Tabernacle - God's dwelling place

During my college days, when I was telling about Jesus to my friend, he asked me back why God had to create humans. I remembered the verse in Isaiah 43:21 "This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise" and told him that He created humans so that we have to praise Him. Then, he asked me back, is it not silly? and then I went out of answer. I too had the same question coming in my mind. Much later I got the answer revealed through Holy Spirit. In one of my messages I shared in our prayer fellowship, I explained the members why God had to create the human beings. The answer is God created humans out of divine love. God is love and He wanted to show, share and experience His love with someone who could understand and reciprocate the love. So, He created man in His own image, in His own form of Body, Soul and Spirit but one difference was human was made out of clay. I threw a question to the members asking whom do you love more? your child or puppy dog. Though it is a silly question, it explains a lot about God's love towards humans. He considers us as His own children and show love and compassion towards us. Psalms 103:13

God's longing from the start was to live among humans, share His love with them. But, as Adam and Eve sinned, the had fallen short of glory and a Holy God cannot live together with His wonderful creation anymore. So, God planned a long term resolution plan and promised a Savior to the mankind. To execute the long term plan, He needed the support and coordination of humans and He has planned and raised up appropriate people throughout the history to accomplish His will. The very next person after Adam and Eve whom God walked closely was Enoch, the 7th from Adam. Enoch walked with God for 300 years and He was not, for God has taken Him. It looks like God cannot live without Enoch in heavens after walking so closely with Him and God just cancelled the natural death of Enoch and took Enoch to Him. Such is the love of God. But, after Enoch, again God wanted to share His love and plan to some human and He identified Noah. Noah was a just man and he walked with God in such a fashion that the entire wicked world was destroyed by great floods except for the family of Noah as per proverbs 14:26 that says "In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge."

Later on, He had chosen Abraham and promised to be with him. As Abraham walked with God through faith, God made covenant with Him that through His seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed and later on God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when He redeemed Israelites from the slavery of Egypt through Moses. God told Moses in Exodus 25:8, "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them". The tabernacle is a reflection and shadow of heavenly things and figurative. Heb 8:5, 9:9. It reflects the trinity with Most Holy place, Holy place and Courts. The courts is a place where the sacrifices were made. It is a shadow of those who gets washed by the blood of the Lamb of God and the water pool which is present next where the priests wash their hands and feet is a direct representation of Baptism. Once they washed their hands and feet, they enter the Holy Place where there is a show bread and lampstand. This symbolizes the word of God and the Holy Spirit guiding the one who accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior. There is an altar of incense which represents the prayer life of a truthful and sincere Christian. There is Holy of Holies inside where the High priest could enter only once in a year with the blood of the offering. This is a representation that Jesus died once on cross and finished the works once forever. When the author of Hebrews wrote, He says every year the High priest has to offer the blood and stand. He stands because the work is not completed yet. But, Jesus was crucified on cross and then entered the Father's presence and sat on His right handside to show that the work of salvation has been completed perfectly. Hebrews 10:11-13.

High Priest entering Most Holy place once in year could also represent that we have to die once and enter the presence of God. The ark of covenant represents Jesus Christ Himself as through His flesh and blood created the new covenant. The ark of covenant contains the tablet stones that contains 10 commandments. They were made into two tablets representing that further they can be divident into 2 main commandments, one is to love the Lord God with full heart, soul, mind and strength and the other one is to love every other human as one love himself. For the end of the commandments is love says Paul in I Timothy 1:5. Not only that, the tabernacle also represent the body, soul and spirit of the man where the courts as outer place and visible to everyone refers to the body, the holy place refers the soul and the most holy place corresponds to the spirit. All these things were specific and Moses was given the exact model of the tabernacle because God is going to live in that place. Exodus 25:8

Later on, when Solomon build the temple of the Lord, He received the models from David and in turn David received that from Lord Himself as per I Chronicles 28:11-19 and Solomon executed the plan. One more thing to note is the temple mount at Jerusalem is built at specific place. It was built on specific place on Mount Moriah as specified in II Chronicles 3:1. It is the same mount where God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as per Gen 22:2 and in fact it should be the same place. So, God has a clear plan of the crucifixion of Jesus at Jerusalem. He was also crucified on a Mount named Golgotha, the name Gol has a connection to Gilgal where Lord told Israelites that the reproach of Egypt was rolled away at this place when they were lead by Joshua into the land of Canaan. Joshua 5:9. So, Golgotha also means some rolling away, the rolling away of the sins of those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. When Jesus was crucified and gave away His spirit, an earthquake happened, the veil in the church was torn two. Praise God, Holy to Lord, He left the heavens and started living with humans again through the Holy Spirit. He no longer confines Himself to the Most Holy place. When the Priests, Levites and Singers sang in one voice with the same sound with praise and thanksgiving saying Praise God, He is good, for His mercy endureth forever, God's presence and glory filled the Solomon's built temple. II Chronicles 5:13 and 14. Same way, when the disciples came together at the top room in Jerusalem with one mindedness on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit with a rushing mighty wind entered there. Acts 2:1-4.

