We Are Still Here...

For the first time in two years, I don't have a count down clock.  There is not a bright red date on my calendar that I am anticipating. Everything we were watching for in September happened, except the thing we were really watching for... Daily, I lament to my husband, "I can't believe we are still here!"  I'm not alone.

Looking Up in Bewilderment

I know of no one who was led by the Holy Spirit that there was a certainty.  In the months leading up to September, I'd call out to the Lord for confirmation and I never got it.  The best I got was, "Discern the times".  He is just bigger than we are and His ways are higher than ours.  So we move forward.  Surgeries are being scheduled.  Resumes are being written.  Houses are going on the market.  Fitness regimes are being resumed.  All of life's disruptive events that folks hoped they would not have to endure are back on.  Along with a profound sense of disappointment that we are indeed still here.

Day 29 of the Birth Pangs series, the Lord gave me a line that has echoed in my heart for weeks, "The Watchers on the Wall are tired; hoarse from beseeching a world that no longer hears, fighting an enemy whose time has come, and tamping down a desire so fierce just to be done. All the while going about 8-5 life like tomorrow is going to matter and being afraid that it actually does."

Finally, we rest in the absolute conviction that we were not wrong.  Any fool can read the headlines and know that even though we are still here, He isn't far off.  As Jack Kelley was fond of saying, "You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah."  Maranantha, Friends.

Living an Authentic Life on Social Media

I've read a couple of good articles in recent months regarding the "Perfect Life" people post on social media.  Our Double Lives and I'm Not a Liar but Facebook Sure is are excellent examples of how social media portrays perfection when the reality is far from it. Both articles above do an excellent job of discussing the realities, social ramifications, and personal price tag that goes along with this false life and I'll not seek to rehash them.  The question becomes, how do you live an authentic life and what, if anything, do you share on social media?

In days gone by, the perfect life lived before the cameras was reserved for Hollywood stars; their reality like ours, was a striking dichotomy between what the public saw and what the private life truly was.  (Just watch any random episode of "Behind the Music".)  Today, everyone has access to that platform and the expected corollary has manifested.

What We Present to the World

Choreographed wedding dances, Jumbo-tron engagements, and Disney style family commercials disguised as vacation videos are nauseating because they are staged.  Events, videos, and pictures that the sole purpose of their creation is to upload to the internet reek of desperation and narcissism.  We've become actors in our own lives; stop it.

On the converse, social media is not your diary, nor is it a place to seek mental health advise.  If most of your posts are about your next drink, you might need to seek help.  So if you would not call me with your problem, perhaps it's best to keep some things private.

What Our Lives Really Look Like

In the end, it takes wisdom and discernment.  Be brutal, look through your posts, are they interesting?  Are they well rounded?  Are they varied?  Are they honest?  Do they convey interesting points?  How many photos have you posted and how many of those are selfies?  Do you joke about yourself, do you reveal your flaws?  Are you real?

Our question remains, how do you live an authentic life on social media?  It's difficult because a well lived life does not play well; but neither does the fake one.

The Doctrine of Imminent Return

As the final hours of the highly anticipated 2015 Fall Feasts draw to a close, it is inconceivable to think that the Lord will wait, a year, or seven, or fifty (another fall feast, another shemitah, another jubilee).  I have never been dogmatic about times and seasons; heightened awareness?  Oh, yes, for sure but dogmatic, no never.  As such, I am again adopting the doctrine of imminent return.   The blessed hope that we are to comfort each other with - the Lord is coming back and it could be today. Todd Strandberg of Rapture Ready has an excellent article, here's an excerpt, for the full article click here.

In doing some research on the doctrine of imminency, I noticed few people take the time to actually define what prophetic imminency means. First, let us look at the general definition of the key word "imminent:" "The quality or condition of being about to occur."

Imminency, as it relates to Bible prophecy, simply means that the return of Jesus Christ for the Church can happen at any moment. No warning signs will indicate a short-term countdown. We as Christians remain on alert 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If a wife knows her husband normally gets home from work shortly after 4:00 PM, she knows that beginning at 4:00 PM, his arrival is imminent. If the woman knows her husband has to work overtime, the imminency of his 4:00 PM return is then in doubt.

The only way for the rapture to be truly imminent is to have it transpire before the tribulation. If the Church were required to wait until after the manifestation of certain events, then there would be no doctrine of imminency.

It's NOT the End of the World .... and I Never Said It Was

Wow, the last lunar eclipse has occurred and the scoffers have come out of the wood work.  Pastor JD Farag used a quote a few weeks back that if you are going to be in ministry you must have "the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros.”.

I need to work on the rhino part... Here at Abigail and Dolley someone commented that I talk about "The End of the World" and nobody really wants to think about that.

