2016: Converging Clues and Timelines

Update 2012/07/19

For an in depth discussion of these things found in the Bible, please see my book, "Quenched Like a Wick."

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Many Christians think it's preposterous that anyone could figure out when the Day of the Lord (aka the tribulation) begins.  They cite verses like "no man knows the day or hour" and think, well that's that, we can't know.  Actually, that verse is talking about the return of Christ, not the day that the Day of the Lord begins.  It's an old Jewish idiom pointing to the Feast of Trumpets, which begins at the sighting of the first sliver of the new moon.  This sighting can take place any time within a two day window.  But these people become incredulous at the thought of anyone trying to figure out when all these things will take place.  Some consider it heresy.  And they think as 'dates' come and go it'll weaken the faith of young believers, all the while the doctrine they espouse about a pre-trib rapture is leading multitudes astray.  Folks, if God didn't want us to know then he wouldn't have given us so much information in the Bible.  And he wouldn't have told us over and over again to watch.

I Thessalonians 5:4
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.

Interesting analogy used here of the thief.  The thief doesn't want to get caught so he must use stealth.  He has to be sneaky.  He tries hard not to be seen or heard.  Get in quietly and get out with the goods, undetected.  But God is saying here, look, you are not in darkness...you are not ignorant of the coming thief.  At least you shouldn't be.  Why?  Because I've given you my word.  I've given you the light that exposes the coming thief.  You can know when that thief is coming.  But you have to read his word.  You have to study.

After 70 Years

I just finished a four-part series explaining why we are coming to the end of a 70-year period that will end with the complete and utter destruction of America.  These 70 years began in 1946 when the fig tree, Israel, began to put forth tender branches and leaves after a long 2000 year winter.  In that series we saw how the prophecy of the 70 years ends with the destruction of America and the restoration of Judah and Israel to Zion.  We are told the following will occur during this period of time:

• Fig tree/Israel comes to life...Judah, in part, returns
• Babylon/America comes to forefront of world power
• Many nations serve Babylon
• Israel is in subjection to Babylon
• Jerusalem is a desolation and astonishment
• God is angry these 70 years
• Babylon is destroyed...a perpetual desolation
• Israel and Judah return to Zion

After 49 Years

It's interesting to note that a 49 year period is connected to a great Jubilee in the Bible.(Leviticus 25:10)  After the 49 year period, during the 50th year, slaves are released.  This is exactly what we see in the Bible when speaking of the beginning of the Day of the Lord.  Jeremiah 29:10, 50:4, et al.  The Day of the Lord begins the restitution of all things.  And it begins with God's people being released from their foreign lands of captivity and being returned to the land he promised us: Zion.

After Eclipses

Luke 21:25

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;

In My 2016 Theory I proposed that Daniel's "7 weeks" is related to Mark Blitz's discovery of the solar and lunar eclipses that fall or have fallen on God's appointed feast days.

New Moon


Many may not realize that the Bible, when speaking of end-time events, often describes the moon in one of two ways.  It describes it as either being dark or as blood red.  This is not just poetry.  God is telling us that all the events of the coming days are according to his clock.  A dark moon is a new moon.  A red blood moon is a lunar eclipse.

Genesis 1:14

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;

Hosea 5:7
They have dealt treacherously with the LORD, For they have begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage.


Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.


Joel 2:10
The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun* and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.
* We are told other places that the sun's light will be blotted out on that day.(Amos 8:9, Isaiah 13:10, Joel 2:2,10, Jeremiah 6:4-5, 15:8-9)

Sunday


The Day of the Lord will begin on a Sunday when there are religious meetings, with songs, taking place.

Amos 8:3
And the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day," Says the Lord GOD— "Many dead bodies everywhere, They shall be thrown out in silence."


Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day.

Malachi 2:3
"Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away with it.

Spring


The destruction of Babylon (America) begins the tribulation.  And the destruction of America must happen during the spring.


Isaiah 17:11
In the day you will make your plant to grow, And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins In the day of grief and desperate sorrow.


Isaiah 18:5
For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect And the sour grape is ripening in the flower, He will both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks And take away and cut down the branches.


Habakkuk 3:17
Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—


Isaiah 21:1
The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.

Jeremiah 12:13
They have sown wheat but reaped thorns; They have put themselves to pain but do not profit. But be ashamed of your harvest Because of the fierce anger of the LORD."

The Last 88 Months

70 Years Are Determined - Part 4

<< Part 3


In part 3 we took a closer look at Daniel 9 and postulated that maybe the hidden clue is the 70 years.  But if this is true, shouldn't we see some sort of evidence?  Well, let's take a look.


