Prophecy
Update 2005
Sunday Evening Bible Study
Why do a Prophecy Update?
(Mat 24:42-44 KJV) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. {43} But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. {44} Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
We ought to be aware
of the times we live in. We ought to be
ready.
Matthew 24
:1-14 Signs of the Times
(Mat 24:1-6 KJV) And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. {2} And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. {3} And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? {4} And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. {5} For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. {6} And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Wars
Since 1947, a magazine called “Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists” has published what it calls it’s “Doomsday
Clock”. The idea came about as a way of letting the world know how close we are
to nuclear annihilation. Over the years the clock has gone back and forth
depending on the condition of world affairs. In 1947 the clock read 7 minutes
to midnight . In 1949, when the Soviet
Union exploded their first nuclear warhead, the clock moved to 3
minutes to midnight . It got as far as
2 minutes to midnight in 1953, when
the U.S. midnight
when the START treaty was signed. in 1998 it moved to 9 minutes to midnight when India Pakistan midnight as terrorism has increased
around the world.
It still stands at 11:53 p.m.
12-09-04 Congo – The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports that six years of continuing conflict in Congo have claimed 3.8 million lives, nearly half of them children, with most victims killed by disease and famine in the still largely cut-off east. Citing mortality surveys prepared with the assistance of on-site teams of physicians and epidemiologists, the New York-based group reports more than 31,000 civilians continue to die monthly as a result of the conflict, despite peace deals that ended major fighting in the 1998-2002 war. (e11th Hour)
The Gog/Magog Watch
There is a major war around the corner where a group of nations will invade
Israel
After they invade Israel
This particular war could possibly be something tied with the end of the
age of the Gentiles and the beginning of the Tribulation period because this is
the event that leads to God again pouring out His Spirit on Israel
(Ezek 39:29 KJV) Neither will I hide my face any more from them:
for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel
Because of this, it’s always helpful to take a pulse of these nations to see what’s going on.
(Ezek 38:1-13 KJV) And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, {2} Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, {3} And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: {4} And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
These are all names linked to modern Russia
Even though Mr. Putin had been friendly with the West, he’s lately taken
some steps towards trying to reunify the old Soviet Union .
The election messes in the Ukraine
This year Mr. Putin took over the privately owned Russian oil company Yukos.
{5} Persia Ethiopia Libya
Persia Iran
Iran
They want to destroy Israel
Ethiopia Egypt
Libya
{6} Gomer, and all his
bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many
people with thee.
These could be references to some of the southern former USSR Black Sea .
These are all the nations that will be a part of this invasion of Israel
{7} Be thou prepared, and
prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee,
and be thou a guard unto them…
…{13} Sheba, and Dedan, and
the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto
thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a
prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a
great spoil?
Those that object to the invasion:
Sheba Saudi Arabia
merchants of Tarshish – perhaps parts of Europe ,
possibly even the U.S.
(Mat 24:7 KJV) For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Famines/Pestilence
852 million people across the world are hungry, up from 842 million a year ago.
Since the AIDS epidemic began, 25 million people have died from AIDS, which has caused more than 13 million children to lose either their mother or both parents.
Because the majority of those falling sick with AIDS are young adults who normally harvest crops, food production has dropped dramatically in countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates.
In southern Africa , close to 500,000 people died of
AIDS in 2001 alone, fueling a serious food crisis in 2002-2003 in which more
than 14 million people faced hunger and starvation.
42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the world – 92.8 percent of them in developing countries. 3 million are children under the age of 15. 2.9 million of those children live in the developing world, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Hunger Basics)
10-17-04 Sudan Sudan Darfur region since March 1, 2004 due to various causes, including disease and
malnutrition. WHO's disease surveillance system reveals an outbreak of
dysentery-like illness and an increase in malaria cases in Darfur
in late June and early July, with conditions much worse in the hard-to-reach
areas. (e11th
Hour)
As bad as it is in some parts of the world, during the Tribulation it will get worse:
(Rev 6:7-8 KJV) And when he had opened the fourth seal, I
heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. {8} And I looked, and
behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed
with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to
kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the
earth.
Earthquakes
We need to be careful when we talk about earthquakes. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the actual number of major earthquakes has stayed pretty stable throughout the last century. The reason we think there is an increase in earthquake activity stems from the fact that there are more seismic reporting stations around the world and the news reporting being better and better.
