Post by Gary on Mar 1, 2017 16:34:06 GMT -6
Is it possible that the Book of Nehemiah is playing out prophetically in 2017? I was reading through this book the other day and I discovered some striking parallels.
For starters, it is in Nehemiah 2:1-9 that we discover the decree spoken of in Daniel 9:25 where Artaxerxes I allows Nehemiah to lead an effort in Judah to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. The king sends with Nehemiah letters or "decrees" granting him permission to undertake the rebuilding. Nehemiah 2 is the terminus a quo for the counting of Daniel's 70 "weeks" of years. There were 69 "weeks" of years from this decree until Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and the 70th week has not yet begun - it is the Tribulation. Considering that we are awaiting the beginning of Daniel's long-postponed 70th week, it is not surprising that God would point our attention back to the very book where the counting began.
The subject of the book is the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah hears that Jerusalem is in ruins (Nehemiah 1:1-4) and he wants to make Jerusalem great again (Nehemiah 2:17).
On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump became President of the United States while declaring his intention to "make America great again" and build a wall across the United States' southern border.
Consider some of Trump's quotes on the subject of building "the wall":
And from last night's address to a joint session of Congress:
On the morning of the inauguration, Robert Jeffress from First Baptist Dallas led the presidential church service in Washington, D.C., with Donald Trump and Mike Pence in the front row. Jeffress spoke the following words directly to the president:
In Nehemiah 2:19, the non-Israelite opposition shows up, mocking and ridiculing Nehemiah's plan to build the wall. This raucous opposition gives Nehemiah trouble throughout the rest of the book. Interestingly, the newly inaugurated President Trump is facing what pundits recognize to be the fiercest political opposition since the Vietnam War. They are mocking and ridiculing him just as Nehemiah's detractors did over 2,400 years ago.
It now gets even more interesting. At the time of Nehemiah, the Israelite exiles in Babylon had returned to Israel and had been living there for less than a century. The exile formally ended in 538 BC when King Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return. The decree from Artaxerxes I was given in 444 BC, so from the end of the exile to the decree was 94 years.
In modern times the Jews began returning to Israel in the late 1800s, but the land was still controlled by the Islamic Ottoman Empire. In 1917 the Ottomans were defeated and the British took over the Holy Land. In that same year the Balfour Declaration was published that expressed the British government's favorable view towards establishing a Jewish state in the land. Then, on 29 September, 1923, the Mandate for Palestine came into effect, which was a League of Nations decree that formally set the land aside under British administration with the purpose of establishing a Jewish homeland. From the mandate:
And
And
And most importantly:
It is this last quote, which is Article 6 of the Mandate, that is most important. It decreed that the British administration of the Holy Land would permit and facilitate the return of the Jews to their land - the formal end of the Jewish exile during the Church Age.
Returning to Nehemiah's time we see that his Palestinian opposition did not like that he regarded the welfare of the Israelites (Nehemiah 2:10) and they set out to ruin his plans. Likewise, it appears that Trump is the first President since at least Reagan who favors the Israelites - going so far as to suggest moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and refusing to endorse the two-state solution.
The next thing I want to draw your attention to is the Revelation 12 Sign on September 23, 2017 and its possible connection to the rapture and beginning of Daniel's 70th week. The sign occurs on, or one day after, the Feast of Trumpets, in the very year Trump-Pence are inaugurated as President and Vice President of the chief Gentile nation and only earthly defender of Israel.
From when the decree came into effect ending the Church Age exile of the Jews on 29 September, 1923 to September 2017 is 94 years. The same number of years that transpired between the end of the exile in 538 BC and the decree to restore and rebuild in 444 BC. Notice not only the exact parallel in number of years, but also that the decree came into effect in 1923 and the Revelation 12 Sign occurs on 9/23 of 2017.
This uncanny parallel with Nehemiah and the Revelation 12 Sign culminates in Nehemiah 8:1-6 when the rebuilding of the walls is completed:
Verse 1 says that the people gathered together, literally in the Hebrew "as one man". And incredibly the day on which this gathering in Jerusalem occurred was the Feast of Trumpets - the first day of the seventh month.
Revelation 12:5 describes the corporate Church as the male child or man-child - the whole body of believers represented as one man (see also Ephesians 2:15). This child is caught up to the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). And again, the Revelation 12 Sign in 2017 appears on the Feast of Trumpets.
It was on the Feast of Trumpets in 444 BC that the restoration of Jerusalem was completed and the people were gathered and committed themselves back to God. Likewise it may be on or near the Feast of Trumpets in 2017 that God determines that the restoration of Jerusalem that began in 1967 is completed and the Church is gathered to God. Then the next chapter in prophetic history can begin, which is an earthly refocusing on the Jews and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.
For starters, it is in Nehemiah 2:1-9 that we discover the decree spoken of in Daniel 9:25 where Artaxerxes I allows Nehemiah to lead an effort in Judah to rebuild and restore Jerusalem. The king sends with Nehemiah letters or "decrees" granting him permission to undertake the rebuilding. Nehemiah 2 is the terminus a quo for the counting of Daniel's 70 "weeks" of years. There were 69 "weeks" of years from this decree until Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and the 70th week has not yet begun - it is the Tribulation. Considering that we are awaiting the beginning of Daniel's long-postponed 70th week, it is not surprising that God would point our attention back to the very book where the counting began.
