Complete Iniquity of the Amorites and the Americans :: By Randy Nettles

“The people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:16-17).

The Faith of Abraham

Abram was 75 years old when he entered the land of Canaan in 1876 BC. God promised this land to Abram’s descendants as an unconditional inheritance. “Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, To your descendants I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7). Approximately 10 years later, after Abram had rescued Lot from captivity and met with Melchizedek, the king and high priest of Salem (later renamed Jerusalem), the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. The LORD told Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Abram asked the LORD what He could give him, as he didn’t have any children.

The LORD told Abram he would have descendants as numerous as the stars that were visible in the night sky. Abram believed the LORD, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. The LORD told Abram, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” And Abram said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” The LORD had Abram gather a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. Then Abram brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.

“Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

And it came to pass when the sun went down, and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates” (Genesis 15:12-18).

THE 400 YEARS AND THE FOURTH GENERATION OF GENESIS 15:13-16

The next few decades saw Ismael’s birth in 1865 BC (Genesis 16:3-4), the sign of the covenant given to Abram in approximately 1852 BC (the rite of circumcision and the changing of Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah according to Genesis 17:1-19), Isaac’s birth in 1851 BC (Genesis 21:1-7), and Isaac’s affliction by Ishmael and the subsequent division of the two step-brothers in 1846 BC (and their descendants afterward) according to Genesis 21:8-21. Ishmael was half Egyptian from his mother, Hagar.

From Abram entering the land of Canaan in 1876 BC to the division of the two sons of Abraham in 1846 BC is 30 years. The prophecy of Genesis 15:13 begins in 1846 BC and ends in 1446 BC when the children of Israel left Egypt to begin their journey to the land of Canaan. The 400 years of affliction for the descendants of Abraham begin with Ishmael’s mocking or mistreatment of Isaac (Genesis 21:9) in the land of Canaan in 1846 BC.

The affliction by the inhabitants of Canaan upon Abram’s family continued with Isaac’s son, Jacob, and his 12 sons for 185 years until Jacob relocated the family to Egypt in 1661 BC. The affliction continued for the children of Israel in Egypt for 215 years until the exodus from Egypt in 1446 BC. So, from 1846 BC to 1446 BC is 400 years.

God told Abram, “But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). Whereas the iniquity of the Amorites would not be complete until 400 years had elapsed from Isaac’s time, I believe the term “fourth generation” is related to genealogy generations, as in fathers begetting sons. For example, in Exodus 6, we see the lineage of the tribe of Levi (Jacob’s third eldest son), whom Moses and Aaron are descended from. Moses and Aaron were the fourth generation from Levi (counting Levi). Aaron was the first high priest of the children of Israel.

Moses and Aaron didn’t live long enough to enter the Promised Land, but Aaron’s two sons did. The fourth generation mentioned in Genesis 15:16 would be the generation that didn’t die in the wilderness and entered the Promised Land. For example, the sons of the tribe of Levi that entered Canaan would be Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar and Ithamar were the fourth generation from Kohath (counting Kohath). Kohath was the second son of Levi. Eleazar became the high priest after Aaron died.

By the time the fourth generation of the children of Israel entered Canaan, the Amorite’s iniquity was complete, and their judgment was at hand. The Amorites were an ancient nation mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. They were descended from one of the sons of Canaan (Genesis 10:15-16). The land of the Amorites included Syria and Canaan. The Amorites were extremely wicked and idolatrous. God gave them at least 400 years to repent, but they never did.

God allows nations to repent before judgment inevitably comes (2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 2:20-21). The Amorite nation had plenty of time to turn from their idolatry, but they despised God’s graciousness and longsuffering and refused to repent, thus bringing the full wrath of God upon them. The tool God used to execute His wrath was the newly formed nation of Israel (with some help from the Man of War known as the Angel of the Lord).

THE 430 YEARS OF EXODUS 12:40-41

“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:40-41). The Septuagint adds, “and in the land of Canaan;” and the Samaritan version is, “the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of their fathers, in the land of Canaan, and in the land of Egypt.” Josephus says the same thing: “They left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the lunar month (Num. 33:3), four hundred and thirty years after our forefather Abraham came into Canaan” (Antiquities of the Jews, 2:15:2).

