HOW JESUS HOLDS US ACCOUNTABLE FOR BIBLE PROPHECY

By Bill Perkins

 

Some background on the Roman world at the time of Jesus:

 

At the time Jesus began His ministry on earth, only the Jews were looking for a future Messiah. Only the Jews had written prophecies from God foretelling of a time that their Messiah would come and rule the world in righteousness.

 

"And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one."(Zech. 14:9)

 

"You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth." (Psalm 67:4)

 

But Israel's Redeemer had yet to come, and the cruel Roman rule was detested by all of Israel as they waited for their Messiah.

 

The Jewish hierarchy, mostly Pharisees and Sadducees, controlled the theocratic Israeli government and worked with the Roman officials to stay in power. They promised Rome there would be no problems if they allowed the Jews to worship in their temple, celebrate their feasts, make their sacrifices This partnership kept the Jewish hierarchy in power and prestige. But even though Israel managed to have some autonomy, Rome still had ultimate rule...and it was a vicious rule.

 

The glory of the pro-Israel days of King Herod the Great, who died in 4 BC, was fading fast. After Herod's death, his son Archelaus ruled over Jerusalem, Jaffa and Caesarea for nine years,  4 B.C. to 6 A.D. He acted like a pompous king wearing all white and sitting on a golden throne. Archelaus made pagan changes to the outside of the Jewish Temple by force. Trying to keep peace, he had his army kill 3,000 Jews. He even cancelled an entire Passover!

 

Obviously, he was loathed by the Jews.  With the tax receipts from Jerusalem to Rome dropping and his inability to keep peace and rule effectively, Archelaus was eventually replaced by an appointed Prefect by Roman government. Pontius Pilate, who was ruling at the time of Jesus' ministry, was the third in a series of these appointed Prefects to exercise an iron-clad rule over the Jews in Jerusalem. King Herod built many new buildings in Israel, including expanding the Temple Mount and rebuilding the Temple from the foundation up.

 

However, not all the Jews were willing to wait for the Messiah. Between 20 A.D. and Jesus' death in 33 A.D., there were some 60 Jewish insurrections put down by Rome. The biggest rip-your-robe and throw-dirt-in-the-air of the Roman rules was that they made the Jews use Roman coins-forbidding Israel from minting and using its time-honored shekel. And adding to the Jewish misery, most Roman coins had a physical image inscribed on the coins. The Jews thought this was blasphemous due to the second of the Ten Commandments:

 

"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth." (Exodus 20:4)

 

And using a coin with Caesar's picture on it to pay for the mandatory 1/2 shekel Temple tax was detestable.

 

"'Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.' And they brought Him a [Roman] denarius. And He said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?' They said to Him, 'Caesar's." (Matthew 22:19-21)

 

So by 30 AD the Roman taxes were sky-high and the tension between Rome and Israel was at a fever-pitch. The people in Israel prayed daily for relief as they waited for their Messiah to come, defeat Rome and set up His prophesied kingdom.

 

Messianic Expectations:

 

This was the life and times of the Jews into which Jesus was born. He began His ministry in this tense environment, and to local Jewish observers the miracles He performed made Him look, sound and act like He could be the prophesied Messiah. This is why Jesus was asked so many times, by a wide range of people, whether He was the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Was He the Messiah? Had He come to set up His Kingdom?

 

So, expectations of a coming Messiah were quite rampant in Israel when Jesus came on the scene. King Herod mentions the future Messiah when the wise men came to Jerusalem looking for the King Who had just been born:

 

"Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet.'" (Matthew 2:4-5)

 

The Samaritan woman at the well mentions the Messiah:

 

"The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ)." (John 4:25)

 

Prior to Jesus' arrest, the Pharisees ask about the Messiah:

 

"Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed.'" (Luke 17:20)

 

Pontius Pilate quizzed Him...

