Hi all,
Today
I continue studying Rosh haShanah by looking at what happens on earth
while the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is happening in heaven, but also
answer a couple questions.
What happens on earth when the Marriage Supper is going on?
Once
you understand the Feast of Trumpets other references in scripture to
this hiding away in Messiah become obvious. For the sake of space here
are just 2 passages about the Feast of Trumpets and being hidden
away, and note while the righteous are hidden in Him, the earth is going
through a time of His anger:
"Neither their silver nor gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath;
the whole land will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy...Gather
yourselves together O nation not desired before His wrath come upon
you...seek the Lord all the meek of the earth who have heeded His
judgement, seek righteousness, seek meekness that you may be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger." Zephaniah 1:18, 2:1-3
"For in the time of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me. He will set me high upon a rock. (Rock)" Psalm 27:5
These are read during the celebration
of the Feast of Trumpets because they mention being hidden from the day
of wrath and hidden in 'His tent' during the days of trouble. This is
why Paul twice told the Thessalonians in his teaching of the Feast of
Trumpets to comfort themselves, for He has not called us to the wrath to
come, rather we have been delivered from wrath to receive our
salvation. (I Thess 1:10, 5:9-11)
Mid tribulation or pre-tribulation?
When
I shared last week that Paul stated the anti-Christ can't be revealed
until the 'departure' happens first, then the man of sin will be
revealed, we might think this indicates a mid-tribulation 'rapture'.
The
reasoning is that Daniel 9:26-27 says 'The prince of the people who
will come will make a treaty for one week (1 week of years, or 7
years)...and in the middle of the treaty (3 1/2 years) he will come into
the temple and cause the sacrifices to stop...'
This
is what Jesus refers to in Matthew 24:15 when He says; "When you
therefore see the abomination of desolations spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, whoever reads this let him understand, then let those in Judea
flee to the mountains, let those on the rooftop not stop to gather his
things on the way out..."
Because
anti-Christ comes into the temple at the mid-point of the 7 year
treaty, and Paul says the anti-Christ won't be revealed until after the
departure, some believe the departure happens mid-tribulation.
When is anti-Christ revealed?
I
don't believe that and here is why. Paul never states it as a 'this
will happen and then immediately this will happen.' He just says the man
of sin can't be revealed until the departure happens first.
Daniel
identifies him as the one who makes a 7 year treaty with Israel, so
that treaty reveals of who he is. The fact he comes into the temple 3
1/2 years later is merely a marker telling everyone to get out of town,
as taught by Jesus in Matthew 24:16-20: 'When you see...flee to the
mountains', indicating not a first ever revealing of anti-Christ, but
rather seeing him in the temple is the signal to get out of town.
Remember,
those first 3 1/2 years will be horrible years of economic and
political turmoil, persecution, and hardship as seen also in The
Revelation - anyone alive who knows scripture will know who he is from
the start.
Paul
said he can't be revealed until the departure comes first, so the
departure and revelation of him is shortly before the signing of the 7
year treaty. The only thing the Father has ever told me about that time
came years ago when I was teaching a class about the war of Ezekiel 38
and 39 and end times.
I
asked Him why and when the need for a treaty would arise in the first
place, and He simply said this: "It will be signed after, and as a
result of, the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39." (I have a series on WW3 and
the Feast of Trumpets if you want more detail)
The Days of Awe
Rosh
HaShanah starts 'The Days of Awe' which are from the start of Rosh
HaShanah, the blowing of the ram's horn, until the end of Yom Kippur
when the Great Shofar is blown signaling the opportunity for repentance
has come to a close. But here is an amazing thing if you read God's
instructions in Leviticus 23:24-32: From the end of the Feast of
Trumpets to the start of the fast of Yom Kippur, are 7 days. Those 7
days are a time for people to repent of people trespassed against and
God who has been sinned against.
The
first day of Rosh haShanah, which begins the 1st of the month, is a
Sabbath, concluding on day 2 of the month. The fast for Yom Kippur
begins the 9th, making a full 7 days between the end of one and start of
the other (2nd-8th). This corresponds to the 7 year time of 'the Days
of Awe' or what we call the Tribulation.
On Rosh HaShanah it says God judges mankind and 3 books are opened: The Righteous, the Unrighteous, and the Intermediates.
People will get saved by the millions in the day of His wrath and many
will die martyr's deaths. The Intermediates or Undecided's will have
this time to make their decision. The Days of Awe start the time of
"Jacob's Trouble" leading up to 'the day of the Lord', or what we know
as the Tribulation and 2nd coming. (Rosh HaShanah 16:b-17a)
Besides
giving the Intermediates an opportunity to repent, the end result is
the closing of the time of man's government on earth. This is why
Revelation 12:12 observers Satan is angry because he knows he has just a
short time left, and 11:18 says the nations are angry because the time
has arrived for them to be judged.
Here
is just one example from Isaiah 13:9-13: " Behold, the day of the Lord
comes, cruel with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate; and
He will destroy the sinners out of it. For
the stars of heaven and the constellations will not give their light;
the sun will be darkened in His going forth, and the moon will not shine.
And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their
iniquity, and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and will
lay low the haughtiness of the evil. I will make a man more precious than fine gold...therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the day of the wrath of the Lord of the armies, in the day of His fierce anger."
We
recognize the same signs that Joel prophesies about, Jesus mentions in
Matthew 24, and Peter quotes at Pentecost: During the time of the day of
the Lord, the sun, moon and stars will be darkened and a great
earthquake(s) will move the earth out of place. (I have a series about
The Natural Disasters of The Revelation, with a handout/PDF if
interested in learning more about the double meteor strike during this
time, etc)
Also
note He said in that day He will put the value of a single person above
that of fine gold. This indicates in that time human life will be cheap
- we see this spirit in the world today where abortion is legal
and even children have bombs strapped to them and human life is not
valued as divine. So this is an end-times 'benchmark' to watch for -
things like euthanasia, abortion, wanton killings - all indicate society
not valuing human life as God-given and therefore highly valued - that
is one thing the King will restore.
While
the righteous dead have been raised and the living righteous have been
changed and are hidden with Messiah, the earth will be in the Days of
Awe. The Intermediates will have yet a little more time to repent
through all the judgments coming on the earth.
Next
week we will look at who is qualified to go 'up' in the 'rapture', the
whole body or just some, and how exactly it happens.
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
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