The 430 years of Exodus 12:40-41 would be from 1876 BC, when Abram entered Canaan, to 1446 BC when the children of Israel left Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The 430-year time span appears to be significant even after the Exodus. In 1016 BC, 430 years after the Exodus, we see David several years before he begins his reign in Hebron as the king over the tribe of Judah (in approximately 1010 BC). This is probably about the time he wrote much of Psalms.

430 years later, in 586 BC, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. King Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. Of course, he was from the lineage of David. His reign ended the same year, in 586 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar blinded him after witnessing his son’s death; he was then taken to Babylon as a prisoner, where he later died. Judah’s fullness of sin had run its course.

WHEN SIN REACHES ITS FULLNESS

It appears that when sin reaches its zenith (fullness) in different civilizations, God’s judgment soon follows. Before judgment descends, God will send his word as a warning to the ungodly citizens. This word/warning usually comes in the form of a prophet or messenger of God. Noah preached to the Antediluvians for 120 years before the flood came. Lot and his wife and two daughters were warned by two angels to leave Sodom before it was destroyed.

As I mentioned before, God sometimes uses other nations to punish or destroy a sin-filled nation or kingdom. God used the children of Israel to destroy the Amorites and the other kingdoms in Canaan after, evidently, warning them against idolatry. He then used the Assyrian kingdom to defeat and exile the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC.

Throughout the 207 years of Israel’s (northern kingdom) existence, there were 20 kings across 10 different dynasties, starting with Jeroboam and ending with Hoshea. All of them were evil and did not obey God’s statutes and commandments. God sent many prophets (including Elijah and Elisha) to these kings to warn them of judgment to come if they did not repent and follow the Lord. None of them listened. Many of these evil men became kings by killing the previous king.

Israel’s demise occurred three years after the LORD sent Jonah to preach repentance to the citizens of Nineveh in 725 BC, which was the capital city of Assyria. “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me” (Jonah 1:1-2).

Of course, we know the story of Jonah being swallowed by the great fish for three days and three nights, and then his reluctant resumptive mission to Nineveh. Jonah’s message was simple, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” Amazingly, the people of Nineveh believed Jonah’s message and repented. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes” (Jonah 3:5-6).

The king and all the people cried to God and turned from their evil and violent ways. “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:10). This was to the great dismay of Jonah who wanted to see his enemy destroyed. The Ninevites’ obedience was short-lived, however. Due to their continuing fullness of sins, Nineveh was destroyed by the Babylonians in 612 BC, after Nahum had prophesied about its coming judgment.

God also used Babylon to destroy Judah, Edom, Moab, and Ammon due to their exceeding sinfulness. Judah had 20 kings from the lineage of David and one queen who wasn’t a descendant of David. Manasseh was the 13th king of Judah (and the 14th ruler) and was extremely wicked. 13 was a very unlucky number for the kingdom of Judah. His father was the righteous King Hezekiah. In this case, “the apple did fall far from the tree.”

“Manasseh did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger” (2 Kings 21:2-6).

For his evil deeds, the Lord’s prophets came to Manasseh and told him, “Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols: therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day” (2 Kings 21:10-15).

Sure enough, 56 years after Manasseh’s death, in 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its Temple. The fullness of Judah’s sins had reached its peak, and the remnant of the children of Israel were beyond the point of redemption. Only God’s judgment was left, as described in 2 Chronicles 36:17-21.

God used the Medes and Persians to destroy Babylon. In turn, God used the Greeks to defeat the Persians and other countries. He then used the Romans to defeat the Greeks and the known world practically. The Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western empires in AD 395. Large invasions of Germanic peoples and the Huns of Attila, as well as internal corruption (and fullness of sins), led to the decline of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476. The Eastern Roman Empire survived for another millennium until Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Ottoman Empire lasted until it was divided up after they lost World War I in 1923.

The empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Ottoman Empire, and Israel all fell because of their fullness of sins against the Lord – as all empires, nations, and peoples of the world have throughout history. Also, the nations who have made themselves enemies of Israel have not experienced a successful ending. As the Lord God Himself prophesied a long time ago to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you [Abraham and descendants], and him [people and nations] who dishonors you, I will curse, and in you, all families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). This prophecy is still in place in 2024. Do not mess with Israel, for you are messing with God! Read Ezekiel 38-39 for proof.