Thus, Paul writes "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." I Cor 6:17. He has the same mind and thinking like God because they are one in spirit. Note the husband and wife are mentioned as one in flesh as in Gen 2:24 but one who is united with Lord in love is one with Him on spirit. So, He cannot live in the same worldly way anymore. Later on, the authors wrote about the true meaning of tabernacle. The author of Hebrews pointed out that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived in tabernacles, they didn't have any permanent building or house just to symbolize they are just strangers to this world and it is not their permanent place of residence and someday they will be united in the heavens with the Lord. God has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:9-16. Thus, this body itself is a tabernacle and when we die we leave this tabernacle and go to Lord's tabernacle. This is revealed by Paul in II Cor 5:1-10 as "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens....  We are confident,  I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." Apostle Peter too remembered the day of transfiguration where he bluffed saying that lets put tabernacles one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah realized the meaning of tabernacles and writes "Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting  you in remembrance;" II Pet 1:13.

Jesus also promised His true disciples that He is going to prepare a place and then will come and receive us unto Him. John 14:2-3. Finally, we see a picture in heaven, where God again restores everything back as in original Garden of Eden and live among His people. It is explained as "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God  is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." in Rev 21:3. Bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We cannot change God and He always love people and live among them. The question is are we longing to make ourselves a tabernacle for Him. Are we living with Him in spirit? God is going to restore everything soon. He will live closely with the people in heaven whom he knows closely in earth. Are we really one among them? Let's ask the question ourselves and not keep our focus on things or materials or desires of this world. Let's not put our trust on just this earthly tabernacle. Instead, let's look forward for the heavenly tabernacle. Paul wrote that our citizenship is in heaven and from there we expect our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to return and He will give us a heavenly body in Philipians 3:20,21 and we are in the days of restoration.

Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him  be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Jesus and Praise at the center

I have written a lot about rapture of the church and second coming of Christ in my previous articles. So, I thought of writing about something different, something that I recently found about the chapters and verses of the Bible. I have found the center versus speak about praising God and no wonder the center of the Bible falls in Psalms. Found them in wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapters_and_verses_of_the_Bible)

1. There are 929 chapters in the old testament and 260 chapters in the old testament. So, there are totally 1189 chapters in the Bible. The middle chapter is the 595th chapter which is Psalm 117. Just wondered how the smallest of chapters in the Bible that contains just 2 versus becomes the center chapter of the entire Bible. In that the first verse praises God saying "O Praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people." and the second verse speaks "For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endures for ever. Praise ye the LORD." This speaks about Grace (merciful kindness) and Truth which refers to Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:17 Grace and Truth came by Lord Jesus Christ). Praise God for everything. Praise God for His wonderful word.

2. There are 23145 verses in the old testament and 7957 verses in the new testament. In total, there are 31102 verses in the Bible leading to two middle verses. The two middle verses are Psalm 103:1,2 "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:", the start of the famous Praise Psalm. These two verses are spoken at the end of every prayer as closing praise verses in Tamil and I believe in many other languages as well. Again, I wondered how the central verses are the most repeated ones by being prayed as closing versus of every prayer. The beautiful award winning song 10000 reasons written and sung by Matt Redman start with these verses.

3. One of the very important Psalms is Psalm 118 that speaks the important prophecy of headstone (cornerstone) in verse 22. This is in between the smallest and longest Psalms (117 and 119). This Psalms start and end with the praise verse "Praise God, He is good, His mercy endures forever".

4. The middle verse of Psalm 118 is v15 says "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly." The voice of rejoicing of righteous is again Praising the Lord.

5. Israelites pass through the center of red sea and Jordan when waters stood at both sides. Moses stretched out his hands in the mountain when Joshua fought with Amalekites symbolizing Jesus would stretch out His arms in cross for salvation. During that, Aaron and Hur stood at both side of Moses to uplift His arms. Exodus 17:8-16. Our Lord is Jehovah Nissi. When God's wrath was burning among Israelites, Aaron, the High Priest (who symbolized the Great High Priest Jesus) stood between the living and the dead. Numbers 16:47 and 48.

6. Jesus was crucified and hung between two thieves separating the two of them and then eventually one turn to be landing in Paradise. He was hung between heavens and earth symbolizing standing between sinful man and holy God. Psalms 103 v 11 says for as high as heavens and earth, His grace is that great. Next verse 12 says As far as east and west, he removed our transgressions, again representing His two stretched out arms so that we can become children of heavenly Father as verse 13 says Like as Father pitieth His children, Lord pitieth them that fear Him. In Matthew 25, versus 32-34, Jesus splits the goat and sheep for judgement. He stands at centre. Bible scholars say Jesus was crucified in the middle of seven jubilee cycle. (for more information, http://www.markbeast.com/70jubilees/middle.htm)

7. In between the Old Testament and New Testament, we see the center page says, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who just is the centerpiece of everything and He stoods between man and God, the Father as our representative. He stood between jews and the gentiles. Though He is equivalent to God, He stood in the right hand side of Father as a Man representing us. How much privileged we are? Paul writes in Colossians 1:17 By Him all things consist.

So, we saw Jesus and Praise are at the center. Lets think whether we keep Praise at the center of our lives. We might have plenty of problems everyday and it looks like the problems are never ending. But, we should praise God that we are alive this day and God has not marked for condemnation but for salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thess 5:9. Sometimes, He leads us through rough and difficult paths to make us strong, teach us some important spiritual lesson. But, at the end it will all turn for good as the famous verse in Romans 8:28 says "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to  his purpose." So, Lets all praise God for He is good and His mercy endures forever.

Before closing, I just thought of saying my favorite verse, chapter and book of the Bible. My favorite and the most important core verse of the Bible as everyone knows is John 3:16,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The most important chapter for me in the Bible is Romans 8 which is key to understand many important things past, present and future. The most important book for me in the Bible is Isaiah as the core theme of the book is Salvation. The name Isaiah means God is Salvation. It contains 66 chapters, first 39 focus on Israel representing old testament and next 27 on the Lord Himself, reflection of New Testament.

