40 days after the Great Sign: Testing for All Saints?
Oct 16, 2017 10:53:07 GMT -6
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Post by bruce on Oct 16, 2017 10:53:07 GMT -6
Hi all. This is not a rapture prediction, in fact I would be very surprised if my humble observations turned out to correspond to when the rapture actually occurs. Just because one may observe a number of convergences doesn't mean that those convergences are pointing to the rapture. That said, I do have these observations to share in case anyone finds them interesting.
It's my understanding that the number 40 represents a time of testing. Certainly for the watchers, the testing seems to have begun on September 23. If our testing is to last 40 days, then that would end on November 1st or 2nd depending on whether you count September 23 as day 0 or day 1. Since the Bible usually starts counts with 1 instead of 0, I am going to use that method for this discussion.
For anyone who doesn't know, November 1 is All Saints' Day. Many people think it has pagan origins and so it is not generally thought of as a day to focus on much unless you are Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran (or maybe Methodist). None-the-less, for those churches that follow a liturgical calendar, the date has come to represent all of the saved. It is a day to remember that we the church are members of a body that is global and has members living and dead who will one day be glorified with Christ. It may not be a Jewish feast, but it is today a traditional Christian feast (whatever its origins), and it would seem to make a good candidate for a rapture date being 40 days after the sign.
Another observation: The church began at Pentecost, and the commission of the church is to make disciples of all nations. Making disciples is often likened to fishing, and after Jesus' resurrection the apostles went fishing and caught 153 fish. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus told Peter and Andrew that he would make them "fishers of men".
This year Pentecost was June 2. If you add 153 days (inclusive) to June 2 you arrive at November 1, All Saints' Day. Is this the day that fishing for men comes to an end?
The day before All Saints Day is, of course, Halloween, but for Lutherans it is also Reformation Day. It was October 31, 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany thus starting the Protestant Reformation which recovered the great doctrine of salvation by faith alone through grace alone. He intentionally posted it on the eve of All Saints so that the people would see it when they went to church on All Saints Day the next day. This All Saints Day will be exactly 500 years from this monumental event in the history of the church.
Another interesting observation: It is traditionally believed that the Flood of Noah started in the fall because the first month prior to the giving of the law was in the fall, not the spring (the Bible indicates it started on the 17th day of the 2nd month). To this day orthodox Jews observe the great flood on 17 Cheshvan. On the main Jewish calendar that is November 6 this year, but if one goes by the calendar that waits for the sighting of the crescent, it would be the next day, November 7, the 7th day after November 1. Noah entered the ark 7 days before the flood began. Will we enter heaven 7 days before the new flood of the Tribulation? November 7 also falls approximately half way between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, thus marking the beginning of the darkest quarter of the year.
If we look back up at the stars, it has been observed that the birth seems to have happened on October 13, and our meeting Christ seems to be represented by the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on November 13. If the rapture were to happen on November 1, it would fall between these two astronomical events that both seem to represent aspects of what happens at that great moment.
So this is all obviously speculative, and like all the other speculations this fall, it's probably more likely to be wrong than right, but as a watcher, I thought I would point it out none-the-less in case anyone finds it interesting. I'll end the post with the lyrics to the hymn for All Saints Day:
1 For all the saints who from their labors rest,
who Thee by faith before the world confessed;
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
2 Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
3 O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
4 And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
5 But when there breaks a yet more glorious day;
the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
6 From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
in praise of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
It's my understanding that the number 40 represents a time of testing. Certainly for the watchers, the testing seems to have begun on September 23. If our testing is to last 40 days, then that would end on November 1st or 2nd depending on whether you count September 23 as day 0 or day 1. Since the Bible usually starts counts with 1 instead of 0, I am going to use that method for this discussion.
For anyone who doesn't know, November 1 is All Saints' Day. Many people think it has pagan origins and so it is not generally thought of as a day to focus on much unless you are Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran (or maybe Methodist). None-the-less, for those churches that follow a liturgical calendar, the date has come to represent all of the saved. It is a day to remember that we the church are members of a body that is global and has members living and dead who will one day be glorified with Christ. It may not be a Jewish feast, but it is today a traditional Christian feast (whatever its origins), and it would seem to make a good candidate for a rapture date being 40 days after the sign.
Another observation: The church began at Pentecost, and the commission of the church is to make disciples of all nations. Making disciples is often likened to fishing, and after Jesus' resurrection the apostles went fishing and caught 153 fish. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus told Peter and Andrew that he would make them "fishers of men".
This year Pentecost was June 2. If you add 153 days (inclusive) to June 2 you arrive at November 1, All Saints' Day. Is this the day that fishing for men comes to an end?
The day before All Saints Day is, of course, Halloween, but for Lutherans it is also Reformation Day. It was October 31, 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany thus starting the Protestant Reformation which recovered the great doctrine of salvation by faith alone through grace alone. He intentionally posted it on the eve of All Saints so that the people would see it when they went to church on All Saints Day the next day. This All Saints Day will be exactly 500 years from this monumental event in the history of the church.
Another interesting observation: It is traditionally believed that the Flood of Noah started in the fall because the first month prior to the giving of the law was in the fall, not the spring (the Bible indicates it started on the 17th day of the 2nd month). To this day orthodox Jews observe the great flood on 17 Cheshvan. On the main Jewish calendar that is November 6 this year, but if one goes by the calendar that waits for the sighting of the crescent, it would be the next day, November 7, the 7th day after November 1. Noah entered the ark 7 days before the flood began. Will we enter heaven 7 days before the new flood of the Tribulation? November 7 also falls approximately half way between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, thus marking the beginning of the darkest quarter of the year.
If we look back up at the stars, it has been observed that the birth seems to have happened on October 13, and our meeting Christ seems to be represented by the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on November 13. If the rapture were to happen on November 1, it would fall between these two astronomical events that both seem to represent aspects of what happens at that great moment.
So this is all obviously speculative, and like all the other speculations this fall, it's probably more likely to be wrong than right, but as a watcher, I thought I would point it out none-the-less in case anyone finds it interesting. I'll end the post with the lyrics to the hymn for All Saints Day:
1 For all the saints who from their labors rest,
who Thee by faith before the world confessed;
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
2 Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
3 O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
4 And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
5 But when there breaks a yet more glorious day;
the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
6 From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
in praise of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
