Tabernacles: Be Watchful, Be Sober, Be Ready
The seven-day Feast of Tabernacles begins in a little over 17 hours. If God were to choose for the rapture to occur during one of the seven feasts I've always thought Pentecost, Rosh Hashanah, and Tabernacles were by far the most likely choices.
No one knows the day or hour. God alone knows. He can do whatever He wants and can come whenever He wants. We are all well aware of that fact.
But simultaneously, I believe He expects us to be aware of the signs and the season (Luke 12:56). Why else would we be told so many times to be watchful for Christ's return (Luke 21:36, Matthew 24:33, Matthew 24:42, Matthew 24:44-51, Luke 12:40, 1 Thessalonians 5:4)? Why else would nearly 1/3rd of the Bible be devoted to prophecy? Why else would Jesus Himself give us signs to watch for?
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Brothers and sisters, my head is spinning right now from all that is going on and I have a lot of information to cover with you, but I'll try to be as concise as I can.
For starters, if you haven't seen some of the reasons Tabernacles is a strong rapture possibility, please see here.
Also, there is breaking news today that China has now joined Russia and Iran in Syria. Apparently China's only aircraft carrier, accompanied by a missile cruiser, has docked at the Russian/Syrian port of Tartus. Chinese aircraft, including anti-submarine aircraft will be joining the fray. Yet why in the world does China need anti-submarine aircraft to fight ISIS?
With Russia's largest nuclear missile submarine in port, and the deployment of S-300 missiles in Syria, Israel is now effectively militarily and politically blocked from any and all strikes in Syria, which is why Netanyahu met with Putin in a jiffy.
That is all an aside. Now let's jump in regarding Tabernacles...
_____________________________________
I'm going to mention a number of things in no particular order. It's kind of a mess, but try to stay with me:
1. God ordained seven feasts or festivals, called in the Bible "appointments" on His divine calendar. The Biblical calendar (as opposed to the Jewish civil calendar), begins in the Spring on Nisan 1 (Exodus 12:1-2; the first day of the month in which Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits fall).
2. Jesus clearly fulfilled, in order, the first three feasts (His death on Passover, His sinless body buried on Unleavened Bread, and His resurrection on First Fruits). He then fulfilled the very next feast/appointment 50 days later on Pentecost when He sent the Holy Spirit. The Church Age then began.
3. Many assume that the next feast to be fulfilled is Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), because it is the next appointment on the calendar. However, some are arguing that just as the first three feasts found their fulfillment in short order while Jesus was physically on earth, so too the last three will be fulfilled in short order at Jesus' Second Coming while He is back on earth. At the rapture, Jesus doesn't come to earth, we go to Him in the clouds and then return with Him back to Heaven.
4. The rapture occurs at the "Last Trump" (1 Corinthians 15:52). God commanded the Israelites to blow the trumpet on every feast, not just Rosh Hashanah (Numbers 10:10). Tabernacles is sequentially the last feast on God's calendar, and so a very strong argument can be made that the "Last Trump" occurs during this festival and not on Rosh Hashanah.
5. Jesus said no man knows the day or hour. Many have connected this with Rosh Hashanah, because on the Jewish calendar it is celebrated for two days to account for the sighting of the new moon. However, the Bible itself clearly says that Rosh Hashanah is only a one day festival. It is the first day of the seventh month (Tishri 1; Numbers 29:1). Tabernacles, however, is arguably the only feast that lasts not for one day, but for seven days (Deuteronomy 16:13). Thus if God planned for the rapture to occur during a holy festival, and the phrase "no man knows the day or hour" were an allusion to that festival, Tabernacles is the most natural choice, because a watcher could not know for sure on which of the seven days Christ would come.
6. On Tabernacles the Jews were commanded to dwell in tents/rooms/'tabernacles' in the wilderness, hence the name of the festival. This may in fact be a direct allusion to an Old Testament prophecy of the rapture (Isaiah 26:20), a New Testament prophecy of the rapture (John 14:2-3), and the Transfiguration, which represents the glorification of believers that will occur at the rapture (Matthew 17:4).
