The gamma-ray burst^[7] didn’t happen on September 25 when the seventh plague began. World War III didn’t cause the earth to erupt in mushroom clouds. From an outsider’s perspective, “nothing happened in the world.” In fact, we even got a letter from a disbeliever to that effect, but we’ll get to that later.

Why was there no great earthly event on the first day of the 7th plague? The text itself tells us:

And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven [or sky], from the throne, saying, It is done. (Revelation 16:17)

In one breath (pun intended), the seventh plague is poured out in the “air” and things happen in the “sky.” Of course it really is speaking about the third heaven where God and angels are, and not the sky where the birds are. That is a hint to help us understand where the vial is actually poured out. It is not talking about a plague in the atmosphere, like mushroom clouds, but something entirely different.

Air can also be “breath” in the sense of respiration, which is a symbol for the spirit.^[8] Like birds come and go in the sky, spirits (angels) come and go in heaven. We recently saw a vivid depiction of this very thing in the first scene of Angelica’s^[9] dream: the stars were dancing—or let us say fighting, because we know it is about the great controversy.

Satan wants to usurp God’s throne to become not only king of the earth, but also king of heaven.^[10] Jesus, as depicted in two of the four faces of the living creatures in the vision of Ezekiel,^[11] has a face of a lion because He is king of the earth, and a face of an eagle because He is king of the sky (heaven). Satan wants to replace Him in both realms.

So if the seventh plague is poured out on spirits (or angels) in heaven, it makes sense why we did not see a grand visible plague begin on earth on September 25. There are events in the seventh plague that transpire on the earth, but the plague does not begin on the earth. It begins in heaven!

This has an important meaning, because it shows that the battle of Armageddon is not only a spiritual battle in the ordinary sense, but it is quite literally a battle of spirits. It is the culminating battle of the conflict of the ages between Christ and His angels, and Satan and his angels.^[12]

How does the battle play out? Do the good and bad angels carry swords or guns, and literally attack each other? Of course not! The Great Controversy is a court battle. It is fought in terms of legal proceedings to determine the validity of God’s government. Satan is the accuser—not only of the brethren,^[13] but of God. Satan fights God by arguing his case against God in the high court of heaven.

Now you have to wonder: what does it mean for a plague to be poured out in heaven!? The first event of the seventh plague is the voice saying “It is done.” Satan’s 1290 days had ended, and Jesus—acting as Supreme Judge in the heavenly court—said “It is done!” “Satan, your time is over!”

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings... (Revelation 16:18)

Just like in an earthly courtroom, objections can be raised. There were “voices” raised in the courtroom! Satan objected, saying “No, it’s not done!” Understand: the plague was poured out in heaven! This is the dancing (fighting) of the stars in Angelica’s dream, and the Pleiades danced because Satan got the upper hand with his objection.

How did he do it? Now with all you’ve experienced here in the past few days,^[14] you should know very well how Satan got the upper hand. Satan accused us all of sin, and on that basis he could object to Jesus ending the judgment in vindication of the Father. Satan said, “Those witnesses are mine! They are sinners!”

Indeed, he was right—and that is how our sins became the ultimate plague to God in heaven, giving the victory over to Satan. Then the court had to examine us—and is still examining us. Is Satan’s accusation sustained by the facts, or overruled? That depends on you. How have you responded, or how are you responding, to the charges of sin laid against you?

If your response is to immediately confess and turn around as soon as the issue comes up, then you show the court that Satan’s accusation is invalid, because even though you have sinned, you did not do it willingly or consciously. You are covered by Christ’s sacrifice;^[15] you are fully decided to end all sin in your life, and there is no sin that you will hold on to.

On the other hand, if someone keeps their sin by justifying or excusing it, then they sustain Satan’s accusation. If we do not expel such a person, then Jesus loses the war because everyone on His side in the battle of Armageddon must be blameless. Do you see how closely our experiences here are connected to the court proceedings in the heavenly sanctuary?

The burning question is: how long will this take?

How long will Satan’s objection interfere with the settlement of the case and the vindication of the Father? It is problematic for Jesus, because He wanted to close the case, but He couldn’t because of us—because of our condition. He wanted to end the judgment in heaven, but He couldn’t because He had to contend with the devil who disputed about the body of believers, just like He did in the past with the body of Moses:

Yet Michael the archangel [Jesus], when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 1:9)

The contention and dispute over the body of Moses took some time. The Bible does not indicate how long, but in the description given in the Spirit of Prophecy, you can see that it took time.^[16] Likewise, Satan’s objection in the court at the beginning of the 7th plague is taking some time to resolve. His objections have to be answered in a way that satisfies the court and ensures a fair trial—like with his dispute regarding the body of Moses.^[17]

Jesus can only win the controversy when certain conditions are met in the heavenly court, and one of them is that we be clean from sin. We are not clean; we saw ourselves! We have to be cleansed and ready for Jesus to be able to say that He won’t need to take the bullet anymore^[18]—and that takes some amount of time.

When there is a dispute in the heavenly courtroom, it takes time. It might not take long in heavenly time, but on the earth it can take weeks. It has to be demonstrated that we correct our behavior as soon as we become aware of our errors.^[19] It has to be shown that we really are willing. Your confessions here in this forum are the evidence that is being examined in the heavenly court to determine whether Satan’s objections are justified, or whether Jesus—the Supreme Judge—can overrule them.

In the end, Jesus must have some number of clean persons to overrule Satan and for God’s side to win the case. If God has no clean souls on His side, as Satan accuses, then the controversy is lost and ends in Satan’s favor. But if there are enough—we don’t know how many—then He wins and Satan’s realm is destroyed—both in heaven and on earth.

Understand the situation as it is in heaven. On September 25, when the Orion clock came to an end, Jesus gave the command to Gabriel to come to earth and deliver His people.^[20] You will recall that we had reasoned that something should happen on that date, because it was the end of the 1290 days! We looked for signs that Pope Francis’ reign came to an end. Did it? We see signs that he is meeting with difficulties, but there was no dramatic end like we expected.^[21]

Do you think Satan would just sit back and let Gabriel destroy his kingdom without resistance? Of course not! So Satan made an objection, and God heard his case. “Your people are not without sin, so you can’t take them! They’re mine!” (Recall the counterfeit name “Pleiades” that was under the stars in Angelica’s dream... We—the “wise,” shining like the stars—were named with his name!) Thus, Jesus could not simply ignore Satan’s accusation, because it was a legitimate contention. Satan still claimed ground in every one of our hearts, as the many recent confessions have attested, and it would have been unjust for God to give us a sign that would have falsely affirmed that we were completely faithful to God. Therefore, Gabriel was held back from helping us.

All this happened at the beginning of the seventh plague—Armageddon—but we failed to realize it. We continued in our sinful state for another full week, before we clearly understood the true situation, which came in answer to the prayers for understanding that were offered. Then Jesus showed just how critical the situation really is. It’s like being on the bridge of a space ship when all the red alert lights begin flashing because the life-support system has failed. An emergency decision is made to call all responsible personnel to address the problem immediately, and there is a very limited time to correct it before the lack of life-support will end the lives of all aboard the spaceship!

God’s life-support system failed on September 25, and for a full week, we did not even recognize the urgency! Now we have less than a week remaining to abolish all sin from our lives to restore the breach and prevent the loss of our Commander in Chief, as well as the rest of the Universe, who is dependent on Him! It would make for a dramatic episode of Star Trek, but when you let it sink in that this is REAL, and not just a fictitious TV show or just a dream, it becomes a powerful motivator. We love our Lord, because He first loved us,^[22] and gave His life for us, and now, will we not rouse to immediate action, taking hold of the provision of grace that He has given, and return His own love back to Him in His time of need? If we love Him, we will keep His commandments!^[23]

We will continue in another post as soon as possible, but until then, keep in mind the following:

You have the dates of events given by the autumn feasts. The Day of Trumpets turned out to be a disappointment and warning. When should we be able to see victory, if God wins? Not till after the Day of Atonement...which means the next feast day: the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. We will not see a sign until then that truly allows us to celebrate God’s victory in the controversy—if we win. Everything hinges on us right now!

The seventh plague gives an idea of what should happen on that day if the plan of prophecy goes as intended. After the events in heaven, it says that there was an earthquake—something visible on the earth—which is the fall and punishment of Babylon and our victory. That corresponds to what we expected at the beginning of the seventh plague: the end of the 1290 days and the end of Satan’s reign.

In the wake of Satan’s accusation, the heavenly jury decides who is good, and who is not. How long should the process take?

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed [battle] was long [great]: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. (Daniel 10:1)

The edits to the verse above are validated by the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, which also provides other important information:

1. Third year of Cyrus. Counted from the fall of Babylon by either the spring or the fall year, this would be 536/535 B.C. (see on Dan. 10:4; also on Ezra 1:1). Daniel was now apparently near the end of his life (see Dan. 12:13), about 88 years old, considering that he was 18 when he was taken captive (see 4T 570) in 605 B.C. (see on ch. 1:1). Dan. 10:1 introduces the final section of the book, ch. 10 providing the setting in Daniel’s experience for his fourth great prophecy, recorded in chs. 11 and 12. The main body of the prophetic narrative begins with ch. 11:12 and closes with ch. 12:4, the remainder of ch. 12 being a sort of postscript to the prophecy. On the year reckonings from the spring and the fall see Vol. II, pp. 109–111.

King of Persia. This is the only prophecy of Daniel’s dated in terms of Cyrus’ reign. Cyrus is here given the title “king of Persia,” which would seem to imply that the whole empire was ruled by the Persians, as contrasted with the more limited title, “king over the realm of the Chaldeans,” ascribed to Darius in ch. 9:1. Arising from comparative obscurity as prince of the little country of Anshan located in the highlands of Iran, Cyrus overthrew successively within a few years the Median, Lydian, and Babylonian kingdoms, and united them under his rule into the largest empire yet known. It was with such a monarch that Daniel and his people now had to deal, and with whom the powers of heaven are here revealed (ch. 10:13, 20) as striving.

