Summary of Bible references on the Rapture
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The wedding begins with a great fireworks display
2Samuel 22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
This reminds us of Psalm 18 which celebrates the Lord's salvation and deliverance. According to the Prophecy in the Psalms this Psalm is prophetic for 1918 which was the year we saw the end of WWI and the end of the Spanish flu. Consider that we have three world wars (WWI, WWII, and the world war depicted in Revelation during the tribulation) and we have three groups that are raptured. This verse tells us that God had "made darkness pavilions round about Him", there were secret reserves in WWI that swung that war. Had the US not intervened and brought a million men to the battlefield and a tremendous arsenal of weapons Germany would have won. Gathering of waters or "binding of waters" reminds us of the treaties between the warring factions. Just as today we have the nationalists battling the globalists.
13 At the brightness before him Coals of fire were kindled.
If this is referring to 2022, the 12th through the 18th of Nisan then this 13th would refer to tomorrow, which is also "Good Friday". This reminds us of the fire that fell at the time of Elijah, this reminds us of the burnt offering being consumed, not with "strange fire" but fire from God. There is no need for Jesus to be crucified again, He was sacrificed once for all and has sat down at the right hand of the throne on high. Instead, as you have done it will be done to you. Those that offered Jesus as a burnt offering will themselves be judged by fire.
14 Jehovah thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice.
The 14th of Nisan is the Passover. The Passover was the salvation of the Jews but it was also the death of the firstborn throughout the land of Egypt. Today we are seeing the death of the "firstborn" of so many different aspects of Egypt. Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J are all facing massive impending lawsuits. Election integrity lawsuits look to bring down the entire house of corrupt politicians whether local, city, state or federal. Hunter Biden's laptop looks to bring down Biden, Obama, Clinton, Kerry, the FBI and the DOJ. The weaponization of the DOJ in spying on Trump and the Durham investigation looks to bring down the house of cards. Their spying on Project Veritas has also been revealed. The FBI involvement in false flag operations concerning the kidnapping of Whitmer or the Jan 6th incident are also being brought to light. The MSM's censorship and suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop looks to bring them down as well as the 50 intelligence officers who claimed it was Russian disinformation. Governor Abbot is busing illegal immigrants to Washington DC exposing their impeachable behavior concerning our Southern border as well as developing a strategy to close the Texas border with Mexico. Crime spiking throughout the country is exposing the Soros backed justice departments and the progressives defunding of the police and opening our prisons. Disney has been exposed as a bunch of LGBTQ operatives grooming kids and the public school system has been exposed with their CRT attempt to indoctrinate kids. Then of course inflation, supply chain issues and the looming recession will impact so many more. According to the celebration of Passover all these ones die in a single night as the avenging angel goes through the camp. This hearkens back to Pharaoh killing the Jewish boys, and also to the worship of Baal and Moloch and their abusive practices toward children.
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; Lightning, and discomfited them.
We are seeing some amazing natural calamities worldwide, whether they are man made with the crisis in Ukraine shutting off wheat and oil, or the forest fires, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, tornados, and landslides.
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare, By the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
The final battle of WWI was a devastating bombardment of artillery that had never been seen before. This is like the conclusion of a July 4th fireworks display. What a great build up to the wedding of the Lord.
17 He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters;
Then the Lord snatches the bride. This is exciting. A memory that will last for eternity. Reminds me of my wedding.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
The old timey movie where the guy in the white hat rescues the damsel in distress tied to the railroad tracks.
2Samuel 22:12 And he made darkness pavilions round about him, Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
This reminds us of Psalm 18 which celebrates the Lord's salvation and deliverance. According to the Prophecy in the Psalms this Psalm is prophetic for 1918 which was the year we saw the end of WWI and the end of the Spanish flu. Consider that we have three world wars (WWI, WWII, and the world war depicted in Revelation during the tribulation) and we have three groups that are raptured. This verse tells us that God had "made darkness pavilions round about Him", there were secret reserves in WWI that swung that war. Had the US not intervened and brought a million men to the battlefield and a tremendous arsenal of weapons Germany would have won. Gathering of waters or "binding of waters" reminds us of the treaties between the warring factions. Just as today we have the nationalists battling the globalists.
13 At the brightness before him Coals of fire were kindled.
If this is referring to 2022, the 12th through the 18th of Nisan then this 13th would refer to tomorrow, which is also "Good Friday". This reminds us of the fire that fell at the time of Elijah, this reminds us of the burnt offering being consumed, not with "strange fire" but fire from God. There is no need for Jesus to be crucified again, He was sacrificed once for all and has sat down at the right hand of the throne on high. Instead, as you have done it will be done to you. Those that offered Jesus as a burnt offering will themselves be judged by fire.
14 Jehovah thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered his voice.
The 14th of Nisan is the Passover. The Passover was the salvation of the Jews but it was also the death of the firstborn throughout the land of Egypt. Today we are seeing the death of the "firstborn" of so many different aspects of Egypt. Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J are all facing massive impending lawsuits. Election integrity lawsuits look to bring down the entire house of corrupt politicians whether local, city, state or federal. Hunter Biden's laptop looks to bring down Biden, Obama, Clinton, Kerry, the FBI and the DOJ. The weaponization of the DOJ in spying on Trump and the Durham investigation looks to bring down the house of cards. Their spying on Project Veritas has also been revealed. The FBI involvement in false flag operations concerning the kidnapping of Whitmer or the Jan 6th incident are also being brought to light. The MSM's censorship and suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop looks to bring them down as well as the 50 intelligence officers who claimed it was Russian disinformation. Governor Abbot is busing illegal immigrants to Washington DC exposing their impeachable behavior concerning our Southern border as well as developing a strategy to close the Texas border with Mexico. Crime spiking throughout the country is exposing the Soros backed justice departments and the progressives defunding of the police and opening our prisons. Disney has been exposed as a bunch of LGBTQ operatives grooming kids and the public school system has been exposed with their CRT attempt to indoctrinate kids. Then of course inflation, supply chain issues and the looming recession will impact so many more. According to the celebration of Passover all these ones die in a single night as the avenging angel goes through the camp. This hearkens back to Pharaoh killing the Jewish boys, and also to the worship of Baal and Moloch and their abusive practices toward children.
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; Lightning, and discomfited them.
We are seeing some amazing natural calamities worldwide, whether they are man made with the crisis in Ukraine shutting off wheat and oil, or the forest fires, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes, tornados, and landslides.
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare, By the rebuke of Jehovah, At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
The final battle of WWI was a devastating bombardment of artillery that had never been seen before. This is like the conclusion of a July 4th fireworks display. What a great build up to the wedding of the Lord.
17 He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters;
Then the Lord snatches the bride. This is exciting. A memory that will last for eternity. Reminds me of my wedding.
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy, From them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
The old timey movie where the guy in the white hat rescues the damsel in distress tied to the railroad tracks.
Zechariah 7 Either you are salt and light or else you too will be cast out.
1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’” 8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ 11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
This chapter is amazing, very hard to believe that it is real and yet it is so real. So the fast and feast they are talking about are for the burning of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and the murder of Gedaliah. Neither of these was established by God in the Old Covenant, rather they were the customs of man. For example there is no “Easter” or “Christmas” in the New Testament, but rather they were instituted by man later on. No doubt there is the incarnation of Jesus and the death and resurrection of Jesus so surely there were some believers who kept their hearts on the Lord. But as we know most “Christians” who “celebrate” Christmas and Easter do so for themselves, and not unto the Lord. The Lord does not appear to be upset about that, this is not a chapter on “putting Christ back into Christmas”. No the point is very different and stunning really.
