On my long trip home, I was filled with excitement at the thought of being able to distribute my two-sided cards with the RQ on the back for entrance to my website. I was well prepared with a box of 500 cards. Hopefully, now more people will be finding Rapture Ready and Dropzonedelta as well, since I distributed hundreds of cards everywhere I went. While doing so, I was also warning strangers that war and the rapture were imminent and that we should all repent, receive Christ, and study scripture to be abreast of the times in which we live.

Albeit, as I traveled through the Bible belt states, I encountered drug-addicted people everywhere, some old, some young – at welcome stations, rest stops, and gas stations – (many of which are now owned by East Indians who have closed restrooms to the public since it is there that druggies snort lines of cocaine or shoot up heroin.) In one such gas station, I asked the young, lone clerk behind a bulletproof glass, “Are you a Christian?” (knowing that he was probably a Hindu), and sure enough, he said he wasn’t and replied, “I am Hindu.”

“Do you know anything about the Bible?” I inquired.

“No, but I’ve heard of it.”

“Well, the Bible is the history of the world and the God who created it,” I explained. Then I shared how we are all sinners and in need of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The young man seemed to recognize the name Jesus, and I finally closed by giving him my two-sided card. “Here, this card will explain more fully.” The pleasant young man thanked me, and I went on my way.

The fear Chistians feel when sharing Christ is Satan’s way of spooking us for fear of offending others. But everyone I encountered was at least willing to listen.

I could tell you stories of the many and diverse people I talked to on my way to Michigan, but just to give you another example, one young man who was stationed at a rest stop to warn visitors that there was no running water and the facilities were closed, knew absolutely nothing about God or the Bible. Nothing at all! As I explained the God of heaven and earth and the Bible, he was dumbfounded and replied that he was at the top of his game with his own recording studio and this part-time job. Nothing I would say or do could change his mind. He was supremely confident and totally lost. The best I could do was pray for him after I departed, and so I left him in the hands of God.

At the huge and modern welcome station in Tennessee, a man who appeared to be in his late sixties was wearing a T-shirt with this saying on it: “For evil to exist, all that is needed is for good men to do nothing.” So I went over to where he was sitting and told him I liked his T-shirt, and began sharing that we are living in the last of the last days, and he agreed. I handed him my card.

Presently, the United States is being awakened to God’s existence by being hammered with wild storms as the rest of the world teeters on the brink of extinction, as we and the rest of the world slide into complete immorality, apostasy, and complacency. On top of that, Russia is now threatening the United States over our anticipated involvement in Iran, as well as holding talks with China. North Korea is saber-rattling as well, and India and Pakistan are growling at one another. All of these people have nuclear bombs at their disposal – just let that sink in a little.

There is chaos and threat of war everywhere we look. As I write this, the Iranian regime will soon be dealt a death blow by us. Warplanes are at the ready with bunker-busting bombs to undo Iran’s last nuclear stronghold as warships head toward the region. Women are dancing in the streets for being able to rid themselves of their face covering and other oppressive Sharia mandates, as their government is being toppled by Israeli forces.

It is imperative that Christians get off the couch and quit picking the lint from our belly button while watching football (as if there is nothing going on in the world) and show yourselves to be true men of God.

While in Lansing, I encountered an older man who was wearing a shirt with two pockets that both stood out as though they were holding cigarettes. I asked what he had in them, and he laughed as he fished out the metal box with pre-rolled joints in it.

“So, what’s in the other pocket?”

He replied, “My lighter.”

I then took the initiative to put my hand on his shoulder and pray facetiously for him; “Dear Lord, please take away the need for this evil habit from this man.”

To my complete surprise, he exclaimed “That’s just what I needed, someone to pray over me to kick this d***** demonic habit!”

We had a sit-down where he revealed that he was a believer but couldn’t kick the habit, while he showed me scripture verses on his iPhone. I then proceeded to pray for him, but this time with utmost sincerity as he squeezed my hand tightly. The man thanked me repeatedly for taking the time to spend with him, and I had a feeling that he was really cured of this evil habit.

