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.

Prophecies and Covenants

In my last post, I mentioned some of the unique concepts of Christianity that I felt. Further to the post, I would like to elaborate on the significance of covenants and prophecies.

As everyone knows, when Adam and Eve committed the original sin, before cursing Adam and Eve, God cursed the serpent (satan) and pronounced the judgement as a prophecy. The LORD GOD said, And "I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel." Gen 3:15 Many of us understand the first part of the prophecy right that Jesus Christ, the seed of woman (Mary), bruised the devil in cross. But, the second part is important as well that the serpent will bruise Jesus's heel. Many scholars and authors says that Jesus just died on cross and resurrected which is equivalent to "bruise Him on the heel". But, as per divine revelation which I got, this is the part because of which the world is going on still and the second part is not fulfilled yet.

The serpent bruising Jesus' heel means this is something opposite of what Jesus did. Satan will take the form of antichrist (also called the beast in Revelation) takes a human form and crushes the feet of Jesus which means, He will destroy the last generation of believers. Remember, in Nebuchadnezzar's vision, He saw the statue and from head to feet, it represented generations from Babylonian to Roman empire and during Roman empire, Jesus was born and in same way, Jesus' heel is the very last generation of Christianity. I got this interpretation matching with Daniel 12:7 that quotes "when it is accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these  things shall be finished." Just for this, the world is running still. All the scientific revolution, technology development, globalization through internet (WWW - a form of 666), everything is specifically designed and allowed so that the devil can set up an end time kingdom and the promise be fulfilled. This is something allowed by God.

To fulfill the first part of prophecy, which is Jesus crushing of satan's head, Abrahamic covenant is created by God with Abraham and God said to Abraham, through your seed, all the generations of earth will be blessed (Gen 12:3) , keeping Jesus in mind and Jesus made a new covenant with His disciples and followers via His flesh and blood which we are remembering through communion. Another covenant is made with David (called Davidic covenant) and Lord said to David, that there will be a son for you to rule over earth and this will again be fulfilled once Jesus returns back to set His kingdom up in 1000 year millennium reign. God is truthful to His promises. Isaiah said prophetically, Behold a virgin will be conceived and begot a son and He will be named Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).  Isaiah also told, There will be a son given to us who will reign, His name is miraculous, counseling Lord, mighty God, everlasting Father and Prince of peace at Isaiah 9:6. Roughly seven hundred years later, these prophecies got fulfilled at the appointed time. Same way, there were many prophecies mentioned in Old Testament which were fulfilled. Also, there are many prophecies concerning the second coming of Jesus at many places will happen at its appointed time sooner. In Isaiah 40:10, he said "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." Towards the end of Psalms 96 and 98, David says Lord is coming back to earth for judgement. It is impossible for one thing to be fulfilled and other to go in vein. Jesus Himself said, heavens and earth will pass away but word of God will be fulfilled for sure.

As we end the year 2015, lets thank the God with bottom of our heart for what He has done throughout this year. Lets thank for His blessings, His protection, His guidance and leading, His matchless peace which is the greatest blessing of all. We thank you Jesus, we praise you Father and we glorify you Holy Spirit for leading us throughout this year and blessed us with your countless blessings. As we enter the New year, bless us as per Numbers 6:24-26 throughout 2016.

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