A thing. A unique expression used by Daniel to describe his fourth great prophetic outline (chs. 10–12) which was apparently revealed without a preceding symbolic representation and without any allusion to symbols (cf. chs. 7:16–24; 8:20–26). The word marah, “vision,” of vs. 7, 8, 16 refers simply to the appearance of Daniel’s two celestial visitants, mentioned in vs. 5, 6 and 10–12 respectively. Accordingly, some have considered the fourth prophetic outline a further, more detailed explanation of events pictured symbolically in the “vision” of ch. 8:1–14. On this basis chs. 10–12 would be interpreted in terms of the vision of chs. 8, 9. However, the relationship between chs. 10–12 and 8, 9 is by no means so clear or certain as that between ch. 8 and ch. 9 (see on ch. 9:21).

Belteshazzar. See on ch. 1:7.

Time appointed. Heb. ṣaba’, the exact meaning of which here is doubtful. The phrase translates a single Hebrew word. Ṣaba’ occurs nearly 500 times in the OT in the sense of “army,” “host,” “warfare,” and “service” Its plural form, ṣeba’oth, forms part of the divine title “Lord God of Hosts.” The KJV translates ṣaba’ “appointed time,” or “time appointed,” only three times (Job 7:1; 14:14; and here). Inasmuch as the word everywhere else apparently has to do with an army, or warfare, or hard service, and inasmuch as in these three passages the same ideas of warfare, or hard service, make excellent sense, these definitions probably ought to be retained here. The present text seems to emphasize an intensity of struggle rather than an extended period of time. The passage may be translated, “even a great warfare” (RV), or “it was a great conflict” (RSV).

He understood. In contrast with the three other visions (chs. 2; 7; 8–9), which were couched in highly symbolic terms, this final revelation was given largely in literal language. The angel stated specifically that he had come to make Daniel “understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days” (ch. 10:14). This is the subject matter of chs. 11 and 12. It is not until near the end of this vision (ch. 12:8) that Daniel encounters a revelation concerning which he confesses, “I heard, but I understood not.”

Let us recapitulate the main points from the Bible Commentary in light of what we know:

1. Daniel 10:1 is the introduction of a connected prophecy that goes through the end of the book, where the 1290 and 1260 timelines are prominent, and therefore has something important to do with those timelines.

2. The subject matter of Daniel 10-12 is literal, which confirms the validity of, and deals with, our literal interpretation of the 1290 days.

3. “Time appointed” should have been translated in the meaning of a gathering to (great) battle, which means the gathering together to the great battle of Armageddon at the end of the 1290 days.

4. The understanding given in these chapters is for “the latter days” (our time).

Now that we understand the importance of this chapter in light of the seventh plague and the battle of Armageddon, we should ask ourselves what part of this chapter has never been deciphered before.

If these chapters begin with Armageddon, how should they end? How do they end? They end with Daniel standing in his lot at the end of days—in other words, the resurrection. These chapters deal especially with how long Armageddon will take, which is our big question at the moment. How long will this fierce battle in the courtroom of heaven take, until the victor comes forth?

The Bible Commentary also shows us that Daniel was mourning like us,^[24] and for similar reasons:

2. Mourning. Daniel does not state specifically the cause of mourning, but an indication of the reason may be found in the events that were occurring among the Jews in Palestine at this time. It was evidently a serious crisis that occasioned Daniel’s three weeks of mourning. It was probably about the time when opposition was raised by the Samaritans against the Jews who under Zerubbabel had recently returned from exile (Ezra 4:1–5; see PK 571, 572). Whether the events of this chapter occurred before or after the Jews had actually laid the foundation stone (Ezra 3:8–10) of the Temple depends upon varying interpretations of the chronology of this period (see Vol. III, p. 97), and on a possibility that Daniel might have used a different reckoning in Babylonia from that of the Jews in Palestine in that time of transition. Daniel’s period of mourning seems to have been contemporary with the serious threat that Cyrus’ decree might not be carried to completion after all, because of the false reports sent by the Samaritans to the court of Persia, in an attempt to stop the building operations. The significant fact that during these three weeks the angel was struggling to influence Cyrus (vs. 12, 13) indicates that a vital decision of the king was at stake. While praying for further light on subjects not yet fully explained in earlier visions, the prophet doubtless engaged in another period of intensive intercession (see ch. 9:3–19) that the work of the adversary might be checked and that God’s promises of restoration might be fulfilled to His chosen people.

We can trace our experiences now in the experience of Daniel, and as we do so, we see a “significant fact” that there was a three-week struggle taking place. This is the “battle that was great” (our Armageddon) as stated in verse 1.

In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. (Daniel 10:2)

Daniel’s experience tells us how long the battle will take:^[25] three full weeks. What is a “full” week? One full week is seven days, beginning on the first day of the week and ending on the seventh day of the week. That means, from Sunday to Sabbath, Sunday to Sabbath, Sunday to Sabbath. Three full weeks cannot be fulfilled from a Wednesday to a Tuesday, or any other days of the week; it must fulfill from Sunday to Sabbath!

When did the battle of Armageddon begin? On Sunday, September 25, 2016. Three full weeks (21 days) of battle takes us up to Sabbath, October 15, inclusive.

I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. (Daniel 10:3)

That means we, like Daniel, will not have cause to “celebrate” or “rejoice” until three full weeks have passed (fulfilled). The first day we could have reason to celebrate would be Sunday, October 16, but we also have to keep the autumn feasts in mind. Sunday night begins the Feast of Tabernacles. In the third part we will share more light regarding this special Sunday.

We mentioned in the previous post that we cannot know the final decision of the heavenly court until after it is made on the Day of Atonement, and the next possible feast day is in fact the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Three full weeks are required for the conflict to be resolved from our perspective.

At the end of the three weeks, the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel and further explained the cause of the three-week delay:

Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. (Daniel 10:12-14)

Have you ever wondered what was so important about the three-week period, 21 days, in this experience of Daniel? Many parts of this passage have been understood for a long time, but only now the 21 days shows us what literally is befalling God’s people (us) in these last days!

The Commentary identifies the actors and fills in the interpretation:

12. Fear not. Compare Rev. 1:17. These words doubtless encouraged the prophet personally in the presence of the angel, for he “stood trembling” (v. 11), and also reassured Daniel that even though he had been praying for three weeks without an apparent answer, yet from the very first God had heard his supplication and set Himself to answer it. Daniel needed not to fear for his people; God had heard him, and God was in control.

13. Prince. Heb. śar, a word occurring 420 times in the OT, but apparently never with the meaning “king.” It refers to a king’s chief servants (Gen. 40:2, translated “chief”), to local rulers (1 Kings 22:26, translated “governor”), to Moses’ subordinates (Ex. 18:21, translated “rulers”), to the nobles and officials of Israel (1 Chron. 22:17; Jer. 34:21, translated “princes”), and especially to military commanders (1 Kings 1:25; 1 Chron. 12:21, translated “captains”). In this last sense it appears in the expression śar haṣṣaba’, “commander of the army” (the same expression translated “prince of the host,” Dan. 8:11), on one of the Lachish ostraca, a letter written by a Judean army officer to his superior, probably at the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest of Judah in 588–586 B.C., during the time that Daniel was in Babylon (see Vol. II, pp. 97, 98; see Jer. 34:7).

The heavenly Being who appeared to Joshua at Jericho is termed “the captain [Heb. śar] of the Lord’s host” (Joshua 5:14, 15). Daniel frequently uses this word in reference to supernatural beings (Dan. 8:11, 25; 10:13, 21; 12:1). On the basis of these observations some have conjectured that śar denotes a supernatural being who at that time was standing in opposition to the angels of God, and who was trying to direct the course of the kingdom of Persia against the best interests of God’s people. Satan has ever been eager to declare himself the prince of this world. The basic issue here was the welfare of God’s people as against their heathen neighbors. Inasmuch as Michael is declared to be the “prince [śar] which standeth for the children of thy people” (ch. 12:1), it does not seem unreasonable that the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” would be a self-styled “guardian angel” for that country from among the hosts of the adversary. That the conflict was against the powers of darkness is clear: “For three weeks Gabriel wrestled with the powers of darkness, seeking to counteract the influences at work on the mind of Cyrus. ... All that heaven could do in behalf of the people of God was done. The victory was finally gained; the forces of the enemy were held in check all the days of Cyrus, and all the days of his son Cambyses” (PK 571, 572).

On the other hand, śar may be used in the common sense of “ruler,” and in that sense would refer to Cyrus, king of Persia. So understood, the angels of heaven are seen striving with the king, that he might render a verdict favorable to the Jews.

Withstood me. The prophet provides a glimpse of the mighty struggle going on between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The question may be asked, Why did the Lord allow the powers of evil to struggle for control of Cyrus’ mind for 21 days, while Daniel continued in mourning and supplication? This question must be answered with the truth in mind that these events have to be understood in the light of the “broader and deeper purpose” of the plan of redemption, which “was to vindicate the character of God before the universe. ... Before all the universe it [the death of Christ] would justify God and His Son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan” (PP 68, 69; cf. DA 625). “Yet Satan was not then destroyed [at the death of Christ]. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed” (DA 761). See on ch. 4:17.

In order to refute Satan’s claim that God is a tyrant, the heavenly Father has seen fit to withhold His hand and allow the adversary an opportunity to demonstrate his methods and seek to win men to his cause. God does not force men’s wills. He allows Satan a degree of freedom, while through His Spirit and His angels He pleads with men to resist evil and follow the right. Thus God demonstrates to the onlooking universe that He is a God of love, and not the tyrant Satan has accused Him of being. It was for this reason that Daniel’s prayer was not immediately answered. The answer waited until the king of Persia made his choice for good and against evil, by his own free will.

Here is revealed the true philosophy of history. God has set the ultimate goal, which most surely will be reached. By His Spirit He works on the hearts of men to cooperate with Him in attaining that goal. But the question as to which way any individual chooses to go is entirely his own decision to make. Thus the events of history are the product both of supernatural agencies and of human free choice. But the final outcome is God’s. In this chapter, as perhaps nowhere else in Scripture, the veil that separates heaven from earth is drawn aside, and the struggle between the powers of light and darkness is revealed.

