Puzzle Pieces 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 & 21
What this means is that May 1, 2013, should have been the true 7th day of Unleavened Bread. The Jewish people celebrate 3 festivals every year that last for 7 or 8 days. These are Unleavened Bread, Tabernacles and Hanukkah (which was a second Tabernacles festival added in 165 BC). The 7th day of each of these festivals is a Sabbath and is actually the most important day of the festival. It was on the 7th day of Unleavened Bread that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho fell and when Peter escaped from prison when he was rescued by an angel. All three of these events from the Scriptures foreshadow the rapture taking place on the 7th day of Unleavened Bread.
This is where we must understand that Scripture interprets Scripture. We cannot take one prophecy out of the Bible and think that we have the entire picture. The prophecies all come together to make a puzzle, and only when we have all of the pieces in place can we see the whole picture. Let’s look at what Jonah had to say in chapter 4 as to why the Lord did not bring judgment against Ninevah after the 40 days. Jonah 4:2, “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” Jonah is quoting a verse from Joel 2:13, “Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.” The Lord wants us to put these 2 verses together and look at the context of Joel 2 to see what He is trying to say.
Joel 2 is a description of the “Day of the Lord”. It is the most clear chapter in the Bible about what is coming on this “DAY”. Please remember that Daniel’s 70th week is equal to 7 years and that each day represents a one-year time period; therefore, the “Day of the Lord” is one year, not one day in length. The final “day” of this week would be the “Sabbath” for the Bride of Christ, when Jesus takes His Bride and no longer restrains Satan and darkness comes on the earth as Jesus, the light of the world, is gone with His Bride for that year, no longer fighting the war against Satan and the forces of darkness.
Let’s look at what Joel 2 says about the “Day of the Lord”. Joel 2:1-2, “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand — a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.” Joel 2:11, “The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” Joel 2:31, “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.”
Let’s look at the first 11 verses in Joel 2 and see what other Scriptures say about this event as well: Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-- a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste-- nothing escapes them. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle. At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks. They rush upon the city; they run along the wall. They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows. Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?”
Revelation 9: “When the fifth angel blew his trumpet, I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky. The star was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. It opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and smoke came out of the shaft like the smoke from a large furnace. The sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Locusts came out of the smoke onto the earth, and they were given power like that of earthly scorpions…The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were victor’s crowns that looked like gold, and their faces were like human faces. They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like iron, and the noise of their wings was like the roar of chariots with many horses rushing into battle. They had tails and stingers like scorpions, and they had the power to hurt people with their tails for five months. They had the angel of the bottomless pit ruling over them as king. In Hebrew he is called Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I’ve come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Matthew 24:43 “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.”
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.”
Notice that Joel 2 mentions the sun will be darkened and the moon turned to blood before the coming of this dreadful “Day of the Lord”. Peter quotes from this verse in Acts 2:20, but calls it the glorious “Day of the Lord”. For the New Testament saints who are walking with Christ, it will be a glorious day. For those left behind, it will be a dreadful day. Joel 2:10 mentions the sun and moon are darkened at this time. On the Feast of Trumpets in 2015, we have a solar eclipse and the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, we have a total lunar eclipse, which will be a “super blood moon” seen by all of Jerusalem. Right in between those 2 dates, we have the Day of Atonement on September 23, 2015. So, we have the sun and moon being darkened on the fall feast days. Not only that, but we also had lunar eclipses on the first day of Tabernacles and first day of Unleavened Bread in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Jewish calendar was off by a month in 2013, so if you move the calendar to where it should have been, you will see that there was actually a lunar eclipse on the first day of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles that year, as well as in 2014 and 2015. We also had a solar eclipse right on Aviv 1 in 2015 at the start of the Biblical New Year. Jesus told us to watch for the signs in the sun, moon and stars. Please look at Graph 8a to see the unbelievable fingerprint of God on this “tetrad”. It is unlike anything ever seen before in human history.
Now, let’s look at what else Joel 2 tells us about this day. Joel 2:15-16 “Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.” In this verse, we see the trumpet sounding, a holy fast being declared and a sacred assembly called. All three of these take place on the Day of Atonement. Numbers 29:7, “Ten days later, on the tenth day of the same month, you must call another holy assembly. On that day, the Day of Atonement, the people must go without food and must do no ordinary work.” Leviticus 25:9, “Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.” The Bridegroom is to leave his room to get His Bride from her chamber.
Joel 2:31-32, “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”
Luke 21:36, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Revelation 6:12-17, “And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken by a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great Day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?”
Psalm 24:3-4, “Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”
So, to answer the question as to why the Lord is shortening the days of the Great Tribulation, it is because of His incredible grace and compassion towards humanity. He is a gracious and compassionate God, abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity (see Jonah 4 and Joel 2). He does not want to send His wrath. If He had allowed the Great Tribulation to begin in May 2013, no flesh would have survived for 3 ½ years – not one person would be alive to witness the Second Coming of Christ to the earth. Satan would have killed the entire human race in less than 3 ½ years if Jesus was not restraining him. And for those who have been left behind, He is still calling out to you from Joel 2:12-13, “EVEN NOW, declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
It is important to know also that the book of Jonah is read by the Jewish people on the Day of Atonement. Why in the world do the Jewish people read the book of Jonah on this day? Because the Lord is trying to point all of us to the connection between Jonah and Joel 2 – how the Lord was to have brought His judgment on May 1, 2013, 40 days after the abomination was set up and the start of the 1260 and 1335-day counts. But because of His compassion and mercy, just as He delayed His judgment against Ninevah after a 40-day period, so also He has delayed His judgment on the world until the Day of Atonement in 2015, at the end of the 6th day of Daniel’s 70th week. Joel 2 makes clear reference to the Day of Atonement in chapter 2, verses 15 and 16: “Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.” The Lord wants us to connect the story of Jonah to Joel chapter 2, which is a description of the Day of the Lord starting on the Day of Atonement during the fall feasts when the sun is darkened on the Feast of Trumpets and moon turns to blood on the Feast of Tabernacles.
