Doves,
I told my wife that the Lord has been prompting / pestering me (in the
spirit) for over a week now to share with you what He has seemingly shared
with me about...... "banners" and "ensigns'.
So, here goes.......
a banner
1 A piece of cloth bearing a design, motto, slogan. Sometimes attached to a
staff and used as a battle standard
2 A flag
3 A headline extending across a newspaper page
4 A long strip of cloth with an advertisement, greeting
an ensign
1 A badge, symbol, or token of office or authority
2 A flag or banner, specifically a national flag, as one displayed on a
ship
3 An officer who served as a standard bearer
OK...some of you may remember that I have posted several articles to Doves
concerning the treasure trove of information in Isaiah 18. Part of Isaiah 18
appears to reference the present day water dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia,
another part appears to reference the arc of the covenant being returned to
Jerusalem by the Ethiopians. Several of its verses refer to the rapture of the
church just after the Lord takes His rest.
Several verses indicate what happens to the "left behind" and one verse
focuses on .....the period just prior to the
rapture.
Right now I would like to focus on what Isaiah 18 has to say about
conditions just prior to the rapture of the church and or the sequence of events
that lead up to the rapture.
The Lord said to Isaiah.....(at the time of the rapture) "I will take My
rest, I will look down from my dwelling place" (the secret place where I will
hide My church) Then Isaiah describes the rising up (rapture) of the dead and
then the alive in Christ in verse 4.
But what happens just prior to this in verse 3? Just prior to the the Lord
taking His rest and just prior to the rapture?
Something happens that all the
inhabitants of the world will witness and hear. Everyone on the planet
will be captivated by an unbelievable spectacle that I believe will happen just
prior to the rapture.
First a ensign / banner will be displayed so that everyone on the planet can see it and then at some point
the sound of a great trumpet will be heard by everyone.
Isaiah 18:3....All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the
earth: When he lifts a banner (ensign) on the mountains, you see it;
And when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.
What is this great banner or ensign and how is it possible that all of the
planet will be able to witness it? It appears it will be the biggest , brightest
, longest design / motto / symbol / battle standard / headline / greeting /
advertisement / token of authority that present day mankind has ever witnessed.
According to everything I now know..........I believe this banner will be......
Comet Ison.
Can we back this up by more scripture?......Lots and lots
Let's start with Isaiah 11:10 which is another end time rapture related
passage.
"And in that day(now) there shall be a Root of
Jesse (Jesus)
Who shall stand as a banner (ensign) to the
people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him, (we are sure seeking
Him)
And His resting place shall be glorious." (same as
Isaiah 18 as per the resting place or hidden place where He takes His church
during the tribulation)
Lets look at all the places in scripture where the word banner or ensign is
used and I believe you will be amazed to see the relevance to the rapture and
the banquet place /hidden place and "oversight" of this banner (Comet Ison ??)
to the rapture happenings in many or most of these bible passages.
Substitute Comet Ison where the word banner or ensign appears in the bible
passages below. It seems relative (to me) in most of the passages.
Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be
displayed because of the truth. Selah.
He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto
them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the
nobles.
-
Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his
own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the
tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch .
-
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss
unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed
swiftly:
-
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which
shall stand for an ensign
of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek : and his rest shall be
glorious.
-
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the
outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth.
-
All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the
earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a
trumpet, hear ye
-
-
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the
rebuke of five shall ye flee : till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a
mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
-
And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and
his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and
his furnace in Jerusalem.
-
And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as
the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up
as an ensign upon his
land.
Keep in mind that Jesus came the first time
as a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter to atone for our sins.
The next two times (rapture and battle of
Armageddon) He will come as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and I
guarantee that He will have an insignia or battle standard (banner in the sky)
that will rock this planet which will announce His presence and announce His
troops (Joel 2, Isaiah 13 )
I believe that Comet Ison will be the first
insignia / battle standard / banner / ensign / headline across the sky that He
will use to capture the attention of the entire planet........followed by a
trumpet blast............and then the rapture.
If this is the scenario we have all been
waiting for, how much time will there be between the banner in the sky.....Comet
Ison .....and the trumpet blowing to take us home? seconds, minutes, days,
weeks, months ?????
Comet Ison is billed to grow many times
brighter than the moon in the coming weeks even in broad daylight. I believe our
anticipation will grow even brighter when all of this is factored into the
equation. WOW....exciting / scary times ahead.
You think maybe that's why God
said......
"And when these things begin to come to pass
, then look up (see Ison) ,
and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth
nigh
Blessings.........John B
PS....One other thing I noticed was the
wording in Isaiah 18:3 when God was addressing the earth, He
said ......"All of the inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth;
God was also giving the demons and
entombed fallen angels a heads up as well for we are the dwellers on the earth...... and they are the
inhabitants of the world meaning that they are
entombed underground and not on the
earth.