 

"Pilate questioned Him, 'Are You the King of the Jews?'" (Mark 15:2)

 

The two thieves on the cross both mentioned it:

 

"One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, 'Are You not the Christ [Redeemer]? Save Yourself and us!'" (Luke 23:39)

 

"And he was saying, 'Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!'" (Luke 23:42)

 

Even after Jesus' resurrection, His somewhat still-confused disciples asked Him if He was now going to set up His "kingdom."

 

"So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, 'Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?'" (Acts 1:6)

 

It was in this climate that Jesus spent 3.5 years healing myriads of sick and lame people all over Israel. He did so much in those few short years that John wrote:

 

"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25)

 

In 3.5 years Jesus crisscrossed the Holy Land at a dizzying pace, drawing HUGE crowds everywhere He went.

 

"Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan." (Matthew 4:23-25)

 

But His incredible miracles were not welcomed by everyone in the land. The Jewish ruling authorities were at their wits' end. They feared He had grown so well known that if they allowed Him to continue, the populace would inaugurate Him as King and they would lose their power.

 

"Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, 'What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.'" (John 11:47-48)

 

Trying to catch and kill Jesus So after 3.5 years, we find Jesus and His disciples walking up the road from Jericho to Jerusalem for the required attendance of the Passover celebration.

 

"Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD." (Exodus 23:17)

 

But Jesus stopped short of Jerusalem by a mile or so to spend the night with Lazarus in Bethany. One week earlier Jesus had raised Lazarus back to life. It was His biggest miracle yet and was performed right under the noses of those who wished to kill Him. Lazarus had been dead for four days-the corpse was even beginning to rot and smell. So there was no doubt to anyone that he was quite dead. The Roman historian Tacitus said 2,700,000 Jews came for the Passover celebration each year.

 

Since only 350,000 or so could cram inside the walls of Jerusalem, the rest would have to camp in side-by-side tents and makeshift shelters easily stretching as far as Bethany.  Therefore, when Jesus raised stinky Lazarus from the dead, everyone in town heard about it. Raising Lazurus from the dead was the talk of the town for the millions arriving for Passover. Jesus, knowing the purpose for which He had come to earth, was simply stoking the fires of the Pharisees.

 

They had given the order that if anyone knew where He was, they were to report it so Jesus could be seized. After raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus left for one last week, sort of a goodbye trip to friends and family, and performing his last miracles in Galilee and the Jordan Valley.

 

His last stop was in Jericho, where He healed two blind men and spent the night with Zaccheus, a rich tax-gatherer who got saved by believing Jesus was the Messiah. The next day Jesus departs Jericho on the road to Jerusalem, a day's journey by foot, weaving 23 miles up a total elevation of 3,000 feet through the Judean Desert.

 

"As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him." (Matthew 20:29 )

 

Jesus arrived at Lazarus' house just before dark on Friday evening as the whole city shut down at dusk for Shabbat. But when Shabbat was over, the crowds came to Lazarus' house... to see both of them!

 

"The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead." ( John 12:9)

 

By this time the chief priests had seen enough. The entire town, 2 to 3 million people, was talking about Jesus. Was He the Messiah? Would He come to Passover so they could see Him?

 

"So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, 'What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?'" (John 11:56)

 

So in their fearful state of mind, the Chief Priests somehow determined that killing both Jesus AND Lazarus would solve the problem!

 

"But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus." (John 12:10-11)

 

"So the Pharisees said to one another, 'You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.'" (John 12:19)

 

So the day after Shabbat, Sunday, with the Pharisees seeking to kill Him, Jesus did the unthinkable. He sent two of His disciples to get a colt in nearby Bethphage so He could PUBLICLY ride it about a quarter-mile to the top of the Mount of Olives.

 

"When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.'" ( Matthew 21:1-2)

 

This was a special day. Christians refer to it as Palm Sunday, because the throngs of people lining the narrow street threw their coats down in front of Jesus riding the colt while waving palm branches.

