Thess. 4:18, Gal. 1:6-10, 5:1-12, 1 Jn. 4:18, 5:13). Paul has harsh words for those causing fear and loss of faith in Christ’s flock. However, not all Christians will be raptured, if by Christian you merely mean someone who identifies with the Christian religion. Those who trust in themselves or who have added to the Gospel are standing on sinking sand. Repent. So I believe there will be a full rapture of Believers and a partial rapture of Christians. It’s scary to think you might have covered yourself in all of the trappings and do-goodism of Christianity while all the while your foundation was something other than Christ and Him crucified. Those “Christians” who enter the Tribulation with defiled garments do not cleanse them with their own efforts, but with the blood of the Lamb.
Q: Will all children be raptured?
A: Certainly all children that believe in the LORD will be raptured. There is no dispute about that. The question usually concerns young children who have not yet consciously placed their faith in Christ. I think there is a clear Scriptural basis for saying that all young children of Believers will be taken (even if only one parent is a Believer), if the child is not yet old enough to make a conscious decision of faith (1 Cor. 7:14). This seems to be some precedent through history: only Noah was found righteous, but he took his whole family on the ark. Likewise, Lot was the only righteous man found in Sodom, but he took his wife and daughters with him to safety (but his wife was killed during the escape because of her own lack of faith).
Some other scholars believe that a fundamental shift occurred after Jesus’ resurrection, so that all children up to a certain age or cognitive ability will be taken, regardless if their parents are Believers. The theory goes that the blood of Christ covers all of those who can’t believe the Gospel, either because of age or mental retardation.
I am open to both possibilities and am dogmatic about neither. I’m reminded that some things are left to faith and there is a tension in not knowing. We have to trust God. He is good – very good. I believe all young children of Believers are perfectly safe, but by all means, pray for and teach all of your children to know the LORD.
Q: Will our pets be raptured?
A: I’ve been surprised by how often this question comes up, but it is very important to many. At first I brushed off the question, but I think I was wrong for doing so. First, trust God no matter what. He is good. He cares for animals (Jonah 4:11, Prov. 12:10, Matt. 10:29-31). The truth is we really don’t have a clear answer from Scripture. My personal position is that animals will be resurrected at some future point, though I don’t believe that is likely to be during the rapture of the Church. Possibly later in the Millennial Kingdom or when God makes a new heaven and earth.
That being said, I was blown away by a discussion in the Revelation 12 Sign 2017 community on Facebook about this topic. Some brothers and sisters were making a surprisingly strong case for why the animals of Believers will be going and/or protected in some way. They pointed out the biblical precedent of all the animals taken on the ark, as well as the Israelites leaving with their animals during the Exodus. I’m always amazed by pastors who give the default “animals are just temporary” response to genuinely concerned Believers. The truth is the Bible doesn’t say much about this one way or the other. Who is to really say? What we know is that God is better than we can imagine. God is love. Trust Him and please don’t do anything foolish like euthanize your animals. That would not be in any way an act of faith.
Q: Leo doesn’t have nine stars.
A: Dr. Faulkner is at it again with another article trying to debunk the Revelation 12 Sign. He recycles the same argument that the sign isn’t unique, so I don’t need to address that in detail – the sign is absolutely unique and the years he cites as matches were simply not matches (see here). Regarding his claim that Leo has more than nine stars, we’ve addressed this several times before (see #7 here). In short, his argument is mostly arbitrary. Here is my response:
-The most common depiction of Leo (BY FAR) shows nine stars. Google it for yourself and see. Most astronomy program also use nine stars (not just Stellarium, although there are a few exceptions like Google Sky).
-Those nine stars are the common denominator across all ancient and modern depictions of Leo. One example he cites is the Almagest’s depiction, which shows 27 stars, which he calls the “standard” depiction. In that case Revelation 12:1-2 could never be fulfilled literally because the only grouping of stars above Virgo’s head is Leo and 27 stars would make a 12-star crown impossible. The Almagest is definitely not the “standard” depiction. It differs substantially from ancient Babylonian and Egyptian depictions, as well as an ancient mosaic showing the Jewish mazzaroth. The are many and various depictions of Leo. Some have 10 stars, some 13, some even 15 or more, but the most prevalent depiction shows nine stars. Those same ninestars are also the common denominator across all depictions.
-He says that when he looks outside he clearly sees 13 stars. That’s fine. I’m sure that on an exceptionally clear night you could see 13 or more stars, but many of those are very dim. The interesting thing is, under normal conditions only those nine stars stand out. I spent more than a month tracking Leo and on clear nights I could only see nine. Many others have reported the same thing.
Brad over at Revelation 12 Daily has a great response to these “straining out a gnat” debates about the crown of 12 stars.
Q: Revelation 12:1-2 is about Heaven, not the sky.
