Our New Website URL
http://www.rapturebibleprophecyforum.com


For Fair Use Discussion and Educational Purposes

http://www.raptureready.com/soap/tilman1.html

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Soon, Very Soon!

by Thomas Tillman


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many are searching for an explanation of the end times… What's happening, what's next!? Jesus, in Matt. 24, gave a very good picture of what we should expect and what we will be witnessing during the time leading up to the Rapture of the Church and the Great Tribulation followed by Jesus’ second coming to Jerusalem where He will establish His earthly kingdom to rule for 1000 years, with us being privileged to rule and reign with Him.


In Matt. 24 and Luke 21, Jesus tells us to expect wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations, famines, pestilences, earthquakes etc. After going through a long list of things that will happen leading up to and through the Tribulation, Jesus then says to us, the church, ‘when you see all these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near. Do you see that? As Jesus is telling about events leading up to the Tribulation, we should expect our deliverance when we see those things only begin to happen. They have all certainly begun to happen. Then he told them the parable of the fig tree which is a type for the nation of Israel. He said, ‘When you see that the fig tree is budding, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things beginning to happen know that the Kingdom of God is near.’ Then he said, ‘this generation’, (the one which sees the fig tree bud) will not pass away until all these things, (the things leading up to and including the Rapture, Tribulation and the Second Coming of Jesus) be fulfilled.


In the Bible, a generation is between 40 and 70 years. Since Israel, the fig tree, budded, that is, was actually born again on May 14, 1948, in perfect fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 66:8, ‘Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once?’ If the latter measure of a biblical generation is 70 years, mightn’t it be not unreasonable to expect that the generation witnessing that event (Israel’s national restoration) in 1948 should be completed by 2018? And, since the Rapture is expected to proceed the seven year Tribulation… hmmm! We’ll come back to that. Now, let’s begin to examine some of 'these things'.


The first thing Jesus says in these two chapters is, ‘Take heed that you are not deceived… many will come in My name and deceive many’. Even though the Bible tells us that no one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ coming for us in the clouds at the Rapture, Paul writes in 1Thess. 5 that we are not to be ignorant of the times and seasons leading up to His coming because we are Children of the Light, and we walk in the light, so we should recognize when the time is near, but we can’t know the day or the hour. What about the most recent fiasco involving Harold Camping? Satan knows Scripture well, and he knows that the Rapture is a reality which is near. Therefore he is pleased to use a lackey like Harold Camping to deceive and confuse many. We who know the truth have great hope. Paul wrote to Titus, ‘Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ’. In 1John 3 we read, ‘Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is… and every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure.’ That is why Satan wants to bring confusion and disbelief regarding the Rapture. If we know Jesus Christ will return for us at any moment we will be much more likely to live pleasing to God, knowing we could face Him at any moment.


After leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, God gave them seven feasts to observe throughout all their generations. They are: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. Paul tells us that these holy days are all a shadow of things to come, the substance being Jesus Christ. Col 2 Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, everything points to the Lord Jesus Christ... to His first coming, and His sacrifice at Calvary, and to His second coming in the clouds at the Rapture and then stepping down on the Mount of Olives at the battle of Armageddon. Every book, every chapter and every verse, contains a single scarlet thread winding its way from eternity past into eternity future… tying everything together. That single scarlet thread is the Lord Jesus Christ. The first four feasts were fulfilled exactly to the day in Christ’s first coming. For Passover, He was our spotless Passover lamb. Unleavened Bread referred to His sinless purity. He was the First Fruits from the grave unto eternal life, and on Pentecost His body, the Church, was born. The last three feasts will be fulfilled at His second coming, first in the clouds for us at the Rapture and then through the Tribulation to His second coming and His Millennial Kingdom. The feast of Trumpets is the first of the fall feasts, and pictures the Rapture when the last trump of I Cor. 15 is blown… The feast of Trumpets is known as the Wedding of the Messiah, and the Church is the Bride of Christ. In the Rapture, she is caught up to Heaven to be wed with Christ and to then enjoy the wedding feast of the Lamb. Trumpets is the only feast which happens on a new moon. The priests, watching for the first glimmer of the new moon, report back to the High Priest when they first spot it, which could be on either the 29th or the 30th day since the previous. No one knows for sure. ‘Of that day or hour no man knows but My Father’ is a phrase which refers to the feast of Trumpets, also to the Rapture and, to a Jewish wedding. (A Jewish groom uses that phrase to denote when his father will tell him that preparations are complete and that he should now go to take his bride from her house to his fathers house for the 7 day wedding week and wedding feast. ‘In My Father’s house are many mansions… I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go, I will come again and receive you unto Myself that where I am, you may be also’. John 14: 2,3) Between the feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are seven days. They are called the Seven Days of Awe, which, of course, picture the seven years of the Tribulation. The feast of Trumpets is also known as the Coronation of the Messiah, when He will begin to reign as King, thus beginning the ‘Day of the Lord’ which includes the Tribulation and His second coming. It is also the time for the judgment of works for the Church, since judgment must begin at the house of the Lord.1Pet 4:17