The Lord says you have no problem assigning these feasts and fasts for yourselves under the pretense that you are doing it unto the Lord. However, what the Prophets say, you simply ignore. “Administer true judgement”. Oh no, we can’t do that, we let the unbelievers handle that. The New Testament tells us that all things are under the feet of Jesus, that we have been commissioned by Him to preach the gospel which is that Jesus is Lord and He is bringing in His Kingdom and we are to bring all things into submission to this glorious gospel. We are told to be light and that you don’t put anything over that light. Yet Christians are saying that we leave that up to the government? What? That is the same attitude that led to the Jews going through the holocaust. You allow the government to cover the light, you allow multinational corporations to cover that light.
Show mercy and compassion to one another. We live in a country (the US, but this would also apply to every other nation) that bullies other nations and does not show mercy and compassion. But the US has given more foreign aid than any other country? We use our foreign aid to gain power, control and to manipulate other countries. We use foreign aid to prop up puppet governments and keep the country in poverty.
Do not oppress the widow or fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. What do these four all have in common? The widow lacks a husband, the fatherless needs a father, the foreigner doesn’t understand our customs and the poor lacks the resources. We use their need to take advantage of them. Our school system is not focused on raising up highly educated people, no that is only for those with the resources to pay for tutors or send their kids to private schools. Instead the politicians use the schools budget to pay off political debts. You could easily have a much more effective and helpful school system for less money than we spend if we put an end to the politicians manipulating that budget for their own benefit. The mortgage meltdown in 2008 was a perfect example of our taking advantage of widows, fatherless, foreigners and the poor. Those selling the mortgages took advantage of these people not understanding what a balloon mortgage is. They put them into houses where they would do all they could to pay the mortgage every month for sixty months, let’s say $2,000 a month for a total of $120,000 then the mortgage balloons to $4,000 a month, they can’t pay, the bank forecloses, takes the house back but gets to keep the $120,000.
Now these very same people who set up fasts and feasts for when the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered, the same ones who say we can’t do anything about the houses being robbed from widows, or the poor being sent to fight bogus wars to make the elite powerful, they want to know what to do about this? Are these not the dumbest people, I mean dumb as a rock.
Wake up! We are the light and the salt. If the salt has lost its saltiness it is good for nothing but to be cast out into the dung heap. That is why the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered. That is why God scattered the people and they wandered in a desolate land. The corruption and crime is in your face, either you respond as light and salt or else you too will be cast out.
1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’” 8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ 11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
This chapter is amazing, very hard to believe that it is real and yet it is so real. So the fast and feast they are talking about are for the burning of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and the murder of Gedaliah. Neither of these was established by God in the Old Covenant, rather they were the customs of man. For example there is no “Easter” or “Christmas” in the New Testament, but rather they were instituted by man later on. No doubt there is the incarnation of Jesus and the death and resurrection of Jesus so surely there were some believers who kept their hearts on the Lord. But as we know most “Christians” who “celebrate” Christmas and Easter do so for themselves, and not unto the Lord. The Lord does not appear to be upset about that, this is not a chapter on “putting Christ back into Christmas”. No the point is very different and stunning really.
The Lord says you have no problem assigning these feasts and fasts for yourselves under the pretense that you are doing it unto the Lord. However, what the Prophets say, you simply ignore. “Administer true judgement”. Oh no, we can’t do that, we let the unbelievers handle that. The New Testament tells us that all things are under the feet of Jesus, that we have been commissioned by Him to preach the gospel which is that Jesus is Lord and He is bringing in His Kingdom and we are to bring all things into submission to this glorious gospel. We are told to be light and that you don’t put anything over that light. Yet Christians are saying that we leave that up to the government? What? That is the same attitude that led to the Jews going through the holocaust. You allow the government to cover the light, you allow multinational corporations to cover that light.
Show mercy and compassion to one another. We live in a country (the US, but this would also apply to every other nation) that bullies other nations and does not show mercy and compassion. But the US has given more foreign aid than any other country? We use our foreign aid to gain power, control and to manipulate other countries. We use foreign aid to prop up puppet governments and keep the country in poverty.
Do not oppress the widow or fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. What do these four all have in common? The widow lacks a husband, the fatherless needs a father, the foreigner doesn’t understand our customs and the poor lacks the resources. We use their need to take advantage of them. Our school system is not focused on raising up highly educated people, no that is only for those with the resources to pay for tutors or send their kids to private schools. Instead the politicians use the schools budget to pay off political debts. You could easily have a much more effective and helpful school system for less money than we spend if we put an end to the politicians manipulating that budget for their own benefit. The mortgage meltdown in 2008 was a perfect example of our taking advantage of widows, fatherless, foreigners and the poor. Those selling the mortgages took advantage of these people not understanding what a balloon mortgage is. They put them into houses where they would do all they could to pay the mortgage every month for sixty months, let’s say $2,000 a month for a total of $120,000 then the mortgage balloons to $4,000 a month, they can’t pay, the bank forecloses, takes the house back but gets to keep the $120,000.
Now these very same people who set up fasts and feasts for when the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered, the same ones who say we can’t do anything about the houses being robbed from widows, or the poor being sent to fight bogus wars to make the elite powerful, they want to know what to do about this? Are these not the dumbest people, I mean dumb as a rock.
Wake up! We are the light and the salt. If the salt has lost its saltiness it is good for nothing but to be cast out into the dung heap. That is why the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered. That is why God scattered the people and they wandered in a desolate land. The corruption and crime is in your face, either you respond as light and salt or else you too will be cast out.
Zechariah 8:1-13 Do you even know what it is to be blessed?
1 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.” 3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”
How about today, what is NYC, or Beijing, or London, or any other city called? We use terms like “superpower” and “vibrant” and modern, but are any of these called “the faithful city”? People want their cities to be economically vibrant, but being faithful is the best reputation for any business. Cuomo, the governor of NY required that contagious people with Covid be sent back to nursing homes where the most vulnerable were. In this way they maximized the death rate in the nursing homes and by so doing NY was able to reduce the money they had to pay for pensions and retirement. That is the definition of "unfaithful".
4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”
Here is a vision of a blessed city and we are so befuddled by the idolatry of the materialistic world that we have no idea what it is to be blessed. You have charlatans preaching that prosperity is to have gold chains, big cars and live in a mansion. They call that blessing. Hollywood and the media markets “blessing” in the same way, to be blessed is to have money and things. People live in gated communities, drive limos, and send their kids to private schools. I remember during the height of the AIDS epidemic you could go to the worst hit countries and it was as though an entire generation was missing. The entire age group it seemed had died from AIDS. When I taught in Taiwan I was stunned because about a third of my young adult students walked with canes. I asked why this was and they explained that they had been hit by cars while playing in the alleys. You can learn a lot about a city by simply walking the streets. Does this sound good today, for old people to sit in the streets and for young kids to play in the streets? No one wants to do that today because of cars, but get rid of the cars and you change everything. I grew up in the suburbs and we played in the streets all the time (streets that had very little traffic). The automobile has been a curse to cities. It isolates people and it robs the street from them. If your kids can play in the streets and your old people can sit out their watching the kids it is a safe city, a place that is very social where you get to meet your neighbors. Not only so but you obviously avoided wars for the last sixty years or so otherwise you would be missing a whole generation of men. Do you know what was a blessing to me? It was having my kids grandparents take care of them during the day. My two kids and their cousin would stay with them during the day. Their grandfather was in his eighties, he went to work every day and he played tennis everyday. He had escaped from China with the KMT when the communists took over and had to be nursed back to health in the hospital. The woman that nursed him back became his wife. At the end of the day all the kids would come to eat with them. My mother in law cooked dinner for us everyday. That was the best food I ever ate, healthy, fresh, with about twelve of us crammed around a small table. Everything was in good order, my kids grew up being respectful to their elders, and everyone was part of a family and a community. Everyone was healthy, we ate good, had good fellowship, and everyone had a function from the youngest to the oldest.