All Praise, Honor and Glory to God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us praise God with psalmist by quoting verse in Psalms 18:46, "The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. Amen."

More about 2017, 17 and others

Last few posts, I wrote a lot about rapture, second coming and end times. Hope that would have given more clarity about end times with respect to old testament foreshadowing events.
I had been contacted by a brother from Sweden named Bo Stark and he gave few more points about 2017, number 17 and Hebrew year 5777. I would just like to post few of them here. You may read my previous article "Why 2017 could be the beginning of end times" to get a complete context.

1. 2017 marks 500 years from reformation since it was started in 1517.

2. The sign of sun clothed woman with moon under her feet and twelve crowns on her head appears in stars on 23-Sep-2017.

3. After Noah was born, he lived for 595 years and at Noah's 600th year was the great floods. So, Lamech died 5 years before the floods at the age of 777 (Gen 5:28-31) pointing a direct reference to hebrew year 5777.

4. Jesus left His parents in temple when He was 12 years of age Luke 2:42 and after that we don't have record for 17 years. But, around 30 years, Jesus Himself began to be about 30 years (not 30 years completed but during 30 years which make the difference as 17 and not 18) when he took baptism. Luke 3:23. Jesus rose from dead on the 17th day of the month. (Will do a separate chapter on this one).

5. Jacob lived his last 17 years in Egypt and died at the age of 147. Gen 47:28 Wondered why Jacob didn't reach the age nearer to Abraham who lived 175 and Isaac who lived for 180 years and now I believe just to leave the sign of final 17 years in Egypt his age was shrunk to 147 and he was a sign himself.

6. There were 17 judges in Israel's History from Othniel to Samuel.

7. People from 17 nations were present during Penticost. Acts 2:7-11

8. The ten commandments were given in 17 verses in 20th chapter of Exodus.

9. Psalms 83:6-11 mentions 17 enemies of Israel.

10. Beast specified in Daniel 7 and Rev 13 has 7 heads and 10 horns making a total of 17.

11. Romans 8:35 - 39 speaks about 17 different things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ.

12. UN Agenda 2030 has 17 sustainable development goals. (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld)

13. Pope appointed 17 cardinals in a recent ceremony on 20-Nov. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38038501)

14. In a bizarre accident in China on 22-Nov, 56 vehicles crashed on to each other and 17 people were killed. I think 56 (7 x 8 - Completion x Salvation) marks completion of salvation and 17 could be 2017. (http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pile-up-on-chinese-motorway-kills-17-xinhua-1628565), Israel planning to buy 17 fighter jets from US. (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201611281047906269-israel-17-f35/).

The number 17 pops out everywhere to me. I may sound silly but it looks like there are more and more concrete signs and evidences.

There are few more reasons to believe why we are near. There were two numbers of dates (1290 and 1335) given at Daniel chapter for the range of days during great tribulation period. The difference is 45. Psalms 45 is the messianic psalm which refers to bride, groom and bride maids pointing to anointing of Christ and the rapture event and Donald Trump has been selected as the 45th president of United States. His name is Trumps and may indicate feast of Trumpets (which is directly pointing to rapture). India has demonetized the higher value denomination notes of 500 and 1000 as of Nov 8, 2016 to fight the black money, money laundering and terrorism (The date is exactly as that of US election date). You may google and check wiki to know more details. But, the entire country is in difficulty where people are really finding it difficult to get their own cash. People are standing in long queues at tellers and banks to withdraw and exchange money respectively everyday. It would take another 50 days to get back to normalcy. As written in Luke 21:25, "Upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity", it looks more and more near. One more sign which I saw as start of new era was the death and funeral of Shimon Perez, former Israeli president just before the eve of 5777 year and leaders from 70 nations participated in the funeral service. I believe indeed the Hebrew year 5777 marks the start of beginning of end times.

With all the above points, one would strongly believe that rapture would occur in 2017. But, it could happen any time. One of the important verses with respect to rapture in Old testament is Hosea 6:2 where the prophet says "After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight." Jesus rose up on third day to fulfill this prophecy but it will be completely fulfilled when Jesus comes back and revive His church (dead and alive) after 2 days (2000 years). Jesus was dead, buried and rose up somewhere around 27 - 33 AD. So, I too believe the longest time frame would be 2033 but really won't think that long. My point is Jesus could come to rapture His church any time from now to next 15 - 20 years or I could be wrong and it could take another 30 - 40 years. All I am saying with all these things and specific signs happening throughout the world, it looks near. A truthful and sincere Christian would wait His lifetime for Jesus to come.

Many people through internet, forums and youtube just try predicting the rapture date and keeps failing over and over again. This is inappropriate and not correct. Because, setting a particular date or a small range say 3 days or a week makes Jesus a liar as He said "No one knows the day or the hour". What he exactly meant is the rapture date no one knows or cannot find based on past occurrences, old testament timelines or derived through some calculation or arbitration. Our Lord does everything in order but no human can find that as the word of God says "Who hath known the mind of the Lord?" Rom 11:34 and I Cor 2:16. Ecc 3:11 says "so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." But these date setters help in fulfilling the word of God that whenever they fail, other people would mock and say "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as  they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Pet 3:4. Let us wait and not astrayed by following date setters.

