Rapture Fever 2023 - 2024 | The Wilderness Cry

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Rapture Fever

2023 - 2024

Prologue

As I was finishing up this newsletter in the first days of October 2023, Yisra'el had been attacked by Hamas and war had been declared. In line with the theme of this treatise, the internet was inundated with videos that this war signals the imminent Rapture of the Church. This only managed to feed the flames of Rapture Fever that has been engulfing the minds of believers.

Update

It has been over a year since the terrorist attack on Yisra'el that took place on October 7th, 2023. We can now look in retrospect on the hyperbole that surrounded the eclipse that happened on April 8th earlier this year (2024).

Much ado was being made about the total solar eclipse that occurred in April. Some were linking the Rapture of the Church with the conflict that started in Yisra'el in October, 2023. During a broadcast from Cornerstone Church on the evening of April 7th, 2024, John Hagee was adamant that the eclipse, and the war in Yisra'el, were heavenly signals of the soon-coming Rapture. In a video uploaded to YouTube from his ministry, Hagee stated:

"(God is) sending this solar eclipse on April 8th tomorrow to warn

the Body of Christ to prepare for the Rapture of the Church."1

He then went on to tie the war in Yisra'el and the April 8th eclipse together, as a fulfillment of a prophecy from the book of Joel.

"I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned

into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and

terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:30-31 KJV

What was John Hagee's interpretation of this passage?

"That describes the war you are seeing on television right now in Israel. Blood and fires and pillars of smoke. And the sun shall be turned into darkness, that's going to happen tomorrow."2 (emphasis mine)

John Hagee vehemently predicted that The Rapture was going to happen during the eclipse on April 8th, 2024! This echoed the any-minute-now viewpoint of those who believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. But like so many others that linked the eclipse to the Rapture of the Church, he was dead wrong!

For more on the timing of the Rapture and the so-called 7-Year Tribulation, please visit the Last Days Remnant page on this site. https://slhos5.wixsite.com/thewildernesscry/last-days

Many on the internet were also linking the April 8th eclipse to one that occurred in 2017. Noting that the intersection of both, as seen in the United States, will form the Hebrew letter Tav; which sometimes means a sign. As the day of the eclipse got closer, numerous videos on the internet covered the subject. Not surprisingly, many of those videos disappeared from the internet AFTER the day of the Rapture came and went.

Another proponent that this was a sign from heaven pointing to the Rapture was Perry Stone. Further down the page, I will address some of his teachings on these matters. On approximately March 25, 2024, his website posted a video entitled After the Eclipse. In the video he stated:

"...I believe the eclipse is a great and fearful sign. I believe

it is a cosmic sign because of where it's going and

where it's coming from..."3 (emphasis mine)

The emphasized phrase is a direct reference to a passage in the Bible that speaks of the Appearance of Messiah Yeshua.

"And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines,

and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be

from heaven." Luke 21:11 KJV (emphasis mine)

In other instances, some claimed that the eclipse would occur on Nisan 1. According to the Hebrew calendar, this is the first month of the year, and Pesah, or Passover, occurs on the 14th day of Nisan. An eclipse happening on the first day of the Hebrew year is supposed to add greater spiritual significance to the occurrence.

"This new moon is the beginning of new moons for you, it is

the first new moon of the year for you...And you shall keep

(Pesah) until the fourteenth day of the same new moon."

Shemoth (Exodus) 12:2; 6a

But this assumption was also in error. Going by the Gregorian calendar, the month of Nisan did not begin until the new moon was sighted on April 9th.

For more on the subject, please visit the page Who's Calendar on this site.

https://slhos5.wixsite.com/thewildernesscry/calendar

These dissertations centered around eclipses and Blood Moons, so common in our lightning-speed information society, have only served as constant distractions.

"...[the] Yehudim (Jews) ask a sign, and Greeks seek wisdom,

yet we proclaim Messiah [crucified], to the Yehudim a

stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness."

Qorintiyim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 1:23-22

They keep people from focusing on what is truly important! Namely, preaching the True Gospel, and the necessity of salvation through the Risen Messiah!