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty. 7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”
We will be known as the faithful city because we will be expressing the faithful and righteous God.
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the Lord Almighty.
Now let’s look at the contrast with the black background. Everyone is cheating everyone. High unemployment and it was hard to get by living like an animal much less like a man. And he had turned everyone against their neighbor. Wow! That is what we are seeing today. The BLM and ANTIFA riots with people talking about “burn it down” or “lynching white people” or “death to America”. The town I grew up in was the same place that Norman Rockwell grew up in (after he moved from NYC). So when you look at his paintings you get a very good impression of what it was like. How we have changed in just one generation. I could never have imagined back then what I am seeing today in 2022. You see people randomly shooting and killing people with guns and knives. You see videos of people being jumped in the streets as though they were a straggler being picked off by the wolves. You see these woke corporations and talking heads kow towing to thugs and hooligans. There is a mob mentality on twitter and for some bizarre reason they seem to rule corporate america. In Hollywood they follow people home who were shopping in jewelry stores, rob them and run them over. In NYC a man goes into the subway, fires a smoke bomb, puts on a gas mask and shoots up a subway car. Around the country police are being targeted, shot and often killed.
12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”
One thing I have seen and really appreciated is that those who were most attuned to the damaging rhetoric were those who had come from socialist countries. I went to a Stop the Steal rally in Washington DC and wanted to know why people were there. I found people who had come from Cuba or Venezuela or China or Vietnam and they said they had seen the same thing happen where they came from. Experiencing the curse is like getting sick with the flu. Once you get better you now have immunity to that virus. You come from a place where everyone is turned against their neighbor you will have immunity. You will know how important the Lord’s command to love your neighbor is. Take that away and heaven becomes hell. I heard a story once illustrating this point. He said that in hell it was like being at a great banquet feast but you can only reach the food with these very long forks and it is impossible to then bring that fork to your mouth. People became savage having all that right in front of their face and they couldn’t eat any of it. Heaven was very different, they still needed the very long forks to get the food and it was still impossible to bring that fork to your mouth, but in heaven people had learned to feed each other.
1 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.” 3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”
How about today, what is NYC, or Beijing, or London, or any other city called? We use terms like “superpower” and “vibrant” and modern, but are any of these called “the faithful city”? People want their cities to be economically vibrant, but being faithful is the best reputation for any business. Cuomo, the governor of NY required that contagious people with Covid be sent back to nursing homes where the most vulnerable were. In this way they maximized the death rate in the nursing homes and by so doing NY was able to reduce the money they had to pay for pensions and retirement. That is the definition of "unfaithful".
4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”
Here is a vision of a blessed city and we are so befuddled by the idolatry of the materialistic world that we have no idea what it is to be blessed. You have charlatans preaching that prosperity is to have gold chains, big cars and live in a mansion. They call that blessing. Hollywood and the media markets “blessing” in the same way, to be blessed is to have money and things. People live in gated communities, drive limos, and send their kids to private schools. I remember during the height of the AIDS epidemic you could go to the worst hit countries and it was as though an entire generation was missing. The entire age group it seemed had died from AIDS. When I taught in Taiwan I was stunned because about a third of my young adult students walked with canes. I asked why this was and they explained that they had been hit by cars while playing in the alleys. You can learn a lot about a city by simply walking the streets. Does this sound good today, for old people to sit in the streets and for young kids to play in the streets? No one wants to do that today because of cars, but get rid of the cars and you change everything. I grew up in the suburbs and we played in the streets all the time (streets that had very little traffic). The automobile has been a curse to cities. It isolates people and it robs the street from them. If your kids can play in the streets and your old people can sit out their watching the kids it is a safe city, a place that is very social where you get to meet your neighbors. Not only so but you obviously avoided wars for the last sixty years or so otherwise you would be missing a whole generation of men. Do you know what was a blessing to me? It was having my kids grandparents take care of them during the day. My two kids and their cousin would stay with them during the day. Their grandfather was in his eighties, he went to work every day and he played tennis everyday. He had escaped from China with the KMT when the communists took over and had to be nursed back to health in the hospital. The woman that nursed him back became his wife. At the end of the day all the kids would come to eat with them. My mother in law cooked dinner for us everyday. That was the best food I ever ate, healthy, fresh, with about twelve of us crammed around a small table. Everything was in good order, my kids grew up being respectful to their elders, and everyone was part of a family and a community. Everyone was healthy, we ate good, had good fellowship, and everyone had a function from the youngest to the oldest.
6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty. 7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”
We will be known as the faithful city because we will be expressing the faithful and righteous God.
9 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. 10 Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the Lord Almighty.
Now let’s look at the contrast with the black background. Everyone is cheating everyone. High unemployment and it was hard to get by living like an animal much less like a man. And he had turned everyone against their neighbor. Wow! That is what we are seeing today. The BLM and ANTIFA riots with people talking about “burn it down” or “lynching white people” or “death to America”. The town I grew up in was the same place that Norman Rockwell grew up in (after he moved from NYC). So when you look at his paintings you get a very good impression of what it was like. How we have changed in just one generation. I could never have imagined back then what I am seeing today in 2022. You see people randomly shooting and killing people with guns and knives. You see videos of people being jumped in the streets as though they were a straggler being picked off by the wolves. You see these woke corporations and talking heads kow towing to thugs and hooligans. There is a mob mentality on twitter and for some bizarre reason they seem to rule corporate america. In Hollywood they follow people home who were shopping in jewelry stores, rob them and run them over. In NYC a man goes into the subway, fires a smoke bomb, puts on a gas mask and shoots up a subway car. Around the country police are being targeted, shot and often killed.
12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”
One thing I have seen and really appreciated is that those who were most attuned to the damaging rhetoric were those who had come from socialist countries. I went to a Stop the Steal rally in Washington DC and wanted to know why people were there. I found people who had come from Cuba or Venezuela or China or Vietnam and they said they had seen the same thing happen where they came from. Experiencing the curse is like getting sick with the flu. Once you get better you now have immunity to that virus. You come from a place where everyone is turned against their neighbor you will have immunity. You will know how important the Lord’s command to love your neighbor is. Take that away and heaven becomes hell. I heard a story once illustrating this point. He said that in hell it was like being at a great banquet feast but you can only reach the food with these very long forks and it is impossible to then bring that fork to your mouth. People became savage having all that right in front of their face and they couldn’t eat any of it. Heaven was very different, they still needed the very long forks to get the food and it was still impossible to bring that fork to your mouth, but in heaven people had learned to feed each other.