It is important to expect the rapture of the bride every day with eagerness from here on. But, we should have the patience and should hold on to our faith while watching and praying. More important is to bear spiritual fruits for glorification of the name of Lord Jesus. I am planning to close the end time events discussion with this post. At a later point of time, God willing I would write more about end time events with the perspective of Book of Revelation. Please pray for me that may God give more revelations concerning end times through His Holy Word. As I said bearing fruits through our day to day Christian life and being living witnesses for Jesus is more important and I hope to make subsequent articles in such areas. By living and abiding in Christ, we know we will not be ashamed during His coming. I John 2:28

Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Rev 7:12

Rapture, a mystery too

In my last post, I explained how the church was a mystery in Old testament but there were just fore shadows. Actually, I wanted to write about rapture in the same article and gave title as "Church, a mystery and rapture too". But, as the content was large, I just kept it for Church alone. Let's see about rapture of the church (bride of Christ) in this article.

Recently, I have attended a Revelation exposition session organized by our church. The pastor who took it said there is no concept of rapture to the astonishment of many. The reason he quoted was if some of the members of church are removed, others would feel bad being left out as they have to go through the tribulation alone and Jesus would never do such thing. As I heard that, some church members asked then why Jesus said one person would be accepted and other would left behind. After hearing that question, the pastor explained something like post tribulation rapture. I have asked him back a question then why it is written that Jesus would come as a thief. For that he said, after tribulation, he will come like thief which doesn't make sense.

Now, if you could observe the above questions, one thing is clear. There is indeed a rapture event based on the Bible and it is going to be either pre tribulation or mid tribulation. I just wanted to explain that based on my understanding and some common sense. The rapture is a mystery because it will never catch the eye of a casual reader. This is purposefully hidden by God as how He kept the Church itself as a secret during old testament timeline. Let's look into the details. It would be good if you open Matthew 24 so that we can look through the different portions.

Jesus explained the end time events in Matthew 24 and if you observe there were two different types of events explained. There is a contradiction between two. First one, there will be overall tribulation first till verse 14, then from verse 15, He explained about the abomination of desolation (marks AntiChrist rule) and during that there will be great tribulation that is mentioned in verse 21 and final second coming of Jesus at verse 30 that marks it complete. This specific event is accurately marked by relative events in Daniel 12:11 that it will take 1290 (3.5 years + 30 days) days from setting up of abomination of desolation and it is not a mystery at all. Jesus still continued and quoted the Fig tree prophecy that marks the blossoming of state of Israel. But, there is a sudden change in verse 36, that says "the day and hour" no man knoweth. Hence, I believe verse 35 marks the completion of first set of events (Both general tribulation that we are going through now earthquakes, pestilences, famines, floods and wars + great tribulation which is yet to come during AntiChrist's duration) with the assertion that "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away".

Jesus continued further saying in verse 38, "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark". Now, a question to the astute reader is, is it possible to be not aware of events happening around during great tribulation? Can they lead a normal life of eat, drink and usual business during great tribulation? Definitely NO. So, this marks a different event. Then, if you go through further 40 and 41, the verses denote accepting one person and leaving behind another one. If Jesus comes out as visible to everyone as explained in verse 21, then why He has to accept someone and leave other one? He should call out everyone and assemble them for judgement instead. What are the benefits of getting accepted and what are the dangers of being left behind?

So, this event of coming of son of man as per "No man knowing the day or the hour" is something different and not a public event as mentioned in verse 21. Paul says in I Thess 5:2 that "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" and Jesus Himself says that in Rev 16:15. So, this event is called rapture or His secret coming. As per Heb 9:28, He will just appear to all His holy saints and sincere truthful believers (True Church which is the bride of Christ) and transfigure them and took them out in air. Just before that all the dead in Christ will rise first. This is explained in two places, one in I Thess 4:17-21 and I Cor 15:51-53. Paul call this as a mystery as not many will know this. This event is supposed to happen in near future and this marks the end of troubles for the true believers and judgement times for others in the world.

Paul further calls this a blessed hope in Titus 2:13 and it doesn't make sense if it is a post tribulation rapture after all the worst troubles mankind could ever go through. As the public second coming of Jesus is scheduled after the great tribulation as per versus 29 and 30 of Matt 24, no need for a post tribulational rapture as well as no point in Jesus coming like thief post tribulation. It doesn't serve any purpose. So, to answer the pastor's reasoning, caught up away with Jesus in rapture is the best thing that could ever happen. It is the reward for being faithful and sincere, also for being watchful and praying and keeping oneself holy and pure virgin bride for the groom. God said in Malachi 3:17 and 18 that He will gather His people and then other will see the difference between His ones and others. What is the chaff to the wheat? Jeremiah 23:28. So, not all christians will be part of rapture, only those who reached measure of the stature of fullness of Christ Eph 4:11 and and those who were selected by Lord Himself would be part of the bride.

Let's see some of the old testament shadows,

1. Isaac met Rebekka in fields where Rebekka was coming from a long distance and Isaac just had to enter the fields. Same manner, Jesus would just appear back and all dead would raise first and others who were alive would be transfigured and join Him in clouds. (I Thess 4 and I Cor 15).

2. Ruth came a long way from Moab to marry Boaz and met him in fields. But, Boaz disagreed for immediate relationship and once everything is legally completed in Ruth 4, he has taken her as a wife. Just symbolize how Jesus would wait for everything to be completed before taking the bride.

3. Abigail come and meet David and became her wife along with other maids. Psalms 45 gives this picture of rapture from verses 9 to 15.

4. In Song of Songs, the shepherd lover call out the Shulamite bride "My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Song of Songs 2:10

5. Noah and his family households were sealed in ark before the great floods. The bride would be sealed by Holy Spirit and captured away by Jesus before the great tribulation.

