On the fourth day of the restoration of Earth, we read this description:
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; (Gen. 1:14).
As Creator of all we see about us, the Lord reserves the right to intervene in His creation, and one of the primary ways is using the heavens and its luminaries. When He put the stars in place, and explained the Zodiac to Adam and Job and others, He did so in order to tell the story of redemption that would unfold throughout the seven thousand-year future of humankind. He expects us to know His Word, and to know what the heavens are telling us. Satan, of course, has corrupted the story in the stars through the gross distortions of astrology, but he cannot erase their position and meaning. As we study these things, we can know what has happened in the past, and what is to come, enabling us to prepare ourselves accordingly.
The signs and wonders are not confined to the heavens. For example, Jesus said in Luke 21:24, of the nation of Israel:
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Jews were dispersed to the nations for over 1900 years away from their land. Jerusalem was overrun by the Romans, by the Muslims, by the Crusaders, and by the British all those years, but now the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, as we shall see. The fact that Israel is now a viable country in control of Jerusalem, having survived the systematic extermination of the Holocaust, is a colossal sign of the Lord’s intervention in her history. We shall see what heavenly signs accompanied that incredible chain of events.
It is virtually impossible to understand the meaning of the heavenly signs if we don’t understand the feasts of Israel, for it is upon the feast days that the Messiah fulfills prophecy exactly to the day what the feasts were predicting concerning Him. We could easily and reasonably apply the feast days to the passage in Genesis regarding “seasons” because they occur regularly in the spring and in the fall. The Feast of Passover occurs on the full moon of the first month of Nisan. The Feast of Tabernacles also occurs on the full moon of the seventh month of Tishri. The feast days are the “seasons” in Genesis 1:14. When there are lunar eclipses associated with these moons, the significance is, pardon the pun, astronomical.
Jesus the Messiah is the fulfillment of the first four feasts beginning with Passover.
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. (1 Cor. 5:7).
He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor. 5:8).
There is nothing of leaven in Him. He fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits when He rose from the dead.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him. (1 Cor. 15:20-23)
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His resurrection ensures our own salvation and future resurrection. He is the guarantee of the entire harvest to come. He is also the fulfillment of the Feast of Pentecost, when, as the Spirit, He is poured out upon His ekklesia (His gathering) promised by Jesus in Matthew 16. Two loaves, barley and wheat, were waved before the Lord, showing His divided people coming together in oneness.
The remaining feasts are future, and in the ancient practice in Israel, they come after a long summer of heat during which the fruit are ripened. The fulfillment of these final three feasts is vital in understanding the end times of this age. The Feast of Trumpets (Tishri 1) alerts the people of the two final feasts coming quickly, and it opens the seventieth seven of Daniel (the Tribulation). The Feast of Atonement (Tishri 10) is the national introspection and repentance to deal with sin and Israel’s rejection of her Messiah. At the end of the Tribulation, she recognizes and embraces Him. The final feast is the Feast of Tabernacles (Tishri 15), the happiest of all feasts, for it represents the coming together and mutual dwelling of Yahweh and His people in the Millennial Kingdom. Details of how these three feasts unfold in the final seven constitute the bulk of the Apocalypse, or Revelation.
The stars tell the story of redemption. Now some will refute this, saying that human imagination produced the starry gospel out of whole cloth, but it is inconceivable to me that knowing our Creator’s precision in all things He creates, that He would fail to arrange the stars in a meaningful pattern for the benefit of humankind. Yahweh told Isaiah to
Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these?
He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name.
Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
(40:26).
The “host” refers to the stars, all of them named. The Psalmist confirms this:
He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. (147:4-5).
What can be the reason for Yahweh to name the stars if not to tell a story with them? Job wrote that Yahweh
By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent. (26:13).
The heavens are not just there, but are “garnished,” viz., designed and beautified to tell a story, and included in this story is Hydra, the coiled serpent in the stars. If this is not true, how else can we interpret Psalm 19:1-6?
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun. Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course, it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
It is obvious that this is a reference to the stars, so how can the stars reveal knowledge if they don’t tell a story? “There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” The stars are speaking! The stars have a voice and a language because they are telling the ageless story! The question before us is, what is that story the stars are declaring night after night?