Leaven -- it does not refer to sin
Matthew 16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Ellicott's commentary -- The doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.—Better, teaching; not so much the formulated dogmas of the sect as its general drift and tendency. The leaven was (as expressly stated in Luke 12:1) “hypocrisy,” the unreality of a life respectable, rigid, outwardly religious, even earnest in its zeal, and yet wanting in the humility and love which are of the essence of true holiness. That of the Sadducees and of Herod, was, we may believe (it is not specially defined), the more open form of worldliness and self-indulgence which allied themselves with their denial of the resurrection and therefore of eternal life.
Here Jesus says leaven refers to the teaching or doctrine of the Pharisees and in Luke He says their leaven was "hypocrisy". So then it isn't the teaching concerning the items of the faith, or the redemption of Christ, or some other key doctrine of the New Testament and apostles but rather the teachings that are "hypocritical".
Six examples -- (based on https://churchanswers.com/blog/six-ways-the-church-becomes-hypocritical/)
1. The church becomes fixated on external preferences and not internal devotion. This kind of hypocrisy occurs when we elevate our preferences to the level of Scripture and lower others’ preferences to the level of sin. Do you have favorite hymns to the exclusion of other music?
2. The church falls in love with commitment but neglects people. Jesus condemns the Pharisees for loving what they were doing more than why they were doing it. They loved the system more than the people they were supposed to serve. Commitment is important. Commitment that neglects people is hypocrisy. James said that pure religion takes care of widows and orphans.
3. The church leaders seek religious prominence instead of humble service. Church leaders who feed off the attention of others will face the temptation to raise their own names above that of Christ. Many preachers adjust their preaching to what will get likes and clicks on the internet.
4. The church hides double standards with artificial religious rules. Well-intentioned rule-followers can be swept into hypocrisy. I was in a group that took the verse about being sanctified because your parents are believers and they ran with it. If you were born into a Christian family you are therefore more sanctified than if you were saved off the street. Likewise, if your grandparents and parents were believers then you are even more sanctified, etc.
5. The church kills the heart of worship with a religious presentation. What Abel gave to God was an acceptable offering because it reflected the true heart of worship. What Cain gave to God was not acceptable because it was a religious presentation. And what happened next? The hypocritical brother killed the worshiping brother. Many Christians take the verse that "no one knows the day or the hour" of the Lord's return and use that to nullify the very many times the New Testament charges us to watch for the Lord's return.
6. The church adds to the gospel to burden people. Religion becomes a barrier to salvation when the church adds rules to the gospel as a prerequisite for salvation. Nothing is more hypocritical than burdening people with the false gospel of legalism. We saw this in the New Testament where the Judaizers wanted to tell the believers that to truly enter the fellowship they needed to be circumcised as well as baptized.
These are six examples of leaven, yes you can use this leaven to sin. But equating a doctrine that changes the nature of the church with sin is confusing. Leaven doesn't mean the Pharisees were teaching the Lord's people to sin. For example, they taught that you can't heal on the Sabbath and Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy in pulling an ox from a pit on the Sabbath yet refusing to heal a brother or sister on the Sabbath.
Leviticus 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.
During Shavuot you offer two leavened loaves as a wave offering. Clearly leaven does not refer to sin. It refers to the teachings. When Israel left Egypt they had to get rid of all the leaven, all the teachings they picked up in Egypt. But after going through the wilderness and crossing the Red Sea they then had picked up new teachings. How they camp, following the pillar of fire and cloud, speaking to the rock, gathering manna, etc. You have a brand new teaching.
The same is true of Christians. When Jesus was crucified we needed to get rid of all the old leaven, this was a new creation and all things were made new. However, by Pentecost we had new teachings. For example, Jewish men cover their head as a sign of respect to God, in the New Testament Paul tells us that men do not cover their head because that is an insult to the Lord. Jesus is our head covering.
Recently I have seen many who have been diving into the Jewish teachings, for example all the things they do to keep the Passover. Many of those teachings are the "old leaven" that we were to get rid of. Today we keep the Lord's Table, Jesus is our Passover sacrificed for us. We drink the cup of blessing. We have a lot of new teachings, they are new leaven, because we are a new lump, those two leavened loaves offered on Shavuot.
Matthew 16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Ellicott's commentary -- The doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.—Better, teaching; not so much the formulated dogmas of the sect as its general drift and tendency. The leaven was (as expressly stated in Luke 12:1) “hypocrisy,” the unreality of a life respectable, rigid, outwardly religious, even earnest in its zeal, and yet wanting in the humility and love which are of the essence of true holiness. That of the Sadducees and of Herod, was, we may believe (it is not specially defined), the more open form of worldliness and self-indulgence which allied themselves with their denial of the resurrection and therefore of eternal life.
Here Jesus says leaven refers to the teaching or doctrine of the Pharisees and in Luke He says their leaven was "hypocrisy". So then it isn't the teaching concerning the items of the faith, or the redemption of Christ, or some other key doctrine of the New Testament and apostles but rather the teachings that are "hypocritical".
Six examples -- (based on https://churchanswers.com/blog/six-ways-the-church-becomes-hypocritical/)
1. The church becomes fixated on external preferences and not internal devotion. This kind of hypocrisy occurs when we elevate our preferences to the level of Scripture and lower others’ preferences to the level of sin. Do you have favorite hymns to the exclusion of other music?
2. The church falls in love with commitment but neglects people. Jesus condemns the Pharisees for loving what they were doing more than why they were doing it. They loved the system more than the people they were supposed to serve. Commitment is important. Commitment that neglects people is hypocrisy. James said that pure religion takes care of widows and orphans.
3. The church leaders seek religious prominence instead of humble service. Church leaders who feed off the attention of others will face the temptation to raise their own names above that of Christ. Many preachers adjust their preaching to what will get likes and clicks on the internet.
4. The church hides double standards with artificial religious rules. Well-intentioned rule-followers can be swept into hypocrisy. I was in a group that took the verse about being sanctified because your parents are believers and they ran with it. If you were born into a Christian family you are therefore more sanctified than if you were saved off the street. Likewise, if your grandparents and parents were believers then you are even more sanctified, etc.
5. The church kills the heart of worship with a religious presentation. What Abel gave to God was an acceptable offering because it reflected the true heart of worship. What Cain gave to God was not acceptable because it was a religious presentation. And what happened next? The hypocritical brother killed the worshiping brother. Many Christians take the verse that "no one knows the day or the hour" of the Lord's return and use that to nullify the very many times the New Testament charges us to watch for the Lord's return.
6. The church adds to the gospel to burden people. Religion becomes a barrier to salvation when the church adds rules to the gospel as a prerequisite for salvation. Nothing is more hypocritical than burdening people with the false gospel of legalism. We saw this in the New Testament where the Judaizers wanted to tell the believers that to truly enter the fellowship they needed to be circumcised as well as baptized.
These are six examples of leaven, yes you can use this leaven to sin. But equating a doctrine that changes the nature of the church with sin is confusing. Leaven doesn't mean the Pharisees were teaching the Lord's people to sin. For example, they taught that you can't heal on the Sabbath and Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy in pulling an ox from a pit on the Sabbath yet refusing to heal a brother or sister on the Sabbath.
Leviticus 23:17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.