6. Lot was driven out just before fire and brimstones were brought on Sodom and Gomorrah, again a picture that righteous would be saved.

Before a nation declares war against another nation it takes out its ambassador and its nationals from that nation. Same way, before God's judgement happens in earth, His ambassadors will evacuate. As a sincere follower, I am willing to get martyred for Jesus Christ but no point in suffering God's wrath that would be poured out on earth during seven vials of judgement.

Just would like to summarize with the following points why rapture before great tribulation is genuine.

1. Jesus said in Luke 21:36 to watch and pray that we may be accounted worthy to escape. So, indeed there is an escape route from great tribulation and that should be through rapture.

2. It was prophecied that the Lord's feet will be standing on Mount Olives in Zeccharia 14:4. This must refer to the public second coming and totally different from the Lord's appearing explained in I Thess 4:17-21 where all the saints dead will rise and the living believers will get transfigured and meet the Lord in air. No need to meet Him in air if He stands in Mount Olives.

3. In the public second coming, Jesus will come back with His holy saints and believers as foretold by Enoch in Jude verse 14. The prophecy of Zeccharia also confirms this as "and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee." Zeccharia 14:5. But, if you observe in the event explained in I Thess 4:17-21, it is so obvious that the Lord Himself will come down with the shout of arch angel and with the voice of God's trumphet. So, there are two different events. The second one is His secret coming where He will take both the dead and living in Christ first and then those who were taken up will come back with Him in His second coming. Makes clear sense.

4. No need for the Lord to come as a thief if it is post tribulational as already explained.

5. I believe the important chapter Revelation 12 gives a picture of rapture events though I am not very clear about man-child, the sun clothed woman, war in heaven and the devil falling to earth and once those events are completed in chapter 12, the visions start to unfold the kingdom of beast (antichrist) in Rev 13. So, the final government of the world will be established post rapture or just imminent of rapture.

6. The important explanation given by Paul in II Thess 2 explains when the anti christ will be revealed and there is a term called "falling away" must occur first. The original word for "falling away" in greek was apostasia which means departing from. Bible scholars and preachers say this indeed represents the rapture event and many ancient English Bible translations have the word "departure" instead of "falling away". (a quick observation - Word "Rapture" is scrambled inside word "Departure"). There is another good explanation which states the event that occur first should be quantified (measurable to say that it has happened) where as falling away is very general and happens all the times so that we can't exactly say it has happened so it has to be rapture. I too believe this to some extent though the Holy Spirit didn't convince my heart 100% yet on this point.

7. It is written that "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." in I Thess 5:9. So, even though we have to go through tribulations of this world up to the extent of being martyred for our faith in Jesus Christ, definitely God is truthful to care for His Children so that they will not undergo His wrath and judgement as another verse in II Pet 2:9 - "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:".

I could think further through the scriptures and keep writing on other points as well. But, this article was already big enough to convey the point that rapture is a mystery event that many still won't find it or accept it and no one could know the day or the hour.

All praise, honor and glory to God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Maranatha!!! Amen.

Church, a mystery

As most of us know, the church is the bride of Christ. If we consider church as a body, then Jesus Christ is the head of the body and the individuals are the members. Paul wrote this as a mystery. Ephesians 5:31 and 32 says "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.". Why he calls church a mystery? Again, we can find the answer from Ephesians 3:3-6 calls this mystery and explains this as "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:".

So, it is understood, that God, the Father, kept this as a secret until Jesus was revealed and glorified. It was not revealed in old testament where the complete focus was on the nation of Israel and Jews. Many prophecies in Isaiah and other prophetical books refer that all the gentiles will come to God and the key base promise for this is based on Abrahamic covenant where God promised to Abraham "and in thee all families of the earth be blessed" Gen 12:3. But, how exactly this will be fulfilled through death and resurrection of our Lord is revealed gradually in prophecies and the entire old testament though dedicated to Israel entirely focuses on the future messiah (Jesus Christ) who will come and redeem His people at certain point of time in History. But, no one could see this complete picture until the Holy Spirit descended to reveal this through apostles like Paul and other prophets of his time. Exalt God who is true to His promises, He had sent the Savior when time was fulfilled. Gal 4:4

Though it was not completely revealed, God gave foreshadows of what is to come through incidents throughout the old testament. Following is a small list, where you could see the shadow of things which happened or yet to come.

1. God made Eve from the rib of Adam. Jesus suffered his last wound in his ribs which opens and gave out the blood and water. Through the blood of Jesus, a person is cleansed of his sins. Through the water, he takes baptism which signs he is dying to sins and the world and while raising up from water, he is raising to life with resurrected Jesus. Thus, we can say church was formed from the rib of Jesus.

2. Abraham (symbolize Father) commands his servant to bring wife for his son Isaac (symbolize Jesus) from a distant place. Distance refers the church (the bride) is just not going to be from Israel but from all corners of the earth. Ephesians 2:13 and 17 says, we were far off (distant).

3. Boaz who was a foretype of Jesus marries Ruth, a gentile bride at his matured age. That means when church age got matured, Jesus will take back His bride. Note Ruth is very specific to Naomi and said "Your God is my God". If a believer who came from gentile background has that much zeal for Christ and maintains his virginity (holiness, faithfulness and sincerity) towards the Lord, definitely he/she will make the part of Christ's bride. No matter where he comes from, what kind of sin he was in.

4. David and Abigail. Abigail was a wise wife of arrogant Naabal (symbolizes the world) and once Naabal was dead Abigail became wife of David (type of Jesus). If one's self is dead to the world for the sake of Christ, he is part of the bride.

