The Big Picture & Questions Answered ~ Unsealed

The Big Picture & Questions Answered
~Gary~ September 14, 2017

(Best read at the Unsealed site) ~ http://www.unsealed.org/2017/09/the-big-picture-questions-answered.html


Dear Friends,


 I wanted to say thank you for your continued prayers, support, and participation.  God has done some amazing things through this ministry and it has as much to do with the Gospel as it does with prophecy.  The two go hand-in-hand.  This summer we reached 300,000 unique readers per month with the truth of Christ, becoming one of the largest prophecy news websites on the planet.  Our Revelation 12 Sign video has been seen in various languages over three million times and one of our ministry partners used our Gospel video on Facebook and it has gone viral - watched over one million times and shared all across the Middle East.  A few of our articles were shared virally by you on Facebook this year and it caused a number of news organizations to take notice.  It gave us the opportunity to share the message far and wide that Jesus Christ is really coming back.  And soon.

I share this success with you because I want you to be empowered and motivated to imitate us as we imitate Christ ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1 Cor. 11.1]1 Cor. 11:1[/url]).  Go and share the Gospel.  Go and tell someone Jesus is coming soon.  As you are all well aware, there may be little time left ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John. 9.4]Jn. 9:4[/url], [url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Gal. 6.10]Gal. 6:10[/url]).  We.  Are.  Nobodies.  We take no profit.  We receive no ad revenue.  We're not in it for fame or a following and have tried to personally avoid the limelight as much as possible.  We've dedicated an incredible amount of time and our own financial resources, often at the expense of our personal lives and families, to bring you the hopeful message of grace and our soon coming King.  Our heart has been to share the Gospel, pray without ceasing, and teach only what is true - leaving no stone unturned and changing course when we think we've taught something incorrectly.  I pray for discernment daily.  I think I can speak for the whole team - Greg, Jeff, Dolley, Sam, the leaders on our online community, and myself - and say we do this for your edification.  We want you to know the truth and be aware and awake to the times, so that you are in turn empowered to go do greater things - and I personally know many of you are.

God hates the works of the Nicolaitans, those who would steal from His flock and rule as spiritual tyrants over the people.  So many churches and ministries these days are cults of personality - their pastors' faces are plastered everywhere and they have "their" flocks and "their" followers.  They live on islands and don't allow anyone to challenge them or speak into their lives ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Prov. 18.1]Prov. 18:1[/url]).  They become their own source of spiritual authority not realizing that they are only foot-soldiers like the rest of us in the service of the King.  They wave their pulpits, PhDs, and fame in your face to show you why you have to listen to them because they're the shepherd and you're just a sheep.  Just like the priests and Nicolaitans of old who withheld the Word of God from Christ's flock.

Jesus never gave any apostle a flock.  Rather He told his apostles to tend His flock.  The flock is Christ's and we are just part of it.  We will all be held to account for how we fed and tended His flock.  There is only one High Priest and one Good Shepherd.  All glory and honor and praise belongs to Him and Him alone.  The news and the prophetic signs we share, if we've misinterpreted any of them, are nothing, and if we've interpreted them correctly all glory and credit goes to God alone who in His loving-kindness chose to reveal a bit of Himself and His plans to the Body of Christ through the least of these - the unqualified, rather than those who boast in their self-appointed position.

We are walking daily in community with other humble men of God who see these signs unfolding, so that none of us becomes an island and all of us have accountability in what we do, say, and teach.  I want to give credit to these other brothers who we are fellowshipping with daily who are as much and even more a part of this last-minute wake-up call to the Church:

Adam, Barry, Brad, Daniel, Jim, Paul, and Scottie.  God has done wonders through your ministries to open eyes, soften hard hearts, expose the traditions of men and wickedness in high places, and to further reveal truth to the Church.  Greg, Jeff, and I appreciate you greatly.  You are humble warriors and we salute you.  There are many others who encourage us daily and continue to walk beside us - you know who you are and equal credit to you.  I pray for many of you by name daily.  Let us pray without ceasing.  I've written a prayer here that I would encourage everyone to be praying with me and I know some of you are.

