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Rapture Notes

January 10, 2017 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

Although the word ‘rapture’ does not appear in English translations of the Bible, it is a term commonly used in associations with events which relate to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The meaning of the idea behind ‘the Rapture’ is to be ‘caught up’ or ‘snatched out’ by Jesus who will first come to take away the ‘saved’ to heaven just before the beginning of a 7-year period of time known as ‘The Time of Jacob’s Trouble’, ‘The 70th Week of Daniel’ or ‘The Tribulation’. The true, faithful believers will disappear in the “twinkling of an eye” as they are transformed into their new, perfect, complete spiritual bodies in an instant before being caught up to Heaven by Jesus. The sudden absence of millions of people, will, of course, not go unnoticed on Earth. There will be mass confusion and disruption of ordinary life. At the beginning of the Tribulation, the identity of the antichrist will be revealed as the one who confirms a peace treaty with Israel. Non-believers will be left behind to face severe tribulation as the antichrist rises in power and takes on the role as the Beast who is Satan incarnate and proclaims himself to be god while requiring all people on Earth to worship him. The second half of the seven year Tribulation is known as ‘The Great Tribulation’. Although the Church will be absent during this time, new Christians, who will be known as Tribulation Saints, will endure extreme persecution to the point of death by beheading. With the recent rise of ISIS in the Middle East one has to wonder if there isn’t an Islamic connection. Later, at the close of The Tribulation is when Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem in triumph and glory to defeat the antichrist and his armies. It is at this point that His return is known as the Second Coming. This is the event when Jesus will victoriously return to conquer His enemies before establishing his millennial reign of Peace on Earth for a thousand years (the millennium) with His saints, the church.

After the thousand years, the rest of the dead will be raised to kneel before their judge, Jesus Christ, at the Great White Throne judgment. They will then be separated from God forever after they are cast into the lake of fire, while the saved will live forever with Christ in a new heaven and earth (Revelation 19-22).

The important differences between the rapture and second coming are as follows:

1) At the rapture, believers meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). At the second coming, believers return with the Lord to the earth (Revelation 19:14).

2) The Second Coming occurs after the great and terrible Tribulation (Revelation chapters 6–19). The rapture occurs before the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).

3) The Rapture is the removal of believers from the earth as an act of deliverance (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, 5:9). The second coming includes the removal of unbelievers as an act of judgment (Matthew 24:40-41).

4) The Rapture will be secret and instant (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). The Second Coming will be visible to all (Revelation 1:7; Matthew 24:29-30).

5) The second coming of Christ will not occur until after certain other end-times events take place (2 Thessalonians 2:4; Matthew 24:15-30; Revelation chapters 6–18). The rapture is not precluded by any unfulfilled prophecy and is thought to be imminent; that it could take place at any moment (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54).

Distinct Differences between the Rapture and the Second Coming are Important!

1) If the Rapture and the Second Coming are the same event, then the believers would have to go through the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10).

2) If the Rapture and the Second Coming are the same event, then the return of Christ would not be imminent – there are many prophesied events which must occur before He can return (Matthew 24:4-30).

3) In describing the Tribulation period, the Church is not mentioned at all in Revelation chapters 6–19. During the Tribulation, also known as “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7) – God will turn His primary attention towards the redemption of the remnant of Israel (Romans 11:17-31).

Definitions and Origin of the Rapture

The English word “Rapture” is derived from the Latin verb “Rapere” meaning “to carry off,” or “to catch up” or “catch away” or “pluck out”.
The English word “Rapture” is derived from Middle French rapture, via the Medieval Latin raptura (“seizure, kidnapping”), which derives from the Latin raptus (“a carrying off”).
The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek ἁρπαγησόμεθα as rapiemur meaning “we are caught up” or “we are taken away” from the Latin verb rapio meaning “to catch up” or “take away”.
Harpazo : the English transliteration of the Greek word for Rapture.

There are three main theories regarding the time frame of the Rapture:

Pre-Tribulation or Pre-Trib: the Rapture event happens before the 7-year Tribulation, and is also known as ‘The Blessed Hope’.
Mid-Tribulation or Mid-Trib: the Rapture event happens in the middle of the 7-year Tribulation
Post-Tribulation or Post-Trib: the Rapture event happens at the end of the 7-year Tribulation

Two other lesser known and less popular theories are Pre-Wrath and the Partial Rapture theories. In Pre-Wrath the Rapture event happens after the beginning of the 7-year Tribulation, but before God’s wrath is experienced on Earth as detailed in the Book of Revelation. The Partial Rapture is a subset of Pre-Trib, in which ONLY spirit-filled Christians who are ready, watching, and waiting for Jesus will be rewarded by being raptured.