During Shavuot you offer two leavened loaves as a wave offering. Clearly leaven does not refer to sin. It refers to the teachings. When Israel left Egypt they had to get rid of all the leaven, all the teachings they picked up in Egypt. But after going through the wilderness and crossing the Red Sea they then had picked up new teachings. How they camp, following the pillar of fire and cloud, speaking to the rock, gathering manna, etc. You have a brand new teaching.
The same is true of Christians. When Jesus was crucified we needed to get rid of all the old leaven, this was a new creation and all things were made new. However, by Pentecost we had new teachings. For example, Jewish men cover their head as a sign of respect to God, in the New Testament Paul tells us that men do not cover their head because that is an insult to the Lord. Jesus is our head covering.
Recently I have seen many who have been diving into the Jewish teachings, for example all the things they do to keep the Passover. Many of those teachings are the "old leaven" that we were to get rid of. Today we keep the Lord's Table, Jesus is our Passover sacrificed for us. We drink the cup of blessing. We have a lot of new teachings, they are new leaven, because we are a new lump, those two leavened loaves offered on Shavuot.
What is the Last Trump?
1Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
1st thing we learn is that it is "the trump of God". The Old Testament is full of references for God's people to blow the trumpet, they do that on new moons, on sabbaths, on feast days and yes on "the feast of trumpets" but this trumpet is not any of those. This is not man blowing the trumpet, it is "the trump of God". The trumpet was used to call for an assembly, to warn of an enemy coming, to announce the coming king, to celebrate the wedding of the king, to celebrate the coronation of the king, in short it is what the Lord told us -- we are His witnesses. Our testimony is a trumpet blast. Not only so but the shofar is a rams horn, it reminds God of mercy. When Abraham was told to sacrifice his son God provided a ram instead. That was mercy. The first trump refers to one of those rams horns, the last trump to the other.
So then, what was the first Trump?
Exodus 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18 And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
When God gave the law to the children of Israel it began with the first Trump of God. You can be sure that the sounding of the last trump will look like this. Thunders, lightnings, the mountain will smoke, etc. In this situation people were scared, no one is going to be able to blow a trumpet while this is going on, yet the Feast of Trumpets is when you blow the trumpet. We are the choir, God is the soloist. While He blows the trumpet we are silent. The same will be true of the last trump. Think of the Feast of Trumpets as the choir coming in on the chorus, God does the verse, then we all respond with the chorus. God raptures the church, judges the Great Babylon while we all shake and are silent, then when Feast of Trumpets comes we have regained our composure and can all join in on the chorus -- the king is coming, this is the day of the Lord, repent, seek His face, call on Him.
Is the 100th trump the last trump?
On the feast of trumpet they blow the trumpet 100 times, the 100th time is called the last trumpet. Is that the "Last Trump"? No. Only once before have we seen "the trump of God" it was when He gave the law. God blows the trumpet twice, once when He gave the law and once again at the end of the age and start of the Day of the Lord. Think of these 100 trumpet blasts as pieces to a puzzle, we are putting this puzzle together. The last trumpet on that day is when we have put the puzzle together. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search a matter out.
Does the Feast of Trumpets depict the rapture?
No. The blowing of the trumpets is an alarm (depicts the start of the tribulation), it announces the coming of the king (that is the day of the Lord), it signifies that the doors of heaven have been opened (that refers to judgement that will be poured out on the Earth). The trumpet blasts are from people to remind God as He prepares to judge us to remember mercy (that is appropriate for those left behind after the rapture).
It announces the wedding of the Lord and just like the parable of the ten virgins this does refer to the rapture, but wait, there is a cry in the midnight hour that the Bridegroom cometh, they light their lamps and go out to meet Him. That is the rapture, that is not the wedding! That midnight cry is the last trump, it wakes the dead, they go out to meet Him, but then some realize they don't have oil and they have to go buy the oil and when they return the door to the wedding is closed. Look at the timeline -- midnight cry (last trump) --> dead are raised --> some are foolish and are told to go buy oil from those who sell (the two witnesses during the tribulation) --> when they return the door is already closed. From this we learn that the midnight cry precedes the wedding, the tribulation begins, the wedding begins, and those in the tribulation are locked out. So yes, the last Trump of God and the Feast of trumpets are very close together but they are not the same.
Finally, the Feast of Trumpets is a Memorial
Leviticus 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
Just like the rebuke from the Lord to the church in Sardis.
Revelation 3: 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent.
This is a word to those who are left behind.
1Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
1st thing we learn is that it is "the trump of God". The Old Testament is full of references for God's people to blow the trumpet, they do that on new moons, on sabbaths, on feast days and yes on "the feast of trumpets" but this trumpet is not any of those. This is not man blowing the trumpet, it is "the trump of God". The trumpet was used to call for an assembly, to warn of an enemy coming, to announce the coming king, to celebrate the wedding of the king, to celebrate the coronation of the king, in short it is what the Lord told us -- we are His witnesses. Our testimony is a trumpet blast. Not only so but the shofar is a rams horn, it reminds God of mercy. When Abraham was told to sacrifice his son God provided a ram instead. That was mercy. The first trump refers to one of those rams horns, the last trump to the other.
So then, what was the first Trump?
Exodus 19:16 And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. 18 And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
When God gave the law to the children of Israel it began with the first Trump of God. You can be sure that the sounding of the last trump will look like this. Thunders, lightnings, the mountain will smoke, etc. In this situation people were scared, no one is going to be able to blow a trumpet while this is going on, yet the Feast of Trumpets is when you blow the trumpet. We are the choir, God is the soloist. While He blows the trumpet we are silent. The same will be true of the last trump. Think of the Feast of Trumpets as the choir coming in on the chorus, God does the verse, then we all respond with the chorus. God raptures the church, judges the Great Babylon while we all shake and are silent, then when Feast of Trumpets comes we have regained our composure and can all join in on the chorus -- the king is coming, this is the day of the Lord, repent, seek His face, call on Him.
Is the 100th trump the last trump?
On the feast of trumpet they blow the trumpet 100 times, the 100th time is called the last trumpet. Is that the "Last Trump"? No. Only once before have we seen "the trump of God" it was when He gave the law. God blows the trumpet twice, once when He gave the law and once again at the end of the age and start of the Day of the Lord. Think of these 100 trumpet blasts as pieces to a puzzle, we are putting this puzzle together. The last trumpet on that day is when we have put the puzzle together. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search a matter out.
Does the Feast of Trumpets depict the rapture?
No. The blowing of the trumpets is an alarm (depicts the start of the tribulation), it announces the coming of the king (that is the day of the Lord), it signifies that the doors of heaven have been opened (that refers to judgement that will be poured out on the Earth). The trumpet blasts are from people to remind God as He prepares to judge us to remember mercy (that is appropriate for those left behind after the rapture).
It announces the wedding of the Lord and just like the parable of the ten virgins this does refer to the rapture, but wait, there is a cry in the midnight hour that the Bridegroom cometh, they light their lamps and go out to meet Him. That is the rapture, that is not the wedding! That midnight cry is the last trump, it wakes the dead, they go out to meet Him, but then some realize they don't have oil and they have to go buy the oil and when they return the door to the wedding is closed. Look at the timeline -- midnight cry (last trump) --> dead are raised --> some are foolish and are told to go buy oil from those who sell (the two witnesses during the tribulation) --> when they return the door is already closed. From this we learn that the midnight cry precedes the wedding, the tribulation begins, the wedding begins, and those in the tribulation are locked out. So yes, the last Trump of God and the Feast of trumpets are very close together but they are not the same.
