14 Reasons to Look Up!!
I agree with what others have written on this site on the Rapture being a signless event. I also believe in the Raptures imminence and that it will remain so until it actually happens. However, even the imminence of the Rapture has a God-ordained limitation. The limitation being that the Rapture HAS to occur prior to the Tribulation Period commencing.
The purpose of this post is that, while I have seen an abundance of excellent qualitative analysis on why the Rapture is just around the corner, I have not seen any really rigorous quantitative analysis, which I now supply below for your reading plasure. However, I feel that it would be beneficial to first explain how I got to the place that I am writing to you today:
- My journey to accept Jesus as my saviour is perhaps the least romantic you will ever hear, revolving around, oddly enough, mathematical analysis. First I researched and decided that evolution was non-sensible. In the end, I felt that the odds of such amazing complexity randomly occurring from chaos were just too astronomical to accept unless your real goal was to "kill god". This had huge ramifications, of course, as creation is the only alternative, thereby meaning that a god(s) of some sort had to exist.
- As such, I needed to analyze which of the various god(s) had the highest probability of being responsible for bringing us here. After much research, it eventually became clear that only Christianity made sense. This was quite a surprise to me since I was actually quite sceptical of Christianity before I began this quest (I too have run into some of these self-righteous kristians that make you feel like c... about yourself).
- While my mind accepted Jesus immediately, it wasn't until a while later that I truly gave my heart to Jesus, praise be His Grace forever! Indeed, for me one of the main turning points towards Christianity was prophecy and its amazing accuracy to what is going (and has gone) on in this world. In particular, Israel and the six-day war to take Jerusalem was a huge eye-opener for me. The other "thing" that sold me on Christianity is that it is the only faith where God reaches down to us (through His Son Jesus) versus us having to reach up for Him
- This journey began my love of all things prophecy. After all, it indirectly saved me by directing me towards the grace of Jesus. My next task was to sort through the various doctrine believed by so many seemingly well-intentioned Christians that were in direct opposition to each other, each claiming passionately to be right wherein only one can be right. I read about Pre-Trib, Post-Trib, Mid-Trib, Pre-Wrath and other related theories and had to decide which one to believe since they can't all co-exist. Pre-Trib won the day. It seemed overwhelmingly logical to me that Jesus would take us off this decrepit planet before any of His judgements / wrath would begin. Indeed, He directly promised us that He would do just that. After all, what Good Shepherd would purposely put the sheep He so loves and tends in the way of harm that He Himself is creating / allowing? To believe that Jesus would do otherwise defies all logic.
- The more I thought about it, the more the Pre-Trib Rapture excited me. While being with the Lord forever was plenty to be excited about, not having to experience a possibly painful death to do it (yes, I'm a bit cowardly) seemed too good to be true. But with God, everything IS the only "good" AND He IS the only Truth!!
- The next logical question was, when would the Rapture occur? On this, the Bible is exceedingly clear - no man (nor woman) will know the day or the hour. However, based on my rigorous training in math and statistics, I thought surely there must be clues (or at least hints) in the Bible as to how much longer, in general, we would have to wait until the Rapture.
Jack Kelley's Guess: During my subsequent research on this subject, I happened to come across Jack Kelley's GraceThruFaith website and quickly realized he was incredibly well respected (for good reason) in the area of prophecy and a frequent contributor to this excellent website. Using Matthew 24, Jack outlined a compelling case that the generation that sees Israel come back would see the return of Jesus. He then presented a simple calculation: May 14, 1948 + 70 years = 2018; subtract off seven years and you are right around now. However, he included a very important caveat on his GUESS - that the generation could be longer than 70 years, perhaps even 80 years, and as such possibly expands the 2011 timeframe by up to 10 years.
After almost 2000 years, why us? Nonetheless, this was mind-blowing news to me. However, again I was sceptical. After all, almost 2000 years has passed since Jesus died and His Church is still here. What makes us think that, after all of these centuries, we would be the ones to be so incredibly blessed to be the few to be caught up with our Saviour without having to experience death? As such, and taking the direction from the Bible that two witnesses in agreement are required in order to establish something seriously, I diligently reviewed Scripture and compared it to Jewish history to see if there was more evidence pointing to the fact that the Rapture must be soon (in our generation).