The early patriarchs undoubtedly learned the story of the stars from the Creator himself. Adam, in his innocence and in his years of fellowship with Yahweh, surely must have learned how the twelve divisions of the Zodiac were the picture book of the Lord’s plan of salvation. And Adam, if he did not record the story for his progeny, at least taught them diligently by word of mouth. Abel knew the story. Seth knew the story, and so did all the early patriarchs. Job would have been another whom the Lord brought into the high knowledge of the heavens, for in his writing he mentions the Zodiac (Mazzaroth), the Pleiades, Orion, and Arcturus. Amos mentions the Pleiades and Orion (5:8). Where did those names come from if not from Yahweh very early on? They certainly did not learn of them from early civilizations in the area. I have to believe Adam was the source. In sum Yahweh aimed to tell His story through the naming of the stars, and that intention has been in place from the beginning. Names have meaning, and meaning is elucidated in a story. The night sky is the Lord’s scroll, and understanding men have been reading it faithfully. Abraham was just such a man.
When Yahweh came to Abraham in a vision, Abraham complained about his lack of an heir. The Lord responded:
Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Gen. 15:5).
The Lord commanded Abraham to tell Him the story of redemption in the stars, not to count them. The verb “to number” means to recount, the show forth, to speak of, to tell out, to enumerate. In answer to Abraham’s anxiety regarding an heir, Yahweh instructed Abraham to tell forth the story in the stars in proper order and in all its details, for He knew that in the telling Abraham would discover the answer. Abraham obeyed, and beginning with the constellation Virgo, the Virgin, with its alpha star Zerah (meaning “seed” in Hebrew) depicting her son the promised seed of Genesis 3:15:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel”
He spoke lucidly of that single seed coming from the Virgin (“Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” – Isa. 7:14), of the beta star Tzemech, the Branch (“In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land” – Jeremiah 33:15), and of Virgo’s beta star Tsbiyahweh meaning “beautiful Yahweh.” He told of Virgo’s ancillary constellations of Como (Kamah in Hebrew) – the desired one (“And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come” – Haggai 2:7), of Centaur, the dual natured creature (man/horse) depicting the God/Man to come (“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given . . . and his name shall be called . . . The mighty God, The everlasting Father” – Isaiah 9:6), and of Bootes, the coming Shepherd (“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young” – Isaiah 40:11).
Abraham spoke of Libra, the constellation of scales, or balances, showing the conflict between good and evil, the evil, of course, weighing heavily in the scale, and requiring One to pay the price with blood to tip the scales; and of the associated constellations, Centaurus, the two-natured man/horse, with the lethal spear executing righteous judgment while standing upon the Southern Cross upon the victim Lupus, who willingly submits (“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” – 2 Cor. 5:21); of Scorpius, whose tail (Lesath in Hebrew) means the “Perverse One, and whose brightest star is Antares means “anti-Lamb,” or Antichrist, who overturns the altar of the Temple in his desecration; of the secondary Ophiuchus restraining Serpens (Serpent) from capturing the Crown while placing his heel on Antares to crush his head (Gen. 3:15); of Sagittarius, the Centaur with a bow and arrow aimed at Antares, the heart of the Scorpion, harbinger of the Mighty Prince coming to destroy Antichrist and to rule the Earth; of Capricorn the sacrificial goat with the fish tail doing double duty – carrying away the sins of the people into the desert, and being sacrificed on the altar of Yahweh’s judgment – as the Messiah did in His earthly career:
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)
of Aquarius (in Hebrew, deli, or water buckets), a picture of Jesus pouring out the living water in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to Israel:
“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; (44:3)
of Pisces, the vertical fish and the horizontal fish, kept alive by the living water of Aquarius, and representing the earthly, horizontal body of Israel, and the heavenly, vertical Body of Christ; of Aries the lamb (Taleh in Hebrew) broken in death, but triumphant in life, standing upon the bonds of the Cetus, the sea monster, to the fishes of Pisces, to deliver them; of Taurus, the returning bull, with its ancillary constellations, the Hyades (congregated) and the Pleiades (the seven-star cluster), all revealing that Christ will return to His congregated people, the ekklesia; of Gemini (Hebrew Thaumin, “joined together”), the twins, one coming to labor and to suffer (Al Henah), and the other to trample underfoot, showing the two advents of Messiah – first to be bruised on His heel, and second to vanquish His enemies; of Cancer, the Butterfly in Hebrew, hiding its cluster (Praesepe) in its shell until new life emerges, revealing Christ our hiding place until the time of our metamorphosis; and finally of Leo the Lion, the regal one of Judah whose father prophesied of him:
““Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Gen. 49:8-10);
This twelfth constellation whose brightest star is Regulus, the regal star, whose second brightest star is Denebola, the “Judge” in Hebrew, and whose third brightest star is El Gibbor in Hebrew, the “mighty God-man” (Isa. 9:6) who treads underfoot Hydra, the fleeing serpent, whose brightest star is Alphard “the Cursed One,” leaving the remains to Corvus the crow and other raptors to feast on the flesh of armies when Crater the Cup pours our the wrath of the Almighty.
