PITP #02

Father, thank you for the blessing that it is to study Your Word. You promised that You would not leave us orphans, but that You would give us the Spirit of truth to guide us in all truth and to teach us all things. Lord, we ask that You would, by Your Spirit tonight, direct us through Your Word and give us insight. For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, Amen.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul says in verse 18, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us who are being saved it is the power of God." I was surprised Monday night as I was reading through an article on the internet from the Associated Press about an interview that Cynthia McFadden from ABC had just done with President Bush. During the interview, Bush basically said that creation is not incompatible with evolution.

Did anybody read that or see that interview Monday night? He stated that creation is not incompatible with evolution. Then she went on to ask him a question about Scripture being literally true. President Bush, in his very George W. sort of way, answered, "You know, probably not. No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it." He added that the New Testament, for example, has a lot of good stories and a lesson that God sent His Son. There is some definite truth there.

As I read that verse in 1 Corinthians 1:18, that the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, I want to clarify that I am not insinuating that President Bush is one of the perishing. However, he has undoubtedly become very politically correct after eight years in the White House. In that same interview, he said that he believes the God he prays to is the same God that people of other faiths pray to.

This whole notion that the Scriptures are not literally true, that they contain a lot of great stories and lessons, reflects a broader trend in our society and culture today. If you are someone who believes the Bible is true and that evolution is not a fact in the sense of "goo to the zoo to you," you may find yourself at odds with popular opinion.

If you don't believe that, then you might be labeled a simpleton. Or if you believe that God speaks and that you speak to Him, then you're probably even labeled crazy. There is a growing sentiment among people in our nation and a growing hostility towards Christianity and the biblical worldview that you and I hold to here at Calvary Chapel. The preaching of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness. They look at it and say, "This is just foolish."

Something came to mind as I was thinking about that article the other night, specifically something that Peter said in 2 Peter chapter 1. If you want to turn over to 2 Peter real quick, you will see that in this environment, where there is a growing hostility towards Christianity and the Bible, the prophetic texts of the Bible become even more important to us.

Notice what Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 16. He emphasizes that we have a more sure word of prophecy. You do well to take heed to it, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the day star arises in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Peter here states that he was an eyewitness of the majesty of the ministry of Jesus Christ. He heard the voice of the Father on the mountaintop saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." He saw and he heard, but not only was he an eyewitness of the things that Jesus did, he also asserts that we have the more sure word of prophecy. This more sure word of prophecy is not of any private interpretation, but God gave it to holy men of God in the Old Testament.

He spoke to them in diverse manners, just as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews declares. God, who in past times and diverse manners spoke to our fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He appointed the heir of all things.

But here Peter says, "We haven't followed cunningly devised fables. We have followed the more sure word of prophecy that God spoke to holy men in the Old Testament."

Now, early in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus went up to the city of Nazareth, the city that He was from. As He went there, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day. In Luke chapter 4, we find that He went up there. In verse 16, it says, "He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day."

There was delivered unto Him, in verse 17, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He opened to the place where it is written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

There, Jesus, 2,000 years ago, went up to the city of Nazareth on the Sabbath day. He stood before all these people who knew who He was. He took the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and began to read this in their presence. After He was done reading, it says in verse 20, "He closed the book, gave it again to the minister, and sat down." All the eyes of the people there were on Him.

During that time, a rabbi would stand to read the word of God, and when he sat, people would come to him and wait to hear what he had to say. When the rabbi would sit, it was time for the people to be taught. We see this in Matthew chapter 5, when Jesus went up on the mountaintop. When He sat down, His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them.

Also, in Matthew chapter 24, it says He went up on the Mount of Olives, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them. So here in Luke chapter 4, Jesus stands, reads from the prophet Isaiah, and then sits down, with all eyes fastened on Him.

What do you think they were waiting for as He sat down? They were waiting for teaching; they were waiting for Him to say something. He sat down and began to say in verse 21, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."

Now, was that well received by the people in Nazareth? No, it wasn't. In fact, they determined they wanted to try and kill Him at that point.

But he read from the prophet Isaiah, and he said that the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me to come and to preach to the captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Now, this is from Isaiah chapter 61.

As interesting as it is that Jesus read this to the people there, even more interesting is what He left out from the passage. So turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 61. The actual passage here, Isaiah 61:1 and 2, reads: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified."

When Jesus spoke this 2,000 years ago in Nazareth, He left out the part about proclaiming the day of vengeance of our God and comforting all that mourn. He came the first time to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, but He is going to come a second time to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God and to comfort all that mourn.

You see, in between that comma in Isaiah 61:2, where it says, "To proclaim the acceptable year of our Lord," and "the day of vengeance of our God," there has been almost 2,000 years. This shows that there is a first coming of the Lord and then His second coming. In His first coming, He comes to proclaim the acceptable year—circle the word "year" there—of the Lord. He is coming again to proclaim the day of vengeance.

I am very thankful that the time of God's grace is longer than the time of God's wrath, aren't you? In fact, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:21 and 22 that the great tribulation and that time of great trouble here upon the earth will occur unless those days are shortened. You see, that time of God's wrath being poured out on a Christ-rejecting and sinful world is nowhere near as long as the time of grace that we have lived under for the last 2,000 years.

We are living during the acceptable year of our Lord, but He is going to come once again to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God. The prophetic passages of the Bible point to this coming day when He will return.