 

"Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, 'Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!'" (Matthew 21:8-9)

 

This must have been some sight. If they hadn't seen Jesus healing people in their hometown, they certainly had heard about Him. The crowd would have been in the thousands...which means thousands of coats and palm branches would have been spread over the road. And with people deliriously screaming "Jesus is the Messiah!"

 

It must have been a celebration atmosphere beyond description. The Jews DO know how to party! But there were also Pharisees in the crowd watching all this take place. Again, fearing they were losing their power and influence, they demanded Jesus stop being called "King

 

"Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.' But Jesus answered, 'I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!'" (Luke 19:39-40)

 

Jesus made the profound statement that the crowd had to proclaim Him Messiah or the rocks would have to speak out that truth! This sets up the most incredible fulfillment of Bible prophecy to date. For 3.5 years Jesus had discouraged any talk about Him being the Messiah. In Caesarea-Philippi, when Peter made his famous "You are the Christ" statement, and Jesus said "Yes," He was the Messiah, but not to tell anyone.

 

"Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ." (Matthew 16:20).

 

But on this day, things had changed. On this day Jesus allowed, even encouraged, the multitudes to welcome Him as their Messiah. What was different? Why did Jesus say it was now OK to call Him Messiah and/or King? The reason is simple. This was a prophesied day that the Jews should have recognized. The "seventy weeks" (490 years) prophecy given by Daniel had begun to count down 173,880 days earlier.

 

"Seventy weeks (weeks of years, 490 years total) have been decreed for your people and your holy city..." (Daniel 9:24a)

 

"Then after the sixty-two weeks (483 years from the beginning of the prophecy, 173,880 total days), the Messiah will be cut off [executed]." (Daniel 9:26 )

 

When Jesus got to the top of the Mount of Olives, seeing the Temple in the distance, He dismounted the donkey and cried. The Greek word actually means "sobbed."

 

"When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! 'But now they have been hidden from your eyes.'" (Luke 19:41)

 

The Daniel 9:24-27 prophecy was being fulfilled right before the Pharisees eyes. Daniel gave the exact day the Messiah would arrive. This was that day! And, despite the prophecy in Daniel, the ruling Jewish hierarchy totally missed it! Instead of watching for and welcoming the Messiah, they instead crucified Him.

 

But the main point is that Jesus was holding the Pharisees accountable for knowing, understanding and applying Bible prophecy. Interestingly, the Daniel 9 prophecy wasn't even in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah) that were read completely through once a year on Shabbat (each Saturday). You had to dig a little to find this scriptural nugget...and think a lot to understand it.

 

So we should learn a great lesson: Jesus believes Bible prophecy is important! He expects us to know, understand and apply latter-day prophecies. It's important to include it in our overall biblical studies. Too many churches today are moving away from teaching prophecy, usually saying it's too divisive. Well, Jesus sure thinks it's important. And it broke His heart when the Jews missed His arrival.

 

Therefore, we can safely and boldly say that Jesus wants us to know all about the Rapture and His Second Coming. And, as you're probably fully aware, Jesus is coming again! And with some 28 percent of the Bible actually being prophetically oriented, most Christians should be doing more, not less, study of Bible prophecy. Most importantly, Bible prophecy is an incredible witnessing tool as it gives hope to a hurting world! Jesus is coming as a just and righteous King of the world.

 

When the Church is raptured, the more people left behind who understand what just happened (even though they didn't believe it at the time), the more likely they'll make decisions that count for eternity. For example, "Refuse the mark!" So, since we're living in the last of the last days, it's incumbent to us to have a working knowledge of what's ahead. We're to be ready to make a defense of what we believe.

 

"...but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" (1 Peter 3:15)

GOD AND AMERICA

Is America being punished by God? I hear it every time there is a tornado or earthquake or hurricane. Muslim Imams are quick to blame our decadence. Not sure who they blamed for the Indonesia tsunami since it was mostly 240,000 Muslims that were killed. 

 

Unlike many countries, the God of Abraham played a large part in the establishment of the United States and Canada, from its decrees to its culture of piety and forgiveness, with exceptions.