So, after this wonderful recounting of the story of redemption featuring the Coming One, Abraham finished the story. Yahweh said unto him “So shall thy seed be.” Then Abraham pondered this word, and with the guidance of the Spirit, realized the wisdom of his God. His heir would be ONE seed – the Coming One, the Messiah, who dominates the divine story hidden in the stars, yet so plainly revealed to the understanding mind and receiving spirit. It is small wonder that after such a revelation dropped into his understanding that Abraham
“. . . believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6).
This is what Paul affirmed in Galatians 3:16:
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ..”
The promise to Abraham, written and declared in the night sky, was that his one seed would be the Messiah Christ. Abraham’s belief in this One gained him imputed righteousness, for that single revelation governed the rest of his life.
It is obvious from this account of Abraham that the Lord placed the stars in their locations for a purpose. The heavens belong to Him and He will use them to instruct humankind. This is exactly what He did when His Son took on human flesh and passed through various experiences in His human life. In fact all major events in Jesus’ life were in conjunction with the feast days, and the main feast days (Passover, the first, and Tabernacles, the last) involved the moon. That He was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is apparent in John’s gospel account:
“The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
The Word Became Flesh
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(1:9-14).
The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the mutual abiding of Yahweh and His people in their wilderness wanderings – Yahweh in His tabernacle, the people in their tents. It was the feast that featured rejoicing, rejoicing in the past memories, rejoicing in the bountiful care of Yahweh during the year, and rejoicing in the promising future. John said the “Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us.” Jesus was the embodiment of the desert tabernacle wherein dwelt His Father. Surely something so monumental as this had to be accompanied by a full moon, a heavenly sign.
Even more astonishing was the experience of the Bethlehem shepherds on the night of Messiah’s birth. Here’s Luke’s account:
And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them. (2:8-16, 20).
This was truly a heavenly sign and wonder, and a solid argument for the Feast of Tabernacles themes surrounding this event. There is the presence of the heavenly beings full of glory, coming down to overcome the darkness, and to produce in the shepherds great joy and rejoicing. In addition the timing was right, for at the Feast of Tabernacles, the harvest was in, but the fields weren’t plowed yet, leaving the stubble for the lambs. The shaft of light that extended into the heavens over the village was the star of Bethlehem seen by the Magi far to the east in Babylon. This was not a natural conflation of stars or planets, but rather an entirely supernatural phenomenon. And the Magi, still influenced after centuries by the teachings of Daniel and his 70 weeks prophecy, suspected the time of the Messiah was at hand, and they eagerly watched the night sky for evidence. When they saw the shaft of light, they knew the time had arrived and they saddled up. The glory of the Almighty Himself extending from heaven to His Son on Earth was their guiding light to bring them to the newborn King. What they were witnessing was His star. Balaam was the first to mention that Messiah had His own star. Numbers 24:17 says this: “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.” This star was unlike any other, and this is what guided the Magi. It had nothing at all to do with nature and regular stars, but everything to do with the Almighty and His angels in heavenly brilliance hovering over the infant Messiah, and how long it lasted or how many times it appeared, we are not told. However, when the Magi diverted to Jerusalem and unwittingly informed Herod of the birth of the King, the record says that
“When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. (Matt. 2:9).
They had to leave the religious center of Judaism to see the heavenly shaft of light over the young child.