I want you to note something that is said at the end of verse 2 of Isaiah 61. It states, "the day of vengeance of our God and to comfort all that mourn." Remember our study last week? That key word is "comfort." God had spoken to the children of Israel in Isaiah chapter 39 that He was going to judge them by the coming Babylonian kingdom. Then, in the very next chapter, He says, "comfort, comfort ye my people." He declares tribulation, trial, and woe upon His own people, and then in the very next breath, He says, "speak comfort to my people."

We talked about where the comfort came from. The comfort was in the fact that although they were going to go through tribulation and a great judgment from God, the remnant was going to return, and the Messiah was going to come. So, the comfort was going to come after the trial, the tribulation, and the difficulty.

In Isaiah chapter 61, it says that the Lord has come the first time to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and then the day of vengeance comes. After the day of vengeance comes the time of comfort—to comfort all that mourn. Which ones? Well, to them that mourn in Zion. There is coming a day when God is going to comfort all those that mourn among the children of Israel. Once again, He is going to regather His people, but He will return again. The Lord is going to come.

Now, the disciples asked Jesus a very important question in Matthew chapter 24. They wanted to know when this was going to happen. How many of you would like to know when this is going to happen? They asked, "What shall be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered their question when they came to Him there in Matthew chapter 24. They were on the Mount of Olives, which is called the Olivet Discourse.

It says that He went up on the Mount of Olives, and when He had sat down, His disciples came to Him, and He began to preach and teach them. They asked Him, "When shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" He talked about wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, earthquakes, and all these different things.

In those first 14 verses of chapter 24, Jesus makes it very clear that these are the beginnings of birth pains. These are not the end; this is not the sign of the end.

In verse 15, Jesus tells us very clearly what the sign of His coming is going to be. In Matthew 24, verse 15, it says, "When you therefore shall see." They asked, "What shall be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age, and all these things that are going to come to pass?" He responds, "When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, whoso reads, let him understand."

Then He instructs, "Let those which be in Judea flee to the mountains. Let them which be on the housetop not come down or take anything out of the house. Neither let him that is in the field return and take any clothes with him. Woe unto those that are with child and to them that give suck in those days. Pray that your flight be not in winter, neither on the Sabbath day."

For then, in verse 21, He warns, "Then shall great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be." He adds that except those days were shortened, the day of vengeance is coming. Jesus tells His disciples what the sign of that coming day is, quoting from Daniel chapter 9. He speaks of this abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.

Interestingly, many of the Jews in Jesus' day believed that the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9 had already been fulfilled. Even Josephus, the great Jewish historian, believed that the abomination of desolation had come and gone in the form of Antiochus Epiphanes in the third century B.C. He came, sacked Jerusalem, offered pig blood on the altar, made a broth with swine meat, and scattered it all over the holy place, causing a great uproar and ultimately leading to the Maccabean revolt.

Many Jews believed that the abomination of desolation was already past. However, Jesus says here, "Nope. It's still yet to come." Antiochus Epiphanes was just a type of the coming Antichrist; he wasn't the complete Antichrist. Jesus states that when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, it is time. Great tribulation is such as the world has never seen. Unless those days be shortened, speaking of the day of vengeance, no flesh would be justified. He warns, "Watch out, flee, get out of Dodge when that begins to happen."

But what is this whole abomination of desolation? Well, for that, we need to explore further.

We've got to go back to the book of Daniel, specifically Daniel chapter 9, starting at verse 24. Verse 24 states, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the holy city." What is the holy city? Jerusalem. This is what is ultimately going to come after these seventy weeks: to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make a reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.

Jesus asks, when is all this going to be wrapped up, these prophetic words? Well, seventy weeks are determined until it is all wrapped up. He then begins to explain it further. In verse 25, it says, "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks. The street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublesome times."

After threescore and two weeks, the Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. The people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end thereof shall be with a flood until the end of the war of desolations is determined. He shall confirm a covenant with the many for one week, and in the midst of the week, He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. For the overspreading of the abominations, He shall make it desolate. There’s that abomination of desolation, even until the consummation, and the determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.

Now, you read that and you might wonder, what in the world is going on here? Seventy weeks are determined, seven weeks, threescore and two weeks, and one week where He is going to confirm a covenant with the many in the middle of that week. What is happening in this passage?

I have been looking through this and studying it for quite some time now, and I have found some very interesting facts about it. One of them that stuck out to me is a man that you probably all know very well or have heard of. You don’t know him personally because he has been dead for over 200 years, but Isaac Newton, Sir Isaac Newton.

Isaac Newton was arguably one of the smartest and greatest scientists that the world has seen. In fact, as I have read through some different things about Isaac Newton that I didn't know, he was hugely advanced in mathematics, physics, and astronomy. Did you know that Isaac Newton was the one who actually invented calculus? Those of you who are taking calculus in high school, some of them next door anyway, probably have Isaac Newton to thank.

Aside from his great understanding in science and mathematics, Isaac Newton was also a great theologian and a Bible scholar. In the last several years of his life, about the last 20 years, he spent that entire time studying the prophetic passages of the Bible, especially the Book of Daniel. He was well-versed in the ancient languages and, in fact, he translated the Book of Daniel from Hebrew into his own language. He was extremely focused on Daniel chapter 9 and the 70 weeks of Daniel. This topic really interested him and stood out.

Newton believed that Daniel's prophecy in chapter 9 regarding the 70 weeks not only had to do with Jesus' first coming to the day but also with Jesus' second coming. In fact, he determined from these passages, 250 years ago, that Israel would become a nation once again, even though most of the theologians and Bible teachers in his day said that it would not happen. They believed Israel was just a spiritual entity now. Newton, however, asserted that it would be literally fulfilled, and he derived this belief from the passages we are examining.

