We began by insisting that God would most likely not reveal the actual date of the last day until we first sought to learn the reason for these additional days beyond October 21. In other words, we began with a very deeply rooted belief that we must first learn what we should be doing for God before we should even dare to ask Him to tell us when our duties here will finally be over. It seems that this was indeed the correct approach. What we found is that only a correct understanding of the purpose for these additional days can possibly lead to the knowledge of when the last day may actually be.
For this very same reason, this presentation has been organized in the same manner. Its first section, The Reason, looks into what these additional days are all about. Its second section, The Duration, then looks into how long this period of time will be. Its third section, Additional Observations, then looks at more information which pertains to these last days. Its fourth section, Conclusion, finally assesses the data presented herein as a whole.
May God have granted that the conclusions presented herein are correct.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The last date in the time line as we've understood it so far is October 21 of 2011. We're now past that date. Does this mean that the time line is wrong? No, it doesn't. Just because October 21 of 2011 is the last date that God has revealed to us so far doesn't necessarily mean that it's the last date in the full time line. The full time line may indeed continue beyond October 21 of 2011 without nullifying anything we've learned so far.
| Starts on | Ends on | Name | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0033-May-21 | 1988-May-21 | Church Age | The churches are the external representation of God's Kingdom. |
| 1988-May-21 | 2011-May-21 | Great Tribulation | Salvation is no longer available within the churches. |
| 1994-Sep-7 | 2011-May-21 | Latter Rain | God saves the great multitude which no man could number outside of the churches. |
| 2011-May-21 | 2011-Oct-21 | Judgement Day | Salvation is no longer available anywhere throughout the whole world. |
God started saving a great multitude which no man could number
[Revelation 7:9]
throughout the whole world, outside the churches, on September 7 of 1994.
The Bible calls this season of salvation the Latter Rain.
It also ended on May 21 of 2011.
God brought judgement upon the whole world on May 21 of 2011. As of that date, God was no longer saving anyone at all throughout the whole world. The Bible calls this time of judgement Judgement Day. It ended on October 21 of 2011. Given the precedent that judgement remained upon the churches after the Great Tribulation ended, we can also assume that judgement remains upon the whole world now, after October 21 of 2011.
Using the figure that the third part
was slain
[Revelation 9:15]
at the beginning of the five month time of judgement called Judgement Day,
God tells us that there's no hope whatsoever for anyone
who was still within the churches on May 21 of 2011.
There was hope for them before that date
in that they could've come out of the churches
and thus be in a place where salvation was still available.
Since judgement upon the whole world began on May 21 of 2011, however,
there no longer was any place for a person coming out of the churches to go
where salvation would still be available.
This is why we can know for sure that there's no hope
for anyone who was still within a church on May 21 of 2011.
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
importunitymeans
persistence. It's been translated from a Greek word, though, which really means
shamelessnessor
irreverence.
This parable teaches us that we should shamelessly plead with God for the salvation of others even after judgement has begun upon the whole world. Why? What point would there be in doing that? Even though we may not see any evidence of salvation in someone, we can still hope that, as long as he wasn't still in a church on May 21 of 2011, God did save him before that date.
This has been our understanding. If we think about it, we can see that there's a most serious problem. So far, we've recognized two groups of people: those still within the churches on May 21 of 2011 for whom there's no hope, and those not within the churches on May 21 of 2011 for whom there's still the hope that some of them were saved before that date. There's actually a third group of people whom we absolutely must consider.
These newly conceived babies certainly weren't within the churches on May 21 of 2011, so they're certainly not within the only group of people for whom we're told there's no hope. This must mean, therefore, that there actually is hope for them. But how can this be if God is no longer saving anyone anywhere throughout the whole world?
These newly conceived babies certainly didn't even have an opportunity to hear the worldwide warning that May 21 of 2011 would be Judgement Day, so they surely can't be held accountable for having either ignored or mocked it.
These newly conceived babies, truly being the youngest of us all, and not even being out there somewhere yet where they can harm others, certainly have committed far fewer sins than the rest of us so how can they be subject to less hope than has been extended to the rest of us?
Their parents were surely pleading most shamelessly with God for the salvation of their precious, tiny, newly conceived babies even though they knew that the period of worldwide judgement had already begun. We know that this is exactly what God commanded them to be doing. Surely something must've been seriously wrong with our understanding.
