Number 5 -----



A response to the blood moon scenario

http://www.gracethrufaith.com/ikvot/...-moon-scenario

There's a video currently on the web, promoted by a well known prophecy website, that a whole bunch of you have either sent links to or asked about it or both. Here's my response.

This video shows the result of tracking solar and lunar eclipses and comparing them with Levitical Feasts, and notes that the only time in this century when 4 consecutive full lunar eclipses, known as a tetrad, will coincide with either Passover or the Feast of Tabernacles is in the years 2014-2015. Lunar eclipses are also known as “blood moons” because the moon often takes on a red cast during an eclipse.

There will also be 2 solar eclipses during that time. In the spring of 2015 Israel's religious year will begin with a total solar eclipse, followed two weeks later a total lunar eclipse on Passover. And then six months later the sequence will repeat itself with a second solar eclipse on Rosh Hashanna followed two weeks after that by another total lunar eclipse on the Feast of Tabernacles, all in 2015.

The last time anything like this happened was in 1967, when Jerusalem became an undivided Jewish city again, and before that there were several occurrences during the years of 1948-50, as Israel was becoming a nation. There were none at all in the 1800's, 1700's, or 1600's, and none in the 1500's that coincided with Feast Days.

What Does That Mean?

The conclusion being drawn from this by the video's producer is that 2015 is the most likely year for the Lord's 2nd coming in the entire 21st Century, and the fall is the best time in that year.

Prophecy buffs from across the spectrum are falling all over themselves to get on board this. But in the rush of emotion that rightfully accompanies thoughts of the Lord's impending return most are ignoring a tool for evaluating where we are in the end times that I first introduced in my series entitled “Seven Things You Have To Know To Understand End Times Prophecy”. It's a business management tool called back scheduling.

Sensational claims like the one made in this video can result in real confusion if you don't know the sequence in which major End Times events will occur. Actually their order is very logical, and once you learn it, you'll wonder why you didn't see it before. The best way to figure it out is to perform what the business world sometimes calls a back scheduling exercise. It involves going to the very end of a process and identifying its final outcome. Then you list in reverse order all the things that have to happen to produce that outcome, backing into the present. It's simpler than it sounds, and much simpler in prophecy than in business because there are many fewer events to organize. Here's how it goes.

We all think of Eternity as the final outcome, and so starting at the end and working backwards means we begin there. But the last major event described in any detail in the Bible is the Kingdom Age or Millennium, the Lord's 1000 year reign on Earth, which is distinguished from and precedes Eternity. Simply put, Eternity can't begin until the Millennium ends.

The Millennium obviously can't happen till the Second Coming, because that's when the Lord returns to establish it. And the Second Coming can't happen till the end of the Great Tribulation. And that can't happen till the anti-Christ stands in the Temple in Israel declaring himself to be God. (2 Thes. 2:4) That's the event Jesus warned Israel to look for as the Great Tribulation's opening salvo. He called it "The Abomination of Desolation" in Matt. 24:15-21.

But that can't happen till there's a Temple. There hasn't been a Temple in Israel since 70AD and there won't be one until the Jews decide they need one. That won't happen until God reinstates their Old Covenant relationship, signaling the start of Daniel's 70th week. And that can't happen till the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 is won, because it's Ezekiel's battle that officially draws the Jews back to God. (Ezek. 39:22) And that can't happen till the Church is gone, because the Church and Israel are mutually exclusive to Him. (Romans 11:25 & Acts 15:13-18) And that brings us to the present, because there is no preceding event for the Rapture of the Church. It could happen at any time.

Using this scheduling tool we can see how end times events are scheduled to take place, and the only one whose timing is at all speculative is the Rapture. Some argue that there's doubt about the timing of the Battle of Ezekiel 38 but I think the Bible is pretty clear in saying that the battle of Ezekiel 38 is Israel's wake up call to begin Daniel's 70th week. It's the event that brings Israel back into covenant with God, requiring that a Temple be built. Daniel's 70th week by definition is seven years long. The last half is the Great Tribulation, after which the Lord will return.

What's The Point?