Finally, the Feast of Trumpets is a Memorial
Leviticus 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
Just like the rebuke from the Lord to the church in Sardis.
Revelation 3: 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep it, and repent.
This is a word to those who are left behind.
Can we get some sympathy for the predicament that Twitter employees are in?
Psalm 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, That thou mayest be feared.
Put yourself in the position of these Twitter employees. Perhaps you have designed algorithms to shadow ban people opening yourself up to lawsuits? Suppose you were involved in censoring information about Biden's laptop which can now be seen as criminal? What if you are somehow tied up with these pedophiles, or LGBTQ groomers. They aren't millionaires, these are common people with families and kids, imagine if they get caught? They can't afford a lawyer, they can't afford to go to prison. Also, who do you trust? Even if 98% of the employees are down with the criminal behavior what if 2% aren't? That would be 150 employees who have potentially been leaking information secretly already! What if the "white hats" in the military have already gathered all the information. Why would they want to go down when in reality this was someone else's plan and someone else is profiting from all this? Now imagine how are you supposed to peacefully focus when you are worried that anyone of your colleagues could be cutting a deal with the prosecutors? Already Twitter's board has openly committed a major crime. The problem with scamming stockholders is for the most part they can get legal representation. For example, two of these major stockholders are mutual funds, this makes it simple for a class action lawsuit. Imagine how many lawyers are already running to file lawsuits.
Now I suspect that there are some people working overtime shredding documents and trying to delete files. Think how nerve wracking that must be! Now you are criminally involved, the richest man on Earth is in a position to sue you and for all you know he already has those files you are shredding!
The worst part is that for 99% of the criminals the best thing they can do is cut a deal. In reality we would be happy putting 75 at the top in prison. Man it must be hard for those 75 to get a decent night's sleep. Really, who can they trust, they need to wipe the evidence away themselves, but then the coverup is always worse than the crime when it comes to court!
Psalm 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, That thou mayest be feared.
Put yourself in the position of these Twitter employees. Perhaps you have designed algorithms to shadow ban people opening yourself up to lawsuits? Suppose you were involved in censoring information about Biden's laptop which can now be seen as criminal? What if you are somehow tied up with these pedophiles, or LGBTQ groomers. They aren't millionaires, these are common people with families and kids, imagine if they get caught? They can't afford a lawyer, they can't afford to go to prison. Also, who do you trust? Even if 98% of the employees are down with the criminal behavior what if 2% aren't? That would be 150 employees who have potentially been leaking information secretly already! What if the "white hats" in the military have already gathered all the information. Why would they want to go down when in reality this was someone else's plan and someone else is profiting from all this? Now imagine how are you supposed to peacefully focus when you are worried that anyone of your colleagues could be cutting a deal with the prosecutors? Already Twitter's board has openly committed a major crime. The problem with scamming stockholders is for the most part they can get legal representation. For example, two of these major stockholders are mutual funds, this makes it simple for a class action lawsuit. Imagine how many lawyers are already running to file lawsuits.
Now I suspect that there are some people working overtime shredding documents and trying to delete files. Think how nerve wracking that must be! Now you are criminally involved, the richest man on Earth is in a position to sue you and for all you know he already has those files you are shredding!
The worst part is that for 99% of the criminals the best thing they can do is cut a deal. In reality we would be happy putting 75 at the top in prison. Man it must be hard for those 75 to get a decent night's sleep. Really, who can they trust, they need to wipe the evidence away themselves, but then the coverup is always worse than the crime when it comes to court!
Doors, Gates, and the door of the gate?
Perhaps the most compelling argument for Feast of Trumpets being the date of the rapture is Revelation 4, John is caught up to heaven after the church age, he hears a voice like a trumpet saying come up hither, and he sees a door opened in heaven. That sounds exactly like the rapture.
Meanwhile the Feast of Trumpets is known as the day the gates of heaven are opened.
Here is the issue, door and gate are two separate things. For example the Bible refers to "the door of the east gate of Jehovah’s house" Eze 10:19. There are many examples of this. If you look at the East gate of Jehovah's house, it is huge, big enough to drive your tanks through, big enough for the armies of Mordor to pour through. You open the gate to release your army. However, in the gate there is a door through which individuals can enter.
This is what Isaiah seems to say Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
We enter the doors before the indignation is released. The gates are open indicates the indignation is pouring out.
Consider the foolish virgins, they go to buy oil but when they return the Lord says the door is shut and outside there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Outside they will endure the indignation, but guess what, the gate is open if the indignation is pouring out and yet the door is shut. They are two different things. When the door is shut the gates are opened.
Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter.
You reap what you sow, they shut the door on others so they can expect to see the door shut in their face. That would indicate woe, and woe indicates the gates of heaven are open pouring out the Lord's wrath.
Perhaps the most compelling argument for Feast of Trumpets being the date of the rapture is Revelation 4, John is caught up to heaven after the church age, he hears a voice like a trumpet saying come up hither, and he sees a door opened in heaven. That sounds exactly like the rapture.
Meanwhile the Feast of Trumpets is known as the day the gates of heaven are opened.
Here is the issue, door and gate are two separate things. For example the Bible refers to "the door of the east gate of Jehovah’s house" Eze 10:19. There are many examples of this. If you look at the East gate of Jehovah's house, it is huge, big enough to drive your tanks through, big enough for the armies of Mordor to pour through. You open the gate to release your army. However, in the gate there is a door through which individuals can enter.
This is what Isaiah seems to say Isaiah 26:20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
We enter the doors before the indignation is released. The gates are open indicates the indignation is pouring out.
Consider the foolish virgins, they go to buy oil but when they return the Lord says the door is shut and outside there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Outside they will endure the indignation, but guess what, the gate is open if the indignation is pouring out and yet the door is shut. They are two different things. When the door is shut the gates are opened.
Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter.
You reap what you sow, they shut the door on others so they can expect to see the door shut in their face. That would indicate woe, and woe indicates the gates of heaven are open pouring out the Lord's wrath.
What is the Moedim?
There are, however, seven appointed times that take the greatest precedence on the calendars of the Jewish people. Israel calls these appointed times the moedim (מועדים). Though this Hebrew word can be defined as “appointed times,” this definition fails to give the word true justice in its translation.
The word does not solely mean a festive time or a season of celebration. It is a time to remember and reflect on all of the times when God revealed Himself as mighty and strong, loving and holy.
In Leviticus 23, there are two different Hebrew words that translate “feast.” The first word is “Mo-ahd,” and is often translated “appointed time.” Mo-ahd means to set an appointment, as in a set time or season, for a specific assembly or festival. The plural form of “mo-ahd” is “moedim.” This particular word for feast refers to the weekly Sabbaths and all the Levitical Holy Days.
Mo-ahd also has a root meaning, “to repeat,” and can mean “a signal as appointed beforehand.” There are things that are to be repeated each time the preset appointed time has come. When a child has a birthday, the signals or signs that their birthday has come is to have a cake and gifts, and this is usually repeated every year. So it is with the Lord’s appointed times. The feasts are “signals and signs” to help us know what is on the heart of the Lord.