 

The Pilgrims did not come ashore fighting and conquering. The discoverers of America were quite shocked when they found people already living here, and were even more shocked at the religious beliefs of the New World inhabitants. It all started out fairly friendly.

 

Throughout the Old Testament, God warns Abraham's descendants about false gods, which was a definite no-no according to the very first commandment:

 

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:2-3 NKJV

 

"No other" means no other, but that commandment was only fulfilled for brief periods of time. Even King Solomon, with all the gifts God bestowed upon him, could not withstand the temptation to do like the pagans do. I suppose sex orgies and general everyday decadence was fun back then, like today. Seems there's a porn store for every neighborhood. Some things never change. False gods.

 

Remembering that the early Christians, the first Christians, were Jewish folk and not ex-pagans, Jewish law had a great influence in the establishment of Christianity and of the United States, eighteen-hundred years later. This influence was not new, as all of Western Law is founded on the same principles, more or less.

 

As Christianity matured and evolved through the Constantinian era, most Jewish law became unimportant to the new Christian church, now occupied largely by converted pagans. Jewish law had been modified or omitted to fit in with the modern beliefs. Emperor Constantine was a converted pagan; and though he became the first Christian Emperor, he changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday out of respect for Ra, the sun god.

 

Is this happening today? Have we so modified our beliefs that wrong is the new right?

 

In many ways, the first Europeans to migrate to the New World were Christian refugees, trying to escape the injustices and prejudices perpetrated by the Church at the time. Christians escaping Christians, much like Muslim Syrian refugees are trying to escape the fanatical Muslims today.

 

I do not know if there was an intention by the Founding Fathers for the United States to be a Christian Nation, but it seems so from written statements. For example:

 

"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God." John Adams, President and signer of the Declaration of Independence

 

"Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is their duty - as well as privilege and interest - of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." John Jay, First Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court

 

This can only make one wonder, why all the intrigue with Islam, a religion that claims to "believe in Jesus" but considers him to be a liar? This they will deny but is true. They claim to believe in Jesus except they do not believe he is the Son of God. They do not believe that Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead.

 

As commentators and documentaries claim that Islam played a fundamental role in early America, that is more embellished news.

 

Judaism had early roots in the New World. In 1763, 13 years before the U.S. Constitution came to be, the Jewish community in Newport, Rhode Island, dedicated the first synagogue in the American colonies, the Touro Synagogue. At that time, all religious institutions were either Jewish (1) or Christian (a whole bunch).

 

In contrast, the first Muslim place of worship in the U.S. was dedicated in Ross, North Dakota in 1929, established by Muslim immigrants from what is now Syria and Lebanon. The oldest mosque still in use was built in 1934. In the meantime, America is now one of the most religiously-diverse countries in the world and of course, religious institutions do not have to pay taxes on the tithes. This includes mainstream churches, synagogues, Wiccans and Satanists, among others.

 

Back to Solomon. God loved Solomon and was so impressed that Solomon prayed for wisdom rather than money, He gave him both. Proverbs is full of bits of wisdom from Solomon. Solomon is the prime example of how one can be the most brilliant of all mankind and still do stupid stuff. As wise as he was, he worshipped other gods, and he paid a price.

 

The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's command.  So the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen." 1 Kings 11:9-13 NIV

 

And this is exactly what happened. Solomon's kingdom of Israel was given to his son, Rehoboam; and shortly thereafter, torn into two kingdoms, Israel to the north and Judah to the south.  

 

When Jesus told the apostles that man could not serve two masters, God and money, is it possible that this advice could also be applied to serving other gods? Like Allah, the Laughing Buddha, Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva? How about the Wiccan Horned god?

 

It is something to think about, because the West certainly tries to serve many masters of many religions and maintain the peace in the community. If we once were a "Christian nation" as John Jay and the Founders claimed, we sure have lost our focus.