Honestly, it is hard waiting, not knowing exactly how or when things are going to unfold.  We have to trust the LORD with the timing.  As I've said before, I am now convinced that the literal fulfillment of [url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rev 12.1-2]Revelation 12:1-2[/url] occurs next week and to be honest, the connection of Revelation 12 to the rapture seems to be pretty clear at this point.  That said, I refuse to set dates.  I know exactly when this sign occurs, but I don't know exactly when we go home.  My timing and interpretations could be off and I don't trust myself.  I have to trust God, which can be difficult to do at times.  Whether we're before the Throne of God next week or in a year, the Great Sign is still the Great Sign and Jesus is still going to keep His promises.  Right now I have many feelings: trepidation, joy, hope, faith, unease, and perplexity.  Someone recently shared with me that what we are collectively feeling is probably a bit like what Jesus' disciples felt after His death and before His resurrection and also what they felt after He ascended, but before Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given.  It's an uneasy feeling to wait, but we must cling to God's promises no matter what.  This song has been on my heart lately:

The Big Picture
The second thing I wanted to remind you of is not to overlook the big picture.  Many of us have focused so much on the Revelation 12 Sign that it has seemed to create a sort of target for ridicule.  The mockers, scoffers, and closed-minded both inside and outside of the Church think that if they can somehow debunk this then our hope falls to pieces.  But it doesn't.  This year has seen the most incredible convergence of signs that we have ever seen.  Here are a few of the biggest confirmations for me:

1. Every prophetic date in the modern era seems to have as its endpoint the year 2017.

1897 (120 years before): the First Zionist Congress and the founding of political Zionism where the world's Jewry made a collective decision to pursue a Jewish homeland.  120 years was the divinely instituted period of probation before the first global cataclysm ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Gen. 6.3]Gen. 6:3[/url]).

1917 (100 years before): the land of Israel was conquered by the British.  The land was transferred from Israel's enemies to Israel's friend and the Balfour Declaration made known to the world that it was the intention of the British government to establish a Jewish homeland in the Holy Land.  Abraham was 100 years old when his promised son was born.  Likewise we are waiting for the true Son of Promise to make His second appearance and take us home.

1947 (70 years before): the United Nations mandated the creation of the Jewish state.  The decree was given and Israel declared its independence just six months later.  70 years is the only explicitly defined length of a generation given in the Bible ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps 90.10]Psalm 90:10[/url]), which becomes hugely significant in light of the Parable of the Fig Tree, which says that the generation that sees the signs mentioned in the Olivet Discourse begin to come to pass would live to see all of it fulfilled, up to and including the return of Christ.  70 years was also the length of the first Jewish exile.

1948 (70 "prophetic" years before): the State of Israel was born.  The prophecy of "weeks of years" given in Daniel 9 seems to use 360-day years for counting long lengths of history.  Daniel and Revelation also seem to define a single period of "time" as consisting of 360 days (e.g., [url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Dan. 7.25]Dan. 7:25[/url], [url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Dan 12.7]12:7[/url], [url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rev. 12.6]Rev. 12:6[/url], [url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Rev 12.14]14[/url]).  Based on this measurement, Israel experienced its 70th anniversary on May 12, 2017.

1967 (50 years before): Israel captured Jerusalem - the city at the very center of Bible prophecy.  50 years is the length of a biblical Jubilee when all slaves went free, debts were forgiven, and the land returned to its rightful owner.  Israelis marked this Jubilee back in May with huge celebrations.

1977 (40 years before): the modern Middle East peace process began when Egyptian President Sadat delivered his November 1977 address to the Israeli Knesset.  Then in December 1977 the first Middle East peace conference was held in Cairo.  This led to the Camp David Accords the following year.  40 is a biblical period of testing.  Rain fell upon the earth for 40 days leading up the Flood.  The Israelites were tested in the wilderness for 40 years.  Jesus was tempted for 40 days.

1987 (30 years before): The Temple Institute was founded in Jerusalem in preparation for building the Third Temple.  This organization has prepared all of the vestures and artifacts necessary for service in the Temple.  They have also trained Aaronic priests, cut the Temple's cornerstone, and built the main altar.  Joseph, a type of both Christ and the Church, was 30 years old when he left prison and became second-in-command of Egypt ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Gen. 41.46]Gen. 41:46[/url]).  Priestly service in the Tabernacle began at the age of 30 (Numbers 4).  David was 30 years old when He became king ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/2 Sam. 5.4]2 Sam. 5:4[/url]).  Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His ministry ([url=https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Luke. 3.23]Lk. 3[/url]:23.

Read complete article here: http://www.unsealed.org/2017/09/the-big-picture-questions-answered.html

Maranatha!