A great sign and wonder in the heavenly realm transpired in the final three hours of Jesus’ execution, when the sun was blacked out at noon, not by natural means, but by supernatural. It was not an eclipse, because no eclipse lasts three hours, and no ordinary eclipse results in total darkness. It was the Lord recognizing the death of His Son. Amos described the day like this:
And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight; I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, and baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day. (8:9-10).
We have the darkening of the sun and the land trembling with an earthquake. Here’s how Matthew describes the scene:
“So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54).
Joel also describes it:
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (2:30-31).
The significance is that the black sun represented the Son of righteousness being blackened with the sins of the world. Darkness always accompanies judgment, and in deep, midday darkness the Father laid upon His Son, the sacrificial Lamb of Yahweh, the sins of the world, and judged them.
How dark was that time for the Son of Man, who the night before had prayed in agony for fear of failing His mission of bearing the sins of the world? Listen to the distressing prayer of prophecy from Psalm 22 that He may have been reciting at the end:
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me,
and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent. But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
“He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb You have been My God. Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring lion. out like I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws. You have brought Me to the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
(22:1-19).
This is an agonizing soul, made dark for our salvation. He cried in the daytime, from 9 am to noon, and in the night season, from noon to 3 pm. Here is the missing “night.”
Antiquity, both religious and secular, confirms that the year of the Lord’s death was 30 AD, so Passover had to be on Thursday. This seems to conflict with Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees, when He said this:
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:40).
He was buried on Friday late, in the tomb on Saturday, and rose early on Sunday, which makes up three days; however, that meant He was in the tomb on Saturday night (which started at sundown Friday) and Sunday night, leaving a missing night. But as we’ve seen, there was a night in the middle of Friday when the sun turned dark. Furthermore, when the sun darkened, and the stars shone, the sun was in Aries, the Zodiacal constellation of the sacrificial ram! The stars told exactly what was happening on the Earth at that exact time. This is NOT coincidental. This is the Lord speaking in His heavenly scroll.
When Friday Passover ended and the Sabbath began at 6 pm, another sign and great prophecy was fulfilled. In Peter’s speech at Pentecost, he quoted Joel 2:
But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
(Acts 2:16-21).
This prophecy was fulfilled when the full moon rose over Jerusalem that evening when Jesus was entombed, and it was a blood moon, a rather dramatic blood moon because of all the dust in the air from the earlier earthquake. What a strange time that was for the children of Israel! First the unprecedented midday darkness of night, then the earthquake, and finally the partial lunar eclipse, all within a few hours. In fact, the sunset and moonrise happened at the same time, a stunning sign to the nation, and to the Romans, for that matter. These phenomena preceded the “great and notable day of the Lord” by two days, and that day was the day of resurrection. Then fifty days later the Spirit fell upon the disciples to complete the prophecy of Joel. It must be emphasized that this prophecy was fulfilled in its entirety at this time by all these events. The fulfillment of Joel is why so many Jews believed and were saved by Peter’s preaching on the great day of the outpouring.
These are the signs surrounding the first advent of our Lord the Messiah. But Israel as a nation would not receive Him as her Messiah, but rejected Him, and forced that generation to repeat what the generation that came out of Egypt in the exodus had to do, viz., wander in the wilderness until death, allowing the next generation to go in to the promised land. The generation that rejected the Lord had to die, and another generation had to rise up to possess the land and to seize the opportunity to receive the Messiah. That “second” generation (after the start of Yahweh’s clock in 1948) possesses the land today, and is waiting for events to transpire that will provide them the opportunity to do what the evil generation in the first century would not do, and that is to recognize and receive and embrace their Messiah King. Because of this gracious opportunity, the prophecies in Joel regarding the sun and moon will occur just as Jesus predicted they would be. In Luke 21:25-27He said this:
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
It is extraordinary how many prophecies describe these signs – the earthquake, and the blacked out sun, moon and stars – of the last days. In Matt. 24:29-30, Jesus said that,
“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: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Isaiah wrote:
Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cuel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger. (13:9-13).
In Joel 2:10-11 we read:
The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it?
Joel follows that with:
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The Lord also will roar from Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (3:15-16).
The three signs of the first advent – earthquake, darkened sun, and blood moon – will, with some variation accompany His second advent – earthquake, darkened sun, darkened moon, and darkened stars. We see in the breaking of the sixth seal an earthquake, a blackened sun, and a blood moon.
