Note: The following article requires Biblical discretion
Tribulation Watch – Watch for the “Rapture”
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,and famines, and pestilences; and there shall be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roar of the sea and rolling waves,Matthew 24:29 But immediately after the tribulation of thosedays the sun shall be darkened, andthe moon not give her light, and thestars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that distress, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shallnot give its light;Acts 2: 19, 20 And I will give wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood,and fire, and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be changed to darkness and the moonto blood, before the great and gloriously appearing day of the Lordcome. Revelation 6:12 And I saw when it opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as hair sackcloth, andthe whole moon became as blood. Matthew 16:3 – these are the “signs of the times”“But on that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels in heaven, but My Father only.” Matt.24:36. This scripture verse has been widely used to cause confusion and complacency among Christians. So does that mean it is futile to study (whenGod commanded us to “study” in 2 Tim.2:15) bible prophecies because “only the Father knows”?
So why should we be looking to signs and seasons? If welook at the scriptures in its context,Matthew chapter 25 is the story of the “wise” virgins and “foolish” virgins.The foolish virgins said to the wise virgins, “give us some of your oil” andthey said, “Forget it, go get yourselves.” The conclusion of the matter is: in Matt.25:10-13‘But as they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and the ones that were ready went in with Him to the weddingfeast, and the door was shut. Afterwards come also the rest of the virgins,saying, Lord, Lord, open to us; but He answering them said, ‘Verily I say unto you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour.’ When they came to the Lord, the Lord said to them, “I don’t know you. Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day or the hour the Son of Man comes.Here, He is speaking to the foolish virgins and not the wise virgins. In Luke 12:37-41 again the story of the “good”servants and the “evil” servants. ‘Blessed is the servant when the Lord comesfind him WATCHING.’ (v.37) In verse 46, speaking to the evil servants, ‘The Lord of the servant will come in a day when he looked not (is not expecting it) and an hour when he is not aware (know or understand)…and will “cut him off” and share (put aside) his portion (lot) with the unfaithful (unbelievers, untrustworthy, hypocrites) Matt.24:50,51. In a Jewish wedding,it is customary for the father to makeall the arrangements. He who will have to make sure his son have everything prepared and ready. If anyone would ask the “groom” (son), “when” is the “weddingday”, he will always answer, “Ask my father, only my father knows” and it is a traditional response.
So when Jesus was speaking on His coming again,” But on that day and hour no man knows, no, no tthe angels in heaven, but My Father only.”Matt.24:36. He was really saying what a Jewish Bridegroom would say, and it is in context with what the Spirit is saying through Paul in 1 Thess.5:1,4 as to Hiscoming, “…you know perfectly well…‘you are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief:’ He was hinting to them to watch out for the “signs” of His Father calendar of “feasts”(seasons) or the “signs of the times.” Also, the feast of the trumpets is known as the feast of “theday and the hour no one knows” because it is based upon the sighting ofthe new moon. No one know the day or the hour the moon would be sighted andthat is why it was kept by the Hebrews as a “two day feasts” till this day. When the new moon is sighted, they would announce it by setting fire on top of the hills (to let the Jews know) and because the Jewish day begins at sunset, no one would know (except those whoare watching for the moon) the hour the moon was sighted and by then everyone would be asleep. By the time they wake up, they would know that it is a new day – Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year and that is why it is called the feast ofthe trumpets, where no one knew theday or the hour.
