Geoffrey Grider, on his site "Now The End Begins" has an interesting article taken from Song of Solomon. Since I love Spring (actually, I love ALL the seasons) I found his theory to be interesting and compelling. While I feel it is always important to emphasize a balance between living life for Christ, yet watching for His return, I can't help but get excited at the prospect of His near return. FAIR USE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The fig tree in Matthew 24 is obviously the nation of Israel, and Jesus urges us to look for it to bloom in the end of time when the ‘beginning of sorrows’ takes place. It bloomed. “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:3-8 (KJB) But as we started to recollect the myriad wild events that began on January 1st, which we will lay out here for you in detail, Andy and I noticed how similar what is happening right now is to the ‘beginning of sorrows’ Jesus tells us to watch for in Matthew 24. Incredible, actually, as you will see below. As you read our list, please remember that the majority of Matthew 24 is addressed to the Jews living in the time of Jacob’s trouble that leads into the Great Tribulation. When we rightly divide the scriptures, as Paul tells us to do, we can see what applies to us in the Church Age and what does not. The Pretribulation Rapture of the Church is the main and primary event that will kick everything off, but since Matthew 24 is geared to Jews in the Tribulation it is not mentioned. What is mentioned is a ‘beginning of sorrows’ that precedes everything, and rightly dividing can certainly place that in the tail end of the Church Age. Could it be that is happening right now? Read on and see. Here now is our timeline of events that have taken place since the beginning of 2020, placed in context with scripture, and we ask you to study it through and let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. The 2020 Timeline Of End Time Events And The Matthew 24 ‘Beginning Of Sorrows’ The End Times Prophecies Of Matthew 24 & 25 The Pretribulation Rapture Is Scheduled For A Springtime Launch Song of Solomon chapter 2, verses 8-14, is an amazing picture, in type, of Jesus Christ coming to snatch His Bride up and away from off the Earth in the Rapture. For starters, you will note that the bride’s beloved is pictured as being above her, as if He was coming down to get her: “The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Song of Solomon 2:8-10 (KJB) Secondly, He is looking at her “through the lattice” located “behind our wall”, which is exactly where Jesus is when He comes to get us. He is veiled to the rest of the world, mocking referred to as “the secret Rapture”, but He is clearly visible to us. “For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Song of Solomon 2:11-13 (KJV) Solomon clearly puts the timing of when the Beloved comes for the Bride as being at a time of year, right after winter, when everything is blooming and the birds are singing. Birds sing in springtime, I noticed their song this morning for the first time all year. Also, please note that it is not just any Spring to which he refers, but to one that also has the “fig tree” in leaf. That would mean that Israel would be back in the land, which they are. The Conclusion Of The Matter Great article, Yohanan ~ ~ like 'overnight' this world turned upside down . . in the grocery store today, I saw NOT ONE SMILE ~ ~ all there were expressionless, no smiles in the midst of this upheaval interestingly, this turn of events IS effecting everyone globally ~ ~ Then I remember that Scripture says, too . .when Jesus returns at the call of the rapture, it will be business 'as usual' ~ ~ ~ it 'appears' our LORD is permitting this upheaval to get a 'last attention' of souls meant to focus on Him and His eternity ~ ~ the Spirit is moving I believe, to bring many of the lost to repentance ~ Nice :good: But, whaaat??!! “Since I love Spring (actually, I love ALL the seasons) ...” Spring :good: Summer :good: Fall :good: ... gulp ... Winter? :negative: Pulease have a heart for those who must endure cold weather 6 months out of the calendar year ... most of us don’t want to see another winter for a long long time. May the Rapture occur in the spring, summer or fall is our plead. :whistle: You know now that you mentioned the reactions of the average person trying to shop in depleted stores ... I must say I am thankful the majority of folks walking around in the stores are still smiling and even chuckling/ taken pictures with their iPhones of the empty shelves. They know history is happening ... I’m glad there are no mean spirited people so far. Yohanan- this fits so beautifully with the Galilean wedding