God could, of course, have simply put a stop to all conceptions beyond May 21 of 2011 if He had wanted to. We know, of course, that He didn't. He couldn't. The sudden cessation of new pregnancies would certainly have attracted major worldwide attention, and we know He didn't want to do that.
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
seasonand
time. This tells us that there are actually two periods, not just one, beyond May 21 of 2011. At the very least, therefore, what we can see so far is that God has indeed accounted for these days beyond the end of Judgement Day that we now find ourselves in. The time line, therefore, is still fully in tact.
One of the two periods beyond May 21 of 2011 is called a season
,
and the other is called a time
.
We've long understood the term season
to refer to a period during which God is saving
(e.g. the righteous, former, and latter rains),
and the term time
to refer to a period of judgement during which God isn't saving.
We believe that Judgement Day,
the five month period from May 21 to October 21 of 2011,
was a period during which God wasn't saving,
so that must've been the period referred to as a time
in this verse.
The period we're now in, therefore, must be
the one referred to as a season
.
This is a very strong hint that these final days
may well be a period during which God is saving again.
It's unlikely that He'd be saving anyone on whom
He shut the door of salvation at the start of Judgement Day,
but He didn't shut that door on the newly conceived babies.
Could these days, therefore, be when He's saving some of them?
mighty angel. Remembering that the two English words angel and messenger have both been translated from the very same Greek word, we read:
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
mighty messengeris Christ Himself.
and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
butis from a Greek word which, within this kind of context, probably should've been translated
until. This assures us that the context of this passage is the beginning of very last period of time during which we now find ourselves living because these final days surely did begin with the time line having apparently run out. That word
untilgives us some hope of still being able to extend the time line further. We'll see how far we can pursue that endeavour in a later section.
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
prophesy again, therefore, to the whole world.
The declaration that we must prophesy again
is most interesting.
Haven't God's people always prophesied to the whole world?
No, they haven't - there's been exactly one noteworthy exception.
During the five months from May 21 to October 21 of 2011,
when God wasn't saving anyone anywhere throughout the whole world,
God's people were commanded to restrict their activities to feeding sheep
as there was no point whatsoever in bringing the Gospel to the world.
This means that, yes, we're definitely looking at
these final days beyond October 21 of 2011
wherein we must resume our prophesying to the whole world.
Why might this be? Could it be to get the Gospel to the elect newly conceived babies for whom Judgement Day wasn't a curse?
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
This is just like when God promised Abraham [Genesis 18:23-33] that He wouldn't overthrow Sodom as long as any saved people were living therein. This is a precedent that Jonah should've been aware of but had clearly forgotten. Even we ourselves, who also ought to be aware of the precedent of Abraham and Sodom, rarely, if ever, apply it to Jonah and Nineveh. So, out of forgetfulness with respect to a clear precedent within God's law, not only Jonah, but also we ourselves, wonder what went wrong. The fact is, of course, that nothing at all went wrong other than our own failure to remain fully aware of all of God's law.
It turns out that this principle is not merely a precedent, but also even a clearly defined statute, within God's law.
At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Jonah, having lived earlier than Jeremiah, had an excuse for not having known this. We ourselves, on the other hand, have no such excuse because we now have God's complete law (the whole Bible). Jonah, also, probably didn't have access to a copy of the Bible which he could read for himself whereas we do. Nevertheless, we're still limited by our inability to retain the entire Bible within our minds, God having not opened all of the Bible up to us yet, lack of time due to necessary earthly activity, etc, so, in the end, our situation is ultimately fairly similar to that of Jonah's.
So what Jonah declared to the Ninevites, which was right from the very mouth of God Himself, didn't appear to take place. Why? Because there were some things about God's plan which He hadn't yet revealed, even to His hand-picked spokesman, Jonah. So Jonah, when trying to make sense of it all, fell prey to two serious temptations: he assumed that he already knew everything, and he failed to realize that some of what he was declaring was spiritual rather than physical.
Likewise, we find ourselves in the very same situation. We declared many things about May 21 and October 21 of 2011 to the whole world. Some of them were right, like May 21 being Judgement Day. Some of them were right yet appeared to be wrong, like the earthquake and rapture which didn't visibly occur on May 21, due to their spiritual, rather than physical, nature. Some of them were totally wrong, like the annihilation of this entire universe on October 21 which, clearly, didn't happen. We, just like Jonah, fell prey to those very same two temptations when trying to make sense of it all.