 

The modern era church has modified the teachings of God and His Christ to better accommodate fringe groups who hate or disagree with God. The modern church in many cases has become Islamized, teaching that Allah and Yahweh are one and the same. People claim to be Christian but are okay with abortion, gay marriage and pornography, all taboos to God.

 

Are we paying a price for this drift away from God? Maybe.

 

During the eight years of President Obama, at least a part of his legacy will be his leading us down the path of anything-goes debauchery and away from the God of Abraham and to the god of Islam, Allah.

 

George W. Bush had 7 major hurricanes to deal with during his presidency.

 

Barack H. Obama had 0 major hurricanes to deal with during his presidency.

 

President Trump has been in office for 8 months and is getting ready to deal with his 2nd major hurricane (greater than CAT 3).

 

Reminds me a bit of the story of Job and all the natural disasters that Job suffered at the hands of Satan. Of course, God got the blame like so often happens, that He produced the weather disasters; but that was not the case.

 

President Trump overcame all odds to win the election. He not only had to overcome opposition parties, he had to battle his own party. He still is. It is pretty close to a miracle that he won, and I am sure that God had something to do with it.

 

Obama got a free ride from the Evil One. Looks like Trump will not.

 

I hear cries for repentance, but the crowds shout, "For what?"

THE HOPE OF GLORY

by Pete Garcia

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 

With September 23rd right around the corner, I found it necessary to write to you concerning the hype and the hope of the Revelation 12 sign. My intent here is not to curb your enthusiasm pertaining what may or may not be an event, but to guard it. First let me add my concern that on both sides, i.e., the militant supporters and cynical critics of this event, have wrought much division to the body of Christ. They have done this by remaining dogmatic in their opinions over a speculative event that may not pan out to be anything, or it may end up being everything. While one side lobs half-truths, the other returns fire with trolling and threats. I have tried to keep an open-mind concerning this and I would like to bring both the positive and negative points out concerning Revelation 12 and the attention it has recently gotten.

 

The Good

 

But let me begin with some positives concerning the Revelation 12 Sign "movement" if I can call it that. Anytime a passage of Scripture gets global attention, I think that is a good sign. It gets people asking questions about the Bible that they normally wouldn't. Furthermore, it gets Christians back in their Bibles acting like they should have been, like Bereans. It also directs people's attention to the return of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Inevitably, this will, even if unintentionally, wake some people up from the slumber this world has blinded them with. Lastly, much good scholarship concerning the doctrine of the Church, the Rapture, and timing in general has come because of this.

 

The Bad

 

The negatives than are that some will be convinced that something will absolutely have to happen on September 23rd. If September 23rd comes and goes without anything major or significant changing, many who planted all their hopes and dreams on that date will become disillusioned and drift away from the faith. Those who are not Christians will inevitably use this as simply one more thing they can pin on those "wacky" Christians who are waiting for a Messiah who will never come. I believe that Revelation 12 movement may only further validate the scoffing as found in 2 Peter 3:3-4 by fueling the skeptics to ask "Where is the promise of His coming?"

 

The Bottom Line

 

Pinning all of our Rapture credibility and our hopes on a specific date (for whatever reason) is both foolish and irresponsible. I understand that those serious about this date are not calling for a Rapture, but there are some who are. No matter how solid our evidence seems, our God sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10), so His ways may not seem logical to us at the present, no matter how much we want Him to conform to our patterns and logic. Secondly, relying on extra biblical sources cannot and should not be substituted for clear, biblical teachings on any given subject, no matter how compelling they may seem.

 

Assessment

 

So with those issues out of my way, there has been much said by both the proponents and opponents concerning the September 23rd Revelation 12 issue. Even though I am not a believer in this event per se, I find myself supporting its claims more than denying them, simply because there has been such poor scholarship done in critiquing it on the side of our prophecy 'experts.' Some of the false charges have been:

 

• All supporters of the September 23rd event view this as the date of the Rapture
• No legitimate bible scholars view Revelation 12 as a pre-tribulation passage
• No man knows the day or hour, thus, the Revelation 12 proponents are all 'false prophets'
• Revelation 12 is in the middle of the book of Revelation, thus cannot point to a Pre-Tribulation Rapture passage

 

The child in Revelation can only be Christ

 

I would like to address these point by point (in the same order) to clarify some of the misconceptions put out there by well-meaning theologians, pastors, and media personalities.