The young man had just been baptized, and I asked if he had a Bible. He said he didn’t. I just happened to have a new one in my car – a red-letter edition, no less.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, and I made my way back to my car to retrieve it for him. It was the first and only Bible he ever had. I sat back down and explained its contents to him, and then I prayed for him. Nevertheless, it troubled me that some church baptized him without first sharing the Word of God with him. Apparently, they were seeking to get points by baptizing anyone who came along.

I firmly believe that God is shaking mankind awake before He unleashes his fury upon us with a time of tribulation, the likes of which we’ve never experienced before in human history – like the Bible says. At this juncture, God impressed on my mind that I should induct the Christian recipients of my cards into the army of God by supplying them with a half dozen of them to distribute to family, friends, and neighbors. Not one of them has resisted so far and were happy to comply – some with a smile on their faces. Now that’s thinking outside the box – where God exists and fear is nonexistent.

YBIC

Jim Towers

***

You can write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com. You can also find me on my newly restructured website www.propheticsignsandwonders.com, which now features videos of worldwide events taking place in the present time, as well as proof of God’s existence and the reality of Biblical places, and Moses himself.

 

We fairly often see the phrase day of the Lord in the Bible. Google says it appears 18 times in the Old Testament and 5 times in the New Testament.

So, what is the day of the Lord? It refers to a time of God’s judgment on the world. The New Testament refers to the day of the Lord as a day of God’s wrath. When is that time? Is this referring to a single day? How long is God’s day in the Bible?

The day of the Lord tells us a lot more than most people realize. The first thing we have to understand is how God describes a day in the Bible. 2 Peter 3:8 (NIV) says, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day.” 

Psalm 90:4 (NIV) states, “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by or like a watch in the night.” 

Why is God telling us this? To start putting the pieces of the puzzle together, we have to go back to Genesis 1:3 (NIV) where God said, “Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.” He also says this same phrase for the 2nd through the 6th day. This clearly shows that these days are 24-hour days with morning and night. Genesis 2:2 says, “By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work.” 

God is showing us that He has created six days of “work” and one day of “rest.” Our day is 24 hours, and later God shows us that His day is like 1,000 years. If we substitute His 1,000-year days for our 24-hour days, we see that God’s plan is showing six 1,000-year days of WORK for mankind followed by a seventh 1,000 years of REST.

Because God has “shown us” His 7th day of rest is 1,000 years, this has caused many theologians and the Jewish Talmud to show that God’s plan for mankind is a 7,000-year plan consisting of 6,000 years of work and one thousand years of rest.

With hindsight we can see that God has divided our 6,000 years of work where mankind is ruling the planet into three dispensations of 2,000 years of no law, 2,000 years of law through Israel, and 2,000 years of grace, called the church age, through Jesus.

The Talmud and many theologians say that God’s plan for mankind is a 7,000-year plan. How do we know that? We know God says His day is as 1,000 years compared to our day, but how does that “prove” He has a 7,000-year plan for mankind? Is there anywhere in the Bible that “proves” God’s 7,000-year timeline for humanity?

Yes, there is. It’s called the Day of the Lord. Is there any place in the Bible that actually “shows” God’s day IS 1,000 years? Most definitely there is. It is called the Day of the Lord when Jesus comes back to judge the world and begin His “1,000-year” millennial reign on Earth. This is God’s 7th Day of Rest when mankind’s rule of six days of 1,000 years of Work is over. Revelation 20 refers “6 times” to Jesus’ rule on Earth being 1,000 years.

So, with God showing us His seventh Day of Rest is Jesus’ 1,000-year millennial reign, what is the most important question we can ask concerning when the season of the rapture, tribulation, and Jesus’ Second Coming is? We need to ask WHEN does Jesus’ seventh day begin?

There is a very simple answer to that. It begins following the END of the 6,000 years of mankind ruling the planet. The next important question is, how can we know when the 6th day of 1,000 years ends?

