Signs of the Rapture

What to Look For

A few more thoughts about the Revelation 12 Sign of September 23, 2017

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Few people will probably read this, so my fear of ridicule is small. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been fascinated with the controversy and arguments surrounding the Revelation 12 Sign of 09/23/2017. Publicly, my personal position on the whole thing is and has been ‘Maybe’ and  ‘What if?’  Because I honestly don’t know.

I’m intrigued by how compelling the narrative has become, the mathematical curiosities associated with it and the very long list of what are either associated coincidences, or possibly not coincidences. To my knowledge, historically speaking, nothing quite like this has very happened before, and I’m not just talking about the astronomical alignment, but how this topic has evolved and created such division. It’s difficult for me to understand how anybody can easily dismiss the observation that a literal reading of the Bible verses in Revelation 12:1-5 describes the astronomical alignment which occurred on 09/23.

Either:

a) it is legitimate to be watching for a literal fulfillment of what is described in Rev. 12:1-5 or

b) it is purely symbolic.

If ‘a’, then the ‘Great Sign’ will involve the Sun, the Moon and the Stars.  Our only common knowledge of anything representing a ‘woman’ in the sky would be a constellations of stars.

  • Of the 88 constellations covering the entire sky in the northern and southern hemispheres, I believe only 3 are of women; Andromeda, Cassiopeia and Virgo.
  • Of these three constellations, only Virgo appears in the ecliptic, which is the path that the sun travels across the sky from sunrise to sunset.
  • Virgo is the only constellation in which both the Sun and the Moon are ever in proximity to.
  • So by the process of elimination, the sign would involve the constellation Virgo (symbolic of the Virgin) the Sun, the Moon and 12 stars.

If ‘b’, then any attempt to apply a literal fulfillment to the ‘Great Sign’ would be a waste of time.  But I don’t think there are any examples of ‘signs’ which were not manifested in the physical world. By definition,  a ‘sign’ would suggest that there is evidence of something specific.

Revelation is a tricky book to decipher.  What is symbolic and what is not? and Who is to say?

Pondering the Lyrics of The Days of Elijah Song by Robin Mark

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According to many in Israel, this is the Year of Jubliee.  Yesterday was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  Seven days ago was the astronomical alignment being termed ‘The Revelation 12 Sign’ which involved the Sun, the Moon, the planets Mercury, Mars, Venus and the constellations Virgo and Leo.  Ten days ago is when Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets began.  Other than two major volcanic eruptions in Bali, and  a handful of ISIS related terrorist attacks on innocent civilians, what have become almost everyday, commonplace occurences, no global events on a Biblical scale have happened yet, like the Rapture.

Rabbi Samuel Ben Judah, who died in 1517, used Torah to base his opinion that 2017 would be a Year of Jubilee. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed from the United Nations last week that this was currently Israel’s Jubilee in that it has been 50 years since the liberation of Jerusalem and 100 years since the Balfour Declaration.

This Sunday morning, someone posted a YouTube video clip from a few years ago, of American soldiers during a worship service singing ‘Days of Elijah’ written by Robin Mark in 1994.  I’m not yet sure why I’m also seeing “Francis Robert Mark” as being credited with the lyrics.  Anyhow, I’ve always liked this song, and especially hearing so many of our men and women in uniform passionately signing it, but today you might say that the lyrics struck a chord for me…the scriptures which Robin Mark chose to create the lyrics of this song closely parallel the Blessed Hope of those who are currently watching for the Rapture, anticipating hearing the Trumpet Call at any minute.