The Day of Atonement includes His second coming down to Earth in judgment. Finally, the feast of Tabernacles is remembering their flight from Egypt, living in tents, tabernacles, with God in their midst. The feast is the beautiful picture of God Tabernacling with His people, living with us, first, as we are Raptured into Heaven to be with Him always and then as He lives with us in the person of Jesus Christ throughout His Millennial Reign, and finally throughout all eternity as God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit live in us, and among us, forever and ever. As I said, Satan and his demons know the Bible well and they, along with all of the New Age and New World Order leadership around the globe know of, understand and expect the Rapture. You need not read very much of their writings to see it, and they know that God’s Holy Spirit within believers is the one thing which now restrains their plans of world domination behind the leadership of Antichrist. But again, Satan works to sow confusion, discouragement and disillusionment in the hearts and minds of believers concerning the reality and timing of the Rapture. Now, back to the fig tree and the generation which saw Israel’s rebirth, the 70 years, (one generation) from 1948, is fulfilled in 2018, and since the Rapture is just prior to the 7 year Tribulation, which the Bible clearly teaches… that leaves us with a very real possibility of the Rapture occurring this year, during the feast of Trumpets which again, is over a three day period causing no one to know the exact day or hour, and yet, we are commanded to be not ignorant of times, seasons, signs and fulfilled prophecy. Everything Jesus listed in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 is happening now, and remember, He said, ‘When you see them begin to happen look up because your redemption draws very near.’ Do I think the Rapture will occur this year on Feast of Trumpets? I believe it is a very real possibility. And if I’m wrong? Then I expect it to be another day very soon.


Everything is ready and waiting for that one event, the Rapture, for which we are commanded to patiently, yet expectantly, wait. Perhaps it is next year, 2012… a year in which much of the world believes something spectacular will take place. Jesus finished this chapter by saying, ‘Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.’ Notice He said, ‘to escape all these things,’ not merely to be kept safe through these things. Then He said, ’By your patience, possess your souls,’ and in Revelation 3, to the church at Philadelphia He said, ‘Because you have kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world… Behold I am coming quickly.’ (the Greek word translated 'from' is 'EK', meaning ‘out of … away from'.) Nothing is yet to be fulfilled before the Rapture can occur. The world is ready to follow the coming great world leader who will be possessed by Satan himself. Jews and Christians are being increasingly marginalized, hated and blamed for the worlds problems. The world is ready for a strong leader. Dr. Paul-Henri Spaak, former secretary-general of NATO, the first president of the United Nations General Assembly and an architect of the United Nations and the New World Order said, ’We do not want another committee, we have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man and be he god or devil, we will receive him.’


At the Rapture, a fantastic explanation will be needed. All the world's major media, most of whom will still be here, along with most of the world’s politicians, most of whom will still be here, and all of the world’s celebrities, most of whom will still be here, will all together help sell the lie. The World has been conditioned over the past 70 years to believe in the existence of aliens in UFOs. I believe that will be part of the explanation for the disappearance of all the haters and resisters to benevolent government (us), and out of that time of questions and uncertainty the final world leader will arise. UFO’s and ‘aliens’ are certainly real, but they are not from outer space… they are demons using demonic deception helped by their servants. Jesus warned that the conditions of the world would be like that of the 'times of Noah and of Lot' who are both types of the Church being Raptured (taken out of and away from) the destruction of God’s judgment on the world. Noah was taken into the Ark, a type for Jesus Christ, sealed in, as we are by the Holy Spirit, and then taken out of, above and away. He and his family then stepped out onto a cleansed new world, a type for Heaven. God would not destroy Sodom, a type for today’s world, until Lot was removed, forcefully taken out of, up and away from. It is obvious how our world is so like Noah’s world and Lot’s Sodom.


Are you ready for the Rapture? It will come whether you believe or expect it. Set your mind on the things above, walk worthy of your calling. Col3, Eph4 He Will Come For Us Soon!



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Zechariah 12:3,9:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Disclaimer: Rapture Bible Prophecy Forum, ( http://www.rapturebibleprophecyforum.com ) does not necessarily endorse or agree with every opinion expressed in every article posted on this site. We do however, encourage a healthy and friendly debate on the issues of our day. Whether you agree or disagree, we encourage you to post your feedback by using the reply button.

If you are new to this site and would like to post articles, opinions, youtube videos that are appropriate for this site just e mail me at

stevensandiego@ymail.com

I will send you a PASSWORD

Ybic

Steven


Our New Website URL
http://www.rapturebibleprophecyforum.com