Matthew 24
32  "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33  "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors!


OK, I think many of us are familiar with this passage.  It's commonly accepted that the fig tree is talking about Israel, God's people in God's land.  And here Jesus (Yeshua) gives us a clue about the timing of the topic of this chapter: the end of the age.  So if that's the case, when did the fig tree start to become tender and put forth leaves.  Many have said, oh, that was in 1948 when Israel became a nation.  Some even say 1947 when the U.N. resolved that Israel become an independent nation...again...after nearly 2000 years.  I'll go a step further.


If the end of the 49 years (Daniel's 7) is 2016, then what happened 70 years before that, in 1946?  I'll leave it to the reader to do some historical research.  But I'll give you a few bullet points.  


* America began to emerge as a superpower after the end of World War II.  
* Judah (the Jews) began to return to Palestine en masse, with full support of the world's leading nations following the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry report.  
* The British Mandate over Palestine started coming to an end.
* Palestine, and later Israel, became an American concern.


Folks, World War II changed everything, and 1946 saw the branch of national Israel become tender and put forth leaves.  But of even more significance, America began her 70-year reign as Babylon.  The invention of the atomic bomb effectively crowned America Queen of the World.  And her great abominations in the earth would, in 1946, have just begun.


"you know that summer is near"


Summer, huh?  I wonder if maybe that's the same summer that Amos 8 is talking about.  The basket filled with summer fruit.  The last and final harvest of America which Amos goes on to describe in that chapter.


"know that it is near—at the doors"


At the doors.  What is the door but the beginning.  And where does a door sit but on the threshold.  


Zephaniah 2
14  ...Desolation shall be at the threshold; For He will lay bare the cedar work.
15  This is the rejoicing city That dwelt securely, That said in her heart, "I am it, and there is none besides me." How has she become a desolation, A place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her Shall hiss and shake his fist.


Lebanon's 70 Years


OK, but is there anything else?  If these 70 years really do apply to our day, and not just ancient Israel, are there any other markers?  I say, yes, there is.


Isaiah 23
15  Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
16  "Take a harp, go about the city, You forgotten harlot; Make sweet melody, sing many songs, That you may be remembered."
17  And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the LORD will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.


I believe what we see here is a description of modern Lebanon.  Although Lebanon gained independence from France in 1943 during World War II, it wasn't until 1946 that French troops finally left and Lebanon's independence was no longer in dispute.  This prophecy sounds as if Lebanon will be considered insignificant these 70 years.  If this is true, then we see also at the end of these 70 years, in 2016, Lebanon will play an important role in the demise of America.  We're told that she will join with the other nations and will "sing".  This singing will cause her to be remembered.  In Jeremiah 49 we see that the last act of the king of Babylon (America's president) will be to send bomb's to Lebanon.(See also Habakkuk 2:17)  We know from other prophetic texts that the middle east will be devastated by nuclear war at the end of this age.


Folks, the prophecy of the 70 years and the fig tree is too much to ignore.  We now have established two periods of time (Daniel's 7 shabuwas and the 70 years) which point to the same year, 2016.  In addition to that we have another four clues in the Bible that all match the same date, June 5, 2016.


What would you do differently if you realized you only had five years left before your life drastically changes?


"Change your hearts today, my people, for the days are numbered until I will begin to avenge."


2016: Converging Clues and Timelines >>

70 Years Are Determined - Part 3

<< Part 2

In part 2 we saw how Jeremiah was commissioned to speak not only to the people of his day, but also to us in the last days...the generation to usher in the return of Christ.  It's important because there are two extremes that we want to avoid.  We can't just apply any and every prophetic text to our day.  But the other extreme is just as detrimental.  If we don't apply a prophetic text to our day, even though it should be, we won't have the complete picture.

62 Start - Rebuild Jerusalem
62 End - Messiah cut off
7 Start - Rebuild Jerusalem
7 End - ???
1 Start - Covenant with many
1 Middle - Abomination of desolation
1 End - 70 weeks concluded, (Daniel 9:24)

If you remember, we're looking for the missing marker of Daniel 9.  All three time periods, the 62, the 7, and the 1, are given starting markers.  The 62 is given an ending marker as well.  The 1 is given a starting marker, and middle marker, and an ending marker.  But the 7 is only given a starting marker, which is a command to restore Jerusalem.