God helps us to figure that out by giving us three dispensations of 2,000 years each, with the church age being the LAST 2,000 years. So, all we need to know is about when the 2,000 years of the church age ends. To answer that, we need to know when it began.

The church age began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to indwell all born-again believers. When was that? It was 50 days following Jesus’ resurrection. To know that year, we need to know the year Jesus was crucified and resurrected, followed by the coming of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, there is debate about the exact year of Jesus’ resurrection. The good news is there is enough information to nail it down fairly close . We know that according to Josephus, Pontius Pilate ruled from 26 to 36 CE. This certainly makes it prior to 36 CE.

What other methods might we use to possibly narrow it down? The first thing we need to look at is that Jesus was crucified on a Passover, which occurred on a Friday. What Passovers from 30 CE to 36 CE did occur on a Friday? The internet shows Passover occurred on a Friday on April 7, 30 CE and April 3, 33 CE.

We also know there is a 7-year tribulation period at the end of the 6,000 years that ends when Jesus comes back to save Israel from the antichrist and to set up His millennial reign. The strongest evidence shows the rapture occurs before the beginning of the 7-year tribulation, which is also the final week of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy (70 weeks of “years”) when Israel will finally receive their Messiah and all of God’s promises to them. Jesus was crucified at the end of Daniel’s 69th week of 483 years, leaving a gap of almost 2,000 years to complete Daniel’s 70th week.

When we compare 30 CE to 33 CE, we can see that 30 CE does not qualify because it would be saying the 7-year tribulation could possibly begin in 2,000 years in the year 2030, minus seven years for the tribulation to begin in 2023, and that did not happen. We now need to look at 33 CE plus 2,000 years is 2033 minus seven years for the possible beginning of the tribulation in 2026.

This certainly does not mean it has to occur in 2026 or before. The good news is God “wants” us to be ready by studying His word in the Bible in order to know the “signs of the times.” In Matthew 16:3, Jesus says to the Pharisees and Sadducees, “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times [His first coming].”

Daniel’s 70 weeks of years prophecy shows that Israel’s Anointed One would be put to death after 69 of those weeks of years, or 483 years, which shows pretty close to the exact year Jesus would be here for His First Coming and be crucified. Jesus is upset with the religious leaders because they had God’s prophetic word to show them the signs of the times, and they ignored it. God showing us this in His word helps us to understand, since He gave us prophecy to figure out the signs of the times for His First Coming, then it makes sense that He has probably given us prophecy to figure out the signs of the times for His Second Coming.

Jesus wanting us to always be watching for His return is referring to His bride, the church, at the rapture vs His Second Coming for one simple reason – the doctrine of imminency, which says Jesus could come at any moment. If we are looking for His Second Coming, we would be watching for the antichrist and the tribulation to come “first” and then start looking for Jesus’ coming for His bride. That would do away with God’s doctrine of imminency.

Let’s not forget that Daniel 12:4 says, “But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scripture until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” This verse is unfolding right before our eyes and causes many rapture watchers to study God’s word like never before so that, unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus’ day, we will, indeed, recognize God’s signs of the times, which pleases Jesus.

The bottom line is God does not allow us to know the day and hour of Jesus’ return for His bride, the church. However, here are a couple of Bible verses that point out we are to always watch and be ready for Jesus’ return.

Matthew 24:42 says, “Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come.” Luke 21:36 says, “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen [tribulation] and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man [rapture]” In the parable of the 10 virgins, God’s watchers will always have oil in our lamps just like the five wise virgins did.

All of the signs Jesus gives His disciples in Matthew 24 as to when His coming and the end of the age will be are at the severest frequency and intensity levels ever recorded. The most important sign is Israel, and right now, they are at war with Iran. God’s word in the Bible showed us thousands of years ago what signs will occur and how to recognize them, and we are seeing the “birth pains” in Matthew 24 occurring today like never before in REAL TIME!

Maranatha, Lord Jesus,

David Cogburn

dcogburn789@gmail.com