 

None of the serious supporters of the Revelation 12 have stated that the Rapture will definitively happen on September 23rd or 24th. Some of them have added that the convergence of all the events together makes a strong case being then (or even in 2017), but none are telling folks to sell their things, move to the mountains, and wait for that day. That was what Harold Camping did, and I haven't seen anyone in this group with any clout do that so far.

 

John N. Darby, Harry Ironside, Michael Svigel, Chuck Missler, and other bible scholars have held views that Revelation 12 is a strong Pre-Trib passage as well as the child also being the church. This view is not outside the mainstream.

 

While I agree with the general statement that "no man knows the day or hour," I also have to balance that against another later statement by Jesus in Revelation 3:3, in which He holds the Church accountable for knowing the hour of His coming.

 

In context, when Jesus explained the Olivet Discourse, He answered truthfully that 'no man' knew. At that point of time, in His incarnation, this was not yet revealed to Him.

 

We then see post-Calvary, resurrection, and ascension that the Father gave the Son the Revelation of things to come, which makes it all too reasonable to believe that Jesus was told the when and how (Rev. 1:1) because He is the (Rev. 1:8).

 

This, in my opinion, strengthens the argument for the seven churches of Revelation 2-3 representing the seven stages (or eras) the church would progress through.

 

Revelation 12 is nestled in the middle of Revelation. That does not, however, mean that all the events are nestled snuggly in the middle of the 70th Week. Rev 12 (like Rev 11 and 13) are parenthetical insertions which span all or part of the entire seven years. Furthermore, Revelation 12 seems to be outlining events in a corporate manner that parallel Christ's first coming (which were singular). For instance:

 

• The woman singularly was Mary. In Revelation 12, she is Israel corporately.
• The child singularly was Christ. Corporately "he" is the Church (i.e., His head and body)
• The dragon singularly was personified as Herod. Corporately it is Satan and his entities (or the beast system)

 

This appears to make much more sense in keeping with the "prophetic" or "future" nature of Revelation (Revelation 1:1, 3, 19, 4:1-2). In other words, this isn't simply a rehashing (or historical rendering) or Christ's life, death, resurrection, and ascension, but something much more intriguing.

 

Opponents of the Revelation 12 sign openly scoff at the notion that the Child/child in Revelation 12 could also represent the Church.

 

The child in Rev 12 is differentiated between huios (masculine) to teknon (neuter) who did not ascend but was 'harpazo'. From my understanding of Luke 24:51, Jesus was anapherō (carried up, not snatched up) to heaven.

 

If it was meant to convey Christ here in verse 12:5, why use harpazo if that is not what actually happened? This is why I believe John was told to use this particular phrasing.

 

The Church is also promised to rule with a 'rod of iron' (Rev. 2:26-27). And as Christ is the head, and the Church is the body, it is not inconceivable that we also will rule in some capacity as Scripture indicates.

 

Conclusion

 

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only." Matthew 24:36

 

This verse has been the champion of anti-date setters for millennia and for good cause. I believe it has tempered the tendencies of believers who are living through incredibly difficult times to not want to jump after every sign and symbol as their ticket out of here. My main issue with continuing to use this as the catch-all verse is that later, revelatory passages seem to conflict with it. Scripture as given to the Apostle Paul (the mysteries revealed) and even Jesus Himself seem to indicate that we should know the hour and the day.