The subject of the book is the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah hears that Jerusalem is in ruins (Nehemiah 1:1-4) and he wants to make Jerusalem great again (Nehemiah 2:17).
On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump became President of the United States while declaring his intention to "make America great again" and build a wall across the United States' southern border.
Consider some of Trump's quotes on the subject of building "the wall":
I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall.
On the fence - it's not a fence. It's a wall... We're going to build a wall. I could wait about a year and a half until we finish our negotiations with Mexico, which we'll start immediately after we get to office, but I don't want to wait.
And from last night's address to a joint session of Congress:
For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along our southern border.
On the morning of the inauguration, Robert Jeffress from First Baptist Dallas led the presidential church service in Washington, D.C., with Donald Trump and Mike Pence in the front row. Jeffress spoke the following words directly to the president:
Today─one year later─God has raised you and Vice-President-elect Pence up for a great, eternal purpose.
When I think of you, President-elect Trump, I am reminded of another great leader God chose thousands of years ago in Israel. The nation had been in bondage for decades, the infrastructure of the country was in shambles, and God raised up a powerful leader to restore the nation. And the man God chose was neither a politician nor a priest. Instead, God chose a builder whose name was Nehemiah.
And the first step of rebuilding the nation was the building of a great wall. God instructed Nehemiah to build a wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy attack. You see, God is NOT against building walls!
And the Old Testament book of Nehemiah records how Nehemiah completed that massive project in record time—just 52 days.
When I think of you, President-elect Trump, I am reminded of another great leader God chose thousands of years ago in Israel. The nation had been in bondage for decades, the infrastructure of the country was in shambles, and God raised up a powerful leader to restore the nation. And the man God chose was neither a politician nor a priest. Instead, God chose a builder whose name was Nehemiah.
And the first step of rebuilding the nation was the building of a great wall. God instructed Nehemiah to build a wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy attack. You see, God is NOT against building walls!
And the Old Testament book of Nehemiah records how Nehemiah completed that massive project in record time—just 52 days.
In Nehemiah 2:19, the non-Israelite opposition shows up, mocking and ridiculing Nehemiah's plan to build the wall. This raucous opposition gives Nehemiah trouble throughout the rest of the book. Interestingly, the newly inaugurated President Trump is facing what pundits recognize to be the fiercest political opposition since the Vietnam War. They are mocking and ridiculing him just as Nehemiah's detractors did over 2,400 years ago.
It now gets even more interesting. At the time of Nehemiah, the Israelite exiles in Babylon had returned to Israel and had been living there for less than a century. The exile formally ended in 538 BC when King Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return. The decree from Artaxerxes I was given in 444 BC, so from the end of the exile to the decree was 94 years.
In modern times the Jews began returning to Israel in the late 1800s, but the land was still controlled by the Islamic Ottoman Empire. In 1917 the Ottomans were defeated and the British took over the Holy Land. In that same year the Balfour Declaration was published that expressed the British government's favorable view towards establishing a Jewish state in the land. Then, on 29 September, 1923, the Mandate for Palestine came into effect, which was a League of Nations decree that formally set the land aside under British administration with the purpose of establishing a Jewish homeland. From the mandate:
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people...
And
Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country;
And
The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble...
And most importantly:
The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.
It is this last quote, which is Article 6 of the Mandate, that is most important. It decreed that the British administration of the Holy Land would permit and facilitate the return of the Jews to their land - the formal end of the Jewish exile during the Church Age.
Returning to Nehemiah's time we see that his Palestinian opposition did not like that he regarded the welfare of the Israelites (Nehemiah 2:10) and they set out to ruin his plans. Likewise, it appears that Trump is the first President since at least Reagan who favors the Israelites - going so far as to suggest moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and refusing to endorse the two-state solution.
The next thing I want to draw your attention to is the Revelation 12 Sign on September 23, 2017 and its possible connection to the rapture and beginning of Daniel's 70th week. The sign occurs on, or one day after, the Feast of Trumpets, in the very year Trump-Pence are inaugurated as President and Vice President of the chief Gentile nation and only earthly defender of Israel.
From when the decree came into effect ending the Church Age exile of the Jews on 29 September, 1923 to September 2017 is 94 years. The same number of years that transpired between the end of the exile in 538 BC and the decree to restore and rebuild in 444 BC. Notice not only the exact parallel in number of years, but also that the decree came into effect in 1923 and the Revelation 12 Sign occurs on 9/23 of 2017.
This uncanny parallel with Nehemiah and the Revelation 12 Sign culminates in Nehemiah 8:1-6 when the rebuilding of the walls is completed:
And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Verse 1 says that the people gathered together, literally in the Hebrew "as one man". And incredibly the day on which this gathering in Jerusalem occurred was the Feast of Trumpets - the first day of the seventh month.
Revelation 12:5 describes the corporate Church as the male child or man-child - the whole body of believers represented as one man (see also Ephesians 2:15). This child is caught up to the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). And again, the Revelation 12 Sign in 2017 appears on the Feast of Trumpets.
It was on the Feast of Trumpets in 444 BC that the restoration of Jerusalem was completed and the people were gathered and committed themselves back to God. Likewise it may be on or near the Feast of Trumpets in 2017 that God determines that the restoration of Jerusalem that began in 1967 is completed and the Church is gathered to God. Then the next chapter in prophetic history can begin, which is an earthly refocusing on the Jews and the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.