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. (Rev. 6:12-13).
The similarities with Joel 2 are uncanny and definitive, proving that Joel’s prophecy will be fulfilled in the Day of the Lord.
At Jesus’ death the dark sun revealed the Father’s judgment on the One who was made sin for us. The blood moon following signified the redeeming blood of the Lamb to save us. At Jesus’ return the darkened sun signifies Yahweh’s judgment on the world, whereas the blood moon shows Israel covered in the blood of their Messiah after their repentance and recognition and acceptance of Him. Zechariah makes this clear in 12:10:
And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
This national repentance will usher in the glorious blessing of 14:8-11:
And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The Lord is one,” and His name one. All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. The people shall dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
Hosea writes of the two comings of the Messiah. The first coming is in Hosea 5:14-15:
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
The Lord Jesus returned to His place in heaven with the Father, waiting for the nation to acknowledge their offence, and seek His face. After much affliction during the reign of Antichrist, the remnant of Israel finally cries out in the anguish of Psalm 79.
O God, the ]nations have come into Your inheritance;
Your holy temple they have defiled;
they have laid Jerusalem in heaps. the dead bodies of Your servants
they have given as food for the birds of the heavens,
the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
a scorn and derision to those who are around us.
How long, Lord?
Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You,
and on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his dwelling place.
Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us!
Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
for we have been brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of Your name; and deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, for Your name’s sake! Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?” Let there be known among the nations in our sight
The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed. Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are appointed to die; and return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations.
Psalm 80 continues the theme and Israel recognizes the Man at Yahweh’s right hand. It is the pivotal moment.
Restore us, O God;
cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!
O Lord God of hosts,
how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in great measure You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!
. . . Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
Then we will not turn back from You;
revive us, and we will call upon Your name. (80:3-7, 17-18).
This brings the Deliverer to His people! In Hosea 6:1-3 we have the second coming of the Messiah:
Come, and let us return to the Lord;
for He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us;
on the third day He will raise us up,
that we may live in His sight.
Let us know,
let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
like the latter and former rain to the earth.
We cannot praise the Lord enough for His gracious treatment of Israel in providing her a final opportunity to embrace her Bridegroom. Her rejection of Him at His first advent meant grave discipline for 1950 years during her Diaspora, but it allowed the Body of Christ to incubate and mature during the interim. Now it is Israel’s turn to take center stage for the grand finale of the ages. Once the rapture of the overcoming ekklesia occurs, the seventieth seven will begin, and will end in the Bride’s tearful embrace of her Bridegroom. How wonderful are these events to come! May we ready ourselves individually and collectively, and may we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, viz., that Jerusalem (and the remnant of Israel) would come to know the Prince of Peace! Hosea wrote of the day when this would indeed come to pass.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness,
and speak ]comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there,
as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
“And it shall be, in that day,” says the Lord,
“that you will call Me ‘My Husband,’
and no longer call Me My Master,’ for I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
and they shall be remembered by their name no more. In that day I will make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the air,
and with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth,
to make them lie down safely.
“I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me
in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.
“It shall come to pass in that day
that I will answer,” says the Lord; “I will answer the heavens,
and they shall answer the earth. The earth shall answer with grain,
with new wine, and with oil; they shall answer Jezreel.
Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’
(2:14-23).
The day will come when Israel forsakes her idols and recognizes her Bridegroom during her final seven years following the age of the ekklesia.
In Matthew 24:3 Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple, and that incited the disciples to ask Him three questions:
“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
The whole discourse recorded by Matthew is in answer to these three questions. Question one concerns the destruction of the Temple; question two inquires about His second coming, which occurs at the end of the Tribulation; and question three is about the time preceding the beginning of the tribulation period – the end of the age. These are three separate events, and each has its own separate signs, not necessarily heavenly.
Jesus answered question one in Luke 21 in rather simple fashion.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (21:20-24).
In the middle of the Jewish revolt of 67-70 AD, the Roman Titus crushed Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, eventually driving the Jews onto Masada and suicide in 73. After this the process of dispersion to other nations began and finished with Hadrian in the 130s. From 70 until 1967 Jerusalem was “trodden down of the Gentiles,” but in 1967, when Israel captured the city, the “times of the Gentiles” were fulfilled.