So Jesus was giving us a clue on when He coming back when He said in Matthew 24:36 ‘But of that day and hour knows no man,no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only’ just as Paul wrote by the Spirit in 1 Thess. 5:2 ‘…because you KNOW perfectly well that the Lord come asa thief in the night.” Matthew 24:31 says ‘He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect fromthe four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’ 1 Thess. 5:1-5 nowmake sense to us if we look at it through Jewish interpretation on the scriptures because the Bible was originally written by the Jews in the Hebrew language in a Jewish custom andsociety for the Jews, and only later to us, the non-Jewish churches. What Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 5:1,2 says “as to the coming ofthe Lord,” – ‘But of the times and seasons brethren, you have NO NEED that Iwrite to you because you KNOW perfectly well that the Lord come as a thief in the night.’ Why “NO NEED?” Because to the Jews, they KNOW perfectly well what Paul means by this phrase “a thief in the night”. But to the Gentile churches they are blind to this saying. They will quote Matthew 24:36 – ‘But on that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only’ and concluded that weare to be darkness regarding the coming of the Lord because “we don’t know when.” Now, we have to read the verses (1 Thess. 5:1-5) in the whole context. No, the Bible says ‘But you, brethren, are not in darkness, thatthe day should overtake (come upon) you as a thief: for all you are sons oflight and sons of day; we are not of night nor of darkness.’ It says we are the children of the Light, sons of the Day’. (1 Thess. 5:4, 5) It says ‘the day will not over take usas a thief’ that is if we are watchful.Therefore, let us not sleep, but letus “keep watch” and be sober (v.6)putting on the breastplate of faith and love, helmet, the hope of salvation… for God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (V. 9,10)
Therefore, the question to ask is, “WHO” is Jesus speaking TO when He said, “But on that day andhour no man knows…” and in other part of the scriptures, “I come as a thief in the night…” Let’s look at Rev.3:1-3 – the church of Sardis – He is speakingto a “dead” church – the Spirittells them they need to be watchful – if they don’t watch, He warned them, “I will come upon you as a thief or you will not know what hour I will come to you.”(v.3) So He is telling the “dead”church that He is coming “as a thief”. In Rev. 3:17,18 – He is speaking to the Laodiceans church –the “lukewarm” church who say they have need of nothing (they are comfortable in the world because ofcompromise) but the Lord describe her as “poor,blind and naked.” And He ask them to buy “white raiment” (clothes, garments) from Him so that the shame of their nakedness do not appear and to anoint their eyes that they may see (watch for His coming) The Gentile churches do not understand these sayings of Jesus. Tie this to Rev. 16:15 –‘Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that WATCHES and KEEP HIS GARMENTS, lest he walks naked and they see his shame. We need the Jewish understanding of what “a thief in the night” means. Here is the explanation is this: In olden times of Israel, the high priest and captain of the (temple) guards is known as “a thief in the night.”!
They are the “watch posts” the priests hadto be watching! One of the thing the priests on duty had to be WATCHING is thefire that fell on the alter, symbolic of “a godly fire that fell from heaven”and God had commanded them that they should keep watch that the fire should never go out and the priests had to be watching it. So if a priest was caught sleeping on duty when the captain of the guard come, he would take a torch and light thefire from the alter that the priest is supposed to be watching and he would go and set his priestly garment on fire and the priest would be running all overthe temple ripping off his priestly garment and the shame of his nakedness would appear. So the saying, “I come as a thief in the night.”
Jesus was speaking to the Jews and they KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT when He said, “I come as a thief” in the Book of Revelation. Therefore when Paul the Apostle wrote in 1 Thess. 5:1,2 with reference to it, ‘as to the coming ofthe Lord – But of the times and seasons brethren, you have NO NEED that I write to you because YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL that the Lord come as a thief in the night.’ Paul wasn’t speaking in mystery or parables. The Thessalonians knew perfectly well what Paul was talking about too. The day of the Lord will not come as a surprise to the WATCHING CHURCH but it will be like “a thief in the night” to the “dead” and “lukewarm” churches. Yes, only to those who areNOT WATCHING – only to the “foolish” virgins and the “evil” servants that ‘sayin his heart, My lord had delayed His coming; and shall begin to beat (bully) the men servants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken.’ (Luke 12:45) In this context therefore, the Lord says to the “dead” and“lukewarm” churches, “But on that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels in heaven, but My Father only.”Matt.24:36. 1 Thess. 5:3 – it says…then sudden destruction will come upon them…I believe upon those not“watching”. Luke 21:35 says “it (sudden destruction) will come upon all thatdwell upon the face of the earth, (after the “rapture”, then the GreatTribulation before the coming of the Lord) Rev. 3:10 - to those who love His appearing, and to those who watch and eagerly waiting for His return, Jesus promised to keep them “from the hour oftrial that is coming upon everyone – upon all those who are living in the world.”
So we must keep watch and wait in anticipation while the whole world is fast asleep. The story of Abraham and Lot (Abraham nephew) in Genesis 18 and 19 is typical of some of the churches today.Abraham is a type of “watching church”Genesis 18:1-3 ‘And the LORD appeared unto Abraham in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked (watching), and, lo, three men stoodby him (the Lord’s appearing): and when he saw them, he ran (he must be very excited! He wasn’t afraid to meet the Lord.) to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself (worshipped) toward the ground, And said, My Lord, ifnow I have found favour in Thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from Thy servant:’ Abraham was able to know the day of the Lord’s visitation. And Lot is a type of “sleeping church”. Lot sat at the gate (speak of compromise with the world) of Sodom (Gen.19:1) Now the citizens of Sodom does not mind having Lotsitting at the gate as long as Lot doesn’t make any rulings over them (or authorityover them) The minute Lot tries to tell them something, they asked Lot, “whomade you judge over us?” (Gen. 19:9) Incidentally, the meaning of Lot’s name(Hebrew: lote the 1st letter means “shepherdstaff” – that symbolizes “authority” and the middle and last letter “te” means“attached” to a “serpent”) So Lot’s name in the Hebrew picture language (theTorah was originally written in ‘picture language’) means “one who has given his authority over to the serpent.”