10/23/04 Japan Japan
12-26-04 Sumatra
- On Sunday morning 7:58 AM local
time off the west coast of Northern Sumatra , a 9.0
earthquake shook the world. The resulting tsunami has killed over 135,000
people. At least 79,900 people were killed by the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia Sri
Lanka India Thailand Somalia Myanmar Malaysia Maldives Tanzania Bangladesh Seychelles Kenya
The latest numbers indicate the death toll could climb to 150,000. More than 80,000 were killed on Sumatra ,
and officials say the toll could surpass 100,000.
Colin Powell: This is "one of
the most massive relief efforts ever mounted in response to one of the worst
catastrophes the world has ever seen," Powell said on NBC's "Meet the
Press."
And yet, as bad as this earthquake and tsunami were – it will get worse during the Tribulation:
(Rev 16:17-21 KJV) And the seventh angel poured out his vial
into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from
the throne, saying, It is done. {18} And there were voices, and thunders, and
lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were
upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. {19} And the great city
was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon
(Mat 24:8-9 KJV) All these are the beginning of sorrows. {9} Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
Persecution
We are pretty isolated from the kind of persecution that goes on in various parts of the world.
China
This from the Voice of the Martyrs website:
Top house church leader arrested in China December 10, 2004 )
The Voice of the Martyrs - Todd Nettleton
BARTLESVILLE , Okla. Chinese
House Church December 1, 2004 .
…There has been no communication with Pastor Zhang since his arrest, but it
is believed that he is in custody in the Zheng Zhou area of Henan
Province China Christ Church China
Pastor Zhang has already spent twelve years in prison for his faith during
five separate detentions since his secret baptism in 1969. He experienced harsh
torture, including electric shocks, during his prison terms.
His arrest comes in the midst of a serious crackdown on China
In September in Kaifeng
Australia
This came from Des Daniels, pastor at Calvary Chapel Sidney:
There has been a prominent court case in the State of Victoria
In an article written for Gospelcom.net, Dan Wooding reports…
“…more people have died for their faith in the Twentieth Century than in all of the previous centuries combined. “During this century, we have documented cases in excess of 26 million martyrs. From AD 33 to 1900, we have documented 14 million martyrs.”
Since the fall of the Soviet Union and communism,
the number of martyrs per year has actually decreased, but is still 159,000
Christians die for their faith every year.
(Mat 24:10-11 KJV) And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. {11} And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
False religions
The world is full of “religion”.
(Mat 24:12 KJV) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
iniquity – anomia – the condition of without law; contempt and violation of law
Hardness of heart
Increased wickedness leads to hardened hearts
Easy Divorce
From Sidney July 27, 2004
Getting
divorced keeps getting easier. These days it is simply a matter of logging on
to log off your married life. No meeting with lawyers, no going anywhere near a
court room - just you and your computer.
Hundreds have
used http://www.divorce.com.au/, most
of whom want to move on as quickly as possible - without any interaction with
the ex.
After filling
out the "interactive divorce application" from the Federal
Magistrates Court website, it is corrected by a solicitor and lodged with the
court.
The solicitor
will then attend the formal hearing, and about 12 weeks after first logging on,
the law will press the delete button on your marriage.
Legalizing homosexual marriage.
Even though the California
From
the San Francisco Chronicle: (February 13, 2004) History was made at 11:06
a.m. today at San Francisco City
Hall United States
From CBN.com (November
30, 2004 ): The U.S. Supreme Court says it will not hear legal
arguments against the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision mandating same-sex
marriage. But the political and legal battles over gay marriage are far from
over. More judges, politicians, and voters will all get their chance to weigh
in on this highly controversial issue. About 3,000 homosexual couples have wed
in Massachusetts
From the Baptist
Press: SAN FRANCISCO (BP)--The court battle to legalize same-sex
"marriage" in California got its start Dec. 22-23, when lawyers for
both the city of San Francisco and homosexual activist groups asked a judge to
throw out the state's marriage laws… In Canada
Euthanasia
From the Miami Tue, Nov. 30, 2004 )
TOBY
Associated Press
… Three years ago, the Dutch parliament made it legal for doctors to inject a sedative and a lethal dose of muscle relaxant at the request of adult patients suffering great pain with no hope of relief.
Foolishness
From ABC News – LONDON
Give an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters, the theory goes, and they will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare.
