Times and Seasons / March 1998
- Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
- I Thessalonians 5:1
- Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; let him who is on the housetop not go down to get the things out that are in his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days! But pray that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath; for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.
- Matthew 24:15-21
- But pray that it may not happen in the winter.
- Mark 13:18
- “and he [the antimessiah] will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.
- Daniel 7:25
- And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.
- Daniel 12:7
- And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
- Revelation 12:14
- And the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
- Revelation 12:6
- And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
- Daniel 12:11
- But immediately after the tribulation of those days …
- Matthew 24:29a
- Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; even so you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
- Matthew 24:32-33
- Remember this, and be assured; recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.
- Isaiah 46:8-11
- How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!
- Daniel 12:12
- and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
- Matthew 24:30
- and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
- Revelation 6:13
- And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”
- Hebrews 12:26
- And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
- Revelation 16:16
- And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;”
- Revelation 6:15-16
- But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
- Luke 21:28
- 7. The Trumpet of God is blown fulfilling the feast of Trumpets.
And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
- Matthew 24:31
- For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
- I Thessalonians 4:16
- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
- I Corinthians 15:52
- for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?
- Revelation 6:17
- And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bondservants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.
- Revelation 11:18
- And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.
- Revelation 16:19
- And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
- Revelation 19:15
- Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
- Zechariah 14:16
- And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Revelation 20:4
- And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,”
- Revelation 21:3
- And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.
- Matthew 24:22
- Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
- Matthew 24:42
- And the King will answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.
- Matthew 25:40
- For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
- Luke 12:34
- Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord.
- Leviticus 27:30
- Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
- I Timothy 5:17-18
- Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share with the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
- I Corinthians 9:13-14
- Now she who is a widow indeed, and who has been left alone has fixed her hope on God, and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.
- I Timothy 5:5
- Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
- II Corinthians 9:7
- When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
- Matthew 6:2-4
- And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
- Mark 12:42-44
- Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it.
- Luke 17:33
Contents
“No one knows the day or hour of the Lord's return.” This is the most often quoted instruction concerning the Lord's return. For some, it has been a warning not heeded and much speculation has led to embarrassment. For others, the instruction has been a license for ignorance, to claim that no one can know anything specific concerning the Lord's return. Somewhere between these two misunderstandings, speculating the date of return and believing no one can understand anything, is the proper prophetic stance. Contrasting the Scripture about the “day and the hour” is the passage about the “times and the seasons.”
“We know the year and season of the Lord's return?” you are asking. Yes. This stands in sharp contrast to not knowing the “day and the hour.”
The words “times and epochs” simply mean “years and seasons.” In our modern American English language, these words have grown vague and more non-specific in meaning. However, the ancient Biblical language is considerably more specific and is better rendered in our usage as “years and seasons.”
This brings us to the discussion of units of measure concerning end time prophecy. Obviously, we do not know the most specific units of measure (day and hour) but we do know the more general units of measure such as years and seasons. In the purely technical terms of this generation, we call this resolution. The best resolution, the most specific measurements concerning the Lord's return are the “day and hour.” Other resolutions are available to us and very specific resolutions can be known for other events. The term “end times” is referring to the end years. Prophetic measurements are given to us in ages (2,000 years), millennia (1,000 years), times (years), seasons (quarter years), months (lunar events), days (sunsets to sunsets), and evenings and mornings (sunsets and sunrises). The more specific resolutions are about events in the Great Tribulation prior to the Lord's return. The key passage about the Lord's return limits the resolution to years and seasons, more specifically, a particular 45 day period that straddles two seasons (keep reading).
When asked by the disciples about the Lord's return and the end of the age, Yeshua told us when the Great Tribulation would occur and specified the years and seasons.
Why did the Messiah warn us about winter? Because winter will be present at that time. The Lord does not give out idle warnings. Yeshua told us that the Great Tribulation begins in winter. Yeshua does not specify here how long the Great Tribulation is, but only that it begins in winter.
It is Daniel, whom Yeshua referred to, that tells us that dimension.
The expression “time, times, and half a time” is simply one year plus two years plus half a year. The result is 3 1/2 years. We, the Saints, will be worn down and oppressed during this period and the Lord, the Ancient of Days, will come to the earth after this 3 1/2 year period.
This expression is not limited to the Old Testament. Consider the prophecy given in the book of Revelation.
This particular prophecy is related to the Matthew 24:15-21 passage, when those in Judea see the Abomination of Desolation set up and flee to the wilderness. They will be preserved by God for 3 1/2 years. A cross-referenced passage also specifies the days to be 1,260.
This does not mean that a time, times, and half a time equals 1,260 days. They are distinct and separate measurements, one vague and one specific. It just means that the 1,260 days fall within that 3 1/2 year period. The actual day count of the Great Tribulation is 1,290 days as specified by Daniel.
The Great Tribulation is 1,290 days.
