Setting Dates

Daniel 7:22 The angel explains to Daniel, 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.'

Daniel 7: 26-27 "But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him."

...referring to "the court" most likely is referring to the time around Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur/ The Day of Atonement. In Jewish tradition the heavenly court is opened on Rosh Hashanah and closed on Yom Kippur.

The judgment of the Anti-Christ will be sealed after the rapture (on Rosh Hashanah) on The Day of Atonement. His sentence will be carried out as Christ followed by His army of saints come back to earth that same month. The Feast of Tabernacles is when Christ begins his millennial reign.
In my "setting dates", I claim that the actual time of the feasts will be the actual time of these events.

Signs Happening Now

In response to a question from a friend, today's blog will give some examples of things happening now that are signs of the end times.


You may expect me to start talking about the earthquake in Haiti, the floods all around the world, the droughts in the Caribbean. Or maybe you'd expect me to talk about corrupt government officials and all the political crap going on. Maybe about wars and rumors of wars. There are many things that you could take as signs of the times, but in reality those things have been going on forever.  I do think all these things are escalating, but to most people you can't prove that, so I won't try.


My main reasons for believing that we are living in the last days are biblical.
In 1948 Israel became a nation... after almost 2,000 years of being scattered around the globe. In the Bible it is prophesied that this would happen. Hebrew, a dead language, was revived again. Not only has that never happened in history with any dead language, but it was also prophesied in the Bible. In the last 20 years more Jews have become "Messianic Jews" (Jews that believe that Jesus is the Messiah) than in the last 2,000 years combined. THAT was also prophesied in the Bible. The United States is the only country standing with Israel these days, and if Obama has his way, that will not last long. As we move in to forcing them to divide the state of Israel, we will join the rest of the world in standing against them. In the Bible it says in the last days all nations will stand against Israel. Each one of these prophesies about Israel HAD to be in place before "The End" could happen.
Other prophesies that HAD to be in place are that the whole world would be able to see events happen right as they happen. Live TV and the internet make this possible. That has only been made possible in my lifetime. Kids of today may not understand the weight of that, but I do.
Europe has laid the ground work for a global currency, something that is also prophesied that will happen in the last days. As the dollar collapses that reality is closer and closer to home. With technology we now have the capabilities of  "marking" people. It hasn't happened yet, but it is prophesied that it will, and we have the technology to do it. That technology did not exist before very recently.
GMOs (Genetically Modified organisms) being put into our food supply since the mid 1990's, leading to cancer, obesity, sterility... will screw up our food supply if we don't stop the companies responsible. (mainly Monsanto) The US is one of the only nations embracing GMOs. How stupid are we? We not only are walking right into the trap of coming against Israel, but we are standing against our own bodies.
I'm not saying that I know for sure that the GMO crap will lead to the diseases or the famines mentioned in prophecy, but I wouldn't be surprised.
My other reasoning for believing that we are in the last days has to do with the upcoming eclipses I mentioned in another post. There will be the first tetrad of eclipses since 1967-1968 (around Israel's 6-day war) in 2014-2015. Every time there is a tetrad of eclipses over Israel falling on Feast days, something major happens. What major event is left to happen according to prophecy? 
The Bible says that the generation would not die before the Messiah came. Many scholars believe that this means the generation of 1948 when Israel became a nation. The seventy sevens of Daniel line up very nicely with the present days being significant.
The 'stars' and heavenly bodies set to be wacky around 2012 line up nicely with prophecy too.
If none of this convinces you, take heart, you may only have to wait a few more years to see some hard core evidence. I warn you though, another thing clearly prophesied is that the hearts of MOST would grow cold, and instead of turning to God in the day of disaster, they will curse God. For the final 3 1/2 years there will be plagues that far out-do the plagues Moses put on Egypt. Those plagues will only effect the non-believers. So if you get to midway through the tribulation and have still not accepted Christ, you probably never will, and you can count on all those plagues being on your head.