 

But first, notice what Jesus doesn't say; "But of the day and hour no one knows or will ever know." The passage was written in the present-tense, and thus seems to indicate the truth of what was known at that point in time. In His human form, Jesus rightly stated that "no man knows" because, at that time (context here), He was both fully God and fully man. But in His humanity, He willingly and obediently limited Himself in His power of omniscience to trust fully in His Father's plan. Just as we humans can't see into the future, it stands to reason, that God becoming a man, would limit Himself in like-manner so as to be tested as we are in all things (Hebrews 4:15). Yet, He did it without sinning. Doubt is intricately tied to not knowing, which as James 1:6 and Hebrews 11:1 point out, destroys faith. Jesus demonstrated perfect faith in the Father, which would by necessity mean He limited Himself in what He knew if He were to be tested in every way as we mortals are.

 

But as indicated in Revelation 1:1, Jesus was given the Revelation at some point after His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. This was what the Apostle John, imprisoned on the isle of Patmos in 95AD, was witness to. In His seven letters, Jesus tells the church at Sardis this:

 

"Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you." Revelation 3:3

 

As Robert Breaker academically points out in his great YouTube videos, the opposite of not knowing what hour He will come, is knowing the hour He will come. This then supports Hebrews 10:25 in that we will see the Day approaching. Well, if we truly had no way of knowing anything concerning our Lord's return, both Rev. 3:3 and Hebrews 10:25 couldn't be true. How can we see the Day approaching if we had no way of knowing what or when that Day was? The Apostle Paul includes a similar theme in 1st Thessalonians 5:1-6:

 

"But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober". (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6)

The Messiah (Jesus Christ) was prophesied in the Old Testament of having two comings. We know that in hindsight, but the first century Jews mistakenly believed that it was only one coming. They also believed that when the Christ did come, He would immediately usher in the Kingdom in that same arrival. Even Jesus's disciples didn't fully understand this after all was said and done (Acts 1:6-7).

 

The First Coming was explicitly given to the Jews in the 70 Weeks of Daniel prophecy. This narrowed it to the year of His entry into the city of Jerusalem to which we know as Palm Sunday (Luke 19:41-44). Were the Pharisees and Sadducees wrong for not recognizing the time of their visitation? Absolutely, Jesus held them accountable for not knowing (Matthew 16:1-4). Likewise, I believe, given the number of warnings and admonitions to watch and be ready in the New Testament, the Church will also be held responsible for being caught off guard. Why watch if we don't know what we are watching for? Watchfulness has both a singular and corporate application:

 

• We as individuals don't know the time of our own death, so we must always be prepared to meet the Lord
• We as a body of believers, must watch to recognize the season of our Lord's return

 

While it is impossible to know exactly when the Rapture will occur, I believe that the compounding nature of mankind's sin (there is a fullness coming), the convergence of prophetic events, and the timing in relation to Israel's rebirth as a nation, all must be taking into account. I also believe that although we won't know the specific day of the Rapture, we should recognize the season. Furthermore, as Christ literally fulfilled the Spring Feasts in order, it stands to reason that He will also fulfill the Fall Feasts literally in order as well. How the feasts tie into the Church's departure, is up for debate.

 

To me, it would make sense that He either return for His Church in 2017 or 2018 at the latest, given the significance of the specific timing relating to Israel's return as a nation (parable of the fig tree). Then again, I am not God so His ways and thinking trump my understanding. He may have some other design that is more in keeping with the fullness of time than anything I can conceive. With that said, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, we should be excited about the soon return of our Lord. Given our current state of affairs both here and abroad, things will not continue on indefinitely. As Pastor J.D. Farag once noted, our world has a shelf-life.

 

So we temper our hope against the hype by staying in the word of God and testing everything by it. While the Revelation 12 movement has many positive aspects to it, like with everything else, we must put it to the test. And it may be that September 23rd comes and goes, but that should not diminish our hope in the Lord's soon return. My hope was never in a date, but in a Person, the God-Man Jesus Christ. The hope we have was made possible by Jesus Christ, who redeems us from sin and death. We are not simply being saved to be saved, 

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-7)

 

"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near".( Luke 21:28)