7. The Great Multitude of Gentiles in Revelation 7, which possibly represents the raptured Church, is pictured with each white-robed person holding a palm branch. While the palm branch is most often associated with the triumphal entry in Nisan, Tabernacles is actually the feast in which the Israelites were commanded to worship God with palm branches (Leviticus 23:39-40).
8. Tabernacles is one of the the three harvest festivals, and is in fact the last of the three harvest festivals. Interestingly, Jesus made an allusion to "four months until the harvest", which would fall on Tabernacles (John 4:35-36).
9. The third Blood Moon occurred on the fourth day of the fourth month (April 4th), and totality lasted for 4 minutes and 44 seconds: 4-4-4-4-4. This incredible alignment of fours has been much talked about in prophecy circles and has been shown to be beyond the possibility of mere mathematical coincidence. From April 4th (day of the third Blood Moon) to tomorrow, September 27th (the day of the fourth and final Blood Moon), exactly 4 x 44 days transpire. Also, there are 253,440 minutes between the two dates and 4224 hours between the two dates.
10. Yom Kippur has always been the traditional Second Coming festival. For this reason November 11th of this year has been offered by some as potential day #1 of Daniel's 70th week, because exactly 2520 days transpire between 11/11/15 and Yom Kippur 2022. Furthermore, the book of Daniel describes an additional 75 days at the end of the tribulation (Daniel 12:12). There are exactly 75 days from Yom Kippur to Hanukkah. Day #1 of Tabernacles this year begins on September 27th and ends on September 28th. From September 28th to November 11th there are exactly 44 days.
11. For some reason the book of Daniel divides the first 69 prophetic weeks of years into '62' and '7' (Daniel 9:25), something that eschatology student Isaac Newton noticed. For this reason, it has been suggested that the seven weeks of years may have had a dual purpose. That dual purpose being the fulfillment of the second decree to "restore and rebuild" Jerusalem, which would have started at the Jewish conquest of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. Yom Kippur (9/23/15) was all the rage because it was exactly 49 prophetic years to the day (360 x 49) from when Israel recaptured Jerusalem on June 7th, 1967. However, the Six-Day War officially ended four days later on June 11th when Israel signed a cease fire with her enemies. From June 11th, 1967 to September 27th, 2015 (beginning of the first day of Tabernacles) is exactly 17,640 days or 49 prophetic years.
Just food for thought.
MARANATHA!
No one knows the day or hour. God alone knows. He can do whatever He wants and can come whenever He wants. We are all well aware of that fact.
But simultaneously, I believe He expects us to be aware of the signs and the season (Luke 12:56). Why else would we be told so many times to be watchful for Christ's return (Luke 21:36, Matthew 24:33, Matthew 24:42, Matthew 24:44-51, Luke 12:40, 1 Thessalonians 5:4)? Why else would nearly 1/3rd of the Bible be devoted to prophecy? Why else would Jesus Himself give us signs to watch for?
_____________________________________
Brothers and sisters, my head is spinning right now from all that is going on and I have a lot of information to cover with you, but I'll try to be as concise as I can.
For starters, if you haven't seen some of the reasons Tabernacles is a strong rapture possibility, please see here.
Also, there is breaking news today that China has now joined Russia and Iran in Syria. Apparently China's only aircraft carrier, accompanied by a missile cruiser, has docked at the Russian/Syrian port of Tartus. Chinese aircraft, including anti-submarine aircraft will be joining the fray. Yet why in the world does China need anti-submarine aircraft to fight ISIS?
With Russia's largest nuclear missile submarine in port, and the deployment of S-300 missiles in Syria, Israel is now effectively militarily and politically blocked from any and all strikes in Syria, which is why Netanyahu met with Putin in a jiffy.
That is all an aside. Now let's jump in regarding Tabernacles...
_____________________________________
I'm going to mention a number of things in no particular order. It's kind of a mess, but try to stay with me:
1. God ordained seven feasts or festivals, called in the Bible "appointments" on His divine calendar. The Biblical calendar (as opposed to the Jewish civil calendar), begins in the Spring on Nisan 1 (Exodus 12:1-2; the first day of the month in which Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits fall).
2. Jesus clearly fulfilled, in order, the first three feasts (His death on Passover, His sinless body buried on Unleavened Bread, and His resurrection on First Fruits). He then fulfilled the very next feast/appointment 50 days later on Pentecost when He sent the Holy Spirit. The Church Age then began.