One of the things he believed from his study was that when we read in this passage in verse 25, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks," he interpreted the 62 weeks as 62 seven-year periods. These periods would begin from the time that the city of Jerusalem was to be rebuilt after the Babylonians destroyed it. He believed that the declaration went forth in 458 BC, and from that time until Messiah the Prince would be those 62 seven-year periods, totaling 434 years. He also believed that the last segment, the seven weeks of years, was significant.

Seven seven-year periods, or 49 years, had to do with the second coming of the Messiah. He believed that one day Israel was going to become a nation again. When they would begin to rebuild Jerusalem, from that point, you could count 49 years, and Messiah the Prince would come again.

Well, it wasn't for another 220 plus years that Israel, on May 14th, 1948, became a nation once again after the United Nations gave them the decree in November of 1947 that they could establish a nation. Some of you here tonight were even alive during that time, and you know that Israel did not take Jerusalem for several years, in fact, decades, until 1967. On June 7th, 1967, at the end of the Six-Day War, Israel took Jerusalem once again. There are some really great historic pictures of the paratroopers from the Israeli Defense Force coming to the Western Wall with tears in their eyes. It was the first time that Jews had been able to come into Jerusalem for years, even centuries. They took Jerusalem once again and began to build it, even in troublesome times.

It's been troublesome times for the last several years since then, hasn't it? If you take seven seven-year periods, 49 years, from June 7th, 1967, and you add those 49 years onto the calendar, it's very interesting what you find. The first thing we have to recognize is that the Jews do not follow the solar calendar that you and I follow. We follow a 365 and a quarter day year calendar, but their calendar is a lunar calendar with how many days? 360.

If you take 360 times 49, you'll find 17,640 days. If you take June 7th, 1967, and you add 17,640 days, you can do the math, or I can show you on the piece of paper I have in my office. It brings you to September 23rd, 2015. Now, that may not seem like much to you and me, except that this date is the feast of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.

Yom Kippur in 2015 is the last day of this 49-year period that began on June 7, 1967. An interesting aspect of this is that those who understand the Old Testament and the seven-year periods in Israel know that after 49 years comes the year of Jubilee. The year of Jubilee is a time of great rest and rejoicing. The very last day of this 49-year period is the Feast of Atonement, and immediately after that, the very next day, begins the time of rejoicing and rest—the year of Jubilee.

You may wonder what this has to do with our discussion. Let's revisit the idea of the Day of Vengeance. Remember, after the Day of Vengeance comes the time of rest and comfort. The prophet Joel, in Joel chapter 3, mentions something rather interesting in that passage, which we have considered a bit already. In Joel, when discussing this day of devastation and vengeance that God will bring, we read in verse 15 that the sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord will roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall be shaken. However, the Lord will be the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel.

So, when Joel speaks about this coming day of destruction and vengeance, he notes that before that time, the sun will be darkened and the moon will turn to blood. Jesus also discusses this in Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 17. The prophet Isaiah speaks about the sun being darkened and the moon being turned to blood as well. These references pertain to solar and lunar eclipses. We talked about this briefly a few months back, and I shared how, in 2014 and 2015, there will be an interesting period of lunar and solar eclipses. On April 15, 2014, there will be a total lunar eclipse, which will occur on the feast.

Of Passover. Several months later, seven months later, there is going to be another total lunar eclipse on October 8, 2014, and that is the Feast of Tabernacles. The children of Israel observe seven feasts. The first one is Passover, and the last one is Tabernacles. There are the spring feasts and the fall feasts.

In 2014, there will be a lunar eclipse on the spring feast, the first one, Passover, and a lunar eclipse on the fall feast, the last one, Tabernacles. Then, in 2015, on April 4, there will be another total lunar eclipse on Passover. Again, seven months later, there will be a total lunar eclipse on Tabernacles.

We have this phenomenon that NASA calls a tetrad, where there are four total lunar eclipses in a row, and they happen on the feast days of Israel: Passover, Sukkot, Passover, Sukkot. We looked a few months back at how there are several other times in history where this has happened before. The last occurrence was in 1967 and 1968. The time before that was 1948 and 1949, when Israel became a nation in 1948. The Arab-Israeli conflict continued into 1949.

In 1967, there was a six-day war. There was another time before that when this happened in 1492. In 1492, what happened? Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Good Americans that we are. But why did Columbus leave Spain? Because the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. During that time, in 1492 and 1493, we had the sun and moon darken.

Now, we look at the lunar eclipses in 2014 and 2015, but there are also some solar eclipses in 2015. The first one happens on March 20, 2015. It doesn't seem like a big deal to us who follow the Gregorian calendar, but if you look at a Jewish calendar, it happens on the first of Nisan, which is the first day of the civil or religious new year.

Then, another solar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse, happens a few months later on September 13, 2015, which is the first of Tishri, the first day of their civil new year, or Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, the blowing of the trumpets. An interesting thing about the Feast of Trumpets, as we have talked about before, is...

In Israel, since it falls on the first day of the month and their months are calculated by a lunar calendar, what happens on the first day of the month? You have a new moon. The Jews didn't have all the computer technology thousands of years ago to know when the new moon came, so they observed the Feast of Trumpets over a two-day period. They called it the feast that no man knows the day or the hour. What did Jesus say? No man knows the day or the hour. Pretty interesting.

