The Revelation 12 Sign!

UPDATE: I posted this in September 2016.  I STILL believe everything I wrote in this post. No, the rapture didn't happen. But the sign still shone in the heavens, and it was magnificent. I now believe it was a warning from God that we only have a few years left.  If you read Revelation 12 closely, it's plain to see now that after this sign, there are other events which must occur, namely a war in heaven., in which Satan is finally cast down to earth for good. When that happens, I believe the Tribulation will start. How much longer do we have? Only God knows. But I believe we are very very close now.  

This post will blow your mind! Truly. I'm talking about the Rapture of the Church and an incredible sign recently discovered that may point to its timing. No, I"m not setting a date. But having said that, there has been a false doctrine floating around the church for years that we won't have a clue when Jesus returns for us, that He could come any time like a thief in the night. According to the Bible, That is undeniably false. We won't know the day or the hour, but we will know the season, possibly the month, and maybe even the week. 

The Apostle Paul was very clear about this in 1 Thess 5: 1-6

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Having established that, please prayerfully read on

This is a long post. I thought about splitting it up but I believe it's meant to be consumed as a whole. Bookmark it and come back OR if you're getting this in email, read it at your leisure. There's a lot of detail here, so be patient. Let me preface it by saying that God set the stars, moon, and sun in the sky for seasons and for signs for us. What is a sign? It is something that points us to something else or points us in the right direction, or gives us important information.

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;  Genesis 1:14

Originally, God set up the constellations to reflect the Gospel. Many people don't know this, and I have only recently discovered this.  The constellations were then perverted by satan who used people to create the astrological signs we know today and are warned to stay away from. Not only was satan trying to entice us into the occult but he was also keeping us from seeing the heavenly signs God wanted us to see. For more information on how the Gospel is written in the sky, I recommend, The Witness of the Stars by E.W. Bullinger

So, with that in mind, let us begin. 

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.  Revelation 12:1-2


The woman here is the constellation Virgo, the Virgin, who every Biblical scholar says represents Israel. In fact, Israel in Biblical days was well aware of these constellations and their meanings. Even as far back as Enoch.

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. 3-4

We will get to the dragon later. Of course this is satan, but based on what I've learned below, I don't think this is the past event where he convinces 1/3 of the angels to rebel.

Here's the part I want to focus on below, in particular the words for Child.

And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.  Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. 4-6

For years theologians believed this child was Jesus and this Scripture referred to His birth and how satan attempted to kill Jesus through Herod.  However, recently theologians have been looking deeper at the greek meanings behind the words. Let's go.

Child =  Greek word(Teknon)    Strongs 5043 
   Meaning: daughter, son, figuratively used as children of God

Same word used in the following verses:
John 1:12  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 

Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 

1 Peter 1:14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;   

That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 

Galatians 4:28  Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise

It can also mean children of the devil or children of wrath too as in the following verses

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.  

See also 2 Peter 2:14, Ephesians 2:3

The point is this: This word in the Greek means a child, offspring, a child as respects to descent and age.  Therefore, the child whom the woman is about to give birth to is not Jesus as most early scholars believed. but it is the collective children of God, i.e.. believers in Jesus, who were "birthed" from the chosen people, Israel.   

Hang with me. You'll be glad you did!  Now, in contrast, the word "child" in the same Scripture in Revelation above, the one I've highlighted in Blue is a completely different word in Greek

Child = Greek Word (huios) Strongs 5207 
Meaning: son, kingshiip, Son of Man, Son of God, Son of David, my beloved Son.  This word stressed the quality and essence of one so resembling another that distinctions between the two are indiscernible 
It is also used of male offspring, legitimate as opposed to illegitimate, a son who acts a certain way, who manifests a certain character whether evil of good 

Difference between teknon and huios
Teknon gives prominence to physical and outward aspects of parentage. 
Huios gives prominence to the inward, ethical, legal aspects of parentage

Hebrews 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 

Every reference to "Son of God, Son of Man, Son of David" in the New Testament uses this word Huios

Other Scriptures which use this word always refer to the character of the people, not direct parentage.

Such as:
Acts 3:25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers,
Gal 3:7  Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham

There are many more Scriptures I could list here. I encourage you to get a Strongs concordance and look them up yourself. 