Rapture Fever

Growing up in Southern California during the 1960s and 1970s, I became all too familiar with the "Jesus People" movement of the day. Towards the end of the 1960's a new phenomenon began gaining foothold within Christianity. The term "Pre-Tribulation Rapture" was emerging as the topic of the day. A great deal of this focus can be traced to a book entitled "The Late Great Planet Earth" written by Hal Lindsey. First published in 1970, the interest generated by this book also spawned a popular movie by the same name.

Interest in The Rapture, End Times prophesy, and the search for Last Days signs to herald the Return of the King - became all the rage! Following the release of "The Late Great Planet Earth"; a four-part movie series beginning with "A Thief in the Night" was also produced and disseminated for the masses to view. The main focus of all of these films was The 7-Year Tribulation, the eminent Rapture of the Church, and the fate of those Left Behind!

When I was growing up, I had a couple of friends whom I had known for many years. After we all graduated high school, they decided to get married. After moving into a small apartment to start their new life together, they found that their next-door neighbor was a young woman who attended the local Baptist Church.

She was frequently at my friend's apartment when I visited them, and usually, she would try to share the Gospel with us. With the focus growing on the Rapture within Christian circles, it became a regular topic of discussion. During these talks, I became more curious, and somewhat educated, about the doctrine of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture. One of the tenets of this belief is that after all of the Christians are removed from the Earth at the Rapture - global devastation, the emergence of the anti-Christ, the Mark of the Beast, etc. would ensue.

However, one thing about this whole scenario did not make sense to me! Why would this loving God that she was telling us about, take all of His people from the Earth; when those followers were the very ones that could offer understanding, hope, and the Way of Salvation? This was just the first of many discussions I have had over the years about this very subject. To this day, I have never received an adequate answer to that one basic question.

Approximately 3 years later, in March of 1979, I made that fateful decision to ask Messiah Yeshua (whom I called Jesus at that time) to be the Master and Savior of my life.

Since I had already become interested in Biblical prophecy, I hoped my newfound faith would help me to gain wisdom through the Ruach ha'Kodesh (Holy Spirit) from the Scriptures. I endeavored to understand the End Times and how the timeline played out according to Yehovah's Will.

Over the last 40-plus years I have witnessed how one theory after another was proposed and then replaced concerning the Rapture and the 7-Year Tribulation. Since I began this pursuit, the details of how, and what will occur, have changed many times over the last four decades. Current information and circumstances of the day have caused many to alter the perceptions they once embraced.

One such assumption was centered on the 40 years the Yisra'elites spent wandering in the Desert. Based on a scripture from the book of Debarim (Deuteronomy) it was calculated that a generation was 40 years.

"Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that

good land of which I swore to give to your fathers."

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 1:35

Because of this, the premise was that since Yisra'el became a nation again in 1948, that was when the 40-year generation clock started. Based on that calculation, the 7-Year Tribulation would end no later than 1988. This was also based on a passage from Mattithyahu (Matthew).

“Truly, I say to you, this generation shall by no means pass

away until all this takes place." Mattithyahu (Matthew) 24:34

This gave rise to pamphlets such as "88 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1988." But when that prediction failed to materialize, it was revised as "89 Reasons Why Jesus Will Return in 1989."

Although I have not been able to find anything in writing or internet searches, I remember that Hal Lindsey and the late Chuck Smith (founder of Calvary Chapel), also espoused the belief that the Rapture would occur in 1988.

Because the 1988 and 1989 predictions never came to fruition; revisions were made to the "40-year generation" calculation. They were deemed faulty because they did not account that this was for those 20 years old, or older.

"The carcasses of you who have grumbled against Me are

going to fall in this wilderness, all of you who were

registered, according to your entire number, from

twenty years old and above." Bemidbar (Numbers) 14:29

But even if you add the extra 20 years, you arrive at 2008 for that generation to be completed.

One such example of how current technology affected the views of End Time prophecy, was when the technique of using barcoding was first introduced. Books were written and sermons were preached that THIS was the Mark of the Beast, that would be tattooed on the forehead or right hand.

