WHY STUDY PROPHECY?
Good question!
Continuing on from our look at the meaning of the words "SIGNS" AND "SEASONS" - I am reminded of how God lets his people in on His plans - if we have eyes to see and ears to hear!
Amos 3:7 "Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets".
Isaiah 46:10 "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come."
Isaiah 48:5 "Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, 'My idols did them; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.'
In Mark 13:37 note that the Lord commanded us to watch for him "What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!"
He wants us to be uniquely aware of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES IN THE LAST DAYS. My friends we live in perilous times and it is incumbent upon us to be informed about the climactic days in which we now live. That we ought to be fully aware of the SIGNS pertaining to the Second Coming of Jesus, so that we will never be caught in the same position as national Israel (which failed to recognize his 1st visitation). How sad that fact is!
IF YOU LIKE STATISTICS CONSIDER THESE:
63 times in the Bible, the Lord is quoted as saying "it shall come to pass".
116 times in the Bible, the Lord is quoted using the phrase in that day"
FULFILLED PROPHECY - EVIDENCE FOR THE RELIABILITY OF THE BIBLE:
Unique among all books ever written, the Bible accurately foretells specific events - in detail - many years, sometimes centuries, before they occur. Approx. 2500 PROPHECIES appear in the pages of the Bible, about 2000 of which already have been fulfilled to the letter - NO ERRORS.
If you would like to read about some of these examples I would recommend you visit the website: www.reasons.org.
Let's consider now some dates and events that are on our horizon that could be considered SIGNS of what is to come:
AUGUST 21, 2017 - The total eclipse of the sun tracking all across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. Consider the following:
- A solar eclipse is only possible on earth.
- The sun is 400 times larger than the moon
- The sun is 400 times farther away than the moon
- the last time this happened in the U.S. was in 1776 (very significant year).
In Matthew 16:1-4 Listen to Jesus' response to their request for a SIGN. "The Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the SIGNS of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it EXCEPT the sign of Jonah. Jesus then left them and went away."
Jonah was a reluctant prophet (missionary) who God sent to the City of Nineveh (a city of approx. 120,000 people) to preach for revival. By reluctant I mean he did everything he could to keep from going. However, after his 3 days in the belly of the fish - he obeyed God even though he was still unhappy about it. You see he disliked Nineveh and didn't feel the people there warranted God's mercy and grace.
So you may wonder - how could such a reluctant missionary have such an amazing response to his message. Jonah 3:5 says "The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greater to the least, put on sackcloth." The king then decreed "Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened."
Now what most people don't know is that in Nineveh (present day Mosul) during the reign of King Jeroboam 11 there was a total solar eclipse (Bur-Sagale eclipse) on June 15th, 763 BC which was a most famous event recorded in Assyrian canon and part of even children's teachings.
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This would have been the time Jonah was either on his way or in Nineveh. An eclipse to the people of the day was a powerful sign from God which was then followed by this prophet Jonah arriving and proclaiming their need to repent and turn to God. So now let's listen again to Jesus words "A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign but none will be given, except the sign of Jonah".
By the way during this time in Nineveh the people had been dealing with a major plague, civil war, military wars, earthquakes and then the solar eclipse.
We also note that the Hebrew Month of ELUL - the last month of the Hebrew calendar begins at sundown on August 21st, 2017. The word Elul means THE HARVEST begins. Harvest here also means - to catch, take, remove, or collect.
This is also the LAST month of the Hebrew year 5777 The Rabbi's have been prophecing that 2017 - the year 5777 - is the year their MESSIAH will come.
There is a lot of other information relating to August 21st, 2017 but what I've given you today I believe is enough to wet your appetite for other dates and events (SIGNS) yet to come.
Next post I'll focus on August 23rd, Sept 1st, Sept 20th, Sept 21st, Sept 23rd, Sept 29th, Sept 30th, October 12th.
A last little piece that may be important is that during the Solar Eclipse of August 21st - Planet X or (Nibiru) may be visible!! We'll see.
Steem on my friends - be prepared for what may be coming!!
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