With Christmas coming up in a couple months, many of us turn to that (pagan) tradition of exchanging gifts with each other. Often times we “drop hints” to loved ones of what we would love for Christmas – and so we hope for certain things to come during the gift exchange. I don’t think that there’s any issue with trying to guess what you might be getting for Christmas.
It’s a similar position as we look to Jesus’ returning for His bride (the Church) – The bible has many clues that help us to see when Jesus may come for us. Books of the bible like the book of Daniel and Revelation were books that God commanded to be “sealed” at the time they were written, to be “unsealed” (or reveled/make sense) in the end times, the very time we are living in now, the last of the last days. One thing that the bible does NOT seem to say is that we should NOT look for our King’s return. In fact, it says the opposite in several passages – that we should be watching for His return, and be ready. Since I’m commanded to watch, then attempting to put possible dates together for Christ’s return would seem to be part of that, and not prohibited by the bible.
Now, if I were to offer a date and follow it by “Thus Saith The Lord” then that would be me claiming to speak prophecy – and since I am not a prophet, then that would be false prophecy. But to offer ideas to other brothers and sisters, and spur more interest in digging into scripture to find the real truth does nothing but improve our knowledge of God’s word!
Remember that in Matthew 24:36 Jesus says “No one knows about the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Please remember that Jesus was speaking to Jews at this time (not the Church), and it is before the time of Jesus’ ascent to the Father – and so Jesus was still limited in his carnal body. Jesus tells us later in His ministry that we can know, consider 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6:
4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
OK to Watch
So now that I’ve convinced myself it’s OK to watch, I’ll share with you a very quick observation that came to me when I took a step back this week… Several of the prominent hypothesis being spoken of right now, all target about the same time (within about four days of each other.) We won’t know until the day, but doesn’t it seem like something God would do – that if He wants us to find his date of return, that he would make it so that several different theories arrive at the same point? Maybe it’s a stretch, but I’m extremely hopeful. And if He does not come shortly, then we will keep looking and keep hoping – with every day that passes, we are one day closer to His return!
Here’s some of the prominent theories right now on Rapture Dates:
Oct 29/30 or 30/31 – Heshvan 10 – This date comes from believing Matthew 24:37 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. And then studying some of the dates from the time of noah, such as Heshvan 10 – the day that Noah was sealed into the ark by God. The latter part of this article by Daniel Matson covers it well – as it “delays” all of the fall feasts by 30 days, and results in several other interesting “date math” results. Note that depending on which Hebrew calendar you use, this is either the 29/30 or 30/31 October.
Oct 30/31 – Barley Harvest – (Nov 12/13 also an option) – There is a Hebrew custom of checking the Barley Harvest on a certain date – and if the Barley is not ready, a 13th month is added to the calendar for that year, effectively pushing the fall feasts out an extra 30 days. Since the first time around, the Feast of Atonement and Shemini Atzeret were good possible dates, and since in the event of a late barley harvest, those dates are still ahead of us. This is also covered in Daniel Matson’s recent article.
Halloween conjecture: So isn’t it interesting that these dates are all pointing to times right around the date of the pagan holiday Halloween, where the dead are celebrated? Regardless, I see several predictions coming to this same approximate time, using different data – so I’m taking notice.
And so children of the light: Are you ready? Are you watching?
More importantly dear friends, do you have eternal security? The rewards for accepting Christs death, burial, and ascension are beyond compare – it’s truly the deal of a lifetime. Please consider accepting Christ’s offer.. Not much more that I can say about that other than I hope we get to spend eternity together. Please join me!
What a season this has been for me (and as a result, my family as well.) This last few months have been absolutely a whirlwind in my mind and heart like nothing I’ve ever been through before. I’m not talking bad things, just big discoveries – discoveries that really explain more and more what goes on around us.
But first I digress…
I made Christ my Lord and Savior when I was 18 years old. However, it’s been only the last 10 years where being ‘saved’ has transitioned from my head into my heart.
During the first 20 years of my “Christian walk” I did what many do in our margin-less society, and I lived my faith through what others (mostly pastors and teachers) said about Christ, and how a Christian is to live. I remember at one point wishing that God would just give me a “list” of rules to follow and obey (boy, am I glad He did not!)
However due to a season of personal struggle (on several fronts) approximately 10 years ago, I had reached a low point in my life. Some of us are pretty hard-headed, and God has to “forcefully simplify” our lives to make room for Him to come in and get personal – and that certainly happened in my case.
– and I would not have traded that season for the world –
Don’t get me wrong, it was an ugly season (just ask my family) but I would not trade that season for anything – as through it I discovered a very real, and very personal Jesus. Prior to that, I truly had no idea that He wanted to know me that well – that personally.
Fast forward to 2016, as the presidential race was heating up, I then came to the shocking discovery that “everything is not as it seems” – and that there are people and powers in this world that are not really on our side. I began this blog as a way to share information from alternative news media, to combat some of the biased news that was coming out, long before it was ever termed “Fake News.” A few posts into the blog, and while searching for “real” news, I became aware of a section of my faith that I’d not really explored before, and I found it fascinating – and that’s where the blog posts died, as I now was in a learning mode again. You can read some of that here.
During the last 6 months, I have “discovered” a part of my faith that I had not given any attention to previously – namely “Eschatology” or the study of biblical end times.
– you mean this thing ends? –
To my defense (and of many others,) end times, and even more the whole subject of prophecy is not touched on in most of our churches today. The reasons for that would take several more posts to dissect, so we’ll leave that for another time.
Earlier this year, I loaded up my iPad with video and web content to study on a 5 hr flight – and when I landed, I remember sending an email to my wife stating “If what I’m studying is real, then this changes everything.”
A very large chunk of the bible is devoted to discussion of the “times of the end.” To sum it up, in the end, the Church (the body of believers) is removed from the earth, and then 7 years remain where God can then redeem his beloved Israel. If you’ve ever wondered why there is so much strife in the middle east, the simple story is because God promised Israel to the Jews forever. The story of God, Christ and the Church involves good versus evil (God vs. Satan) and Israel is surrounded on all sides by evil that would like nothing more than for Jews to not exist.
Prophecy is fact – the bible contains a very accurate timeline that’s historically proven itself through the years. If I did not have a personal relationship with Christ, the knowledge of completed prophecy would have been enough to cause me to really dig into it – but again, it’s not taught much, and the first part of my “walk” was done through the eyes of others.
There is still a big chunk of prophesy yet to be fulfilled – most of it relating to the end times. The exciting part is that it is quite literally unfolding in front of our very eyes. But just as I learned how “Fake News” attempts to keep people unaware of the real truth, I discovered that much of the truth of end times is just not being discussed.
– In fact, most Christians are not even watching for Christ’s return (even though he commanded us as believers that we watch.) Oops… I was guilty.
So I began to devour bible studies on the end times – which takes you through Revelation and the book of Daniel, as well as referencing just many other corners of the bible. And I began to realize that God may have chosen us to live in and experience the end times – a piece of time written about more than any other time period in the bible, including the time that Jesus walked the earth.
I went through several phases in my mind (well, more in my heart really.) I began to understand that Jesus was coming for His bride (the Church) – and with that were many promises. I began to connect the dots – many of our modern worship songs speak of Christ coming again, but I think it’s outside so much of our normal that we just assume that nothing like that will occur during our lifetime (see previous post about normals.)
I first went through the emotion of loss – so many things in this world that were still on my “bucket list.” Whenever we see huge change ahead, our first thought is to fear it due to a perceived loss. Then that fear transitions to fear of the unknown (so do I become a cloud when Jesus comes for me? Do I even qualify?)
It did not take long for me to get through this phase on to the next, and that’s the phase where everything really changes.
– and it’s the place where I really, truly found hope. –
Boy, do I wish this stuff was taught more in the church – it’s sad that the very evil that is against God has found it’s way into our churches, and essentially put the church to sleep with regard to end times. The bible is chock FULL of promises of things to come – things that show our Father in heaven’s love for us. And really, it’s important to understand that the promises are orders of magnitude in just about every respect versus what this life we have now promises.
Consider just these promises:
Eternal Life (we could stop here – this is a big one!)
Death does not exist
Loss of the dimensional restriction of time (as we know it)
No evil (I mean completely gone)
That list can go on a lot longer, but here’s what finally wrecked me: My initial fear of the unknown and loss of the things of this world, fairly quickly transitioned into a daily prayer and longing for Christ to come for us – nothing that we have here can compare to the restored world that Christ promised us. And to think that it may be in our lifetime. I honestly, can’t wait!
This turned into a daily study of end times, unmasking prophecy, etc – so much that I hope each day that this is “the day.” We know that we are very near to the end – so much of the bible’s end-times prophecy has been “unsealed” – meaning that what seemed like allegory, turned out to line-up with actual events – and many have attempted to figure out the date of Christ’s return.
– And I don’t see anything wrong with that –
Some of the more “stuffy” Christian community will call those folks “Date Setters” as if that’s a bad thing. To me, when approached with humility (i.e. it looks like this, but it’s all up to God) trying to figure out God’s timing is completely fine – and I have followed many of these predictions. Obviously we are still here, but with each date that passes, more prerequisites to His arrival seem to get checked off of the list.
The most challenging part for me was handling disappointment. It would look like Day X was a sure-fire day for the return of the King – and I wanted it so bad. When that day would pass, my hopes would take a hit somewhat – at least until I saw how much closer daily events were taking us to His arrival.
