Dear Doves,

On my birthday in 2010, a number came to me. I asked God for a specific birthday gift, but I did not receive it; instead, God gave me the number 823 that day. Until last week, I could not figure out the meaning of this number. It all makes sense now after leaving it on the back burner for one whole year.

At first I was disappointed I did not get what I asked for on my birthday. But due to the unlikely coincidences that ensued following the appearance of the number 823, I was convinced that the number was sent from God. Let me explain. Sometime after I received the number 823 on my birthday that year, I moved into a new office at my workplace. The weird thing is, while my cubicle number is 8, my colleague seated at cubicle number 23 shares the same birthday as me! Once again, here we see that the number 8-23 is linked to my birthday. The chances of this happening is close to zero.

So there is a definite connection between the number 823 and my birthday Nov 21. The question is: How do they link to the rapture and its timing? For the past one year, I racked my brains trying to decode the numbers with little success. The breakthrough came last week when the LORD made the connections for me. Why I was so slow in understanding I don't know. It seems so obvious now.

Before I lay it all out, let me say although the numbers seem like personal confirmations, in truth they relate to Biblical evidences, more specifically, in the chapters and verses of the Bible.

There are 1189 chapters in the Bible, counting from Genesis 1 to Revelations 22. If you continue the count beyond the last chapter by looping back to Genesis 1 -- now considered chapter 1190 (the next chapter after the last chapter 1189), counting 823 chapters into the Book from here on will land us on Ezekiel 21 -- chapter 2012!

Thus, chapter 823 is also chapter 2012. The number 823 points directly to the year 2012.

For a while I was aware of this connection, but my refusal to consider year 2012 last year was one reason for my slowness in understanding; another reason was I did not have a clue on how Nov 21 fits in. Until last week that is.

There are 260 chapters in the New Testament, counting from Matthew 1 to Revelations 22. Following the same counting scheme above, continue the count beyond the last chapter by looping back to the beginning, Matthew 1, we will eventually reach chapter 2012 of the New Testament at 1 Timothy 2, after seven complete cycles of counting the  260 chapters of the New Testament.

1 Timothy 2, while it is chapter 2012 of the New Testament, is chapter 1121 of the entire Bible, counting from Genesis 1 to 1 Timothy 2. But the number 1121 is essentially Nov 21 -- the amalgam of its month and day numbers!

Thus, chapter 1121 is also chapter 2012. My birthday 11-21 points directly to the year 2012.

It seems clear the double witness above is God telling me to expect the rapture to happen in the year 2012. Also, there are intriguing scriptural evidences in Ezekiel 21 and 1 Timothy 2 to support this speculation.

Out of curiosity, I searched the Bible for words with a gematria value of 2012. I was surprised that ONLY ONE word was thrown up by the search: the Greek word stauroo for CRUCIFY (see link). The word first appears in Mat 20:19, after 666 verses into the New Testament -- suggesting the closeness in time between the rapture and the revealing of the antichrist. The rapture is intimated in Mat 20:19 by the phrase, "and the third day he shall rise again".

I was even more surprised to find out that the in-text value of the Greek word, stauros, for CROSS, is 1121 (see link) -- the number associated with my birthday and the year 2012!

Is the Holy Spirit hinting that only those who take up the cross and follow Christ will be taken in year 2012?

I sure hope this is the year.

It's about time, LORD.

John