The Rapture theory gained in popularity in the 1970’s due to books written by Hal Lindsey. In The Late Great Planet Earth Lindsey promoted the idea of an imminent Rapture based on the global situation at the time qualifying as the beginning of the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

Some speculate that many non-believers who are left behind after the Rapture will finally come to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior as a result of the Rapture. The others who are left behind will persist in their stubbornness and disbelief, concocting theories to “explain away” the catalclysmic, supernatural event. Some of these theories may be tied to the great deception spoken of in Revelation, possibly even having to do with claims of ‘alien abduction’ or a ‘natural, universal, evolutionary cosmic purging’ of the inferior, intolerant Christians.

Jesus told his disciples to look for Signs which would indicate that the End was near. The Signs he mentioned included

Deception: false Christs leading people astray
Wars and Rumors or threats of Wars amongst the nations
Famine
Disease
Earthquakes and Tsunamis

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)

“…For I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when I have gone and have prepared a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself so that where I am, you also will be.”

John 14:2-3 (NIV)

Biblical Prophecy in 2023

February 9, 2023 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

The Convergence Confirms

Today is February 9, 2023 … The convergence of biblically prophesied events confirm that Jesus/Yeshua is coming back for His church very soon.

Earthquakes

The latest tragedy is still unfolding… a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck last Monday on the border of Turkey and Syria.

Thousands of buildings have collapsed. A second 7.5 magnitude struck hours later, about 100 km to the NW and compounded the destruction.

Over 20,000 people have been killed by the quake.

Wars & Rumors of War

Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President since 2012, is amassing 500,000 troops, almost 2,000 tanks, and 700 aircraft for a massive, deeper invasion of Ukraine.
China is flying high-altitude intelligence-gathering ‘weather balloons’ over the United States. This week, on orders of the President, an F-22 fighter jet shot one down just off the coast of South Carolina.

People be ready… Look up, for your redemption draws near.

to be continued…

December 2021 Convergence

December 11, 2021 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

This Month’s Convergence of End Times Signs Includes, but is not limited to:

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
Worldwide there are over 26 volcanoes that are actively erupting right now.
One of the most recent eruptions killed over 34 people on the island of Java last week.
A lava flow from a volcano on one of the Canary Islands continues to swallow up buildings in small towns.
SIGNS IN THE SKY
The newly discovered Comet Leonard came out of nowhere. The comet will be visible hroughout December 2021 and into January 2022, coming closest to the Earth (around 34.9 million kilometers, or 21.7 million miles) on Dec. 12. The name ‘Leonard’ means ‘Brave as a Lion’. The Second Coming is when Jesus/Yeshua returns to Earth as the Lion of Judah, fierce and intent on dispensing Justice on the whole world. But the Rapture of the Church and 7 years of Tribulation must happen first.
MAJOR EARTHQUAKES
In 2021 there have been 3 earthquakes registering over 8.0 on the Richter Scale, and 14 earthquakes between 7.0 and 7.9
Most recently there has been a swarm of over 40 earthquakes off the coast of Oregon, USA.
RUMORS OF WAR
Satellite images show that Russia has amassed an army of over 100,000 near the border of Ukraine, including tanks and military vehicles suggesting a possilbe pending invasion of Ukraine. China warns the US not to interfere should they decide to invade Taiwan.
THE BEAST THAT IS LIKE A LION WITH EAGLE’S WINGS
A peculiar new statue has been installed outside the United Nations in the Visitor’s Plaza. The statue, which is a symbol of a guardian for international peace and security is a fusion of jaguar and eagle, was donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico. Some see a strong resemblance to the End-Times Beast described in the Book of Revelation in chapter 13, and the Book of Daniel in chapter 7.
Daniel chapter 7:2-4 describes a beast with the body of a lion and wings of an eagle:“Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings.”
John the Revelator described a beast with similar features in the New Testament passage in the Book of Revelation 13:2.
“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”
PESTILENCE AND THE MARK OF THE BEAST
It appears that the COVID-19 virus pandemic continues to evolve as a catalyst for rolling out mandated digital identification worldwide for proof of vaccination that people will be required to have to buy food or enter restaurants. A more clear precursor to the Mark of the Beast described in chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation can not be imagined.
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Halloween, All Saints Day, and the Rapture

October 30, 2021 By Trumpeter 1 Comment

What If?