"And he causes all, both small and great, and rich and poor,

and free and slave, to be given a mark upon their right hand

or upon their foreheads, and that no one should be able to buy

or sell except he that has the mark or the name of the beast, or

the number of his name." Hazon (Revelation) 13:16-17

Some years later, this gave way to the opinion that it would be microchip implants. But this viewpoint seems to be changing as new technology is developed; such as the emerging science of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). Will this latest technology replace the belief that implants are the Mark of the Beast? Only time will tell! However, it seems to be gaining ground quickly. Perry Stone wrote a book entitled Artificial Intelligence vs. God, The Final Battle for Humanity, published in January of 2024. I find the statement The Final Battle for Humanity somewhat sensationalistic, but I have no doubt it was included to boost sales. Also contained in the synopsis of the book is the following sentence:

"How will artificial intelligence help usher in biblical

events prophesied thousands of years ago?"

The plethora of books written over the years that focused on barcoding and microchip implants also contained similar wording concerning the Mark of the Beast.

"What has been is what shall be, what has been done is what

shall be done, and there is no new matter under the sun.

Is there a matter of which it is said, 'See, this is new'? It was

here already, long ago." Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) 1:9-10

Predictions of when the Rapture will occur are not a 20th-century phenomenon. In the 19th Century, William Miller predicted Jesus would return in 1844. His disciples sold their belongings and gathered on a hilltop to wait for Jesus. But obviously, it never happened! This incident became known as The Great Disappointment. The beliefs begun by William Miller eventually morphed into what is now known as the 7th Day Adventist Church.

Anybody old enough, probably remembers the turmoil of the 1980's. Much like today, it seemed the Earth was on the brink of WWIII. Did worldwide catastrophe loom on the horizon? Given the social and political climate of the time, was the Appearance of the Messiah ready to occur as the Bible predicted? To many, just like today; it seemed so! But, in retrospect, the answer was, not yet! There remained events that needed to unfold! Other predictions of the Appearance happening sometime during the 1980s, were also prevalent.

"...just before the Holocaustic World War III in 1985, the Church -

the Bride of Christ will rapture and meet with the Groom,

the Lamb Jesus Christ."4

To be clear, I believe that one day, the Messiah will Appear in the clouds, and His Followers will be taken up to meet Him in the air; just as is stated in the Scriptures.

"Because the Master Himself shall come down from heaven

with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, and with

the trumpet of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise

first. Then we, the living who are left over, shall be caught

away together with them in the clouds to meet the Master

in the air – and so we shall always be with the Master."

Tas'loniqim Aleph (1 Thessalonians) 4:16-17

As time has progressed these new technologies have added fuel to the fire for predicting the Appearance, and the beginning of the so-called 7-Year Tribulation.

For more on the 7-Year Tribulation and the timing of the Appearance of the Messiah, please visit the page "Last Days Remnant" on this site.

https://slhos5.wixsite.com/thewildernesscry/last-days

From 2005 through 2010 I was living in Washington State, and for a brief period attended El Shaddai Congregation, a small Hebrew Roots fellowship led by founder Mark Biltz. In 2008 he began using NASA technology to track and plot solar and lunar eclipses. He attempted to correlate Signs of the Return of Jesus, with the Hebrew Feast Days as detailed in the Bible.

In an interview on a Prophecy in the News broadcast in 2008; he revealed that during the years of 2014 and 2015, there would be 4 Blood Red Moon eclipses, and 2 solar eclipses. The implication was that these occurrences were related to Scriptures found in Mattithyahu chapter 24 and Hazon (Revelation) chapter 6.5

"And immediately after the distress of those days the sun

shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light..."

Mattithyahu 24:29a

"And I looked when He opened the sixth seal and saw a great earthquake came to be. And the sun became black as sackcloth

of hair, and the moon became as blood." Hazon 6:12

During this same 2008 interview, he stated there was a "good chance of war by the summer" and that "conditions were very favorable for the Tribulation to begin this fall". He was alluding to the favorable possibility that the rapture could happen at Rosh Hashana*, in September of 2008.