However, it's important to note that the Apostle John (who wrote Revelation) never uses huios of the believer; he reserves that title for the Lord.  So, I hope I've convinced you that there are TWO separate meanings to the Three "child" words in the above Scripture in Rev 12.  Two of them refer to the church, the third refers to Jesus.

Now, let's look at the word for "caught up", highlighted in Orange

"Caught up" or "Seized" = Greek Word (Harpazo) 
Meaning: to Snatch or catch away, take by force

Used in the following Scriptures.


Acts 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.

1 Corinthians 12:2-4 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. 

1 Thess 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 

I hope by now that you're seeing where I'm going with this. The woman in Revelation 12 is ready to give birth. But there are two different children referenced. One is a male child who is to rule all the nations with a rod of Iron. The word used to describe Him is also used whenever Jesus is called Son of Man, Son of God, etc.  So, it is obviously Jesus. The other child that the woman gives birth to, based on the references and meanings where the same word is used, has got to be the church, children of God, believers in Jesus.

Now, it gets interesting. When the woman gives birth to the 2nd child (Christians), the dragon tries to destroy it, but the child is quickly caught up to heaven. The same word Paul used when referencing the rapture of the church.  

Note: Jesus was NEVER caught up or snatched away to heaven. He ascended into Heaven after His resurrection.   

So, I believe I've more than proven to you that this Scripture refers to the Rapture of the Church! 
In fact, it gives us a clear sign of when that rapture will take place.   

The Rapture takes place when the Sign described in Revelation 12 occurs in the heavens. 
Why not? God used the sign of a bright star to announce the birth of His Son on Earth. Why wouldn't he use another sign to announce the rapture of His Son's bride?

So, when does or when will that sign occur?  Let's examine the sign more closely.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.  Revelation 12:1-2

We are looking for a time when we look up into the night sky and see Virgo clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and a garland of 12 stars on her head. We are also looking for some indication that she is about to give birth. 

Now, I'm not an astronomy whiz, but I've been researching this for the past month so bear with me. 
Virgo is "clothed with the sun" when the sun appears over her left shoulder as in the photo below.  This happens once a year around the autumn equinox. 

 Here, we also see the moon is at her feet. This happens every 19 years.  

Now for the 12 stars on her head. As you can see from the picture, the constellation Leo or Lion sits atop Virgo's head. Normally, Leo only has 9 stars, but OCCASIONALLY, Mercury, Mars, and Venus (which are called wandering stars) appear alongside Leo, making it a 12 star garland. 

Now, let's move to Virgo being in labor. Jupiter was known by the Jews as the planet Messiah or the King planet.  Jupiter enters the womb of Virgo every 12 years. Only every 83 years does it stay in the womb of Jupiter for the full period of a human pregnancy.

Let's put this together.  We are looking for a time when Virgo has the sun on her left shoulder, the moon beneath her feet, Mercury, Venus, and Mars aligned with Leo at her head and the planet Jupiter entering Virgo's womb, staying in for the full period of a human pregnancy, and subsequently being birthed from her womb.  If we see this sign in the heavens, I believe it indicates something huge is about to happen. I personally believe this is the sign of Jesus' second coming, or in essence, the rapture of the church 

The next logical question is: Has this sign ever appeared in the heavens? And if not, when will it?


Frequency of these events happening

• Jupiter entering Virgo's womb and staying there for 37-42 weeks - happens every 83 years
• The Crown of 12 stars.  Frequency of happening. 1 time every 8 years or 10 times per 80 years
• The Moon at the feet of Virgo every 19 years
• Virgo is clothed with the sun every year

So all these things have to happen together. YET a search backward in time has revealed that this exact alignment has never happened. There have been moments when 2 or 3 of them are in alignment, but not all four.  

However, when we look into the future, we actually find this exact sign.

On November 20th 2016 Jupiter enters the womb of Virgo. Due to retrograde motion Jupiter stays in or near the abdomen of Virgo until September 9, 2017.  Thus, it is in or near the abdomen of Virgo for a day short of 42 weeks after which time it is born out of the abdomen of Virgo.
 