Taking Inventory


So what do we have so far?  Let's say Daniel's starting marker for the 7 happened on June 5, 1967.  If a shabuwa is seven years, then that would mean the end of Daniel's 7 is June 5, 2016, 49 years later.  But does June 5, 2016 line up with the other clues in the Bible we're given?  In fact it does.  This date matches four other clues we're given for the start of the Day of the Lord.  Namely that the Day of the Lord must begin on a Sunday, on a new moon, during the spring time (in Babylon), and after Joel's eclipses.  But is there anything else that might help to confirm what we're seeing?

Daniel's Hidden Clue


Most people concentrate on the last part of Daniel 9.  After all, isn't that where the meat is?  The first part of the chapter is just window-dressing, right?  Let's see.

Daniel 9:2
in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.


"seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem"

It's easy to fly right by this verse.  After all, isn't he just talking about the 70 years of captivity the people of Israel endured in ancient Babylon?  But if there are two Babylons, could it also be that there are two commands to restore Jerusalem?  And if there are two commands to restore Jerusalem, could it also be that there are two "desolations" of Jerusalem?  And if this is really the case, shouldn't we look for the fulfillment of this 70 year prophecy in our day?  So where should we look?  "through Jeremiah the prophet"

Two Desolations of Jerusalem

Folks, can I tell you something?  What year did Daniel understand all of this?  It says he understood in the first year of Darius, which was just AFTER Babylon fell to the Medes.  I'm sure prior to this year Daniel had read Jeremiah many times.  And from that study he knew that Babylon would ultimately fall, which would result in the return of Judah (the Jews) to the land of Judea.  But it's no coincidence that Daniel mentions the year he understood about the desolations (plural) of Jerusalem.  Why?  Because Daniel was expecting Babylon to be completely and utterly destroyed at the end of the 70 years.  A "perpetual desolation."  But it wasn't.  The Medes took Babylon, people died, but life in Babylon continued.  Daniel was undoubtedly confused at this point.  Was Jeremiah wrong?  Was Jeremiah a false prophet?  No!  Daniel, at that point, began to understand that contained within Jeremiah's prophecies are TWO desolations of Jerusalem...two 70-year periods...two Babylons...two commands to restore Jerusalem...and two restorations of God's people to God's holy land, Zion.

The further I get into this the more dumbfounded I am.  God just hides things right in plain sight.  Maybe he gives us another place to look.

Daniel 9:11
"Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.

Is our destiny somehow tied to the Torah?  As we saw in Part 2 of this series, it absolutely is.  So what does the book of Jeremiah say about 70 years?

Jeremiah's 70 Years

Jeremiah 25
11  'And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12  'Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,' says the LORD; 'and I will make it a perpetual desolation.


Jeremiah 29:10
For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.


So we have a period of 70 years during which Israel will be in subjection to Babylon.  After which, God will punish Babylon and cause his people to return to Zion.  Interesting.  Folks, this is exactly the scenario I've been teaching in this blog for about a year.  We see in Jeremiah 50:4 that when America is destroyed, Judah and Israel will return to Zion.  But wait, is national Israel really in subjection to America today?  Does Israel do anything without America's approval?  Can they afford to lose America as an ally? But wait, has Jerusalem been a desolation?  I thought Jerusalem has been rebuilt and Israel has flourished all these years.  And what about spiritual Jerusalem, God's chosen people, his Church.  Is God happy with his people today?  Are we the spotless bride for which he said he's returning?


Zechariah 1:12
Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?"

Folks, I know what we've all been told about Israel.  All the good things, right?  God has restored Judah to her rightful homeland.  The land, once a desert, has flourished.  The holy city is under control of Israel.  All these wonderful things.  But sometimes reality isn't nearly as pretty as what it seems from the other side of the world.  The fact is that life in Israel has been hard and it's still very difficult.  Sure seems like God has been angry with national Israel since they started returning to the land in the 1940's.  And God is not at all pleased with his people in America, either.  Not to mention that only part of Judah has returned to Israel thus far.  What about the rest of Judah and the 10 lost tribes?  Doesn't Ezekiel 36-37 tell us that all the tribes, all of God's people, will return to Israel in the last days?

"Oh, but now you're just pulling verses out of thin air."  Look at the first eleven verses of Zechariah 1.  What story is being told here?  Do the horses seem familiar?  Maybe the horses of the apocalypse?  What's going on in verse 11, just before this verse I pulled out of thin air?  All the earth is resting quietly.  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.(I Thessalonians 5:3).  Folks, I can show you verse after verse that says the Day of the Lord begins with the sudden destruction of Babylon, who is America. 

