August 19, 2007

THE 144000 AND BIBLE PROPHECY

Bible prophecy can be divided into past fulfilled and future unfulfilled events. In the past, Bible prophecy has always been where a disaster of Biblical proportions would be looming and out of this impending disaster God would deem that certain individuals would survive. So God would go and communicate to those individuals two things which make up the criteria for Bible Prophecy:
1. He would forewarn them of the impending disaster (the prediction).
2. He would provide them with instructions on how to physically escape.
Noah’s Ark is the classic example.

God could have just let these certain individuals perish and start over, but He didn’t. Also, God could have diverted the disaster or He could have supernaturally raptured those individuals out of harms way, and again He didn’t. And the reason He didn’t was because these individuals faith was being tested. They had to have faith that God’s prophecy was going to happen, and to show they had the faith they had to physically follow His instructions. In short, they exercised their faith in God.

Future Bible prophecy is the same in that there is a disaster of Biblical proportion looming in our future. And out of this future disaster God has deem that certain Christian individuals will survive to Christ’s advent. Futuristically speaking, God has already communicated to the body of Christ the two criteria that make up Bible prophecy:
1. He has forewarned the future flood of persecution, Armageddon, the apocalypse etc found in the book of Revelation and other parts of the Bible (the prediction).
2. He has provided instruction of how to physically escape this future disaster.
What Christians fail to see is that God has provided these instructions on how to physically escape the coming apocalypse, to test those chosen individuals faith.

THE PLACE OF SAFETY

Jerusalem fell to the Romans, in 70 A.D., after a 143 day siege. Over 600,000 Jews were slain with many more thousands taken into captivity/slavery. This tragedy, one of the worst to happen to the nation of Israel, provides “the end time” saints with vital survival information.

A Roman tactic for fortress sieges were similar to a modern day military tactic used in the Gulf War. Iraq attacked and occupied Kuwait under hostile circumstances in 1990-1991. The United States coordinated a multinational force for the liberation of Kuwait. The multi-nation force, prior to the conflict known as The Gulf War, spent months transporting troops and supplies to the region. When the military leaders decided that there were enough troops and supplies to fight Iraq, they attacked. The conflict was over in forty seven days.

Similarly, Roman legions, before a siege, would stage a reasonable distance away from the fortress. Rome’s military leaders would attack after accumulating enough troops and supplies. Roman roads and aqueducts that still stand today, attest to their commitment to conquering a region. These roads and aqueducts were built by the legions, not as benevolent gestures to those conquered nations, but as supply lines.

One could be sure the zealots in Jerusalem were well informed of Roman tactics. One could also be sure that the zealots were aware that Jerusalem was not an impregnable fortress. The armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Jerusalem five hundred and fifty seven years earlier, leaving the city in ruin.

If you were alive in Jerusalem just before the 70 A.D. siege, would you have stayed or would you have fled early when Rome began to accumulate troops and supplies? If you are like most people that I’ve asked this question, you probably would have fled. So why did the Jews stay?

A FORTRESS SIEGE ON JERUSALEM

600,000 Jews died with the belief that the 70 A.D. Roman siege on Jerusalem was fulfilling Old Testament prophetic passages. They also believed, according to the predictions, that MESSIAH would protect Jerusalem against the assault.

Zech 14:1-3
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
(KJV)

They were correct about MESSIAH coming to protect the inhabitants of “Mount Zion” from a fortress siege. MESSIAH, unfortunately for the 600,000, did not come then. Their misfortune, however, did not negate this prediction of a future siege on Jerusalem. So what is the implication?

DELIVERENCE ON MOUNT ZION

‘The Prophetic Scriptures’ graphically describe “Mount Zion” in Jerusalem as a haven for a pocket of saints which will survive to the advent of MESSIAH.

Joel 2:32
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
(NIV)

The Jews have known this for thousands of years. This is why 600,000 Jews stayed in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and this is why they flock to Jerusalem today.

