Yeshua's coming imminent?

Q. In your view, where are we in the Biblical calendar? Do you believe that Jesus’ coming is imminent? I hear people say that this is only the “tip of the iceberg” when they describe the events, but frankly, I don’t see how things could get worse.

A. You have several questions here, and this would be a good time to do a brief overview of the prophetic scenario. We are entering into fall festival season of Rosh Ha Shannah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. These festivals teach about the” Rapture” and the resurrection, the Tribulation, the rise and fall of the False Messiah, the wars and judgments of the 7 years, the coming of Yeshua on Yom Kippur and the coming Messianic Kingdom. This teaching would take 20-30 hours to develop, and I have done it for many times, for many years.

However, we wouldn’t have time to get into all the various aspects and questions surrounding this topic, so I’ll hit some of the highlights and answer your questions, hopefully. The biblical festivals are found in hundreds of scriptures, but Leviticus 23 has a basic list. The spring festivals are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Shavuot. Yeshua was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, rose from the dead on First fruits and sent the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) to empower the believers on Shavuot. Now, the prophetic meaning of these festivals were fulfilled in Messiah’s first coming. Then there came a long, growing period and then the fall harvest. This would be like the last 2000 years. The fall festivals teach the second coming of the Messiah.

Joel 2.23 says that the “early and latter rain” come “in the first month”. The term” early and latter rain” in Hebrew is “morey tzedekah” meaning “teacher of righteousness”. So, Joel says that the teacher of righteousness will come “in the first month. Now, these rains come in the spring and fall. The spring festivals are mostly in Nisan, the first month of the biblical calendar (Exo. 12). The fall festivals happen in Tishri, the first month of the civil calendar. Both calendars are used in scripture. So, Joel is actually predicting what month the Messiah will come in both His comings. Now, G-d created the heavens and earth in 6 days, and rested on the seventh day. This is a blueprint for the 7000 year plan of G-d. These festivals are called “moedim” meaning “appointments.” Another term used is “holy convocations” which means “rehearsals.”

So, these festivals are appointments we have with the L-rd and they rehearse prophetic scenarios. Once you study them, you will begin to see G-d is telling us what to expect in the future, by seeing what He did in the past. The 7 day week rehearses prophecy. You have 6 days to work, then rest on the 7th day. The 7th day is a picture of the 1000 year period called the “Day of the L-rd” or “L-rd’s Day”. You will also see it referred to as “in that day” or “on that day” in the scriptures. We are coming up on the 6000th year since creation. A Rosh Ha Shannah (head of the year) will begin the last 1000 years, called the Day of the L-rd. The Rapture, or “natzal” (deliverance) will occur on Tishri 1 followed by ten days of terrible judgments, particularly on the United States leading up to Yom Kippur, Tishr1 10.

The False Messiah, as a result of the last ten days, will be given authority in Europe and will sign a seven year treaty with Israel to be an ally (Dan 9.24-27). That day begins the last seven year promised to Israel in Daniels prophecy, the time of Jacob’s Trouble, the Birth-pains of the Messiah, or the Tribulation period. This period will run 2,520 days. The half –way point is Nisan10. That is the day that Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, presenting Himself as the Lamb. This will be the day prophetically (2 Thes 2) that the False Messiah will present himself as G-d. The final 1260 days will be very terrible, ending on a Yom Kippur with the actual coming of Yeshua to Jerusalem. Then there come a 5-day period of the judgment of the nations (Mt 25) ending on Tishri 15.

This begins the Feast of Sukkot (booths, stables) and the Messianic Kingdom for the duration of the remaining 1000 years. We are very near the end of the 6 days since creation and I believe the coming of Yeshua is very near. I don’t look for Him to come except on Rosh Ha Shannah because He has an appointment and a rehearsal to fulfill, like He did the others. But, what year we are exactly in is unknown at this point. We need to be ready. As far as getting worse, the Tribulation will be a time when billions will die, and if Yeshua didn’t come back, no flesh would survive, so as bad as some things are today, it can’t be compared to this scenario. It will get worse.