Summary of Bible references on the Rapture

PROPHECY/DREAM-- TAINTED WATER

Tainted = Poison

Small town in the US alarmed and panicking that people are getting sick and dying.

Use small towns to test what they are doing before unleashing this on the major cities.

The goal is to take over the country, drugging the people so they don't fight back.

Repent, get into the word, and be refreshed.

This will affect all who are living in America.

As you see the day approaching p.2

Watch out for false prophets

8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.

On the one hand there are signs that tell us when these things are about to happen, on the other hand Satan will disguise himself as an angel of light and try to deceive us. The last two thousand years of the church age is filled with false prophets and false Christs (cult leaders) who want people to follow them. The lesson to be learned is not that Christians need to avoid this topic or this chapter, but rather we need to know the Lord. We are His sheep and we know His voice. Second lesson is we should not be ignorant of Satan’s devices. If it is possible to deceive the elect he will do so. The extent of his deceptions and the lengths that he will go to in order to deceive us is incredible. The cult leaders like Jim Jones is the first and most obvious example. In warfare it is critical to keep your balance. An attack may cause you to fall (as with those who were deceived and followed the false christ) but it may also cause you to overreact, over compensate. It seems today everyone is concerned with religious extremists and no one is concerned with secularism. Either way you are not balanced. The Lord said “I will build my house and the gates of hades will not prevail against it”. If you are standing with the Lord building the house then you should be experiencing the attacks of the gates of hell. Being someplace where there is no attack is a sign that you are not with the Lord building His house. When I played football I was told to “fight the pressure”. If the lineman is trying to push you one way that is where you don’t want to go. On the one hand we have Jim Jones telling us the time is near and we need to follow him. That is grape kool aid. On the other hand you have these denominational preachers saying “no one knows the day or the hour” and that we should not touch this topic, that is the cherry Kool aid. Either way you are being deceived. Every word of God is good for teaching, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness. Anyone who removes words from the Bible or says you should skip this chapter, that chapter and the book of Revelation will be accursed. So then how do we identify these false prophets. They come in the Lord’s name, they will be in the appearance of a believer, they are wolves in sheep's clothing. Only they are not satisfied being one of the many sheep, no they are a special sheep, they are “he”. This is so obvious you have to be very naive to fall for it. They have a special anointing, a special gift, they are “the apostle”, or who knows, they may claim to be Christ (anointed, or have a special anointing)! One technique is to deny that they say that and yet everything they do say would lead you to believe that “wow, this is Christ!” That is the big tell. A second big component of their ministry is “the time is near”. This is very distinctive, they are saying that at the end of the age, the time is near, the messiah has returned secretly to lead people out of this evil world, and only those in this cult out of 7.5 billion people on earth know. Once again you have to be extremely naive. The gospel goes out to the whole world and then the end comes. We are not a “secret society”, those are of Satan. We are not of the world but the Lord has sent us out into the world to preach the gospel and to be His witness until He comes. There is no special pre rapture period where we then leave the world and are no longer responsible to be witnesses. But the ultimate tell is that you need to follow them? Why? We have the fellowship of the Apostles, this is our covenant, our contract with God. Jesus is living in our heart. Where in our contract does it ever say that we also will need to follow some man at the end of the age. Rather it doesn’t say that, it says that is a deception from the enemy. Now many will think, thank God I’m not in a cult like Jim Jones. OK, but do you follow a man? Can you read the Bible for yourself or do you need some Bible teacher to tell you what it says? How did the Lord put it, oh yea, “depart from me workers of iniquity, I never knew you”. Do you know the Lord, do you know His word, can you recognize His voice, or do you need someone else to tell you what God is saying? If you don’t have that relationship everything else is not important, you will never deceive the Lord at His coming and the door will be shut in your face. There is another tell, Peter says they want to make merchandise of the saints. There is a profit motive to their ministry. Probably they sell books, or DVD's, etc. Many people like to gravitate to the most popular preachers, but fame and popularity are never given to us as a measure of spirituality. Moses was extremely unpopular when he first began speaking to Pharaoh and Elijah thought that he was alone. Paul said that everyone had left him, and John ended up exiled on Patmos. In fact there are only two exceptions that I can think of in the entire Bible: John the Baptist and Jesus. So then let's consider those two:

