Jesus rose from the grave, and in Mathew 27:52–53 we are shown:
“And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.’”
We know from reading through the Bible that many prophecies have a main thrust and perfect time to occur in fullness. But we also know that many of those prophecies will occur more than once, as what paul calls a foreshadow of things to come.
For example, the story of Noah is a foreshadow of the End Times in that God warned His people and the world. We see that redemption came to those who obeyed, and disaster to those who went their way without God.
The story of Joseph paralleled the life and mission of Jesus. The historical account of Antiochus Epiphane was a foreshadowed event of the Antichrist.
Jonah witnessed to the Ninevites for 40 days. Jesus and the dead who rose in Jerusalem witnessed for 40 days between Firstfruits and the Ascension to Heaven.
The blood of lambs that was sprinkled on the door posts in Egypt was a shadow of the blood of the Lamb who would redeem mankind. And on and on and on...the Bible is filled with these shadows of things to come.
The Law was also a shadow of things to come. The following scripture compares the Law's requirement of blood sacrifice of animals to the final blood sacrifice of God's Sacrifice Jesus.
Hebrews 10:1-4 - The law is only a shadow of the things that are coming . For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
All of the Jewish Holy days and Feasts are shadows of things to come as well. Firstfruits was the time Jesus rose from the grave. As well as the witnesses in Jerusalem rose from the grave on the Jewish Feast of Firstfruits. Directly afterwards the scripture tells us that the graves opened in Jerusalem, and the dead rose and witnessed to the Jews in that city.
Matthew 27:52-53
"and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves
What will happen again on Firstfruits? I believe we will see reports of graves opening in Jerusalem 40 days before the Rapture.
When Jesus spoke of No man Knowing The Day Or Hour...He was speaking of the Jews in Jerusalem AFTER the Tribulation. I know, most of you have been taught that passage was meant for us as Christians for the Rapture, but read again and look closely at the passage. Matthew 24:36 shows the Tribulation taking place, the Antichrist having been revealed, BEFORE He said this.
Yet we are told to watch for signs, and to watch for foreshadowed events to take place.
At this day in 2008, every prophecy of Daniel has been completely fulfilled up the point of the Rapture. Nothing more in a major way can be accomplished until AFTER the Rapture. As shown in previous pages here, the Antichrist cannot fully gain his throne until AFTER the Rapture. And the Peace plan CANNOT be confirmed fully until AFTER the Rapture.
Yet we have had the Oslo Accords, the Washington Agreement, and the Annapolis Conference. In which EVERY major nation in the world signed onto the peace between Israel and the Muslims. We have yet another conference taking place in November of 2008 that will set the date for mid summer 2009. Shortly AFTER the Firstfruits feast in April...which will bring us directly within 40 days after the first Sabbath after Firstfruits to be Raptured. Now why would Paul tell us these things if we were NOT to know when the Rapture would hit?
There are also signs in the Heavens that I will reference in the next section to show you how precise Gods Word truly is.
Create a free website at Webs.com