In search for...a second witness: I first looked to the work of others to see what had been written on this subject. While I found an abundance of qualitative articles outlining the many, many signs and events that currently point to the fact that Jesus is coming for us soon, I hadn't seen anything quantitatively put together (other than Jack's mathematical analysis). After much research in the area, incredibly (but not so with God, for all is possible with Him), I came to believe that the history of Israel / Jerusalem shows us that there is not only one event in Israel's history pointing to the Tribulation Period being just around the corner, and by definition therefore the Rapture, but there were actually no fewer than fourteen!!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before I begin, I must be very clear that in no way am I date-setting. I have no clue when the Rapture will be, other than surely it must be soon (similar to what the vast majority on this site also feel). I am just outlining, in a similar way to Jack, various Bible based mathematical reasons why it is very possible that we will be going home in the not too distant future.
When reviewing the below analysis, you will notice that each of the equations points directly to the years 2017 / 2018. The next obvious question will be, if these point to 2017 / 2018, why are we still here given the 7 year Tribulation Period (or Daniel's 70th Week) timeline would mean we most likely should have already been Raptured in 2010 ( = 2017 - 7 years). While I do not know the answer to this (only God truly knows), my personal opinion is that the mercy of Jesus is keeping the ark open for just a bit longer to allow the last few stragglers to be saved, so tireless is He with the lost. However, at some point, justice will be required and will prevail. Obviously, the mystery that no man can answer is exactly how long the ark will remain open. However, given the sky is dark and even heavier rain clouds are quickly approaching, surely the rain is about to fall and the flood waters are about to rise.
With no further delay, the fourteen events pointing towards the nearness of the Rapture outlined in chronological order are as follows:
1. 4004 BC + 6000 years: The Birth of Adam (4004 BC) + time to first sin (wherein sin is referred to as "death" by God) + 120 Jubilees (also equal to 6 "1000 year" days, with the millennium being the 1000 year "day of rest") is APPROXIMATELY our generation
Note on the Jubilee: The Jews have long lost accurate track of when a Jubilee year occurs. However, rest assured that, if such timing is significant, God Himself will have kept track. The Jubilee is described in the Bible as a 50 year period wherein property is returned to its original owner. This was meant to keep people out of unrepayable or perpetual debt
2. 2000 BC + 4000 years: Covenant with Abraham (around 2000 BC) + 80 Jubilees is APPROXIMATELY our generation
3. 1500 BC + 3500 years: The Time of Exodus (around 1500 BC) + 70 Jubilees is APPROXIMATELY our generation
4. 0 AD + 2000 years: The Life of Jesus + 40 Jubilees = 2 "1000 year" days is APPROXIMATELY our generation
Note: The 120, 80, 70 & 40 figures illustrated above are very important time allotments in the Bible when it comes to time spans. However, an elaborate explanation of each of these numbers will have to wait until another day but is discussed in less detail below.
5. 1517 AD + 500 Years: Entire area of Israel, including Jerusalem, captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1517 + 10 Jubilees (10 x 50 years) = 2017
6. 1534 AD + 483 Years: Suleiman (Arab for Solomon!) announces Jerusalem be rejuvenated in 1534 + 70 "weeks" (70 x 2520 days / 365.25, also equal to 69 x 7 years, equal to 483 Gregorian years) = 2017. Side Note: It could even turn out that God may have allowed this particular timing in order to facilitate the grand deception by the Anti-Christ to proclaim that the "70 Week" prophecy of Daniel pertains to him and him alone and that he is the "one true" messiah and that Jesus was a farce. While all lies, only befitting of the master of lies, his claim will be enforced by death by beheading (as per Revelation)
7. 1897 AD + 120 Years: The First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country in 1897 (could this be the VERY FIRST Fig Tree event referred to in Matthew 24:32-34?) + 120 years (referenced as the longest of life spans in Genesis 6:3 and matches the latest age used in standard actuarial tables) = 2017
8. 1917 AD + 100 Years: Entire area of Israel, including Jerusalem, captured by the British Empire and declared future home for the Jews (the Balfour Declaration) on Hanukkah 1917 + 2 Jubilees (2 x 50 years) = 2017
9. 1947 AD + 70 Years: Israel formally declared home of Jews by UN Resolution on Hanukkah 1947 + Generation of 70 years (Matthew 24:32-35, Psalm 90:10, Isaiah 23:15, Hosea 9:10) = 2017 (note that Jack Kelley uses 70 years from 1948 = 2018, which is also logical)