Michael. Heb. Mika’el, literally, “who [is] like God?” He is here described as “one of the chief princes [Heb. śarim].” Later He is described as Israel’s particular protector (ch. 12:1). His identity is not definitely stated here, but a comparison with other scriptures identifies Him as Christ. Jude 9 terms Him “the archangel.” According to 1 Thess. 4:16, the “voice of the archangel” is associated with the resurrection of the saints at the coming of Jesus. Christ declared that the dead will come forth from their graves when they hear the voice of the Son of man (John 5:28). It thus seems clear that Michael is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself (see EW 164; cf. DA 421).

The name Michael as the name of a heavenly being appears in the Bible only in apocalyptic passages (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7), in instances where Christ is in direct conflict with Satan. The name in Hebrew, signifying “who is like God?” is at once a question and a challenge. In view of the fact that Satan’s rebellion is essentially an attempt to install himself on the throne of God and “be like the most High” (Isa. 14:14), the name Michael is a most fitting one for Him who has undertaken to vindicate the character of God and disprove Satan’s claims.

I remained there. The LXX, followed by Theodotion, reads: “and I left him [Michael] there.” Such a reading has been adopted by several modern versions (Good-speed, Moffatt, RSV), doubtless because it did not seem clear why the angel should state that he was left with the kings of Persia when Michael had come to his aid. Compare with this reading the statement, “But Michael came to his help, and then he remained with the kings of Persia” (EGW, Supplementary Material, on Dan. 10:12, 13).

Some see another possible meaning in the Hebrew text as it stands. The struggle here described was essentially one between the angels of God and “the powers of darkness, seeking to counteract the influences at work on the mind of Cyrus” (see PK 571, 572). With the entrance into the contest of Michael, the Son of God, the powers of heaven gained the victory, and the evil one was forced to retreat. The word translated “remained” is elsewhere used in the sense of “to remain over” when others have left or been taken away. Thus this verb is used of Jacob when he remained behind at the brook Jabbok (Gen. 32:24), and of those heathen whom Israel allowed to remain in the land (1 Kings 9:20, 21). It is also the word applied by Elijah to himself when he believed that everyone else had departed from the true worship of Jehovah: “I, even I only, am left” (1 Kings 19:10, 14). As used by the angel in the present passage, it could mean that with the coming of Michael, the evil angel was forced to leave, and God’s angel “was left remaining there beside the kings of Persia.” “The victory was finally gained; the forces of the enemy were held in check” (PK 572). Two translations that have suggested this same thought are those of Luther, “there I gained the victory with the kings in Persia,” and Knox, “and there, at Persia’s court, I was left master of the field.”

Kings of Persia. Two Hebrew manuscripts read, “kingdom of Persia.” The ancient versions read, “king of Persia.”

14. In the latter days. Heb. be’acharith hayyamim, “in the latter part [or end] of the days.” This is an expression frequently used in Biblical prophecy, pointing to the final part of whatever period of history the prophet has in view. Thus Jacob used the term “last days” in reference to the ultimate fortune of each of the twelve tribes in the land of Canaan (Gen. 49:1); Balaam applied the term to the first advent of Christ (Num. 24:14); Moses used it in a general sense of the distant future, when Israel would suffer tribulation (Deut. 4:30). The expression may, and often does, refer directly to the final events of history. See on Isa. 2:2.

For many days. As indicated by italics, there is no word for “many” in the Hebrew text. The word “days” here seems to have the same meaning as in the clause immediately preceding. The angel came to tell Daniel what would befall the saints throughout the centuries until Christ’s second coming. The emphasis of this final clause of the verse is not so much upon the length of time in prospect, as upon the fact that the Lord has still further truth to be conveyed to Daniel by a vision. Translated literally, this verse reads, “And I have come to cause you to understand that which will happen to your people in the latter part of the days, for still there is a vision for the days.”

No earthly king could have withstood Gabriel. It was Satan that was battling, and who caused the delay of 21 days. In summary, these 21 days of conflict between Christ and Satan were given as a specific piece of information for us here at the end of time—a literal time period for the battle of Armageddon. Now we know how long the battle will take, and when we will be able to see the final outcome.

Important points are scattered throughout the rest of the chapter from the Bible Commentary:

16. Like the similitude. Gabriel veiled his brightness and appeared in human form (see SL 52).

The vision. Some commentators consider that Daniel here refers to the vision of chs. 8 and 9; others believe that it was the present revelation that afflicted the prophet so acutely. In view of the fact that the term “vision” in both vs. 1 and 14 seems to apply to the revelation in chs. 10–12, and also because Daniel’s statement here in ch. 10:16 is a logical continuation of his reaction (v. 15) to the angel’s declaration concerning “the vision” (v. 14), it seems reasonable to conclude that the prophet is here speaking of the vision of divine glory he was witnessing.

19. Greatly beloved. See on v. 11.

20. With the prince. The KJV may be understood as meaning either that the angel was to fight on the side of the prince of Persia, or that he was to fight against him. The Greek versions are likewise ambiguous. The preposition meta, “with,” which it employs, may imply either alliance, as in 1 John 1:3, or hostility, as in Rev. 2:16. The Hebrew of this passage, however, seems to give a clear indication of its meaning. The verb lacham, “to fight,” is used 28 times in the OT, followed, as here, by the preposition ‘im, “with.” In these instances the context clearly indicates that the word is to be taken in the sense of “against” (see Deut. 20:4; 2 Kings 13:12; Jer. 41:12; Dan. 11:11). It seems certain, then, that the angel is here speaking of further conflict between himself and the “prince of Persia.” That this struggle did continue long after the time of Daniel’s vision is shown by Ezra 4:4–24. “The forces of the enemy were held in check all the days of Cyrus, and all the days of his son Cambyses, who reigned about seven and a half years” (PK 572).

Prince of Grecia. The Hebrew word here for “prince,” śar, is the same as that employed previously (see on v. 13). The angel had told Daniel that he was returning to continue the struggle with the powers of darkness that contended for control of the mind of the king of Persia. Then he looked further toward the future and indicated that when he finally would withdraw from the struggle, a revolution would ensue in world affairs. As long as God’s angel held at bay the evil forces seeking to dominate the Persian government, that empire stood. But when divine influence was withdrawn and the control of the leaders of the nation was left entirely to the powers of darkness, ruin for their empire quickly followed. Led by Alexander, the armies of Greece swept over the world and quickly extinguished the Persian Empire.

The truth stated by the angel in this verse throws light on the revelation that follows. The ensuing prophecy, a record of war upon war, assumes greater meaning when understood in the light of what the angel has here observed. While men struggle with one another for earthly power, behind the scenes, and hidden from human eyes, an even greater struggle is going on, of which the ebb and flow of earthly affairs is a reflection (see Ed 173). As God’s people are shown to be preserved throughout their troubled history—recorded prophetically by Daniel—so it is sure that in that greater struggle, the legions of light will have the victory over the powers of darkness.

21. Noted. Heb. rasham, “to inscribe,” “to write down.”

Scripture. Heb. kethab, literally, “a writing,” from the verb kathab, “to write.” The eternal plans and purposes of God are here represented as written down. Compare Ps 139:16; Acts 17:26; see on Dan. 4:17.

None that holdeth. This phrase may also be translated, “there is no one who exerts himself.” This cannot be taken to mean that all were oblivious of the struggle except the two heavenly beings mentioned here. “The controversy was one in which all heaven was interested” (PK 571). The probable meaning of the passage is that Christ and Gabriel assumed the special work of contending with the hosts of Satan who attempted to secure control of the empires of this earth.

Your prince. The fact that Michael is spoken of specifically as your (the Hebrew pronoun is plural) prince, places Him in sharp contrast with the “prince of Persia” (vs. 13, 20) and “the prince of Grecia” (v. 20). Michael was the champion on God’s side of the great controversy.

But now that we know how long the battle will take, it opens another question... Will nothing happen on the Day of Atonement, since it comes before the 21 days have ended? To answer that, we need apply the principle: “Remember the past to understand the future.”

We are fulfilling the autumn feasts. How have we done that so far? On the Day of Trumpets, we experienced a “great disappointment” as we looked for the sign of the coming of the Son of Man (the second coming) in the clouds. Does that remind you of something we remember about the fulfillment of the Day of Trumpets from past history?

According to the Spirit of Prophecy, the Millerite movement fulfilled the feast of Trumpets by giving the warning of the second coming.^[26] They were also looking for the coming of the Son of Man. When did William Miller expect Jesus to come? 1844—NO! The Millerite movement preached that the second coming would be in 1843! That was when the real “great” disappointment took place, because that was the date that had been preached for so many years, and had gotten the attention of all the churches. When that time passed, the majority of the people began to fall away, and it was a comparatively smaller number that waited for the Lord on October 22, 1844. The latter became known as the great disappointment because it was deeper and more bitter, as an ultimate finality to the earlier disappointment(s). That very day (the morning of the 23^rd), Hiram Edson saw in vision that the investigative judgment had begun in heaven.

The disappointment date was 1843, whereas 1844 was the beginning of the judgment. Yes, 1844 was a disappointment too, but since we are learning from the past to understand the future, we must recognize that the disappointment of 1844 will not be repeated in our time! The second “Miller” will not be disappointed like the first Miller was. Instead, we expect an event corresponding to the true event that happened in 1844: something to do with the judgment. In 1844 the judgment began, so on our Day of Atonement we can expect the corresponding event: the judgment must finally end! Satan must be overruled in the heavenly court, and the case must be closed.^[27]

Now look at our present experience in fulfilling the feast days: The Day of Trumpets was our day of disappointment, corresponding to 1843. The next feast day is the Day of Atonement, which is the end of the judgment, which corresponds to the beginning of the judgment 1844. Unlike the experience of the Millerites, who were disappointed and later learned that the judgment began, we know ahead of time that nothing visible will happen on that day. Our potential disappointment for that day is completely disarmed. There will be no gamma-ray burst on that day. It will simply be an invisible heavenly event, when Satan’s objection will be answered and the whole case will be decided.^[28] That is how we learn from the past to understand the future.

