I want to lay my cards on the table, so to speak, concerning a “high watch” time period for me, anticipating our Lord’s return for us. Will it happen on the date(s) I am going to present here? I do not know for certain. Perhaps as we get closer the Lord might give us a few days heads-up like He did for Israel when they arrived at Mt. Sinai, or a seven days heads-up like He did for Noah.
For those of you who are not familiar with the importance of types/shadows in scripture, as I will be referencing in this post, a starting point to consider is Ecclesiastes 1:9: “That which has been is that which shall be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under heaven.” with Ecclesiastes 3:15: “That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God requires what has passed by.” with Isaiah 46:9,10: “Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure.’” In other words, God communicates what He will do in the future according to the patterns of what He accomplished in the past.
The pattern, or template, that I believe God will repeat in our near future is seen in Jesus’ life: resurrection, ascension, an immediate return of Jesus to the earth, a 40 day period, and a second ascension of Jesus. I believe Jesus is the ultimate type/shadow picture for believers today. I am thinking that the above pattern/template is likely to begin on the Feast of First Fruits, echoing the same calendar timing during Jesus’ days. Because this upcoming Passover is on the Jewish Sabbath, the Feast of First Fruits this year ends up being the very next day. It is also “coincidentally” Easter
th th Sunday,orApril16 /17 .
My main reason for why I am waiting for that weekend has to do with Jesus’ and Mary’s interaction right after His resurrection and how that was, I believe, a fulfillment of the type/shadow displayed when Adam received his bride. It also points to a New Creation “Body of Christ” and a New Creation “Bride of Christ” event in our near future. I believe there has been confusion in the “watching for Jesus” community because a distinction is not made between these two groups.
The Book of Jubilees chapter 3 gives some detail concerning when Adam and Eve met. I lean towards the account being true because it also ultimately provides an explanation as to why the flood judgment took place during Noah’s time on the 17th day of his second month years later. I will point this out.
Adam was created in the image and likeness of God and I believe was made complete. This completeness was because God brought Adam into union with the Spirit of God Himself. Adam, being made in God’s image and likeness, was not only able to interact with God in terms of his “personhood”, but was enabled to display both God’s masculine-like and feminine-like qualities as His ruling representative on earth.
As a ‘calendar related’ aside, according to my understanding of some Jewish Rabbinic teaching, once Adam was created, God rested on what became the very first Sabbath and on what also would end up being the 1st day of the first month. This day would later correspond to Israel’s 1st day of their seventh month, or their Feast of Trumpets/Shoutings. The book of Jubilees, chapter 3, echoes this timing.
In the Jubilee’s account the angels brought Adam the animals to name at the start of the next week after the creation week (see Genesis 2:19). It was during this time that Adam experienced a sincere desire for a companion as he repeatedly observed the males and females of the animals (see Genesis 2:20). Adam was put into a deep sleep, God opened his side and then formed a feminine companion for him [I believe using the DNA of the bone marrow contained within the rib (see Genesis 2:21)]. Adam and Eve met just before the second Sabbath, on the 7th day of that first month,
th
or just before the Sabbath on the 8
.
The picture to keep in mind is this : Adam went into a “death” and from his side his bride was “birthed” out of him. I believe Jesus went to the cross, in part, for the same thing, including His side being opened after He entered into death, with both blood and water coming out, symbolizing the “birthing”.
For those who think it is a stretch to see Jesus giving “birth” to His bride like Adam did, consider this: When, in John 19:30, Jesus said, “It is finished”, the Hebrew word for that is kalah, a homonym that can not only mean “fulfilled [completed],” but can also mean “bride”. It was also His bride that He was thinking of when He died. I do not think we are required to understand kalah as having, in that context, only one or the other definition, but actually both. Compare Hb 3615, 3617, 3618 and 3634 in the Strongs. This insight I gleaned from the Passion Translation of the Bible published by Broadstreet Publishing, copyright 2018, page 300, footnote c.
