I love Jan Markel and I understand why she and the pastor feel this way about this.
I serve an awesome God who is capable of telling us a story through the stars . The movement of the stars are a clockwork so precise that since we have solved the math for it we can tell where the stars were thousands of years ago and where they will be in the future . This is not astrology , it’s astronomy. (the pastor is wrong to call it astrology)
Can you tell the future from looking at the stars ? No
The precise clockwork of the stars testifies to a creator and not a random bang .
If you look in the Old Testament at the names of patriarchs in Hebrew , the names themselves tell a story .
Name - Meaning
Adam = man
Seth = appointed
Enosh = mortal
Kenan = sorrow
Mahalalel = blessed God
Jared = shall come down
Enoch = teaching
Methuselah = his death shall bring
Lamech - the despairing
Noah - comfort , rest
Man is appointed mortal sorrow .
The blessed God shall come down teaching.
His death shall bring the despairing comfort and rest .
Could you set a time by looking at the meaning of those words ? No (Daniel actually tells us when he came if you pay attention)
but the meaning names even testify of our creator and that bible isn’t a book written by man .The more little treasure you find like this hidden in the bible the more you understand that God told them what to write letter by letter
The bible tells us that he named the stars , they tell a story too .Astrology and astronomy are not the same thing.
Astrology is a Babylonian corruption of Hebrew Mazzaroth
the astronomical constellations .
I have the Stellarium program and I have been watching for years . It’s a little different in 2017 than in 2005 if you pay close attention you will see a difference (little details can be amazing)
Does this mean the rapture will happen that day ? No it doesn’t
but I think it does tell a story and the pastor is partially right that the passage is about Israel and her past and Jesus ascension He is the head but we are the BODY and he is coming taking his body out too :)
Another thing is we tend to forget that this is a Jewish full of Jewish idioms and NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR THE HOUR happens to be an idiom for a ancient Jewish wedding , only the father of the groom knew exactly when that wedding would happen . After being pledge to the bride by drinking from a cup of wine the groom went home to prepare a place for his bride and the father of the groom was the one who decided if that place was ready for the bride . When you drink from that communion cup it is a wedding vow
There is also a second Jewish idiom for no ones the day or the hour and that is the biblical feast of Yom Teruah
It’s called because they had to watch for a sign in the sky to know when it was to take place .
We are always supposed to be watching and waiting like he is coming today but keeping busy in the meantime. If you expect him to show up at any moment you will live your life accordingly and that’s why the reward is a crown of righteousness (if you really think he is coming you will live righteous)
Remember that the Greeks seek after wisdom but the Jews do seek after sign . I look at that sign in the sky and I don’t see an an astrological thing I see it and smile cause I see it tells a story to Israel
We are supposed to know the season of his coming
Yes he is coming again
Could it be this day ? Yes , could be sooner too could be tonight , the next night etc
Does this sign mean that’s the day of the rapture ?
No
It does tell a story though
The heavens do declare the glory of God .
In any case, I was very disappointed in Jan's program today. I just wanted to know if anyone felt the same way.