Mark 1:4 John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance unto remission of sins. 5 And there went out unto him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Why? If you have ever preached the gospel people don't want to hear it, they don't want to hear you tell them they are sinners. How often do you have have people coming to you repenting? Even in the book of Acts we didn't see this. John the Baptist is out in the wilderness and it sounds like everyone is coming out of Judea to go to him to repent, confess their sins and be baptized. Why? In two thousand years I don't think we have ever seen this. We have seen preachers who preached about hell and "sinners in the hand of an angry God" which caused people to repent. But it almost seems like John doesn't say anything and they are coming to him. That we have never seen. However, after the rapture I believe we will see it. There will be many Christians who were lied to, they were deceived, and for some reason they will know that the two witnesses are sent by God. This of course is simply a hunch. But consider this, how many popular and famous preachers do you know where repentance from sins and baptism is the central focus of their ministry?

Jesus is the other example, He was certainly famous. However, "he had no place to place his head" and his disciples were in the grain fields picking grains to eat because that is how hungry they were. He was accused of casting out demons by Beelezebub by the Pharisees and they crucified Him for blasphemy. Among the poor they cheered Him when He entered Jerusalem, but among the elites He turned over the tables of the money changers and rebuked them for selling doves and other things. He was asked to leave one town after casting out demons and cleaning up the dirty business of selling pigs. His disciples feared going into Judea because they were seeking to kill Jesus. So, famous, yes, popular no. There is an expression, that when you are getting all of this attack from the big muckety mucks that it means "you are over the target".
So if you see some guy who is a best selling author for books saying that the Lord's coming is near and he has an amazing testimony of how the prophets had prophesied he would come, prophesies you never heard of before but you will have to take his word on it, he's rich, he's famous, well then, watch out.

As you see the day approaching p.3

Wars and uprisings

9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

Here is another distinction between Luke, and Matthew and Mark. In Luke it is “wars and tumults” and in the other two gospels it is wars and rumors of war. We now have “police actions” where we don’t consider that it rises to the level of a war. Panama Canal was not a war, it was a tumult. Falkland Islands was not a war, it was a tumult. The Gulf war is a war, and police actions are tumults. This will be the situation prior to the tribulation and the first rapture. This is a very strange thing to say at the time of Jesus, there was no "newspaper", there was no "radio" or "tv". Why would anyone be concerned with a war that was not in your neighborhood? Today we are very concerned when we hear about Russia or China or Ukraine or Israel or Iran. Two thousand years ago if you lived in the US you wouldn't have cared less.

10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

World War I, World War II, and the two Gulf wars are examples. But if we consider the whole church age you can include many other wars: Vietnam, Korea, Napoleonic, etc.

Earthquakes, Famines and Pestilences

11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places,

Krakatoa, Japan’s Tsunami, Indonesia Tsunami, and various pestilences like Black plague and Spanish flu. Again, why would you care if you were in the US with the Black Plague in Europe? Why would you care about Krakatoa? At the time of Jesus you would not have any idea of a Tsunami in Indonesia. Jesus is describing a time when the Earth is connected by Newspapers, TV, Radio, and what happens on one side has a big impact on everyone, and yet He was doing this two thousand years ago. What he is describing we have only had since WWI and really only since WWII, and to be fair it really came into its own after the first Gulf War and CNN reporting the war live.

Fearful Events

and fearful events

The terrorist attacks are fearful events. Munich Olympics and taking the Israeli team hostage was a fearful event. 9/11 was a fearful event. This bombing in Afghanistan was a fearful event. The mortgage meltdown was a fearful event. Chernobyl was a fearful event. However, prior to this last century what fearful events have we had? No nuclear catastrophes, no toxic chemical spills, no airplane crashes. Maybe a train crash or a boat sinking, but that is about it.