I wanted to cry.  I wanted to weep and say, "If you've ever actually read my work, you would know that I've never written about the end of the world, ever."

If you've ever read my blog, you'd know that it is the Rapture we are looking for, not the end of the world.

If you've ever read the blog, you would know that I call out warnings as a watch man on the wall; Danger is approaching.  What kind of person would I be if I see what I see and keep silent?

If you'd ever read my work, you would know that I have a terrible fear for those left behind and I've poured my heart and soul into every piece; all 400 of them.

If you'd actually ever looked at the posts you would know that I've never set a date, ever.

The sad thing is, that you won't read even this and after I'm gone Google will nuke this blog spot and what I was trying to say to you will be gone too.  (For the record - it won't be the end of the world then either...)

Talking to a Brick Wall

Rethinking the Fall Feast in Relation to the Church - Part 2 Rosh Hashanah

In part one of this series, we discussed how we must take a different look at the Fall Feasts.  Were the Fall Feast partially fulfilled at the First Coming?  Are the Fall Feasts going to be completely fulfilled at the Second coming?  Are the Feast of God truly only for the Jews and do not involve the church at all?  Do we see Jesus celebrating the Feasts in the New Testament?  These are all questions we are going to tackle in this series.  

Let's start with Rosh Hashanah - 

Leviticus 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.

We've written extensively about how Rosh Hashanah is the hidden day and how No Man Knows the Hour or the Day refers to the holiday.  Did you know that Rosh Hashanah is the only Feast of the Lord that does not have an explicit reason for celebration?  Isn't it interesting to contemplate that it may have had it's first fulfillment at Christ's first coming?  What does the Old Testament tell us?

Old Testament Shadow:

For this text, we look at Nehemiah 8:1-9.  The people have been regathered from Babylon, they have rebuilt the walls and the Priest Ezra reads the word of God to the people on Rosh Hashanah.  We see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the people and they understand the word of God.  Note that Ezra is facing the Water Gate, which represents the Water of Life, the Word of God is read and the people mourn - but the priest tells them not to mourn that this is a Holy Day.

Possible Prophetic fulfillment - could be when the priest read to the regathered Jews, that they have an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and they understand.  Zechariah proclaims that one day the children of Israel will look upon the one they have pierced and weep for him as they would weep for the loss of an only son.

First Coming Fulfillment:

Consider Jack Kelley's work on Jesus' Birthday; by tracking the temple rotations of the priests established by King David and laid out in the Bible, we can surmise when John the Baptist was conceived.  By using the Scripture on Elizabeth and Mary's visit we can extrapolate that Christ was born in the fall.  (I encourage you to read the link above and then come back to the study.)  Chuck Missler has also done this research and corroborate the findings.

Equally compelling, is the work that Rick Larson on the Star of Bethlehem and the possibility of a celestial sign in the Heavens of what could be the conception (or in corroboration of the above the birth) of Christ on Rosh Hashanah.  (For Rick's amazing work, check out his presentation here.)

Jewish Tradition holds that Adam was created on Rosh Hashanah and the second day of the feast is the original Sabbath.  If Jesus as the "Second Adam" (1 Corinthians 2:15) was also born or conceived on Rosh Hashanah is that not adequate fulfillment of the moedim?  The birth of Messiah most assuredly qualifies as a miracle and satisfies the prophetic requirements of fulfilled prophecy. 

Can you picture it?  It's a cool night in Bethlehem, the temple shepherds (read What is So Special About Bethlehem) are in the fields.  A few miles away, the priests are blowing the trumpets for Rosh Hashanah and the sky opens up and we read:

Luke 2:9-11 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour (Messiah!), which is Christ the Lord.

End Times:

Alternatively, for a Second Coming Fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, look at Matthew 24:30-31 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Sign of the Son of man

(Many incorrectly teach this is a Rapture Scripture, many even teach a post tribulation Rapture based on the above, my position is firmly pre-tribulation so I won't go down that rabbit hole.)  Given the extensive study we've done on the The Feast of Trumpets, the sign of the Son of man in Heaven can EASILY be attributed to Rosh Hashanah.

Who is not to say that each of the Feast Days is not met and marked more than once or twice?   The exception of course being Passover, for the sacrifice and the work on the cross is once and for all time.

The Lord is not the author of confusion and I do not wish to muddy the water, but we must not be dogmatic in our beliefs about the fulfillment of the Feasts, nor the timing of them.  What this blog is designed to do is simply look at the possibilities and the Scriptures.  For me, I feel as if I've gone through a door and found a huge banquet laid before me, God's word, His prophecies, and a new study.  Maranantha!