Now, that's not all. In 2008, on August 1st, there was a total solar eclipse. You may remember that. There is going to be another total solar eclipse next year on July 22nd, 2009, and another one in 2010 on July 11th. August 1st, July 22nd, July 11th—when we look at these dates, we might wonder what the big deal is. It doesn't mean anything to us, except when you look at it in the Hebrew calendar.

For the next three years, starting in 2008 and going until 2010, those total solar eclipses happen on the first day of the month of Av. The first of Av is called the dark time in Israel. From the 17th day of Tammuz to the ninth day of Av is referred to as the dark time or the dire straits. It was during that time, on the 17th of Tammuz, that Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw that the children of Israel were dancing around the golden calf. What did he do with the law? He cast it down and broke it.

From that time until the ninth of Av is considered the dark time. The ninth of Av, as we've discussed, was the day that the first temple was destroyed in 586 B.C. It was also the same day that the second temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. Additionally, it marks the day that the First World War began, the same day that the Second World War began, or actually the initiative of Hitler to annihilate the Jews. It was also the day that the Jewish pogroms began in Russia in the 1600s.

Furthermore, it was the day that Columbus sailed from Spain after being expelled in 1492. In 2006, it was also the same day that the Jewish people were expelled from the Gaza Strip. The ninth day is called the saddest day in Israel. But on the first of Av, right in the middle...

Of this period of time, from the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av, is the dark time, the dire straits. For the next three years, we have these solar eclipses. The Jewish rabbis believe that a solar eclipse means bad news for the nations, whereas a lunar eclipse means bad news for the Jews.

Now, think about it for a moment. On August 1st, the first of Av this year, we had a total solar eclipse. Has it been bad news for the nations? Two months later, on the 1st of October, which was the first day of the month of Tishri in the Hebrew calendar, the Feast of Trumpets occurred. What happened? The Dow Jones dropped by 777 points, which was 7% of the Dow Jones industrial average, resulting in a loss of $700 billion on the first day of the seventh month. I don't know if that catches your attention.

A coincidence is a noteworthy alignment of two or more events and circumstances without any obvious connection to them. I don't believe in coincidence. The drop of 777 points, which was 7%, a $700 billion loss on the first day of the seventh month, occurred two months after this solar eclipse that signifies bad news for the nations. If anything, I would say the next three years may be bad news for the nations. Things don't seem to be picking up, even though we are trying to do as much as we can to fix everything.

Now, in Psalm 19, if you would turn there, David says something rather interesting. In Psalm 19, verse 1, it states, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the earth shows forth His handiwork." Day unto day, they utter speech. What utters speech? The heavens and the earth. Day unto day, they utter speech; night unto night, they show forth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the Son. Where? Where has He set a tabernacle for the Son? In the heavens.

In the sky, the Son is like a bridegroom coming out of His chamber and rejoicing as a strong man to run the race. His going forth, the Son, is from the end of heaven, and His circuit is unto the ends of it. There is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Now, David, as he says these things, is very clearly speaking about the sun, the moon, and the stars. He is also referring to something we call the zodiac. He states that the heavens declare the glory of God; they speak forth speech. There is no language that cannot receive the speech of the stars. He goes on to say that their line has gone out throughout the whole earth. They follow a certain course across the entire globe.

In the 1600s, a man by the name of Kepler, who was an astronomer, found that the stars move in a perfectly synchronized movement, like a clock. Everything is perfectly aligned in such a way that when we input all the calculations into a computer, we can determine with software exactly where the stars will be 200 years from now or 2,000 years ago. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the earth shows forth His handiwork. Day unto day, they utter speech; night unto night, they give forth knowledge. There is no language that cannot receive the understanding from what they have to say.

Yet, as we looked at last week, Satan, as is always the case, perverts the creation of God. He tries to change it. God says the stars declare something; they speak forth in a certain language. They communicate the marvelous works of God to all languages. However, man, with Satan's help, convolutes the whole thing and begins to say, "Well, the stars tell me what's in it for me." No, the stars were given by God to show what was His work.

In fact, in Genesis 1, verse 14, when God created the stars, He said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and for years." The word "signs" in Hebrew is the word "oath," which means a distinguishing mark, a sign, a signal, or a banner. It can also mean an omen or a warning. The word "season" in Hebrew is "moed," which means an appointed place, an appointed time, a meeting, or a feast.

It's the very same word that Moses uses in Leviticus chapter 23, where God tells His people, "Speak to the children of Israel and say unto them concerning the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations. Even these are my feasts." The word "feast" there is the same word that is used in Genesis chapter 1, verse 14, to say that the stars are used as signs and seasons. It's a calling, an appointment, a time for everybody to gather together and meet because God is doing something. They are for signs and they are for seasons to speak to the people.

The Bible speaks a lot about stars. It has much to say about the different constellations and the zodiac. In fact, the word "zodiac" comes from the ancient Hebrew zodiac, which speaks of the way, the course, and tells a story. Every major civilization looks at these different constellations. In the sky, they just look like dots, and when you connect the dots, they appear as lines. They don't make a lot of sense, but all the major civilizations have pictures associated with these stars. They all look at the same twelve major constellations, and each of the twelve major constellations has three minor constellations, which means there are forty-eight constellations. Each one has a picture associated with it that tells a story, and in a moment, we're going to look at one of them and the story it has to tell.