Great signs from heaven

and great signs from heaven.

The Revelation 12 sign on September 23, 2017 was a great sign from heaven. There have been a whole host of lunar eclipses and solar eclipses which are very prophetic, within this blog you can see links to videos that go into great detail on the significance of each one. The lord describes these things as though there would be lots of them, kind of like a bowl of M and M’s, but then at the very end you will have great signs from heaven. The sense I get is these are like birth pains. The odd pain here and there doesn't mean the baby is coming, but when all the birth pains are coming all at once, then you know you are going into labor. At the very end you will get great signs from heaven, that is the key sign. The Revelation sign is a great sign, the last time something similar to this happened was six thousand years ago depicting that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. This sign will not appear again for several thousand years. It is a great sign. You have the woman (Virgo) crowned with 12 stars, clothed with the sun and the moon is at her feet. In her belly you have Jupiter for 9 months and then comes out the birth canal. This sign occurred at the feast of trumpets in 2017.

Consider the birth of Israel in 1948. We had wars (WWI and WWII). We had fearful events like the Holocaust, Dresden and Nagasaki and Hiroshima. We had the Spanish flu. In 1920 we had an earthquake in China that killed over 250,000 people. In 1923 we had an earthquake in Japan that killed 140,000 people. So there were definitely some great earthquakes.

Doomsday Cults

Look at all these events: wars, uprisings, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, fearful events and great signs from heaven it seems every time we had one we had some false Christ claiming the day was near and to follow him into some cult. Think about Haley's comet, or Krakatoa.

James Nichols Thom claimed to be Christ in an uprising against paying taxes. The Black death was interpreted by many to be a sign of the end of the world. Likewise with the Bubonic plague and the great fire of London.

So if you look at this it seems the Lord is warning against using these events to predict the end of the age and to avoid the false prophets who claim to be Christ and that you should follow them.

So then, before studying all the many prophecies concerning the Lord's return and the end of the age the first thing you need is to be inoculated against following these cults. These cults are almost always comprised of young people, disillusioned by religion, but who are very superficial in their understanding of the Bible.

If you think about it all these kooks are the reason no one wants to touch this topic. There are two different approaches Satan can take, first he can ridicule, mock and slander those who explore these prophecies. If that doesn't work he can push those who are pursuing them to go off the deep end. We are supposed to thread the eye of the needle, being a doomsday cult sitting on your rooftop is unbalanced, but so is taking the attitude that "no one knows the day or the hour" so don't even touch these verses. Either way you are being played by Satan. Like Paul said in Ephesians you have to do all to stand. We stand on the word of God, every word, and so much the more as we see the day approaching.

An End Time Proclamation and Announcements from the Angel Gabriel 2/22/23@6:09pm (uploaded 3/5/23)

https://youtube.com/live/2KTYNv5Rs0M?si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

Repent while you can, the restrainer is stepping aside allowing the AntiChrist to raise to his position.

The Man of Sin, of Perdition will be given power over the saints of God (those who failed to have their garments spotless and those who are yet to come).

Also the end time two witnesses have officially moved into their position.

Their Truth Is A Lie" 3/5/23 Pastor Sandy

As you see the day approaching p.4

But, Before all this -- The Church Age -- The Times of the Gentiles

12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.

This is what happened to the apostles. All these ones were asking for the signs of the end of the age and the Lord let's them know that you guys will be going to jail before that time.

13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.

All of us should set our minds now, don't wait until the police are chasing you down because of the mark of the beast. Decide now, you will be 100% for the Lord and if that means getting your head chopped off, so be it.

15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Don't even bother with your defense. Focus on the Lord, being a witness for Him, being a testimony for Him and He'll take care of your defense.

