From: Marilyn Agee
Hi:
> One Webster meaning for sprigs is young people. The verse says that God > is going to cut off these sprigs and take them away. I believe this > describes how He is going to remove (take away) all the young people > from the planet that are below the age of accountability.
> "The "real meat" of the story is "sandwiched" between two prophetic > pieces of bread.........rapture and rapture timing alert"
Thank you for your post. I sure like your sandwich and your definition for sprigs.
I didn't find that definition of "young people" for sprigs. That's helpful. It does apply to people. What I found was Strong's H2150 zalzal, tremulous, a twig, sprig, from H2151, zalal, to shake (as in the wind), which didn't help much.
However, I did think we were the sprigs that will be taken to be with the Lord at the First-Trump Rapture of Rev. 4:1 in early June. That is when the first grapes are ripening "afore the harvest". I did research to determine that.
I think all the underage children will be taken in the Last-Trump Rapture (Rev 6:17 and 7:14), probably on the Feast of Trumpets, Mon. Sept. 14, 2015, Tishri 1, 5776.
The words "take away" in Isa 18:5 are from "sur" in the Hebrew. It means DEPART, PLUCK AWAY, TAKE AWAY, WITHDRAW, REMOVE. That sure says Rapture to me.
Verse 3 says, "All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign (flag) on the mountains (countries, i.e., the UN); and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye." That sounds like the trumpet in I Thess 4:13-18, the first Rapture. I Cor 15:51-54 is the last trump, i.e., the Last-Trump Rapture.
After the Rapture of the wise virgins, the foolish virgins will stay on Earth until the last Rapture. The first Rapture seems to be in the spring, because Isa 18:6 says "They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them."
Mat 24:20,21 says, "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation".
Our Rapture should be in the spring and not on Saturday. I'm thinking Mid-Trib, Tue. June 4, 2013 seems most likely. We should go up when Satan and his fallen angels are cast out of Heaven. I'm hoping these dates are correct.
Beginning of the Tribulation, Dec 22, 2009
First-Trump Rapture, Mid-Trib, Tue. June 4, 2013
Last-Trump Rapture, Day of God's Wrath, Feast of Trumpets, Tishri 1, 5776, Mon. Sept. 14, 2015, day the Sign of the Son of Man is seen in the sky
Second Advent, Nisan 1, 5776, Sat. April 9, 2016, first day of Jubilee, Regnal and Sacred years
The Jubilee has to be preceded by a Sabbatic Year, and 5775 is Sabbatic. That seems to lock in place the Jubilee and Second Advent.
There are 2300 days (Dan 8:13,14) from beginning of the Tribulation to the Second Advent, 1260 days for the first half of the Tribulation and 1040 for the shortened Great Tribulation.
Luk 12:46 The lord of that (unwise, i.e., foolish virgin) servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder (lit., cut him off), and will appoint him his portion (i.e., the Great Tribulation) with the unbelievers."
Mt. 24:51 adds "shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites (pretenders): there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Mat 22:11-14 says, "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen."
Rev 17:14 says, "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and THEY THAT ARE WITH HIM ARE CALLED, AND CHOSEN, AND FAITHFUL."
At the time of the Rapture, the 10 kings have not yet received their kingdoms. Rev 17:12 says, "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast."
> Isaiah 17 speaks of the destruction of Damascus which is presently > taking place be it brick by brick.
I think that will come suddenly on the Day of God's Wrath. The mountain (asteroid) of Rev 8:8 will hit the NE Mediterranean Sea. There will be fire and tsunami to wipe Gog's army out of Israel's hair. Damascus will be ruined, but so will all the other cities. Every wall will fall.
Eze 38:18-23 says, "And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence (paniym, face, i.e., the Sign of the Son of Man will be seen in the sky), and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. 22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain (a tsunami), and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD."
Of the 2nd Rapture, Joel 2:16 says, "Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet" (chuppah, canopy).
Of those gathered in the 2nd Rapture, only the 144,000 Israelites can sing the NEW SONG. In the first Rapture all sing the NEW SONG (Rev 5:8-10).
Rev 5:8-10 says, "...saints. And they sung a NEW SONG, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on (epi, on or over) the earth."
FIRST RAPTURE GROUP, WISE VIRGINS, DO NOT HAVE TO WASH THEIR ROBES
Rev 14:1-5 says, "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3 And they sung as it were a NEW SONG before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."
LAST RAPTURE GROUP, FOOLISH VIRGINS, HAVE TO WASH THEIR ROBES
Rev 7:14,15 says, "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them."
Agape,
Marilyn Agee
mjagee@verizon.net
prophecycorner.theforeverfamily.com
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"The "real meat" of the story is "sandwiched" between two prophetic pieces of bread.........rapture and rapture timing alert"
Doves,
We are presently seeing bible prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes as per Isaiah 17 and Isaiah 19.