10. 1948 AD + 70 Years: Daniel 9:2 states, "In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." The Hebrew word for "desolations" is "lecharevovt", which is unequivocally plural, meaning more than one desolation. As such, could this not be only referring to the one time that Jerusalem was made desolate, but to every time it was made desolate, both present and future? History shows us that there have been exactly three desolations since Daniel wrote this prophecy, with the most recent desolation adding to the evidence pointing to the year 2017. But first some history:
- First Desolation: Jerusalem became desolate in 586 BC, when Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple. Just as God had promised, the Jews were eventually allowed to return from exile and rebuild their temple. The Second Temple was completed in the year 516 BC, exactly 70 years after its desolation in 586 BC
- Second Desolation: The first Jewish revolt began in 66 AD. The revolt was crushed and Jerusalem was destroyed again, this time by the Romans, in 70 AD. Once again, Jerusalem became desolate. After a lull, there was a Second Jewish Revolt in 135 AD. Right after this Second Jewish Revolt, the Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city named Aelia Capitolina. The building of Aelia was finished by 140 AD, exactly 70 years after its desolation in 70 AD. Note that no temple was required to end the desolation in this particular case as Aelia was now a pagan, not a Jewish, city
- Final Desolation: On May 28, 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, old Jerusalem, which is now called the Jewish Quarter, was destroyed yet again, this time by the Jordanians. The Jews were expelled and it remained in desolation until its reconstruction began in 1969. However, this desolation will not actually be fully rectified until God once again accepts the Jewish sacrifice during the millennium. 1948 + 70 years = 2018
11. 1967 AD + 50 Years: Jerusalem, including the then-obliterated Jewish Quarter, captured by the Jews in the Six-Day War of 1967 + 1 Jubilee (50 years) = 2017
12. 1969 AD + 48 Years: Jewish Quarter (old Jerusalem) ordered by the Knesset to be rebuilt in either May or early-June 1969. Recall that Daniel's prophecy on the timing of the return of Jesus was divided into 7 + 62 weeks from the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, not simply 69 weeks. I have never seen a really good explanation as to why the 69 weeks was split into 7 + 62 weeks. Perhaps we will soon find out why this was split? Could it have been a hint at the approximate timing of His return, even though it was not a direct prophecy (or perhaps a hidden prophecy revealed only now)? Obviously, I don't know the answer to this. Regardless, 1969 + 7 weeks = 1969 + 48 (7 x 2520 days) or 49 (7 x 7 years) = 2017 / 2018
13. Jewish Year 5777: Bible Numerology is a man-made "science" and should be viewed with a grain of salt. In this "field", the number 7 is the number of God's perfection (which is why it is used so often in Revelation), wherein the number "777" represents Jesus in an analogous manner to "666" representing the Anti-Christ. It is rather interesting that the Jewish Year of 5777 lasts until the Feast of Trumpets 2017
14. Revelation 20:1-7: First off, I fully acknowledge that the numbering system in the Bible is entirely man made. However, it is interesting to note that the millennium is only described in detail in one place in the Bible and that is in Revelation 20:1-7. It is even more interesting to note that 20:1-7 looks similar to the year 2017
Note on the 120 / 70 Years (points 7 & 9): The 120 years from the resolution in 1897 outlining the desire for Israel to exist (conception of "last need") is analogous to the 120 jubilees from the sin of Adam and Eve requiring Jesus to be born in Israel to reconcile mankind from its sin (conception of "first need"). The 70 years from the resolution in 1947 giving birth to Israel (the "last birth") is analogous to the 70 jubilees from the time of the Exodus from Egypt to the birth of the nation of Israel (the "first birth")
The Math Part (don't worry, I'll keep it simple)
At first glance, someone could look at the above and ask - couldn't you just simply be forcing in and/or "making up" time lapses that make each event point to 2017 / 2018? The answer is a resounding NO!! To illustrate this is not the case at all, I have reiterated the points 5 to 12 above in order to elaborate on the significance of each time lapse as they relate to the time periods specifically outlined in God's Holy Word:
- Events 5, 9 & 11 = 1517AD (Ottoman), 1917AD (British) & 1967AD (Jewish): These 3 events are directly related to the last 3 times that the land of Israel / Jerusalem / Jewish Quarter actually changed ownership. Each of these relate to the year 2017 in increments of 50 years (10, 2 & 1, respectfully). 50 years is equal to the time God decreed to be a Jubilee wherein land was to actually change hands to the original owners (Leviticus 25:8,10). The year 2017 (plus some unknown number of years depending on the patience of the Lord) could, in theory, be the final land exchange, wherein the land would go back to the "Ultimate Original Owner" - Jesus. Question: What are the chances that the last three changes in ownership of Israel / Jerusalem / Jewish Quarter would all "randomly" relate to the year 2017 / 2018 by meeting God's Jubilee change over requirements?
