The Sign of Jonah
If you have read the story of Jonah you
know he was running from God for part of his life. Mainly because he did not want to do what God
told him to. He was supposed to lead the
city of Nineveh to repentance. He did
not think they were worth saving. During
my life I went through a similar situation.
The only difference between me and Jonah is that I realized I was not
worth saving either. Eventually Nineveh did fall and cease to be a city. Judgment did come, but it comes on God’s schedule
not ours.
The point I am trying to make is made
pretty clear in the book of Amos. It
says God gave all the nations four chances.
I have found three mentioned in the old testament that refer to
Israel. So where is Israel’s fourth
time? Personally I think we are living
in it. Biblical history can be divided in to three basic parts. What I am about to say is based on the verse
that says, “A day with the Lord is as a thousand years.” Based on that
accounting, the period before the great flood which was almost two thousand
years long would be the equivalent of two days.
Then there were about two days(or 2000 years) after the flood until the coming
of Jesus. That would be a period of two days from the flood to the fall of Israel and the rise of the Gentiles using
God’s timetable. So basically we have
accounted for a four day period.
Jesus said nothing would happen until “the time of the Gentiles is
fulfilled.” Well it has been almost two thousand days since Jesus. So if he
gave the Gentiles the same time line as he did the pre-flood time and the time
of the Jewish nation, our time is up.
Now we have used up six days and anybody who reads the Bible can
understand that the seventh day is the Day of the Lord.
I have heard many people argue Christ was
not in the earth three days. They can do
so, but it will be as God proclaimed it. It will be on his time table not mans. If that is the case, the time should be at
hand. Jesus said we would not know the day nor the hour, but he did say we would
be able to discern the time.
It has been two thousand years since Christ came or the equivalence of
two days based on God’s time table. We
are entering the start of the seventh day, which is the Day of the Lord or the
third day since Christ was crucified.
Jesus said the sign of Jonah would be the only sign given to an evil and
adulterous generation. That is in
Matthew 12.
Jesus did spend his whole last
night on earth describing what was to come.
It does not take a vivid imagination to know we are living in a time
just like he described. Simply reading
the sixth chapter of Genesis lays it out pretty clear.
In the course of many years of studying the Bible I discovered there are
three periods of five hundred years in the Old Testament which deal with
Israel. Each period of time begins with
a four hundred thirty year period and is followed by a period of seventy
years. As I said earlier, God made clear
in Amos that he gave all the nations a fourth chance. Therefore it seems pretty logical he would
give Israel a fourth period of time also.
.
I could not find a fourth period in the Old Testament, but when I was helping my daughter do a paper
on Martin Luther it became clear to me that there was a fourth period. It is just not Old Testament. Martin Luther nailed his treatise to the door
of the church in 1517. Israel became a
nation again in 1948, or so I thought. When I looked it up in the World Book
Encyclopedia it said the matter was bought before the United Nations and voted
on in November 1947. That is a period of
four hundred and thirty years just like in the Old Testament.
In Acts 1: 8-11, it makes clear that Jesus will come back in like manner
as he ascended into heaven. This is my
interpretation of that statement, but I am comfortable with it. Just as Jesus journey up began by his being
nailed to the cross (wood), his return spiritually would begin the same
way. When His Word, Christ was the Word
incarnate, was nailed to door he returned.
It was stressed in Acts that Hid Word would be shared with the whole world. That is something that was enabled by all the
events of the time shortly before Martin Luther, The printing press in the 1450’s
and Columbus’ voyages opened the door to the fulfilling of prophecy. Especially the words of Daniel
Chapter 12
1And at that time shall Michael stand
up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there
shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to
that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book. 2And many of them that sleep in the dust of
the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt. 3And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of
the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever
and ever. 4But
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the
end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
5Then I Daniel looked, and, behold,
there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the
other on that side of the bank of the river.
6And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of
the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 7And I heard the man clothed in linen, which
was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left
hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a
time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the
power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 8And I heard, but I understood not: then said
I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9And he said, Go thy way,
Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10Many
shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly:
and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11And
from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination
that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety
days. 12Blessed is he that waiteth, and
cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13But go thou
thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end
of the days.
Use your own judgment, but mine says we are standing at the time of the
end. Based on the Old Testament and the
seventy year periods we are standing at the door and should be looking up. If you are curious about the four hundred and
thirty year period or the seventy year period just type, either one in the
search bar on my blog and you will find several articles dealing with the
issue.
