next month’s rapture

Four Proofs and Nine Days

By Pastor F. M. Riley

“My son, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with thee;

So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;

Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;

If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;

Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

Proverbs 2:1-5

Introduction

Over the past seven months of this year I have been repeatedly asked why I am so sure the Lord is coming in 2009. I think this is a fair question deserving of an answer. This entire study will be devoted to answering this question for our readers. You are invited to join us for an enlightening Bible study…….

The Four Proofs

Proof No. 1…..The Jewish Calendar…….This present year 2009 on our Gentile calendar, is the Jewish year 5769 on the Jewish calendar. Since the Gentile calendar and the Jewish calendar overlap, the present Jewish year will end at sundown [6 p.m.] on Friday, September 18th. At that time the Jewish year 5770 will begin with the 1st day of the month of Tishri, which will be Saturday, September 19th on our Gentile calendar. The 1st day of Tishri on the Jewish calendar is also known as Rosh HaShanah, and is sometimes referred to by Gentiles as “The Feast of Trumpets.” This particular day marks the beginning of the new civil year on the Jewish calendar, and also the end of the harvest season for the previous year.

What is the prophetic significance of these facts in the light of God’s Word? I’m so glad you asked!

The number “69” in the Jewish year, 5769, is associated throughout the Scriptures with, “to bring to an end; to cut off; to finish; to complete; to fulfill.” What is then spoken of in God’s Word that should be completed, finished, or brought to an end by or before the Jewish year 5769 comes to an end at sundown [6 p.m.] on September 18th?

What immediately comes to mind is “the fullness of the Gentiles,” Romans 11:25. This refers to the number of Gentiles whom the Lord “foreknew” would be saved during this present “dispensation of grace.” Read Romans 8:28-30, Ephesians 1:3-6, and 2 Peter 3:11-12. This latter passage when carefully studied, teaches true believers to be “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” Check the Greek text! How can we New Testament believers “hasten” the day of God? By winning souls to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read Proverbs 11:30. What an incentive to be a soul winner! Folks, when the last soul the Lord foreknew would be saved during this present dispensation receives Christ as his (or her) Savior, the “fullness of the Gentiles” will be completed and the resurrection and rapture will immediately occur. Glory! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!

Also the number “70” in the Jewish year, 5770, is highly significant. This is the Bible number associated with “the restoration of Israel” all through the Scriptures. This leads me to believe that when the Jewish year 5770 begins on Rosh HaShanah, September 19th, the Lord’s church and all New Testament believers will have already been resurrected and raptured to glory, and the nation and people of Israel will be restored to their position as the representative of Almighty God among men upon the earth.

The way these years on the Jewish calendar are working out this year then makes it quite evident to me that the Lord is coming to resurrect and rapture His people to glory this year; 2009. Now keep this truth about the Jewish calendar in mind as you continue to read this study, for all four of these proofs work together…..

Proof No. 2…..The Jewish Sabbath Years…….The Law of the Land given to Israel in Leviticus 25 and the chronology set forth in both God’s Word and history indicates that 5769 is a “Sabbath year” on the Jewish calendar. According to Jewish authorities this present Jewish year of 5769 is the 42nd year in their 50 year cycle leading up to the Jubilee year as set forth in Leviticus 25.

This means that 5770 is the first year of the next seven year Sabbath cycle. This next Sabbath cycle of seven years will then complete the entire 49 year cycle set forth in Leviticus 25. 42 + 7 = 49. The year then following the completion of these next seven years will be the Great Jubilee year. Glory to God! Hallelujah!

This present Sabbath year of 5769 ends on September 18th at sundown, and a new cycle of seven years begins at that time with the first year of the cycle being 5770. Now let me illustrate this so that any reader should be able to understand the truth that is being set forth…..

5770 + 5771 + 5772 + 5773 + 5774 + 5775 + 5776 = 7 years. The Jewish year 5776 is again a Sabbath year, and also the 49th year in the cycle. This means that the following year; Jewish year 5777, will be the 50th year and the year of the Great Jubilee. Folks, these coming seven years correlate exactly with the seven years of the Tribulation period, which will begin on or near Rosh HaShanah this present year of 2009 on our Gentile calendar. This means that the Jewish year 5777 will also be the first year of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ upon this earth. Glory to God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

These truths about the Jewish Sabbath Years again make it evident to me that the resurrection and rapture of God’s people will occur during this present year of 2009.