A: Carl from PNN has claimed that when the Greek word ouranos is singular it means capital ‘H’ Heaven, as in God’s dwelling, but when ouranos is plural it refers to the sky. Thus, as his theory goes, Revelation 12:1-2 has nothing to do with a real sign in the sky because ouranos is singular. Furthermore, he argues that Revelation 12 is just a historical recapitulation.
His first argument is simply incorrect and in fact the exact opposite is often true. The plural form is most often used to describe the “kingdom of Heaven” – in the Greek, literally “kingdom of the Heavens” (e.g., Matt. 3:2, 4:17, 5:3, 10, 12, 16; Mk. 11:25-26, 12:25, 13:25).
Compare to the singular use of ouranos, which frequently means “sky” (Matt. 8:20, 13:32, 16:2-3, 24:29-30, Mk. 4:32, 14:62; Lk. 4:25, 8:5, 9:58).
In Revelation John even uses the singular form of ouranos for sky several times, a couple examples are Revelation 6:14 and Revelation 11:6.
It’s impossible to determine whether the translation of ouranos in a given passage should be “Heaven” (capital ‘H’) or “sky” based on whether the word is singular or plural. Context is king.
The context of Revelation 12:1-2 is the visible sky (sun, moon, and stars) and Genesis 1:14 tells us that the sun, moon, and stars were made for signs. Luke 21:11 tells us there will be “Great Signs” preceding the return of Christ and Luke 21:25 tells us there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. Try this on for size: Revelation 12:1-2 is the only sign in the entire Bible that involves the sun, moon, and stars and is also called a “Great Sign”. I sure wouldn’t ignore it.
No one is interpreting Revelation 12:1-2 as literally and accepting it prima facie as much as the Revelation 12Sign proponents are. Let God be true and every man a liar.
Regarding the recapitulation theory. I just have three things to say: first, Revelation 1:1, Revelation 1:19, and Revelation 4:1 would seemingly disagree with you; second, as we’ve recently uncovered, historically speaking, Protestant scholars would largely disagree with the “purely recapitulation” view (see here); third, taking Scripture literally and “line upon line” and avoiding assumptions at all costs leads to the conclusion that the male child of Revelation 12:5 is the Church, which is why so many Protestant scholars have taught that the child is the Church since the 1500s (see here and here).
Q: Are constellations mentioned in the Bible or is that astrology?
A: Biblical astronomy and astrology are completely different things. Astronomy is the study of the stars, astrology is occultic practice. Astrology is worshiping or divining the stars. Astrology is trying to run your life by the stars. No Christians who are talking about these signs in the heavens are worshiping the stars or trying to cast hexes using constellations as Balaam did. Nor are they using the stars like a horoscope. Constellations are mentioned frequently in the Bible and it is God Himself who made them. Satan has only twisted what God has made. The astrology accusation has been debunked a thousand times now and is simply untrue. Revelation 12 Daily has an excellent discussion of this here and Parable of the Vineyard has two awesome videos on the subject here.
The Bible is absolutely crystal clear that there will be signs in the sky preceding Christ’s return, so those in the Church who are coming out against these things are not doing their due diligence nor are they accepting what the Bible plainly says (Gen. 1:14, Ps. 19:1-6, Dan. 6:27, Matt. 24:30, Lk. 21:11, 25, Acts 2:19, Rev. 12:1-2).
Regarding constellations, will people continue to claim they are pagan in origin in the face of so much biblical evidence? Again, let God be true and every man a liar.
God made the constellations: Genesis 1:14, Job 38:33
God brings out the constellations night after night: Job 38:32
Constellations are frequently named and/or referred to in Scripture:
Orion: Job 9:9, 38:31, Amos 5:8
Pleiades: Job 9:9, 38:31, Amos 5:8
The Bear and her cubs (Ursa Major): Job 9:9, 38:32
Leo: Gen. 49:9-10, Num. 24:9, 17, Rev. 12:1
Virgo: Is. 7:11, 14, Rev. 12:1
Gemini: Acts 28:11
Taurus: Num. 23:22, 24:8, Deut. 33:17
Aquarius: Num. 24:7
The constellations were created by God to serve as signs and to tell the story of His redemptive plan in history (see here, here, and here). Satan has twisted culture to worship the constellations and to use them for divination.
Maranatha! (Click to Site)
After the Rapture – Left Behind!!!
The Signs Continue: Part 2
Following up on our recent post from last week about some incredible signs that continue to point to and confirm how close we are to the Day of the LORD, I thought it necessary to share with you that the signs are only increasing, but the world continues to sleep, in large part because a number of shepherds in the Church have mocked, ignored, and suppressed the truth. Indeed, Jesus is coming like a thief in the night to the world and perhaps most of the Church (1 Thess. 5:2-3) because of willful ignorance, but He is not coming like a thief for us (Matt. 24:43, 1 Thess. 5:4, Rev. 3:3). Sit up straight, buckle your seat belt, and pay attention. (Click to Site)