GOD PROTECTS MOUNT ZION

GOD will protect the inhabitants of “Mount Zion” during “The Great Tribulation” (with a column of smoke and a pillar of fire),,,

Isa 4:5-6
5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
(KJV)

...just as HE protected Israel against Egypt while in the wilderness.

The 144,000

According to The New Testament, the only individuals recognized to be on “Mount Zion” at the time of MESSIAH’s advent are “The 144,000.”

Rev 14:1
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
(NIV)

THE REDEEMED

Rev 14:3
3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
(NIV)

“The 144,000” will be the only saints alive (redeemed from the earth) at ‘The Second Coming.’ This statement can be verified by simple deduction.

1) GOD’s “Wrath,” when initiated, is designed to affect only those who do not obey HIM.

Micah 5:15
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed me.
(NIV)

2) GOD promises that no saint will experience HIS “Wrath.”

1Thes 5:9
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
(KJV)

3) The effects of the fifth “Trumpet” (which is “GOD’s Wrath” in partial strength) are designed to harm all of humanity, except those that have the “seal of GOD on their foreheads”

Rev 9:1-4
1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
3 And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
(NIV)

......which are “The 144,000.”

Rev 7:3,4
3 .......Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
(KJV)

If isolated pockets of saints were located throughout the rest of the world, then those isolated saints would also suffer in “GOD’s Wrath” at the sounding of the fifth “Trumpet.” Since no saint shall suffer “GOD’s Wrath,” then it can be deduced that all saints (except “The 144,000” that will be protected by the “Seal of GOD”) will be martyred during “The Great Tribulation.” Conclusion: The only saints that will be alive at the advent of MESSIAH will be on “Mount Zion” in Jerusalem.

CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

“The 144,000” will consist of 12,000 men from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Rev 7:4-8
4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
(NIV)

“The 144,000” represent the 12 tribes of Israel. However, this group of survivors is not exclusively male. During the Old Testament times, census’ only counted the males over the age of accountability. The female counter parts are known as:

THE DAUGHTERS OF ZION

According to Isaiah, there will be seven women on Mount Zion to every one man.

Isaiah 4
1 In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, "We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!"
2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit [a] of judgment and a spirit [b] of fire. 5 Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. 6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

ABRAHAM’S SEED

Gentile-Christians are not excluded from this group. The Bible contains many references that support the idea that part of “The 144,000” will be made up of Gentile-Christians. According to the scriptures, Gentiles become “Abraham’s seed” and equal heirs to the promises made to Israel when they accept MESSIAH.

Gal 3:28-29
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(KJV)

GRAPHED OLIVE BRANCHES

Gentiles that accept MESSIAH are the wild olive branches that are graphed to the olive tree (Israel).

Rom 11:17
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
(KJV)


EQUAL INHERITANCE

The promise of equal inheritance was extended to the Gentiles even in the times of The Old Testament.

Ezek 47:21-23
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
(KJV)

According to these and other references, Gentiles have not been excluded from being part of “The 144,000.”

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

“The 144,000” will have to be on “Mount Zion” before “The Great Tribulation” begins. This is because no one will be able to travel (once “The Great Tribulation” begins) without “the Mark of the Beast.“

Rev 13:16-17
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
(KJV)

What you have read are excerpts from The Whitestone Chronicle

For more details contact me at guysmith123@yahoo.com

Copyright1999 by Guy Smith
All rights reserved.
ISBN 0-9668308-2-2
This material can be copied and shared for non-financial gain.

August 18, 2007

THE MYSTERY OF BIBLE PROPHECY SOLVED

Copyright1999 by Guy Smith
All rights reserved.
ISBN 0-9668308-3-0
This material may copied and shared for non-financial gains


Introduction

Bible scholars agree that Bible prophecy is a puzzle. I had found the Prophetic Scriptures of the Bible to be a cryptogram (word puzzle), designed (by GOD) to be conceal a message which would be understood only in the end times. This document contains, in simple direct terms, the system for solving the mystery of Bible Prophecy.