- Events 0, 6, 10 & 12 = 444BC (Jewish), 1534AD (Muslim), 1948AD (Jewish) & 1969AD (Jewish): These four events are directly related to the various timelines outlined in the 70 week prophecy of Daniel 9. The 444 BC event relates to the first return of Jesus after 69 "weeks" in 33AD. The 1534AD event (non-Jewish) relates to 2017 after 70 "weeks" in 2017AD. The 1948AD event relates to 2017 after 70 years while the 1969AD event relates to 2017 after 7 "weeks" (48 or 49 years). Question: What are the chances that the three Daniel 9 events related to Jerusalem / Jewish Quarter since the death of Jesus would all "randomly" relate to the year 2017 / 2018 in logical time increments as outlined in Daniel 9?
- Events 7 & 9 = 1897AD (Zion Congress) & 1947AD (UN): These two events are directly related to the establishment of Israel as a country for the Jewish people. The 1897 event relates to the conception of Israel as a nation. Genesis 6:3 outlines the maximum length of a life to be 120 years (which is backed by actuarial tables to be the maximum age of a life from conception). The 1947 event relates to the birth of Israel as a nation. Psalm 90:10 outlines the average length of a life to be 70 years (which is also backed by UN statistics to be the worldwide average length of life from birth - higher for developed nations, lower for third world). Question: What are the chances of the only two resolutions to ever be made since Jesus' death to establish Israel would "randomly" relate to the year 2017 / 2018 in the exact two lifespan amounts as outlined by God in Genesis 6:3 & Psalm 90:10?
It appears mathematically certain from the events outlined above that there is no other years than the years 2017 / 2018 (plus an unknown number of years depending upon the Lord's patience) that creates such incredible mathematical anomalies. Indeed, even for just two of the eight events outlined above to "randomly" point towards 2017 / 2018 would be remarkable. However, it is my opinion that simply believing that all eight events (and doesn't even include the other six indicators) pointing towards 2017 / 2018 is merely "random chance" would take immensely more faith than simply believing it to be the way God planned history to unfold before He even created Adam and Eve.
Indeed, the mathematical chances of all these events pointing to 2017 / 2018 randomly are astronomical and can be demonstrated as follows (Side note: I believe that I am being very conservative and that the odds are actually much higher than those illustrated):
- The chances of Israel being re-taken by the Jews is astronomical on its own since no other nation has ever been reborn, even for short exile times. While I have limited the odds of this event occurring to only 1 in a 1000, I am positive that the odds are actually much higher than this
- Assuming that Israel would be reborn (conditional probability), the chances of the other seven events relating to Israel's formation randomly occurring is not as unlikely, but still didn't HAVE to occur separately or at all. While I have limited the odds of these events to both occurring and to do so separately to only 1 in 100, I am positive that the odds are actually much higher than this
For believers, the above two events are a given as we know God's Word said that these events would happen and will be discarded from the calculations. In other words, given that these eight events "occurred", we will now look at the probability that these events could have all "randomly" pointed towards the year 2017 / 2018:
- The three Jubilee occurrences are easy. The chances of the three events relating to the Jubilee "randomly" landing on the same 50th year of 2017 / 2018 are 1 out of 50 (years) each
- The chances of the three Daniel 9 prophecy timelines relating to the year 2017 / 2018 "randomly" landing perfectly are 1 out of 500 (years) each (Side note: I could have used 1 out of 2000 (years), given the 2000 year time lapse since Jesus, but remain conservative)
- The chances of the two advents of Israel relating to 70 / 120 years "randomly" landing perfectly on 2017 / 2018 would also be 1 out of 500 (years) each (again, I could have used 1 out of 2000)
To non-believers (events occurring plus 2017 / 2018 timing): To non-believers, the above results in a mind-blowing probability = 1 out of 390,625,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of all of these events occurring and for all of these events lining up with 2017 / 2018 occurring "randomly" ( = 1000 x 100 x 50 x 50 x 50 x 500 x 500 x 500 x 500 x 500). This is equivalent to randomly being dealt a natural Royal Flush (without draw) four times in a row (for those who are unfamiliar with Poker, this is 10, Jack, Queen, King & Ace of the same suit)! This is also equivalent to randomly picking heads or tails correctly 78 times in a row!