That brings me to my point, and to make it, I'll use the back scheduling tool again. In order for the Lord to return in the fall of 2015, Daniel's 70th week will have to begin the fall of 2008, a few months from now. That means that over the summer, the Battle of Ezekiel 38 will have to take place, and God will have to re-introduce Himself to Israel, bringing them back into an Old Covenant relationship that results in Biblical Judaism becoming the official and national religion of Israel. And the anti-Christ will have to appear and gain enough power to help Israel negotiate a seven year treaty that includes provisions for a Temple. (Daniel 9:27) Then there's the matter of the Rapture of the Church. While this schedule is of course possible for God, having them all take place this summer would be a major departure from His normal approach to things.

In truth, there are several interesting facts you should know about this summer that make it an attractive possibility if you disregard everything we've just covered. Israel will celebrate its 60th birthday and at the same time the world's population is projected to reach 6,666,666,666. The 1976th birthday of the church will also occur. (Because of calendar differences much of the Western church will celebrate on May 11, but the correct date is June 8-9.)

Also some military experts say that June will effectively be the last time this year that Israel will have an opportunity to take out Iran's nuclear capabilities, an act that will obviously cause major repercussions in the Middle East. Iran's rainy season begins in July making visibility an uncertain thing, and by September the US Presidential election will be ramped up for its all out run to our November election. Many observers believe that the current administration won't agree to let such a distraction interfere with America's focus on the election this fall. Adding these things into the mix has tempted a number of prophecy buffs to throw off all constraints and proclaim that the Day of the Lord is at hand.

Hold On Just A Minute!

But before we join them, let's take a closer look. Have the conditions for Ezekiel 38 been met? Most of the players are lined up, the exception still being Turkey. But Syria, not mentioned in Ezekiel 38, is right in the thick of things, teamed up with Iran and North Korea in a new axis of evil focused against Israel. Can Isaiah 17 also happen this summer?

And then there's the requirement that Israel be living in such a state of supposed peace as to be taken by surprise in a battle to the death. (Ezek. 38:11) If Israel goes after Iran's nukes next month, they'll be the ones pulling off the sneak attack. Could Iran's certain retaliation in any way be called an unexpected surprise that catches Israel off guard? I don't think so.

No, I think it's much more likely that any war this summer between Israel and the Moslems would result in Syria's demise and end in a false peace that puts into place the conditions necessary for Ezekiel 38 to happen some time later. And despite my earlier speculation about the 2012 magnetic polar reversal fulfilling the 6th seal of Rev. 6, I have to admit that the most likely coming event that fits the sequence and is worthy of announcement by signs in the heavens in 2015 would be the beginning of Daniel's 70th week.

If these earlier Blood Moons did in fact announce the re-birth of the nation and the reunification of Jerusalem as it appears, then the next major step in Israels' journey toward the Kingdom is their national reunion with their Creator. This is the way Ezekiel saw it happening, and in my view is important enough to God to merit such a celestial announcement. After all He's been waiting to take them back for 2000 years.

"Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” (Hosea 6:1-2)

Thankfully, it won't be long until we know for sure who's right and who's wrong. And it won't take any rocket science to tell. Because if the 70th week is set to begin in September then the next few months will astonish the world in a breath taking series of prophetic fulfillments unparalleled since the Lord's crucifixion and resurrection. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

:shock:

 

I'll make a few quick comments regarding the latest postings.

1. The fact that China is developing secret bases should be no surprise to anyone. They've been ramping up their military for a long time and the fact that they alone have the ability to muster the two hundred million man army alluded to in Biblical prophecy, makes it pretty much a given.

2. The prophecy of the moon turning to blood and the sun being darkened can very easily be, and probably will be due to atmospheric dust and debris. Nuclear strikes, super volcano eruptions, etc, can very easily be the reason for this.

3. Whether or not this summer heralds the beginning of the end, no one knows. I tend to think, though, that with this nation's current presidency coming to a somewhat chaotic end and the escalating unrest in the Middle East, that it's going to be an eye-opening summer at the very least.

In the end, I put a lot of stock in Christ's words that no one but the Father knows the time of Christ's return. You can't tell the time of Christ's return by a solar clock and the thinking that a mere mortal can know something that the Angels and Christ himself do not, is perilously close to blasphemy at the highest level. God's warnings that we should watch and be faithful and prepared, are the warnings we need to heed.

Good stuff, though, Slim. I always enjoy reading the news you post, if only to see what other people are saying and considering. My personal feelings on the WHEN is simply that no one knows and no one is meant to know. You prepare as if it could happen any day, whether that's in 7 years or 7 days. But we are close...no doubt about that.

 

I'll add another point in the form of a question.