On September 23, 2017, we see the following
Jupiter has recently left Virgo's womb
Mars, Venus, and Mercury are aligned with Leo at her head, hence forming the garland of 12 stars
The sun is positioned on her left shoulder
The moon is under her feet.

This has never happened before. It is an EXTREMELY rare sign. How do we know it will occur?  Due to the technological wonders of our age, there are many free astronomy software programs you can use where you can type in a date and it will give you the exact alignment of heavenly bodies. One such program is Stellarium. If you're in doubt, I encourage you to download it and try it out for yourself. It's free!

Here's the link to a You tube video from a man who did that and searched thousands of years into the past and then into the future to find this sign.  VIDEO

Here's another video, explaining what I'm talking about above: 

Another very cool thing about this date is that it falls on Rosh Hashana, an important Jewish feast day also called the Feast of Trumpets. (Sept 23-24) I could do an entire post on this feast, and may do that for next time, but for now, let me summarize the feast for you.

The feast started at the first sighting of the new moon. Once the new moon was sighted, trumpets were blown to let everyone know the feast had begun.  Hence, of the feast, people would say "No one knew the day or the hour".  (Recall that was the exact phrase Jesus used when referring to his second coming)
The feast is also called Yom Teruah which means the awakening blast, wakening those who have died. It is known by the Jews as the resurrection of the righteous dead
During the feast 99 trumpet blasts were blown. The 100th and final trumpet blast was known as "The Last Trump"  

in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  1 Cor 15:52

Very interesting, wouldn't you say? The Jews have 7 major feast days, 4 in the Spring and 3 in the Fall. Jesus fulfilled the Spring feasts on their EXACT day when He was here on earth. Wouldn't it make sense that He would fulfill the last three on their Exact day?

Am I saying the rapture will occur in September 2017?  I honestly don't know for sure. But I think I've given a pretty good case that it might and hopefully, I've given enough evidence to get you thinking and praying about it. At the very least, something major is going to happen because we were told to look for this sign.

This sign along with every thing else going on in the world should definitely get your attention. There is more written about these last days (and Jesus's second coming)in the Bible than there were about His first coming.  If you want to read more about the other signs that we are close, please click HERE for my post on the 21 Signs of Jesus's soon return.

Some numbers to consider (which I think I mention in that article) are that 2017 is 70 years from the formation of Israel as a state in 1947-48, 50 years after Israel won back Jerusalem in 1967, and 120 years after the first meeting of an historic parliament which convened to draft a plan to resettle Israel in 1897
If you know anything about the Bible, God is a God of numbers, and 50, 70, and 120 are important numbers to Him in Scripture.

(I encourage you to do your own research on everything I've posted here. Please do not take my word for it)

I'm not trying to invoke fear. Quite the opposite!  I'm trying to bring comfort to God's people. And also to prompt us all to work harder for our Lord and for His Kingdom!  If you are uncomfortable with the prospect of a soon rapture, don't really care, or aren't excited, might I suggest one of the following MAY be true

You don't know the Lord
You have no idea how wonderful heaven is
You are too attached to this world and need a heart change.

I know this post might upset some of you who've been conditioned to not to look at the stars and not  predict dates. The Scripture is clear that we are to do both. We are told repeatedly to watch for Jesus's return, not only to watch, but to prepare, to make ourselves ready, and to share the Gospel with as many as we can in the meantime. We are to watch, but we are not to be idle. We are to be hard at work, keeping ourselves holy, doing the Lord's will, and by His Holy Spirit, saving as many as we can.  If the Lord indeed comes to bring us home in September 2017, let it be said of us that we brought many souls with us!

Since I've written this post, I've added a little more info about this Sign

(If you don't know whether you are saved, get alone and pray to the God of the Bible to reveal His Son, Jesus to you. Repent of all your wicked deeds. That means to not only say you're sorry but to turn away from them, leave them behind, and follow Jesus. He loves you more than anything. You are precious to Him and highly valuable. Don't waste another minute living without Him. Accept the FREE gift of salvation He offers and then live your life for Him. It's the best life possible! Take it from someone who's been on both sides. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or need advice) 

How to be saved from an eternity in hell!




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