We introduced errors as we felt the unnecessary need to make God's message as clear as possible to others. Did God really need our feeble attempts to clarify His message in order to infuse it into the hearts of His elect? Of course not!
Since our situation is the same as Jonah's, let's have a look at what God tells us that He Himself was up to when He allowed things to appear to have gone seriously awry back then.
And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Wouldn't it be reasonable to infer, therefore, that God's actions in our day also have everything to do with Christ's atonement for the sins of all of His people. This seems to point very strongly to these extra days being a period during which God still has some people to save.
One of the attributes of God's character listed in Jonah 4:2 is that God repented from an evil deed. He certainly could've, and surely did, ensure that all of His elect who were alive on or before May 21 of 2011 did become saved by then. What about those babies who began life in their mothers' wombs after Judgement Day began, though? Wouldn't it be a truly evil deed to consign them to damnation simply because, for God's own logistical purposes, they had to be conceived too late? Could this be the evil deed that God refuses to commit in our day?
A close look at the wording of Jonah's statement reveals more than just an explanation of how truly merciful God is. Jonah's own biggest concern had to do with God's great mercy. Jonah, just like we ourselves, was a saved person and God's hand-picked spokesman, so how does this fit with our own concerns during Judgement Day? We really didn't have a problem with God shutting the door of salvation on May 21 of 2011, in a general sense, because we were confident that He could ensure that all of His elect were saved beforehand. Wasn't our single greatest concern, by far, what would happen to babies who were conceived after that date?
lively stone, is carefully placed into its perfect position in order to construct a
spiritual house. 1 Kings 8:1-66 and 2 Chronicles 5:1-7:10 recount how the physical temple was dedicated for use during the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. 2 Chronicles 7:10 seems to be telling us that the temple was ready for use by the 23rd day of the seventh month. This is related to the reason that we dared to conclude that October 21 of 2011 would be the very last day. What did we miss?
And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it.
We assumed that God's Kingdom was complete by October 21
(actually, by May 21),
but God is now allowing us to see that this simply wasn't so.
There are still a few more finishing touches which need to be made
to His spiritual house
after the 23rd day of the seventh month.
This, too, seems very much to prefigure
that these extra days beyond October 21 of 2011
have everything to do with God saving a few more of His elect.
Could they be some of those babies who began life
too late to be saved before May 21 of 2011?
the third woe(which is indivisibly linked by Revelation 10:7 to the very end of time)
cometh quickly
Luke 1:24 tells us about how Elisabeth hid herself for the first five months of her pregnancy. She, of course, was carrying John the baptist. This fits very well with the five months of worldwide judgement. Elisabeth depicts the true believers who were effectively hidden from the world for those five months.
She had a baby within her womb at that time. When was that baby saved? Notice how God makes a really big deal about ensuring that we know that John was saved while still within Elisabeth's womb. He goes out of His way to declare this fact to us no less than three times so that we can't possibly miss it.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb;
For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
five months.
the sixth month.
arose in those daysand
went with hasteto visit Elisabeth. We can be sure, therefore, that it was still
the sixth monthwhen she got there.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
child of wrath[Ephesians 2:1-3] just like each non-elect person is?
Yes, and no.
An elect person, prior to his salvation,
is indeed a child of wrath
insofar as he's still wholly given over to sin in both body and soul.
His sins have already been fully paid for, though,
so, from a judicial perspective, he absolutely is not.
While that newly conceived baby
must necessarily still formally remain unsaved until October 21 of 2011,
he no longer bears the burden of his own sins
because Christ, way back before the foundation of the world,
transferred that great burden to Himself.
As such, from a judicial perspective, that baby is,
to use the language of Revelation 22:11,
righteous
and holy
.
There's nothing in God's law which prevents that baby from becoming saved
even after Judgement Day has begun.
And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
seven yearsto build the temple. The number seven represents perfection. We suspect, therefore, that the perfectly constructed temple is in view here. There's nothing at all left to do. It can't be improved. Any more work would, in fact, damage its now perfect condition.
This physical temple of Solomon's day
prefigures the spiritual house
[1 Peter 2:5]
which God is building with lively stones
,
each of which represents one of His elect people.
What we're probably being told, therefore, is that the very last elect person
will become saved at some point during the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar.
There's another reference to the eighth month which may be potentially helpful.
