I sense the Father calling prodigal sons and daughters home. I hear Him shouting, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14). This week I’ve been struck by the significance of world events and prophecies being fulfilled before our very eyes. Never have John’s words been more fitting than the hour in which we find ourselves. He said, “Children, it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). The space-time continuum God created when He made the heavens and the earth is not eternal. I know that’s kind of a wild thought, but in the Revealing of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the book of Revelation, John saw the heavens roll up like a scroll (Isaiah 34:4; Revelation 6:14) and the earth completely destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 8:7). He saw a new heaven and a new earth created before him, and the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21:1).
Time is one of humanity's most precious possessions - because it is rapidly running out. Time has an end, and we are nearing it. Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, “For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18). While this verse is a loaded Scripture that I greatly desire to unpack another time, it speaks of heaven and earth passing away, and "everything" being accomplished before one word of the Torah disappears.
Paul wrote to the Romans,
“And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh." —Romans 13:11-14
One of our closing statements in our original production,The Passion Prophecies, speaks of the fact that there are more prophecies concerning Jesus’ second coming than those that predicted His first coming. Amazingly, the gap between 'prophecies fulfilled' and 'prophecies yet to be fulfilled' is narrowing drastically. We are living in a fascinating era of human history and there is so much Scripture to stand on and study regarding these Last Days. I argue that everyone alive on the earth today was chosen by God to be part of the glory reserved for the last generation. For the latter glory will be greater than the former (Haggai 2:9). The eyes of the Lord are searching to and fro throughout the earth, looking for hearts fully surrendered to Him—that He may show Himself strong on their behalf (2 Chronicles 16:9).
You have been chosen by God to live right now, and that is a really awesome thought. Many people like to quote 1 Thessalonians 5:2 as a proof text for not knowing when Jesus will return—because He will come as a “thief in the night.” Two verses later, however, Paul says, “But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6). In Matthew 24, Jesus likewise told us to watch and be ready for His coming. He used the parable of the fig tree as a metaphor for reading the signs of the seasons. He said, when the fig tree begins sending out its shoots, you know that summer is coming. In the same way, when you see the things described earlier in the chapter occurring worldwide, we can know that the hour is near—that He is standing at the door (Matthew 24:32-33). We may not know the day or the hour, but the people of God will absolutely know the season of His return. Read Matthew 24 again. We are living in the last days.
Genesis 1:14 tells us that God created the sun, moon, and stars to mark Yahweh's sacred days, years, and seasons. The Hebrew word translated as seasons is 'moed,' which means, "Yahweh's appointed times, feast days." Studying Yahweh's calendar and aligning my life to His sacred days, years, and seasons has been one of the most beautiful, freeing, satisfying transformations of my entire life. Truly I have learned to say like David:
The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them indeed Your servant is warned; in keeping them is great reward. —Psalms 19:7-11
Okay—so you want to hear something really cool? Listen to this! According to Exodus 12:2, April 8, 2024 is the first day of Yahweh’s new calendar year — 14 days before Passover, which is April 22 this year. Do you know what else is happening on April 8th? A total solar eclipse —marking Yahweh's new year! It will travel in the opposite direction of the total solar eclipse that occurred on August 21, 2017 — marking an X across our nation. Even more amazing is the name of the town directly in the center of the X: Little Egypt, Illinois.
Now let's go back to the years 2014 and 2015, when 4 blood moons occurred on significant days on Yahweh's calendar. In 2014, a Blood Moon occurred on April 15, which was Passover, and another Blood Moon occurred 7 months later on October 8, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot. The following year in 2015, there were two more Blood Moons and they occurred on the exact same feast days of Passover and Sukkot! This is fascinating! Not to mention, the incredible Revelation 12 astronomical sign that occurred in the heavens in both 2017 and 2023. (*Aaron and I remember this season vividly. We were ready for His appearing!) The point is, we are being given 'signs in the heavens' that indicate the hour in which we live. Like road signs on a highway telling you what's ahead, these signs should alert God's people of where we are in the Biblical-prophetic timeline, and what is coming in the future. We are to know and recognize these signs - as in the parable of the fig tree — that we may be sober minded, filled with the Spirit, and about our Father’s business.
As the nations rage and conspire against God and His Anointed (Psalm 2:1), the cosmic battle for souls intensifies all over the earth. Satan no longer hides his agenda, but is in open display and defiance of El'Elyon, the Most High God. I believe we are going to see God work great and powerful miracles through His people in these last days. It has been spoken! And God's word does not return back to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). Just as Jesus fulfilled every detail of every prophecy given in antiquity of His first coming, so He will fulfill nearly a thousand prophecies predicting the circumstances of His return. He will do it! And we will either be with Him or against Him. Revelation 3 carries a severe warning to the body of Messiah teetering on the edgy of a postmodern, fully deconstructed, "God is grey" lukewarmness. "I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other! So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth!" (Revelation 3:15-16). It is time to wake up! Put on the armor of light and work in our master's fully ripened fields until the hour of His return.
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My menservants and maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome 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 promised, among the remnant called by the LORD. —Joel 2:28-32
Joel 2 is just one of hundreds upon hundreds of incredible passages of Biblical prophecy that foretell the events of Jesus' return. God is going to great lengths in His patient forbearance, to bring His lost sheep home. Many of you have been crying out for your family members and friends to come to salvation in Christ. I want to encourage you today—the prayers of a righteous person are powerful (James 5:16) and God’s desire is for all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4).
So.
Keep praying. Keep interceding on behalf of the lost. Keep fighting the good fight. As the days grow darker, the light is growing brighter! We are children of the light, of the day. We were made in God's image, and God is light. Luke 11:34 says, "If your whole body is full of light,with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you." We are approaching the greatest hour of human history, when the war of darkness and light will end with a fantastic victory of Light — and heaven saw fit for you to be a part of it! Stay sober minded and root yourself in the Truth of Scripture. God is using you to bring His prodigals home.
“Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” —Galatians 6:9
Next, we'll dive into the profound story God is calling our attention to by causing a total solar eclipse 14 days before Passover, on the first day of His new year— bringing the world's attention to Little Egypt, Illinois.
*My husband Aaron took this delightful photo on August 21, 2017 in Virginia Beach, Va (outside totality)
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