Also, an observation I believe the Holy Spirit revealed to me is that the Adam before the “deep-sleep (death-like) surgery” was not the same Adam after he “arose” from the “surgery”. Before the “surgery”, Adam (1.0) was complete, but after the “surgery”, completeness was realized when Adam (2.0) and Eve came together, being then considered “one flesh”.
In other words, Adam (2.0) and Eve were both, in a sense, “birthed” out of Adam (1.0). Adam (1.0) no longer “existed”. In other words, he “died”. Think here of what Jesus said in John 12:24, “. . . unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Adam (1.0) would then be “manifested” in the union (one flesh) of the now masculine Adam (2.0) and feminine Eve. I point this out because, again, I believe Jesus accomplished something similar, resulting in a group of people one day becoming/being the masculine New Creation “Body of Christ” and another group of people one day becoming/being the feminine New Creation “Bride of Christ” in God’s Heavenly Places Kingdom. FYI, I believe each group will consist of both men and women.
The masculine/feminine distinction between the “Body of Christ” and the “Bride of Christ” is a matter of “headship”. The masculine “Body of Christ” related/relates to Jesus as their head, the feminine “Bride of Christ” will relate to the headship of Jesus yet via the masculine “Body of Christ”. See I Corinthians 11:3.
As an important aside, the type/shadow seen in Genesis does break down in one very significant way. Jesus is God, the Great I AM. All things came into being through Him (see John 1:3). In other words, Jesus will always be “Adam 1.0” in union with “Adam 2.0” and Eve, so to speak. The human Adam 1.0 “died” or ceased to exist when “Adam 2.0” and Eve were birthed, or “split” out of him. This is not the case for Jesus. Jesus exists as the Great I AM. And yet, Jesus has, in a real sense, “split” Himself spiritually when He brought into existence the New Creation Body of Christ and, in the near future, the New Creation Bride of Christ. One day both will rule and reign together on Jesus’ behalf in God’s Heavenly Places Kingdom (Ephesians 1:3).
Some may object at this point, thinking in terms of Paul’s comparing believers to a betrothed virgin like in II Corinthians 11:2 as proving that we are all of the “Bride of Christ”. I understand the thinking, yet also believe that Paul is using a metaphor to focus on faithfulness to Jesus alone as our true Head (for the Body of Christ), and that it is not a classification-like label to define all believers. For example, earlier in I Corinthians 12:27 Paul also writes, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” How can a believer be both a betrothed virgin and also of the body of Christ? Paul is using metaphors to describe a reality in each case that transcends words, as he tries to describe our union with Jesus.
Some may also sincerely object here, thinking in terms of the betrothal language Jesus used at the Last Supper in Luke. My “counter” to that is Jesus is talking specifically to the disciples, who are of Israel/Judah, and who will be ruling and reigning with Jesus during the Millennium in God’s earth-based kingdom. In the future earthly kingdom, Jesus will be present as “Adam”. The chosen remnant out of Israel/Judah will be His “Eve” on earth. Jesus is not directly addressing we who are of the New Creation Reality ruling and reigning, in union with Jesus, in the God’s heavenly/celestial kingdom, which will have a different “manifestation” of Jesus being present in an “Adam” form, and also in an “Eve” form.
Now, going back to the type/shadow of Jesus and focusing on His 40 day return: according to Leviticus 12, the mother of a newborn baby boy was to appear before God at the tent of meeting/temple [likely with the baby, especially if he was her first born] but not until 40 total days (7+33) had lapsed. The mother of a newborn baby girl was to appear after 80 days total (14+66) [and again, likely with the baby].