How do the 2015 tetrad believers reconcile their beliefs with the 2012 end of the Mayan Calander believers?

The point being, trying to pinpoint the date of Christ's return is an exercise in futility and pointlessness. There are dozens and dozens of different beliefs that will swear up and down they know when He is returning and they can back it up with "facts."

:wink:

 

"Man-made" facts at that. :|

 

I agree with you on this TF. There have been so many in history who claim to know the time, yet, they get shown to be wrong and wrong again. I watched a TV show not long ago that had an author who studied Sir Issac Newton. The author claimed that Newton figured out the exact time of Christ return. The name of the book is "Newton's Riddle." I am in no hurry to buy this book.

I am more inclined to think that our last days will be more along the lines of the story of Jonah and Nineveh. Jonah went to Nineveh after much coaxing from God and convinced them of their impending judgement. Nineveh was eventually destroyed but their inhabitants repented when Jonah came to them and they saved their lives and their city for a time. Only when the inhabitants rejected God finally was the city destroyed.

In short, if we as a people turn away from sin and towards God he would restore us. But God and only God ultimately knows when we have past the point of no return. And that is when He will start the wheels in motion.

 

Bush: Face-to-face with the Word of the Lord

http://www.stangoodenough.com/?p=136

Although he almost certainly does not fully realize the ramifications, US President George W. Bush, who is due to arrive in Jerusalem Wednesday morning on a three-day visit, is set to come face to face with the Word of the Lord concerning the restoration of Israel.

Bush has been scheduled a private viewing Thursday evening of a 2000-year-old scroll containing the entire book of Isaiah.

Virtually every one of Israel’s ancient prophets foretold the dispersion (Diaspora) of the Jews, centuries before it happened in AD 70 and 135.

And virtually every one of Israel’s prophets, from Moses all the way through the Hebrew Scriptures, foretold the restoration of that globally-scattered and universally-persecuted people to the same land from which they were driven, and God’s securing of them as a resurrected nation in that land.

Of all the prophets, Isaiah is most famous for prophesying this physical and spiritual restoration of the Jews.

Among famous and well-loved passages from that book we have:

Isaiah 11:11-12: It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Isaiah 40:1-2: “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.”

And Isaiah 66:7-8: “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children.

“Coincidentally,” the Isaiah Scroll was the only complete document to survive out of the 220 pieces and parts of parchment discovered at Qumran, near the Dead Sea.

And “coincidentally” the Isaiah scroll was discovered in 1947, the very year when the United Nations voted to accord the Jews - who by then had been returning to the Land of Israel in successive waves of immigration - a state of their own in that land.

Many Bible-believing Christians saw the discovery as a divine sign - a stamp of approval and confirmation, if you like - of Israel’s rebirth.

Because of the Isaiah Scroll’s fragility, Ha’aretz reported Tuesday, the document was only displayed for two years after it had been studied, before being placed in a dark room with temperature and humidity controls, far from the public eye.

It lay there for 40 years, until now.

A few days ago, to celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary as an independent state, the Israel Museum put the scroll on display.

It will only be “out” for just two months.

And George W. Bush, who has personally committed himself to helping remove the Jews from half of this restored land so that a Palestinian state can be erected here, will get to see it.

Of course, the scroll is in ancient Hebrew, which as far as I know Mr. Bush does not read. Hopefully someone in his entourage will explain to him the significance of Isaiah’s words, and the folly and danger of trying to undo them.

Hopefully. :shock:

 

The 83rd Piece Completes the Prophecy Puzzle

http://missing-peace-bsalhus.blogspo...ddle-east.html

Astonishingly the final piece of the end-times puzzle was uncovered in, of all places, Ireland on July 26, 2006. An engineer digging up Irish bog-land to create commercial potting soil noticed just beyond the bucket of his bulldozer, a well-preserved ancient parchment. It was Psalm 83, opened up in place and in plain view. Perhaps it is no coincidence that this Psalm that is filled with prophetic content has been dug up, dusted off, and rendered newsworthy in these latter days.

By placing this 83rd piece into proper place, predicted events come into appropriate alignment. This exciting discovery now completes the last days puzzle, enabling the prophecy buffs to confidently forecast the coming Arab-Israeli War, followed by the Russian – Iranian led invasion of Israel described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, and lastly the dreaded “Tribulation Period”.