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD. Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
prophesy againto the whole world [Revelation 10:11] in order to reach the elect babies who were conceived after May 21. Notice that the command is
Turn ye unto me and I will turn unto you. The people must turn first. God won't force anyone to do so this time. We know, therefore, that no one will. God, nevertheless, true to His most merciful, patient, and impeccably fair nature, is still giving them one final, totally undeserved opportunity.
A Hebrew month begins when the first sliver of the new moon can be seen, just after sunset, in Jerusalem. A general rule, which is accurate enough for our purposes, is that the first sliver of the new moon can't be seen anywhere until about 24 hours after the astronomical (or dark) new moon. If we look up the time for some particular astronomical new moon, therefore, we first convert it to Jerusalem time, then add 24 hours (one day), and finally go forward to the next occurrence of 6pm. This is when the first sliver of that new moon will be visible in Jerusalem. The Gregorian date we normally associate with the first day of that Hebrew month is that of the following day.
The astronomical new moon for the eighth month occurred at 9:56pm on October 26. It wasn't visible anywhere until 9:56pm on October 27. It was first visible in Jerusalem at sunset on October 28. The first day of the eighth month was October 29.
The astronomical new moon for the ninth month will occur at 8:10am on November 25. It won't be visible anywhere until 8:10am on November 26. It'll be first visible in Jerusalem at sunset on November 26. The first day of the ninth month will be November 27.
| Hebrew Month | Astronomical New Moon | First Visible Somewhere | First Visible in Jerusalem | First Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8th | 9:56pm Oct 26 | 9:56pm Oct 27 | 6pm Oct 28 | Oct 29 |
| 9th | 8:10am Nov 25 | 8:10am Nov 26 | 6pm Nov 26 | Nov 27 |
acceptable year of the Lord[Luke 4:19]. Each Pentecost (starting in 33AD) marked the beginning of yet another year during which God would be saving more of His elect. This is why the Church Age had to end on the day before Pentecost (before sunset on May 21) in 1988. If it had continued for just one more day, it'd have been the first day of yet another year during which God would've had to continue to use the churches as an integral part of His salvation program.
Is there also a feast which celebrates the end
of an acceptable year of the Lord
[Luke 4:19]?
Yes, there is.
It's called the Feast of Ingathering,
and it's observed after the final harvest of the year has been brought in.
God tells us two times that the Feast of Ingathering
occurs at the end of the year.
and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
The difference between the two feasts is that Tabernacles, as you can see above, involves the performing of certain religious ceremonies whereas Ingathering, as you can see below, involves living a certain lifestyle.
And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
This is a feast which celebrates all those who became saved throughout the past year. If there's at least one elect person who hasn't yet become saved by the time the feast begins then the world must continue on for yet another year so that the elect who become saved throughout that next year can be celebrated during the next feast.
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
go up(to Heaven) before the final Feast of Tabernacles can begin. This can't be describing the rapture as the Feast of Tabernacles is observed every year here on earth. It is, rather, describing what happens to a person spiritually when he becomes saved. He becomes
risen with Christ[Colossians 3:1], he has been
raised up together, and made sit together in heaven[Ephesians 2:6], etc.
We can be sure that this is the final Feast of Tabernacles
because we're told that there shall be no rain
(no more Gospel)
for anyone who doesn't come up
.
God in a bind? Impossible! Of course He knew all about this situation right from the outset. Surely He made some sort of provision for it.
His solution was that He wrote a precedent into His law which He could use for a situation just like this one. A precedent is a law which defines a general principle as opposed to one which edicts a precise rule. This is what our legal system refers to as case law.
The following situation was brought to Moses's attention while the Israelites were in the wilderness:
[] And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel?
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.
unclean(which typified being unsaved) or
in a journey afar off(which typified still living within Satan's dominion), then that feast can be postponed to the very same day of the next month.
Lest we jump to the erroneous conclusion that this is a statute rather than a precedent, God has given us the account of one time when it was actually used. It was the king, rather than an individual person, who invoked it. It was applied to the whole nation rather than to an individual person. It was invoked because the priests weren't ready. The people of that day, under God's guidance, of course, clearly understood the precedential nature of this particular law.
And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written.
This precedent permitted God, given the special situation with the newly conceived babies in our day, to delay the start of the Feast of Tabernacles this year until the 15th day of the eighth month.