My heart is heavy. Perhaps you sense it too. It’s the darkest hour, the darkness is pressing in from every direction… but the sun will soon shine, bright and glorious.

Read this either silently to yourself or out loud…

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

This is most likely the second most commonly spoken prayer in history, second only to the many short variations of “God Save Me!”, “God Help Me!”, “Oh God!”

I see that great destruction is rapidly approaching, along with fear, panic, confusion, hopelessness, deep despair, and death. Resist! Do not give in to these states of mind that can leave as quickly as they came… know that our Blessed Hope has never been closer.

Jesus/Yeshua is coming to save those of us who “Call on His Name”, to take us to be with him in Paradise forever.

The seed of thought which moved me to start writing this post is rooted in being reminded that Halloween is almost here. We’re told, “its all just for fun”, that is, everything related to the celebration of things that are ugly, evil, dark, demonic, and related to death. Witches, Monsters, and Skeletons.

Hallow! Words have deeper meaning that we almost take for granted in day-to-day speech. This morning I feel drawn to the word “Hallow” which as a verb means to “honor as holy” or as a noun means “a saint or holy person”. Hallow is the root word of “Halloween” and is said to have derived from an ancient holiday (aka Holy Day) known as “All Saints Eve“. Do you see the word connection now? Hallow-een = Saints’ Eve

What if?

What if there is a true, deeper meaning to this day that like so many things, has been corrupted over time by the Father of Lies…Satan, the Devil?

Please don’t begrudge me for thinking out loud…

Who is Jesus/Yeshua going to save in the Rapture? All the Saints, that’s who. The Saints are those who believe and trust that Jesus/Yeshua is the Son of God, our Redeemer, who promised some 2,000 years ago to come back to Save those who belong to him from the wrath and judgement that this evil, fallen world is about to be subjected to before all things are set right by the King of Kings.

What if Halloween or All Saints Day is like a road sign, warning everyone that the End of the Road is quickly approaching?

Now read the Lord’s prayer again but think of it in context of Jesus/Yeshua coming back to save the Saints.

“Our Father, (Father God tells his son when the time is right to go and collect his bride who his son is betrothed or engaged to).
who art in heaven, (where Jesus/Yeshua sits at the right hand of the Father, and where Jesus/Yeshua has been building ‘mansions with many rooms’ for the Saints aka the Bride of Christ)
hallowed be thy name; (Holy is His Name.)
thy kingdom come; (the kingdom of the King of Kings)
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (He will rule supreme here on Earth from His throne in Jerusalem)
Give us this day our daily bread; (please take care of our physical needs, as a loving father or mother does for their children)
and forgive us our trespasses (we need His mercy and grace)
as we forgive those who trespass against us; (being created in His image, we should strive to love others as He loves us)
and lead us not into temptation, (the Devil’s tricks and our own proclivity to satisfy our many fleshly desires)
but deliver us from evil.” (Jesus/Yeshua… MARANATHA!)

Look Up! Our Redemption Draws Near!

Come Quick! Save Us!

Are you saved? If you’re not, you can be right now. It’s as simple as ABC.

A: ADMIT THAT YOU’RE A SINNER

B: BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOUR SINS, WAS BURIED, AND THAT GOD RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD.

C: CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.

You can call Him Jesus,

You can call Him God,

You can call Him Yeshua, which is his Hebrew name and literally means “Salvation”.

TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that none can boast.

EPHESIANS 2:8-9

What next? Be filled with the joy from the Holy Spirit in knowing that God Loves you and is coming for you soon. Read his Word in the New Testament and talk (pray) to him… He’s your Creator, he hears you, and he’s been waiting for you.

OBEY the Division

August 6, 2021 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

It is hard to believe that 18 months have passed since my last major update was published on this site.