*The modern term for the first day of the seventh month is called "Rosh haShanna". However, this term does not appear anywhere in scripture. Biblically this day is known as "Yom Teru'ah", the day of "soundings or of the blowing of trumpets".

John Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Texas also picked up the mantle of this infatuation; writing and publishing "Four Blood Moons" in 2013. Perry Stone, another proponent of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, also jumped on the Blood Moon bandwagon. In 2015, during a broadcast of Sid Roth's, That's Supernatural, Perry Stone claimed he "never saw anybody tap into the three recent blood moon cycles...and how they were connected". I find this statement to be completely disingenuous! Stone was using the same points laid out by Mark Biltz in 2008. Both Perry Stone and John Hagee used Biltz's research as the construct for their Blood Moon presentations.

Blood Moon Hysteria, was the latest and greatest to garner attention about when the Rapture would take place. Since the announcement of the teaching of the Blood Moons; there have been more concerted efforts to look for signs in the heavens to pinpoint when the Rapture will occur. Referring to a scripture from the book of Hazon, some believed that by observing the movements of the stars and planets in the Constellation of Virgo, the timing of the Rapture could be predicted.

"And a great sign was seen in the heaven: a woman

clad with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and

on her head a crown of twelve stars." Hazon 12:1

Because of where this was referenced in the Bible, it has been labeled The Revelation 12 Sign! But endeavoring to predict the Day of the Rapture by this sign, or any other; ignores the admonition of Messiah Yeshua!

"But concerning that day and the hour no one knows, not

even the messengers of the heavens, but My Father only."

Mattithyahu 24:36

As we got closer to Yom Teru'ah on what coincided with September 16th, 2023, there were many predictions that the Rapture was imminent! As the stars moved into place during The Revelation 12 Sign, September 23rd was brandished about as the day the Rapture could occur. This date was prevalent on many social media platforms and internet videos. Not surprisingly, however, most disappeared after the day came and went!

When Elohim created the heavens and the earth; He put the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky for signs.

"And Elohim said, 'Let lights come to be in the expanse

of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let

them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and

years, and let them be for lights in the expanse of the

heavens to give light on the earth.' And it came to be so."

Bereshith (Genesis) 1:14-15

Followers of Yeshua are encouraged to be aware of the signs and the appointed seasons we are in. Especially those that concern His Appearance. But are we to occupy our time by searching the heavens to decipher the exact time He will Appear?

The Scriptures record that after Yeshua was taken up following His Resurrection, the disciples of the Messiah were looking to the heavens expecting Him to return!

"And as they were gazing into the heaven as He went up, see,

two men stood by them dressed in white, who also said, 'Men

of Galil, why do you stand looking up into the heaven? This

same יֵשׁוּצַ, who was taken up from you into the heaven,

shall come in the same way as you saw Him go into

the heaven.'" Ma'asei (Acts) 1:10-11

Before Yeshua's crucifixion and Resurrection; His chosen disciples asked what signs they should look for, which would reveal the timing of His coming or Appearence!

"And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the taught ones came to

Him separately, saying, 'Say to us, when shall this be, and

what is the sign of Your coming, and of the end of

the age?" Mattithyahu 24:3 (emphasis mine)

In what has come to be known as the Olivet Discourse, Yeshua tells His disciples what they should be looking for. These are recorded in Mattithyahu 24, Luqos (Luke) 21, and Marqos (Mark) 13. Briefly, some of the indicators are false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines and plagues, persecution of Believers, and false prophets.

One of the last on the list is called the abomination of desolation or the abomination that lays waste.

“So when you see the ‘abomination that lays waste,’ spoken

of by Dani’el the prophet, set up in the set-apart place...”

Mattithyahu 24:15 (emphasis mine)

The disciples were told to look to the heavens only AFTER these things began to happen! But are we to be looking for signs in the sun, moon, and stars? No! We are to be looking for the Appearance of the Messiah!

"And then they shall see the Son of Adam coming in a

cloud with power and much esteem. And when these

matters begin to take place, look up and lift up your

heads, because your redemption draws near."