3. Many assume that the next feast to be fulfilled is Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), because it is the next appointment on the calendar. However, some are arguing that just as the first three feasts found their fulfillment in short order while Jesus was physically on earth, so too the last three will be fulfilled in short order at Jesus' Second Coming while He is back on earth. At the rapture, Jesus doesn't come to earth, we go to Him in the clouds and then return with Him back to Heaven.
4. The rapture occurs at the "Last Trump" (1 Corinthians 15:52). God commanded the Israelites to blow the trumpet on every feast, not just Rosh Hashanah (Numbers 10:10). Tabernacles is sequentially the last feast on God's calendar, and so a very strong argument can be made that the "Last Trump" occurs during this festival and not on Rosh Hashanah.
5. Jesus said no man knows the day or hour. Many have connected this with Rosh Hashanah, because on the Jewish calendar it is celebrated for two days to account for the sighting of the new moon. However, the Bible itself clearly says that Rosh Hashanah is only a one day festival. It is the first day of the seventh month (Tishri 1; Numbers 29:1). Tabernacles, however, is arguably the only feast that lasts not for one day, but for seven days (Deuteronomy 16:13). Thus if God planned for the rapture to occur during a holy festival, and the phrase "no man knows the day or hour" were an allusion to that festival, Tabernacles is the most natural choice, because a watcher could not know for sure on which of the seven days Christ would come.
6. On Tabernacles the Jews were commanded to dwell in tents/rooms/'tabernacles' in the wilderness, hence the name of the festival. This may in fact be a direct allusion to an Old Testament prophecy of the rapture (Isaiah 26:20), a New Testament prophecy of the rapture (John 14:2-3), and the Transfiguration, which represents the glorification of believers that will occur at the rapture (Matthew 17:4).
7. The Great Multitude of Gentiles in Revelation 7, which possibly represents the raptured Church, is pictured with each white-robed person holding a palm branch. While the palm branch is most often associated with the triumphal entry in Nisan, Tabernacles is actually the feast in which the Israelites were commanded to worship God with palm branches (Leviticus 23:39-40).
8. Tabernacles is one of the the three harvest festivals, and is in fact the last of the three harvest festivals. Interestingly, Jesus made an allusion to "four months until the harvest", which would fall on Tabernacles (John 4:35-36).
9. The third Blood Moon occurred on the fourth day of the fourth month (April 4th), and totality lasted for 4 minutes and 44 seconds: 4-4-4-4-4. This incredible alignment of fours has been much talked about in prophecy circles and has been shown to be beyond the possibility of mere mathematical coincidence. From April 4th (day of the third Blood Moon) to tomorrow, September 27th (the day of the fourth and final Blood Moon), exactly 4 x 44 days transpire. Also, there are 253,440 minutes between the two dates and 4224 hours between the two dates.
10. Yom Kippur has always been the traditional Second Coming festival. For this reason November 11th of this year has been offered by some as potential day #1 of Daniel's 70th week, because exactly 2520 days transpire between 11/11/15 and Yom Kippur 2022. Furthermore, the book of Daniel describes an additional 75 days at the end of the tribulation (Daniel 12:12). There are exactly 75 days from Yom Kippur to Hanukkah. Day #1 of Tabernacles this year begins on September 27th and ends on September 28th. From September 28th to November 11th there are exactly 44 days.
11. For some reason the book of Daniel divides the first 69 prophetic weeks of years into '62' and '7' (Daniel 9:25), something that eschatology student Isaac Newton noticed. For this reason, it has been suggested that the seven weeks of years may have had a dual purpose. That dual purpose being the fulfillment of the second decree to "restore and rebuild" Jerusalem, which would have started at the Jewish conquest of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. Yom Kippur (9/23/15) was all the rage because it was exactly 49 prophetic years to the day (360 x 49) from when Israel recaptured Jerusalem on June 7th, 1967. However, the Six-Day War officially ended four days later on June 11th when Israel signed a cease fire with her enemies. From June 11th, 1967 to September 27th, 2015 (beginning of the first day of Tabernacles) is exactly 17,640 days or 49 prophetic years.
Just food for thought.
MARANATHA!
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