Six years before the rapture
John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
Pattern is prophecy. This was six days before Passover, and at the end of the age it will be 6 years. Think of Passover week as being the seven year tribulation with the day of Passover being six years into the seven years. You can argue that crucifixion was the most horrible form of execution in human history, and that what Jesus went through was worse than what all others who were crucified went through. So when Jesus says it will be the worst tribulation in human history He is likening it to the crucifixion with a scourging, mocking, and crown of thorns.
2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Prior to Jesus being crucified Mary poured out this ointment on Jesus and prior to the tribulation starting we will also see believers pouring out costly ointment on the Lord. Ointment is made of olive oil which typifies the Holy Spirit and it is mingled with spices which signify our experiences of the Lord. We have been crucified with Christ, and so we have the fellowship of His sufferings and we also have the outstanding experience of His resurrection.
4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
We are told that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. Judas came in the night and he was a thief. So we can liken the way Judas behaves as the way in which we will see the day of the Lord came. Consider all these people on youtube and the internet who are sharing their experiences of the Lord as those who are pouring out spikenard onto the Lord. That tells us the day of the Lord is at hand. But the proof, the confirmation, is that other "Christians" are finding fault with them sharing the word of God and sharing their experiences.
7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
This word "kept" means to guard. Against the day of my burying indicates this ointment was kept for a specific purpose, to anoint the Lord before the burial. Now that does not mean she knew why she was keeping this ointment, though it might. Many times we have an experience of the Lord, we guard that experience and don't share it and yet we know that this experience is not just for us but for the Body of Christ. So we guard that experience until the Lord tells us to share it. For example, a few years ago I began putting more money into my checking account than I was spending. For most of my life I had been a "poor" full time worker of the Lord, I wasn't in debt, but I also didn't have extra money. But at this point with every paycheck extra money was going in and the checking account was growing. I knew you weren't supposed to leave the money sitting there but every time I thought on it I would pray about investing it or giving it to charity and I had absolutely no burden. It was as though I had a hundred things more important to do and just couldn't muster the time or energy to do that. This grew to 35k. Then the vaccine mandate was announced for teachers (I was teaching) and within 24 hours I was starting the process to retire. Within a couple of months both my wife and I had left our jobs, sold the house, and were moving. That 35k paid for everything in the move. It made it so much easier. By the time we finally got situated in a new living situation with everything we needed the money was gone. This was also the same time that I began my blog. The experiences I was sharing, some had been kept secret by me for fifty years. That was my experience and I believe that there are many other Christians with the same experience. I believe this because I also know of many who had not counted the cost and when the cost got too high for them they quit their ministry.
8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