Give six monkeys one computer for a month, and they will make a mess.
Researchers at
“They pressed a lot of S’s,” researcher Mike Phillips said Friday. “Obviously, English isn’t their first language.”
In a project intended more as performance art than
scientific experiment, faculty and students in the university’s media program
left a computer in the monkey enclosure at Paignton Zoo in southwest
Then, they waited.
At first, said Phillips, “the lead male got a stone and started bashing the hell out of it.
“Another thing they were interested in was in defecating
and urinating all over the keyboard,” added Phillips, who runs the university’s
Eventually, monkeys Elmo, Gum, Heather, Holly, Mistletoe and Rowan produced five pages of text, composed primarily of the letter S. Later, the letters A, J, L and M crept in.
The notion that monkeys typing at random will eventually produce literature is often attributed to Thomas Huxley, a 19th-century scientist who supported Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution. Mathematicians have also used it to illustrate concepts of chance.
(Rom 1:21-22 NLT) Yes, they
knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And
they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that
their minds became dark and confused. {22} Claiming to be wise, they became
utter fools instead.
Luke records a different but related prophecy:
(Luke 21:26 KJV) Men's hearts
failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on
the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Terrorism
It’s all about making us fearful.
America
03-11-04 Spain Spain
08-24-04 Russia
09-01-04 Russia
Weather
If the terrorists don’t make you fearful, reading the weather reports might put a little fear into you. This has been a year of strange weather.
05-25-04 Haiti
& Dominican Republic Dominican Republic Haiti
07-30-04 Bangladesh Dhaka from heavy monsoon
rains—the nation's worst since 1998…More than 25 million are displaced. (e11th
Hour)
08-13-04 China China China
08-13-04 United
States Florida US Florida
09-16-04 United
States United
States
09-19-04 – Haiti Haiti Dominican Republic
10-21-04 Japan Japan
11-30-04 Philippines Manila
But wait … it will get worse!
(Rev 16:21
NLT) There was a terrible hailstorm, and
hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people
below. They cursed God because of the hailstorm, which was a very terrible
plague.
(Mat 24:13-14 KJV) But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. {14} And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Evangelism
Jesus doesn’t have to wait until the world is evangelized to take His church in the Rapture. There will be an angel that will fly around the world during the Tribulation proclaiming the gospel (Rev. 14:6).
But the fact that the gospel is being preached around the world like never before is something to get excited about.
We have a chance to participate in this, whether it’s in telling our
neighbors, our family, going out on the streets of Fullerton Russia
:15-31 Message to Israel
I believe this next section applies to those who will be alive on the
planet after the time of the Rapture. Specifically, it will apply to the Jews
who live in Israel
(Mat 24:15-24 KJV) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) {16} Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: {17} Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: {18} Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. {19} And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! {20} But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: {21} For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. {22} And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. {23} Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. {24} For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Antichrist
The Mark
One day there will one specific individual who will convince the world that he is the Jewish Messiah. We know him as the antichrist, the world will know him as their savior.
One of the things the antichrist will do will be to require everyone to take a “mark” or a number, something that will be required to purchase anything (Rev. 13:15-18).
Every year we see technology advancing to the point where we see this kind of thing happening.
From WorldNetDaily / Posted: April 14, 2004
Paying for drinks with wave of the
hand
Club-goers in Spain
By Sherrie Gossett / © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Being recognized has never been easier for VIP patrons of the Baja Beach
Club in Barcelona , Spain
Like a scene out of a science-fiction movie, all it takes is a syringe-injected microchip implant for the beautiful men and women of the nightclub scene to breeze past a "reader" that recognizes their identity, credit balance and even automatically opens doors to exclusive areas of the club for them.
They can buy drinks and food with a wave of their hand and don't need to worry about losing a credit card or wallet.
From Yahoo News
FDA Approves Use of Chip in Patients
Wed Oct 13,
By DIEDTRA
WASHINGTON
I came across this news item last week on a website:
Techno-Tithe: Church Implants
Microchips in Members' Right Hands
CROCKETT’S BLUFF, AR – In a startling collision of modern technology and ministry, Crockett’s Bluff Community Church is the first known church in America to use Logitech’s biochip technology to receive its weekly tithes and offerings.