Proof No. 3…..The Psalms…….I have previously written about the Book of Psalms numerous times, pointing out the correlation between the Psalms and the years of the 20th and 21st centuries. This revelation was pioneered by Pastor J. R. Church of Prophecy in the News in his book, Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms, which was published in 1987. I continued to study the correlation after reading Brother Church’s book and have proven the truth of it over and over again. I realize there are some “super smart” Christians today who still don’t want to believe it, but I also realize that such “Christians” [?] have never seriously studied the correlation and have no intention of studying it. The inspired statement in Daniel 12:4 is totally wasted on such “professing Christians.” They [think] already “know it all,” and their minds are closed to any further light from God’s Word.

But for those of us believers who are not too proud hearted and arrogant to believe that the Lord is still opening up the truths of His prophetic Word to those willing to seriously study the Word, I have some good news…..

Psalm 108:6, which Psalm correlates with 2008, plainly predicts the rapture of God’s people to glory. It is plain enough in the KJV, but it is even more explicitly stated in the Hebrew text. Look at it for yourself. However, in that verse it is in the future tense. This means that the rapture was not to occur in 2008, but in some future year.

Now look at Psalm 109 which correlates with 2009. This Psalm quite obviously speaks of the Antichrist coming on the world scene during this present year. It also speaks of a “remnant” of Israel once again crying out to the Lord for mercy upon the Jewish people. This means that before this year of 2009 is completed, the Antichrist will make his appearance on the world scene and the seven year Tribulation period will begin. Now what better time is there for it to begin this year than at the end of the Jewish year, 5769, and the beginning of the Jewish year, 5770? Well…??

Now I want to also illustrate this truth for our readers…..

The last 3 and ½ months of 2009 + 2010 + 2011 + 2012 + 2013 + 2014 + 2015 + 8 and ½ months of 2016 = the 7 years of the Tribulation. This will bring the Tribulation to an end approximately at Rosh HaShanah of 2016, which will be the beginning of the Jewish year, 5777. As previously stated, that year will also be the year of the Great Jubilee and the first year of the glorious Millennial Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Some readers may wonder about this? Good! An open inquiring mind is exactly what God’s people need in order for the Lord to give them spiritual truth.

Now look at Psalm 116 which correlates with 2016. In this Psalm the “remnant” of Israel is rejoicing and praising the Lord. Why? Because the entire Psalm repeatedly points out that the “remnant” of Israel has been [past tense] saved and redeemed from the hands of their enemies. The Lord has heard them and has helped them. He has loosed their bonds and set them free. The Tribulation is over in Psalm 116! How could it be made any plainer? Study it for yourself and let the truth soak in. Glory to God! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Lift up your voices and give praise to the Lord who gave us such a wonderful Holy Spirit inspired book. Praise His Holy Name!

There is not the slightest question in my mind that this brief look at these Psalms is absolute proof that the Lord is coming for His people during this present year of 2009 and that the Tribulation period is also going to begin this year. Glory to God!

Proof No. 4…..The 42 year Generation…….Anyone who seriously studies the prophecies knows that many of the prophecies in God’s Word are conditioned upon Israel being reestablished as a nation again in their own land. This occurred in 1948. But also many of the prophecies are conditioned upon the return to Israel of their holy city of Jerusalem and the holy Temple mount. This did not occur until the Six Day War of 1967.

Folks, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself explicitly stated in the Olivet Discourse that “the generation” which would see “the fig tree” [a type of Israel; Hosea 9:10; Jeremiah 24:5-7] “putteth forth leaves” would not “pass away” [die off; cease to exist] until “the kingdom of God” has been established upon this earth. See and compare Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-31 and Luke 21:29-33. Now how long is a Biblically defined “generation”?

I have personally looked up every single place in the entire Bible where the word “generation” occurs. In carefully studying the context I have found every single place in God’s Word where a length of time is connected with the word “generation.” Therefore I know that the length of a “generation” as defined by the inspired word of God is between 33 and 42 years. Period!