Luqas (Luke) 21:27-28 (emphasis mine)

"And immediately after the distress (tribulation) of those

days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give

its light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the

powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then the sign of

the Son of Adam shall appear in the heaven, and then all

the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the

Son of Adam coming on the clouds of the heaven with

power and much esteem." Mattithyahu 24:29-30 (emphasis mine)

The teaching of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture has turned into big business! The Dallas Theological Seminary was founded on the idea. Tim LaHaye and Larry B. Jenkins wrote a collection of novels based on this teaching with their "Left Behind" series. Like The Late Great Planet Earth, some were made into motion pictures.

The number of volumes written on the subject has exploded since Hal Lindsey first penned "The Late Great Planet Earth"! It seems that some ministries and preachers have made the teaching of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture the main focus of their endeavors. However, the previously mentioned John Hagee and Perry Stone, as well as many others; have made very erroneous statements concerning the so-called Rapture.

To paraphrase what they have said on many occasions:

"There is not one thing left to happen before Jesus

Appears in the clouds and we are Raptured"!

However, this statement is completely false according to the Bible. In his epistle to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul wrote that two things MUST happen BEFORE the Appearance!

"Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not

come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion,

the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the

man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist,

the one who is destined to be destroyed], who opposes and exalts

himself [so proudly and so insolently] above every so-called god

or object of worship, so that he [actually enters and] takes his seat

in the temple of God, publicly proclaiming that he himself is God."

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 AMP (emphasis mine)

Will the excitement and expectation concerning the Rapture of the Church that was supposed to happen during the time of Yom Teru'ah or Sukkot in 2023; be known as "The Great Disappointment 2.0", because it failed to materialize?

With the current war in Yisra'el, people are promoting this as a sign of an imminent rapture. One YouTube broadcaster expected the Rapture to take place no later than sometime Sunday, October 8, 2023.

But like so many others, even though they allude to a prediction of a certain day; they quickly add - "I am not setting a date". But these are no more than veiled attempts to cover themselves; just in case they are wrong! As was the case with the October 8 prediction.

One of the greatest dangers of date setting is that it could cause some believers to think they missed it; or start to doubt Elohim's Word!

"As to the coming of our Master יֵשׁוּצַ Messiah and our

gathering together to Him, we ask you, brothers, not

to become easily unsettled in mind or troubled, either by

spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as if the day of

יְחוׇֹח has come." Tas'Loniqim Bet (2 Thessalonians) 2:1-2

Considering the current state of affairs in the world, is the Appearance of the Messiah close? No one knows for sure, but one thing is certain; it will happen in Elohims' timing. Not all that MUST happen before the Appearance occurs; has taken place yet. Yes, there is great trouble in the world today, but this has always been. In the Words of Messiah Yeshua:

"See that you are not troubled, for these have to take

place, but the end is not yet." Mattithyahu 24:6b

"And יְחוׇֹח spoke to Mosheh, saying, Speak to the children of

Yisra’el, saying, ‘In the seventh new moon, on the first day of

the new moon, you have a rest, a remembrance of Teru‛ah."

Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:23-24

1. John Hagee, The 4/8 Solar Eclipse: What Does It Mean?, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCYhpm5aR0U

2. Ibid.

3. Perry Stone, "After the Eclipse", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG0MOFRTTTQ&t=678s

4. Ed Mitchell, Jody Scharf, Dori Webster; The 1981-1985 Tribulation Report Part 1, Victory Press, Tucson AZ, p.78

5. Prophesy in the News, "Mark Biltz and the Blood Moons", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL0dv_3gdvg

KJV refers to the King James Version, public domain

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For more on the timing of the Rapture and the so-called 7-Year Tribulation, please visit the Last Days Remnant page on this site. https://slhos5.wixsite.com/thewildernesscry/last-days

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​*The modern term for the first day of the seventh month is called "Rosh haShanna". However, this term does not appear anywhere in scripture. Biblically this day is known as "Yom Teru'ah", the day of "soundings or of the blowing of trumpets".

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*The modern term for the first day of the seventh month is called "Rosh haShanna". However, this term does not appear anywhere in scripture. Biblically this day is known as "Yom Teru'ah", the day of "soundings or of the blowing of trumpets".