The Prophetic Scriptures as a Solved Mystery

Bible Prophecy is the sum of ‘The Prophetic Scriptures.’ As a solved “mystery,” Bible Prophecy is best viewed as ‘one-book.’ The result of extracting ‘The Prophetic Scriptures’ from The Bible and organizing them into an understandable format is this ‘one-book’ which I call THE PROPHECY.

The Five Prophetic Chapters

THE PROPHECY is made up of five chapters. All ‘Prophetic Scriptures’ that have yet to be fulfilled can be categorized into one of these ‘Five Prophetic Chapters.’

Unfulfilled Bible Prophecy

According to the Bible, there remains 1007 years of unfulfilled prophetic events. This prophetic time is comprised of:
• Seven years of ‘The Tribulation Period.’
• Christ’s Millennial Rule

Christ’s Millennial Rule

The Apostle John predicted a period in which Christ, upon HIS advent, will begin a thousand year rule upon the earth.

Rev 20:6
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.
(KJV)
The Seven Years of the Tribulation Period

The Prophet Daniel predicted a period of ‘seven’ years which preceded Christ’s second coming.

Dan 9:27
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
(NIV)

‘The Tribulation Period’ can further be divided into four smaller segments.
• The First Half of the Tribulation
• “The Great Tribulation”
• ‘The Wonders in the Heavens.’
• “The Day of the LORD”

The First Half of the Tribulation

‘The Tribulation Period’ begins with the Anti-Christ signing an international treaty.

Dan 9:27
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' ...(NIV)

Besides an increase in wars, famines and earthquakes, this first three and a half years segment will be relatively uneventful in prophetic terms.

The Great Tribulation

This second segment begins when the Anti-Christ (The Abomination of Desolation) desolates the soon to be built Hebrew Temple.

Matt 24:15
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
(KJV)

During this forty-two month segment, the saints will be persecuted by the Anti-Christ’s world system.

Rev 13:5
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.
(NIV)

The Wonders in the Heavens

Christ defines another segment (which is defined by prophetic events in the skies) that begins after “The Great Tribulation.”

Matt 24:29
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
(KJV)

The Prophet Joel states that this period will occur prior to “The Day of the LORD.”

Joel 2:30-31
30 And I will shew wonders in theheavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
(KJV)

The Day of the LORD

“The Day of the LORD” is the predicted day of the MESSIAH’s advent.


Zech 14:1-4
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
(KJV)

The Five Segments

Unfulfilled 'Prophetic Time’ can therefore be defined as the four segments of ‘The Tribulation Period’ and the one segment of ‘Christ’s Millennial Rule.’

Again, these five segments are:
1 The First Half of the Tribulation
2 “The Great Tribulation”
3 ‘The Wonders in the Heavens’
4 “The Day of the LORD”
5 ‘Christ’s Millennial Rule.’
Each of these five segments are represented by one of 'The Five Prophetic Chapters.'

How the Prophetic Scriptures are Designed into the Bible

The Bible can best be described as a series of multiple mysteries whose layout design is similar to a modern newspaper. An examination of the front page of any newspaper reveals several incomplete articles. The remainder of the articles, called 'jumps,' are located elsewhere in the paper. References, called 'jump statements,' clue readers to where the remainder of an article can be found.

Bible Prophecy is one of the mysteries of The Bible. And like a modern newspaper, Bible Prophecy contains incomplete passages called ‘The Prophetic Scriptures.’

How the Prophetic Scriptures can be Located and Organized

‘The Prophetic Scriptures’ contain 'Prophetic Catchwords' which act a ‘jump statements.’ These 'Prophetic Catchwords' enabling us to:
• Locate ‘The Prophetic Scriptures.’
• Link and organize ‘The Prophetic Scriptures’ into one ‘The Five Prophetic Chapters’ of THE PROPHECY. For example: “The Day of the LORD.”

"The Day of the LORD" describes MESSIAH’s advent. It is also a 'Prophetic Catchword.' One need only locate all 'Prophetic Scriptures' that contain "The Day of the LORD," extract them from The Bible and compile into the fourth chapter of THE PROPHECY.

