Monday, January 25, 2016

The Eschatological significance of The Spring Feasts

It is popularly said the Spring Feast of Leviticus 23 were fulfilled in the First Advent and the Fall Feasts will be the Second Advent.  And that is mostly true, but the Fall Feasts do come up in the Gospel narrative.

Jesus' Crucifixion is the most important fulfillment of Passover.  But I think it has post shadowings as well as foreshadowings.  In the Book of Acts, Passover (incorrectly translated Easter once in the KJV) and Unleavened Bread continue to come up well after the Pentecost on which The Church was born.

This is a follow up of sorts to my recent post on the Fall Feasts.  That was focused on the Midway Point, this post will deal with how the Week begins and ends.  So like The Godfather Part II it is a prequel and a sequel at the same time.

I shall interpret the time periods from Revelation 11-13 (I'll mention Daniel's too, but I no longer feel Daniel's need to be Eschatological).  The math I did with my current 2030-2037 theory in mind, but I did similar calculations before with other years.  I encourage you to do your own calculations.

Revelation 11:1-2 says Jerusalem will be trodden under the foot of the Gentiles for 42 months.  Many have come up with all kinds of convoluted explanations of what that means, but using Scripture to interpret Scripture this is explained by Luke 21:24 as clearly an expression of military occupation.

"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." and the next verse is the Second Coming and The Rapture.  Luke 21:20 through the first part of this verse I believe was fulfilled in 70 AD and Revelation 11 is the last part of the times of the gentiles.  But if it has a second fulfillment in the End Times, I believe it is at the start of the week not the midway point.

After the Two Witnesses are resurrected and ascend into heaven the people of the city (who we were told at the start are mostly gentiles) will believe and praise God, then the Last Trumpet sounds.  That is when the Fullness of the Gentiles are come in (Romans 11:25).

The 42 months I don't think necessarily need to be fulfilled to the day, they're broadly the same time period as the 1260 days but different in the specifics.  42 months before Yom Teruah takes us to (assuming there is a second Adar in there) the New Moon of Nisan three and a half years before.  Allowing wiggle room the siege could happen a little before or after.

The possibly that something will happen in the last month before the Week begins is logical, in the last month of the year the Barley Harvest is what lets Israel know the next New Moon will be the New Year.  Ezra 6:15 tells us the Second Temple was finished on the 3rd of Adar.  It is possible the Third Temple will be finished right before the Week begins, but I also think it possible it could last awhile before it begins.

The Two Witnesses will be killed three and a half days before Yom Teruah.  1260 days before that takes us to about, depending on when the proceeding Barley Harvest is, either the 7th of Nisan or 7th of Iyar.  Ezra 3:8 tells us Iyar was when Zeubabel and Jeshua began their work, they are considered types of the Two Witnesses so the Witnesses beginning their ministry in Iyar makes sense.  The 7th of Nisan is traditionally conjectured from the narrative of Joshua to be when his two spies were sent into Jericho, they too are types of the Witnesses.

I've argued before that the 1290 days are the first half of the Week not the second as usually assumed.  I've gone back and forth on if the Abomination of Desolation should begin or end it.    Either way what does happen at the beginning is the sacrifice and oblation being taken away.

If the 1290 days end on Yom Teruah then they could begin about either the 10th of Nisan or exactly a month before.    I could also see when they end being 10 days before or 10 days after.  If the earlier month for this is what happens it'd be the same with the Two Witnesses, and visa versa.  The 10th of Nisan I think will be important either way.

My theory on the first 6 seals is they happen very quickly in the Nisan that begins the Week.  The White Horseman might be the Antichrist before his death, or might be an anitchrist and/or a decoy antichrist.  Christians who want to co-opt the Rabbinic concept of Messiah Ben-Joseph as someone separate from Jesus could easily see that figure in the White Horseman.  The other three horseman will ride at about the same time, maybe as his allies or maybe as his enemies.

Whatever identity for him is true, I think he'll have his own Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan.  Maybe as someone many Jews and Christians will accept as a Messiah, or maybe as a conqueror.  And then maybe given a Crown on the 14th of Nisan.  And maybe killed on either the 14th or 26th of Nisan.  Cause either way for most of the first half of the Week the First Beast isn't a factor.

The Fifth Seal is a heavenly event, it shows all Martyrs of the Church, not just victims of a specific persecution.  But it's opening could still correlate to a specific persecution, like the one Jesus described in Matthew 24:9-14.

I've argued before that the Sixth Seal will open on the 14th of Nisan based on it's connection to Acts 2 and Joel 2 making the Earthquake and Darkness when Jesus was on The Cross it's near fulfillment.

I had argued then the 144,000 are sealed in Revelation 7 on Pentecost, I still feel they're connected to Pentecost but they're also called the First fruits in Revelation 14 so I now think their sealing will begin on First Fruits.