Let's review. We know Yeshua warned us about winter at the start of the Great Tribulation. We know the Great Tribulation last 3 1/2 years. We know that the Great Tribulation is 1,290 days. So in what season does the Lord return? It must be near summer!
If you learn the parable of the fig tree, then you know the coming of the Lord is in the season of summer immediately after the days of the Great Tribulation. Therefore, just as Paul said, we know the “times” (years) and “epochs” (seasons).
Consider the ramifications of this understanding. If we know that summer is the season of the Lord's return, then the Lord is not returning in the other three seasons. So why do people believe He could come any day? Because they don't even believe that the Great Tribulation comes first and begins in winter. They render the teaching of 1 Thes 5:1 meaningless. Teachers of the Pretrib Rapture believe that knowing the year and seasons, the length of days for the Great Tribulation, and the sequence of events in the Great Tribulation are a type of violation in knowing the day and the hour. They choose to ignore the vast amount of prophecy concerning the “end times” and are fulfilling Yeshua's prophecy of false prophets and being misled.
The Lord is not impulsive about when He comes to the earth. He does not get up one morning and play the “Return of God Lottery” (commonly called the Pretrib Rapture). He has a very specific plan ending with a 3 1/2 year period of recompense and judgment. He comes immediately after the days of the Great Tribulation in the season of summer. It is planned. His plan is filled with purpose and meaning, revealing the very character of God.
We can be assured that God has planned His return. Remember how God has judged things in the past. We are told that His coming would be just like the days of Noah. His judgments are just like those upon Egypt, upon their gods. There are many things the Lord has told us about His plan, so that we might believe in Him. We know the years and seasons of the Lord's return, but we do not know the day or the hour. We know the number of years and days of the Great Tribulation.
There are 45 days after the Great Tribulation.
We also know there is a 45 day period immediately after the tribulation. This 45 days is derived from the difference of 1,290 and 1,335.
During this 45 day period, we know the sequence of events beginning with His appearing on the clouds of heaven.
1. The sign of the Son of Man appears in the heavens.
2. The stars begin to be repelled from His presence, being blown out of their orbits.
3. The voice of God is heard.
4. The world's armies are gathering to Armageddon.
5. The heathen beg for rocks to fall upon them.
6. The Saints lift their heads.
8. The resurrection of the saints asleep in the Lord occurs.
9. We who are still alive on the earth are changed and raised up with the resurrected saints.
10. The Day of the Lord (the wrath of God) comes, fulfilling the Day of Atonement.
11. We return to Jerusalem for the wedding of the Lamb and fulfill the feast of Tabernacles/Booths (Sukkot).
12. We live and reign with the Lord for a thousand years.
A Final Point
There is one very intriguing element to God's plan of coming in the season of summer and fulfilling the feast of Trumpets. The feast of Trumpets is the prophetic picture of the resurrection and the rapture. Because of short and long years in the Hebrew calender, the feast of Trumpets falls in summer and in fall respectively. A short year is 12 months and a long year is 13 months. The average Christian does not understand that it must be a short year to cause Trumpets to fall in summer. Now listen to Yeshua's words concerning the last year of the Great Tribulation.
This is a clear reference about the last year of the 3 1/2 years and that it must be a short year. This causes the feast of Trumpets to fall in the last days of summer.
There is much that we know about the coming of the Lord. Ask yourself, why would God tell us about these events unless they are for us to know and understand? The answer is obvious. So that we might believe in His plan and be parallel with it.
Don't let the coming of the Great Tribulation overcome you and don't let the Messiah's coming be a surprise to you.
The Lord has given much to us. He has given us the whole creation. He has given us life. He has given us freedom. He has given us the indescribable gift of Himself so that we might be forgiven and live eternally. His gifts are gracious and full of generosity.
The Lord did not give because we deserved anything; they are true gifts. The Lord did not give His gifts to make Himself a greater God; rather, His gifts reflect the greatness of Him.
The value of the gift is always determined by the giver, not the receiver. The gift of eternal life is not determined by us and our acceptance. The gift of eternal life has been determined by God and the price He paid.
Before we can give, we must learn to receive. If we are to learn how to give well, we must learn what and how God has given to us. Only then can we begin to give in a manner that is fulfilling and true.
There appears to be four levels of giving taught in the Scripture. Very few of us learn of these levels or operate in them, but they exist nonetheless. Let's examine them one by one.
This is the most simple gift. Something of yours is given. Giving something that is not yours is not an offering. An offering serves as a token of thanksgiving or praise. It is a gift of appreciation. An offering is equated with a sacrifice. A sacrifice is an offering to God. We are taught that an offering to a brother is in fact an offering to God.
The secret characteristic of an offering is sacrifice. However, no one likes to sacrifice anything. New givers tend to overvalue the gift and exalt themselves because they have given. Rather than continuing to give offerings, they tend to give in singular fashion.
Offerings may be the beginning level of giving but they reflect the heart of the giver.