Jubilees 3:8-13 summarizes the above and not only relates it to what Adam and Eve experienced, but also explains their experience as being the precedent for it:
“In the first week was Adam created, and the rib his woman: in the second week. He (God) showed her unto him: and for this reason the commandment was given to keep in their defilement, for a male seven days, and for a female twice seven days. And after Adam had completed forty days in the land where he had been created, we brought him into the Garden of Eden to till and guard it, but his woman they brought in on the eightieth day, and after this she entered into the Garden of Eden. And for this reason the commandment is written on the heavenly tablets in regard to her that gives birth: if she bears a male, she shall remain in her uncleanness seven days according to the first week of days, and thirty and three days shall she remain in the blood of her purifying, and she shall not touch any sanctified thing, nor enter into the sanctuary, until she accomplishes these days which are enjoined in the case of a male child. But in the case of a female child she shall remain in her uncleanness two weeks of days, according to the first two weeks, and sixty six days in the blood of her purification, and they will be in all eighty days. And when she had completed these eighty days we brought her into the Garden of Eden, for it is holier than all the earth besides and every tree that is planted in it is holy.” (Quoted from Cepher, published by Cepher Publishing Group, copyright 2014, page 208.)
An important point to note here is that Eve had to put in an additional 40 days beyond what was required of Adam (2.0). Keep this in mind as I will touch on this later.
As an another aside, Adam’s 40 days ended on the 17th day of what would have been Noah’s second month. Jubilees 3:18 says: “And after the completion of the seven years, which he (Adam) had completed there, seven years exactly, and in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the serpent came and approached the woman, and the serpent said to the woman, ‘Has ELOHIYM commanded you saying, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? . . .’” In other words, the date of the world-wide flood judgement during Noah’s days took place on the very anniversary of when Adam and Eve embraced the Evil One’s rebellion, which was also the anniversary of when Adam (2.0) wrapped up his 40 days after meeting Eve. This is why the Jubilees’ account of Adam and Eve resonates with me. Years prior, I had wondered why Noah’s flood would commence on what seemed to me to be such an insignificant date.
Why am I bringing all of this up about Adam and Eve? Because I believe it is why Jesus, after His crucifixion, resurrection and first ascension, and also after having presented His blood before the Throne, the true Holy of Holies in Heavenly places (see Hebrews 9:11,12) that He then came back down for 40 days. Jesus had to put in 40 days just like what Adam (2.0) did per what was delineated in Leviticus 12. After His 40 days were completed, He ascended into heavenly places a second time.
A foundational, key insight to what I am trying to lay out is this: that those who join themselves to the Lord are one spirit with Him (I Corinthians 6:17). When Jesus put in His 40 days after His first ascension, the “Body of Christ” “put in” a set of 40 days required of them by their being “in Christ”, being in union with Him. When the time comes for the “Body of Christ” to enter heavenly places, they will immediately enter the Father’s manifested presence in heavenly places because their 40 days were already accomplished by Jesus. This is a benefit of them relating to Jesus as their Head at this time. They have been given the revelation of Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
In terms of types/shadows, who in the scriptures represents Jesus bride? I believe Mary Magdelene represents, or is a picture of, Jesus’ bride in one account. In John 20, Mary discovers that Jesus’ tomb had been opened. Her interpretation is that His body was stolen. She runs and comes across Peter and John and tells them. Peter and John run to the tomb, look inside, and see no body. They then go home. Being “buzz-head” guys, they forget about Mary who is just outside the tomb weeping. Peter and John had looked inside and so Mary feels courage enough to do the same.
Does Mary see what Peter and John see? NO! And this is huge! Keep in mind that Peter and John were part of the three disciples that Jesus shared with the most. Top dudes, humanly speaking. However, what was revealed to Mary was NOT revealed to either of them.
Mary looks into the tomb and sees two angels, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. Think here of the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies, covered by the Mercy Seat with a gold angel on each side, where the Blood of the Atonement sacrifice was applied once a year, the very Mercy Seat above which Moses heard the voice of God in the Tent of Meeting (see Numbers 7:89). The Holy of Holies of the tabernacle/temple was such that if anyone but the High Priest entered in, they were dead.
Yet Mary, without comprehending the above in that moment, comes before the truest earth-based Holy of Holies, that contained the truest Ark of the Covenant, and where the blood of the true Atonement sacrifice was upon the truest Mercy Seat. Again, Peter and John looked inside the very same tomb and saw no angels on either end of the blood stained burial wraps.