In one Seventh Trumpet post I talked about how Jewish custom has the Last Trump on Yom Teruh and the First Trumpet on Pentecost.  Connecting Trumpets to Pentecost is justified by Exodus 19-20 where in the third month when the Decalogue was given on Pentecost the Trumpets were sounded.

I think on the Pentecost following the start of the Week the 144,00 will be saved sparking a massive revival, the latter rain outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a repeat of the Pentecost of Acts 2.  Their Prayers will fill the golden Censor in the Heavenly Temple, it'll be thrown into the Earth causing more Earthquakes and thunder and lighting.  Then the Trumpets will be given to their Angels and the first will sound burning up the green grass and trees right as the Harvest season is starting.

I have no theories yet on when the 2nd-4th Trumpets will sound.  I have a post where I discus the timing of the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets.  Where I conjecture the Five Months the locust torment men will end on the 17th of Nisan, the day Jesus Rose, and Haman was hanged.

The text of Daniel 12 does not in any explicit way link the end of the 1290 days to the Sacrifices being restored.   It could be they're are restored 2300 mornings and evenings (1250 days, about 37 lunar months, 3 years) after their taken away, like Daniel tells us was the case with Antiochus' Abomination.  But in this case that wouldn't end on Hanukkah but in the Nisan that starts year four of the week.  Or perhaps they never will be restored.

If one insists the 1290 days need to be the second half.  If they begin on Yom Teruh they could end on the last day of Unleavened Bread, if they begin on Yom Kippur they could end on the New Moon of Iyar.  Either way fitting what I already suspect that when the Week is over the Israelites won't be able to observe Passover at the proper time and will need to delay to Second Passover.  If they begin three and a half, seven or ten days before Yom Teruah.  Still not quite allowing everything to be cleansed in time for a proper Passover.

The 42 months the Beast is allowed to continue, if they begin in early Tishri or late Elul would end in about Adar, again not needing to be fulfilled to the day.  Purim is when the sons of Haman were hanged.

The 1260 days Israel (The Woman) is in the wilderness begins right after The Rapture, even if they were fleeing in a sense already from the Abomination before.  1260 days from Yom Teruah takes us to about the 20th or 21st of Adar, and 1260 days from Yom Kippur takes us to about the end of Adar and Beginning of Nisan.  This is when their Messiah, a namesake of Joshua, will lead them into the Promised Land from Edom, as shown in Isaiah 63.

I think we need to consider that how the Armageddon reference in the 6th Bowl ties into Revelation 19 isn't quite what we assume.  And also that Satan being sealed in the Abyss is not the same day as Revelation 19 either.

I now respond to Post-Tribbers who say everyone else believes in more then one Second Comings by pointing out that Revelation 19 is never Biblically defined as the Second Coming.  Revelation 14 is where the Greek word Paursia is used.

Zechariah 12-14 is one vision but it has pieces, 9-11 are a separate vision.  Chapter 12 has the reference to Meggido/Armageddon, Chapter 13 has a possible illusion to the Idol Shepherd of chapter 11 being dealt with, and I think maybe the two thirds who are cut off and die are the armies following the Beast in Revelation 19 not Israelites as people often assume, two thirds of all gentiles, or the world's total population.

And Chapter 14 depicts Jerusalem still under siege, perhaps from Satan directly this time.  And Jesus Second Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.  This one will also be on the 10th of Nisan, this time He'll be riding on a White Horse.  And given a Coronation on the 14th or 15th of Nisan. And perhaps raise from the dead whoever among the saved are still not yet raised on First Fruits (Ezekiel 37). So this Nisan will be important even though the Passover won't be kept till the following month.

The 1335 days is the one number form Daniel I'm most certain on.  It begins on the Yom Teruah that finished Revelation 11 and ends early in Sivan.  There is a strong possibility of it ending on Pentecost or the Sabbath the day before Pentecost.  No matter what the next Sunday after will be the Biblical date of Pentecost.

Pentecost as the day the Church Age began, and the Day Israel as born as a Nation with the giving of the Covenant in Exodus 19-20, fits perfectly as the day to formally begin The Millennium, or the Government that will rule The Millennium and a little after.  Because as I said before the only event that happens right when the Thousand years expire is Satan being released.  So I think the end of the 1335 days will be when Satan is bound in The Abyss.

Will the Spring Feats have relevance after The Millennium?  Well I think Satan will be released the same day he was bound, on if not near Pentecost.  I have a hunch the Gog and Magog war will involves the 17th of Tammuz, 9th of Ave and 3rd of Tishi, because God said in Zechariah he'd make their Fast Days joyous celebrations.

Seven years after 3rd of Tishri fits what I said on the Fall Feasts about New Jerusalem and Tabernacles.  Seven months later may mean they'll be finished cleaning up the dead bodies after Passover and need to do one last Second Passover.

So that is my view of the End Times relevance of the Spring Feasts.

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