W.F. Adeney, the great theologian and Bible scholar of the late 19th and early 20th century, had this to say about the fullness of sin: “There is a fullness of sins which brings its own penalty. When sin reaches this point, the penalty can no longer be stayed. The cup, once full, flows over in wrath and ruin. It is as though forbearance and guilt were in the scales. When guilt is full, the balance dips.

There is an end to all possible longsuffering. The more men go on in excesses of sin, the faster they approach the inevitable day of reckoning. The sooner the sin is filled up to the measure which passes endurance, the sooner must the stroke of doom fall.

Fullness of sins must lead to fullness of punishment. They who fill up their sins always will have the wrath come upon them to the uttermost. The worst debtor must be made to pay the last farthing. The swifter the rush downhill, the greater the crash at the bottom. The more tares that are sown in spring, the more bundles to burn in harvest. He who fills the present life with sins will have the next life filled with wrath.

The fullness of sins is not the amount which God predestines to be committed, for God is not the author of sin, nor does he will or permit it. This fullness is the measure beyond which God stays the evil from proceeding. When the tide of iniquity, driven onwards by rebellious powers, reaches this fullness, God says, Here shall thy proud waves be stayed, and the storm beats itself out in impotent fury.” ^{1}

A few years ago, I wrote a seven-part article regarding the subject of the fullness of sins. Here is the first one – The Fullness of Sin: Part 1 :: by Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready. In part 6 of my article series, I mentioned that according to Sir John Bagot Glubb, the average age of most empires is 250 years. Although the U.S. of America has not been an “empire” for 250 years, it will officially turn 250 years old in 2026. Will we, as an independent nation, survive that long, or will our fullness of sins against the Lord cause our demise, as those nations who have come before us?

THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA

In 2019, Pete Garcia and this author wrote a three-part series article called “The Three Raptures.” In Part II (Three Raptures, Vol. II: Elijah :: By Pete Garcia and Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready), Pete wrote the following.

“The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in the year of our Lord, 1620. For all intents and purposes, this was the year our forefathers attributed to the original founding of America. Approximately 156 years later, the American colonists declared their independence from a tyrannical England. For the next 243 years, the United States would serve the world as a sovereign nation, providing a safe haven to the politically, ideologically, and religiously oppressed peoples of the world.

To wit, the Jews, who were still in their millennia-long diaspora, found the New World a place of refuge from the rolling tides of European antisemitism. They resettled in America and ultimately flourished from then until today. Taken together since our nation’s original founding in 1620, 2020 marks the 400th year of both the idea and the reality of the United States of America. Not only would God remove the Amorites, but God would geopolitically restructure the entire world order by way of the creation of the United States, two World Wars, the Holocaust, and the creation of a United Nations to make it happen.

The United States was a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles. It was, at one time, the greatest proponent of spreading the Gospel the world had ever seen. When the US began to turn into a post-Christian nation toward the end of our 400-year run, the Internet was developed, and the Gospel began to go out that way. Now, the Internet is under assault (and freedom of speech online) because of its effectiveness in spreading the Gospel and truth. When the last bastion of religious freedom has been shut down, God’s usefulness for this nation will have run its course.”

The year 2020 (which is the 400th year from 1620) does seem to have great significance regarding the downfall of the United States of America and the world. There were two great disasters for America and the world in 2020. WHO declared the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2000. Covid-19 raged throughout the world for several years, killing millions of people. Several vaccines were developed for COVID-19 by December 2020, which have proven ineffectual and maybe even deadlier than the pandemic. The second great disaster was when Joe Biden won the November 3, 2020, U.S. presidential election, with Kamala Harris as his vice president. One of the worst things that can happen to a people is when the leader of their country is their own worst enemy. Obama and Biden are the equivalent of Judah’s Manasseh.