And we see here that this sudden destruction is tied to the end of the seventy years.  

It's interesting what you'll find if you keep reading the rest of Zechariah.  Why is Joshua described as a brand plucked from the fire?  And why is he filthy and wearing rags?  Why does Amos 4 use this same word picture in verse 11 when describing the people who were overthrown like Sodom?  And who is the wicked woman in the basket in Zechariah 5?  Folks, next time someone tells you America isn't in the Bible, maybe you should just tell them to stop lying.  Didn't Yeshua tell Peter "Satan, get behind me."?  "My people die for lack of knowledge."  Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us."  (Micah 3:11)  Who does that sound like today?  Don't become mockers, lest your bonds be made strong. (Isaiah 28)

In the next part we'll take a closer look at what's been going on since the 1940's.

Part 4 >>

70 Years Are Determined - Part 2

<< Part 1

Part 1 left off with a discussion of the missing marker in Daniel 9.  Daniel 9 gives us very important clues regarding the last days.  And it gives us markers for each time period, except one.  There's one marker which is hidden.  And this is the pattern of all the prophets.  Take your pick...Hosea, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, Micah, Malachi, etc.  Each one gives a part of the picture but none describe the whole picture.  Which is why Isaiah 28 explains that we must add precept to precept and line to line; a little here a little there.  And the end of the chapter explains that we must rely on God to help us understand.

Folks, understanding the Bible takes a lot of work.  There are many things I still don't understand.  And I have no doubt I probably got some details wrong here or there.  But I'm confident of my understanding of the outline...the big picture.  And I'm fairly confident about many of the details.  And after discovering the hidden clue of this post, I'm now very confident that 2016 is the year the Day of the Lord (aka the tribulation) begins.

God could have told us how it would all play out, A to Z.  Step by step.  He could also have made it easy for everyone to find gold and diamonds.  But he didn't.  He decided that he would not make it easy to understand his description of the latter days.  And finding gold is hard work too.  That's how it is.  The precious things are hard to come by.  But if you really want to know, you can know.  It's possible to understand.

One Word, Two Generations

When reading some of the prophetic passages we have to realize something.  We have to understand that sometimes God is speaking to two generations separated by a great distance of time.  History does repeat itself.  Not in exactly the same way.  But in similar enough ways for God to be able to say the same things to two different generations.  I believe this is no more true than in the book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 2:9
"Therefore I will yet bring charges against you," says the LORD, "And against your children's children I will bring charges.


So he has a problem with those people and their grandchildren?  I guess their children are OK.  No, I believe what he's saying here is exactly what I've been talking about.  He's going to pronounce judgment on this ancient generation, and he's going to pronounce judgment on the last generation.  Is this really a stretch?  Go all the way back to Moses' day.  Even before the children of Israel entered into the promised land after their flight from Egypt.  Look at what Moses said:


Deuteronomy 31:29
"For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands."


Moses was speaking prophetically about the people of his day and the people of our day.  And he was given a revelation of nuclear war.  Look at the very next chapter:


Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had surrendered them?


How is it that two people could cause ten thousand to flee (or be killed)?  How may pilots does a nuclear bomber have?


Jeremiah's Two Visions


Let's look at this a little bit further.  What happens in the first chapter of Jeremiah?  Can I tell you that the first chapter is going to set the stage for the whole book?  He's given two visions.


Verse 11: What do you see?  I see a branch of an almond tree.
Verse 12: Good job. I'm ready to perform my word.
Verse 13: Now what do you see?  I see a boiling pot facing away from the north.
Verse 14: Out of the north calamity shall break forth...


Then people read verse 15 and see "Jerusalem" and then they think "oh, this isn't about me.  This is about a people who lived a long time ago."  Or, "this is about a people who live on the other side of the world."  Folks, if you look at how God uses the word Jerusalem all throughout the Bible, you'll soon realize that sometimes, yes, he's talking about the actual city.  But more often than not he's talking about his people, wherever they may be living.


The branch of an almond tree is speaking of the people of Jeremiah's day.  Verse 12 explains verse 11.  The branch, OK, I'm ready to perform my word.  Now, the boiling pot..."oh, that must be ancient Babylon coming to attack Israel."  Well, that's only half the story.  That did, in fact, happen during Jeremiah's day.  But there's a dual prophecy here.  Look in Jeremiah 50 and 51.  No two chapters in the Bible give more detail of the destruction of a last-day nation to whom God refers by the ancient name of Babylon.  It's a commonly accepted precept that the Babylon of Jeremiah 50/51, ...Revelation 14/17/18, Isaiah 13/18/47...refer to a nation of the last days...our day.  And that's what I believe we see here in the first chapter of Jeremiah.  Why is the pot facing away from the north?


