Well said Regina. All that we can glean from the scriptures detailing God's precise nature, His sovereignty, and all the tie ins with Israel it is sad that they missed the legitimacy of not only Jesus as messiah but the mystery of the Church as well. I'm surely not claiming that my speculations/views are correct, but simply offer a different perspective. Even if I were a man of learning and letters, and understood with wisdom the whole of the God's Word, that still wouldn't allow me to say that I fully understand the Lord's heart in all matters! The fear of the Lord might be the beginning of wisdom, but knowing His heart would certainly be the fullness of wisdom! TR i've got a picture of my granddaughter walking behind my husband, trying to walk in his steps behind him. if only I had thought it was that much fun to follow the Lord years ago! I don't know answers, TR, the only thing i've got to go on is trying to follow what God's word says. I understand that imperfectly. it does comfort me though to consider that God has a timeline that no person can undo, its a span that is being crossed one tick at a time. when we get to the place that is already planned, no event will stop our Lord from bringing us :flyup: That's a highly precious thing, isn't it, to know the Lord's heart more fully. He believes you were worth dying for. Indeed, with regards to Israel we must also consider that there does seem to be a spiritual blindness that has been placed upon them. Again you've heard me say. Though the Lord can heal all manner of sickness, illness, disease and even death at times, He can't heal stupid! TR TR, you pose some interesting questions. I do watch what is happening in Israel and Jerusalem because I do think it helps us watching for the rapture to gauge how close we are (I mean, if they start building the third temple tomorrow - that'd be a dead giveaway, right?!!!). But, I also watch the signs of the tribulation converging at a faster rate. I watch both and combined it tells me that we are so very close. I think we also have to be careful to label it the "Jewish calendar" or say that we shouldn't rely on the rapture timeline to be connected to anything "Jewish." The timeline is not Jewish. It is God's calendar/timeline that he created. He established it and loaned it to His chosen people, the Jews. There is also evidence that we may be following His feast calendar during the millennium; which again establishes that it is God's calendar/timeline and not the Jews' calendar/timeline. Also, Jesus was a Jew! That does tie things to the Jewish people. While I do not think everything is 100% Jewish for the rapture timeline, I caution trying to separate the Jews from it and say it is only a gentile thing. My two cents... Your statement, yhwhtalmidah, "There is also evidence that we may be following His feast calendar during the millennium;" prompted me to search the Word for the term "forever," which I recall from Leviticus 23, where the seven annual feasts are decreed. I found 17 instances of the word in that one chapter, many of which were part of the phrase, "It is a statute forever throughout your generations;" Therefore I conclude that not only throughout the Millennium, but on the earth forever, the Jews will observe these moedim. And according to Zechariah 14, all nations must celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. That might be forever too. Or maybe after the Millennium there will be no more generations on the earth...?? Like everyone living here will be immortal...? Never mind. That's too far into the future. We don't even know about that elusive Rapture date yet. Sigh!