In February 2020, the Covid-19 Pandemic was just getting started. In response, economies and communities throughout the world have been put on ‘lock down’ status, resulting in incalculable financial loss. Debt levels have skyrocketed, wages have been forced upward but income has fallen as many people prefer to collect government welfare rather than work for minimum wage or even higher than minimum wage. ‘Help Wanted’ signs are everywhere.

Inflation is apparent in food and energy prices. As summer 2021 rolled in, three vaccines were released, restrictions were eased, people celebrated, happy to be headed back towards some state of ‘normalcy’ that included eating out at restaurants or even just being in public without a face mask. Optimism blossomed but it was short-lived. Before summer was over, almost overnight, the major story changed to one of fear, pessimism, and doom as headlines warned that a new strain of the Coronavirus called the ‘Delta variant’ was rapidly spreading throughout major metropolitan areas and infection rates were climbing all over again. Meanwhile, mortality rates for the virus have been quite low during this epic global drama. Yet, politicians, unelected prognosticators in positions of power, and liberal-minded billionaires all have a voice in the chorus of warnings that the public is relentlessly subjected to, warnings that are shaping perceptions and policy.

The prevailing theme that is woven throughout this stressful chapter of human existence remains ‘Division’. This theme is so painfully obvious that one can only surmise that it is intentional, and if intentional then it is for a purpose, to achieve a specific result or outcome no matter the cost.

A few examples of lines that divide are:

Marxists and Progressive Socialists vs Capitalists
Globalists vs the Sovereign States and Self-determination
Open Borders vs Regulated Immigration
Those who call for more police to deal with alarming increases in crime vs calls from progressive socialists and brazen Marxists to “Defund the Police”.
Those who demand that everyone wear face masks at all times vs those who don’t want to be told what to do, ever.
“Vaxers” who proudly display their vaccination status in public vs “Anti-vaxers” who for a variety of reasons choose to not be injected with the new, non-FDA approved, experimental mRNA ‘vaccine’.
Those who promote ‘Critical Race Theory (which is hypocritically racist in its own right) vs those who stand against racism but stand for unity rather than division.
The nauseating celebration and elevation to a status of ‘alternative normalcy’ for sexual deviants and sexually confused as transgender men who want to be recognized and referred to as women compete in the Olympics and run for political office, or are appointed to high positions within government vs those whose faith is in the one supreme God whose truth does not change.
Those who wave the symbol of a Rainbow to publicly display their support for ‘Gay Pride’ vs those who know that the beautiful Rainbow was given to the world by God almost 6,000 years ago as a symbol and reminder of his judgment and mercy towards a corrupted human population which God wiped out with ‘The Flood’. Pride is a sin that was the downfall of humankind’s arch-enemy, Satan, who was cast out of Heaven and down to Earth, where he and his legions of fallen angels incessantly work to deceive mankind and separate them from the loving God who desires a relationship with the beings he created.
Those who condemn the sharing in public of opinions they disagree with as being ‘Hate Speech’ vs those who protect their traditional, Constitutional right of Freedom of Speech, regardless of whether they agree with the speech or not.

The list could go on and on…

Where do we go from here?

That is a choice for you to make.

Choose Life or Choose Death.

Jesus / Yeshua said of himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

God’s Word also warns us that, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death.” [Proverbs 16:25]

Believe it or not, God has a specific day in mind, an hour, a minute, a specific moment that is rapidly approaching when he will rescue those who trust him and believe in him from the horrors that the remaining people on this planet are about to be subjected to. War, violence, famine, disease, earthquakes and floods, and fire. That specific moment could happen today. It could come tomorrow. No man can say with absolute certainty when that moment will arrive but can say with assuredness that it’s closer than it was yesterday so the faithful need to be ready, remain expectant, and look up for the Redemption their souls yearn for, which is their Blessed Hope in the return of their Savior Jesus the Christ, just for them.

There will be the sound of a trumpet from up above that everyone who is called will hear, and then the voice of God himself will instruct his children to “Come Up Here!” before they vanish from this doomed planet in the blink of an eye to find themselves in their new, perfect, immortal bodies, standing, perhaps kneeling in awe at the presence of Almighty God himself. This event is called the Rapture and it is very near.