 

These are the days of Elijah
Declaring the word of the Lord, yeah
And these are the days of Your servant, Moses
Righteousness being restored
These are the days of great trials
Of famine and darkness and sword
Still we are the voice in the desert crying
Prepare ye the way of the Lord!
Say, behold He comes, riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun, at the trumpet’s call
Lift your voice, it’s the year of Jubilee
Out of Zion’s hill, salvation comes
And these are the days of Ezekiel
The dry bones becoming as flesh
And these are the days of Your servant, David
Rebuilding the temple of praise
And these are the days of the harvest
The fields are all white in the world
And we are the laborers that are in Your vineyard
Declaring the Word of the Lord
Behold He comes, riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun at the trumpet’s call
Lift your voice, it’s the year of Jubilee
Out of Zion’s hill, salvation comes
(x2)
There’s no God like Jehovah!
There’s no God like Jehovah!
There’s no God like Jehovah!
There’s no God like Jehovah!
(x6)
Behold He comes, riding on the clouds
Shining like the sun, at the trumpet’s call
Lift your voice, it’s the year of Jubilee
Out of Zion’s hill, salvation comes
(x2)

Some who have been heavily invested in the belief that ‘The Revelation Sign’ of 09/23/2017 is heralding the return of Jesus/Yeshua for His Church are still committed to the idea that THIS is the time, even though nothing has happened…yet.  Their latest proposed ideas of how this might turn out are:

  • Some are looking at the Barley Harvest, which if not mature enough by a certain date pushes the Feast of Trumpets out 30 days as an extra month is mandated to be added to the calendar that year.  It has been reported that this year the Barley harvest hadn’t been this immature this 2005.
  • Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, and Sunday is recognized as the sabbath by the Church.
  • Some believe that the Jubilee doesn’t end until Sunday, Oct. 1st due to celestial relationship of the sun and moon on Elul 1.
  • Some attach significance to 400 days from a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on Aug. 27, 2016 ends on Oct. 1st at sundown. I checked this, the conjunction was right next to Virgo’s head at sundown as seen from Jerusalem and would have been visible for 1 hour before sunset.
  • Some have suggested that if God gave Noah 7 days warning before the Flood began, then it began on the 8th day and 8 days from Sept. 23rd would be October 1st.

One skeptical pastor who I’ve had a lengthy conversation with on this topic has suggested that the Revelation 12 Sign needs to have a ‘shelf life’…if nothing happens within a reasonable period of time, then it wasn’t what people thought it was.

From here, all we can do is wait, Watch, and see.

Maranatha!

The “Yeah Buts” of the Revelation 12 Sign in September 2017

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The following are a list of ‘Signs of Times’ which suggest that we are in the season when we should be expecting Jesus to return soon.

  • 1897 First Zionist Congress is catalyst for fulfillment of prophecy
  • 1948 Israel re-established as a nation
  • 1967 Jerusalem liberated
  • We have just witnessed the largest influx of Muslims (aka invasion) into Western lands since Muhammed’s bloody conquests over 1200 years ago.
  • Iran’s centrifuges are still spinning, producing the refined material needed for a nuclear bomb.
  • In the last 2 years North Korea has successfully tested multiple nuclear weapons and is making rapid advancements with their new missile launch capabilities.
  • Russia has invaded the Crimean Peninsula.
  • In the name of Islam the worst religious persecution and murder of Christians in history has been underway in the Middle East for several years now.
  • Global volcanic activity is very high lately.
  • Powerful earthquakes over 6 and 7 on the Richter scale are frequent throughout the world lately.
  • Two tsunamis have claimed the lives of over a quarter million people with a span of 6 1/4 years.  The first being the deadliest tsunami as well as one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.
    • Dec. 26, 2004
      • 9.3 quake
      • 100 foot high waves
      • 230,210 people killed/missing
    • Mar. 11, 2011
      • 9.0 quake
      • 33 foot high waves
      • 18,550 people confirmed to be killed/missing
  • The institution of marriage has been assaulted and defiled by the promotion and acceptance of homosexuality, which is not just another sin, but described as an ‘abomination’ to God in Leviticus 18 and 20 which is part of the Torah, or the Law.
  • Openly Homosexual priests are being ordained by more and more denominations
  • Israel is surrounded by enemies who threaten to push all of the Jews into the sea.