Another example of a ‘Prophetic Catchword’ is: “The Sun shall be Turned into Darkness, and the Moon into Blood.” This catchword describes the third segment: ‘The Wonders in the Heavens.'

Joel 2:30-31
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
(KJV)

One need only locate all 'Prophetic Scriptures' that contain “The Sun shall be Turned into Darkness, and the Moon into Blood,” extract them from The Bible and compile into the third chapter of THE PROPHECY.

For example:

The Sixth Seal

Rev 6:12
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
(KJV)

We now know, because this passage contains the ‘Prophetic Catchword’: The Sun shall be Turned into Darkness, and the Moon into Blood, that the sixth seal will occur during the third segment; ‘The Wonders in the Heavens.’

The remaining three segments also have 'Prophetic Catchwords' for locating and organizing purposes. This is how this ancient puzzle works in part.

VIRGINS

Revelation 14:
4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. (KJV)

God, in Revelation 14:4, identifies the 144,000 as virgins. There are two possibilities in defining virgins. The first is to try somehow to label these men with a feminine trait, which is extremely awkward especially when you know that God is very precise with exact words in His prophecies. In other words a more accurate way to convey that these men have never had sex would be to say that they are celibate. That said, there must be another message that God is trying to convey in the term “virgins.”

The other possibility is that the word “virgins” has another reference. God uses key words and catchphrases to tie scriptures together. In this case I believe that He labels “the 144,000” as “virgins” to reference us to another part of the Bible, specifically to the parable of “the ten virgins” Matthew 25:1-13. It is apparent reviewing the parable that there is a common theme between “the 144,000” and “the ten virgins.” This common theme is that both “the 144,000” and the parable of “the ten virgins” is message about individuals that will be alive at the advent of Christ.

THE MESSAGE OF THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS

There is a lot of information that is provided to us in this parable. To keep it simple we can say that:
1. This parable is describing an event that will take place at the end of the age.
2. The bridegroom represents Christ.
3. The “ten virgins” represents individuals that know the bride and groom.
4. The “bride’s” identity will be discussed in another link.

The parable describes a group of ten girls (bridesmaids) which are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom and the bride so that they may enter and participate in the wedding festivities. The parable further clarifies that five are prepared to enter and that the other five (or half) are exclude because they are not prepared. This reference to half of the group making it is confirmed in Zechariah.

Zechariah 14
The LORD Comes and Reigns
1 A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you.
2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake [a] in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

GOD TO PROTECT MOUNT ZION

God has established that He is going to protect a group of 1,152,000 individuals (144,000 men and 1,008,000 women) on Mount Zion during the 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation period. However, not all of those protected are prepared to enter the kingdom. And in the end only half, according to the parable of “the ten virgins” and confirmed by Zechariah, of the 1,152,000 will enter into the kingdom.

GRAPHED OLIVE BRANCHES

Gentiles that accept MESSIAH are the wild olive branches that are graphed to the olive tree (Israel).

Rom 11:17
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
(KJV)

ABRAHAM’S SEED

Gentile-Christians are not excluded from this group. The Bible contains many references that support the idea that part of “The 144,000” will be made up of Gentile-Christians. According to the scriptures, Gentiles become “Abraham’s seed” and equal heirs to the promises made to Israel when they accept MESSIAH.

Gal 3:28-29
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
(KJV)

THE DAUGHTERS OF ZION

According to Isaiah, there will be seven women on Mount Zion to every one man.

Isaiah 4
1 In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, "We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!"
2 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit [a] of judgment and a spirit [b] of fire. 5 Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. 6 It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

CHILDREN OF ISRAEL

“The 144,000” will consist of 12,000 men from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Rev 7:4-8
4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
(NIV)

“The 144,000” represent the 12 tribes of Israel. However, this group of survivors is not exclusively male. During the Old Testament times, census’ only counted the males over the age of accountability. The female counter parts are known as: