It is well known that God declares things in advance, but have you taken notice of the warning period?
| Created: 2009/08/14. |
Jesus’ Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension (CRA), was in AD 30. This is the pivot point of all history. He was revealed publically to Israel some three years earlier when he was baptised by John in the Jordan. Jesus is thought to have been born about 5 or 6 BC, some 36 years before his CRA. There were several dramatic testimonies of the coming Messiah around the time of his birth. So Israel had around 33 years of notice before Jesus appeared publically and 36 years notice before Jesus’ glory was revealed at the CRA.
Well, it’s this simple – I propose that God is using a similar period of notice to warn of Jesus return. I don’t describe this as a prophetic revelation, but rather it seemed to just come to me as I was meditating on these things and talking to God about it. The sad part was that, just as they took no notice of the declarations of Jesus birth, so also, few will take notice of my declaration of his pending return.
Here are the four major events declaring the birth of the Messiah to Israel:
In Luke 1 we see the story of the birth of John the Baptist. His father Zechariah, a righteous man and priest, was serving at the altar and saw the angel Gabriel standing at the altar. The angel declares that he would have a son, though his wife, Elizabeth, was barren and they were both old. Zechariah is unable to speak until all is fulfilled and he again speaks. It’s a great account and interwoven with it is Mary’s testimony. The point is that this is a first class confirmation. A righteous priest in the temple sees the chief angel of God; the miraculous sign of not speaking; the miraculous birth and prophetic declarations. All witnessed and spread through the entire hill country of Judea.
The shepherds that saw angels at the night of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2. But shepherds were of low prominence, so this was a less credible account before Israel. But it was given to shepherds who would report it widely amongst the lowest levels of the social structure of the day.
When Jesus was dedicated at the temple 8 days after his birth, Simeon and Anna, both highly credible in the eyes of people in Jerusalem, spoke about Jesus (Luke 2). This confirmation was in the temple itself.
The magi came before Herod in Matthew 2 to inquire about the new born king of the Jews. This was probably a year or two after Jesus birth. This was a confirmation delivered at the highest levels of government. But Herod probably hushed it up since his plan was to kill the child. The magi themselves saw the star and the child and so the event was witnessed even to foreigners.
All regions and levels of society received this notice. Yet John and Jesus led quiet lives up until God chose to reveal them to Israel. The people seemed to recall the things about John and held that he was a prophet. But the leaders did not. John’s job was to present Jesus to Israel, but most did not accept Jesus.
The “Toronto blessing” ran from 1994 to about 1997. This started exactly 2,000 years after Jesus birth and was a move of God that was well prophesied but confused the Church. I propose that this was a wakeup call that was to give notice of the preparation time for Jesus return. (Sounds like a worldwide notification to me. This is a stretch because I don’t recall anyone making this connection at the time, but I lead a secluded life away from mainstream prophecy. Anyhow, I don’t think the church then or now is actually ready for such a suggestion.)
I heard of a dramatic vision of a huge wave in the early days at Toronto. I hate all the talk about “waves” of renewal and attempts to map them to various moves of God, but I did hear one account from a man who knew Smith Wigglesworth and claimed this was the first of Wigglesworth’s famous vision of three waves. But other people have mapped these waves to other events so it’s really confusing. However the Toronto vision said that move was no more than spray blowing over the top of the tidal wave of revival that was to come. That certainly speaks of the third wave that Wigglesworth described.
But Wigglesworth saw a second wave releasing dramatic new teachings that would help prepare the Church for the final wave that would prepare the bride for Jesus’ return. The third wave would follow immediately after the second.
Well, in Jesus’ early life there was one other small blip on the radar that forewarned Israel. In Luke 2:41-52, when Jesus was 12, he went with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, but Jesus stayed behind. He amazed the teachers in the temple with his understanding. I think that this maps to the second wave that will reveal new teachings. I think that the radical preaching of grace that some noted teachers are now proclaiming is part of this second wave. And, in all humility, I think God’s Timetable is also part of this second wave. The release of these revelations of the order of 12 years after the Toronto blessing fits.
The third wave is what I am hanging out for with all my heart. For now, these declarations are all I can make. I throw my 2 cents worth in and suggest from a few hints I have seen, that the third wave will commence in 2018.3.2, but I would love God to come earlier. From church history, revivals tend to last 3 to 7 years. I’m going to assume (hope) that the most dramatic outpouring of God’s power ever seen can last at least 7 years. That will take us up to 2025 or 2026. Then the 7 year tribulation will start, taking us up to 2033. In the last 3 and half years of the tribulation the beast, the anti-Christ, receives power (Revelation 13:5). So just as Jesus was revealed publically 3 years before his CRA, so the anti-Christ has power for the last 3 years before Jesus returns in 2033. If you see the anti-Christ having power all 7 years, then that seems OK too. But you see the similarity – both the real Christ and the anti-Christ have only a short public appearance before the glory of Jesus is revealed. He first revealed his glory on the Cross and will again in His second coming. (Luke 24:26, 1 Peter 1:11, 1 Peter 1:21)
Well, that’s my shot at it. I don’t care if I’m wrong. I think Jesus told me when I would meet him (die) to also give me a revelation that was close to my heart. You may not be able to understand it as I did, but it meant that I won’t be there to support and protect my children during the time of trial. I realised immediately that my job, my calling, was to get them ready. I think in the same way, God wants His children ready.
2,000 years before Jesus, God promised Abraham a son. But God took 25 years to deliver the son, Isaac. I saw the vision of “11:23” in 2008. 25 years on from this is 2033. 25 years is a generation in today’s time. The promise now is that God’s Son will return.
I almost agree with you. Speaking of dates is crazy. But God declares things in advance. It gives glory to Him. So how long a period of notice do YOU think He should give?
The other thing about God is that He uses confirmation. So I expect this released through other sources and in other ways. Game Over is all about these other ways. Only last week I came across an article that proposed the tribulation would start 80 years after Israel’s restoration date, 1948. That’s 2028 which is about the same as my suggestion. Just keep your eyes open and be encouraged that his return is near. But it’s not about knowing and waiting for the date – it’s about having the right heart attitude now.