tradition. Because the Bridegroom comes at night, it will be a warm night, the Bride is in her wedding apparel, which is not typically made for winter or fall and she sleeps in it. When the groom arrives, blowing the trumpet to announce his arrival to snatch the bride from her home, she is lifted up onto a cart and carried away with the groom to the feast for 7 days. So exciting! :prayer-hands: 11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The rainy season ends in May in Israel. May to September is my high watch season. Donna, if there was anything on the shelves there then you are fortunate. The stores are bare here. The wait to get home delivery is now past seven days and they are not taking any advanced orders. It will be interesting to see how long people remain civil. Geri, being originally from Pennsylvania and living in Michigan I have seen some long, cold winters. Granted, I was much younger then, but I have to say that I wish it would stay winter here a bit longer. I like cold weather. At least when I lived in California I could drive up to Big Bear or Lake Arrowhead and get in the snow and cold. Tammie, that sounds so wonderful! Given how everything is lining up we could see it this year! 2ndComing, May works! Alright I googled Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead and I have to admit I’m wowed by the pictures. I thought all of California had ugly mountains ... being brown from lack of rain and sometimes on fire. But I’m puzzled about how it can be “cold” there when the mountains are smack in the middle of “southern” California? LA winters are like 50 degrees. That’s considered a major heat wave for a Vermont winter. Do they make man made snow and are you skiing in shorts? I know farther north ... Lake Shasta has real snow ... my brother goes there a lot and bike rides in the summer time. Also goes to Lake Tahoe but I think that is in Nevada? Lake Tahoe is in California but is very close to Nevada. I’ve been there and it is very beautiful and scenic. Yes indeed ... very stunning area. Ok, thanks for the clarification its on the California side because he used to live in Reno, NV too ... so I can see why he likes to return to Lake Tahoe.
by Geoffrey Grider March 18, 2020
NOW THE END BEGINS SHARE:
I was having lunch with my good friend, Christian brother and fellow bible ‘sword sharpener’ Andy yesterday, and like always, our lunchtime conversation was a bible study. In the course of what is probably our last lunch for the next few weeks due to the coronavirus, we got to talking about what a crazy, crazy year 2020 has been from the very first day. Regular listeners of our NTEB weekly radio bible study know that all through 2019, I called for 2020 to be a ‘year of incredible change’, and it is been that in spades.
WARS AND RUMOURS OF WARS: On January 1st, we told you about the joint war games between Russia, China and Iran, something that had never happened before in world history. During those games, they declared that the dominance of America in the Middle East was coming to an end. The very next day, President Trump ordered the death by drone of Iranian general Qassem Solemani, which led to an intense face-off between the United States and Iran with all the world wondering if WWIII was beginning. Britain sent warships to the Gulf as tensions soared right up to the brink. Iran then intentionally shot down a Ukrainian jet liner with 176 souls on-board. All this was just the first 13 days of January. “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars:…For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: “ Matthew 24:6,7 (KJB)
SPIRITUAL DECEPTION: While WWIII was potentially waiting to break out, spiritual deception on a mass scale broke out as well. We told you all about the Kanye West Sunday Service end times false revival, and on January 13 it was announced that he would join the false teachers and heretics of the New Apostolic Reformation at the Sun Devil Stadium for a display of ‘signs, miracles and wonders‘. “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matthew 24:4,5 (KJB)
FAMINE: ON January 16th, we brought you the story of how researchers are predicting that over 40% of the globe will experience civil unrest in 2020. Then the locusts started to swarm, and they haven’t stopped yet. The UN warned of an unprecedented threat to food security in a part of the world where millions face hunger, and the FAO estimated that 70,000 hectares of crops in Kenya and around 30,000 hectares in Ethiopia had been infested. It added that locusts had attacked coffee and tea crops that account for approximately 30% of Ethiopia’s exports. As of this writing today, a ‘biblical-sized’ swarm of locusts are preparing to descend on the Middle East just in time for Passover. The Times of Israel reported that “A plague of locusts the likes of which have been unseen for over 30 years is about to hit Africa and the Middle East. Adding to the perfect biblical storm, the current coronavirus pandemic is affecting travel of international experts and in-country gatherings for training to combat the locust threat, said Rome-based Senior Locust Forecasting Officer Keith Cressman on Monday.” “…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:7 (KJB)