5. In the Book of Esther, Ahasereus foreshadows Jesus Christ, Esther foreshadows the Church, Mordechaus symbolizes Holy Spirit and Haman, the AntiChrist.

6. In Song of Songs, the love between Shulamite bride (Church) and the anonymous Shepherd (Jesus) is shown.

Though there were no specific verses in old testament prophecies that explains the Church, God gave these many incidents as pictures that foreshadows the things that were yet to come. Praise God for His wisdom and strength and unfathomable. Paul says it all in his epistle to Romans, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable  are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him,  are all things: to whom  be glory for ever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

All Praise, Honour and Glory to God through our raisen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through out eternity. Amen.

2017 - Beginning of End times

Disclaimer : This is not a prediction of when the rapture would occur or end of the world will happen. I am not a date setter. Jesus said "No one knew the day or the hour" and who am I to claim the date. All I present here are the various interesting factors revealed to me for the past 6 months or so about year 2017 and the number 17. Whoever reads through, justify for yourselves through the word of God.

Try to read my previous article "Are we near the end times" if you haven't already before going through this article.

As the title suggests, I believe 2017 will be just the beginning of end times and I don't feel world will end in 2017 as that looks too soon. Why 2017? There are various factors point to year 2017 and I just get a feel that these many different reasons will not coincide just by chance.

1. Year 2017 is a jubilee year for hebrews (Starts at Oct 2, 2016 and ends at Sep 20, 2017) and from creation of man, it marks the 120th jubilee. God told Noah that the time of man will be 120 years Genesis 6:3, God gave man a time of 120 years during Noah's period to repent and then He destroyed the whole earth with great floods except for the household of Noah. So, the number 120 is set as a standard. Now, we are in Jubilee 120 which is 120 * 50 = 6000 years. I can assuredly say, the world will not go till next jubilee that occurs at 2067.

2. Surprisingly, the number of upcoming hebrew year is 5777 (check hebcal.com). Number 7 marks completion and 777 means perfect completion. But, perfect completion of what? Number 5 represents Grace and with 5777, I assume the grace given to human race is complete. More than a coincidence, I believe this is a divine representation.

3. Jesus spoke the Fig tree parable Matt 24:32. As most of the readers knew, the Fig tree represents the state of Israel. 2017 marks a very important milestone when we compare the significant events happened in Israel's history. First, the Zionism which sees the need for Israel was established at 1897, 120 years from 2017. The Balfour declaration which freed Israel from ottoman turkish empire happened in 1917, 100 years from 2017. The declaration of state of Israel was decided in 1947, 70 years period and the six day war to recapture Jerusalem happened in 1967, a 50 years from 2017. All these differences of 120, 100, 70 and 50 are significant in Biblical terms. Please refer to wiki to know more about the above events.

4. Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel who lived in 1200s prophecied that Israel would be under foreign rule of 8 Jubilees (8 x 50 = 400 years) and then will be delivered in 9th Jubilee. It got fulfilled in 1917 when General Edmund Allenby walked in the streets of Jerusalem. This was followed by Balfour declaration. The Rabbi also prophecied Jerusalem will be no man's land for one jubilee and then will become part of Israel again. This exactly got fulfilled in 1967 when Jerusalem was recaptured by Israel. But, the next important prophecy he gave was after the end of 9th jubilee, the messianic end times would begin and it points to 2017. Please search the web for more details on this prophecy by Rabbi Judah Ben Samuel.

Let's see how significant the number 17 is,

1. Number 7 marks completion and number 10 represents fulfillment in physical realm (10 great plagues of Egypt, the passover lamb was chosen on 10th day of first month Exo 12:3, 10 Commandments, 10th day of seventh month is the Day of Atonement Lev 23:27and 10 horns (kings) of end times Rev 17:12, 10 fingers in hands and legs). The product of these two numbers give 70 which is very significant number - 70 years of Babylonian captivity II Chr 36:27, Jer 29:10 and Dan 9:2, 70 is the number of Jacob's descendants who went to Egypt Exo 1:5, 70 elders along with Moses entered the presence of God in Mt. Sinai Exo 24:9, Jesus sent 70 disciples in set of 2, Luke 10:1. Same way, the sum of the 2 numbers gives 17.

2. 17 is the 7th prime number.

3. Miraculous catch of 153 fish is given in John 21:11. This number is very important otherwise this number wouldn't have been mentioned. This is an armstrong number (1^3 + 5^3 + 3^3 = 153). This number has a special connection with 17, 153 = 9 x 17. If we add 1+5+3, we get 9 and the remaining number that gives product is 153.

4. 153 is also 17th triangular number, whereas 66 (number of books in Bible) is the 13th triangular number. The row in which the number ends. Not only that, but 153 is also the sum of first 17 digits. Check this one out.

5. Page number 153 of New Testament in Tamil Bible has John 17 chapter. Page 777 of Old testament of tamil Bible has the chapter Proverbs 17.

6. Chapter 17 of Matthew speak about Transfiguration of Jesus (symbolizes transfiguration during rapture), Luke 17 speaks about the end time signs, John 17 starts with "Father, the hour is come". Revelation 17 speaks about final judgement of Babylon.

7. The Great floods started on 17th day of 2nd month of 600th year of Noah. The ark rested on 17th day of 7th month. Why on 17th of 2nd month is, it was mentioned that in the first day of the first month of Noah's 601 year, waters were dried up from earth. So, waters had been on the face of the earth for 314 days. To make it 314, the floods started on 2nd month 17th day. The number 314 is a divine number represents El-Shaddai (mathematical constant PI - 3.14). I will try to come up with different article for this one.