Jeremiah 50:3
For out of the north a nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, Both man and beast.
See also:  Jeremiah 1:14-15, 4:6, 6:1, 6:22, 10:22, 50:9, 50:41, 51:48, Zechariah 2:6


Folks, when America is destroyed it'll be a day like no other.  All eyes will be looking at the sky because at midday the land go completely dark. (Jeremiah 6:4-5, 15:8-9)  A great "cloud" will blot out the sun.  (Amos 8:9, Isaiah 13:10, Joel 2:2,10, Lamentation 2:1)  And we'll be looking at the ground as it shakes and as the earth totters to and fro.  But we won't be looking north.  I suspect this cosmic disturbance will interfere with our radar defense system.  We won't even see them coming.

Many Nations and Great Kings


Jeremiah 25
'So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.
14  '(For many nations and great kings shall be served by them also; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.)' "


"all that is written in this book"


Really?  All?  What about 50 and 51?  But I thought 50 and 51 speak of an end-time nation?

"shall be served by them also"

Served by them.  It doesn't say they'll serve Babylon.  It says they'll be served by them.  By what?  By the words Jeremiah pronounced against them.

Folks, Jeremiah speaks to two different generations that span a great distance in time.  I apologize for dragging this out, but I had to go into this detail to set up the next part.  In the next part we'll see why all this matters.  We'll see what this hidden clue is that removes any doubt I may have had about 2016.

Part 3 >>

70 Years Are Determined - Part 1

Update 2012/07/23

The following information has been greatly expanded upon in my book "Quenched Like a Wick."

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Recently I've been looking more closely at my 2016 theory.  The question I've been asking myself is "how can we know for sure?"  The theory just isn't solid enough.  We have no way of proving the dates involved in Daniel's 62.  It happened too long ago.  The historical records aren't, at this point, sufficient to pinpoint the dates.  So how can we be more confident about Daniel's two remaining periods of time, the 7 and 1?

As with this whole journey I've been on, the answer came to me after I went looking for it.  Do you want some answers?  Then you have to ask questions.  And you have to ask questions with an open mind.  If you've already made up your mind, then don't bother asking.  As Isaiah 28 says, to whom can he teach the message?  Line upon line, precept upon precept.  Get the precepts right and the lines start falling in place. In fact, the reason I was wrong about 2010 is because I relied on a wrong precept.  I read someone's interpretation, and I was so eager to put it all together that I was hasty.  I didn't have all the clues at that point, but the ones I had lined up with this person's interpretation of Daniel 9.  So I thought, this must be it.  How I wish I could do that over.

For the majority of my adult life I had a wrong picture in my head.  My picture was based on all the garbage teachings that I had read.  I thought I knew how the latter days would play out.  But folks, let me be honest, I wasn't reading my Bible.  I had to scrap that false picture in my head and develop a new picture based on God's word.  It's been a process of several years, but it's been worth it.  God is still helping me develop that picture with more clarity as I continue to study his word.  I still have questions, but now I can see how those days will play out.

It's interesting that he ends Isaiah 28 with a farming lesson.  You see, God and the farmer are partners.  The farmer works by tilling the soil.  This represents us breaking up the fallow ground of our hearts.  The ground has to be prepared to receive the seed.  At the end of the chapter he says "This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance."  How is this farming lesson connected to the rest of the chapter?  He's saying that understanding comes from God.  Just as the farmer understands how to work with the various seeds, whose knowledge comes from God, so too he teaches us how to understand the end-time message, and all messages, in his word.  


But why are there so many different opinions?  Precept upon precept.  Folks, if you get a precept wrong, it will ruin your whole building.  It's like plastering with untempered mortar. (Ezekiel 13)  The message of the false prophets is false because it's based on an invalid precept.  That invalid precept is that the people of God will experience peace even though they are living in sin.  And again here in Isaiah 28 we read "For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it."  This is saying they (the pastors and end-time teachers, the drunkards of Ephraim) have built up this case for a pre-trib rapture, but it's not scripturally sound.  There's not enough material to wrap yourself up.  It's like laying down to sleep on a cold night but instead of nice, big, warm bed with a nice big, warm blanket, they have this little baby's bed and baby's blanket that can only cover part of an adult.  So you can't even stretch out your legs and your arm may be warm all night but the rest of you is freezing.  That's the pre-trib rapture doctrine, the false message of peace.  They take a few scriptures here and there, and a whole lot of nonsense (Ezekiel 13:8), and with it they build a wall with untempered mortar that won't stand when that day of doom comes.  When God stands up to judge the earth.  And with this false message multitudes are deceived. 


