Sunday, December 24, 2017

Mark of the beast is coming (re-edited)

 

Today we will be studying a topic that is near and dear to all Seventh-day Adventists' hearts, the 2,300 day/year prophecy.  We all know the timeline so I will just go over it quickly.  According to Daniel chapter 9:25 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/DAN.9.KJV the timeline begins with the going forth of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem which we all know was given in 457 B.C. by Cyrus according to Ezra chapter 1:1 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/EZR.1.KJV "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah." We also know that Jesus ministry lasted 3 1/2 years and began when he was 30 in the year 27 AD, and ended in the spring of 31 AD. Therefore, we can confidently put Jesus birth in the year 4 BC, in the fall. I have heard some preachers say that we don't know for sure which year Jesus was born so you might be asking, why does it matter so much? Let me ask you a question in return.  How exact is Jesus in His Word?  As Seventh-day Adventists this is a very important question.  Did Jesus come the first time, right on time, according to the prophecy? Galatians 4:4 (KJV)  "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,"So what is our evidence for our assertions about Jesus ministry? Let's turn to the book of Luke 3:21 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LUK.3.KJV "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. 23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, let me show you an example ...  (as of the writing of this it is 2018 and I was born in 1969. I have not yet had my birthday, but I have”Begun to be about 49 years old") In John 2:4 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/JHN.2.KJV "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come."  At this point Jesus was already baptized. See John 1:32 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/JHN.1.KJV  I believe that God will as He told His prophetess EGW eventually tell us the date and time of His glorious appearing.  The following is a quote from EGW web site about supposed contradictions between her statements and the Bible. “49. WILL WE KNOW THE EXACT DAY AND HOUR OF CHRIST'S COMING?  EGW: YES     "As God has shown me in holy vision ... we heard the voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus' coming" (Early Writings, pp. 15, 34, 285).  BIBLE: NO    "Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour" (Matthew 25:13). BIBLE: NO     "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angles in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). Jesus Himself didn't know the "day or the hour" when He was on the earth (Matt. 24:36), but He certainly does now.  Ellen White in the above quote is simply stating that God will reveal this information to His "sealed" servants during the time of trouble to give them comfort that their deliverance is near.  There are no Bible texts that say the redeemed will never know the day and the hour of the Second Coming after the close of probation.” http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/contradictions.html#49
So bare with me a little bit and we will now come to Luke 4:16  https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LUK.4.KJV And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. What is it that Jesus is talking about here? 
 Let me tell you, one of the biblical precepts that we generally don't spend a lot of time studying is the historical Jewish feasts.  That is because we have been conditioned to think that they don't really matter since they "only" pointed forward to Jesus.  Let me set this one thing straight from the beginning, I am NOT advocating that we need to keep them as some divisions in the church have done, however, I do believe two very important things. The first one being 2 Timothy 3:16  https://www.bible.com/bible/1/2TI.3.KJV  that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."  The second is that most, if not all, of scripture has duel applications, and thus are worthy of our time and attention and careful study.  So today I want to show you why these feasts still matter.  Let's go to Leviticus 23:27&28 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LEV.23.KJV Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 28  And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. Next we need to read Leviticus 25:8-15 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LEV.25.KJV And thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. 10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. 11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. 12 For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. 13 In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. 14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbor, or buyest ought of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress one another: 15 According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:  So when we read back in Luke chapter 4 what was it that Jesus was proclaiming? Jesus was proclaiming first and foremost the beginning of His ministry which was to do what? Deliver the captives and set them at liberty.  When did that happen historically for the Jewish nation?   We just read it in Leviticus 23.  He is proclaiming a Jubilee and when in the Jewish year did the Jubilee begin? The tenth day of the seventh month.  Also I have this to back up my claim: Matthew 1:17 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/MAT.1.KJV "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations." This means that Jesus generation was the seventh-seven.  Also referring us back to the year of Jubilee!!! Hang in there a little bit longer for me. The likelihood is that Jesus was born in 4 BC anytime in the fall.  "In the councils of heaven it was decided that time must be given for Satan to develop the principles of his government. He had claimed that these were superior to God's. Time was given for the working of Satan's principles, that they might be seen by the heavenly universe. For 4000 years, Christ was working for man's uplifting, and Satan for his ruin. And the heavenly universe beheld it all." https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/2771.3328?hl=%224000+years%22&ss=eyJ0b3RhbCI6MjUsInBhcmFtcyI6eyJxdWVyeSI6IlwiNDAwMCB5ZWFyc1wiIiwidHlwZSI6ImJhc2ljIiwibGFuZyI6ImVuIiwibGltaXQiOjIwfSwiaW5kZXgiOjJ9#3332  Jesus was born 4BC and died 31AD  roughly 2000 years has come and gone since then. Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."   https://www.bible.com/bible/1/REV.20.KJV Leviticus 26:43 "The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes."   https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LEV.26.KJV