Now how long has it been since Israel expanded their territory [putteth forth leaves] in the Six Day War in 1967? It has been 42 years! 1967 + 42 = 2009. It is then more than coincidence that the number, 42, is associated with “the coming of Christ” over and over again in the inspired Word. Glory! Glory to God! Hallelujah!

So here again is a fourth proof that this year of 2009 is the year our Lord is coming to take His people “home” to glory. All four of these proofs are based upon the sure foundation of the Word of God. Read 2 Peter 1:19. I hope every reader will seriously examine these four proofs for yourself. Read Acts 17:11.

REST OF THIS STUDY IS AT THIS LINK

labored in vain

thank you to ANDREW STROM for allowing anyone to freely post his email messages

this one caught my attention so I’m posting it here on my blog

please note this message is NOT saying that going to church on a Sunday is wrong – only that it is NOT required under the NEW COVENANT

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RETURN of THE JUDAIZERS??

-by Andrew Strom.

I have friends who call Jesus “Yeshua”. I don’t mind it at all. I have other friends who keep the Saturday Sabbath. It doesn’t bother me too much, unless there is a kind-of “aggressive attitude” about it. But in recent years I have witnessed a worrying trend – that in my opinion is growing worse – and we need to address it.

Today when a Christian tells me that they are “Torah-observant” then all kinds of alarms go off. It may be that they are just into ‘Hebrew roots’ – but usually it is a lot more than that. We all know that in the early church, the biggest problem they had was with the “Judaizers” who went around trying to convince the Gentile Christians that they must obey the letter of the Old Testament Law. This shipwrecked the faith of many. It was the biggest problem they had. The book of Galatians is all about it – and many other sections of the New Testament. It was a battle between the old Law – with its subtle bondages – and the new walk of the Spirit and of grace.

A few months back, we published the testimony of a Christian woman who got involved with a Messianic group that slowly under-mined her faith in Jesus – and basically converted her gradually into a practicing Jew – even though they all thought of themselves as “Messianic Christians”! She realized later that in almost every way she had slowly had her faith in Jesus and the New Testament replaced with the keeping of the Torah. She had been “Judaized”!

And I fear this is happening to a great many Christians today – in all kinds of subtle ways.

This is exactly what the Bible warns against – losing the “simplicity” of the faith. And that is why Paul was so strong against the Juda- izers. He saw that Christians were being tempted – not to place their faith in Christ alone – but rather in Christ PLUS the keeping of the Law. It was no longer a simple trust in JESUS to be their righteousness. They now started to feel they had to keep the letter of the Old Law too – in order to be truly “holy”. And so they became “Judaized”. This is the worst trap possible. And so subtle!

Let us look at a few vital Scriptures. Please open your Bible to Acts 15:1-29. This whole passage is about a great meeting of the apostles to decide whether – with the new Gentile Christians – it was “necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (v 5). So what did the apostles conclude about this? As Peter declared during the debate about it, “Why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (v 10).

At the end of the great meeting, the apostles put out a letter to the Gentile Christians that declared: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”
(v. 28-29). And as far as the Old Law went, that was it!

In other words, no “Torah observance”, no Sabbath, no circumcision, no Old Law apart from these few things. This brief list only. That was the pronouncement of the apostles. If they wanted to tell the Gentiles, “You must keep the Jewish Sabbath,” then this was the place to do it. But it is definitely not included. And neither are a thousand-and-one other things from the Old Testament.

Of course, this should be no surprise to us. In Colossians 2, Paul tells us very clearly that Christ has “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us” by nailing it to the cross (v. 14).

He then goes on to say: “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
(v. 16-17).

So all these Old Testament practices are only a “shadow” of the New. In fact, as Hebrews makes clear, the entire Old Covenant was only a ‘type’ or shadow of that which was to come. It was not the real thing! It does not make us more “holy”! The substance is found in Christ – and Him alone. The Old Torah “requirements” were nailed to the cross with Jesus. We don’t need them any more.

If anybody ever tells you that the New Testament is simply a “continuation” of the Old, run a mile from that person. They simply do not know what they are talking about. In fact, what they are spouting is dangerous heresy.

Thus, as Paul tells us in Romans, observing the Sabbath is only necessary if our conscience is weak in this area – and we feel we have to:- “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it”
(Rom 14:1-6).

