February 22, 2017 and updated March 18, 2017

With thanks to Ola Ilori

Ola Ilori posted two articles on Five Doves in which she pointed to Passover, April 10/11, 2017 as a high watch date. The articles used the Creator's Calendar as being correct and dismissed the the Jewish and Gregorian calendars. Ola also said that the beginning of the Church Age occurred in 17 AD instead of 32 or 33 AD. This thesis is based on the Apostle Luke's account of the timing of the rule of Tiberius Caesar and that this timing began the calendar count and not the birth of Jesus. If so, then the conclusion is that the Feast of First Fruits will be the day of resurrection and rapture. Based on this, it occurred to me that this fits perfectly the different analyses of the time based on the Song of Solomon as it applies in 2017. What follows is my own take on what all of this means. Of note is the specific day of month 1, day 16/17 (Nisan, Feast of First Fruits) 17 AD as the day of the resurrection and appearance of the risen Christ.

The Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs, is of utmost importance in understanding the Church's rapture sequence. I have written before, trying to explain that to properly understand the Song, one must realize that it is a stage play in eight acts, and how it is God's love letter to His Bride to be. I have posted the story of the Song in each of the past 2 or 3 years so that readers could understand the MAJOR PROPHETIC significance of this love letter. It ties the parable of the virgins with and without oil, the parables of Matthew 13, and the Revelation chapter 3 Church ages, Philadelphia and Laodicea together. Since the dead in Christ are raptured first , then rapture of the living only involves these two of the seven Church ages because these two are the only ones that have living members today. The prior five Church age's members all, each and everyone are asleep in Jesus. Of the final two, Philadelphia is the least in number due to its age and loss of members to death of the body up until now. It is also greatly eroded by apostasy in the modern churches. Laodicea is by far the most numerous of the two and dwells on earth as the “church in the world” among the wicked and lost sinners of this generation. Philadelphia is called blameless and powerless, while Laodicea is called disobedient.

The (total) Church (all seven ages) is pictured in the Song as a Shulamite, that is a beautiful virgin gentile girl. She has been kidnapped by King Solomon (a type of antichrist/satan), who lusted after her, and she is imprisioned in his palace (the world), where he is heaping all of his worldly goods on her in an effort to win her heart. But, she is in love with a Shepherd, (none other than her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ). The entire play is about His and her relationships, while she is kept by force in the palace of Solomon, a picture of her having to live in the world, as the Church has done and must do. Tempted by the riches of the palace (the world), she still clings to her Shepherd who dwells among the lillies (in heaven) where she can only commune with Him on what she describes as “wings of faith” (in prayer). To Him belongs her heart. She is a follower of this Shepherd.

Her Shepherd leads her through life, keeping her from the wiles of satan and the world system, and one day He is going to take her to Himself in the rapture event. But, because she is neither hot nor cold, He will not allow Laodicea, the “church in the world” into His presence until she repents and obeys His commands. She does this eventually, but only because of severe persecutions and hardships in tribulation. Her sister church, Philadelphia is the one that has made herself ready by obeying the Shepherd's commands and has followed Him wherever He has led. She appears as an army with banners in Song 6:10.

Beginning with the regathering of modern Israel. God fulfilled Acts 2:26-28 in calling many watchers, dreamers, seers, and prophets to send forth His love messages to His saved and sanctified ones. He even used unsaved men and women to put forth visions and such like to a lost and dying world. He instructed His people to tell others of His soon return. He even allowed people to die and return from heaven with messages all during the church age, but especially today and in the past 70 years. He began to instruct Israel on how and what to do in preparation for her Messiah to be revealed. He gave some deep insights into the meanings of numbers, phrases, and Bible codes. He produced crop circle enigmas, signs in the heavens, and meaning to the constellations and their stories. He even went so far as to appear in visions to some, giving them messages “in person”. But always, and foremost, He demanded that every single thing be checked back through the Holy Bible. He allowed the discovery of extra biblical works such as the Book of Enoch in the Dead Seas Scrolls . He has hid nothing from us watchers, because He said in Amo 3:7 that nothing would “ambush” man, but all would be revealed ahead of time to His servants, the prophets. He has kept His word, and rightly so, for God cannot possibly lie. The enemy on the other hand, does little else but lie. The end of the Age has come and thus the spiritual war is moving from heaven to earth. We are engulfed in it even now. The very souls of men and women are at stake.

So, when will this rapture likely be? At once, and if the year of His coming is known, then the key is found in the Song of Songs. Specifically chapter 2 and verses 10-13. “My Beloved spake and said unto me, Rise up, My love, My fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle(dove) is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away”.

This tells us that the first rapture, the rapture of the Philadelphia Church Christians is to be in the Spring time. It is also to be at the “appointed” time. It has a good chance to be in accordance with the Feast of First Fruits. This year First Fruits is to be April 13/14. The Lord arose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, which implies at least that He may cause the dead to come forth on a future Feast of First Fruits as well.

Jesus lay dead after removal from the cross until First Fruits that year. And “the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and were seen of many. (Matt 27:52, 53). Could it be that an army of saints will go into our world after the resurrection to bring Laodicea home? And a vast other harvest as well?

The second rapture event is found in chapter 6 aned verses 10-13, especially verse 12. This makes the Song the key to understanding the Revelation prophecy of Philadelphia and Laodicea in chapter 3. Philadelphia is ready, Laodicea is not. The Song thus ties Philadelphia and Laodicea to the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25: 1 – 15. Five (Philadelphia) had oil (the Spirit) and five had no oil. Both had lamps thus both were His but only five were ready. And, both plus the past ones, that is Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, and Sardis are the Shulamite of the Song. The first five are to resurrected and Philadelphia is to raptured in the Spring time and Laodicea will come later (40 -60 days?, not sure). But the agrisign for Laodicea is in the late Spring or early Summer. The vine and pomegranate budding along with the tender grapes sign tells us it is late Spring or early Summer. I believe it to be the same year, this year, 2017 AD of course.

This Laodicea rapture event is found in the Song chapter 6 and verse 11-13. “I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of TWO armies”.

It is noteworthy here that the term “Amminadib” is not the name of a person, but rather it means One (Jesus) who has many, many chariots (tevahs). In the first of this passage in Song 6:10 we see Philadelphia there, as fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as ONE army with banners. This now explains why there are TWO armies with banners after the Laodicean rapture event. Here is seen Laodicea combined with the army of warriors commissioned by Jesus at the rapture of Philadelphia, who remained to lead Laodicea out of the world and to King Jesus. And the word “remain” in the rapture passage I Thess 4:16-18 now can be understood to be the army of warriors Jesus commissioned to bring Laodicea through the fire. Now the Bride will be complete and she will stand as two armies all with banners. This scene is beautiful!

God also planned to suspend His direct contact with the “apple of His eye”, Israel, for the same amount of time. He said so by the prophecy of Hosea, the prophet. There, Israel said “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. AFTER TWO DAYS (2,000 years) will He revive us: In the THIRD DAY (1,000 years) He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight”. (Hos 6:1,2). This third day of a thousand years is the Kingdom Age and comes after the rapture and begins with the wrath of God against the nations called the great tribulation. The time of the raptures will open the eyes of modern unbelieving Israel that Jesus is indeed their Messiah. The tribulation at that time will judge and virtually destroy most of the earth's surface and its civilization over a numbe of days. A remnant of Israel and some nations will survive to seed the new Kingdom.

Praise God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

Maranatha

Gerry Almond