Be Rapture Ready. Put your hope, your trust, your faith in your Creator who loves you and wants you to love him back. He paid a high price for you already, you just need to believe it. The man/God you know as Jesus, whose Hebrew name is Yeshua, paid the price with his own blood and with his life, which he laid down as payment for your soul, only to rise from the dead, conquering death, so that you too can be free from death’s cold grip. Choose Life this Day, right now for Today is the Day for Salvation. If you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart, accept his love, choose life, say ‘Yes Yeshua…Save Me’ and you can trust that he will.

None of what is happening in this crazy world is of any surprise to God. He knows the beginning from the End. Everything is happening according to plan and that plan is laid out for us in his Word, the Bible.

What’s next?

All clues point towards 3 major events that we should expect at any moment…

1) Major war in the Middle East involving Israel, whose land belongs to God himself.
2) Devastating financial collapse on a global scale.
3) The global issuance of a new method or form of personal identification is required for travel and commerce.

For those who are left behind after the Rapture, when this new form of identification is associated with either the number 666, a name of Satan’s, or the possibly the name of a new man who arrives on the scene who appears to have all the answers and solutions to the world’s multiple crises…that is the time to refuse ‘The Mark’ and trust God instead, for those who accept the mark will have to reject God by doing so, sealing their eternal fate, which will be in Hell rather than Heaven.

Not that cryptocurrency is inherently bad, but the greatest likelihood is that the new digital identification will be tied to cryptocurrency. It will probably also keep a record of whether or not you have received the vaccine. A digital proof of vaccine might actually be the catalyst that gets this ‘train of events’ moving.

“And that no man might be able to buy or sell, except he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”
[Rev 13:17 ]

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
[Romans 12:2]

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
[Joshua 24:14-15]

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
(of division between belief and unbelief)
[Matthew 10:34]

End Times Markers in 2020

February 29, 2020 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

Coronavirus is One of the Signs of Things to Come

If you’re not new to Biblical prophecy you already have an acute understanding of how many prophetically related events have been converging on a global scale these last several years. The accelerated increase in these prophetic events has even been labeled as ‘The Convergence” by those who have been faithfully watching and who are in the know.

In retrospect, it would seem that many of these events are foreshadowing larger-scale versions of the same events that will happen during the Tribulation, sort of like ‘sneak previews’. These relatively smaller-scale events reflect God’s mercy, as they can be considered examples of God telling all of us, “this is your last warning”. People would be wise to heed these last warnings and acknowledge the Creator of the Universe for who he says he is, and believe that the plans he has laid out for us in the Bible will be carried out.

A few examples of ‘sneak previews’ include:

The sun has turned black as sackcloth which suggests solar eclipses.
The moon has turned blood red which suggests lunar eclipses.
Pestilence inludes Coronavirus (Covid-19), SARs, MERs, Ebola, and even Influenza.
Plagues include the swarms of billions of locusts devouring crops in Africa, the Middle East, and now Asia.
Christians are being beheaded for testimony that Jesus / Yeshua, is the Son of God, God in the Flesh, and Savior of Mankind.
The astronomical alignment of September 23, 2017, could not have been more closely aligned with the description of the pregnant woman who gives birth to a male child in Revelation 12.
Licentiousness is prolific. Pornography is free, dating apps like Tinder are being used for extra-marital flings, and human trafficking of women and even children for the sex trade is everywhere.
Abortions are being celebrated and laws are passed that allow a child to be aborted (murdered) up until the point of birth.
Witchcraft is flourishing.
Homosexuality has been relentlessly promoted as normal and acceptable to the point that our country now has an unabashed homosexual running for president.
The promotion of Transgenderism has crossed the line of just being ridiculous to being completely insane.
Every major ecclesiastical denomination has experienced a split over issues that either involves women clergy and/or homosexual clergy.
The stream of deception and fake news being reported by major media outlets is relentless. People are believing lies without question.
The legalization of all kinds of drugs for recreational use is being voter-approved across the country.
Major earthquakes have been rocking various places throughout the world.
Multiple volcanoes are now actively erupting.
The U.S. government has acknowledged that there really is something to all of the reports of UFOs and alien encounters over the last several decades.
Turkey, Russia, and Iran have formed an alliance for the first time in history.
Large asteroids have zipped through space barely missing our little spec of a planet.

Even today, 8 weeks into the Coronavirus pandemic, there are mixed opinions. Some say it’s not that bad, that more people die from Influenza A. Others say this is just the beginning, that it’s going to get a whole lot worse. I don’t know exactly how this is going to play out, but based on the charted data I’ve seen, my opinion is that the situation is going to get worse before it gets better.