To believers (2017 / 2018 timing only): To believers, the above results in a mind-blowing probability = 1 out of 3,906,250,000,000,000,000 of all of these events lining up with 2017 / 2018 occurring "randomly" ( = 50 x 50 x 50 x 500 x 500 x 500 x 500 x 500). This is equivalent to randomly being dealt a natural Royal Flush (without draw) three times in a row! This is also equivalent to randomly picking heads or tails correctly 62 times in a row!
Putting these odds into perspective: To put these odds into perspective, drawing a natural Royal Flush is the hardest hand to get in Poker. If you were dealt 650,000 hands, you could expect to only receive a single Royal Flush. If you played Poker for 10 hours a day, 7 days a week and were dealt a hand every 10 seconds the entire time, this would equate to one Royal Flush every 181 days. You would be required to play at this pace for 320,000 years to expect to see two Royal Flushes in a row just once (yes, that's over 50 times as long as the time since Adam and Eve were created). It goes up rapidly from there:
- You would be required to play at this same pace for over 200 billion years to expect to see three Royal Flushes in a row just once. But here is the challenge! You would need to correctly guess the exact 30 second span these three hands were dealt during that 200 billion year period. Incredibly, even this would be a more likely feat than the eight events logically pointing towards 2017 / 2018 occurring "randomly"
- You would be required to play at this same pace for over 136,000 trillion years to expect to see four Royal Flushes in a row just once. Again, you would need to correctly guess the exact 40 second span these four hands were dealt during that 136,000 trillion year period. Again, even this would be a more likely guess than Israel reforming and for the eight events to happen separately and for them to logically point towards 2017 / 2018 occurring "randomly"
As illustrated above, the probability of these events occurring with such precision being "random" is infinitesimal. The only alternative is to acknowledge that God's hand is carefully shepherding the exact timing of these events! In other words, it is my sincere belief that we are the generation that will see Jesus Rapture His Church...and soon. While many, many on this site had a gut feel that this would be happening soon anyway, I thought you might all find it interesting to see that there is a mathematical reason that also "logically" points to why this feeling is justified.
MARANATHA!
Urgent note to the unsaved: In someone handed you a gun and told you to play a game of Russian Roulette, would you? Of course not. You wouldn't want to take even a 1 out of 6 chance of ending your life, which, compared to eternity, is like vapour. And yet you are currently willing to take a much greater a risk with your soul, your spirit that lasts forever without end. Where are you planning to be when you die? There are only two alternatives. Eternal torture in hell, separated from Jesus as you wished. OR with Jesus in heaven, a paradise beyond imagination. It's so simple - acknowledge you are a sinner, that you can't possibly reconcile your sinful nature with God on your own and that Jesus, and only Jesus, died for your sins as the Perfect Sacrifice to reconcile you with Him and that He has risen once again. Now please, don't expect fireworks. Being saved is not a feeling, its a process. Don't expect thunder or lightning or even to feel different at all right away. Please don't think that you will have to "give up" anything to follow Jesus, just focus on Him and nothing that happens later on or changes that you will eventually want to make will seem like a sacrifice at all. Indeed, no life is whole unless you are living for Jesus - just give it time. As a matter of fact, you can even keep your prayer asking for this as a secret from the person who sent you this analysis. After all, you certainly don't want to give them the satisfaction that they've been right about Jesus after all of these years. Just whatever you do, don't say, "sounds good, but perhaps later". Do it NOW!! Jesus promises you that you will never regret your decision to follow Him, but you definitely will regret it if you don't.
it and that's saying a lot!!
and MathMan going up!!!)
Ready to fly! 
I look forward to more of your posts!