Isaiah 17 speaks of the destruction of Damascus which is presently taking place be it brick by brick.
Isaiah 19 speaks of in-fighting among the Egyptian people themselves (Muslims persecuting Coptic Christians), Egypt being taken over by a cruel master (the Muslim Brotherhood under president Mursi) and the the lifeblood of the Egyptian people....the Nile River.......drying up and creating a terrible stench. All these prophetic earmarks are happening now and continuing.
These two chapters were just discussed in detail last week by JD Farag and his weekly prophecy update.
http://twelvebooks.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/prophecy-updates-may-5-and-may-7-by-jd-farag-and-gary-stearman-may-8-2013/
But what about the prophecy of Isaiah 18 which is sandwiched between Isaiah 17 and 19? Is this happening now or about to happen? I believe it is and it's the "real meat" or most important part of the story happening in the same chronological time frame as Isaiah 17 and 19 or.......now.
So what's so important about Isaiah 18 that should peak our interest at this time?
Most people don't realize it...... but Isaiah 18 speaks of the rapture, the timing of the rapture and some events that happen near that timeframe.
Lets look at Isaiah 18 and how God details the events of this chapter. Lets start with verses 4, 5 and 6.
4 For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will look from my dwelling place like a clear heat in sunshine, [and] like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
So the Lord said to Isaiah--"I will take my rest". To me this means God's (Jesus') work is done. The sin debt He had to pay for our salvation was paid in full on the cross. He has spent approximately 2000 of our years preparing a place for His Church / Bride as He promised. The fullness of the Church or quantity of Gentile believers has been accomplished. He has Michael the archangel rounding up Satan and all his fallen angels which are about to be ousted from the heavens and banished to the earth.
So He (God) is resting and looking from a dwelling place. Could this particular dwelling place be the place He will be when the Rapture happens?
The next two phrases of the verse really blew me away when I understood them. What was God looking at when He looked from His dwelling place? "Like a clear heat in sunshine and like a cloud of dew in the heat of the harvest." In both instances it appears that God is talking about two things rising. We know from scripture that the dead in Christ will rise first and then the living in Christ will rise second.
Now look at the wording He used in the two phrases. "Like clear heat in the sunshine" That's like the heat you see rising from asphalt on a hot day, it appears to be coming up from the earth, it rises and then disappears. As will the dead in Christ--- that will rise first.
Now the second phrase "Like a cloud of dew in the heat of the harvest" Again we have something rising but this time the dew is already in the air, it just rises and then it disappears. As will "we" who have accepted Christ who are alive----we will just disappear.
5 For before the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away [and] cut down the branches.
This verse is amazing for it gives a double meaning. It gives a time frame for the rapture and tells the story of all the end time players at the same time.
When does the rapture happen time wise? When the bud is perfect and the sour grape is ripening in the flower. From a horticultural viewpoint, I would say late spring or early summer.
When will the rapture happen "players" wise? When the bud (Church / Bride) is perfect...... meaning when the predetermined number has been reached as per Rev.6. and when the sour grape is ripening in the flower. The Jewish people are the sour grapes.......they haven't sweetened to Jesus yet (their sour to Him) but they will because He says that they are "ripening" in the flower or will sweeten to Him at some point. And from scripture we know that this will be the case during the tribulation period.
The other players in this verse are the sprigs and the branches.
One Webster meaning for sprigs is young people. The verse says that God is going to cut off these sprigs and take them away. I believe this describes how He is going to remove (take away) all the young people from the planet that are below the age of accountability.
The other player in this verse is the branches. I believe these are the left behind people of the planet after the rapture and their fate is not good. We learn that they are cut down and gathered together. And their fate is described in the next verse.
6 They shall be left together for the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts of the earth: and the birds of prey shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
These branches, these left behind people will be left together for the mountain birds of prey to summer upon them and the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
My interpretation of this is that at the same time Christ's Church is going up in the Rapture, Satan and his fallen angels (mountain birds of prey, i.e. UFO's) will be cast to earth and will prey upon the left behind people in the summer.
Then at some period later the beasts of the earth (demons entombed in the earth as per Rev. 9) will be released to prey upon the people left behind starting in the winter. Notice God brings summer into the picture first as if the rapture happens in the spring or early summer and Satan and his goons show up a few days or weeks later to dispense their evil and horror on these "branches".
With these verses and current world events in mind one could conclude that the rapture timeframe is near.
As near as green sour grapes forming in the flower........that's pretty near.
Blessings Doves.......John B
P.S. I'll share my interpretation of verses 1,2,3 and 7 of Isaiah 18 in another post and how those verses relate to other present day happenings