PESTILENCE: The entire world, right now, is on some degree of lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic is generating fear and panic that I have not witnessed in my 59 years upon this earth. Say what you will about how it started, where it started and why it started, the fact of the matter is that pestilence is the #1, all-consuming headline anywhere and everywhere you look. Nothing in the past 100 years has caused this level of consternation, so why now? Why is the coronavirus so different from all the others? “…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:7 (KJB)
EARTHQUAKES: This morning in Utah, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Wasatch Front at 7:09 a.m., shaking homes from Logan down to Utah County. It was the state’s largest earthquake since 1992. It has caused damage to the Salt Lake City International Airport, downtown buildings and even the Salt Lake Temple, where the Angel Moroni statute has lost its trumpet. So far, there have been no reports of serious injuries. Dozens of aftershocks followed, with the strongest being a magnitude 4.6. It’s likely there will be hundreds of aftershocks in the days to come, Keith Koper, director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations told FOX 13, and they could last for weeks. This earthquake is only one of dozens and dozens of ‘significant earthquakes’ to be recorded by the USGS since 2020 began. “…and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:7,8 (KJB)
THE FIG TREE: The fig tree in Matthew 24 is obviously the nation of Israel, and Jesus urges us to look for it to bloom in the end of time when the ‘beginning of sorrows’ takes place. The ‘beginning of sorrows’ at the start of all these prophetical events needs to have the fig tree blooming, and it is. When we rightly divide, we see the following. Israel needs to become a nation again, the ‘beginning of sorrows’ starts, the Church is raptured out, the time of Jacob’s trouble begins when Antichrist shows up, 3.5 years of false peace and safety followed by 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation. At the end of all that, we return with Jesus on white horses, Revelation 19, to fight the battle of Armageddon after which King Jesus sets up His literal, visible, physical Kingdom of Heaven on the Throne of David in Jerusalem. And it all starts with the fig tree. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:32,33 (KJB)
On the one hand, you could easily dismiss any or all of these things as nothing special because none of them are new either to America or the world at large. But what is new, however, and what shocked Andy and I yesterday as we reviewed all these things, is how they are all starting firing simultaneous, one after the other, since day one of 2020. At the very least, it is an odd coincidence, so much so that the Lord put it on my heart to bring these things to your attention for your prayerful review and consideration.
But before we go, let me throw in an added ‘bonus feature’ to this list that while it does not appear in Matthew 24, it does take place in the springtime which is right around the corner. My very first article to start the NTEB 2020 season was one where I spoke about my fond hope that we would be raptured in 2020. Did you know that the Bible tells us that the Pretribulation Rapture of the Church takes place…in the Spring?!? I am not saying it will be this Spring, but it certainly looks like it will be in a Spring, either 2020 or another year.
We are living in exciting times if you’re a bible believer, watching a world where the fig tree has already bloomed and the where the beginning of sorrows could right now be taking place. Matthew 24 is primarily of tale of the Jews in the Tribulation, but there certainly seems to be a snippet or three that might apply to us in the Church Age, rightly divided of course. If you haven’t looked at Matthew 24 and the beginning of sorrows, now while you’re home on lockdown due to the coronavirus pestilence might be an excellent time to get acquainted or reacquainted with the prophecy of truth that must shortly come to pass. Flight #777 on Titus213 Airlines ready for takeoff!