Mary was in the Holy of Holies of another “realm”. I am thinking that she was in the realm or reality of the New Creation, brought about by what Jesus accomplished. Mary, having been chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world, had been co-crucified, buried and resurrected with Jesus. What happens next? She is face to face with the One she loves. It is the purity of her love for Jesus alone that “reveals” her as a type of the Bride of Christ in this section of verses. The Father sees Jesus as worthy of such love and Mary embodies this.
The Father had brought “Adam” His “Eve” in picture form.
And get this, Mary was initially clueless. I love this about the account in John because it helps me to know peace in this regard : Jesus saw her clearly and that is all that truly mattered! When Mary was before Jesus after “resurrecting” out of Jesus’/her place of burial, she did not recognize Him. But, Jesus knew her. It was only a matter of the timing as to when Jesus would make Himself known to her, revealing Himself to her. Keep in mind that as part of the New Creation Reality of being in union with Jesus, the GREAT I AM, Mary was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. She was destined for this, it was only a matter of timing as to when the Spirit of God would reveal Jesus to her as her Resurrected One. Keep this in mind: there are a number of folks who are right now destined to be part of the “Bride of Christ” yet as of this moment they do not see Jesus for who He really is. The Holy Spirit has yet to reveal this to them!!! What matters is what Jesus knows about them. I believe after the rapture/escape/ascension of the “Body of Christ- Adam group”, that the “Bride of Christ– Eve group” will then be granted a revelation of Jesus. They will come to believe in Who He is in that moment, and yet will have 40 days to wait without “Adam” before being brought into the presence of God, herself ascending possibly on the anniversary of Jesus’ second ascension.
Think of when Jesus made Himself known to clueless Paul on the road to Damascus. The revelation of Jesus resulted in belief. Grace, grace, grace. Be guarded/careful with any believer who takes pride in “believing” in Jesus as if it was a work. In the age of Grace, belief is the result of the revelation of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. We are all locked into needing mercy from God (Romans 11:32). It is not of ourselves (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Again, being of the New Creation is a Reality that transcends time [because we are in union with the ONE who is outside of the created time/space dimension(s), and so the key issue is “How does Jesus see a particular person?” (see II Corinthians 5:16,17). If a person at this time does not know Jesus, yet they are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be part of the “Bride of Christ”, then it will take place. God will accomplish all His good pleasure.
Now, when did Jesus begin His 40 days? On the Feast of First Fruits back then, and is the reason I am looking at the timing of the same Feast this year.
As an FYI, when did Jesus then ascend the second time? On the 27th/28th day of the second month. During Noah’s days, when did Noah come out of the ark and begin enjoying a new reality after the judgement took place? On the 27th day of his second month. How might Jesus have known the timing of His second ascension, after He experienced the judgement on our behalf? and to then enter into a new reality in heavenly places, the
foundation of which was the covenant He just established? Noah’s date corresponded to Israel’s (Jesus’) date though offset from one another by six months. So, on that resurrection day of the 17th/18th day of the first month, Jesus (the Body of Christ) started to put in His 40 days. He also had “Eve” with Him. Mary (the Bride of Christ) had a total of 80 days to put in from that “date”. I am stressing this because in Luke Jesus makes reference to Himself as also being the One who will fulfill the sign of Jonah to Nineveh, which I believe is still in our future (see Luke 11:30). It was a 40 day sign until judgment was to take place. Might this correspond exactly to the “Bride’s” last 40 days, and this to take place this year?
I believe Jesus will be present somewhere on earth (with some of us returning with Him?) with respect to the Jonah sign. Keep in mind that the focus of Leviticus 12 is on the mother, not the male or female child, though the child would be present as well. Jesus is the “source” (mother giving birth) of both the male child, or the Body of Christ, and the female child, or the Bride of Christ. And He ends up being present for both. He entered heavenly places after 40 days at His second ascension recorded in Acts 1, and I am thinking that He will enter heavenly places on the anniversary of His ascension date this year but doing so with the “female child”.
