In 2017 we
traveled down near St. Louis to be in the
path of totality for the eclipse that year.
It was such a wondrous, awe-inspiring event
that when my wife asked if we were going to
do it again this year, I thought how many
more chances are we going to get? (It turns
out the next one viewable in the States is
in twenty years). So with no further debate
needed I said, yes, we're going. No matter
that hotels were doubling and tripling their
fees for the occasion, traffic was predicted
to be horrendous, and Indiana, our
destination for viewing, declared a
state of emergency to make sure they had
enough emergency services available.
The free solar glasses the hotel gave upon
arrival, knowing why most people were there,
didn't make up for the highly overpriced
room. But the event itself more than
compensated for it. At the moment of
totality, once again I was filled with awe,
wonder and amazement as the moon, appearing
to be exact same size as the sun, smoothly
slid in front of the disc of the sun, and
perfectly covered it, allowing the sun's
corona to be viewed with the naked eye,
eclipse glasses off, with the sun no longer an unviewable
blazing light but a dark circle. I'm no
photographer, and my phone and camera are a
few years old, but here is the modest
picture I took:
As I sat in
the darkness of the eclipse, the street
lights on due to the darkness, I couldn't
help but be overcome once again with the
strong impression of the divine design of
this entire event. In my
2017 article on the eclipse I turned to
astrobiologist Guillermo Gonzalez, who is
likewise amazed by eclipses, to explain why
the event is such a powerful indicator of
divine design.
Here is the clip, but to summarize
why an eclipse is so amazing, you have to
consider what it takes to make it possible:
First you
need a bright shining body in the sky, and
another one to cover or eclipse it. The two
must be the same apparent size in the sky.
The sun is 400 times larger than the moon.
So it would seem the moon would be an
unlikely candidate to create a perfect total
eclipse. But it turns out the sun is also
400 times farther away than the moon, so the
two appear to be the exact same size in the
sky. Next you need a viewing platform, and
you need all three to line up; and perhaps
most importantly, on the viewing platform
you need intelligent creatures who can
appreciate the view. Gonzalez notes many
scientists have noted how unlikely having
all these factors come together seems to be.
Perhaps the
most interesting fact Gonzalez notes
is this:
“The best place in the total solar
system to view solar eclipses is from
the surface of the earth. I’ve actually
calculated the circumstances for
eclipses from all the other planets and
all the other moons – about 65 of them
(the major moons) and it’s an amazing
coincidence. The one place that has
observers is the one place that has the
best eclipses.”[1]
In Gen
1.14, God says:
“Let
there be lights in the expanse of the
heavens to separate the day from the
night, and they shall serve as signs and
for seasons, and for days and years;"
Gen 1.14 NASB
I am
convinced that as the rainbow is the sign of
God's covenant after the flood (Gen 9.13),
one of the "signs" the stars are for is to
declare that God is, and to show his glory,
as Psalm 19 states:
"The
heavens declare the glory of God;"
Ps 19.1
The beauty
in the heavens is a
sign that can't be missed the psalm goes on
to say. And yet some do miss the sign if not
the beauty, though the apostle Paul in
Romans makes it clear that the sign is not missed, it is denied
by those who "suppress the truth." (Rom
1.18) Perhaps you're one of those people.
Perhaps for you the majesty of the
heavens, the wonder of life, the awe
inspiring view of an eclipse are merely coincidence
upon coincidence. Perhaps you've been
following a false prophet. For whatever
reason, you've given
yourself leave to deny God and his call to
repent of your unbelief. (Mark 1.15)
If so, it's increasingly looking like we are
in the last days, those spoken of by Jesus
in Matthew 24.3-44. Of particular interest are those
who are left behind - because it will be a
clear sign. Jesus put it this way:
37 As
it was in the days of Noah, so it will
be at the coming of the Son of Man. For
in the days before the flood, people
were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, up to the day Noah
entered the ark; and they knew nothing
about what would happen until the flood
came and took them all away. That is how
it will be at the coming of the Son of
Man.
40 Two men will be in the field; one
will be taken and the other left. Two
women will be grinding with a hand mill;
one will be taken and the other left.
Matt 24.37-41
Just as
people didn't expect it when the flood came,
people will not expect it when Jesus takes
his church and the Christians mysteriously
disappear.
You've
likely heard of Christians speaking of the
"rapture" of the Church, when the Lord Jesus
returns in the sky and gathers his church,
removing them in an instant from the earth.
It's also spoken of in 1 Thess 4.16-17.
Perhaps you've heard of or seen one of the
"Left Behind" movies. These verses in 1
Thessalonians in particular is what those
movies elaborate on.
With
Iran attacking Israel, its increasingly
looking like the time of the end when all
nations, particularly the one to the north
of Israel (see Ezekiel 38) who most modern Bible scholars indentify
as Russia[2] align against Israel so she is
alone and apparently defenseless. Yet God
brings a miraculous deliverance for Israel. And while
the exact sequence of all the events of the
end are hard to place definitively, it is
clear that it is around the time of these
end time events that Jesus - Yeshua, takes
his church from the earth.