Located in the Old Testament, Psalm 83 alludes to an Arab confederacy that seeks to destroy the modern day Jewish State of Israel. The Psalmist lists these ancient enemies of Israel by their ancestral names: “The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: Assyria also is joined with them.” (Psa. 83:6-8, ASV; emphasis added)

Back then labels like Palestinians, Jordanians, Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrians, and Saudi’s, didn’t exist, so it is up to this present revelation generation to locate the whereabouts of these ethnicities today. This map taken out of my new book Isralestine; The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East, identifies these Islamic nations alongside their historical counterparts.

These nations have the tiny Jewish State completely boxed in on every side. Although a temporary and fragile peace exists between, Israel, Egypt and Jordan, the preponderance of these Arabs, don’t recognize Israel’s right to even exist.

Here is how the 83rd piece completes the prophecy puzzle. These predominately Arab groupings, whose ancestors have harbored an ancient hatred of the Jewish people from time immemorial, are going to attempt one final concerted effort to destroy the nation Israel.

The Psalmist puts it this way: “They [the Arab confederates] devise crafty schemes against your [Jehovah] people [the Jews], laying plans against your precious ones. “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out [modern day] Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.” This was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you” (Psa. 83:3-5, NLT)

This self-explanatory passage informs us that the Middle East conflict of today will escalate into a massive war. This will make the historical Arab – Israeli wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973, look like cross-town sporting rivalries comparatively. This war will leave Israel no choice but to decimate all of its evil Arab neighbors, and in the process put the world on notice that is has emerged into the “exceedingly great army” foretold to come in Ezekiel 37:10.

Furthermore, the Jewish State will stretch out sovereignty over some of the conquered Arab territories. They will do so in an effort to claim sections of the land their God Jehovah promised to their patriarch Abraham in Genesis 15:18. This potentially puts portions of Egypt on through to Iraq into their Real Estate portfolio. Part and parcel with increased territory comes Jewish possession of Arab resources and the associated spoils of war. Israel will become a much wealthier nation as a result of their conquest, and will begin to dwell securely in what I refer to as Isralestine, and Daniel 11:41 classifies as the “Glorious Land”.

In this post war condition, the Jewish State will appropriately resemble the nation of Israel described in the prophecy of Ezekiel 38:8-13. They will be a peaceful people gathered back into their ancient homeland of Israel, in the latter days. They will dwell prosperously, and securely. This is prerequisite for the stage setting of the Russian – Iranian led coalition described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 that comes to destroy Israel and take over Isralestine.

Pundits have often wondered why the Palestinians and their Arab cohorts, who are the most observable opponents of Israel today, are not enlisted in the Russian – Iranian coalition. The Psalm 83 puzzle piece evidences why; these populations are fragmented at that time. They are reduced to prisoners of war and refugees, and as such, of no military utility to the Russians and Iranians.

Sometime after Israel takes out their Arab neighbors, and becomes one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the cry will go out across the Promised Land, “The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming”! Then the world will witness the God of the Jews execute the destruction of the Russian – Iranian led invasion of Isralestine. These events are described in Ezekiel 39:1-8, and are entirely orchestrated by God, without the assistance of the Israeli army. Thus the Israeli Defense force of today is emerging for the primary purpose of combating the Psalm 83 Arab confederacy.

Completing the prophecy puzzle, the Antichrist enters into the Middle East Theater, in an attempt to neutralize the empowered Jewish State, which at the time will be basking in the glory of two significant victories. The Jews will have defeated the Psalm 83 Arabs, and their God Jehovah will have destroyed the Russian – Iranian led coalition. In essence the struggling Jewish State of Israel today will be a super nation tomorrow!


:!:

 

Last-days 'birth pains' have begun

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.p...w&pageId=64375

The world has endured an almost mind-numbing series of shocks in recent weeks, from the unprecedented swarm of tornadoes across the American Midwest to the death and destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis as it tore a path through Myanmar, better known as Burma.

There were 368 documented tornadoes in the U.S. in January and February of this year, shattering the previous record of 243 over that two-month period, set in 1999. February's total of 232 tornadoes also shattered previous records.

Cyclone Nargis ripped Burma apart, killing at least 128,000, according to Red Cross estimates, and creating some 2.5 million refugees.