The Missing Marker


62 Start - Rebuild Jerusalem
62 End - Messiah cut off
7 Start - Rebuild Jerusalem
7 End - ???
1 Start - Covenant with many
1 Middle - Abomination of desolation
1 End - 70 weeks concluded, (Daniel 9:24)


It's interesting to note that if you read through Daniel 9 you might notice there's a missing marker.  This chapter lays out three periods of time (noted on the image at the top of this page) of 62, 7 and 1.  These time periods have been interpreted in different ways.  Daniel calls these shabuwas, or weeks.  I'll leave it to the reader to research this more.  I believe this word here is being used to describe a period of seven years, as we use the word decade to describe a period of ten years.  Therefore, 7 shabuwas would be 49 years.  One shabuwa would be 7 years.  In fact, this is why people say the tribulation period will last seven years.  They note that this period of 1 shabuwa must be the last seven years before Christ returns.  It's very easy to think this.  And I believe it's partly right.  But we have to consider the whole word of God.  Line upon line.  


There are markers for each of these time periods, except one.  Daniel tells us the 62 will begin with a command to restore Jerusalem and end with the crucifixion of the Messiah.  At least that's how I read it.  Others understand it differently.  So we have two markers to denote the 62.  If you believe like I do, then there's a third marker there as well.  I believe the command to restore Jerusalem is really speaking of two separate commands to restore Jerusalem.  "...That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.." Daniel 9:25  I believe what we see here is that both the 62 and the 7 are given a starting marker, which is a command to restore Jerusalem.  (An entire generation, the generation of The Late Great Planet Earth was misled when the author decided to combine the 62 and 7 to get 69).


Let's jump ahead and look at the period of 1.  We see its beginning marker is the covenant with many.  Further, its middle marker is the breaking of the same covenant. I believe we can compare this passage with other passages and determine that the covenant breaker is the anti-Christ.  And we see that the last marker given is the end of this period of 1, which concludes the whole matter, which is the return of Christ our savior.


But here's where the confusion comes in.  Where's the marker for the end of the 7?  People read this passage and they think to themselves "oh, the 7 ends and then the 1 begins the very next day."  And then entire books are written with this in mind.  And people have this in their mind when they read the Bible and all the end-time books and "oh, it just makes perfect sense."  And it all made perfect sense to me until I started reading my Bible....the whole thing.  And then it stopped making sense.  But then the more I read the more I began to understand.  Precept upon precept, line upon line.


So, folks, where's the missing marker?  Can I tell you that God is not stupid?  God, in his wisdom, decided that he was not going to allow any one of his servants the prophets to reveal the whole story.  The mysteries of God and of the end of the age are revealed line upon line, precept upon precept.  If you want to understand then you must study the whole word of God and you must rely upon God for understanding.  Someone once said to me "I re-read Revelation 17 and 18 and it's clear that Babylon is a city."  Folks, do you see the fallacy in this statement?  Where one prophet uses the word city or great city, another uses the word nation.  It's only by studying the whole word of God that we begin to understand the lines and precepts.


In the next part, Lord willing, I will go into more detail about this missing marker.  Are we given more information about the end of the 7 weeks?  Yes we are, but like all great mysteries, you won't hear very many talking about the hidden clue.  Do you have eyes to see that which is hidden?

Jeremiah 25
12  'Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,' says the LORD; 'and I will make it a perpetual desolation.
13  'So I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied concerning all the nations.

All the prophets rush in on horses
Brandished for battle
A week is seven
A day must be
Open your eyes
You may see
Four and seven
You won't see
Who told a lie?
Not I
Go, fall back
Be broken, snared, caught
As you say
You won't see

Part 2 >>

Hosea 2 Notes - Part 2

<< Part 1

Verse 7

“I will go and return to my first husband.”

If you haven't already, please go and read Part 1.  Do you see that verse 6 was a transitional verse?  Verse 2 started a discussion of original 10-Israel.  Then in verse 6 we see that literally hundreds of years later - generation after generation of the descendants of 10-Israel - would be afflicted with a condition of lack of knowledge.  A case of amnesia.  Like a person who doesn’t remember or acknowledge certain important things that came before today.  And this condition lasts until the end of the age…our day.  But then we see an awakening from this state of confusion.  But how?  How does it all play out?  The great awakening begins with utter destruction, as we're told over and over again by the prophets.