Isn’t that typical of some of today’s churches? In Revelation2:12-17 the church at Pergamos followed the teachings of Balaam and Nicolaitans that caused a stumbling block to the children of the Faith (COMPROMISE of the Word) The Messianic Jews believes the Lord will return on the day of Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – which is in a Jewish Biblical calendar.Jewish feasts or “seasons” are feasts of the Lord - God’s biblical appointmentswith His elect people – they are the “feasts of the Lord” not (just) ‘Jewish Feasts’ and if we are believers in YeshuaMessiah, we should be wise to observe these feasts. They are like “dress rehearsals” for the Jews and has been for the last 1500 years (Deut.16:16) Forexample, the Feast of the Passover – they sacrifice the lamb – Jesus the Lambof God; the Feast of the Pentecost – the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit and theFeast of the Tabernacle – speak about His Return. The Feasts of the Lord: are biblical calendar of theLord. Feasts are “appointed times” – called “seasons” as we follow the biblical calendar. For example, in Passover,the Jews would bind the lamb to the horns at the alter. And they would singsongs from the Psalm 113 and Psalm 118 – like “bind the sacrifice to the alter” –Psalm 118:27 ‘God is the LORD, which hah showed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, evento the horns of the altar.’ And this is done in the morning – the time of the sacrifice – on the 3rd hour of the day (9 am) In Mark 15:25 ‘And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.’ By evening, the ninth hour (3 pm) of the day it is finished.
As the priest declared ‘it is finished’ so did Jesus who is our High Priest cried out “It is finished, bowed His head and gaveup His spirit.” John 19:30. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, Hesaid, ‘It is finished’: and He bowedHis head, and gave up His spirit.” Matthew 27:46 ‘And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is to say, My God, my God,why hast thou forsaken me?’ Jesus fulfilled the scriptures right to the dot.
Things to watch – note the coming Jewish Feasts and therewill be eclipses of the sun:Passover – April 15th 2014 and 4th April 2015Sabbatical – 25th September 2014 to 13th September 2015Tabernacle – October 8th 2014 and 28th September 2015A “tetra” is a set of four – 4 “blood moons” (eclipses) that are rare occurrance as a sign from the sky (heaven) in notable times in the history of the Jewish people. For example it happened in:
- 1967 – 6-Day War1948
– Israel became a nation 1492
– Jews kicked out from Spain 1290
– Jews kicked out from England
Solar eclipses are expected again on the Festival of Trumpets in Tishri 1 year 2015 – on Rosh Hashanah, on the first day of the Jewish New Year. Then according to Pastor Mark Blitz, the “7 year cycle will be complete.” Note also that between 1600 -1900 there are no 4 “bloodmoons” “back to back.” It will nothappen again in this century. One solar eclipse will occur for 3 consecutive year starting 2008, 2009 and 2010 on 31st July/1st of August – in the Hebrew calendar it is called the “Dark Times” – refers to Godwill be (and now is) judging the nations. “Dark times” are signs in the heavens when the sun is darkened (by themoon and the moon turned red blood) through an eclipse according to the Jews.
Watch carefully when Jerusalem is (finally) divided to form a Palestinian state – and the revealing of the Anti-Christ as a false, deceptive treaty will be signed. The Bible says God’s wrath will be poured out when His land (Jerusalem) is divided. The unfolding signs from the heavens is God’s way of telling the watchmen the time is near. He is pointing to His calendar – the Biblical calendar. Moses was a type of Messiah. When he came down from themountain with his face shinning the people were afraid of coming near to him.(Exodus 34:30) In Rev.19 Jesus will be coming back in glory and power. Just as Moses came down from the mountain, Jesus will return in glory and power, there will be people who will not ready to meet Him and shall be afraid. But blessings await those who watch and wait! When the thief of the night come, it is the watchman who will not be the one caught off guard. He who testifies these things said, ‘Surely I come quickly.’Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20.
By ADMIN