16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.

People will lie to you and betray you. Think how foolish you will feel if you let these ones manipulate you or your ministry.

17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

The Lord’s response is divided into three sections. The first section talks about how we need to be careful we are not deceived. We are now coming to the second section which is referring to the apostles and everything we saw happen in the Acts of the Apostles. The rapture is divided into two groups, the first to rise are the dead in Christ. So the Lord is now giving us a vision of the “dead in Christ”. They were persecuted, especially by religious leaders, put in prison, and in their trials they will give testimony, they will be the Lord’s witnesses. Everyone will hate them because of the Lord.

20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.

70 AD. Remember He is now talking to the apostles.

21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.

The Bible has written how long the punishment should be if they reject God and it includes the diaspora and it the time of punishment began to end in 1948 when they were allowed to return to Israel and then also in 1967 when they got Jerusalem back, and then again in 2017 when Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

We might be tempted to think this is talking about the Day of the Lord but the section ends with “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled”. But there is a very nice symmetry here, what we saw at the beginning of the age we will see again at the end of the age. This also tells us that the book of Acts is not simply historical but also prophetic. What has been will be.

PROPHECY-- THE MARRIAGE SUPPER

They shall condemn Him to death

32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going before them: and they were amazed; and they that followed were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were to happen unto him, 33 saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles: 34 and they shall mock him, and shall spit upon him, and shall scourge him, and shall kill him; and after three days he shall rise again.

What was the point of telling them this over and over again? They need to prepare themselves. If you are surprised when all these religious leaders are condemning you to death it can be shocking. I thought I was following the Lord, why are they doing this, what did I do wrong? No one likes to be mocked and spit upon and scourged. But if you prepare yourself then your attitude changes. I have been condemned by religious leaders, I have been mocked, I have even been spit upon. But I have never been scourged and no one ever killed me. So just like it says in Hebrews I haven't yet "resisted unto blood, striving against sin". So my attitude is different, if I was going to be arrested and beheaded for not taking the mark, well that is on my bucket list. I would be like, "can you bloody me up a little first".

In the same way we have been getting prophetic warnings since the beginning of 2020 concerning the pandemic, concerning the vaccine, concerning inflation, depression, war, famine and more plague. Some of these things have already taken place, others we can see coming down the track and still others people have yet to see. But the purpose is to prepare your mind for what is coming. What was the key point in the Dana Coverstone dreams? Brace yourself. If you need to strengthen your faith read the Bible. The prophecies from these dreams are like the guy in the passenger seat of the car telling us what to look for up ahead as we are heading down the highway. We know there is going to be a famine so we know that the sabotage of 120+ food processing plants is important or the governments forbidding the use of fertilizer is important or the war in Ukraine cutting off their harvests and exports is important. We have been warned of financial collapse so we pay attention to that as well. We have been warned about the collapse of the US dollar so we pay attention to BRICS. You want to see these things ahead of time just like you want to see your exit ahead of time. If the Lord is telling us all this ahead of time it comforts us knowing that this is all part of His plan and under His sovereignty.

Poison Water & Grid Down 03/06/2023

https://rumble.com/v2bx7v0-poison-water-and-grid-down-03062023.html

Prophetic Timelines

Isaiah 46:10 -- "Declaring the end from the beginning".

Known as the Berisheet prophecy. The first word in the Bible, Berisheet which we translate as "In the Beginning" lays out this redemptive prophetic timeline. This word reveals when, where and what will happen.

7,000 year Dispensational timeline begins with the sin of Adam, not with Adam's creation.

AKH-AR-EET prophecy

The Hebrew word we translate as "End". This word is unique. In the OT we see the english word "end" 300 times and 28 times in Isaiah. However, this word AKH-AR-EET is only found once in Isaiah and about 20 times in the entire Bible.

This word is often translated as "Hereafter". In Isaiah 46 we read that Israel is going into captivity. Chastening them for spiritual adultery. Around 720 BC.