In Job chapter 38, I know we're bouncing around, but it's all going to become clear in a moment. Remember the story of Job? It's the oldest book in the Bible. Job was a righteous man, and yet Satan called God to task against Job, saying, "Hey, Job doesn't serve you for nothing. He just serves you for what he can get." So God says, "All right, take everything away from him." He removes everything from Job, and Job does not curse the Lord.

Satan comes back, and God says, "Look, consider Job." Satan responds, "Well, you know, if you take away his health, he'll curse you to your face." God says, "All right, take away his health." So God allows Satan to take away Job's health, but he is not allowed to take his life. Despite everything, Job does not curse God.

Now, there was a bit of whining and complaining. If you read through the next thirty-eight chapters of the book of Job, you see that there is kind of this back and forth between Job and his four friends who come and accuse him of sin. Of course, you would never go through these trials if you hadn't sinned.

So, of course, it's all your sin that's brought this upon you. Then Job finally gets his opportunity to go and talk with God. God comes to him and says, "Where were you when I created all this stuff? Who are you to darken His counsel with unwise and vain words?"

Notice what God says to him in Job chapter 38, verse 31. He asks, "Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion?" What is Pleiades? It's a star. What's Orion? It's a constellation of seven different stars. God continues, "Can you bring forth the Mazaroth?" Underline the word Mazaroth there because it's the Hebrew word for Zodiac or constellations. God asks Job if he can bring out the constellations in their season or guide Arcturus with his sons.

What is Arcturus? Arcturus is a key star in one of the constellations, a great bright star that you could go out and see, although you can't look at it tonight because it's below the horizon. God speaks of Arcturus again in Job chapter 9. In verse 9, Job is speaking about God and mentions how God is the one who makes Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Job recognized that it's God who makes these things.

Now, I want you to consider that for a moment. The oldest book in the Bible speaks about the constellations by name: Arcturus, Orion, and the Mazaroth. These constellations are there in the sky. Obviously, Job had some sort of understanding about these things, didn't he? Where do you think he got that understanding? I believe it was from the Lord.

In fact, the Arabs have a tradition that the Mazaroth, or the Zodiac, or the constellations were passed down from Adam to his son Seth and through Enoch to the peoples. So here Job talks about these constellations: Pleiades, Orion, and Arcturus. I want to consider this star Arcturus for a moment because it's a pretty interesting one. Look at Joel chapter 3 again for a moment.

Verse 11. Actually, we'll start in verse 9. We read, "Proclaim this among the Gentiles: Prepare for war. Wake up the mighty men, and let all the men of war draw near and let them come up. Beat their plowshares into swords and their pruning hooks into spears, and let the weak say, 'I am strong.'"

Now, this is interesting because back in Isaiah chapter 2 and also in the book of Hosea chapter 4, God says, "Beat your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks." Here, He tells the people, "Hey, you better get ready for war. Beat your pruning hooks back into spears and get ready for war."

Then notice, look at verse 11. "Assemble yourselves." Circle the word "assemble." The word "assemble" is the Hebrew word "ush," and it is the very same root word for the star Arcturus in Hebrew. When you read Arcturus, the star Arcturus means to assemble or gather together. Here, we have a reference to that very same sort of thing. He says, "Assemble yourselves and come." In verse 11, circle the word "come" because the word "come" is the Hebrew word "bow."

Now, the star Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Boötes. You may ask, "What's that got to do with anything?" Here's the picture: the constellation Boötes is a man with a spear in his right hand and a sickle in his left hand. He seems to be coming forward. The picture is of him coming forth. The main star in Boötes, whose name means "to come," is Arcturus. It's in his knee; it's the brightest star, and it means to gather.

There's another star in his shoulder on the right side, the one that's for judgment, and it speaks of him taking and gathering and squishing with his feet. The other star in his forehead is in Hebrew; it's the word "nakar," which means "the pierced one." The picture of Boötes is that the king comes.

To judge and to gather, the pierced one comes forth. Keep on reading in Joel chapter 3: "Assemble yourselves and come, all you heathen, and gather yourselves together round about. Cause your mighty ones to come down, O Lord, and let the heathen be wakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put in your sickle. What is in the left hand of Boetes? The sickle. Put in your sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come and get down, for the press is full and the vats overflow, for the wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. The day of the Lord in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord shall also roar from out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake. But the Lord will be the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel.

So shall you know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her anymore. Remember what we read there in Daniel: to make an end of transgression and to make holy there in Zion, in Jerusalem. Now here in Joel chapter 3, we read of one who is going to come forth. He is going to have a sickle and He is going to gather together.

In Revelation chapter 14, let me read something else to you. At the end of the age, Revelation chapter 14 says in verse 15, actually verse 14, John, the one who received this revelation on the island of Patmos, says, "I looked, and behold, I saw a white cloud, and upon the cloud sat one like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown and in His hand a sharp sickle."

Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, saying, "Thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time has come to reap the harvest of the earth, for it is ripe." He that sat on the cloud—who is this? It's Jesus. He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle, and the earth was reaped.

Then another angel came out of the temple, and he also had a sharp sickle. Another angel came out from the altar, having power over fire, and he cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe."

Thrust in his sickle, the earth was gathered, and the vine of the earth was cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The winepress was trodden outside the city until the blood came from the winepress, even to the horses' bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

So, obviously, when we read in Joel chapter 3 and also in Revelation chapter 14, we see how these things correlate with Arcturus and the constellation Boötes. It very clearly speaks about the one who is coming, the pierced one, who comes to judge the people and to gather his elect. Behold, he comes.