Now we believe we have a more accurate date for the saving of the last of God's elect. The 15th day of the eighth month, this year, is November 12. Remembering that a Hebrew day actually begins at sunset on the previous date, all of the elect newly conceived babies, if we're correct, necessarily had to have become saved before sunset, Jerusalem time, on November 11 because that's when the delayed final Feast of Tabernacles began.
All of God's elect, now a fully completed spiritual house
[1 Peter 2:5],
spiritually observed the final Feast of Tabernacles
from sunset on November 11 to sunset on November 19.
And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had showed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.
sent away into their tentson the 23rd day - the day following the Feast of Tabernacles. How are we to understand this?
Remembering that a Hebrew day starts at sunset, it's unlikely that the people, historically, started to go home after dark. It's far more likely that they indeed did stay in their tents for the night, and that they began to go home after sunrise. If this is the correct understanding, then the seven day dedication of the altar must've occurred before the Feast of Tabernacles - starting on the 8th day and ending on the 14th day - in which case it'd have interfered with the Day of Atonement which was to be observed on the 10th day of the seventh month [Leviticus 23:27-32]. It seems unlikely that Solomon and/or the priests would've allowed that.
Let's now consider the other possibility -
that the seven day dedication of the altar followed the Feast of Tabernacles,
in which case it started on the 23rd day and ended on the 29th day.
In this case, the fact that Solomon
sent the people away into their tents
was very practical since he knew they'd be staying for another seven days.
Does the Bible give us any more clues regarding which of the two possible seven day periods is the correct one?
And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
the feast of the dedicationreferred to here is the seven day dedication of the altar described in 2 Chronicles 7:9.
We learn here that the dedication of the altar finds its fulfillment at a time when it's spiritual winter, i.e. during a time when God isn't saving anyone. We've learned that God was saving people right up until the start of the delayed final Feast of Tabernacles. Spiritual winter, therefore, couldn't begin until the start of that feast this year. For the seven day dedication of the altar to find its fulfillment during a time when it's spiritual winter, therefore, it must follow the Feast of Tabernacles - starting on the 23rd day, and ending on the 29th day. This year, therefore, it was observed between sunset on November 19 and sunset on November 26.
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
Jeroboam was an evil king.
A quick search uncovers no less than the following 21 verses
wherein God declares is condemnation of Jeroboam with a phrase like
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin
.
Yes, let's look at all 21 of them so that we really get it!
And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.
Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;
For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin.
For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.
And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:
Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.
For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin.
Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.
No, ominous as this warning indeed is, the more likely possibility is that it's aimed at something completely different.
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
There indeed are three spiritual watches.
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
great mercyseems to support this idea.
This passage tells us that Elisabeth's relatives were rejoicing. They seem to depict all of God's elect who are rejoicing right now that God's family is finally complete. The world as a whole isn't rejoicing.
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child;
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Holy Spirit of promiseas an
earnest(down payment, guarantee) of the eventual
redemption of the purchased possession(complete salvation of the entire person), which will occur on the Last Day.
So, yes, the circumcision of John may indeed point to the rapture. It was performed eight days after his birth. The number eight seems to point to time periods during which all of God's elect are together. We'll have a closer look at this later. If so, the eight days from John's birth to his circumcision could indeed be prefiguring these final days, starting when the last of God's elect was saved (prefigured by John's birth) and ending with the rapture (prefigured by John's circumcision).
and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all. And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
When we looked at The Eighth Month, we saw that 1 Kings 6:38 tells us that the last finishing touch was made to the physical temple of Solomon's day at some time during the eighth month. This last finishing touch depicts the very last of God's elect becoming saved.
When we looked at The Feast of Tabernacles, we saw that Leviticus 23:36 tells us that the feast is eight days long. We also saw that Leviticus 23:39 tells us that the feast is observed after the people were finished gathering the fruit of their land. The eight day Feast of Tabernacles, therefore, finds its true fulfillment when all of God's elect, His spiritual fruit, have been gathered into His Kingdom.
When we looked at The Birth of John the Baptist, we saw that Luke 1:59 tells us that, as was commanded within the ceremonial laws, John was circumcised eight days after he was born. His birth seems to depict the moment at which the last of God's elect was finally saved. His circumcision, the visible Old Testament ceremonial sign of membership in the external representation of God's Kingdom, seems to depict the visible sign which will reveal who really is a true member of God's eternal Kingdom, i.e. the rapture. Those eight days, therefore, may well depict these final days during which God's Kingdom is finally complete.