Even though it is decided on the Day of Atonement, we will not know the outcome of the case for a few more days until Gabriel, the angel of the Lord, returns in the form of the prophesied “earthquake” on the Sunday after the 21 days of the three complete weeks. Then we will see Babylon crumble, but will we know then that God has won the victory? If we do not see anything on that day, then we know for sure that the worst possible scenario at the end of Angelica’s dream has to take place. But even if we see Babylon crumble, we cannot be sure of the outcome (because the nations can self-destruct by their own power) until we see the special resurrection, the glorification, and the sign of the Son of Man ...only then will we know that we won the war.^[29]

So a lot has been going on in heaven.^[30] Jesus said “It is done.” Satan objected, saying “No! Those are sinners—they are mine!” Jesus had to decide to withhold the sign of the Son of Man from us on the day of Trumpets, because the case could not be closed yet. We still had sin clinging to us. Will we be clean by the Day of Atonement so God can win the war? Then Jesus can travel to the Earth to reveal the sign of victory on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Divine utter destruction will come to the world in six days, just like it was created in six days...and Jesus will come just in time to rescue His people.

These are solemn days, and as the Day of Atonement hastens toward us, we must continue to search our souls in preparation for that fateful day:

And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. (Leviticus 16:29-31)

We have to be completely clean. Michael (Jesus) is bound up because he has to make an impartial judgment. He cannot help us, and the Holy Spirit is desperate with our condition. There was not one in the forum who was clean.

You Asked for It

Now let’s come back to the e-mails we receive from disbelievers—

Date: Wednesday, October 5, 2016 14:05
To: John Scotram
Subject: The Last Countdown: Final Article Needed!^[31]

This is an enquiry email via www​.lastcountdown​.org/ from:

Xxx Xxxxx <xxxxxxxxxx​@yahoo​.com>

...”Come September 25, if nothing happens, our message will dry out completely. It is sad that we helped Babylon by warning about cataclysms for so long. Like the Euphrates, we supplied Babylon with our message.”^[32]

It’s also sad that now future real revelations from God will be harder to accept. Either God was behind this or not... we now know the answer to that! I hope you’re willing to at least leave this page up with an admission of the error! No need to point fingers but just taking this site down, like last time, doesn’t help people who believed this message move on, and hopefully out of Babylon! Good intentions do not matter, Truth matters and clearly this theory was fantasy. Fantasy I wish was true, I wish we could all go home at the end of this month... let’s call this what it is and move on!^[33]

Compare the bold part with the description of the “two witnesses” of Revelation 11:

And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. (Revelation 11:8-9)

The author of that e-mail wants our “dead body” (our website) to stay there for all to see. He doesn’t want it to be taken down and buried! The truth is, Satan did overcome us just as it says in the previous verse:

And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. (Revelation 11:7)

And now people like the author of that message above are rejoicing like it says in the next verse:

And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. (Revelation 11:10)

That is describing the decisive point in the battle, when apparent defeat is about to be turned into victory for the two witnesses. The church appears about to fall, but it must not fall.^[34] Our hope and focus must remain on victory over sin, but the judgment ends on Yom Kippur! Time is short!

After the Day of Atonement is the Feast of Tabernacles. Not having a Jewish background, we have to study what the feast means. Those of us with Adventist backgrounds are fairly familiar with the meaning of the Day of Atonement and even the Day of Trumpets, but aside from a casual remark that we would do well to hold the feast of tabernacles,^[35] Ellen G. White did not say a whole lot about it.

Here is one summary that explains the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles in a way that relates very well to us:

God Gathers His people

The Bible speaks of the final judgment as a harvest (Hosea 6:11; Joel 3:13; Matt. 13:39; Rev. 14:15). It is a future Day of Ingathering when God gathers His people unto Himself and burns the wicked like chaff and stubble.

For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts,” so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall (Malachi 4:1-2).

When the Messiah sets up His millennial kingdom, He will gather the remnant of Israel back to her land. Isaiah described this event as the harvesting of olives. Tree branches are beaten with rods and the olive berries gathered once they fall to the ground. See Isaiah 27:12-13; 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:7-8.

The righteous among the Gentiles, too, will be gathered to the Lord. In that day, the Gentiles will pray in Jerusalem. See Zech. 14:16-17.

The Gentile nations that refuse to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the millennial kingdom will receive no rain upon their lands. This passage provided the biblical basis for the tradition of praying for land during the Feast of Tabernacles (Howard/Rosenthal 145-6).

The Lord will not only gather His people, but He will tabernacle in their midst during the coming messianic kingdom – see Ezek. 37:27-28; cf. Rev. 21:3.

The sign of God’s presence, the Shekinah glory, will be seen in Zion again (Is. 60:1, 19; Zech. 2:5). It will appear as a shining fire over the whole of Mount Zion. It will be like a tabernacle, providing protection and refuge for the nation after centuries of persecution and the time of Jacob’s sore trouble.

“then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain” (Isaiah 4:5-6).

So you see, there are two things that should fulfill at the Feast of Tabernacles. On the one hand, God will gather His people—two armies even^[36]—and tabernacle among them in the form of the sign of God’s presence, which we understand as the sign of the Son of Man seven days before the Second Coming. On the other hand, the bundles of the wicked will be burned up. Thus, the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles itself confirms our understanding that the victory will not become visible on the Day of Atonement, but at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Tying the Knot Between Daniel and the Revelation

Let’s come back to Daniel 10, where we’ll show you one more great confirmation of our completed studies. Chapters 10 through 12 of Daniel form a connected unit, as we learned from the Commentary. As such, we can view those chapters together as a literary chiasm,^[37] where the beginning of Daniel 10 stands in relationship to the end of Daniel 12.

Daniel 10 begins with the topic of a great 21-day battle, the Battle of Armageddon. On the other hand, Daniel 12 ends with the 1290 and 1335 timelines, which (prior to the Orion message) have always been quite ambiguous as to their proper alignment. Do the 1290 days begin with the 1335? Do they end with the 1335? Do they float somewhere in the middle of the 1335? Those questions have ever been on the minds of the students of end-time prophecy.

Did we solve the timelines correctly? We fixed the end of the 1335 days based on the second coming date, which we determined from the feast day calendar for this particular year, which we found through the Orion message and the HSL.^[38] Then, we fixed the beginning of the 1290 days based on the election of Pope Francis.^[39] It worked, but the Bible even specifies it more clearly...^[40]

The 21-day-long “great battle” (the Battle of Armageddon) from Daniel 10, plus the 7 days of Jesus’ travel^[41] (the sign of the Son of Man) tell us directly that there must be a 28-day “hour”^[42] after the 1290 days of the abomination of desolation! Thus, the Bible gives us the arrangement of the 1290- and 1335-day timelines in literal days.

This is not only a confirmation of our timeline arrangement,^[43] but also of the year of Jesus’ coming. That arrangement would not fit just any year, because the Last Great Day (the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles) does not always fall on the same day. Only this single year, in combination with the election date of Pope Francis, does the 21-day battle + seven days fit! In any other year, the feast days would have been earlier or later.

Once again we see biblical proof of our studies—the Voice of God from heaven and the written Word are saying the same thing. So...let’s finish this battle, fellow soldiers of the cross. And then, O Lord, come at the appointed time!

Greetings from our camp...

I am writing to share some “apocalyptic” news that happened on this day! Perhaps you have seen the article on Facebook:
Syria conflict: IS 'ousted from symbolic town of Dabiq'

This city of Dabiq is mentioned in an Islamic end-time prophecy, which has existed since their “prophet” wrote it over 1500 years ago. It is something like their equivalent of Armageddon. Of course it is also prophesied in the Bible (through the trumpets, e.g. as we have explained in many articles). Remember the Trojan Horse article, and the 200-million-man army that is waiting for the “fire ant” signal! To Islamists, the capture of this city is highly symbolic!

This also appears to be a confirmation of the seven-year “hour” of temptation (trial) of Revelation 3:10 after the second coming, when Islam will retaliate and take over the world—not just culturally, but forcefully too, persecuting to the ends of the earth the “Christians” who have rejected Christ anew...unfortunately not for salvation anymore, but as the outpouring of the wrath of God.

Blessings!

Friends, we received a lot of light today on this ceremonial sabbath day, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles!!! Please be encouraged with us, as we continue this camping experience...

While we are writing about today’s topics, we want to catch you up on what else we learned regarding the “double day” of destruction that we started to talk about in the post above. It was a day of “double destruction” which means we need two destructive things on that day, and not just one. We also have to understand why the capture of Dabiq was not a big destructive event YET, but just the signal for the fire ants, which will bring destruction later. Let’s tackle these things one at a time...

First of all, it is important to note that the Islamic prophecy of the battle of Dabiq speaks of 80 states attacking. How can that be, when the city was captured by “Turkish-backed Syrian rebels”? The answer is that Turkey is a NATO member, and thus the Turkish-backed rebels were also NATO-backed. That means that every NATO member state was backing this.

NATO, however, is comprised of only 28 member states, not 80. Nevertheless, the list of NATO members includes two powers which are “united” groups of smaller states: the United States, and the United Kingdom. If you expand the US and UK to the number of their individual states, then the prophecy is fulfilled exactly:

28 member states
-  1 take out the US as a whole
+ 50 put in the individual states of the US
-  1 take out the UK as a whole
+  4 put in the individual states of the UK (England, Scotland, Ireland, Whales)
= 80

Thus you can see that the Islamic prophecy has come to pass very precisely for the fire-ant signal.

Now for the second destructive event... Were you watching the “World War 3” developments? What did you see? The WW3 threat hinges on the Syria crisis, and that was the subject of talks among world leaders on Saturday in Lausanne, Switzerland. Everyone who was looking at the WW3 threat was watching for the outcome of the meeting to see if the two main players (Russia and the US) would go to war or come to an agreement. The news that came out seemed anti-climactic: the significance of the meeting was initially played down, and the US only responded with “more sanctions.”

However, something else is going on behind the scenes. For example, the foreign minister of Germany said that “we can no longer exclude the possibility of an armed conflict with Russia.” That is stated in a very softened way, but if you understand it correctly, it means that previously (before the meeting in Lausanne), Germany did rule out that possibility, but something changed as a result of the meeting, and now an armed conflict is “possible.” That means, the new understanding that was reached at the meeting must have been: Russia won’t back down, and the only way to stop them is by military force. Therefore, military force can no longer be ruled out.