I have seen men give for the first time and detected their hearts puffing up with pride. Pride always adds an extra zero to the value; i.e. a 10 becomes 100, a 100 becomes 1,000. Instead of adding a zero to your gift, pride reduces your gift to a zero before the Lord. Pride is really an effort to get your reward early and early rewards are always less.
A friend recently shared something with me called the “marshmallow test.” In a preschool, they took each child one at a time and seated them in front of a marshmallow. They then explained that if they waited they would receive two marshmallows. Eating one marshmallow now or waiting for two later is part of the lesson in making an offering to the Lord. The ability to give an offering and not seek an immediate reward is a sign of maturity that leads you to the next level of giving.
The tithe is one-tenth of your increase. God has commanded us to gather one-tenth of all our increase and give it to the temple, the priests, and the poor (widows and orphans).
The work of a congregation (as in the temple) requires resources from those who receive benefit. It is only right that the tithe (the Lord's portion) be used in the Lord's house so the Lord's house will be in good order.
Those who labor in teaching deserve to have their needs met as well.
the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. I Corinthians 9:10b
But those who have only the Lord, such as widows and orphans, should receive first the gifts of the Lord.
Giving one-tenth or more of your increase just to your church is not tithing to the Lord. Tithing includes your stewardship (management) of God's resources to make sure the widow and orphan are cared for. Tithing means that you share the material blessings with those who have shared the spiritual blessing with you. Tithing means that you oversee the Lord's resources with the same diligence that you do your own. This does not mean that you treat it as though it is your money. It means that you obey the commandment with all your heart, soul, and might.
The distance between making an offering and tithing is great. The secret characteristic of tithing is obedience to the Lord. A man who does not tithe is not obedient to the Lord. He is also not wise. Tithing the first ten percent of your increase will also make you wise in how you spend the remaining ninety percent. Tithing the first ten percent of your increase will help you set the remaining priorities of your home and business. Proving your faithfulness in little (ten percent) will qualify you for oversight of the real riches (the lives of the saints) and maturity to the next level of giving.
The gift of the heart is beyond the offering and the tithe. The gift of the heart is a joyful and happy gift. It is the gift that adds value to the recipient and stimulates others to goodness. It is an anointed gift of the spirit provoking men to thank God.
The gift of the heart is best served in secrecy. When the giver does not reveal himself in the giving, the recipient has no choice but to thank the Lord. The gift of the heart does not seek the reward of men but is always rewarded by the Lord. The reward of God is greater than all the rewards of men. Men will give you a short applause and a plaque; Yeshua will present you to His Father and speak of your gift given in His Name.
Giving secretly is great fun. People who give in secret enjoy watching those who receive give praises to the Lord. They prefer the pleasure of God to the honor of men.
Offerings, tithes, and gifts of the heart all share one thing in common: they are gifts from abundance. That is, they are usually gifts from the abundance that God has given you. The secret characteristic of giving from the heart is generosity. Giving generously is like a gift from our heavenly Father. Generosity does not mean it is a large gift; it means that a large heart gave it. The generous heart lifts us to the final level of giving.
The example of the widow's mites is a very difficult example for most believers to understand. How could she, giving only a cent, give more than all the others who had given? How can one gift be greater than all other gifts together? The answer is found only in the example of the Lord. The gift of life is far greater than all other types of gifts. The gift of Yeshua's life for us will never be matched; therefore when we give of our life, like He gave His for us, it can not be matched.
The gift of money is a poor substitute for the gift of life. Too often, many believers don't want to give of themselves. Primarily, it is because they are selfish and don't value themselves very well. Remember, the value of the gift is always determined by the giver. When people don't value themselves, they don't give of themselves. Worse yet, selfish people think money is worth more than themselves. Therefore, giving away money seems to be a loss to them. “But I won't have what I need!” they think. What they need… is the Lord's value system.
What does giving have to do with prophecy and the Lord's return? I'm glad you asked.
During the Great Tribulation, you do not want to be hanging out with people who don't know how to give. In the Great Tribulation, many brethren will be asked to give the gift of themselves. They will have to share their last food for the greater need of another. They will have to give their lives for the lives of others. Furthermore, you will need to be a giver of yourself as well. Listen to the words of Yeshua while discussing the Great Tribulation.
The secret characteristic of this level of giving is love. Love, of course, is the true fulfillment of our faith.
On behalf of Lion and Lamb Ministries, we wish to thank all the readers of Yavoh who have called and written letters/emails of encouragement. Thank you for your offerings, sharing of tithes, your secret gifts, and volunteer help. Every bit of your gifts is valued beyond anything we could do or say. We are trusting that the Lord will render His magnificent reward to you at the appropriate time. We will remind the Lord of your gracious gifts toward this ministry.
YAVOH - He is Coming is a monthly newsletter published as an outreach ministry of Lion and Lamb Ministries.
The ministry is a non-profit organization with an end time prophetic message in a Messianic Jewish context.
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Editor - Monte Judah
Electronic Editor - Ephraim Judah
Lion and Lamb Ministries
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