But giving consideration to the possibility that the astronomical alignment of September 23, 2017, on the Feast of Trumpets, could be the Revelation 12 Sign of the Woman clothed with the sun is said to be foolishness by both secular astronomers and many mainline Christian prophecy teachers as well.
Really?  Doesn’t God say that He will use foolish things to confound the ‘wise’?

So far the strongest arguments offered to refute the Rev. 12 Sign are not very strong or convincing at all, and are easily shut down by those who have given serious consideration to the Revelation 12 Sign, weighing both pros and cons.

1.  It’s not rare because similar alignments have happened on these dates in the past:

Perhaps, but it’s a moot point that anything similar happened in the past IF it happened before Israel was re-established as a nation.  Similar reasoning is applied to why similar astronomical alignments before the time of Christ or John the Revelator are not worthy of being considered…they are simply irrelevant. Also, the previous alignments did not come close to matching the ‘tightness’ of the upcoming Revelation 12 Sign. Also, the probability that ALL of the elements of Revelation 12 would occur simultaneously, on the Feast of Trumpets, while the sun is setting is … astronomical, it truly has never happened before, and most importantly, it hasn’t happened since Israel was re-established.

Dates provided by skeptics include:

  • September 24, 1827
    (Problem: Mercury and Venus are near her shoulder, only Mars is above her head near Leo. Also, Yom Teruah would have been on Sept. 22-23 according to http://www.hebcal.com )
  • September  6, 1483
    (Problem: Mercury is near her shoulder, only Mars is above her head near Leo. Also, Yom Teruah would have been on Sept. 21-22 according to http://www.hebcal.com )
  • September  5, 1293
    (This one is close; Venus, Mars and Mercury are aligned above her head near Leo, Jupiter is in her womb, clothed in the sun, moon at her feet…  but it happened 655 years before Israel was re-established. Also, Yom Teruah would have been on Sept. 10-11 according to http://www.hebcal.com
  • September 14, 1056
    (Problem: Only Venus is above her head near Leo, but Mercury and Mars are near her head. Also, Yom Teruah would have been on Sept. 18-19 according to http://www.hebcal.com)

2. No on knows the day or the hour.

True.  And the consideration that the upcoming Sept. 23, 2017 alignment could be the actual Revelation 12 Sign does not violate the words of Jesus Himself.
a) the sign happens while the constellation Virgo dips beneath the horizon at sunset, which is the time on the Jewish calendar when the day changes from today to tomorrow.
b) there are multiple time zones around planet Earth, and there is even a 2 hour window of time each day when there are 3 different calendar days in effect.
c) Even though it would break the pattern of the moedim, the Rapture doesn’t have to happen on Feast of Trumpets, it could happen before or after.

3. It’s not rare.

Skeptics frequently point out the fact that one or two elements of the Great Sign occur quite frequently, downplaying the fact that ALL of the elements occurring simultaneously has only happened one time about 5,730 years ago, possibly something similar on September  5, 1293.  Once again, a moot point since these would have been before Israel was regathered.

4. Skeptics point out that not all star maps show Virgo as having 9 strars.  

Recognizing that there was an astronomical need to formally define the placement of all celestial objects in the entire sky, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) ratified and  recognized the 88 modern constellations in 1928.  In 1928 the IAU defined Virgo as having 9 major stars and 15 stars all together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_(constellation)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Astronomical_Union

5. Astrology is forbidden.

Of course it is…one could argue that this is astronomy, not astrology which an attempt to determine personal details of one’s future by ‘reading’ the stars. Others might argue that for modern astrology to be considered a ‘perversion’, that there must be an unperverted version of the true science. Chuck Missler has said, “Astrology is an occult perversion of the true science of Astronomy” or “a perversion of God’s word written in the stars”.