It all goes back to the story of Esther. The nation of Israel was about to be completely destroyed and all the Jewish people killed. They all went on a 3-day fast and on the third day of the fast, Esther came before the King. In doing so, she was risking her life because she was not to enter the King’s presence unless he called for her. The king could have killed Esther just for approaching him without being called. But he didn’t. He extended his royal scepter to her and showed her mercy. Esther represents the Bride of Christ, or the church. She was the chosen virgin who won the favor of the king above all the women in the land. The church from all over the world came together from April 30 to May 2, 2013, and fasted and prayed for God to have mercy on America. And mercy is what they received. This was the end of the 40 days of probation and was the appointed time for God to bring desolation to America, as well as the entire world. But just as God did not bring the desolation against Ninevah after the 40 days because they repented and asked for mercy, so He did not bring the desolation against America or the world after the 40 days because they repented and asked for mercy. These 2 stories, Esther and Jonah, were foreshadows from the Old Testament of how God was going to show mercy to the world. Jonah tells us that the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and he relents from sending calamity. It was always in His plan to do this, which is why we have so many verses throughout the Old and New Testaments pointing us to the Day of Atonement in 2015 as the start of the Day of the Lord on the 7th and final day of Daniel’s 70th week, which begins the Sabbath rest for the Bride of Christ and the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. It’s the Year of Jubilee after the 49 prophetic years from when Israel was given back her land, and the opening of the 6th seal of Revelation that begins after the sun is darkened and moon turns to blood. The Lord has delayed His judgment on the world and shortened the days of the Great Tribulation from 3 ½ years to just over a year in length.
On April 24th 2013, a 3-day fast was called by the leaders of the church around the world and at least 28 nations participated in this fast. This 3 days of fasting and prayer started on April 30th, and lasted until May 2nd, 2013. Millions of prayers were offered up to God during these 3 days, begging for mercy on America and asking that He withhold His judgment. When Ninevah repented, the entire nation, from the king on down, put on sackcloth and asked the Lord for mercy. In America, the congress kneeled down before the Lord on the National Day of Prayer and asked God for forgiveness. Even President Obama issued a statement calling on all Americans to pray for America on this day.
Here are just two of the millions of prayers offered to God around the world that were prayed on May 2, 2013, at the National Day of Prayer:
On this National Day of Prayer in 2013, may we continue to offer this prayer and hope that it becomes “America’s Prayer of Repentance.”
O God, we know that your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,” but that’s exactly what we’ve done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism and New Age spirituality.
We have committed adultery and called it an affair.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it frugality.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn children and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have failed to execute justice speedily, as your Word commands, and called it due process.
We have failed to love our neighbor who has a different color of skin and called it maintaining racial purity.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have made the Lord’s Day the biggest shopping and entertainment day of the week and called it free enterprise.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our parents and called it enlightenment.
Search us, O God, and know our hearts today. Try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us of every sin and set us free. Though our sins be as scarlet, may they become white as snow.
Though they be as crimson, may they be as wool.
And another prayer offered on this day:
LORD, WHO ARE WE AS A PEOPLE, having been given blessings in portions as no other nation before us? What has become of us, Father? We have spoiled your spacious skies with buildings and cities breathing with sin. The amber waves of grain are no longer viewed as our blessing but as our due. The awe and reverence due You when we gaze upon the purple mountains and their majesty is no longer held; rather, how much pleasure they can give us. Father, we have spurned You. We’ve blamed our problems on those who promote darkness, but You have revealed yourself to us through Your Son. Now our eyes have been opened by Him. Our lack of holiness, our not being light has allowed darkness to prevail. Indeed, our sins which we wrongly view as small have allowed those in darkness to commit great sins without shame. We now realize that it is because of our failings as Christians. Father, Samuel told your people, “It is true you have committed all this evil, still you must not turn from the Lord, but worship Him with your whole heart. For the sake of His own great name, the Lord will not abandon his own people.” Father, we come before You with our whole hearts and ask You to grant us the pardon won for us by your Son.
Jesus, we do not deserve to even be heard, yet we know Your passion merits that we are. Lord Jesus, we call You as You have called us. Please, intercede before God to forgive us, to heal us, to heal our families, and to heal our nation.
Father, grant Your Son’s intentions and hear His pleas for us. We know you are justly irritated with us but we beg and plead for forgiveness through our repentance from our hearts. We realize our nation is headed toward disaster by so many signs You have given us. Holy, Holy, Holy God, grant Your Son His requests that we may again be your people, not a nation above God but one nation humbled and under God. Amen.