One possible interpretation of Revelation 6:7-8 is that the “beasts of the earth” may refer to lethal viruses, not wild animals like tigers, lions, and bears. The word in Greek is ‘therion’, which can mean a little beast or a little animal, like a bee, or savage, a wild animal or wild beast. Of course, two thousand years ago science had not advanced enough for John the Revelator to have any idea what viruses were…but he knew what plague was.

No doubt, our Blessed Hope which is the Rapture is nearer than ever. Keep looking up, for your redemption draws near. Maranatha!

Ezekiel 38 Bonds Strengthen

December 15, 2019 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

Turkey, Russia, Iran Alliance Against Israel

Prior to 2018 there appeared to be potential for a developing Turkey-Israel alliance for the distribution of Israel’s Leviathan Project’s natural gas through a pipeline to Turkey and then to the EU. However, in 2018 Israel agreed to a US-backed 2,000 kilometer-long EastMed undersea natural-gas pipeline deal with Cyprus and Greece to supply the European Union which cut Turkey out of Israel’s Leviathan huge offshore natural-gas discovery.

Last week Turkey made moves to stop the Israel-Cyprus-Greece natural gas deal claiming that “the planned Israeli undersea pipeline infringes on an area claimed by Turkey under an economic agreement reached with Libya.” according to Algemeiner.com Turkey asked the United Nations to recognize a deal between Turkey and Libya as preceding Israel’s deal and having priority of status. Turkey’s foreign minister commented that his country was prepared to respond powerfully against anyone who attempted to infringe Turkish sovereignty.

Apparently, the situation is escalating and tensions are increasing as the Turkish Navy forced an Israeli research vessel out of Cypriot waters on Dec. 14th. Turkish news reports the incident as repelling an invasion, “The Turkish Navy did not allow unilateral tenders by the Greek Cypriot Administration (GASC) to invade the Eastern Mediterranean energy fields…The Israeli ship, which stopped its research, was forced to leave the area…Europe’s natural gas pipeline projects will now have to knock on the door of Turkey.”

The latest increase in tensions between Turkey and Israel is worrying. Further provocation from any side could result in armed conflict tied to conflicting territorial disputes and regional rivalries.

Source: https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/12/12/turkey-moves-to-stop-israel-from-building-undersea-gas-line-to-europe/

All Saints Day is Halloween … What if?

October 30, 2019 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

What if Jesus always intended to come for His bride on Halloween?

Hear me out on this…

The word ‘Halloween’ is of Scottish origin and is a contraction of ‘All Hallows’ Eve’ which means the ‘The evening before All Hallows’ Day’. So just exactly what is or what was All Hallows’ Day about? I’m glad you asked…

All Hallows’ Day aka All Saints Day revolves around “giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints”, including those who are “famous or obscure”.

As a Protestant, having not been raised or taught Catholic beliefs, my understanding is that a very clear, literal, and simple reading of the Bible reveals that the saints of the Bible are ALL believers in Jesus/Yeshua, not a select group who are chosen or beatified by a man with the title of Pope.

When Jesus/Yeshua comes back for His church it is ALL of the “dead in Christ” who rise first, followed by ALL of the living believers in Christ, to meet Him in the air. These are ALL of the saints, both dead and living…clothed in the righteousness of Jesus/Yeshua.

Oh the irony, if Jesus/Yeshua came for ALL of His Saints on All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween). This would explain quite a bit. The Devil has developed quite a reputation for taking what God has created for good to twist it, to corrupt, and turn it into something else which is impure, untrue, and unholy. What more fitting description of Halloween? An annual celebration of death, corruption, evil, and false appearances.

Like I asked earlier, “What if?”

Would you be ready?

Look up, for your Redemption draws near.

Jesus/Yeshua is coming soon.

The hour is late.

Maranatha!

A Corpse Bride Wedding and a Full Moon

October 13, 2019 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

Skeletons at the Banquet Table

I went to a family wedding yesterday that had an unusual theme. Being that it’s October, the overarching theme was Halloween, but more specifically, many of the decorations were directly from Tim Burton’s animated musical dark fantasy film titled ‘Corpse Bride’.