Putin has not been eager to go to war. He has been prepared, but not eager. He has been warning the world for a long time, telling them that WW3 is looming if they continue their policies, but he has not been eager to start the war. Back in June, for example, Putin said he would attack NATO “only in a mad person’s dream.”

Now, however, we are starting to see headlines like this:
Vladimir Putin tells the US ‘If you want a war, you will get one – EVERYWHERE’

What made the change? This reminds us that God sets up kings and removes kings, and He is in their counsels to direct the affairs of men. Putin’s reluctance to start World War 3 is our parallel to the king of Persia withstanding (or resisting) God’s will. But when Michael came at the end of the 21 days, then Satan’s influence on the king of Persia (or on Putin in our case) was overcome. Now Putin has decided (or realized) that he must war against the rest of the Western world (NATO, US, Europe, etc).

So in summary, two destructive events were triggered on Sunday: the Islamic jihad (a religious world war), and WW3 (a political world war). Thus we have a double war, both religious and political, just as the pope is both a religious and political leader, and his state is both religious and political. Babylon will be rewarded double.

Now let’s turn to the issue of why the destruction did not begin yet. Those two wars have been declared, but the bombs have not started falling yet. No bombs flew on Sunday, and none on Monday...that means our idea of the world being destroyed in six days is not coming to pass. That is a good thing, because now we can continue to share the joy of the Feast of Tabernacles with you until Jesus comes. It means we are spared completely from the “hour of temptation” (trial) spoken of in Revelation 3:10. We can praise the Lord for that!

What this means is that the full brunt of the plagues will fall after the Second Coming. The six (or seven) days for the undoing of this earth’s creation are really years—the seven years of tribulation from Ezekiel 39:9, the Orion “hour” from which we are spared.

That concept has big implications. It means that Jesus’ coming will be a total surprise to the world. It will not be a secret (every eye shall see him^[46]) but it will be a surprise. The world will not know in advance that Jesus is coming (because they rejected the Orion message). That should make you wonder what the sign of the Son of Man could be...which we expected today on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles!

I want to emphasize that now, more than ever, it is very important for you to be able to study on your own. You have the same advantage that we have--the same Holy Spirit--to guide you into all truth. We are going through our camping challenges here, and you are each going through your challenges in your locations, and besides the physical challenges, we also have the same spiritual battle with hopes, expectations and disappointments, and we can receive the same comfort and light from God through study with the Holy Spirit. Do not wait on us, but use the tools you have to come through these feast days! We must stay faithful, and the light we receive from God’s word helps us to do that.

Blessings!

This post has some very exciting things in it! We were expecting the sign of the Son of Man on Monday, because it should come seven days before the Second Coming based on Ellen G. White’s famous figure of seven days for travel to/from the Orion nebula. We didn’t see anything that night, but we were at least encouraged with the study of Daniel 10 and the understanding of the double day according to the Bible.

On Monday morning, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles began (a ceremonial sabbath day), and we were remarking about the fact that we are camping in tents instead of tabernacles (booths) made with tree branches as the Jews do. The Lord leads us in everything we do, and something as simple as camping in tents is no exception. Why tents, and not booths?

The booths were a reminder to the children of Israel that they were dependent for 40 years on the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night that protected them. They were dependent on God for protection from the sun by day and cold by night in the desert conditions of the wilderness. We have also come through a 120-year wilderness experience since the rejection of the light in 1888 in the Adventist Church.

The church has now officially split, by the way. The GC published a paper to be voted at the Annual Council this year which stated that the church needs reconciliation. That is the same as admitting that the church has split, and is no longer a church. The church ship has broken.

That means a lot, because God no longer has an organized church on earth. The church’s mission was to spread the light of truth to the world. Now that the church is broken, it officially admits that it is no longer God’s church, and it is no longer His vocal organ in the world. That is one more sign that Jesus must come now, and it is no coincidence that this admission happened on the day of Yom Kippur. The organized church voted on the document and condemned itself in the judgment.

But God has been leading us through the wilderness through the pillar of fire (giving us the light of truth) and the cloud by day (shielding us from the burning sun, the lies of the sun-god). The Orion message, with the trumpet and plague clocks and everything else that it entails, has brought us through the wilderness and to the borders of the land of Canaan. Remember, the Feast of Tabernacles is about the marches around Jericho. This first day of the feast, we made our first symbolic march and blew our first “shofar” blast. But that is not all that the feast symbolizes.

Why tents instead of tabernacles? When we see our tents here, we think of the stories of the patriarchs like Abraham and Sarah who lived in tents. They had lots of livestock, and lived in tents so they could move with their flocks from time to time as needed. We are living in tents and we even brought some of our cows with us to be near our camping area. The Lord wants us all to recognize that we are like the “shepherds” waiting for his coming. We are also getting to feel a little bit of the hardships of the life of the patriarchs, although we still have many conveniences that they did not have.

Let’s read about the shepherds waiting for the coming of Jesus:

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. (Luke 2:1-3)

Keep in mind, this taxation was part of a census. They were also counting the people as they paid their taxes. It is also interesting that a particular governor of Syria is mentioned here, because we also have something going on with a particular ruler (Assad) of Syria.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:4-7)

Now comes the part about the shepherds:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Luke 2:8)

We have also been keeping watch by night...watching for the Second Coming of Jesus. This made us wonder: if we are the shepherds, who are the wise men who saw His star in the east? Of course there can be different levels of interpretations in different circumstances, but in this case if we are the shepherds, then we cannot also be the wise men at the same time. So who are the wise men?

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. (Luke 2:9)

This part reminds us of Sunday night, when we were really struggling without any actual destruction the day before, or any divine sign of a special resurrection or a small black cloud, or anything that would confirm that Jesus is coming when the first day of the feast began. We were “afraid” that Jesus would not come.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (Luke 2:10)

Indeed, when we understood who the wise men represent today, we shouted “Glory, hallelujah!”

The wise men were well educated. They were experts in astronomy. They were from the upper classes, and had expensive and valuable gifts to benefit the Lord. The wise men saw the star appear—they saw a sign in the heavens—but they did not understand what it meant in a religious context. They had no idea where the king had been born.

If we are looking for the wise men today, we would think of astronomers. They are people who study the stars. We would think of the leaders of the nations of the earth who invest in telescopes that can conduct a “census” of the stars of heaven. Has the field of astronomy made any new discoveries lately? Have the world’s most powerful telescopes conducted any censuses lately? Yes, indeed! You already know about the “Gaia” project, because it helped us get the exact distances of the stars to discover that Alnitak, and not Betelgeuse, is the star that will explode.

On October 13, the day after the Atonement, another astronomical finding was released, which hit the news with headlines such as: There Are 10 Times More Galaxies in the Universe Than Previously Thought. This time it was from Hubble.

We did not recognize the significance of this news until the first day of Tabernacles, but now we are the first ones to understand what it really means! This is about a census of the stars. It is about counting the stars. Does that remind you of anything!?

And he brought him [Abram] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. (Genesis 15:5)

God has spoken the day and hour and is delivering the everlasting covenant to us. Part of that covenant is the promise to Abraham, that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars which no man can count! The census of the stars is a big problem for astronomers, because it contradicts their models of how the universe began. They do not have the religious understanding. The kings of the earth do not know what this data means, and the astronomers are trying to figure it out. Now they speak of 2 TRILLION galaxies—GALAXIES—which each have untold BILLIONS of stars, which each potentially have planets with untold BILLIONS of inhabitants! How numerous are the hosts of heaven! And Abraham’s spiritual offspring--the product of his faithful example--is compared to the countless stars of heaven!

Do you understand what God is giving you with the everlasting covenant? You, like Abraham, are destined to be kings, having dominion over an untold number of the stars and their inhabitants! Like Abraham, you are destined to be a father to many nations of unfallen beings! That is what being a shepherd is all about. It is about caring for God’s creation, whether the lower life forms of cows and sheep, or intelligent beings who have never experienced the horror of sin.

The first galaxies that astronomers could see were misidentified as nebulae, because they appear like a cloud of light instead of a sharp pin-point of light. The telescope (or naked eye) cannot resolve the individual stars of a galaxy. In that sense, and knowing that stars support planets with life, the 10 times the number of galaxies that Hubble discovered are in fact “clouds” of “angels”—and not just any clouds, but clouds shining with 10 times the glory previously known!

That reminds us of Miller’s dream, and the treasure of the second Miller, which shone with 10 times the brilliance...

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:11-14)

See, the astronomical news on the day after the Atonement is about the glorious second coming with the clouds of angels! This is the sign for us! It did not come in the way we expected, but it came, and there is something we can learn from the way it came. The rest of the world does not understand, because they do not have the “religious” understanding of what it means. They do not understand that the universe cannot be counted by finite man, and that it displeases God for men to pretend they can know the size of the universe.

Counting the number of people in God’s kingdom has always been a delicate matter, because God did not want the leaders to trust in the numbers of their soldiers, but in God. According to the Levitical law, when a census was to be conducted, a ransom had to be given for each person to keep the plague away. You remember what happened when King David counted the people...he had to make a sacrifice to atone for his error. So when we look at the starry hosts of heaven, we should remember that we cannot count the size of the kingdom of God with our limited human minds. When we look at the size of our group, as small as it is, we can have confidence in God to help us win our battles, and not be afraid because of our small numbers.

Ellen G. White gives more food for thought regarding this scene in The Desire of Ages, Chapter 4:

In the fields where the boy David had led his flock, shepherds were still keeping watch by night. Through the silent hours they talked together of the promised Saviour, and prayed for the coming of the King to David’s throne [all just like us]. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

At these words, visions of glory fill the minds of the listening shepherds. The Deliverer has come to Israel! Power, exaltation, triumph, are associated with His coming. But the angel must prepare them to recognize their Saviour in poverty and humiliation. “This shall be a sign unto you,” he says; “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

The heavenly messenger had quieted their fears. He had told them how to find Jesus. With tender regard for their human weakness, he had given them time to become accustomed to the divine radiance. Then the joy and glory could no longer be hidden. The whole plain was lighted up with the bright shining of the hosts of God. Earth was hushed, and heaven stooped to listen to the song,—

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men.” {DA 47.3–48.1}

Oh that today the human family could recognize that song! The declaration then made, the note then struck, will swell to the close of time, and resound to the ends of the earth. When the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, with healing in His wings, that song will be re-echoed by the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, saying, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Revelation 19:6. {DA 48.2}

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (Luke 2:15-20)

Now comes another very interesting part:

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21)

Here we see a period of eight days, which corresponds to the eight days of the Feast of Tabernacles. It is also clear that circumcision has something to do with the everlasting covenant, because it was given to Abraham as a sign. But what could it mean that “Jesus” would be “circumcised” on our eighth day...October 24, 2016?

Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin of the male reproductive organ. It is the removal of tissue (matter) from the part of the body that is responsible for pro-creation. Since the constellation of Orion is a symbolic representation of Jesus, and Jesus Himself is the creative member of the Godhead, then circumcision is a fitting illustration of one very special event: the Alnitak supernova on October 24, the eighth day!

Supernovae are creative acts, because matter is “removed” from the star to recreate or replenish the planets around it with precious heavy elements. Supernovae explosions expand in the shape of a circle (as in circum-cision).

So you see how much we can learn from the first coming of Christ! At that time, He came as a humble baby, but this time He will come as the King of kings, with a realm that is even greater than the 2 trillion galaxies that could be estimated with the help of the Hubble telescope!

Now remember that each day of the Feast of Tabernacles is graced with a visit from a patriarch, and the patriarch for today was Abraham! Like how Moses and Elijah strengthened Jesus at His transfiguration, Abraham came to us (symbolically of course, in our study) to strengthen us and prepare us for the things that are coming, which we can hardly comprehend! That gives us some ideas for how the Lord might continue to teach us (and you) this week, as we study to see what we might learn from the other patriarchs.

Be blessed!

Dear friends,

We hope that you are weathering the elements well! We have been learning much about this feast week that we did not previously understand. At our (weekly) Sabbath service, we studied about its relationship with Passover and the Passion week. You know that since our work ended on the last high Sabbath on earth (September 3), we recognized that there were 50 days until the Second Coming/Rapture, and we have since been counting the Omer Sabbaths, like the Jews did after the Spring feasts, leading up to Pentecost. This was one indication that there was some significance of the Spring feasts as applied to our current time. (Remember, it is Spring time here in Paraguay!)

But that is not the only relationship! We also recognized that this tabernacles feast would involve suffering. It is not pleasant to be sweating in the heat and humidity all day long, and more than not pleasant, it can even be dangerous for some, such that the local authorities issued an alert that any elderly, or people with abnormal heart conditions (such as brother John) should stay indoors during this heat wave (as our tabernacles feast begins). For some of you, the suffering is on the opposite end of the spectrum, braving the cold in order to be faithful to God, who has called us “up the mountain” to wait for Him. And that is precisely the point: will we be faithful and not fall into sin no matter the stress or provocation that the situation generates? We, as the second Eve, must stand against temptation despite anything the devil tries to do to make us fall--or come back down to comfort?

Does that sound familiar? Who went through such an experience before? Yes! It was our dear Lord, Jesus! When He was going through the scenes of the Passion week culminating in His death on the cross. He went through great suffering, not just physically, but spiritually as well, carrying the weight of the sins of the whole earth. Our suffering, while certainly not so extreme, also comes in both physical and spiritual forms, as we recognize the importance of the second Eve living without sin by the grace of Christ, in these last days for the sake of our Lord and the Universe. The victory of the tabernacles feast week is encapsulated in the victory of the cross, which was on the High Sabbath as Jesus lay in the tomb.

This means that the day before Tabernacles began (Sunday) would correspond to the day when Jesus allowed Himself to experience death for sinners. And as crucifixion Friday began with the Last Supper with His disciples on Thursday evening, and proceeded through Gethsemane until His death shortly before the Sabbath, so for us, as we gathered at our camp site for evening worship after Sabbath under the full moon (like in Gethsemane), it was a solemn time as we considered our mission before us, recognizing that we must suffer with patience, like Jesus.

Then on Sunday, we were seeking to better understand what it meant that Babylon would be rewarded double (as we have reported that to you already). But as the evening of the first day of Tabernacles came, we realized that once again, something has been misunderstood. We felt forsaken, and brother John even cried out to that effect as we felt the burden weighing down on us, that there was no destruction on Sunday, no special resurrection at the beginning of the feast, no midnight deliverance or moon standing still, and no sign of the Son of Man (at least not that we recognized!). What went wrong? Have we just been following an elaborate fable? Did we fail and Jesus can’t return?

Then we came back to the Bible and read what Gabriel came to do for Daniel after the 21 days of resistance were expired:

Daniel 10:14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

Gabriel came to make Daniel understand, and while we expected actions of war, we were given the understanding that there was in reality a decision for war. But in the process, we realized something important, which we have been seeing more and more clearly, the closer we come to the end: When we focus on the Bible, we can understand the fulfillment, but when our expectations are based on Ellen G. White’s visions, we are often disappointed. Why is that? Do we suggest that Ellen G. White was not a true prophet? No! Of course not, but at the same time, we must face the reality that due to the rejection of the church, many of her prophecies need not be fulfilled. Some are, or will be fulfilled, but many may not be fulfilled or only in a very different (symbolic) form. We have had many expectations that are directly or indirectly based on visions of Ellen G. White, and when the prophecies fail (because they weren’t given for our time) we are left in disappointment.^[47]

The hope of seeing the sign of the Son of Man and the special resurrection at the beginning of the Tabernacles feast was one such disappointed expectation that came from our application of Ellen G. White’s vision to our time, when it was simply an example of “what could have been” if the church had been faithful. If we limit ourselves to the revelations of present truth, then we find nothing that would clearly suggest that we should expect the special resurrection seven days before the Return, as we had deduced from Ellen G. White! (And as you know, we first expected it at Trumpets, but since we ourselves were not ready, it could not even be fulfilled in that way.) It is difficult at times to recognize what is applicable to our time and what is not.

One thing we know for sure, is that the blessing of Daniel is pronounced on those who wait and come to the 1335 days. We’re almost there, but not quite, so keep waiting!

As for the special resurrection, given the lineup of patriarchs that “visit” during the tabernacles week, which one would make for a good parallel to the special resurrection? There is one good candidate, but we aren’t even sure, yet, whether the patriarchal “visits” will be especially significant every day, or if it was something unique to the day of the holy convocation (the last one on earth). If we discover something in relation to Isaac tomorrow, then it would suggest that there would be a daily significance.

Getting back to the relationship between Passover and Tabernacles, the feast of Unleavened bread was a happy feast, but at the same time, it was restricted. Eating unleavened bread is not generally considered as nice as eating bread baked with leaven. So we see that there was something that was not perfect in the experience. On the one hand, there was no leaven (representing sin), pointing to a time when sin would no longer be a factor, but on the other hand, something was missing. With our tabernacles feast being paralleled by Jesus’ own victory as demonstrated when He lay in the tomb, it suggests that the feast of Unleavened Bread must represent the week following Tabernacles, during our travel to Orion. Sin will not be present, and it is also a bitter-sweet travel, because many of our loved ones will be missing (including some we have gotten to know here in the forum, but who did not avail themselves of the grace of Christ to overcome), and we will not know whether we must give our lives.^[48]

Thus, Jesus’ Passion week corresponds to our Tabernacles week, and the week of Unleavened Bread corresponds to our travel to Orion. Incidentally, you may have noticed that the seven days ascending to the sea of glass leaves us at Alnilam for Sabbath, and this is the star system representing the Father, with whom we meet to learn about whether we will continue to live.

It is a bit surreal to write about these things that we’ve been waiting our whole lives to see, and realizing that it is but a few days until our faith will become sight!

Until then (which still seems like a long time), may God be with you all!

Brother Ray mentioned Jesus stopping at the star Alnilam... We would like to explain that a little bit more. The understanding we received on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles caused us to re-think how Jesus is traveling to earth. Originally, we thought we should see Him coming on the first day of Tabernacles, which would mean that He must arrive in our solar system on that day. Now that we are beginning to understand that His arrival will not be visible until October 23 when it happens, that means His travel to earth is different than we thought. Let’s look at it again with what we know now...

At the seventh plague, Jesus left the Most Holy Place. With all that science knows, we have to assume that the Holy City travels from star to star through wormholes, because even light itself cannot travel fast enough to go such great distances in a day. We do not know what the heavenly technology is like, but we have to use the best scientific understanding that we have to at least imagine these things.

So when Jesus left the Most Holy Place (the Orion Nebula), his first stop would be at the star Alnilam, which is the first star on His journey to Earth. Then Satan withstood us, and Jesus had to stop His travel for 21 days until Satan’s accusations could be answered. All during that time, He was at the star system of Alnilam in the Holy City, the star of the Father. That is fitting, because Father and Son are united in all their decisions, especially regarding the creation and destiny of Earth and the human race.

But after the 21 days of resistance from Satan, when our Michael prevailed and the double decisions for religious and political war were made, then Jesus could continue to travel to the Earth. That means He would have continued from Alnilam to Mintaka on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. If we follow the route from there, Jesus would come to Earth exactly on the 23rd of October!

Mon Oct 17 1st Tabernacles - travel to Mintaka
Tue Oct 18 2nd Tabernacles - travel to Rigel
Wed Oct 19 3rd Tabernacles - travel to Saiph
Thu Oct 20 4th Tabernacles - travel to Betelgeuse
Fri Oct 21 5th Tabernacles - travel to Bellatrix
Sat Oct 22 6th Tabernacles - Sabbath (rest)
Sun Oct 23 7th Tabernacles - travel to our solar system, gather saints, return to Bellatrix in same day
Mon Oct 24 8th Shemini Atzeret - travel to Betelgeuse
Tue Oct 25 - travel to Saiph
Wed Oct 26 - travel to Rigel
Thu Oct 27 - travel to Mintaka
Fri Oct 28 - travel to Alnilam
Sat Oct 29 - Sabbath (rest)
Sun Oct 30 - travel to Orion Nebula

It is interesting that the Sabbath rest on the return trip, when we are traveling with Jesus to the Orion Nebula, is at Alnilam again. Symbolically, that would be a very fitting location for the special meeting of the 144,000 with the Father to hear whether their sacrifice will indeed be required or not.