Al Gore was quick to blame global warming. In an interview on NPR to plug his appropriately named book on global warming, "Assault on Reason," he told host Terry Gross: "And as we're talking today, Terry, the death count in Myanmar from the cyclone that hit there yesterday has been rising from 15,000 to way on up there to much higher numbers now being speculated. . … And last year a catastrophic storm last fall hit Bangladesh. The year before, the strongest cyclone in more than 50 years hit China – and we're seeing consequences that scientists have long predicted might be associated with continued global warming."

Maybe. But Germany's Institute of Marine Scientists says we're in for a 10-year period of global cooling. There sure seems to be a lot of opposition to what is supposed to be "settled science."

Global warming can't explain away the devastating earthquake that all but flattened a huge portion of western China. The death toll from Monday's quake is approaching 20,000, with twice that number still listed as missing. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Monday's earthquake was the 25th "significant" earthquake registered so far this year.

Back in 1969, the year I wrote "The Late, Great Planet Earth," the USGS identified a total of seven "significant earthquakes." I had noted in 1969 that there was a slight but discernible increase in worldwide earthquake activity since Israel's rebirth in 1948.

During the entire decade of the 1970s, the USGS recorded a total of 44 earthquakes it classified as "significant." The following decade, from January 1980 to December 1989, the USGS recorded 47 significant earthquakes. That is for the entire decade. From 1990 through the end of 1999, the USGS records 57 significant earthquakes. From 2000 thru to Monday's earthquake in Sichuan, China, the USGS recorded an astonishing 109 earthquakes of at least magnitude 7.0 and 13 earthquakes measuring between 8.0 and 9.9 on the Richter Scale.

On the other side of the world, the long-dormant Chaitan volcano erupted May 2 for the first time, say geologists, in more than 7,000 years. The BBC reported that a government volcano expert warned there could be a big eruption at any time.

"There could be a major explosion that could collapse the volcano's cone," said Luis Lara of the National Geologic and Mining Service.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warned that Iran had "detected" a new highly pathogenic strain of wheat stem rust. The U.N. said the fungal disease could spread to other wheat-producing states in the Near East and western Asia that provide one-fourth of the world's wheat supply. The new strain, called Ug99, is capable of infecting up to 90 percent of the existing strains of wheat worldwide – and once infected, crop losses range between 70 percent and total loss.

Coupled with the losses already sustained as a result of the typhoon-related flooding in Java, Bangladesh, and India and from agricultural pests and diseases in Vietnam, it starts to add up. Last year, Australia suffered its second consecutive year of severe drought and a near complete crop failure; heavy rains reduced production in Europe; Argentina suffered heavy frost; and Canada and the U.S. both produced low yields. Food riots have broken out in Egypt, Haiti and several African states, including Mauritania, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal.

Meanwhile, the drums of war continue to beat around the planet. Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad renewed his threat to destroy Israel this week. Hezbollah took over West Beirut, while the Arab world mourned the catastrophe of Israel's 60th birthday with threats of annihilation of the Jewish state.

In Israel, President Bush again warned that allowing the Iranian regime to obtain nuclear arms would be "unforgivable," signaling a continuation along a path that can only lead to an eventual war that will engulf the whole Middle East.

When Jesus was asked by His disciples to tell them what "signs" would precede His return at the end of the age, He warned that "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, plagues and earthquakes in various places," He said (Matthew 24 and Luke 21). Using an analogy immediately understandable to all peoples in all nations, he said of these signs, "All these are the beginning of birth pains."

Jesus used a Greek word for the labor pains of a woman about to give birth. Jesus knew that every generation could understand the illustration. His meaning is clear. Just as a woman experiences birth pains that increase in frequency and intensity just before giving birth, so ALL the signs of His return would increase in frequency and intensity just before His return.

Hey, for he first time in history, all of the signs have appeared together in the same time frame and are increasing in frequency and intensity. That, coupled with the fulfillment of the great predicted sign that Israel became a nation again after 2,000 hopeless years of worldwide dispersion, indicates that Jesus Christ is already at the door ready to return. Are you ready?

:wink:

 

That is the way I look at it, good stuff but IMOP it is speculation.. Even my own thoughts are speculation.. I don't know when it will happen, but I have a feeling.. But I have had that feeling befor also, and was wrong.. But like you I like reading what others say.

 

Ahem, Still waiting for your thoughts Redeemed.. (slim tapping foot with arms crossed) :lol:

Dingdong, what just got a new news letter.. Hmm, I have to read it and post it..