At the wedding banquet table, there were a pair of lifesize skeletons, dressed as the bride and the groom, saving the newlywed’s seats.

I’m undecided about how transparent I should be in sharing my thoughts and feelings about the significance of the symbolism behind the couple’s choice of theme and decorations.

I’ll just spill it.

First, I’m saddened that the first wedding two of my preteen sons ever attended was decorated like this.

Why?

A wedding is the joining together of one man with one woman, the groom and the bride, both created in the image of Jesus our Creator. The true significance of a wedding is of Jesus as the groom who is joining with his bride, the Church, for all eternity. It is both a covenant and a celebration of hope, joy, purity, holiness, life, and love.

Truth be told, the symbolism of Halloween and skeletons represent a celebration of evil spirits and death, sadness, loss and grieving, ugliness and that which is ‘filthy’ or ‘unclean’.

The officiant of the ceremony was a friend of the bride and groom. When he finished with his part a guest pastor was called up to deliver an obligatory 30-second prayer to close the ceremony.

No Bible verses. No communion. No cross. No mention of the name of Jesus.

I’m saddened and bothered. It seems that this couple places more importance on having fun and worldly entertainment than on the sanctity of marriage.

I’m not mad at them, I can’t be. Also, I don’t believe they intended to make a mockery of what a wedding is supposed to represent. Yet they freely chose to make the event their own and knew what they didn’t want it to represent.

They may sincerely believe that they are serious about each other and their public commitment to each other, but it’s hard for me to take them seriously. Their choices are more along the lines of what I would expect from unsupervised children tasked with planning an important event for adults. For some reason, the book ‘The Lord of the Flies’ comes to mind.

Their farcical wedding is a commentary on the Last Generation. Choosing death over life. Choosing the corruption of this world over God and the promises of indescribable goodness that he has waiting in Heaven for those who love him.

They chose themes tied to the Prince of Darkness rather than the Prince of Peace, the Light who came into this world, who darkness flees from. No doubt, while planning their wedding there was much laughter, hilarity, and a mindset that ‘Life is just a party’.

On our way to the wedding, while driving through the country, the sun was beginning to set. There were vineyards, orchards, and fields of grain on both sides of the highway.

Half of the grapes in the vineyards had already been harvested. Fallen apples were covering the ground in the orchards.

Grapes and apples are harvested around the time of Succot, a seven or eight-day Jewish feast that is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, which happens to begin today, October 13th.

In the Bible, grapes represent the non-believers, grain represents the Church, and Sukkot is when the last grain is brought into the barn.

There is a full moon tonight, called a Hunter’s Moon. The moon is symbolic of the Church. Having no source of light itself, the moon fully reflects the light of the Sun as the Church reflects the light of the Son of God, Jesus/Yeshua. The full moon, in all of its glory from Christ, reflects the most light in the evening sky, when surrounded by darkness.

There is a time spoken of in Romans 11:25, a time that is quickly approaching when the “fullness of the gentiles comes in”.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way, all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

What if? What if the fullness of the gentiles, also known as ‘the Church’, were to coincide with the fullness of the moon on Succot one of these years? Another name for Succot is the Feast of Ingathering.

This is just a thought, not a prediction.

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
– 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

The time is near. If you haven’t yet accepted the gift of forgiveness for all of your sins and wrongdoings, an undeserved gift that can only come from the King by believing that Jesus/Yeshua is God, God who came down from Heaven, born as a male child, who lived a sinless life, taking the penalty for your sins upon himself before he died on the cross, and then rose from the dead three days later, conquering Satan and death for once and for all …then you better start believing. He can come back at any moment now.

There is an hourglass that was turned over a long time ago, and the very last few grains of sand are slipping away. A couple of thousand years may seem like a long time to us humans, but to God, it is as if only a couple of days have passed.

When time is up, it’ll be too late to join the Bride who God is coming to take away from this fallen world and up to Heaven before his wrath is poured out upon the planet, like never before.

No matter what wrong you’ve done… God is faithful to forgive you and restore you, and welcome you like a loving father into his arms. He’s waiting. Jesus/Yeshua said,

“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
– John 14:2

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
– Romans 10:13

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Matthew 24:36-44

Jesus is the Son of Man. Jesus’ original name in Hebrew is Yeshua. The literal meaning of ‘Yeshua’ is ‘salvation’.
If you want to know Truth, then in your heart, in your mind, call out to him, “Jesus Save Me!” and doors will open.