Now, that wouldn't be so interesting except for something kind of remarkable that happened on March 20th of this year. On that date, NASA observed the brightest and largest gamma-ray burst that they have ever seen before. You may wonder, what in the world is a gamma-ray burst? I didn't have any idea until I started to study it.

Basically, a gamma-ray burst is what happens when a star completely implodes, collapses, and explodes, sending forth gamma rays into the universe, traveling at close to the speed of light. On March 20th, in the night sky, NASA observed this gamma-ray burst. It was the brightest one they have ever seen; in fact, it is the only one they have ever recorded that could be seen with the naked eye. What it looked like was a star lit up in the sky for just a few seconds before it went out.

Now, that may not seem like a big deal to you and me, except for the fact that it was 7.5 billion light-years away. NASA says that it was aimed at Earth perfectly. One website I read about it mentioned that the ray of gamma rays that shot out from this star, which collapsed 7.5 billion years ago, took 7.5 billion years to reach us. They said that this ray of gamma rays coming from this distant star was the thickness of a pencil, directed perfectly at the Earth. What are the chances, except that perhaps there is a God who did it on purpose?

It's not so interesting until you recognize what constellation it happened in: Boötes, the one who comes, the pierced one, coming with the spear in his hand to judge and the sickle to gather his ripe from the earth. Now, 2,000 years ago, there was a group of astronomers, Magi from the East.

Who they watched the stars, looking for some sort of sign that would tell them the king was coming, that the Messiah was now going to be born. Somewhere about 2,000 years ago, they saw something in the sky and recognized that the king was coming. They traveled for months towards the west, towards Jerusalem. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they met with the king, who was Herod at that time. They asked, "Where is he who will be born king of the Jews?" Herod didn't know; he had to ask the priests. They said, "Well, you know, Micah 5:2 says he's going to be born where? Bethlehem."

So, they journeyed to Bethlehem and found the child. He wasn't lying in a manger; by the time they got to him, he was actually a toddler. They came to him bringing gifts, knowing that the Messiah was coming because they saw something in the stars.

Here on March 20th of this year, something happened in the very constellation that speaks about the Lord returning to harvest His people, getting our attention. Did you realize that this occurred on one of the special days in Israel? The Feast of Purim. What was Purim? Purim was the day that all the nations were gathered to destroy the Jews. Yet, during the time of Esther, the people of Israel were allowed to fight for themselves and to stand up. All the nations were gathered together to kill and annihilate the Jews thousands of years ago in the book of Esther. But on the Feast of Purim, they remember that they were able to stand.

Here on the Feast of Purim in 2008, there was a gamma-ray burst that happened in the constellation that speaks about Him coming to reap and gather His elect and to judge those who are against Him. Now, you may ask, "What's the big deal?" Well, if anything, we need to watch because the Lord is going to return. He has promised that He will come again, and He has made it very clear in His Word how He is going to return.

I believe that He has also given us many indications about the rough time when it will come to pass. I am not one to set dates; don't go from here telling anybody that Miles set a date for the coming of the Lord. I have not done that. What I'm telling you is to watch because He is coming. He will return just as He said He would. Here we are looking at all these things that are happening at the same time, and some people say, "Well, it's just a coincidence."

But we have the more sure word of prophecy in Matthew chapter 24. We already kind of looked at that passage, but Jesus said at the end of the passage, "Except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened."

Then, if any man shall say unto you, "Lo, here is the Christ" or "There," believe it not. 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 even the very elect. What is Jesus telling His disciples? He is saying, "Hey, you need to be awake and circumspect. You need to be watching because there are great deceptions in our day."

"Behold, I have told you beforehand. Wherefore, if they say unto you, 'Behold, he is in the desert,' do not go forth; or 'Behold, he is in the secret chambers,' do not believe it." Why? Because, as Jesus explains, "For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines to the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be."

"For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles, or better translation, the fowls, be gathered together." Notice what He says: "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."

Remember Revelation chapter 14 and Joel chapter 3. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He shall send His angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Now learn the parable of the fig tree. When its branches are yet tender and it puts forth leaves, know that summer is near. So likewise, when you shall see these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. When you begin to see these things come to pass, know the time is coming. Look up, for your redemption draws nigh; it draws near.

We read the very same things in Luke chapter 17, where Jesus speaks about this exact same situation taking place. Notice that there are two harvestings that take place. In verse 28, it says, "Wheresoever the carcass is..."

There the birds are gathered together. These are those that are crushed in the winepress of the wrath of God, as described in Joel chapter 3, Revelation chapter 14, and Isaiah chapter 63. In Revelation chapter 19, after that great battle takes place, multitudes are in the valley of decision on the day of the Lord. The Lord treads the winepress alone in Isaiah chapter 63, and His garments are stained with the blood of those that are destroyed. In Revelation 19, He calls to the birds of heaven to come and feast on the sacrifice of the Lord.

Wherever the bodies, wherever the carcasses are, there the fowls are gathered together. But His elect are gathered from the four corners of the earth, and there they shall ever be with Him. We see this in 1 Thessalonians and in Luke chapter 17. In verse 26, we read, "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man when He returns." They did eat and drink, they married and were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

Likewise, as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat and drink, they bought and sold, they planted and built. 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. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away. And he that is in the field, let him not likewise return back.

Verse 32 is your memory verse for the week; it's really easy: remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. Now notice this in verse 34: "I tell you that in that night there shall be two in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other left. There shall be two grinding together; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; one shall be taken and the other left."