So we do not “have” to observe the Sabbath. It does not make us more ‘holy’ or righteous to do so. It is simply a matter of conscience.

This runs against a lot of the teaching that is doing the rounds right now. There is a lot of dangerous “Back to the Torah”-type emphasis that is bringing a lot of harm to a lot of people. Many of them don’t even realize what is happening to them.

Paul clearly tells us in Galatians that you can lose your salvation by beginning to rely on the Law in your Christian walk: “You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain” (Gal 4:10-11). He then goes on to say, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Gal 5:4). Alarming statements, are they not?

You see, it is a direct insult to the work of Christ and to God for us to go back to the “works of the Law” to try and make us more ‘righteous’ in His sight. It is placing our trust in something other than just Jesus. We are “adding works” for our salvation. And it will not do.

I believe that just like the Galatians, a lot of people today need to repent of trying to add the Old Law to their salvation – sometimes in subtle ways – sometimes major. This is not the kind of thing to toy around with. It can be utterly deadly. If you are someone who is adding “Torah observance” to your faith, I urge you to repent.

God bless you all.

Andrew Strom.

real repentance

The FACT is that the Bible never uses the phrases “repent of your sins” or “turn from your sins” in regards to salvation. Salvation is a free gift of God—not of works—and relies totally upon God’s mercy through the LITERAL blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:12); not forsaking one’s sinful lifestyle (Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8,9).

“Repent” in regards to salvation does not mean “stop living in sin.” It means to “change one’s mind.” Carefully notice in Mark 1:15 what Jesus said… “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Notice that Jesus DIDN’T say “repent ye, and forsake your sins.” No, rather, Jesus said, “repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

from JESUS IS SAVIOR WEBSITE

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

- Dr. Harry A. Ironside

falling or flying?

2 Thess 2:3

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come except there come a FALLING AWAY first…and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

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It seems a lot us Christians who believe we are living in the last days don’t realize how most of our Bibles may not be translating this particular piece of Scripture in the most accurate manner.

It usually says “falling away”, so many folks think Paul is talking about a lack of true faith in the Body of Christ during the end times.

Now the Greek word for “falling away” is apostasia. Sounds like this has gotta be talking about apostasy – right?

But some scholars say the Greek word ‘apostasia’ would be more accurately translated into English as the word ‘departure.’

Now that changes the whole meaning of Paul’s statement!

Our Bibles usually say “falling away” when maybe they should be saying “FLYING AWAY.”

Sure sounds like the rapture to me.

And not only that…it means Paul is saying the RAPTURE must come FIRST.

And so the rapture would come like a thief in the night - as the Bible said it would – to those who weren’t waiting and looking for Jesus.

Maybe because most folks wouldn’t pay attention unless there was a special sign to give them warning first – before the rapture happens.

Tell me – does a thief call your house to ask you if it’s okay to come over and break in?

abandoning Israel

A segment of Pastor Randles preaching on Obama’s recent speech to the Muslim world from Cairo

OBAMA’S WORDS were a SERIOUS DEVELOPMENT - FORETOLD BY SCRIPTURE that in the LAST DAYS all nations would TURN AGAINST ISRAEL

toxic Bibles

TODAY ON THE MY NEW DAWN RADIO SHOW

TOXIC BIBLES!

A Special Live Interview with GARY AMIRAULT,
founder of www.tentmaker.org

lost in translation

today the MY NEW DAWN RADIO SHOW will look at the Bible

I will explore the word “HELL” and also the term “LAKE OF FIRE“

and why these terms may not mean what MOST PEOPLE think

thought provoking and controversial!

attitude & action

I recently read a Christian article by Mark Hankins who made this statement:

“Believing is the attitude of faith and speaking is the initial act of faith.”

This reminds me of Jesus’ words when He said in Matthew 17:20:

“And he saith unto them, Because of your little faith: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

So we can’t just have a positive attitude about the mountain.

Our attitude of faith must MOVE OUR MOUTH!

revelation river

once again, the Bible has accurately predicted the future – notice what it says here in Revelation 16:12

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

And HERE is one of the recent news stories about the Euphrates drying up:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102184336

wisdom’s gifts

“Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor.”

Proverbs 3:16