There are other uses of the number eight which seem to point to the very same thing. Here are some of them.
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark;
Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee.
And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him:
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:
about eight days, here, is that this historical parable is only looking at those who are still alive at the end when the rapture will occur. In other words, since it doesn't include those elect people who've already died, it's not looking at the full eight.
God wasn't saving anyone between May 21 and October 21, yet He commanded His people to importunely (shamelessly) plead with Him for the salvation of anyone who wasn't still within a church on May 21. For those who were alive before May 21, the hope was that He'd already saved them before that date. For those babies who were conceived after May 21, though, He had to add on a bit of extra time beyond October 21 in order to save those newly conceived babies whom He'd elected to salvation.
The Feast of Tabernacles finds its true fulfillment in being observed after all of God's spiritual fruit has been brought in, but it was already over by the time God began to save those elect newly conceived babies. God, therefore, used a precedent He'd written into His law which permitted Him to delay a feast by exactly one Hebrew month if someone who must observe it is unclean. He delayed this final Feast of Tabernacles, therefore, until the 15th day of the eighth month, which gave Him up until sunset in Jerusalem on November 11 to get His Gospel to the very last of all of His elect.
The Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day ceremonial observance which celebrates the people who became saved since the start of the previous Feast of Tabernacles. The delayed final Feast of Tabernacles was the true fulfillment of this observance as it occurred after all of God's spiritual fruit was finally brought in. It ended at sunset in Jerusalem on November 19.
There's still another ceremonial event, though, which needed to find its true fulfillment - the dedication of the altar. It's observed during the seven days which immediately follow the Feast of Tabernacles, and, therefore, will come to an end at sunset in Jerusalem on November 26. During this time, attention is refocused away from God's people and onto Christ Himself.
We're unaware of any more ceremonial observances which need to be fulfilled that relate to the saving of God's elect people. We believe, therefore, that we've determined the last day of the additional season of salvation which God incorporated into His time line in order to make the finishing touches to His temple.
It seems, then, that the additional season of salvation will end as the 29th day of the eighth month comes to a close. That'll be at sunset, Jerusalem time, on November 26. Can we assume, therefore, that the very next day, the 1st day of the ninth month, which will begin at sunset, Jerusalem time, on November 26, will be the Last Day?
No! We mustn't do that. God has been teaching us a lesson all along which has taken us far too long to learn. Each time God has allowed us to learn the next date on His time line, we've always naively assumed that we were finally allowed to know everything, and then erroneously jumped to the conclusion that that next date must be that of the Last Day. After September 7 of 1994, May 21 of 2011, and October 21 of 2011 all past rather uneventfully from a physical perspective, let's not make the same mistake again with November 26.
We take great encouragement, though, from the fact that all of those previous dates, when looked at from a spiritual perspective, were indeed very important dates on God's time line. We haven't had to revise any of them in order to continue to learn more about how God is bringing this era of eternal history to its close. An earthly analogy which illustrates how we now understand God to be revealing His time line would be a winding path. We can only see up to the next bend in that path. It's only after we round the next bend that we can actually see the next leg of our journey. Even though each leg of the path may look like it's the last one, the fact is that only the final leg is actually the last one.
We believe that November 26 has sufficient Biblical support such that it, too, does seem to be the next date on God's time line. Do we dare look beyond it?
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
So, yes, we must conclude that it's certainly possible, in spite of the apparent warnings to the contrary, for us to know as many facts pertaining to the timing of the end as God will choose to reveal to us, and that it's not for us to decide what those facts may or may not be. We won't be able to figure them out on our own, but God can certainly reveal them to us if He so chooses.
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
If so, the non-elect would easily recognize the events, and, although they may wonder about the inaccuracy of the original date, they'd have no choice but to acknowledge that they'd been warned and that they'd ignored and/or mocked that warning.
There may also be many (perhaps most) of God's elect who may not have the opportunity to learn any new details regarding the time line since there may not be much time to get them to them. They, too, would recognize the events, and, therefore, would still know what's happening.
There are all of those passages which seem to so clearly describe huge and extremely frightening events which even the non-elect will be in terror of, and which also seem to fit very well with a rolling earthquake and rapture. We've been putting all of those passages aside for the time being since we no longer knew what to do with them. Might they still be awaiting a literal fulfillment on the Last Day?
yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
May God richly bless you as you continue to look to only Him for guidance.