“The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.” (Revelation 8:12)
Jesus seems to imply in Matthew 24 that the desolation occurs right after the abomination is set up. He warns those living in Judea to flee to the mountains immediately, and not even go back in their house to get their coats or belongings. Right after He warns those living in Judea to flee to the mountains, He then goes on to tell us that unless these days of Great Tribulation are shortened, no flesh would survive. The Lord also told us in Matthew 25 and Revelation 10 that the Bridegroom would be delayed. If we count right from the abomination being set up on March 22, 2013, until the first day of Hanukkah in 2016, which I believe will be the Second Coming of Christ to earth right on Christmas Day, we have a total of 1374 days. If we divide that number by 3, or multiply by 1/3, we have 458 days of darkness. Now, counting from September 24, 2015, the day after the Day of Atonement in 2015, until Hanukkah 2016, we have 458 days. This is exactly 1/3 of the days counting from the Abomination being set up on March 22, 2013, which Jesus alluded to as the start of the desolation, until Hanukkah 2016, the very end of the Great Tribulation. Could the Scriptures be saying that only 1/3 of the days appointed for tribulation will be darkened? In other words, is the Scripture pointing us to the Great Tribulation only being 1/3 of the appointed time?
March 22, 2013, to December 25, 2016 = 1374 days
1374 X 1/3 = 458 days
September 24, 2015, to December 25, 2016 = 458 days
Has the Great Tribulation been shortened to 1/3 of the days in fulfillment of Revelation 8? Have the days of darkness that will come upon the earth been shortened to 1/3 in fulfillment of the 4th trumpet judgment?
In 2 Samuel 8, Ezekiel 5, and Zechariah 13, we are given 3 illustrations of how 2/3 are cut off and 1/3 remain. The number 1/3 is mentioned at least 14 times in the book of Revelation. The Lord has hidden these gems throughout the Old and New Testaments pointing us to the 1/3 judgment that He will bring on the earth and how 2/3 of what could have been the Great Tribulation period was cut off and only 1/3 remain.
The fourth trumpet judgment in Revelation 8 tells us that 1/3 of the days (or time) and nights are without light. The Greek word used in the original text for “day” is “hemera” and “night” is “nyx”. These words are used as both singular and plural. For example, the same word “hemera” is used in these verses of the Bible as a plural noun:
Matthew 3:1 - In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea…
Matthew 9:15 - And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
The word “hemera” is translated over 130 times in the New Testament as “days”. Likewise, the word night, or “nyx”, can also be translated as “nights”.
Matthew 4:2 - And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.
Matthew 12:40 - For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
This establishes the fact that “hemera” can be translated as “days” and “nyx” can be translated as “nights”. So this verse could read like this:
“The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the days were without light, and also a third of the nights.” (Revelation 8:12)
Jesus is the light of the world. I believe that this prophecy is telling us that Jesus, the light of the world, will be gone with His Bride for 1/3 of the time (or days and nights) that the Great Tribulation could have lasted for. These “days of darkness” will begin on September 24, 2015. The restrainer (Jesus) will no longer restrain Satan. A Jewish Bridegroom was not to go to war or do any business for the first year of his marriage – he was only to stay with his wife to bring her pleasure. This is exactly the reason why Jesus told us that He did not know about that day or hour. He was referring to the “Day of the Lord”, the final day of Daniel’s 70th week, when He would take His Bride and He would no longer be fighting Satan or the forces of evil and they would be allowed to have their way on the earth without any restraint. Only the Father Himself knows about what will take place on that day (year). Jesus also told us in John 9:4 that the night is coming when no man can work. Once again, He is pointing us to the “days of darkness” on the Sabbath when no one can work, the final day of Daniel’s 70th week, or the final year before Christ returns to earth.
In the next chapter, we will look at how the 1335 days of Daniel ends on the first day of Hanukkah in 2016, when Christ returns to the earth on Christmas Day, and this will be further discussed in chapter 9
of this book. In Haggai 2, we read about the Lord shaking the heavens and the earth and how He will bring the desired of all nations to Himself. There are two dates mentioned in Haggai 2. The first date is the 21st day of the 7th month, which on the Jewish calendar is the 7th day of Tabernacles. The second date mentioned is the 24th day of the 9th month, which is Hanukkah Eve on the Jewish calendar. Mr.
Obama was chosen on the 7th day of Tabernacles in 2009 as the Nobel Peace Prize winner and was given the award just a few hours before the start of Hanukkah Eve in 2009.
This 24th day of the 9th month is really a key date in this puzzle, which is why the Lord mentions the date three times in Haggai 2. Not only was Mr. Obama given the Nobel Peace Prize just a few hours before the start of the 24th day of the 9th month on the Jewish calendar, but this will also be the final day of darkness in 2016 before Christ returns to the earth on the first day of Hanukkah, which is Christmas Day in 2016. But there is yet another fulfillment to this date – a third fulfillment, which I believe is why the Lord mentions this date 3 times in Haggai 2.
By the time you finish reading this book, you will understand how the Lord is using the Jewish calendar and also the Gentile calendar. He is the God of the Jews and the Gentiles and He is using both calendars in His 7000-year plan of redemption for mankind. So, what is the 24th day of the 9th month on the Gentile solar calendar? September 24th. The days of darkness begin on the 24th day of the 9th month on the Gentile solar calendar and they end on the 24th day of the 9th month on the Jewish lunar calendar. Let’s read these verses in Haggai 2 to see what the Lord says about the 24th day of the 9th month:
“‘From this day on I will bless you.’”
The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
In Luke chapter 21, we read, “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” I believe that on September 24, 2015, God will turn His attention back to the Jews when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. This is why God is using the Gentile solar calendar to start the days of darkness on the 24th day of the ninth month and then using the Jewish lunar calendar to end the days of darkness on the 24th day of the ninth month.
Hebrews 12: But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more”
indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
Revelation 14: Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