According to last year’s church theme - “Be ID’d With CBCC in ‘03” - the congregation of 15,782 outfitted each member of its flock with a subdermal microchip in the right hand. The device, smaller than a mustard seed, contains the banking information of each worshipper and is scanned by an usher as he or she enters the sanctuary.
Pastor Bud Caldwell readily admits news of the action is sure to send end times specialists scrambling to rewrite their works of eschatological punditry. “Oh there’ll be a buzz for a while. Especially from the Van Impe’s. Forgive me for saying this, but it doesn’t take much for Rexella to get her prophetic panties in a bunch. If those two were halfway to heaven when credit cards came out, I can only imagine.”
According to Caldwell
Some church members were admittedly unnerved when Caldwelll cast the vision
for the ambitious plan. Three years ago, Allison and Randy Peavey left their
sputtering church of 1,500 in Little Rock
“I just figured anybody who runs a church this big has to know what he’s doing,” said Randy, a 42 year old CFO. “Besides, we prayed and felt a peace about it.”
Terry Whisnant, 32, is pragmatic about the whole thing. “I do all my banking online anyway. The chip is just another convenience for me - it’s one less thing to think about at church. Besides, Jesus tells us when we give we shouldn’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. I can’t think of a more perfect application of that verse.”
Still, the 51-year-old pastor tries to alleviate the fears of newcomers, often employing lighthearted humor. “Before my message I ask the visitors to give us a “hand” in the work God is doing at CBCC. Get it? Hand...”
What may not be a laughing matter to some newcomers at CBCC is the foyer fellowship policy. In the church’s official welcome brochure, Visitors Pastor Hugh Dowd makes it clear that if you are not chipped, you cannot partake in post-service coffee and donuts. “There is a flipside however,” said Dowd. “Once chipped, you not only get food and fellowship, but you also get a ten percent discount at our bookstore/Starbucks for a year.”
For his part, Lead Deacon Ralph Phillips is just happy to be getting home
earlier on Sundays. “By not taking an offering, we’re saving 20 minutes per
service. Also, I don’t have to count money afterwards. That’s another half
hour. Now I’m home for the 1 o’clock
game. How ‘bout them Cowboys!”
Though he’s sure to face a firestorm from pre-millennials, the affable Caldwell Revelation
13 . “Look, I’m a classic dispensationalist myself, but I
see it as a win-win situation. We either continue at the cutting edge of
contemporary ministry, or we trigger the rapture and bada bing, we’re outta
here, brother!”
I hope you realize this was just a joke. This was not a serious “news” item, but a hoax.
I heard about this from a pastors’ e-mail thing I subscribe to, but I have to admit, some of the fellows were taking it seriously. When you go to the website, there are disclaimers at the bottom letting you know that it was all done tongue and cheek.
The point? Try to stay rooted in reality. There are plenty of things that are happening
that sincerely point to prophecy coming to pass, but we don’t need to make
things sound ridiculous.
There will things coming down the pike with microchips and ID cards, even implants. Are these chips the “mark of the beast”? Not until it comes attached with the worship of the antichrist (Rev. 14:11). But it’s certainly setting the stage for it.
(Mat 24:25-31 KJV) Behold,
I have told you before. {26} Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he
is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe
it not. {27} For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto
the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. {28} For wheresoever
the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. {29} Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens shall be shaken: {30} And then shall appear the sign of the Son
of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they
shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory. {31} And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other.
The return of Christ will be obvious to all. If you are a person living during the time of the Tribulation, you aren’t going to need someone to tell you about it, everyone will see it.
:32-35 The Fig Tree
(Mat 24:32-35 KJV) Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: {33} So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. {34} Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. {35} Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Israel
One of the symbols of Israel Mark 11:13 ). Though Jesus might
be talking about all the prophecies beginning to “bud”, I think He’s
specifically talking about things happening to Israel
Yet from AD 70 until AD 1948, there was no nation of Israel Israel
Sanhedrin
From Israel
Sanhedrin Launched In Tiberias
12:42 Oct 14, '04 / 29 Tishrei 5765
A unique ceremony - probably only the second of its kind in the past 1,600
years - is taking place in Tiberias today: The launching of a Sanhedrin, the
highest Jewish-legal tribunal in the Land
of Israel
The Sanhedrin, a religious assembly that convened in one of the Holy Temple chambers in Jerusalem, comprised 71 sages and existed during the Tannaitic period, from several decades before the Common Era until roughly 425 C.E. Details of today's ceremony are still sketchy, but the organizers' announced their intention to convene 71 rabbis who have received special rabbinic ordination as specified by Maimonides.