Ellen G. White saw the lead-up to the Second Coming and described it as follows (starting the quote with the second time proclamation):

...Then we heard the voice of God which shook the heavens and earth, and gave the 144,000 the day and hour of Jesus’ coming [second time proclamation]. Then the saints were free, united and full of the glory of God, for he had turned their captivity. And I saw a flaming cloud come where Jesus stood and he laid off his priestly garment and put on his kingly robe, took his place on the cloud which carried him to the east where it first appeared to the saints on earth, a small black cloud, which was the sign of the Son of Man [this is the actual visible coming on October 23--in the next sentence she goes back and reviews Jesus’ journey to earth]. While the cloud was passing from the Holiest to the east which took a number of days [Oct 18-23], the Synagogue of Satan worshiped at the saints feet. {DS March 14, 1846, par. 2}

We have seen the glory of Christ’s coming in symbolic form through the discovery of 10 times more galaxies in the universe, but the actual visible coming will be when the wormhole opens in our solar system on October 23. She says that it took “a number of days” for that to happen, and during those days the “synagogue of Satan” worshiped at the saints feet. That happened at the beginning of the Tabernacles feast, when Jesus resumed His travel to Earth. One English report said that the US was “surprised” by all of Russia’s actions, such as the annexation of Crimea, the occupation of eastern Ukraine, etc....all of the things that were mentioned in the Trumpet warnings of the trumpet cycle! In effect, he is now admitting that we were right! The German press even shows it more clearly. Angela Merkel, the most powerful woman in the world, admitted that “tomorrow” Germany could be a different country. Basically, the most powerful woman on Earth admitted that she and her associates have been mistaken and are at the point of losing the country to Russia, not to mention the rest of Europe. In other words, without knowing what the trumpet and plague clocks say, she is admitting “You were right!” For such a strong woman, this is groveling humility--worshiping at the saints’ feet, figuratively, because the saints prophesied what she is now admitting has happened!

Prophecy is truly fulfilling, but in surprising ways!

God be with you all...

Brothers and sisters,

We’ve seen that this week has many meanings. It is like the Passion week. It is the Feast of Tabernacles. It is the last 7 days waiting for Jesus to come.

Yesterday, the Spirit led us to read about Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41). You know the dream and its interpretation: there were seven fat cows, and seven lean cows after them which ate them up and stayed lean. Then again, seven plentiful stalks of grain, and seven poor stalks after them which ate them up but stayed poor. The dream was doubled: the seven fat cows and fat stalks together represented seven years of plenty. The seven lean cows and poor stalks represented seven years of famine that would come after the seven years of plenty.

That relates very much to our time, because we have experienced the plentiful and abundant seven years of the Orion Message from 2010 to 2016. We have stored up our spiritual food in our websites and books. The people have also had years of physical plenty—no war, no Sunday Law, no tribulation—and therefore they did not want the message. They were too carnally “full” to eat the spiritual food that God provided for them.

Now the seven years of plenty are coming to an end—as of October 24—and the seven years of famine for the Word of God will begin. The literal and physical tribulation will begin, and people will hunger for the truth.

The cows eat the cows, which is not normal behavior for cows. Cows are clean animals that are suitable for sacrifices. That means we are talking about Christians. But these cows are carnivores, so they must represent non-vegetarians—non Adventists—because they do not have the health message.

The grain, on the other hand, eats grain. It represents us, the remnant of Adventism who keep the health message and do not eat flesh foods. That is why the dream was doubled. It represents two groups of people.

Today, the third day of the Feast of Tabernacles, is the day to learn a lesson from Jacob. Jacob also experienced a period of seven years, followed by another period of seven years. He worked for Rachel, but Laban gave him Leah. Then he worked another seven years for Rachel.

Friends, the Lord teaches us the depths of His love, and invites us to partake of His love. In the previous post we shared the new itinerary of the Holy City, and Jesus is on His way to get us on October 23. We have the day of Jesus’ coming. Brother John spoke the day of His coming in his message to you about the everlasting covenant. But what about the “hour?” God spoke the day AND hour.

On the judgment clock, one hour is seven years, because 7 years * 24 “hours” = 168 years, the whole time of the judgment clock. We already recognized that the coming seven years are the hour of temptation from which Philadelphia is kept, in Revelation 3:10. It is the hour of trial and tribulation that is coming.

Now we have the “hour” on the table. We have worked like Jacob for 7 years already, and we got our “Leah”. Leah was more spiritual, but she was not as beautiful as Rachel. Look at us. Look at the followers of this movement. We are small. We are not blessed with the beautiful multitudes that befit the glory of our Husband, Jesus/Alnitak. We always had hopes that this message would lighten the world and BE WELCOMED by many. We have labored for seven years for the woman/church of our dreams, but we only got ugly “Leah” instead of the beautiful Rachel whom we love.

Jesus is ready to come. He is on His way with the Holy City. We know that He will be here on October 23 with His reward in hand. How do you feel about that? Are you happy with Leah? Or should we learn a lesson from Jacob:

And it came to pass, that in the morning [when Jesus is ready to come], behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? (Genesis 29:25)

Jacob was not satisfied, because he had LOVE for Rachel. How is the love in your heart? Are you ready to check-out of this world and let the rest of the people perish without hope in the hour of their tribulation? The stars in your crown represent the souls you have brought to Christ, and everyone in heaven will have at least one star. Are you happy with the number of stars in your crown (if you even have any)?

The choice is yours. Jesus will be here soon...we know the day. But what about the hour? Do you want to watch “one more hour” of 7 years with Jesus, to get the really beautiful bride?

Our portions of the Holy Spirit will run out on October 23. Would you be happy with the blessing of the 1335 days in the form of additional portions of the Holy Spirit for another 7 years? He is Christ’s representative, and would bless us like the apostles with speaking in tongues, travel, etc. so that we can reach the people. It will be a whole different world. Instead of a desert, it will be green pastures.

The two witnesses (Jesus and us) also have a 7-year ministry, divided into two parts of 3 ½ years. Our first three and a half years ended in 2013 when Pope Francis was elected. Then another 3 ½ years, and we “stand up.” It says that they (the two witnesses, us and Jesus) can hit the world with the plagues “as often as we want.” We have the choice! Together with Jesus, we can decide if we want to hit the world with another round of plagues—one plague per year—to save the great multitude.

We want to hear a decision from each one of you! You have overcome and have received eternal life, but remember: the everlasting covenant was spoken with pauses, and was awfully solemn. Now we are hearing not only of the day, but also of the hour, and it is a solemn moment of decision for you!

Let it be clear...this is each of your decision to make. (We in Paraguay have already made our decision.) If you so decide, it will be your request to Jesus for you to remain on the earth and for only His Representative (the Holy Spirit) to come now in His stead to help through the coming time. The two witnesses have power “to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will” of their own initiative...so your request to Jesus must be your initiative. We (here in Paraguay) are asking you (in the forum) what you will ask God.

Dear friends,

Today is the 4th day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and we should learn a lesson from Moses. You have God’s will in front of you, but you did not all understand it correctly. God has spoken through His clock, saying that Jesus should come on October 23, 2016. That is God’s expressed will: to send His Son and destroy the wicked now. Let’s compare it with the time of Moses, when God expressed His will as follows:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. (Exodus 32:7-10)

God’s will was to destroy the transgressors and bless Moses and Aaron instead. How did Moses respond? Did he say, “Ok, Lord, Thy will be done”? No! It says:

And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. (Exodus 32:11-13)

Moses was bold, and took it upon himself to ask God to change His mind. Moses interceded for the people, as you should know.

Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. (Exodus 32:32)

God gave us the time of Jesus’ coming and the destruction of the wicked: October 23, 2016. But we are in a position similar to Moses now, and it is up to us what WE will say to God.

Does an earthly father just dictate to his family? Or can an earthly father be entreated? Of course a father can be entreated by his sons! How much more should we be able to entreat our righteous Father in heaven!

If you would like God to extend His mercy once again, and if you would like Him to allow us to work another 7 more years on earth to bring the message of salvation to the great multitude with the help of a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit as in the time of the apostles, then TODAY you need to offer your prayer in your groups, because today is the day of Moses! If it is your will, then pray today for God not to send His Son Jesus/Alnitak yet, but to send His Representative (the Holy Spirit as described in Revelation 18) to be with us instead, to help us work in these coming 7 years to bring in the great multitude.

Amen!

Some time ago, Brother Luis had a dream about a chalice with seven marks, which we understood as the seven trumpets or plagues filling up the cup of God’s wrath. Now more than ever, we can see how the plagues have “filled up” the cup, but the full cup is now ready to be poured out in the coming seven years.

It will not be the same everywhere. Some areas will be more affected by atomic war. Other areas by ISIS and Islam. Others by both or neither. Some will have financial problems and famine. All of the terrible prophecies of the Bible that describe the wrath of God are liable to reach their strongest fulfillment in these years.

It will not be easy for us either. Yes, the Lord is with us and will guide and protect us, but we will still have to suffer in the world during this time.

Yesterday, we petitioned God to send the Holy Spirit instead of Jesus. What we want is the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29:

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. (Joel 2:28-29)

We have already finished the harvest of the 144,000, but what we still need is an abundant harvest of the great multitude. For an abundant harvest, the next seven years must be different. The people must have open hearts and ready minds to hear and accept the truth—not so much by argument (as it has been so far) but by deep conviction.

That means the people need the Holy Spirit. “All flesh” needs the Spirit, as it is promised in the verse. Let us keep that in mind as we move forward. Our ministry has already been blessed with the Spirit. We have heard the voice of God for the past seven years and have received it through the Spirit. Now it is time for the others to receive it, and therefore they need the Holy Spirit now.

We should not expect to get instant miracle-working power at the end of the 1335 days. The real miracle will be that the people start to have open hearts, unlike the past seven years. That will truly be a miracle, and the miracle that we need! But the promise to us is that the Lord will be with us and work through us, despite our limitations, so that we can bring in the bountiful harvest.

