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Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Sign of Jonah, The only Sign given

                          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.
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       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.

Friday, May 16, 2014

What Time Is It?

               
               Signs, Signs and More Signs

     Yesterday, which was the day after Easter 2014, was one strange day. Rainbows everywhere, even a double one in Alaska. My family has a lot of strong ties to Rainbows.  There was a beautiful double rainbow the day of my Mother’s funeral.  She loved them. My wife, daughter and her great-granddaughter sat down on the floor of the lobby and put together a fleece throw blanket for her that had a rainbow pattern in the material. It was only a few days before she died.  Also I bought a new van yesterday. It has nothing to do with the post, but it was one of the things that happened and I had not planned to do it.. What the heck does one have to do with the other?


       Jesus said as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at my coming. Jesus also said people would be buying, selling and marrying among other things.  While Jesus did not specifically mention rainbows they were given as a covenant after the flood and as a sign by God. Today gays use rainbow colors to mock God.  That may not be their intention, but it is what they are doing. These are not however the only signs given by God.  Droughts were always one of his big signs. California knows all about droughts the last few years. Now Florida and the gulf coast states are learning about another sign. Pestilence, as some little bug has almost completely destroyed not only the orange crop, but also the trees they grow on.  Pestilence was often mentioned in the Bible. I heard recently that cases of oranges that normally sell for 12 to 14 dollars in California were selling for over a hundred dollars a case. Also diseases that mankind thought they had whipped are making comebacks due to diseases becoming resistant to antibiotics.


     So what is my point?   Anyone willing to look can see signs everywhere. It is knowing what the Bible says on the matter that makes it scary.. I just realized recently we are entering the seventieth year since the end of World War II.  For the significance of that just type seventy in the search bar on my blog and read the articles. Many people will argue that World War II was not the forty-two months Daniel was speaking of.  Even I have my doubts, but it is interesting if you look at it from the day America entered the war till the defeat of Germany. It works out to forty-two months to the day.  Daniel also mentioned that some people who made it to the end of another forty five day time frame would be blessed. Daniel mentioned a couple of other signs that would not be apparent till the end time.  One was that knowledge would be increased.  That is a no brainer. He also said people would travel to and fro throughout the world. Another thing that is common in this day and age.


     One prophecy remains unfulfilled. It is about two witnesses to the end time mentioned in Revelation. Daniel lays out a period of seventy weeks of Sabbaths. Daniel gives numbers totaling up to a period of sixty-nine weeks. Then the last week would be divided into two sections. Well this week marks the end the seventy year period. If you type seventy years on the search bar on my blog you will see why I find the seventy year period significant.  Also I mention four-hundred thirty year periods which are combined with the seventy year periods in the Old Testament. If my math is right November 2017 may be significant. The Easter just passed is forty-two months prior to that date. So if I start hearing of a couple of Bible quoting maniacs coming on the scene it is time to start looking up.