However, other scholars believe America was founded when Jamestown, Virginia, was established in 1607 or when the Dutch arrived in Manhattan in 1609. Others believe it could have been even earlier, as when the Spanish set up St. Augustine in 1565. However, Perry Miller, a mid-20th-century scholar of history and literature, believed the true beginning of America was when the Puritans founded Boston in 1630 with the arrival of John Winthrop on the ship Arbella.

Miller believed that the precise moment occurred amid the passage itself when Winthrop delivered a lay sermon aboard the Arbella. He called this sermon “A Model of Christian Charity.” See John Winthrop Dreams of a City on a Hill, 1630 | The American Yawp Reader. Today, many mistakenly think the title was called “A City Upon a Hill,” as the sermon is famous largely for its use of the phrase “a city on a hill,” used to describe the expectation that the Massachusetts Bay colony would shine like an example to the world. Winthrop’s phrase “a city on a hill” was taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, after he taught the multitudes regarding the Beatitudes.

Jesus told them, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16).

In quoting Matthew 5:14-16, Winthrop warned his fellow Puritans that their new community would be “as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.” This meant that if the Puritans failed to uphold their covenant with God, then their sins and errors would be exposed for all the world to see. “Winthrop’s lecture was forgotten for nearly two hundred years until the Massachusetts Historical Society published it in 1839. It remained an obscure reference for more than another century until Cold War era historians and political leaders reinterpreted the event, crediting Winthrop’s text, erroneously, as the foundational document of the idea of American exceptionalism.” ^{2}

On January 9, 1961, John F. Kennedy quoted the phrase “as a city on a hill” during an address delivered to the General Court of Massachusetts. On November 3, 1980, Ronald Regan referred to the same event and image in his election-eve address, “A Vision for America.” Reagan would reference this concept through multiple speeches, notably again in his January 11, 1989, farewell speech to the nation. U.S. Senator Barack Obama also referred to the topic in his commencement address on June 2, 2006, at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz, James Comey, Mike Pompeo, and Bennie Thompson are a few politicians who have used the phrase as an idiom for American exceptionalism.

Winthrop wrote, “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we are consumed out of the good land whither we are a-going.”

The Great Migration from Britain to New England began in 1630. For the first time, the authority for a colony’s government resided in a colony, not in England. John Winthrop knew if his colony was to succeed, they would need God’s help, and if they were to receive His blessings, they would need to obey His word and do His will. If not, the same curses Moses prophesied against the children of Israel for disobeying the LORD would come upon them. “And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you” (Deuteronomy 28:37).

In 2030, it will be 400 years since the Puritans came to New England and founded (present-day) Boston, Massachusetts. Boston became a Christian commonwealth, and the Puritans had a profound effect on the rest of the developing new nation. Will God judge America for their fullness of iniquity after 400 years as He did with the Amorites? Ruth Graham, the wife of Billy Graham, once said, “If God doesn’t judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

The global elites who are determined to bring in a New World Order seem fixated on the year 2030. The United Nations has set a deadline for achieving its Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development by the year 2030. 2030 seems to be the predicated year for great change to occur in the world. Global entities, such as the UN, WHO, WEF, IMF, WTO, and others, say this change is for the good of all mankind, but those who read and study their Bible know it is not.

This great change or “Great Reset” will lead to the worst time in history, known as the Tribulation or Jacob’s Trouble. “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22). The Matthew 4:16-17 verses that I quoted from at the beginning of this article occurred in 29-30 AD when Jesus first began his ministry. In 2030 AD, it will have been 2,000 years or five 400-year periods. I believe the fullness of the world’s sins will be complete in the year 2033, 2,000 years (five 400-year periods) after Jesus’ crucifixion.

In case you haven’t noticed (and are living under a rock), America is becoming a pagan nation worshipping the false idols of power, wealth, sex, entertainment, government, and self. God is no longer feared. The Bible is no longer believed, and Jesus Christ is mocked.

Is our generation the one described by Timothy? “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, for they are always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-7). I believe the answer is yes; we are the end-times generation. Just look at today’s headlines from the news outlets (including R.R. News) and compare them to Timothy’s statement.

Isaiah explained what would eventually become of evil men who do not choose the Lord’s way: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!… Woe to men mighty who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man! Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 5:20-21, 23-24).