Today, the Lord has a lesson for us from Aaron. It is found in the book of Numbers, chapter 12.

Numbers 12
1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed.
10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned.
12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.
13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.
16 And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

“All flesh” who will receive the Spirit are promised to receive it in the form of prophecy, dreams, and visions. That is precisely the manner of working that God referred to when He spoke to Aaron:

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. (Numbers 12:6)

However, with Moses it was not so.

With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (Numbers 12:8)

Moses—because of his faithfulness (v.7)—had higher authority. He was privileged to receive the Word of God directly by hearing His voice and seeing His similitude. That is symbolic of our hearing the voice of God from Orion, and seeing His similitude in the seven stars thereof. When we look at and study Orion, we see Jesus and hear the voice of God, and that means we have the Word of God on higher authority than prophets with dreams and visions.

Yesterday we even entreated God the Father—like Moses did face to face. Other prophets, dreamers and seers do not have that closeness.

But today we are learning from Aaron, not Moses. Aaron and Miriam were insisting that God had also spoken by them. It was a challenge to the authority of Moses.

In the coming seven years, we will have a ready audience in all those who already believe in the seven-year tribulation. They will be happy to listen, because they already believe there will be seven years of tribulation. Our work is not to tell them that Jesus will come after the seven years, but to strengthen them to be faithful to God all the way till death. We will be working for the great multitude—the martyrs—who need to be faithful unto death. They need to be strengthened in the way of the Lord. We have to encourage them to keep standing against LGBT tolerance and all the other things that are against God. We must prepare them to stand fast to the point of death.

As we do that, other prophets and dreamers will come like Miriam and Aaron to say to us that they also have the word of the Lord. But we who have heard from God face to face in Orion have the authority, and if they speak contrary to the Word of God as expressed in the Bible or the two heavenly books (the Book of Seven Seals and the Book of Seven Thunders, Orion and HSL, respectively) then they have to be punished by God.

Miriam is the example for prophets, dreamers, and those who see visions. She got leprosy and was put out of the camp for seven days. Prophets who challenge the authority given to us must also have their flesh touched, which is described in the sores of the first plague. They must also be put out of the camp, not just for seven days, but for the next seven years. After that, they will stand before God for their final judgment.

If you have been led by dreams, take heed. Dreams are not equal in authority to the voice of God.

Aaron, on the other hand, represents those who preach based upon Bible study, not dreams and visions. Aaron did not have the face-to-face contact that Moses had. He had God’s word second-hand, but Moses spoke with God face to face. Ministers who do not have the two heavenly books (Orion and HSL) have not seen God face to face in the stars and heard His voice through the oscillations of the sun and moon. They do not have equal authority to the ministers of the Fourth Angel’s message.

You have all seen and heard with us. When an anti-Trinitarian comes, you can say with authority that his teaching is wrong because you have seen the three stars of Orion’s belt and you know what they signify. When a lunar Sabbath teacher comes along, you can say with authority that they are teaching lies because you have seen the seventh-day Sabbath unlock the ceremonial Sabbaths to produce the HSL. If someone says that Jesus should have come or is going to come at any other time than we have believed, you can say with authority that they are teaching error, because you have seen the “Rosetta stone” triplet of 1888-1890 repeated at the end of the HSL. We know in whom we have believed: the One who architected the heavens.

The false prophets will be punished during the seven years of tribulation, and it says that “the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.” In other words, we will not journey to our heavenly Canaan till after the seven years, when the time of punishment is finished. Whether those false prophets can be saved or not is not the point here. Miriam was healed and brought into the camp, but that does not mean every dreamer who tries to usurp authority over the Fourth Angel’s message will be ultimately saved. Surely many or most will not.

Friends,

Thank you for your answers to this important and urgent theme. Reading some of your responses, however, we see a need to make something very clear. Do you realize what you are praying for, when you ask the Lord to hold back on sending His judgments and wrath, yet also delay His coming? You are asking for an exact repeat of the previous seven years! If there are no judgments in the earth to make people any more interested to find the truth, there will be no greater success than we have already experienced! There MUST be a great tribulation to bring the great multitude to their knees in suffering and hunger for the truth! Then, and only then, will they feel a need for the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth, when they will be led to our message with interest and understanding, amidst all the lies and deception in the world.

We must give the message in a time of tribulation, chaos, and destruction, when we won’t have to convince anyone that we are in the time of biblical plagues, because they will clearly see them as they fall more and more over the earth.

I hope that point has been made clear now! We WANT God’s judgments, and we want to hear whether you desire the Father to delay Jesus another hour that we may find the great multitude under these terrible circumstances in the earth!

Dear all,

Please understand very well that our petition for another seven years will begin an entirely new phase of ministry. In the past seven years, the Lord scattered His people, the SDA church, until it finally broke, completely. In the coming seven years, the Lord will gather His people again, BUT NOT THE SAME ONES! Those who have already refused the truth will not get a second chance.

That is partly why those of you with unbelieving families had to leave them for the Feast of Tabernacles. It was a process of separation. Your unbelieving family members have had their opportunity to learn the truth with you, and now that opportunity is past. The next seven years is for those who have not had an opportunity. Your offer to work for the Lord in the coming 7 years is NOT to labor AGAIN for friends and family members who already rejected the truth, but for the sheep of other folds that God has prepared.

The Bible story that applies here is the story of Ezra 9 & 10 and Nehemiah 13. It was the time when the children of Israel were returning from Babylon after the captivity, to re-build Jerusalem. That is like what we are doing now. We will be building up the New Jerusalem in these coming 7 years, because the saved souls are what make up the New Jerusalem. When the children of Israel got to that point, they found that many of them had taken wives of the heathen nations and had children from them. They had to cleanse the nation by sending away the foreign wives and children because they would be a continual snare.

We’ve already talked to some of you about these issues in relation to your personal circumstances. If any of the rest of you are in a situation that is still unclear, please talk to us privately. The point is that we must work for the great multitude of martyrs, and not for our selfish interests of our own flesh (spouse and kids).

--Robert

October 22, 2016: LastCountdown Official Statement

After all the proof we have given in the past seven years, we have known that Jesus would come now.

During the time of the Feast of Tabernacles this year, Jesus led us through a special “boot camp.” The whole movement was called, not to hold the Feast of Tabernacles, but to live in tents during that time. There, we recognized that Jesus wanted us to think about the biblical patriarchs like the Jews do during the feast and to see ourselves as the shepherds who received the good tidings of His coming.

On every day of the feast, we were taught by the Holy Spirit, and after a few days of very good news and a deeper understanding of our mission, we understood that we could be selfish by ushering in the pre-tribulation rapture. We would have gone to Heaven—but only those who had received the complete seal of God, including a special knowledge that defines the 144,000.

Many people who were not sealed with that knowledge, like those who just copied “October 24, 2016” to their foreheads on their Facebook profile pictures, did not really have that seal. In fact, Jesus showed us that they were sealed for death, because they were missing the part of the seal that would have enabled them to go through the great time of trouble alive. They would have also lost their eternal lives because destruction would have come over the earth without any mercy.

We recognized that that was God’s intent for them and for the world. However, we also realized that we needed to intercede for them like Moses did, asking God to spare them. He explained to us that a great sacrifice was necessary for that to happen—a sacrifice similar to what Jesus did on the cross. We had to show that we had grown to the full stature of Christ by making the sacrifice.

THEREFORE, WE HEREBY OFFICIALLY DECLARE, for all the world to read, THAT ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016, WE PETITIONED FOR JESUS—who had already stopped His intercession, who had already left the Most Holy Place, who was already on His way to Earth—TO REFRAIN FROM COMING YET, AND FOR THE FATHER TO SEND IN HIS STEAD ANOTHER GREAT OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT so the loud cry that the Seventh-day Adventist Church should have sounded could be repeated for one heavenly hour, which is seven earthly years.^[49]

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked: “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” We had our Gethsemane that week. We would have loved for the cup of mocking and pain to pass from us, but that would not have been love. “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” and because we love not only God, but also our neighbors, we were ready to offer that sacrifice. We asked Jesus to hold back His coming for another seven years, and we asked Him to let us help others and “turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

We do not write these paragraphs for the unbelievers and mockers, who will say no matter what, that we are liars and that we invented these things. In the past seven years (which we thought would be the only seven years of our ministry) we wrote about 1800 pages worth of evidence that Jesus would come now. None of it was wrong. Everything was the pure truth, as taught by the Holy Spirit.

We do this because of the pain of seeing our fellow brothers and sisters, many of whom just started to believe the message, die, hungering for bread that would no longer be available on the earth until the world ends in total destruction according to the seven years of Ezekiel 39. They would have been abandoned without any hope. So we asked the Lord to leave us with them, and to still give them the Bread of Life.

Contrary to what our enemies have always said, we will not end our ministry in defeat. We already ordered six new domain names and six powerful new servers that are ready to find what God has commanded us to find: the great multitude.

Everybody who reads this message is called once again to review with hope what God has taught us in the first seven years, so that he will be ready to die for the truth as a witness and as a martyr for God in the second set of seven years.

The door was closed for mankind. But now Philadelphia has asked Jesus—who has the key of David—to open the door for mankind once more. Now everybody has another chance in these seven years to leave Babylon—meaning to resign from every organized church to which they belong—and come to us, God’s true church.

We want to make it clear that we are open-hearted to every single human being that contacts us, but our hearts are closed by God to our Seventh-day Adventist ex-brethren who already refused the Orion message when it was presented to them. That is the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit, because it is His message. We are ready to suffer for all of our enemies—even the enemies of God—for whom the door was previously closed. We are ready to go through the great tribulation with them, through nuclear war, through the real and literal plagues, and to stand with them. We are ready to lend them a hand, help them, counsel them, comfort them—except for that group which was excluded by God Himself.

We look forward to welcoming good-hearted people who are worthy to receive the blessing that we already hold in our hands.

This message was written two days before the date when most of our followers were expecting Jesus’ coming. If Jesus comes in spite of our petition, everyone who reads this will be condemned to eternal death without any hope.

Your friends,

The farmers of the white cloud, the High Sabbath Adventists, and the 144,000 who stood with one foot in the gate of the Holy City.