8. God's name - El-Shaddai was first revealed in Genesis 17:1 to Abraham when he was 99. (The 777th verse of Bible is Gen 28:3 and that starts with El-Shaddai where Isaac bless Jacob.)

9. Joseph was 17 years of age when he was sold to Ishmaelites by his brothers. Gen 37:2 I presume David was also 17 years when he was anointed by Samuel though there is no scriptural evidence.

10. The 777th chapter of the Bible is Jeremiah 32 and in that chapter Jeremiah bought the field of his uncle's son for 17 shekeel's of silver.
Jer 32:9

11. The sum of digits (1+7) is 8 represents Salvation. (please check my earlier article).

12. The smallest chapter of the Bible is Psalms 117. This is also the central chapter of the Bible (595th of total 1189 chapters).

One personal revelation is, when I was thinking about the above points on 8th May 2016, Sunday and walked into the church, the corresponding daily Bible reading chapter that day was Psalms 17. Couple of months later during Wimbledon 2016, it striked me that one of the world's all times great, Roger Federer won 17 (7 Wimbledon + 10 others) grand slams till date. Next US president will come to power in 2017 and I could add few more.

With all the above points, I want to believe the rapture would happen in 2017. But, I am not very sure. It may or may not happen as it is a divine appointment. But all I could say it, the end time events would occur faster from next year and any time we may expect. In my last article, I mainly addressed non believers at the end. But, I would really like to address fellow christians here. Please check your ways. If you are sleeping, please wake up, fix things before the sight of the Lord, renew your spirit before it is really too late. If you are already in God, walk upright, be more holy and righteous, for your rewards will be many in heaven. If you are eagerly watching for His return, then rejoice and lift up your heads as the time draws nigh and patience is the key as there are many decievers around.

All Glory, Honor and Praise be to God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Maranatha, Amen. 

Are we near the End times?

The question that the disciples asked to Jesus - "What are the signs for your coming and the end of the world" before His Olivet's discourse in Matthew 24. The question that we get now are "How far we are now at this point of history from the return of Christ and the end of the world". When Jesus faced a similar question from disciples just before His ascension, He just responded back saying it is not upto them to know the Father's timings but instead wait to receive the Holy Spirit, Acts 1:7,8

The scriptures taught us to look for the Day of the Lord with eagerness. Paul in His letter to Titus says, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" Titus 2:11-13 and he went in great detail of explaining about rapture and second coming in I Cor 15, I Thessalonians 4,5 and in II Thessalonians 2. Peter also said, "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." II Peter 3:12,13.

So, are we really supposed to know or do not know the timing? Jesus in Acts 1 just told the disciples to focus on the current job instead of worrying about the end times which was just kept for a future generation. But, if he really doesn't want us to know anything about it, he wouldn't have given signs and symptoms in Matthew 24 (Luke 17 and 21) concerning the second coming. The entire book of revelation is intended to show how things will be completed before new creation. So, if there is nothing to know about end of the world, it is like keeping us in total darkness and in a way it will be very surprise and hopelessness but it is not the case. Jesus clearly told the specific signs concerning the end times and this is essential for our spiritual growth and fulfillment. The benefits are sanctification and eternal life and this cannot be achieved if we don't expect the day of the Lord eagerly during these times.

So, based on the Word of God, we are not only supposed to look for the end times, but we are also expected to know the signs. We are not supposed to be slept like the world as written in I Thess 5:4,5. The question is Are we near? or How far we are? Through 2000 years, God kept every generation interested in His return till this point of time. The purpose as mentioned is sanctification and fulfillment of christian walk of each believers throughout the history. The answer to the question is not surprisingly, "Yes, this is the end time. The end is very near". The world will not run for another 50 years. If God waited for 2000 years, how confidently we can say it will not go for another 100 years? Just by seeing the signs and symptoms.

The earth right now is undergoing birth pangs as mentioned by Jesus in John 16:21 and Paul in Romans 8:22. The entire creation is suffering. There are lot of challenges before the world leaders right now than anytime before. We see the record temperatures, heavy rainfall, floods everywhere (times of Noah recurring), Middle East burning with fire, record number of people displaced, new diseases, frequent earthquakes of larger magnitudes, terrorism spreading to all parts of the world, famines in african nations and wars and enmity between many nations. I could add many more things to this list. There are many celestial signs as well.

Didn't the above things happen earlier? Yes, they have happened once in a while separately at different place. But, the real difference now is all these things are happening together in many parts of the world simultaneously. One more main reason is the scientific and technology advancement now can only be imagined 2 or 3 decades earlier. In every field, technology plays a crucial role. Technology brings the world together, connects it. Will there be another 50 to 100 years of scientific and technological growth before end? I feel "No". Just by seeing the number of people suffering right now in the world, I don't expect there won't be another 50 to 100 years before the end. But, there are more concrete biblical reasons to believe the end is very near. If so, how long before the end? As this article is getting longer, I will answer this question in my next article, "2017 - The Beginning of End times."