For a long time, I've heard it taught that this is speaking of the rapture, but I want you to notice what Jesus' disciples asked Him in verse 37. They answered and said, "Where, Lord? Where are they going to be taken?"

One is taken, and the other left. Where are they taken? Wherever the body or the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. Multitudes in the valley of decision are gathered together for judgment. The day is soon approaching. What manner of persons ought we to be if we believe these things? In all our conduct, the Lord says, "Be holy, for the Lord your God is holy." That should be our response when we consider these things that are coming to pass: be holy, for the Lord your God is holy.

In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus gives several kingdom parables, and the point of every one of those parables is to be watchful and awake because the day is coming. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, which we looked at last week, it says, "For the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night." It comes upon them which are asleep like a thief in the night. But you are not of the night; you are of the day. So be sober and be watchful, for the Lord will return with ten thousand of His saints, as we read in the book of Jude, to execute judgment.

Who was the one who said that? It came hundreds, thousands of years before by Enoch. Remember Enoch? He walked with God, and he was not, because God took him. We are looking forward to that day when the Lord shall return and take us.

I have had a lot of people over the last several months ask me, "When is the rapture of the church going to happen?" Boy, I don't know. We know what the Scriptures say; there are three different views about it. I think we can say with certainty tonight that there is an event called the rapture, where He will come and redeem His church in the twinkling of an eye. The dead in Christ shall rise first, and those that are alive and remain shall be caught up, and there we shall ever be with the Lord.

We know in the book of Jude that He is going to return with His saints. We know in the book of Revelation chapter 19 that we are going to come with Him, riding upon white horses. But when is it going to come to pass? People say, "Well, it's pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib." There is a lot of discussion about that. Perhaps we will talk about that on another night; tonight is not the night. Whatever the case, He is coming.

I've always heard it said, "Pray for pre and prepare for post." Mike McIntosh, whom I heard on the radio several years ago, said, "I pray that the Lord..."

Is going to return tonight. I pray that it will be a pre-tribulation rapture. But if I see someone rise to the surface and he appears to be the Antichrist, and then I see them building the temple in Jerusalem, I'm going to start praying for a mid-tribulation rapture. However, if I see the abomination of desolation take place, well then, I'm just looking forward to the Lord coming. You can count the days until He comes after that. The Scripture makes it very clear it will be three and a half years to the day until He comes.

There are a lot of people, even among non-Christians, who are speaking about the end of the world. I had someone call me several weeks ago, and they were upset because they felt like I was scaring the church with the idea that the Lord is going to return and rapture us while we are in the midst of a financial Armageddon, as she said. When I heard those words, "financial Armageddon," I realized people are looking around and thinking we are in the midst of Armageddon. People on the radio are talking about it. Don't listen to the Art Bell show; that will really make you crazy.

People are discussing the Mayan calendar and how it suddenly and mysteriously ends in 2012 on December 23rd. Well, very interesting. You look at the date, and that puts you right at two and a half, or yeah, three and a half years until the passage that we've been looking at in 2015. Who knows? All I can say is watch, because we read in Revelation chapter 3. Jesus Himself writes seven letters to seven churches, and He tells these churches some very interesting things.

In the very first letter that He writes, in Revelation chapter 2, verse 1, actually, we'll start with chapter 3 with the church at Laodicea. In verse 14, He says, "And unto the angel of the church of Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and the true witness, the beginning."

Of the creation of God, I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. Because you say, "I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing," and you know not that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

He says to this church in verse 18, "I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich, and white clothing, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear. Anoint your eyes with eyesalve that you may see." He says this to this church: "I counsel you to buy from me white clothing that you would not be naked."

Who wore white clothing? The priests did. In Revelation chapter 3, verse 1, he says, "And unto the angel of the church at Sardis write: These things saith he that has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works, that you have a name and you live, but you are dead."

So he tells this church to be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore you shall not watch, I will come to you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come upon you.

He says to the dead church, the sleeping church in Revelation chapter 3, in the early verses, "Wake up! Be watchful! If you don't watch, I'm going to come like a thief in the night." He says to the lukewarm church, which had allowed their works to stray away from the righteousness of Christ, "Buy of me white clothing that you may not be naked."

In Revelation chapter 16, verse 15, he says, "Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he be naked and they see the shame of his nakedness." This is a reference, of course, to the thief in the night coming. We've talked about this before. The thief in the night was a title given to the chief priest, and he would go throughout the temple in the middle of the night to make sure that the Levites were watchful.

If the Levites were not watchful, then the priest, if they were asleep, would take fire from off the altar and start their garments on fire. Don't believe me? Go on to the Temple Institute's website; you can read all about the thief in the night. There are pictures and illustrations of the thief.

The chief priest came and lit his garments on fire. In fact, Josephus tells us that it actually happened in Israel. One of the priests fell asleep, and the high priest took fire and lit his garments on fire. He was woken up, taken by surprise by the thief in the night. He cast off his garments and was left naked and ashamed. Oh, that we would not be left naked and ashamed! That we would be the wise virgins who are ready, that we had oil in our lamps and our wicks trimmed. We shouldn't be like the wicked servants who became lax in our faith, who began to carouse and live in wickedness. Then the Lord came at an hour in which the servant knew not.