6. Most commentators think that the male child in Revelation 12 was Jesus.

  • The way Jesus left earth was not by ‘harpazo’ which is a verb that is applied to someone else. Jesus ‘ascended’ of His own free will, see ‘anabaino’ : Strong’s G305.
  • Rev. 1 states that all of the Revelation is future, about ‘things to come’
  • In context, the Great Sign of Rev. 12:1 has to do with the Tribulation, not the birth of Jesus.
  • Knowledge and understanding has been ‘sealed’ until the End Times.

7. Nobody can see the Great Sign without using software like Stellarium.

The prophet Daniel stated that ‘knowledge will increase’. Also, the day on which the sign happens has two names in Hebrew…Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets) and Yom HaKeseh (the Hidden Day).  Perhaps this day was hidden for two reasons; the vision was ‘sealed’ and perhaps also because it’s a daytime sign, the woman is clothed “with the sun”.  So even if most people can’t see it, the alignment still happens, and would be visible with the naked eye by anyone on the International Space Station (ISS) .

8. Jesus can come at any moment.

In considering that He is the Creator of the Universe I suppose He could. However, He has established a pattern of fulfilling the moedim or His appointed times on the very day.

  • Is there any verse in the Bible which says ‘Jesus will be killed on Passover’ ?… No.  But it happened.
  • Is there any verse in the Bible which says, “Jesus’ body will be buried on Feast of Unleavened Bread” ?… No.  But it happened.
  • Is there any verse in the Bible which says, “Jesus will rise from the dead on Feast of First Fruits”? … No.  But it happened as well.
  • Is there any verse in the Bible which says, “The Holy Spirit will come down on Pentecost”? … Well, Jesus did allude to it when He told His disciples to ‘wait’ or stay in the city until they have been clothed with power from on high.

Here are a few examples of weak attempts by authors on major websites to refute the correlation of the astronomical alignment on Sept. 23, 2017 with a literal reading of Revelation 12

a) http://earthsky.org/human-world/biblical-signs-in-the-sky-september-23-2017
By Christopher M. Graney in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | HUMAN WORLD | May 31, 2017
Originally printed at The Catholic Astronomer. Re-printed here with permission. http://www.vofoundation.org/blog/biblical-signs-sky-september-23-2017/

Graney said, “Bottom line: From the standpoint of astronomy, there’s nothing unique or unusual about the sun, moon and planets – or the constellation Virgo – on September 23, 2017,  despite claims on the Internet of a unique and significant celestial event, supposedly “mirroring” the Bible’s Book of Revelation. In the past 1,000 years, this same event has  happened at least four times already, in 1827, 1483, 1293, and 1056.”

b) https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/stars/what-will-happen-september-23-2017/
Dr. Danny R. Faulkner  on May 1, 2017 Answers in Genesis (AIG)

Faulker said, “Jupiter appears in the part of Virgo corresponding to her womb, along with the sun in Virgo and the moon at her feet for a day or two every 12 years or so. The last time this” happened was in 2005, so why was that event not heralded for its prophetic significance?” “Leo has more than nine stars. Where did the people touting this supposed fulfillment of prophecy get the idea that Leo has nine stars? … Since the claim that Leo has nine  stars is false, the assertion that the addition of the three planets brings the total number of stars in Leo to 12 is false too.”

“Some promoters of this supposed sign claim that the Hebrews associated Jupiter with the Messiah. Again, this is a conjectural assertion not supported by any facts.”

How convenient that Faulkner neglected to mention that the Hebrew name for Jupiter is Tzedek, the exact same word for ‘righteousness’.  According to Encylopedia Britannica, Melchizedek is an old Canaanite name meaning “My King Is [the god] Sedek” or “My King Is Righteousness” (the meaning of the similar Hebrew cognate).  Salem, of which he is said to be king, is most likely Jerusalem.

So I have to wonder…is Danny Faulkner too busy to conduct thorough research?  Did he feel rushed to finish his article? One can only speculate as to the reason for why he has drawn so many false conclusions in his article refuting the Revelation 12 Sign.

