Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami + length of a pregnancy = Roshashana, 2005The New Testament refers often to the birth pangs of the Tribulation Hour. 2005 has certainly seen its share of birth pangs. What if the Lord wanted to give us a starting point, or a conception date, for the birth pangs? The world has certainly had its share of natural disasters recently, but none that compared in magnitude and casualties to the tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004. Suppose this was God’s conception date, or starting date, before the actual starting date of the Tribulation.
It is commonly accepted that the length of a gestation period for a baby is 280 days. If you go ahead 280 days from Dec. 26, 2004, you come to Oct. 2, 2005. If the calendar proves to be correct, Roshashana, or the 48-hour Feast of Trumpets, will begin at noon, EDT, Oct. 3 (which will be the beginning time of Oct. 4th in Israel), or the EVE of Roshashana. If the new moon makes its first appearance in Israel one day earlier, then the 280-day gestation period would fall right on the first day of Feast of Trumpets. I did find one study that listed the gestation period for a baby at 282 days, which would take us right to Oct. 4, 2005.
Either way, when you add this calculation to all of the other signs and calculations for Oct. 3-5, it is enough to get any prophecy student excited. The day Hurricane Katrina, the most damaging natural disaster in U.S. history, first struck the United States was Aug. 26th, which is exactly 40 days from Oct. 4th. Could this have been a 40-day warning for this country? The Muslim holy season of Ramadan begins on Oct. 4th. Most of us have heard recently about the Ramadan offensive, scheduled for this October, where the Muslims have predicted extremely serious consequences for the U.S. and Europe. Many of us believe that the Rapture and the Sudden Destruction happen simultaneously.
If you study I Thessalonians 4 and 5, it is easy to reach this conclusion. I Thess. 5:2-4 says, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then SUDDEN DESTRUCTION cometh upon them, as TREVAIL UPON A WOMAN WITH CHILD; and they shall not ESCAPE. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” The immediately preceding verses talk about the Rapture, which is our ESCAPE.
It is all right there in these two chapters--The Rapture, Heaven, the Day of the Lord, the Tribulation, the Birth Pangs, and the Sudden Destruction. If the U.S. is hit with nuclear weapons, the prophesied war in the Middle East would probably begin in a matter of days, if not hours. It certainly seems to be at our doorstep. October of 2005, especially Oct. 3-5, looks very, very promising. Promising, at least, to the born-again believers who are ready, but a literal Hell on earth to the rest of the world’s population. Thank the Lord for the Blessed Hope. ARE YOU READY?
Ron Reese