I write
this next section as if the rapture has
already occurred, and leave it as a
testimony and an instruction for what to do
for those who are left behind.
If I and
the church are gone, and you are
left behind when this happens, don't believe
the lies that are told to explain it away.
It is not because of aliens - though Satan
has been priming the world with that
explanation for many years now as I point
out
here. It's not aliens, it's not a leap
of evolution (read my
articles on evolution for why) and it is
not a mystery.
For you who
are left behind it is a sign. All the people
who have instantly and mysteriously
disappeared is perhaps your final sign that
everything affirmed in the Bible is true. If
you missed the sign of the eclipse - how it
points to God- don't miss the unmistakable
sign of God through his fulfillment of his
promise to take his people to be with
himself in the days of the end times. If you
are left behind, the narrow path (Matt
7.13-14) has become even more narrow. There
are two imperatives you must do to save
yourself from the eternal condemnation to
come.
What To Do if
you're Left Behind
First -
Believe in the Lord Jesus. Place your trust
in him. As scripture says:
"That
if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus
is Lord,' and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you
believe and are justified, and it is
with your mouth that you confess and are
saved."
Rom 10.9-10
Second - a
negative imperative: Do NOT under any
circumstances take the mark of the beast. It
is unclear what it will be called or how it
will be applied, but it will be easy to
recognize. I will be promoted as something
to make your life easier and better. There
will be a global push for everyone to get
it. But here are the tell-tale signs that
what is promoted as for your own good, will
be a Satanic deception for your destruction:
1. It is a mark they (namely those deceived by and
in league with the beast) want placed physically
on your body, on your hand or forehead. (Rev
13.16)
2. You will not be able to buy or sell
without the mark. (Rev 13.17)
3. It will likely have the number of the
beast (666) somehow embedded in it, perhaps
at the beginning, although it could have
the name of the beast embedded. (Rev 13.17)
I am
convinced that the nearly mandatory Covid-19
vaccines that many governments and
businesses tried to make force on all were
inspired by and are a tool of the devil - a
dry run for his ultimate mark. Just as they
lied about the vaccines - their (lack of) effectiveness[3]
and (lack of) safety[4];
and now we see people across the world
dropping dead because of them - in like
manner
they will lie about the real effect of this
mark. While not explicitly in the Bible I'm
fairly certain they won't try to sell or
promote the mark of the beast by telling you
the truth: namely that if you take it, you'll spend
eternity in hell
separated from everything good.
If you'll
recall, at the height of the Covid pandemic
panic, if you merely refused the vax, you were
looked at askance, you may have lost your
job (as I did), and many, deceived by vax
lies from people in high places, considered you
worthy of any Draconian punishment the
governments and businesses were willing to
mete out. If you were deceived or gave in
for the vax, you have another chance to open
your eyes and resist. Do not, under any
circumstances, consent to the taking of the
mark of the beast. My advice: refuse any
mark or device they want placed in or on the body,
particularly on the hand or forehead.
Because once you take the mark, your destiny
is sealed. You will be condemned to spend
eternity in hell with Satan and his angels.
(Rev 14.9-11). So you cannot, under any
circumstances take the mark, though it means
you lose you life. (Rev 20.4)
Those are
the two instructions you must heed if you
are left behind. But you're probably still
filled with questions. So I leave you with
a time capsule message from Pastor Jack Hibb who will
explain what you can expect in the next few
years, and again, the only chance to save
your soul and wind up where you were meant
to be: in heaven with God.
A final note:
Pastor Jack said he was going to make a
"time capsule" - a flash drive you could get
to leave behind for family and friends
you're concerned might be left behind.
That's a good idea and I will do likewise.
It will include this article and the videos
and the linked articles (the first one if
the link leads to many). It will also
include a number of versions of the Bible
since the beast - the antichrist - may make
it difficult for you to get a bible. So if
you have the time capsule flash drives
obtained from Rational Faith, you'll also have
the Bible.
I'm still in the process of creating it, so it's not
available yet. When it's available I'll put
a link below so you can get it. And since
flash drives are not free, and neither is
shipping, there will be a small fee for the
drives. For your loved ones who are not yet
believers, consider the parable of the sower,
and this a seed to be sown. (Matt 13.3-23)
For those
who would like to pre-order (to help me
gauge demand) you may do so here.
2. Early commentators such as Matthew Henry (1708)
and The JFB Bible commentary (1935) identify Russia as a
possibility, either of one of a couple of locations, or by virtue of
an assumed assumption of an identified name. Later commentators more
firmly identify them, e.g. Ralph H. Alexander in his commentary in
Ezekiel The Expositor's Bible Commentary (1986) where Russia leads
the 3 nation group of Russia, Turkey and Iran; Thomas McCall and
Zola Levitt in their book, "The Coming Russian Invasion of Israel"
(1974), and even more recently, Pastor Jack Hibbs in his brief
YouTube Video on Ezekiel 38 titled "The Ezekiel 38 Prophecy?"
4/10/2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni648AJsekw Back