On that cheery note, I'll end... cause it's time to pick up my son from his half day of school. :-)

Blessed

There is so much I want to say, but just from my reading yesterday, I am keenly aware that I need to emphasize the blessings that are available for us in The End.


Daniel 12:12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Rev. 14:13 "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
Rev 16:15 "Behold, I come like a thief ! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
Rev. 22:7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."


These are just some verses, but they give the general idea of the blessings available to us.
Even in these verses there is a hint that there is no pre-trib rapture. 
I know every single one of my friends says they want to be gone before the tribulation starts, but all of that wishful thinking isn't even well informed. There is no special blessing for those who die before the rapture. No special blessing for those who do not live through that terrible time.
If you are a believer, you must understand that the plagues and troubles of the end are not for you.  The ONLY things that will happen to believers in the tribulation are: being be-heading, plundered, killed by the sword or fire, kidnapped, and tricked by so-called friends.  OK, that doesn't sound so good. Here let's read the verses...


 Daniel 11:33-35 Those who are wise among the people will give understanding to many, yet they will die by sword and flame, and be captured and plundered for a time. When defeated, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely. Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.


Rev 13:10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.


Here's a verse though, that also points to a blessing, a BIG blessing, that comes with this type of death:
Rev 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. They had not worshiped the beast


The full explanation for all of this would take some time, time I'd love to take if I didn't have places to go and people to see. But if I explained it all, you'd be missing out on part of your blessing. Blessed is he who searches out these answers for himself!
I'll just point out that "keeping the words of prophecy in this book" (Rev 22:7) isn't going to happen if you're gone before the tribulation. The instructions given for that time are not just for people "left behind". Personally I would find it unfair if a brand new Christian who only became a Christian when he saw all of his Christian friends disappear got the biggest blessings promised to anyone in the Bible.
I am jazzed about those blessings. I want to reign with Christ for a thousand years. People who are not Martyrs, or who don't die in the 7 years, or who don't live through the 7 years, do not get to be in the thousand year reign. They will come back with the New Heaven and New Earth after the thousand years. (more on that another day.)
I'm not saying that we seek these blessings for the sake of the blessing. Believe me, you will one of the "wise that will fall" (in Daniel 11) "to be purified" if those are your only motives. Seek God first... gifts, blessing, second.


I have run out of time. I hope this has spurred you on to look around these verses yourself... and around others you may find.
Don't be afraid of the future... be excited for your blessings.

My Trip

As you may know, I just got home from a trip to Israel and Jordan.
I thought I'd share a little with you as it pertains to our subject.
One of our first stops was to Petra in Jordan. Petra is in biblical Edom... from the descendants of Esau. It's a truly awesome place that should be visited if you are ever on that side of the world. Petra (by other names) is the third most mentioned place in the Bible. One of it's mentions in as a place of refuge for the Jews during the last 3 1/2 years of the Great Tribulation. (Rev 12:14, among others... maybe we'll go into those another day.)

One of the other sites mentioned as an End Times place is the valley of Megiddo (or Armageddon).  We visited Tel Megiddo that overlooked the valley. Numerous battles have been fought here, but we know that the last battle will not be a battle at all. The armies of the world may gather to make war, but Jesus will be victorious with just a word from his mouth.
Because of my interests, These three sites were what I was most looking forward to, and what I most enjoyed.

The last of my three favorite sites was the Mount of Olives. (A better picture would've been from the opposite side of the mount , but when you're on it, you only get a glimpse, and I never got a good shot from the bus.) Our Jewish tour guide mentioned that it is a common belief among Jews that when the Messiah comes, the mount will be split in two and the souls from the graves will be brought to life and will enter into Jerusalem and to the temple.  I almost piped up and said, "Yeah, we believe that too, only it will be His second coming, not His first."
The Mount of Olives is where Jesus' feet will first touch the earth at His second coming. It is overwhelming to see the mass amounts of graves covering the hill. What an awesome depiction of His resurrection power to have multitudes join Him in His grand entrance!