An attempt to reconvene the Sanhedrin was made several centuries ago in Tzfat. The body in fact ordained such greats as Rabbi Yosef Karo, the author of the classic Jewish Law code Shulhan Arukh. However, the opposition of other leading rabbis soon forced the end of the endeavor.
One of the leaders of today's attempt to revive the Sanhedrin is Rabbi
Yeshai Ba'avad of Beit El. He said that the 71 rabbis "from across the
spectrum received the special ordination, in accordance with Maimonides'
rulings, over the past several months." Rabbi Ba'avad explained that the
membership of the new body is not permanent: "What is much more crucial is
the establishment of this body. Those who are members of it today will not
necessarily be its members tomorrow. But the goal is to have one rabbinic body
in Jerusalem
Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, who heads the Temple Jerusalem Israel Jerusalem Jerusalem
Peace and safety
There will be a time of peace coming
(1 Th 5:3 KJV) For when they
shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as
travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Gog and Magog will come at a time of peace:
(Ezek 38:11 KJV) And thou
shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them
that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and
having neither bars nor gates,
The death of Arafat. Is this the time for peace? We’ll see what happens.
The wall being built? Does this play into it?
Temple
We’ve talked over the years about how the Temple Institute in Jerusalem Temple
This year they’ve finished with the high priest’s garments as well as a collection of implements and vessels used in various rituals and sacrifices:
Small Mizrak for pouring out blood of smaller sacrifices:
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Large Mizrak for cows and bullocks: |
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Copper vessel for meal offerings made of flour, oil, and spices: |
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Silver shovel used to remove ashes from the altar each morning: |
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Silver decanter for wine libation, poured on the altar for the morning and evening sacrifices |
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The silver cup, with the golden flask – used to pour out water from Siloam at Succoth. |
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Menorah cleansing vessel – used to clean the golden lamp each morning, includes tongs and a brush. |
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Oil pitcher used to refill the Menorah each morning. |
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Frankincense censor – for putting the frankincense on the showbread each Sabbath. |
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Incense chalice – for carrying incense to the golden altar of incense. |
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Temple
From MSNBC: JERUSALEM, Jan. 13 — Israeli geologists said Monday they have examined a stone tablet detailing repair plans for the Jewish Temple of King Solomon that, if authenticated, would be a rare piece of physical evidence confirming biblical narrative. The find — whose origin is murky — is about the size of a legal pad, with a 15-line inscription in ancient Hebrew that strongly resembles descriptions in the Bible’s Book of Kings.
The tablet could also strengthen Jewish claims to a
disputed holy site in
The collector then took the tablet to
In the outer layer, Ilani and his colleagues found microscopic flecks of gold that could have been burnt into the stone when a building containing both the tablet and gold objects was destroyed.
This could mean the tablet was actually part of Solomon’s
:36-41 The Rapture
(Mat 24:36-41 KJV) {36} But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. {37} But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. {38} For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, {39} And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. {40} Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. {41} Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
I believe this is talking about the event we call the “Rapture”.
This is when Jesus will come and snatch away believers before the beginning of the seven year Tribulation period.
Some have suggested that these verses are talking about something that will
happen at the end of the Tribulation just before Jesus comes back, not the
Rapture. But the problem with that is that we know the “day” when Jesus will
come back. When the abomination of desolation occurs (vs. 15), you can count
the days until Jesus returns. It will be 3 ½ years after the antichrist
declares himself to be god in the Temple
of Jerusalem 9:27 ; 12:11 ).
Yet this event (Mat. 24:40-41) happens suddenly, at a time when some things seem normal, like in the days of Noah.
:42-51 Watch & Be faithful
(Mat 24:42-44 KJV) Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. {43} But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. {44} Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Lesson
On watch
We need to be looking for the signs that lead to His coming. We need to be ready for His coming.
This is also not just about predicting the time of the Rapture.
For some of us, His coming at “an hour as ye think not” may refer to our own death.
God says,
(Amos
Are you ready to meet your maker?
If you’re not ready, tonight you can be. The first step is opening up your heart to the Savior.
The Bible says,
(John
Make tonight the night that you come to Him and trust in Him.