In the hereafter they are promised a place of protection and hope. First character -- Aleph (strong leader, picture of God, first of a kind, Adam -- first man) Second character -- Chet -- Fenced garden, a safe fenced sanctuary and it is the number 8, a number that refers to Jesus, the Messiah.

Berisheet shows that Adam is not in the garden (after sinning), in the hereafter Adam is in the garden.

A major prophecy of the "hereafter" is in Ezekiel 36:35 "and they shall say this land that was desolate is like the Garden of Eden and hte waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced and are inhabited".

Fourth Character is Yood -- Hand doing a Divine deed, accomplishes something ordained in heaven. The number of ordinal perfection (10) and it a multiplier.

Fifth Character is Tav -- a character that means sign, and the pictorgraph is a picture of the cross. It is the number 400.

We use the Cross as the centerpoint and go back 4,000 years (400 x 10) and we come to the year Adam sinned (Use prophetic years of 360 days).

The third character -- Reysch a prince or head person. This has the number 200. Multiply 200 by 10 (Yod, the multiplier) and you learn that this head person, this prince will arrive in 2000 years, the "hereafter".

This word tells us that Jesus, the prince, will come 2,000 prophetic years after Israel rejects Him at the cross.

He calculates that Jesus was crucified at 30 AD, His Second coming will be in 2030 AD and the 70th week in Daniel, the last seven years will begin in 2023 AD.

To be continued...

More Prophetic timelines

Ezekiel 4

The 10 Northern Tribes of Israel suffered a 390 year "time out" for their years of Iniquity

and the Southern Kingdom of Israel suffered a 40 year disciplinary time out for their iniquity.

Ezekiel 4:3b-6 "This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. 4 Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee.

The period of time between the 30AD crucifixion and the 70AD seige of Jerusalem is 40 years.

Two major events heralding an end and a beginning: the crucifixion and the destruction of the temple.

Leviticus 26

18 And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.

21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

24 then will I also walk contrary unto you; and I will smite you, even I, seven times for your sins.

28 then I will walk contrary unto you in wrath; and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins.

During the 40 years after the crucifixion of Jesus did any of the national leaders of Israel heed the pleadings of the Apostle Peter or any of the other apostles? Did they listen to Stephen?

No, they were all put to death. They doubled down on their rejection of Jesus.

7 x 40 = 280 + 70AD = 350 AD.

Did Israel repent in 350AD? No, in the Talmud they doubled down on their scorn of Jesus.

7 x 280 = 1960 years. 1960 - 280 (time served) = 1680 years.

70AD + 280 years = 350 AD. Now add 1680 years to 350 AD = 2030 AD.

The Bible tells us that God would bring unrepentant Israel back into the land, which He did in 1948. However, the millenial kingdom where they receive Jesus as the Messiah, the prophesied "hereafter" begins in 2030

From 70 AD to 2030 is 1960 years.

1960 / 49 = 40

40 Jubilee cycles. (A shemitah is a 7 year period like the 70th week in Daniel. A set of seven Shemitah's is 49 years, the next year, the start of a new cycle of seven Shemitah's is known as the Jubilee year.

7 x 7 is also equal to the two prophetic periods of punishment in Leviticus. So this is a second way to check our math.

Israel was given 40 years to repent for the cross of Christ, after that they were given a penalty and that penalty will ultimately last for 40 Jubilee cycles.

Two witnesses for 2030

Ezekiel 4:1 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it a city, even Jerusalem: 2 and lay siege against it, and build forts against it, and cast up a mound against it; set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it round about. 3 And take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face toward it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

4 Moreover lie thou upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.

The House of Israel is the Northern Kingdom. They have 390 years for repentance. This count begins in 701 BC, the year the Assyrians lay seige to Jerusalem. Even though it is under seige God does not allow it to be defeated as He puts a wall of iron around the city.