The answer to question two (the signs of His coming during the Tribulation) is not so simple, and that occupies a good portion of Matthew 24.
And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. (24:4-6).
Here Jesus gives us the general situation in the world preceding the Tribulation – “the end of the age.” It is a preface for His answer to the second question regarding His coming, which does not occur until the end of the Tribulation.
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (24:7-8).
Once the ekklesia is removed from Earth, the Tribulation begins, and Jesus calls that the “beginning of sorrows.” Paul likens the beginning of the Tribulation to a woman in labor. In 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 he writes:
“ For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
What Jesus has just described are labor pains that open the Tribulation, like what John describes when the Christ begins to break the seals on the scroll in Revelation 6. The Four Horsemen of the first four seals ride forth into the Earth to disrupt the lives of the unbelieving world, viz., to ratchet up the labor pains of judgment through war, famine, pestilence, and persecution unprecedented in world history. As these pains intensify, Jesus’ next words describe the situation:
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. (24:9-13).
This is a harsh warning to those unbelievers who find themselves embroiled in the tribulation. Because of indolence and apathy, they are experiencing a hostile environment in which Israel the Bride is under the purifying discipline of the Bridegroom. What is at stake here is the millennial kingdom promised to Israel, so for those of Israel who desire to rule in it, and for those Gentiles who want to participate in it, there is the gospel of the kingdom preached by the two witnesses and the 144,000 sealed first fruits of Israel that demands obedience. This is what Jesus refers to in 24:14:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
But this is not the end, only the middle of the Tribulation. Jesus continues His discourse by describing Israel’s life under the Beast during the final three and a half years of the seven.
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (24:15-21).
As Antiochus IV of Greek dominion desecrated the Temple prior to the Macabbean revolt, so at the midpoint of the Tribulation the Beast (Antichrist) halts the Temple sacrifices, sets up his image in the holiest place, and thoroughly desecrates the Temple. This assumes, of course, that Israel is sovereign over the land during this time of trial; otherwise there would be no Temple to desecrate.
The end of the Tribulation has its peculiar signs, as Jesus explains:
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.
“Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(Matt. 24:23-31).
The false Christ is the Antichrist, and the false prophet is the False Prophet who promotes the Antichrist. The carcass is Israel, and the eagles are the armies gathered against her at the battle of Armageddon. Then there is another blackout, as happened at the close of the original seventieth week when Jesus hung on the tree. The appearance of the Son of Man is the final sign of His second coming. The dispersed of Israel will return as Isaiah predicted in 11:11-12:
It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will ]assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Thus does Jesus answer the second question: “What shall be the sign of Your coming?”
This leaves the third question as to the signs preceding the Tribulation, which Jesus answers in Matt. 24:32-51:
“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This passage involves believing Israel and her Gentile proselytes meeting in the remnant congregations. The warning is strict but not surprising because under the kingdom economy there is no assurance of salvation without overcoming obedience. The overcomers among these Christians are the firstfruits and will be harvested before the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This could have happened in the first century except for national Israel’s rejection. Now it is postponed and has been for over 1900 years – the time necessary for the birth, growth, and maturation of the body of Christ into the one New Man of Ephesians 2:15. Jesus said in Luke 21:28 that
“when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.”
What things is He referring to if not to those things that occur at the end of the age of the body of Christ prior to the Tribulation?
His answer begins with the fig tree and its tender branch leafing out in the spring before the summer heat. The Tribulation is doubtless the summer heat, and the fig tree is the nation of Israel (Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:6-7, Ezekiel 36:8), which put forth its tender branch in 1948 at its statehood. That was “springtime” for the fig tree, and the summer of heat (Tribulation) is not far off.