Harpazo Horizon or Last Minute Change of Plans?

September 13, 2019 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

A brief summary of today’s status on The Convergence

Prominent ‘Christians’ are renouncing their faith, defending the ‘ways of the world’, proclaiming homosexuality to not be a sin, and even committing suicide on September 10th, National Suicide Prevention Day.
Churches continue to split along lines separating traditional, literal Biblical beliefs from progressive, tolerant and inclusive beliefs.
Under the guise of teaching tolerance children in elementary schools are being indoctrinated with the normalization of perversions and multiple gender fluidity nonsense.
The chessboard of the Middle East does appear to be set up for two as of yet unfulfilled prophecies; Isaiah 18 and Ezekiel 38.
Damascus Syria is mostly in ruins. It wouldn’t take much more than a spark to “utterly destroy” the oldest existing city in the world.
Iran (Persia) continues to provide for Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon, the terrorist military arm responsible for firing rockets into Israel in the north.
Iran is now enriching weapons-grade uranium at an accelerated pace and continues to proclaim the impending destruction of Israel.
Israel has escalated its aerial bombardment of Iranian military installations in Syria and Iraq where rockets and guided missiles are being imported and manufactured.
Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel from Gaza in the south.
ISIS is still being dealt with in Iraq.
An unprecedented 2nd attempt at a successful election for Prime Minister of Israel is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 17th
Netanyahu has promised to annex the West Bank if elected despite warnings not to from the UN, the EU, and President Putin of Russia.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has stated that the details of the ‘Deal of the Century’ Middle East Peace Plan will be revealed right after the Israeli elections.

It’s Time to Rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem

And the most eyebrow-raising news of late is that both of the leading candidates for Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, are now proclaiming that it is time to rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

In recent decades, there have been a number of false starts where it appeared that at certain points in time global events were foreshadowing the imminent return of Jesus/Yeshua
to take his bride away from this sin-plagued planet which has already been sentenced and is awaiting judgment. Then at the last minute, there would seemingly be a change of plans, postponing the major event until another time in the not too distant future.

We appear to be at one of these points in time once again. Will there be a last-minute change of plans? Or will the convergence of events continue to focus on the major event, our Blessed Hope?

One of the ‘moedim’ or ‘appointed times’ from Leviticus 23 is the Feast of Trumpets, aka Rosh Hashanah, which will occur between Sept. 30th and Oct. 1, 2019

What if? What if this is it?

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the TRUMPET will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
(1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the TRUMPET call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

Indeed, Darkness appears to be closing in from all sides. But the darkness will flee from the Light!

Maranatha!

Isn’t Feast of Trumpets in the Fall?

September 16, 2018 By Trumpeter Leave a Comment

Yom Teruah 2018

Looking at the calendar for the Fall Feasts, Yom Teruah, which is Hebrew for Feast of Trumpets, fell on September 9th-11th in 2018. There’s only one problem… that date is still in Summer, not Fall. Fall doesn’t begin until September 22nd. So if Yom Teruah is supposed to coincide with the sighting of the crescent of the first new moon in the Fall then the date would have to be October 8th-9th, not September 9th-11th. Is it possible that the Jews made such a mistake when reinstituting their calendar?

What do we know for sure? From Exodus 12:2 we know that God told Moses and Aaron that Nissan is the first month when Passover would be recognized. We also know from Leviticus 23:23 that the Feast of Trumpets would be in Tishrei which is the seventh month. Simple, right? Not really.

Another possibility of how the calendar could be off is related to the Jewish leap year which adds a 13th month called Adar II or Adar Bet which occurs every 19 years to account for the difference between the Jewish 360-day lunar calendar and the Gregorian 365.25 day Solar calendar. This is the Jewish year 5779 which happens to be just such a leap year. Adar and Adar Bet roughy correspond to March and April. So can you now see how adding a thirteenth month can push dates on the calendar out thirty days?

To reiterate, while many of us believe that the Rapture of the Church will take place on Feast of Trumpets, and while many of the pre-tribulation indicators are flashing red, this is not an attempt to set a date and never has been. Someday soon there will be a trumpet blast and shout from above calling all true believers to ‘come up here’. Until then, we will continue watching, warning and waiting for our Blessed Hope. Maranatha!