Gomer plays the part of harlot 10-Israel.  Hosea marries the harlot Gomer but Gomer is bent on following after her lovers.  Gomer leaves Hosea and forgets from where she came.  She falls victim to a state of amnesia about her past.  But then something happens:  “She will chase her lovers…she will seek them but not find them.  Then she will go and return to her first husband.”  It's evident that Gomer plays the harlot until it’s no longer possible for her to play the harlot.  It’s really quite sad.  The Church of America doesn’t wake up until she absolutely has to.  She doesn’t wake up until God strips away all her comforts…until all her cities are burned with fire. (Isaiah 1:7, 6:9-11)  “Then they will know that I am the God that strikes.”  (Ezekiel 7:9)

Verse 8

“She did not know.”  What an indictment the Father is making about his people.  We casually read these words and skim right over the Father trying to tell us that his heart is broken by his people.  Look in Isaiah 5…look how the Father describes his vineyard.  What is the vineyard?  His people are his vineyard and he is the owner of the vineyard.  We in America in 2011 take it all for granted.  Everything we have we attribute to ourselves.  But God is saying he gave us all the wealth that we now enjoy.  Are we living as the people of middle Africa?  No clean running water? Hardly a stitch of clothing?  No ipods?  No television?  Living in mud huts?  No stores full of food on every main street?  No!  We are the cream of the crop.  We are the wealthiest people who have ever lived.  How do we show God thanks and honor for all these things?  As a whole, we don’t.  Our actions prove it.  God says in Malachi 2 that we don’t even honor him with the tithe.  We take everything for granted.  We say to ourselves ‘I just happen to have popped into existence in a wealthy country.'  It was God who gave us everything we have. It was he who caused us to increase. 

The truth of God’s Word contains both the physical and the spiritual.  We are physical beings with physical needs such as food and clothing.  But there is contained in theses passages that which also speaks to our spiritual needs.  Said by one author concerning the spiritual meanings of these things: 

“That new wine signifies the derivative natural truth, is evident from the signification of corn, as being good; and from the signification of new wine, as being truth;”

   Beyond the physical, God is saying here that he was responsible for instructing us in all the good things of this life.  He gave us truth and wisdom and the good that comes from it.

Verse 9

“I will take away...”  Following the thought started in verse 7.  God, at the end of the age, has to get our attention.  Amos 4 (and Isaiah 1, Jeremiah 14) says we’ll see God attempt to correct us before it’s too late.  Before, as he says here, he has to strip us of everything.  But we already know what the end result of those corrections will be.  Isaiah 1 says “why should I keep correcting you?  You’ll just sin more and more.”  We know that these corrections, these plagues coming to America, will not wake us up.  So we see here in Hosea 2 that God will finally take away everything.  Job 1:21 says the Lord gives and Lord takes away.  Why?  He always has a reason...and he's always justified.  As Isaiah 1 says, our cities will be burned with fire.  The land will be laid desolate.  “I will take away the grain in it’s time and the wool in it’s season.”  Amos 8:11 says there will be a time of famine...not of bread or water...but of hearing the words of the Lord.  As is evident from the preceding verses, Amos is speaking of the same day: the destruction of America.  The days are numbered.  When the time comes, everything will be taken away.

Verse 10

"I will uncover..."  Compare with Jeremiah 13:26 and Ezekiel 16:37.  God is saying I'm going to expose you for what you are.  You are without me.  You are without the good virtues: truth, honesty, justice, goodness.  The world is deceived by you right now because you appear strong.  You appear to be in control.  But the time is coming when you will be exposed as one who is lacking; one who is weak; one who is defeated and full of shame.  "No one will deliver her."  Isaiah 47:15:  Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.

Verse 11

Easter, gone.  President's Day, gone.  Valentines Day, gone.  Thanksgiving, gone.  Christmas, gone.  Independence Day, gone.  Labor Day, gone.  Memorial Day, gone.  St. Patrick's Day, gone.  MLK Jr. Day, gone. Sunday morning Church service, gone.  Holloween, gone...never should have been. (If you are a child of God, please stop celebrating this holiday!)  Easter bunny, gone...never should have been.  Santa Clause, gone...never should have been.  Christmas tree, gone...never should have been. (Jeremiah 10:3-5)  Easter ham, gone...never should have been. (Isaiah 65:4)

Verse 12

"These are my wages..."  I have these things because of my great wisdom and power.  I traded with all the earth:  Merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.  The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all. (Revelation 18:12-14)  "...And all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with fire..." Micah 1:7

Verse 13

"I will punish her For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense."