Will America go the way of the Amorites after 400 years? Was 9-11-2001 a warning from God? How about the unleashing of Covid-19 upon this country and the world in 2019-2020? Is our time nearly up? Will God spare us as He did with the Ninevites if we the people and our leaders cry out to God for forgiveness? Most certainly. But will the people and leaders of America repent in this way? I doubt it very seriously. One thing is certain: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

We (the Church) know the Rapture is at hand, but we don’t know how soon. We are only promised that we will be saved from the coming Tribulation (Jacob’s Trouble). “And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” 1 Thessalonians 1:10. And in Revelation, “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10). However, we will face trials and tribulation until we are taken from the earth.

A HEAVENLY SIGN FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD?

A question was recently posed to me concerning my article Heavenly Signs or Natural Phenomenon: Part II :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready that I thought was interesting. Will the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse be a heavenly sign for the Rapture in 2024? This led me to do some research on events that will occur shortly after this heavenly phenomenon/sign. Since I believe the best chance for a Feast of the Lord Rapture is Pentecost (Shavuot to the Jews), I started there.

According to Astro Pixels (NASA) calculations, the total solar eclipse (new moon conjunction) of April 8, 2024, will occur at 18:21 Universal time. This would be 1:21 pm Central Standard Time (including daylight savings time) here in Texas. Exactly 40 days later would be May 18, 2024 (1:21 pm C.S.T.). Jerusalem time is 8 hours ahead of Central Standard Time, so it would be May 19, 2024 (9:21 pm) in Israel, as the day/date changes at 6:00 PM on the Jewish calendar. 40 days could include 40 days and 20 hours, for example. Anything under 41 days (984 hours) would be considered 40 days.

According to the Biblical Jewish Calendar (but not the Calculated Jewish calendar), May 19 is the date for Shavuot in 2024, and according to the Church, this is the date for Pentecost in 2024 (see Shavuot, Pentecost, and the Rapture :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready. Of course, we know Shavuot and Pentecost are one and the same, or should be anyhow.

There will be 40 days between the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024 (U.S.) and May 18, 2024 (May 19, 2024 in Israel). So, you could say there will be 40 days between the solar eclipse and Pentecost. If the Rapture occurs on Shavuot/Pentecost 2024, then there will be 40 days between the total solar eclipse and the Rapture. Of course, that’s a big “IF.” However, it does have a 1 in 366 chance if the Rapture occurs in 2024 (possibly greater since it is a Feast of the Lord IMO). I am not predicting this is the date for the Rapture. I am just giving you the dates of these two events (a heavenly sign and a “moed”) and the time duration between them.

Regarding the Rapture in Matthew 24:36, I believe this is why Jesus included “the hour” in his famous statement, “But of that day and hour no one knows.” The hour will determine the day/date for whichever part of the world you’re in. If it’s after midnight on the Gregorian calendar, the day/date will advance. If it’s after 6:00 pm on the Jewish calendar, the day/date will advance if you are going by the Jewish calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar.

The number 40 is very significant in the Bible, as it represents a period of trial, probation, or chastisement (be it years or days). Jesus was seen by his disciples for 40 days after His resurrection, speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God before his ascension, according to Acts 1:2-3. Speaking of Jesus’ ascension in Revelation 12:5, John describes it as being “caught up” to heaven. The Greek word for “caught up” is “harpazo,” which is the same word Paul used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The word we use for harpazo is “rapture.” Jesus was raptured into heaven 40 days after His resurrection. His resurrection after three days and three nights was the only “sign” (the sign of Jonah) Jesus gave the scribes and Pharisees when they asked to see a sign from him.

Just as Jonah preached, “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown,” perhaps the total solar eclipse of 2024 will be our 40-day warning before the consequences of the Rapture are forced upon those left behind. Regardless, we know time is short and getting shorter. It is time to get off the fence and make a decision if you want to be saved from the horrors of the Tribulation and the eternal horror of the Lake of Fire.

It’s a simple matter of faith. “This is the word of faith, which we preach; That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, Whosoever believes in him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:8-13).

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Randy Nettles

rgeanie55@gmail.com

Endnotes:

{1} Fullness of Sins (biblehub.com)

{2} City upon a Hill – Wikipedia

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