There are four Spring moedim and three Fall moedim. Below is a list of their English names with Hebrew transliteration:
Spring Moedim
Passover – Pesach
Feast of Unleavened Bread – Hag HaMatzot
First Fruits – Yom Habikkurim
Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) – Shavuot
Fall Moedim
Feast of Trumpets – Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah)
Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur
Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkot
https://firmisrael.org/learn/what-are-the-moedim/
Feast of tabernacles is generally considered a rehearsal for the Millenial reign, Day of Atonement a rehearsal for our standing before the judgement seat (hopefully judgement seat of Christ but Great White throne is another possibility). Feast of Trumpets for when the tribulation begins. All three of these fall feasts refer to Israel, and to be fair the four spring feasts were fulfilled when Jesus was here in His earthly ministry.
So then why are we not rehearsing for the rapture? The rapture is not part of the Old Testament covenant. Yes, there are many types and shadows of the rapture (Enoch, Noah, Lot, etc) but the rapture is promised in the New Testament, it is promised to the church. Not only so but there appears to be a "pre tribulation rapture" that the church in Philadelphia is promised and the foolish virgins and those not watching in Sardis will miss this and so a "mid tribulation" rapture for the foolish ones (believers have not been appointed to wrath and the wrath of God is poured out in the second half of the tribulation, the "Great Tribulation").
Since God is the same today, yesterday and forever why is the church not rehearsing for these great events? We know that the Lord's table is a rehearsal for the wedding feast and the Lord's return, that is our weekly rehearsal. But we should have two yearly Moedim, appointed times for us to remember and reflect.
The Lord will come "as a thief in the night" just as Passover included the avenging angel who came and killed the firstborn in the night. What we need are two appointed times that talk about the rapture, the resurrection of the dead, that talk about the Lord coming as a thief in the night, that remind us of His incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection.
Think about our two big Moedim: Christmas and Easter (sorry about using the pagan names). One is about the birth of Jesus, which helps us reflect on the birth of the manchild, only we celebrate Jesus' birth on a day that is clearly not His birthday but if we were conceived on resurrection day then 9 months later would be December 25th. The other holiday is resurrection day. In both holidays you get up at the crack of dawn to discover that something magical has happened in the night.
So let's talk about the sunrise service, you get up at dawn and celebrate that Jesus is risen from the dead. The resurrection didn't take place at dawn, rather we discovered it had taken place at dawn!
I would argue that instead of looking at Old Testament Moedim, why would the bride, waiting for the Bridegroom be looking at the Old Testament appointed times, days that are for the Old Covenant, instead of looking at the two big Moedim of the New Testament. These are our rehearsals.
Second, everyone is using Jerusalem time, why? Israel is not a "Christian" nation. There is only one "Christian" nation on earth and it the US, the nation that says "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore." That is what the church says. This country was consecrated to the Lord when George Washington became president. So then I would expect prior to 5am on resurrection day the rapture would take place if this is the Moedim that we have been using to rehearse the Lord's coming. Remember those that are caught unaware will be rebuked by the Lord, therefore it has to be something very plain that they should have known and seen.
Also, if the Lord's resurrection was when we first received the Holy Spirit, when the new creation was conceived and Dec 25th is when the man child is born I would expect that the pretribulation rapture is resurrection day and the Mid tribulation rapture is December 25th.
There are, however, seven appointed times that take the greatest precedence on the calendars of the Jewish people. Israel calls these appointed times the moedim (מועדים). Though this Hebrew word can be defined as “appointed times,” this definition fails to give the word true justice in its translation.
The word does not solely mean a festive time or a season of celebration. It is a time to remember and reflect on all of the times when God revealed Himself as mighty and strong, loving and holy.
In Leviticus 23, there are two different Hebrew words that translate “feast.” The first word is “Mo-ahd,” and is often translated “appointed time.” Mo-ahd means to set an appointment, as in a set time or season, for a specific assembly or festival. The plural form of “mo-ahd” is “moedim.” This particular word for feast refers to the weekly Sabbaths and all the Levitical Holy Days.
Mo-ahd also has a root meaning, “to repeat,” and can mean “a signal as appointed beforehand.” There are things that are to be repeated each time the preset appointed time has come. When a child has a birthday, the signals or signs that their birthday has come is to have a cake and gifts, and this is usually repeated every year. So it is with the Lord’s appointed times. The feasts are “signals and signs” to help us know what is on the heart of the Lord.
There are four Spring moedim and three Fall moedim. Below is a list of their English names with Hebrew transliteration:
Spring Moedim
Passover – Pesach
Feast of Unleavened Bread – Hag HaMatzot
First Fruits – Yom Habikkurim
Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) – Shavuot
Fall Moedim
Feast of Trumpets – Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah)
Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur
Feast of Tabernacles – Sukkot
https://firmisrael.org/learn/what-are-the-moedim/
Feast of tabernacles is generally considered a rehearsal for the Millenial reign, Day of Atonement a rehearsal for our standing before the judgement seat (hopefully judgement seat of Christ but Great White throne is another possibility). Feast of Trumpets for when the tribulation begins. All three of these fall feasts refer to Israel, and to be fair the four spring feasts were fulfilled when Jesus was here in His earthly ministry.
So then why are we not rehearsing for the rapture? The rapture is not part of the Old Testament covenant. Yes, there are many types and shadows of the rapture (Enoch, Noah, Lot, etc) but the rapture is promised in the New Testament, it is promised to the church. Not only so but there appears to be a "pre tribulation rapture" that the church in Philadelphia is promised and the foolish virgins and those not watching in Sardis will miss this and so a "mid tribulation" rapture for the foolish ones (believers have not been appointed to wrath and the wrath of God is poured out in the second half of the tribulation, the "Great Tribulation").
Since God is the same today, yesterday and forever why is the church not rehearsing for these great events? We know that the Lord's table is a rehearsal for the wedding feast and the Lord's return, that is our weekly rehearsal. But we should have two yearly Moedim, appointed times for us to remember and reflect.
The Lord will come "as a thief in the night" just as Passover included the avenging angel who came and killed the firstborn in the night. What we need are two appointed times that talk about the rapture, the resurrection of the dead, that talk about the Lord coming as a thief in the night, that remind us of His incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection.
Think about our two big Moedim: Christmas and Easter (sorry about using the pagan names). One is about the birth of Jesus, which helps us reflect on the birth of the manchild, only we celebrate Jesus' birth on a day that is clearly not His birthday but if we were conceived on resurrection day then 9 months later would be December 25th. The other holiday is resurrection day. In both holidays you get up at the crack of dawn to discover that something magical has happened in the night.
So let's talk about the sunrise service, you get up at dawn and celebrate that Jesus is risen from the dead. The resurrection didn't take place at dawn, rather we discovered it had taken place at dawn!
I would argue that instead of looking at Old Testament Moedim, why would the bride, waiting for the Bridegroom be looking at the Old Testament appointed times, days that are for the Old Covenant, instead of looking at the two big Moedim of the New Testament. These are our rehearsals.
Second, everyone is using Jerusalem time, why? Israel is not a "Christian" nation. There is only one "Christian" nation on earth and it the US, the nation that says "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore." That is what the church says. This country was consecrated to the Lord when George Washington became president. So then I would expect prior to 5am on resurrection day the rapture would take place if this is the Moedim that we have been using to rehearse the Lord's coming. Remember those that are caught unaware will be rebuked by the Lord, therefore it has to be something very plain that they should have known and seen.