Jeremiah 2:23  "How can you say, 'I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals'?  See your way...Know what you have done..."

I'm convinced the people of God, as a whole, have no idea how far we've fallen.  Why don't we know?  Because we don't read his Word.  We think God is all about grace and forgiveness.  We think God doesn't remember our sinful lifestyles.  We think we get a free ticket into bliss before all the trouble starts.  The day is coming when God will contend with his people.  One way or the other, he will cause his people to understand.  Folks, it's going to be horrible beyond words that can describe.  Why is all this coming?  "... But Me she forgot..."  God says over and over again "and then they will know that I am the Lord."  And in other places he says "they don't know me."  God's own people don't really know him.  We know of him.  But we don't know him.  We don't know him because we don't know his Word.  

There's a song on the Christian radio today that says "Speak to me, please speak to me...Whisper, shout it...Give me something..."   Folks, I really can't stand this song.  Jeremiah 6:10, speaking of our day, says "my word is a reproach to them...they don't delight in it"  But God, I'm so dry and I need to hear from you.  Well, did you read my word?  Folks, doesn't his word say that he keeps us in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on him?  Oh, but if I just pray long enough he'll speak to me.  If I just get in my prayer closet...  That's all well and good, but what about his Word?  Do you need peace?  Get in his word.  Do you need wisdom?  Get in his word.  Do you want to know him?  Get in his word.  Do you need a change of heart?  Do his word.

Jeremiah 6:10

To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

Phillipians 4:7

and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Psalm 119:165

Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.

Two Suns

'Two suns' spotted in China defy explanation

I prefer to write about things I'm fairly confident about.  But sometimes I'll write based on speculation.  So put this in your 'For What It's Worth' file.

This 'two suns' phenomenon is not new.  This has been going on for the past several years.  These two suns have been seen at various places around the globe.  After a few minutes of googling you'll find people who believe this is the mysterious Planet X.  I have very limited knowledge about these kinds of things, but I'm in this camp as well because of things I'm reading in the Bible.

--sidebar: If this is really just an illusion caused by refracted light, shouldn't we have record of this phenomena dating back hundreds or thousands of years?  If you come across such a record, please email me.  If you find something around the 15th or 16th century B.C., that might be interesting for other reasons. --

Folks, we're told how the Day of the Lord will begin.  We're told the sun will be darkened at midday over America. (Amos 8:9, Isaiah 13:10, Joel 2:10, Lamentation 2:1)  It will be this event that will allow the enemy to attack us from the north, most likely undetected.  This 'cloud' will cover America, blot out the sun, and I'm guessing it will interfere with our radar defense system.  The enemy will 'go up' at noon and arrive in the early evening.  Is this twin sun phenomenon somehow related?  I think it is.

What I find interesting is that some sites are saying the ancient Babylonians called this other planet Marduk.

Jeremiah 50:2

"Declare among the nations, Proclaim, and set up a standard; Proclaim—do not conceal it— Say, 'Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed. Merodach [fn] is broken in pieces; Her idols are humiliated, Her images are broken in pieces.'

This is from the New King James version.  Other versions spell it Marduk.  The phrase "broken in pieces" is from the Hebrew word "chath" (H2844) which means:

From H2865; concretely crushed; also afraid; abstractly terror: - broken, dismayed, dread, fear.

Strong's also explains that the idol Marduk (H4781) is believed to be associated with a planet.

So we have an ancient idol associated with a planet and we have a description of this idol as it relates to a breaking in pieces, and as it relates to dread and fear.  And all of this is at the very beginning of the most detailed account in the Bible of America's sudden destruction: Jeremiah 50 and 51.

On top of all this we have this 'two suns' phenomenon showing up just a few years before the end of the 49 year period since Jerusalem came under full control of Israel.

Interesting.

It's also interesting to note that Marduk can be associated with an orbital period of 3600 years.  Is there scientific evidence in the earth's crust that would indicate the passing of this planet in our history?  Some say there is such evidence.  Is it possible that the previous passing of Marduk / Nibiru / Planet X affected the 10 plagues of Egypt?  If so, that would mean the same planet could be indirectly responsible for both the first Exodus and the last, end-time, Exodus. 

Jeremiah 23
7  "Therefore, behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,'
8  "but, 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.' And they shall dwell in their own land."