The days during the Tribulation will be like the days of Noah before the flood. People indulged in eating and drinking, in marrying and in giving in marriage. It is curious that the Lord used the most human of activities to delineate the days of Noah. Everyone has to eat, but we get the impression that Jesus was implying pleasure in the activity. People love to eat and to experience the subtle nuances of the eating experience. Drinking, especially alcoholic beverages, offers a panoply of disparate distinctions that seasoned palates enjoy, indulge in, and even engage in obsession. With marriage, there is not a more optimistic practice among humankind. Marriage looks to a future full of hope and family and happiness and joy, and the beginning celebration has no regard to any looming problems. Imagine that in the middle of the tribulation! And no celebration is more sated with food and drink than is marriage. It is the highlight of every young adult’s life, and it speaks of the endless carefree days ahead. These are what Jesus highlighted regarding the days of Noah, things that numb people to the dangers surrounding them. So shall it be in the final seven years when the age winds down to its termination.
The summoning trumpet is called the “last” trumpet. In 1 Cor. 15:52 Paul writes:
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
We should not mistake this for the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11, which sounds at the midpoint of the Tribulation and carries in its sounds seven vials of wrath waiting to be poured out on the decadent world during the last 3.5 years known as the Great Tribulation. This last trumpet in 1 Corinthians is for the remnant believers, summoning them upward. It is conceivable that this trumpet will be the same trumpet that begins the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets that signals the beginning of Israel’s seventieth seven, but again it has nothing to do with the seven trumpets of judgment that follow the opening of the seven seals.
Jesus comes as a thief to steal away the valuable gemstones when He is least expected. To most Christians, shamefully, this word falls on deaf ears. Perhaps the remnant Christians have been conditioned to think that the so-called rapture of the believers includes every genuine believer regardless of condition, but this is a false and pernicious teaching that anesthetizes them to the need for consecration, for devotion to Christ, and for service to His suffering people. Satan would have them believe that loving the world and the things in the world is merely the prelude for future self-indulgence, but in what? Turmoil? Chaos? Certainly not in pleasure! We’re talking about the tribulation here. It is a destructive, debilitating doctrine that strips bare the hearts of believers of passion for the Lord and for His people. The two greatest commandments Jesus gave the little flock He expects them to fulfill. They are love for Him and for others. Failure will have its consequences. Two are in the field, and two are grinding at the mill. Is there any hint that they are not four believers? None whatsoever! And yet two are taken and two remain. The two taken are carrying on their daily routine as they should be. They are not in their closets praying, or outwardly being different than their companions. The stark difference is the inward condition of their hearts. Two hearts are divided between Christ and other loves. Two hearts are occupied with Christ and are eager to hear His call and see His face. Two are taken; two are not.
The enemy of our souls would have them believe that two are Christians of any condition, and two are unbelievers. This is deception. Jesus is warning His people. If all believers regardless of spiritual condition are taken, then why would Jesus give a warning to watch? He wouldn’t. This is clear from Luke 21:34-36:
“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
He is calling His people to watch and pray always to be accounted worthy to stand before Him. The hour of temptation is the Tribulation, which they will avoid IF they keep the word of His patience. They can never blame the Lord’s sovereignty if they fail to answer the upward call. It is their choice what they do with their lives.
This section dealing with heavenly and earthly signs would not be complete without mention of the blood moon tetrads associated with Israel’s recent history. A tetrad in our context deals with the nation of Israel and its feast days. Briefly, in two consecutive years on the first day (full moon) of the first annual feast – Passover – and on the first day (full moon) of the last of seven annual feasts – Tabernacles – there is a lunar eclipse in which the Earth casts its shadow over the surface of the moon, giving it a blood red appearance. Although these tetrads have appeared during the Diaspora, the important ones – those that are signs of end time events – have occurred since Israel gained statehood in 1948 in fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy in 36:24:
“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”
The tetrad appeared in 1949-50, at the same time Israel was fighting an existential war to gain her independence, and at the very first Passover in the land in almost two millennia, a true testimony of the Lord’s renewed work with His earthly people. It is fitting because the Passover celebrates the exodus from enslavement in Egypt, whereas the 1949 Passover celebrated the return of the Jews from the persecuting nations of the Diaspora. This is certainly a monumental event worthy of a dramatic heavenly sign.
Another tetrad appeared in 1967-68, encompassing another war when Israel’s enemies tried again to exterminate her. This war led to the recapture of Jerusalem for the first time since the Maccabees shortly before Jesus came in His first advent. It was a modern miracle. Israel now has possession of her land and her city. All that remains is the rebuilding of her Temple to complete the preparation for Messiah. We should be looking upward for the sign signaling this great event.