Then today, I had a huge reset in that area. You see, I have been basing my hopes on the “event” of Christ’s coming- and every day that He did not come, was a day of sadness for me. When you read what Jesus has in store for us after his return for us (and beyond,) you truly will want nothing to do with this evil world that we are made to function in. But what I had to do was shift my hope from Christ’s coming (the specific event) to the hope of what Christ’s restored world brings with it.
– What a relief! –
After my “dark valley” experience of 2008-2009 is when I truly found a personal Jesus. Many thanks goes to Ransomed Heart Ministries and John Eldredge for the “Wild at Heart” book, and associated mens retreats that they offer – This is where I learned that Jesus cares for me personally.
John just released a new book titled “All Things New” and about a month ago. I came across this video introduction to the book – and it captivated me. I strongly recommend you take a look at this video taster – especially if you’ve had no desire or longing for heaven and eternal life up to this point:
In all truth, I had misplaced my hope during this time. In my study of Eschatology, I became enamored with the event (where Christ comes for the church) and did not look much further than that event – mostly because I placed my full trust in Jesus when He said that it would be better (than this world.) But John’s book took me through a deeper study of the promise – the hope, if you will.
Life up until now would have been a MUCH different experience, had I had that hope instilled in me early in my Christian walk.
Friends, I’m excited out of my skin for Christ to come and take the Church away. I’m even more excited to return with Christ and enjoy eternity with Him here – on this very earth – (minus the evil part.) I’m watching every day, and following many fellow “Watchmen” who are studying prophecy – in an attempt to know when He might come (again, that’s not a bad thing to watch.) When He comes is totally up to Him, although the bible tells us that those that watch will not be surprised – and those of us watching are seeing an awful lot of prophecy being fulfilled right now – which is why I still have a sense that it’s very soon (very.) Who knows for sure, it might be years away. Or it could be months, weeks, or even days (the “days” part is not just a hope – there’s some meat to it.) But my hope now lies in the amazing promises of what eternity will be like – and that’s enough to carry me all the way. But I sure do hope he comes soon 🙂
Do you know Jesus? He literally created you (in His image) – but he gave you free will to choose the world, or choose Him (I’ve tried life both ways, and I choose the latter…) He’s extremely real, and he does not want you to perish in the passing away of this world. Won’t you consider putting your trust in Him now? Simply submit your life to him, and eternity (in a much better place) becomes yours. Take a look here for more info.
I have been a lover of music (most all kinds) since I was very young.
As my Christian walk grew over the years, I began to notice that often times, a secular song would have lyrics that seemed to be a cry out to Jesus – even though that was not likely the artist’s intent. I believe that the “Jesus sized hole” that is in every human heart directs much of our desire, even if the individual does not acknowledge Jesus.
I also like “redemptive” and “happily ever after” themes in song and music – I believe because redeeming is what Jesus is all about. Combine beautiful music with passionate, redemptive lyrics, and it gets my tear ducts to activate!
Just today, while driving, I heard two songs from playlists that I had not heard in a long time. Looking at these songs with fresh eyes and an eye for the times we are living in, really took me back a bit – I imagine that neither of these artists (or the song writers) had any idea how “end times-ey” the lyrics are.
I love both of these songs, and now they give me Holy-Spirit goose bumps (Chicken skin for my Hawaiian family…) Below are the two songs, and I really encourage you to listen to them. I’ve chosen versions with lyrics to help. Of course not every word and phrase fits the message that I’m reading into them, but the overall picture painted says enough to me.
I’ll present two songs below. The first song is a song that I first heard performed by Celine Dion and Andre Bocelli – two very amazing voices. Just look at some of these lyrics:
I pray you’ll be our eyes and watch us where we go And help us to be wise in times when we don’t know Let this be our prayer when we lose our way Lead us to a place guide us with your grace To a place where we’ll be safe.
I mean really? Are you kidding me? Please enjoy the song below.
The next song I will present to you is a very recent song by Harry Styles (of One Direction fame.) Again, see some of the lyrics:
Just stop your crying It’s a sign of the times We gotta get away from here We gotta get away from here Just stop your crying It’ll be alright They told me that the end is near We gotta get away from here
More goose bumps for me! God works through EVERYONE – and he’s left a mark, a longing on each person that can only be filled by Him – and the message of that longing is a very familiar cry out to Jesus. Enjoy this video:
That’s all for right now. I just had to share – to me it’s encouragement as we watch and wait for our savior.
Just felt a prompting to post this brief message – so here goes!
So much end times prophecy happening right now, and such division (even in the church) about it’s validity. Lots of date predictions happening, different theories floating around – it’s exciting.
