Hello John and Doves,
In this recent Youtube video on
Prophecy Watchers channel, Dr. Larry Ollison talked about
'the Rapture and beyond.' He made the statement that
as to the Rapture timing, "We can know the season."
'Season' meant something different
to Paul and Jesus' followers than it does to us today.
Gary Steaman and
Larry Ollison exchanged thoughts on the Rapture - that the Rapture won't be a quiet, secret
event - the Lord comes with a shout, with
the trumpet - a worldwide event, and the graves
are opened and bodies will come out of the graves...and
the bodies of all Believers are changed 'in a twinkling of
an eye' into resurrected bodies and then they will ascend
slowly like Jesus did on Ascension Day - this will be hard
to keep a secret because of all the phones, cameras people
have today. This will hit the internet. It
will be a worldwide, well known event. "It will be
no secret." Gary said, "It will shake the world to
its foundations."
Larry said Jesus comes as a thief
to those in darkness, but we are of the light and he
believes "there will be a sense in the body of Christ" as to
the coming of the Rapture; he sees Christians becoming aware
that Jesus' return is soon. And that we may not know the day
or the hour, but "we will know the season."
Gary talked about the rate that
the world is dissolving into absolute anarchy - street
marches, weird politics, dictators rising, etc. This
tells us we are definitely in the End Times. More in
the video.
Times and Seasons:
Seasons does not refer to spring,
summer, etc. - but a specific fixed time.
In my King James Study Bible,
there is a section on "times" and "seasons" concerning 1
Thessalonians 5:1: Paul wrote, "But of the
times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write
unto you."
"Times (Gr. chronos) denotes
"periods of time" as opposed to seasons (Gr. kairos) which
are specific points of time."
Season:
Moed:
Concerning
Leviticus 23 and the Feasts of the Lord: "Feast of
the Lord is the term used in the expression "tent of
meeting" (moed) thus they are assemblies of the
people taking place at set time, and as holy
convocations they are celebrated at the tabernacle.
The description of these events as feasts (hag, which
means "pilgrim feast" or simply "holiday", i.e. a
day or season.5:
Leviticus 23:4 "There are
the Lord's appointed feasts, which ye shall proclaim at
their appointed times."
'Seasons' in Genesis 1:14 and
Zechariah 8:19 are "feasts". A set time, feasts with
dates.
So,
here 'season' doesn't mean spring, summer, fall,
winter...it is a set time - like an appointed feast.
So when Paul wrote 'of the times
and seasons' I have no need that I write unto you.."
It sounds like they had a pretty good idea on which set date
the Lord will come in the Rapture (they didn't know the
year, obviously). Paul goes on to tell them why - "he
doesn't need to write to them about the timing of the
Rapture - because you are not in darkness that this
day should overtake you as a thief." 1
Thessalonians 5:4.
The Jewish people were very
familiar with the Feasts of the Lord. And Paul was a
student of the Torah - he knew all the ends and outs of the
Feast Days.
In fact, he wrote that THAT day
should not overtake you as a thief. It's a specific
day. THAT day.
Some believe that John the Baptist
was an Essene. In Isaiah 40:3 instructions were given
"to go out into the wilderness and "prepare the way of the
Lord." Which the Essenes followed. And some believe that "the Essenes
rewrote the biblical festival calendar in the Temple Scroll
to include two further bikkurim festivals to celebrate wine
and oil. There are numerous texts in the Torah
concerning the new grain, new wine and new oil - that these
had to be presented to the Lord. The Jewish people had
ceremonies for each of these offerings. These were
important to the Lord. The people could not consume of
the new grain, the new wine or the new oil until firsfruits
had been presented to the Lord on a specific set day - a
appointed time.
Paul
being very well-educated in all things Jewish - he knew
about all of the Feasts of the Lord (on a side note - not
all the 'accepted' 7 Feasts of the Lord are
mentioned or celebrated in the New Testament but they are
written about in Leviticus - and new wine and new oil are
written about in many places in the Old Testament.) - Paul
knew of all the appointed days even for all of the
firstfruits presented to the Lord by the High
Priest. Paul had to have seen how Jesus Christ was
fulfilling each of the Feasts of the Lord ...in
order. This "order" followed these Feasts of the
Lord - "every man would be raised up in his own
order" 1 Corinthians 15:20 - 23.
Paul
was aware that there was a set day - THAT day - for the
Rapture. What is THAT day? In looking at 'the order'
of the appointed days, the Feast of New Oil is next to be
fulfilled by the Lord. Will this day be the
Rapture? Is Feast of New Oil THAT day in order that
Paul was telling the Thessalonians about?
When
Larry Ollison said that he believes we will know the
season - I don't think he was using 'season' like Paul and
the Jews understood 'season' - "an appointed time".
They were looking for THAT day - one chosen
day. Larry was using it like a period of
time. He said he was looking for the Rapture any
day. Yet, Paul tells us it's an 'appointed time' and
THAT day won't catch us unaware....
The
New International Version of 1 Thess 5:4 is: "But
you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that
this day should surprise you like a thief.....and New
Living Translation: "and you won't be surprised when
the day of the Lord comes like a thief."
Will
Believers be surprised IF the Rapture happens on an
"appointed day"?
Just
some thoughts for now...
Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem!
Maranatha!
Chance