G.H. Pember’s Reference to the Man Child of Revelation 12

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Many have mentioned  a reference connecting Revelation 12 to the Rapture of the Church In Pember’s book ‘Earth’s Earliest Ages’, but few have actually cited the passage, so here it is, found about 21 paragraphs into the chapter titled, ‘Signs of the End’.

“But of far more intense interest to those who love the Lord Jesus, and long for His appearing, is that which is signified as taking place just previously to the expulsion of the Devil and his angels from heaven (Rev. xii. 1-5). For without going into details, which we have considered elsewhere, we may mention our conclusion that the birth and rapture of the man child refer to the completion of the mystic Christ — of which the personal Christ is the Head and His Church the body — as manifested by the sudden translation of all waiting saints, whether dead or alive, to meet their Lord in the air.

It thus appears that this long-expected event will precede Satan’s banishment from heaven, and, therefore, also it’s results…and the revelation of the Man of Sin.  Like Enoch, the Church of Christ will be called away before earth is for a time abandoned to the Nephilim, before the fearful woes of the end.”

(Published in 1876  by Hodder and Stoughton )

It should be noted that G.H. Pember had no knowledge of the astronomical alignment set for September 23, 2017 which so closely parallels a literal reading of Revelation 12:1-6

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads.  His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.  Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

  • Revelation 12:1-6 (NKJV)

 

Revelation 12 Sign and Daniel 12

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I had a new thought last night about a verse in Daniel 12 in relation to Revelation 12, but first allow me to review the theme of the entire chapter  of Daniel 12, which is ‘Prophecy of the End Time’.

The verse,

“And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time”

seems to be an obvious reference to the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, also known as the 70th Week of Daniel or The Tribulation.

The verse,

“And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book”  

seems to refer to the righteous saints, or the church, who are those who have recognized the Messiah and repented.   Delivered from what? Delivered from the “time of trouble” by means of the Rapture.  

The verse,

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt”

seems to imply that not all who “sleep in the dust” will awake, only ‘many’ of the dead.  This would fit with 1 Thess. 4:16 in that “the dead in Christ will rise first”, not all the dead, only ‘the dead in Christ’.

Now for my new thought…  The verse,

“Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever”

also seems to refer to the Rapture.  Who are the wise?  Are they not the five wise virgins, who keep oil in their lamps, waiting and watching for the Groom?  Are they not the wise men from the East who watched the skies for signs of the king, and and in faith traveled a great distance to meet and worship Him? Are they not the servants who the Master finds watching when He returns? (Luke 12:37) But more strikingly, let’s look at the verse which tells of how they “turn many to righteousness“.  The word for ‘righteousness’ in Hebrew is ‘Tzedek‘ which also happens to be the name for the planet Jupiter in Hebrew.  So could Daniel 12:3 also be read as meaning that the wise servants who encourage many to ‘Teshuva‘ or ‘Turn / Repent‘ towards the King of Righteousness, as represented by Jupiter and the ‘male child‘ or ‘body of Christ’ who is harpazo / raptured in the Revelation 12 Sign, will shine brightly like the sky (firmament) because they are Sons of the Day, Sons of Light which is how Paul described the Church in 1 Thess. 5:5.   Note that the Greek word ‘huios’ is correctly translated as ‘sons’ in 12 out of 25 Bible translations on BibleHub.com, and as ‘children’ in 12 out of 25 translations, with the one odd translation using the pronoun ‘You’.

“At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.

  • Daniel 12:1-3

The impact of this possible interpretation is even greater after reading the very next verse,

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

  • Daniel 12:4

Daniel 12:4 is the verse that states that knowledge of the meaning of the 70th Week of Daniel will be sealed UNTIL the ‘time of the end’.  By logical deduction, any interpretation before the ‘time of the end’ would have to be incorrect, because the knowledge was sealed.  It is only in the last few years that those who ‘watch’ have become aware by means of astronomy software that a literal reading of Revelation 12 will happen in the skies on September 23, 2017:

“Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.”

  • Revelation 12:1-6