Dear John and Doves:
Daniel Matson, Scott Clarke, Jaco Prinsloo, and no doubt
many others have provided compelling proof that the sign of
Revelation 12:1-2 will appear above Jerusalem in late
September of next year. We tend to think, "the
rapture must happen by September at the latest" i.e.
after all this waiting, we're finally going home.
But the sign of the Son is actually much bigger than just
our homecoming. If one reads a bit further in
Revelation, we see in verse 7:
And war
broke out in heaven...
Let that sink in. There's
reason to believe that there are as many angels as there are
stars, and the number of stars has been calculated to be in
the range of
which is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 combatants, a
third of which are malevolent. The events on earth
will be significant and certainly unpleasant, but they will
be a small part of a much larger picture.
And what might that picture look like? Well, when God
originally set up the government of planet Earth, He set up
an administration consisting of 70 "sons of God" or beney
elohim. This Divine Council is being dissolved
and the miscreants therein are being exiled. The
replacement administration will rule the nations with a rod
of iron, and that replacement will be US. So "going to
heaven" and the wedding and all that will be wonderful, but
we are being groomed to rule and reign with Christ.
I mention this because it's often overlooked. We need
to "grow up in all things in Christ" but our attention, as
watchers, is often diverted from the serious business of
Christian maturity. And we've all seen plenty of
evidence of spiritual immaturity, even in our little
eschatological sub-culture, where if someone doubts or
questions one of our dreams or conjectures, that person is
treated with contempt and rank unkindness.
I'm not criticizing or blaming or accusing. All I'm
saying is that we in the eschatosphere need to get the BIG
PICTURE. It isn't all about getting the date right for
the rapture. It's about becoming Christlike - being
like Him so that we can rule and reign with Him and reflect
to the entire creation (seen AND UNSEEN!) the worthiness of
Jesus Christ.
I have personally concluded that a brief period of fairly
intense suffering is in the immediate future for
Christians. As the scripture says, "if we suffer,
we shall also reign with Him." (2 Tim. 2:12) The
wheat and tares need to be separated. How might one
separate a "faux-Christian" from a true, committed follower
of Christ? Persecution might do it - read Matthew
24:9. Phony, so-called Christians might be able to
pass a written test, but only the true believer lives it out
EVEN WHEN IT HURTS.
I'm telling you now, so that when it starts to hurt, you
will understand what's at stake and you will understand that
it's worth it. Guessing when the rapture will happen
and squabbling with those who disagree is not eschatology
... or even Christianity. All the promises to all the
overcomers in all the seven churches are for US. We
have less than a year left to grow up and get it right, and
the clock is ticking.
Hope to see you all on the mezzanine."
Very best,
Steve
http://www.rogershermansociety.org/sign.htm
Good primer on the Divine Council by Bryan Huie: http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Divine-Council