Let’s go on down in our timeline to the year 1844. 
What have we always been taught as to what Jesus is doing since 1844?  He moved from where to where?  From the Holy place to the Most Holy place right?  Now, when in the Jewish year did the High priest do this? Let me give you two hints. One Hebrews 4:14  https://www.bible.com/bible/1/HEB.4.KJVSeeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” The second is found back in Leviticus 16:17  https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LEV.16.KJV “And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.” And skip on down to verse 34And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses. (I was wrong and here is my correction: https://calendarofscripture.com/2015/06/12/william-miller-22-october-1844-the-luni-solar-calendar/ )When does the High priest go into the most holy place in ancient Israel?  ONLY on the Day of Atonement and in 1844 that day was October 22!  Can anyone tell me how long the Day of Atonement was?  No this is not a trick question, how long?  A day, 24 hrs. What part of that 24 hour period of time do you think that the high priest was in the most holy place? The answer is probably not very long. In fact it was probably just long enough to do what needed to be done and get out.  We have an example of this in the story of Zechariah John the Baptist’s dad.  Now the Bible doesn’t specify that he was a HIGH priest nor that he was in the Most Holy place but there is one thing that I found interesting.  Let’s look at the account in the book of Luke chapter 1:21 https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LUK.1.KJV “And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.” The point is that before a Holy God even the priests did not stay in the temple any longer than they had to. So what am I getting at now?  I am going to leave that point there for a minute and go to a different feast.  This feast happens five days after Yom Kipper and that feast is called the feast of tabernacles.  How long is the feast of tabernacles?  Deuteronomy 16:13Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:”Let me read you a little quote hopefully most of you are familiar with.”We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, when Jesus brought the crowns, and with His own right hand placed them on our heads.” From http://www.whiteestate.org/devotional/mar/10_24.asp  What happens next? From her vision of heaven, “I saw a table of pure silver; it was many miles in length, yet our eyes could see the entire table. I saw the fruit of the tree of life, the manna, almonds, figs, pomegranates, grapes, and many other kinds of fruit.  http://www.whiteestate.org/vez/jul08/from%20the%20pen.htm What does the word tabernacle mean?  I actually looked it up in Hebrew. It means “where God dwells”. http://biblehub.com/hebrew/4908.htm  So the feast of Tabernacles occurs just after the Day of Atonement and is described in Deuteronomy this way. In chapter 16:14  https://www.bible.com/bible/1/DEU.16.KJV “And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.”  How long is the feast of tabernacles? Seven days. Going back to Leviticus chapter 23:34   https://www.bible.com/bible/1/LEV.23.KJV “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. 35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.” What happens on the eighth day? How many days does EGW say that we are going to be ascending into heaven and what will we do when we get there? https://www.ellenwhite.info/books/ellen-g-white-book-early-writings-ew-02.htm
 Back to my earlier point how long is the Day of Atonement? One day, 24 hrs.  Noah preached to the antediluvian world for 120 years, Jonah 40 days.  How long do you think that we should have to spread the word that Jesus is coming “soon”? In Bible prophecy a day =one year.  The Day of Atonement is one day.  The priest does not stay in the temple for the whole 24 hour time frame.  So how much more time do we think that we have? It has been 174 years since 1844. We are NOT going to have 360 years to preach! The time is up!  We all also know of the image of gold, silver, bronze, iron and iron mixed with clay.  Since the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 BC we have been living in the time of the feet of iron and clay! https://www.history.com/news/history-lists/8-reasons-why-rome-fell There is another thing that I am reminded of and I feel compelled to insert it here.  Let’s turn to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 23 and verses 2 and 3.  Deuteronomy 23:2   https://www.bible.com/bible/1/DEU.23.KJV  “A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord. 3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:” Ten generations, hmm? So how long is a generation Biblically speaking?  Here in Genesis 15:13-16   https://www.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.15.KJV it says, “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” Here a generation is one hundred years, however a generation in the Bible is also listed as either 40 or 70 years. Genesis 6:3   https://www.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.6.KJV indicates that the life span of man is 120 years.  So how many generations have there been since Jesus? (rounding) 2,000/100=20 or 2,000/70=28.57 or 2,000/40=50 or 2,000/120=16.66. Regardless of how you figure it, way more than ten generations.  Are we Gentiles and have we been made ready to enter into God’s kingdom?  I am reminded that we are following the same path as that of ancient Israel.  When it came to the point where they were supposed to go into the promised land they were turned back because of unbelief! God could have come in 1888 but that generation refused to go in for unbelief.  All of that generation died except for Caleb and Joshua!   Folks we have NO time left Jesus IS coming soon! We are in the tippy toes of the image, and yet we go on as if nothing is going to change.  We watch our TV’s play our video games, plan our vacations and carry on as if nothing is happening!  We need to throw out our idols and pray without ceasing! We need to wake up! The hour is at hand! The day IS dawning.

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