Also, if the Lord's resurrection was when we first received the Holy Spirit, when the new creation was conceived and Dec 25th is when the man child is born I would expect that the pretribulation rapture is resurrection day and the Mid tribulation rapture is December 25th.
Zechariah 8:14-17 These are the things that you are to do.
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
Everyone makes it seem like there are so many different theories on what we should do that it is just impossible to know the best course. Universal healthcare or corporate healthcare? Border wall or no border wall? But they are missing the whole point, what you really need to do is speak truth to each other. Do you really want universal healthcare? OK, this is what it will really cost and this is what it will really be like. Pelosi makes a big stink over the wall costing $5 billion dollars and yet in the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency he spends $3 billion on undocumented aliens entering our Southern border and she says nothing. It all begins with speaking truth. The MeToo movement was up in arms about a woman making an unsubstantiated accusation against Kavanaugh. Many high profile senators were claiming that we need to believe all women. Then ten women come forward against Cuomo and they are silent. Not about something he did over twenty years ago in high school but about what he did as governor. All you hear from these same pompous liars is crickets. Three women came forward against Joe Biden, even Kamala Harris said she believed them right up until she was chosen as his running mate. First and foremost speak truth. Then you have to render true and sound judgement. The Chauvin trial was stunning. Prominent government officials threatening jurors publicly to make a guilty verdict. The jurors were so scared they found him guilty of three different kinds of murder all at the same time for the same murder! We know that some of the jurors lied to get on the jury. By any standard of justice this was a mistrial. They are taking people who are guilty of misdemeanor trespassing on January 6th and putting them into solitary confinement and allowing them to be beaten and abused in prison. George Floyd’s family is awarded millions of dollars in a settlement for his wrongful death and yet Ashli Babbit’s family cannot even know who it was that shot her or even ask questions. George Floyd had a criminal record and had committed several felonies at the time of his arrest, Ashli Babbit did not have a criminal record and at the time was guilty of trespassing, a misdemeanor. She did not have a weapon, nor was she threatening to harm anyone. Judge righteous judgement, that is not the same thing as mob rule. If you do those two things then it will go a long way to dealing with those who plot evil against one another. The US has had a number of evil plots, JFK assassination, 9/11, and the reason we went to war in Vietnam were all evil plots. War is very profitable for some, you can understand why they like war, it brings them huge government contracts. So we should not naively think that no one would intentionally provoke a war just because we don’t like war. We don’t like it because our kids go and die and we have to pay for the cost with our taxes. The rich elites who profit from war do not send their kids to fight and the money they make far outweighs the tax they pay. If you are going to deal with evil plots then you can’t be naive. The steel dossier was an evil plot and the great number of Americans who fell for it demonstrates how naive we are. Finally don’t swear falsely. We are discovering falsehoods everywhere. Joe Biden swore that his family would not have business dealings with the CCP, that was false. Kamala Harris swore that if we elected her she would put an end to the human rights abuses at our border, that was false. The FISA warrants on Trump’s campaign were gotten from those who swore falsely. The claims made about the Pandemic were falsehoods.
14 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, 15 “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
Everyone makes it seem like there are so many different theories on what we should do that it is just impossible to know the best course. Universal healthcare or corporate healthcare? Border wall or no border wall? But they are missing the whole point, what you really need to do is speak truth to each other. Do you really want universal healthcare? OK, this is what it will really cost and this is what it will really be like. Pelosi makes a big stink over the wall costing $5 billion dollars and yet in the first 100 days of Biden’s presidency he spends $3 billion on undocumented aliens entering our Southern border and she says nothing. It all begins with speaking truth. The MeToo movement was up in arms about a woman making an unsubstantiated accusation against Kavanaugh. Many high profile senators were claiming that we need to believe all women. Then ten women come forward against Cuomo and they are silent. Not about something he did over twenty years ago in high school but about what he did as governor. All you hear from these same pompous liars is crickets. Three women came forward against Joe Biden, even Kamala Harris said she believed them right up until she was chosen as his running mate. First and foremost speak truth. Then you have to render true and sound judgement. The Chauvin trial was stunning. Prominent government officials threatening jurors publicly to make a guilty verdict. The jurors were so scared they found him guilty of three different kinds of murder all at the same time for the same murder! We know that some of the jurors lied to get on the jury. By any standard of justice this was a mistrial. They are taking people who are guilty of misdemeanor trespassing on January 6th and putting them into solitary confinement and allowing them to be beaten and abused in prison. George Floyd’s family is awarded millions of dollars in a settlement for his wrongful death and yet Ashli Babbit’s family cannot even know who it was that shot her or even ask questions. George Floyd had a criminal record and had committed several felonies at the time of his arrest, Ashli Babbit did not have a criminal record and at the time was guilty of trespassing, a misdemeanor. She did not have a weapon, nor was she threatening to harm anyone. Judge righteous judgement, that is not the same thing as mob rule. If you do those two things then it will go a long way to dealing with those who plot evil against one another. The US has had a number of evil plots, JFK assassination, 9/11, and the reason we went to war in Vietnam were all evil plots. War is very profitable for some, you can understand why they like war, it brings them huge government contracts. So we should not naively think that no one would intentionally provoke a war just because we don’t like war. We don’t like it because our kids go and die and we have to pay for the cost with our taxes. The rich elites who profit from war do not send their kids to fight and the money they make far outweighs the tax they pay. If you are going to deal with evil plots then you can’t be naive. The steel dossier was an evil plot and the great number of Americans who fell for it demonstrates how naive we are. Finally don’t swear falsely. We are discovering falsehoods everywhere. Joe Biden swore that his family would not have business dealings with the CCP, that was false. Kamala Harris swore that if we elected her she would put an end to the human rights abuses at our border, that was false. The FISA warrants on Trump’s campaign were gotten from those who swore falsely. The claims made about the Pandemic were falsehoods.
Zechariah 8:18-23 The way to victory
18 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”
These fasts are due to Jerusalem being broken into, set on fire, Gedaliah murdered, and the siege of Jerusalem. Right now our cities are under attack, they are being set on fire, people are being murdered, and there is a siege on the US. There is a struggle throughout the world to have one world government headed up by the AntiChrist with his pandemic passport who will identify who is obedient to him and who isn’t. Right now if you are mourning for righteousness your grief will be turned to joy. The Lord promised that those who mourn would be comforted.
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.” 23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
The world is watching, they have all been conquered by tyrants and totalitarian regimes. It will be the people of the Lord, those that love their neighbor and those that speak the truth that show the world the way to defeat these tyrants. The first thing to return will be prayer, following that there will be a testimony of those who are one with the Lord. Implied in all this is that they will be seeking the word of the Lord.
18 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”
These fasts are due to Jerusalem being broken into, set on fire, Gedaliah murdered, and the siege of Jerusalem. Right now our cities are under attack, they are being set on fire, people are being murdered, and there is a siege on the US. There is a struggle throughout the world to have one world government headed up by the AntiChrist with his pandemic passport who will identify who is obedient to him and who isn’t. Right now if you are mourning for righteousness your grief will be turned to joy. The Lord promised that those who mourn would be comforted.
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.” 23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
The world is watching, they have all been conquered by tyrants and totalitarian regimes. It will be the people of the Lord, those that love their neighbor and those that speak the truth that show the world the way to defeat these tyrants. The first thing to return will be prayer, following that there will be a testimony of those who are one with the Lord. Implied in all this is that they will be seeking the word of the Lord.