6 And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah: forty days, each day for a year, have I appointed it unto thee. 7 And thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with thine arm uncovered; and thou shalt prophesy against it. 8 And, behold, I lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to the other, till thou hast accomplished the days of thy siege.

They have 40 years to repent, at that time if they don't Jerusalem will not be protected and the Jews will go out in bands. The start date for the time out is 70AD and this time God will allow Jerusalem to be besieged.

701 BC is 770 years from 70 AD.

390 x 7 = 2730 years. 2730 years + 701 BC = 2030.

A colt whereon no man ever yet sat

11 And when they draw nigh unto Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth two of his disciples, 2 and saith unto them, Go your way into the village that is over against you: and straightway as ye enter into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat; loose him, and bring him. 3 And if any one say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye, The Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him back hither. 4 And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door without in the open street; and they loose him. 5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? 6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had said: and they let them go. 7 And they bring the colt unto Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and he sat upon him. 8 And many spread their garments upon the way; and others branches, which they had cut from the fields. 9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10 Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest.

I have noticed many people posting on Youtube or going onto various podcasts and saying they had never shared before but felt compelled. It seems like ever since the Pandemic we have had a host of these. Even pastors like Dana Coverstone having prophetic dreams and beginning to post for the first time.

Consider Vicki Goforth Parnell, the oldest dreams I see she posted were September of 2019, that was when the pandemic first began in China.

Or Consider U B Ready, the oldest video from him on Youtube is about 9 months ago.

I started this blog two years ago. Likewise Romoe 10 started her Youtube videos 2 years ago.

But there are many who have had dreams and visions, they will say they never share but feel compelled to share this for the first time.

Four stories about Jesus seeking fruit on a Fig Tree

Mark 11:12 And on the morrow, when they were come out from Bethany, he hungered. 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs. 14 And he answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And his disciples heard it...
19 And every evening he went forth out of the city. 20 And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. 24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Matthew 21:18 Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he hungered. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How did the fig tree immediately wither away? 21 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done. 22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

This story is not in Luke. However, there is another story about fig trees in Luke that is not in Mark and Matthew. It may seem unrelated, but not really.

6 And he spake this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit thereon, and found none. 7 And he said unto the vinedresser, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it also cumber the ground? 8 And he answering saith unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 and if it bear fruit thenceforth, well; but if not, thou shalt cut it down.

So then, let's consider this from the view that Luke refers to those prior to the rapture, Mark is the tribulation saints and Matthew is Israel at the end of the age. In every case Jesus is seeking fruit. The watchmen need a little fertilizer boost to get going prior to the rapture, meanwhile for Mark the apostate church would be the Fig tree without any fruit that is cursed and withers up and for the Jews in Matthew it would be their synagogues that are fruitless and are cursed and wither up.

Now with that as a context lets consider the reference to the fig tree in the gospel of John.

John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. This could certainly be seen as a reference to prayer which we see in both Mark and Matthew, and it could also be seen as a reference to the rapture.

Obviously what makes the fig tree special is the reference in Genesis to Adam and Eve using the fig leaves to cover their nakedness. Yes, the fig tree is a national symbol of Israel. But Adam and Eve predate Israel so the significance for all of us is that we use these leaves (the good works) to cover up our nakedness due to sin. This doesn't mean that the fig tree is bad, only that Jesus redemptive sacrifice on the cross is far superior (I'd rather be covered with skins than fig leaves). Jesus saw Nathaniel "under the fig tree" reminds us of Adam and Eve covering themselves with fig leaves. Jesus sees our heart, He sees our good works, but the greater thing is answered prayer. The greater thing that the whole world will see is the rapture.

Cleansing the Temple

Luke 19:45 And he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold, 46 saying unto them, It is written, And my house shall be a house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of robbers.

Luke gives us the simplest description.

Mark 11:15 And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; 16 and he would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers. 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, for all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.

Mark becomes more involved. Luke didn't mention the money changers but Mark does. We don't see the mark of the beast and the Antichrist controlling what you can buy or sell until we get to the tribulation saints.