God hit me with some big thoughts about this season. Is it OK for us to focus on this? I believe it is so, and is of great importance – lest we be like the 5 foolish virgins who did not have oil for their lamps, and missed it entirely.
I just want to say:
I’m thankful for ALL of the watchmen,
I don’t believe it’s wrong to “watch” and try to “predict” the rapture,
Allow me to explain a little more of my thoughts:
“I’m thankful for ALL of the watchmen”
I have been following 15-20 different individuals who are sounding the watchmen alarm, They exist in online video and blog format – and I’ve absorbed many of the main theories in these most recent 6 months pertaining to the rapture of the church, and the tribulation. It’s been absolutely fascinating, and has literally awakened me to end times prophecy, and the whole concept of prophecy at all.
Does any one person have “the” line on the truth? Nope, no way – we are all feeble human, trying to consider what our omnipotent Lord has planned. It bothers me when some watchmen “call out” other watchmen for different views – it seems just the way that Satan would divide us, and keep us guessing. I always pray that the approach would be more collaborative, as we all work this out together and learn from each other.
I prefer to listen to many voices , combine with my own studies, and formulate my own opinions based on that, as well as nudging from the Holy Spirit. I try to avoid those that are just based on dreams alone (but lots having the same dream I am intrigued by), and those that have had words from the Lord, unconfirmed by others. I look for trends among the throughs of many, and combine with my own walk with God.
But there’s another really big reason I am thankful for the watchmen – it’s because the fact that they are watching, encourages me to watch. And indeed it has caused me to pick up a biblical field of study that I scarcely even knew of previously. I am thankful for all of the watchmen and their efforts – I’d rather follow God’s commandment to watch – and be wrong, than to not watch at all, and miss the final opportunity to invite people into the “church” before the upcoming tribulation.
“I don’t believe it’s wrong to watch, and even attempt to “predict” the rapture.”
My main reason for this is that simply watching, studying, and attempting to put the pieces together keeps me watching, and very engaged. I have held loosely to many conclusions, and avoiding saying that “this day IS THE day.” instead, I prefer to assess certain things as “high watch” days/weeks. God is continually unfolding this story in real time, and tomorrow’s data will shed different light on today’s views.
As near as I can tell, the bible does not discourage us attempting to “figure things out” – I only see commands to watch out for false teachers. Other than that, we are just commanded to watch. God has given us so many treasures in the Word, and I leave you with this verse referring to that:
Proverbs 25:2 – It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Today I’d like to share a few articles that would be very worth your while to read. I’ll introduce each topically below.
Well, the Prophecy Community is abuzz with thoughts towards this coming week… And of course we also hear the same rhetoric from the scoffers over and over about not knowing the day or the hour of Christ’s return (which refers to His second coming, NOT to the return to the clouds to receive the church at the rapture. All we can do is pray for anyone that has used this mis-information to ignore Jesus’ command to watch for Him, and to know that those of us “of the light” will not be surprised (1 Thessalonians 5:4) It’s amazing how effective Satan has been against the church, and has been able to put most of us to sleep, and thus preventing more and more from experiencing Jesus’ saving grace.
In any case, back to this coming week (and the past week for that matter) – for prophecy watchers, there’s a lot to consider. Just watch the news, and consider the highlights – North Korea, Las Vegas, Antifa, and so on. The “Birth Pains” continue – as the bible said they would. And as in childbirth, the birth pains increase in intensity until the actual birth happens.
So just when is Jesus coming for His bride? In truth, that’s really up to Him – but we certainly can watch, and take our best shot at reading the signs in the world that are spoken of in the bible. Nowhere can I find in the bible where it is bad for us to biblically attempt prediction – to me, that just follows along with Jesus words commanding us to watch and wait for Him.
Much of the Prophecy Community has focused on a Jewish “Holy Convocation” day called “Shemini Atzeret” – or sometimes called “The 8th Day” – it’s a day that follows the Feast of Tabernacles, that the Jewish community celebrates ever year. There are many prophetic signs that align with this particular day, and so it constitutes for us a “High Watch” period where Jesus may come for His bride.
We all know that the Revelation 12 sign did occur on 9/23/2017 – but have put fourth that perhaps the sign was not just a one-day thing. By looking at the Mazzaroth as Israel would do, we see that the “players” (planets and stars) that were a part of the Revelation 12 sign are continuing to present a message as they move through the night sky. Here’s a good video that speaks to how the Revelation 12 sign is ongoing, continuing onward.
I hope everyone has a blessed week.
My prayer for this week is that those who are asleep to Christ coming for His bride would awake – both believers and non-believers. We’re approaching a go/no-go point here in the very near future. We are fast approaching the end of the “Church Age” – that is the point where simply accepting that Christ died for our sins insures you eternal life. Once Christ takes the Church (people, not buildings) away, coming to Christ may require willful loss of life.