If the servant knew, if the good man knew the hour in which the thief would come, he would be watchful. Here’s the problem: I believe that God has not made it completely clear for us the exact moment of His return, the exact moment of the rapture of the church. We can have a lot of ideas and a lot of theology about it. We can talk about pre-trib, mid-trib, and post-trib, but I believe the Lord has allowed us to remain confused on it for a reason. If you knew God was going to come back next week at 2 o'clock on Tuesday, you might think you could live it up, eat, drink, and be merry, because He’s not coming back until next Tuesday.

But the Lord wants us to be ready at all times, expecting His soon return. Listen, if anything, I want to encourage you tonight. We have the more sure word of prophecy, and He will come again. Two thousand five hundred years ago, through the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 36, God said, "My people, the children of Israel, will become a nation again." Ever since 70 AD, people have been saying it’s not going to happen until May 14, 1948. In a day, they became a nation, just as Isaiah the prophet said in Isaiah, I believe, chapter 66: "Who has ever seen such a thing? A nation born in a day."

It has come to pass. Two thousand five hundred years ago, in Ezekiel chapter 38, God said there was going to be an alliance between the Persians and Gog and Magog, the Scythians. You can go and study through all the different almanacs and encyclopedias, and you will find that Gog and Magog are associated with a group called the Scythians, who are the Russians. The Persians were known as Persians until 1913 when Persia became Iran. Did you know that the Russians and the Persians have never had an alliance until just a few years ago?

In 2500 years since Ezekiel wrote those things, they have never been joined together, and yet now they are. It is not just the Persians and the Scythians; there is a whole list of other nations that are all radical Islamic nations. What exactly is going to happen? I can't tell you what exactly is going to happen. I can come up with my own imagination. Let me tell you, I have a vivid imagination.

Isaiah 17 makes it very clear: Damascus will be destroyed and left a ruinous heap. At that same time, there is going to be a great loss of life in Israel as well. So, there is going to be some sort of war between Damascus and Israel. Damascus is the capital of what nation? Syria. I can tell you one thing: I believe that Damascus is going to be destroyed. It is one of the most ancient cities in all of antiquity, and it has never ceased being a city. However, Isaiah 17 says it will be destroyed. It hasn't happened yet.

If I use my vivid imagination, I start thinking about what could happen to set things up. People have said that America is never going to reject Israel and let them be left alone. Be careful what you might think. If Israel were to attack and destroy Damascus, which they have already said is their number one target, they will launch their strategic nuclear missiles at Damascus. If that happens, no doubt there will be a great attack upon Israel as well.

At that point, if Israel preemptively strikes either Iran or Syria, with our new administration that we are going to have, we are not going to be able to support Israel. I guarantee it. There will be an outcry from the world community to impose embargoes against Israel and to separate from Israel. If you see a current decline of the financial system in America, I guarantee you are going to start to see an exodus. Part two: the Jews are going to move from New York and from Hollywood, and they are going to go back to Israel.

If Israel becomes this little island unto herself, then you are going to see a rise of Russia. There is a very interesting thing happening in Russia these days. Now, we all know that Putin is no longer the president, but he made an appointment for himself as prime minister, and his successor, Medvedev, is pushing through the parliamentary system there in Russia.

He is pushing through, even as we speak, an extension of term limits for the Russian president from three years to six years. There is fear among some in Russia that sometime in the beginning of next year, Medvedev is going to resign and Putin is going to be placed as president again. If he is placed as president again with the new term limits, he will be able to be president until 2021.

We are going to see a continuing alliance and coming together of Iran and Russia. Israel, just like the Old Testament prophets said, is going to become more and more of a cup of trembling. It is going to become more and more of an island unto itself, and one of their only allies is us, America. However, our government, our administration, if Israel does any sort of preemptive attack, I guarantee you we are not going to be able to stand behind them. The outcry from the world community, from the United Nations and everybody, is going to be, "Alright, Israel started it; they are being the bully."

You will see a continued movement of Russia and Iran to come and attack Israel. But Ezekiel 38 says God will defend His city, and He is going to defend His city in a miraculous way. The whole point of it is that you may see and know that He is God.

There is this big push in our nation right now among atheists. They are doing their signs on buses and everything about what if there is no God, and they are saying not to celebrate Christmas and God. You have heard about it; you are sure you have read about it. But when we see the Lord defend His people and prophecy coming true, no one is going to be able to say it wasn't the Lord. Then, if in a twinkling of an eye millions of people are gone, they will just say aliens took us. Behold, He comes!

Amen. Let's stand and pray. Father, we are living in times that Your Word has more to say about than any other time in history. We are seeing history come to pass; we are seeing prophecy come to pass right before our eyes. Lord, I pray that You would help us to be watchful, to be ready, and to be expectant. But Lord, just as we talked about on Sunday, You have called us to occupy until You come, and You have called us to preach the gospel. I pray that You would stir us with such a fire and a passion to share the message.

We pray for the truth of Your Word to be shared with those who don't know You. On that day when You come, we, along with many others, will be riding on horses with You. We look forward to the day when You set foot on the Mount of Olives, and it splits down the middle, one end going to the north and the other to the south.

We anticipate the day when You will rule and reign here upon the earth, Lord. That will be a time of great jubilee, a time of great rest and comfort. However, we also know, Lord, that it will come after a great tribulation like the world has not seen. As Your Word declares, it is a very fearful time, and it is not something we should be excited about—the destruction that is to come.

Yet, we are excited about Your return. So, God, I pray that You would fill this church, this body, with excitement and anticipation of Your soon return. Help us to speak boldly the truth, for we ask it in Jesus' name.