Matthew 21:12 And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; 13 and he saith unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were moved with indignation, 16 and said unto him, Hearest thou what these are saying? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 17 And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

This is even more detailed It talks about healing the blind and lame which the other two gospels don't mention, and it goes into much greater detail about the indignation of the scribes and priests including an account of children crying "Hosanna to the Son of David".

However there is one constant in all three accounts -- My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers.

Now look at how different this account is in the book of John

John 2:13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And he found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 and he made a scourge of cords, and cast all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew their tables; 16 and to them that sold the doves he said, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise. 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for thy house shall eat me up. 18 The Jews therefore answered and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he spake this; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

In Chapter 1 of John we see Nathaniel under the Fig tree reminding us of God seeking Adam and Eve after they sinned trying to cover themselves with fig leaves. Now in Chapter 2 of John we see this event which takes place at the end of the other three gospels days before the Lord's crucifixion. It indicates that this was at the top of the Lord's agenda, the top of His to do list. If you want to pray according to God's will this would certainly be close to the Lord's heart.

Interestingly He doesn't say anything about prayer in this one. The synoptic gospels depict Jesus as a man and the gospel of John depicts Jesus as the incarnated God.

So think about this, they make the house of God a "house of merchandise". Sad to say that is so true. We have ministries selling Tshirts, coffee mugs, hats, and of course their books, CDs, DVD's, etc. I met with one church where the "apostle" sold all his books in the bookstore. The church meeting halls were like franchises for his bookstore. That may seem a little crass, but it was worse than that. If you wanted to be in their fellowship you had to have a standing order for their books. The standing order was unrealistic, so the church bought many more books than they sold and basically had to eat the loss. What one church did was sell the books in a yard sale at a $1 each at the end of the year. As a result no one bought the books prior to that. Other places will have guest speakers and they always have their books and CDs in the hall after the meeting.

This seems reasonable, we have brothers and sisters that are burdened to be full time shouldn't we support their ministry? Perhaps, but if you make the church a house of merchandise you are guaranteed to also make it a den of thieves. The thieves want to make merchandise of you. Suppose you welcomed guest speakers as long as they didn't sell anything. You would still get some but you would eliminate the robbers and those that want to make merchandise of you. Suppose that church that was a franchise for the brothers books to be sold, suppose none of those church meeting halls had a book room. Anyone who wanted to buy the books could do so by going on line to the ministry website. Everyone in that church knew about the ministry and the website, why not do that? No way, if they did that then book sales would be a small fraction of what they were.

I am a Gideon. We try and give church reports. For example, this coming Lord's day we will give a church report at a church that has a weekly food give away ministry. We also go to that and hand out bibles. Last week we handed out 727 new testaments, 600 in English and 127 in Spanish. So we will go to the church and give them a report of our activity for the last year. At that food giveaway alone we have probably handed out 4,000 bibles or more in the last 8 months (there are two camps involved so it is difficult to accurately say how many we have given out). We don't sell anything. Simply give a 5 minute report of what we have done and if anyone wants to donate to the ministry they can. We do have a display, but if they want a bible we give them away, nothing is for sale.

I also like that this portion in John is the only account that talks about Jesus making a whip. God is the creator, as the incarnate God Jesus making a whip could refer to using individuals and journalists and exposes to whip these ones. I like to think of Jesus as the strong man and Donald Trump as the jawbone of an Ass that Samson used to kill many of the Philistines. I think this is similar with Jesus making a whip here.

PROPHECY-- CONSPIRACY THEORY


13 When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. 2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

These are edicts of the liars. Wear a mask, edict of the liar. Make the vaccine mandatory, edict of the liar. Give it emergency use authorization, edict of the liars. Sending $100 billion to Ukraine only to have billions come back for the election through FTX, edict of the liars.

Censorship will grow worse. Tyranny will grow worse.