Anyone, who reads this article even if you are a non believer, you know what is happening in the world right now. I really feel like the world order is gone and something is going to happen. Don't you feel the same way by seeing things happening around you? If you feel the same way, think about the Bible scriptures that exactly predicted these days 2000 years back. Knowing Jesus is knowing life, knowing your purpose. Realize Jesus, who He is. See for yourself. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior and receive the eternal life. The time won't delay longer. "No God ever died for us except Lord Jesus Christ, He died so that our souls don't get lost in the eternal judgement and condemnation, He loved us that much otherwise needless for Him to suffer, He was raisen from dead on the third day and alive forever and gives eternal life free if you accept Him". To know more about Him, visit http://www.everystudent.com/features/faith.html?gclid=CPG82JeA184CFciFfgod_i0NKw

Accept Him with your full heart, ask Him to come into you through Holy Spirit, Read the Bible to know Him more, Praise Him for giving you the eternal life and saving you from eternal destruction and Pray to Him for your needs. He is a good God. He never rejects anyone who comes to Him.

All glory, honor and praises to God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the almighty and all sufficient one. Amen.

8 - Number of Salvation, 888 - Number of Jesus

We could find many references in internet saying the gematria value of Jesus is 888. But, let's see how plainly from the scripture we could arrive to that.

Peter associated the number 8 to salvation two times in his letters. He was writing about the number of people who got saved during great floods. Just 8 of the entire human population got saved thereby associating 8 with Salvation. I Peter 3:20 says "When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." Again, he emphasized the number 8 in II Pet 2:5 saying 8 persons including Noah associating 8 with salvation in the context of judgement.

From Matthew 1:21, we can read the name Jesus means "for He shall save His people from their sins". One who SAVES. Let's see the examples from old testament,

When God made his covenant with Abraham, He gave them a rule for circumcision in Genesis 17:12 - "And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you". Why circumcision on 8th day? Because, 8 represents salvation based on covenant and Isaac foreshadows Christ because Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac which symbolizes God, the Father will sacrifice His son, Jesus on cross. Isaac as a pre type of Jesus Christ was the first one to be circumcised on the 8th day as per scriptures - Gen 21:4. It is interesting to note that the covenant was given after Ishmael was born (13 years later) and before Isaac was born as per Gen 17:25 quotes "And Ishmael his son  was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.". This proves that the identified one is Isaac because he was the one who has been circumcised on the 8th day as per the rule of God.

When giving Mosaic law, God told Moses to offer the firstborn animals to be given to Him on 8th day. Exodus 22:30 and Leviticus 22:27. Next important association is David who is the main prefigure of Jesus Christ was the 8th son of Jesse. Clearly indicated in I Samuel 17:12-14. In revelation, if you count the number of times the phrase "To him that overcomes" is given for all the 7 churches. But, towards the end chapter  at Rev 21:8, the phrase is present again making the total as 8. I feel this indicates "One who endures till the end shall be Saved" as per Matthew 24:13.

Let's see some non biblical stuff. There are 8 directions, 8 bits in a byte, 8 legs of spider and octopus and 8 is the atomic number of Oxygen that gives life and adds with 2 molecules of Hydrogen to give Water (H20) without which life cannot survive. The eighth teeth is called wisdom teeth.

Number 7 represents perfection or completion. So, after 7, after completion of this life, we will go to 8 and if we tilt 8 by 90 degrees, we get symbol of infinity. This symbolizes that eternal life is infinity.

Finally, Satan also tries to copy the number "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." as in 2 Cor 11:14, Antichrist would be the 8th king as per Rev 17:11 but his number would be 666 as per Rev 13:18.

So, 8 represents Salvation, but if we make a triple concatenation for trinity, it will be 888 and represents our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. May all Glory, Honor and Praise to the Jesus Christ, the unblemished passover lamb who took away the sin of the world.

Grace, Faith and Works

The popular verse in Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast." Many people have difficulty in understanding this and those who understand have difficulty in accepting this.

Yes, the plain truth is none of our good works qualify us for heaven. Salvation belongs to the Lord and we can get that only by having faith in finished works of Lord Jesus Christ. Only by having faith on the sacrifice that He had done in cross on behalf of us.

What is Grace by the way? Grace can be defined as unmerited, undeserved favor which cannot be gained by doing any good work. God's immeasurable love towards fallen human race make Him send His only begotten son Jesus Christ to this world to die for us. To pay what is expected as ransom. The blood of the pure lamb as atoning sacrifice. It is not required for God to go to that extent to redeem us. But, the love pushed God and this is GRACE.

Depending on our good works for our salvation is like rejecting God's solution and bringing up our own offering. It is simply like Cain's offering. Are we smarter than God Almighty? Our good works won't qualify in front of God's just eyes. They are like filthy rags. But, Salvation just comes by believing and accepting what our Lord and Savior had done for us on cross. This will simply come by faith. This is what mentioned in Romans 4:5 as "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." So, there is nothing for man to boast with respect to Salvation because it is created by God Himself.

Grace is freely available for everyone. To get the grace, one need to put his/her faith on Jesus, believe that he has paid the price for his sins and accept Him as his/her only Savior. Grace is like a huge river and faith is like the container. If we have a huge drum, we will receive that much water and if we have a small cup, we receive only that much. The grace will make us grow in every aspect of our life.

So, a question might come. Is it sufficient to have faith in finished work of Jesus alone? and Shouldn't good works required? The next verse answers that, Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." If someone calls him a believer and don't do any good work, he is not a believer at all. Because, scriptures also say in James 2: 17, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

So, in a nutshell, Salvation by faith through grace is like a starting point in Christian journey and continuing in good works till the end is like completion. Without the starting point, there is no end. Whatever good things we do, still we cannot boast. Because, if Jesus didn't love us first, we wouldn't have loved God or others and whatever we do, we will still be incomplete.

May all Honor, Glory and Praises be to our God, the Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.