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Tuesday, January 27, 2015 
Wendy Wippel
 

Mathew’s gospel records that, “Immediately after the tribulation... the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven.”  Guesses as to what that sign will be look like abound. 


Educated guesses?


 Not so much.  For that, you see, you have to do some digging.


Standard procedure with most Christians when it comes to differences in Biblical interpretation is to find their “proof text” (meaning the verse that the expositor is going to cherry pick out of context to prove the opinion they already hold) and offer it up as evidence of their own interpretation. I dug around a while for opinions about what the sign of the son of man would be and got a lot of them.


(Opinions):


A comet? The Lord Himself? An X-shaped alien spacecraft observed to be traveling through the galaxy at nearly speed of light? (That last one, relatively specific, was in 2010 so I guess we can remove that one from consideration.)


The problem with that, is the Bible tells us (although the Bible had dozens of contributing authors) that all Scripture comes by the “inspiration” of God. (II Tim 3:16), the word "inspiration" in II Timothy does not really having the 21st century meaning.  The word is “pneuo”, and it doesn’t mean that the men who wrote the Bible loved God, and got all fired up to write the Bible.  It means “inspired” as in "respiration". It means that God literally "breathed out" His words into the hearts of the men who wrote it.
 
Peter seconded that for us, saying,

Quote :

“prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God[a] spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”  2 Peter 1:21.

The word translated as “of man” in that verse is “idios” in Greek, and means belonging to oneself.  The words written never belonged to the scribe himself, they came from God through the Holy Spirit.


Take-Home Message:


These dozens of individual “holy men” wrote God’s thoughts as they were "breathed out" by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, since topics are revisited throughout the Scriptures, in order to get a trustworthy understanding of what the Bible says about any particular topic, you have to consider all the passages that address it because He breathed out different parts to different men.


Given the fact that He told us to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (II Timothy 2:15 NKJV) I think that’s kind of what He expects. And in my experience, it almost always breaks through the thick woods of exegetical confusion and sheds light on the straight path. 


(The words translated as “rightly dividing", above, are actually, in Greek, one word: "ortho". Meaning, in Greek, “to cut straight”. )


It seems to be a novel concept, but let’s try looking at the whole counsel of God when it comes to the sign of the Son of Man and see what light we can shed on it. Basically, the last harbinger of the Lord’s return, it appears in Matthew 24:30:

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“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

The word translated as “sign” in Matthew is “semeion” meaning a sign or mark by which the significance or identity of an event or purpose is clear.  The Hebrew equivalent in Isaiah is “owth”. Isaiah 7 records Isaiah’s prediction that the Lord Himself would give Israel a sign (owth), the sign being that a virgin would conceive and have a son.


(The birth of a baby is not a sign. A virgin having a baby, however, is a pretty significant event.)


Interestingly, the New Testament (written by Jesus’ followers), was written by men whose native language was Aramaic. And in the Aramaic version of the New Testament, the word used in place of  “semeion” in Matthew 24:30 is actually “banner”. And “banner”, in the Hebrew Scriptures (the word is “nas”), means a signal, an ensign or standard carried by an army.


A rallying point, in other words.  A place for gathering.


It’s from the root word "nec", meaning something "lifted up".  And a commentary I read recently by a messianic Jew (identified only as Jeremy), put a few pieces of the puzzle in place. At least for me.


Piece #1 is Numbers 2:3:

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On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies;

Piece #2 is Matthew 24:27:

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For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Piece #3 is what accompanies the Lord’s coming:

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“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:29-31

Note that this is not the church, which has been gathered previously, before the beginning of tribulation.  This is the saved remnant of Israel, gathered as previously promised in Isaiah:

Quote :

“And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious. It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea." Isaiah 11:10-11

From these pieces, it would seem that Messiah, returns from the East, and as he comes, he gathers the saved remnant of Judah from every corner of the earth.


  And it would seem that that is the banner set up for the people of earth—the promised redemption of His people.  The children of Israel, the remnant, the prodigal sons who have finally returned to their Messiah.


An interpretation supported by the testimony of two other Scriptures, by different authors:

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He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12

This passage seems to imply that the banner is the redemption of Israel, played out in front of the whole world.


Apparently the promised response to the final plea of the remnant for their rescue:

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Do not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against your sheltered ones.
They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

Because God answers:

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For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.2 The nations will see your vindication and all kings your glory Isaiah 62:1

God has promised that his salvation of the Jews will be witnessed by all the nations and all their kings. Shining out like the dawn (from the east), and apparently simultaneously.


And if the sign of the son of man is the ultimate witness of his Godhead, power, and faithfulness, displayed to all the nations. It does make at least one other passage a lot more intriguing:

Quote :

And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. Zech 9:16

Admittedly, this is speculation, and maybe the Lord will supernaturally provide a giant flag in the sky, or some other form of standard or banner that that we can’t even imagine now.


But it would seem (since when the ancient nation of Israel was told that they would be given the sign of the virgin with child, the Hebrew word translated “sign” also means banner) that maybe I’m onto something.


Anyway, that’s my theory. And I’m pretty sure it beats the alien spaceship.

Have you read The Harbinger? Have you heard the Shemitah prophecy? Have you asked yourself why America is fulfilling the prophecies of Ephraim/Israel? Why the blood moons are taking place over America?

Have you ever wondered why, at the fall of Babylon, God says:

In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace. Jeremiah 50:4-6

The children of Israel and the children of Judah. There’s a big difference between Israel and Judah and it’s absolutely necessary to distinguish between the two if you are to understand the bible. “Israel” is not Israel. “Israel” is Judah. Israel proper is Ephraim. When God wants to refer to “Israel” in the bible he calls them Judah or Jerusalem. When the God is talking about Israel/Ephraim, he is talking about you, the church. YOU are Israel/Joseph/Ephraim either genetically or grafted in.

Who were Jesus and the disciples sent for?

Matthew 10
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 15
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

And, who did they find? You.

When you see the ensign/banner, the two sticks will become one. There are a gazillion prophecies that speak of this.

Ezekiel 37
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

That’s when GOD creates Israel and that’s when you will fight for her.

There is no verse in the bible that says the church has been gathered previously.

Quote :

Interestingly, the New Testament (written by Jesus’ followers), was written by men whose native language was Aramaic. And in the Aramaic version of the New Testament, the word used in place of  “semeion” in Matthew 24:30 is actually “banner”. And “banner”, in the Hebrew Scriptures (the word is “nas”), means a signal, an ensign or standard carried by an army.

A rallying point, in other words.  A place for gathering.

It’s from the root word "nec", meaning something "lifted up".

2 Thessalonians 2
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

Zechariah 10
6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

Zechariah 9
13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
14 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
15 The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
16 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.