The last 40 days Eve had to accomplish after Adam went into the Garden of Eden were the same 40 days, calendar wise, that the flood waters prevailed upon the earth during Noah’s time (see Genesis 7:1-12). At the ending of those 40 days, the waters were at a level of 15 cubits above the mountain tops (see Genesis 7:20). I believe this detail of 15 cubits is a type/shadow of the final 15 judgment years beginning. In other words, the coming judgment years will begin after Eve is gone!
You see this number of years also in the account of King Hezekiah asking for mercy when he is told he was to die (Isaiah 38). God grants him 15 additional years. He is also told that he will go up to the house of the LORD on the third day (II Kings 20:5,6). Think in terms of Jesus’ first ascension when He went up to Heavenly Places where the ultimate temple of God is, on the third day after His crucifixion. I believe Hezekiah’s plea points to Jesus asking the Father for additional time beyond the originally planned 6000 years on the basis of the New Covenant Reality He established, using Jesus’ life as containing the reference point for the last 2000 years.
I believe we also see a type/shadow of the first 14 of the coming 15 judgment years in the account of Jacob in Genesis. When I read about and examine Jacob’s story, I observe the following sequence: Jacob left home and had an initial experience of encountering a portal, or gate, of heaven in Genesis 28:17. I believe this corresponds to, or is a type/shadow of, what John saw in Revelation 4:1. In other words, the timing of the escape/rapture/ascensions of the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. After this experience, Jacob ends up working seven years for Leah, who is quite fertile, or a type/shadow of the Gentiles (see Romans 11:25). And then He works for seven years for Rachel, a type/shadow of the chosen remnant within Israel/Judah. The present Body of Christ, though made up of many Gentiles, is not of the “fullness of the Gentiles” because of what is expressed in Galatians 3:28. The current Body of Christ is of the New Creation Reality and therefore transcends ethnicity. The Reality of the New Creation even transcends sexuality per Galatians 3:28 and is why both the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ, though masculine or feminine in terms of how they relate to Jesus as their head, will each be made up of masculine and feminine individuals.
Now, a question you may have been wondering is, “Who is considered to be part of the ‘Body of Christ’, and who is considered to be part of the ‘Bride of Christ’? I believe there is confusion in the “watching for Jesus” community because the “Body of Christ” and the “Bride of Christ” are either used interchangeably or used in a flesh-based, prideful, hierarchical sense.
With respect to the latter above, I believe here is the heart of the matter as expressed by our apostle Paul for this secret administration of Grace: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” (Galatians 6:14,15.) At this time and right up to the moment of the rapture/ascension/escape of the Body of Christ, anyone who has been given the revelation of Jesus by the Holy Spirit are of the “Body of Christ.” In a real sense, we have accepted and are relating to Jesus as our Head through the Holy Spirit. We want Jesus, not the
world. We want this because we are in union with the Godhead via the Holy Spirit, hence as New Creations, as One with God beings, our nature is Jesus Himself. There is nothing here to take pride in.
When Eve bought into the lie of the Evil One, she was ultimately seduced by her own heart being set on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life (compare I John 2:16 with Genesis 3:6). I suggest that the same is true of those destined, before the foundation of the world, to be part of the “Bride of Christ”. At this season, their hearts are caught up in the love of the world and have not truly accepted Jesus at this time. When the “Body of Christ” escapes/is raptured/ascends, it is also likely that those destined to be part of the “Bride of Christ” will observe the escape of the “Body of Christ” group (similar to Elisha observing the escape of Elijah in II Kings 2). They will then receive the revelation of Jesus by the Spirit of God, yet, it is in part, by a catalyst of the senses. In other words, they saw the escape/rapture/ascension event. Recall what Jesus said to Thomas, that the ones who believe without seeing (without the senses) are blessed, contrasted with how Thomas believed. Because the “Bride of Christ” will, at that time, have become New Creations in Christ, of the 80 days required of them, 40 were already accomplished by Jesus. Their rapture/escape/ascension will take place 40 days later (on possibly the anniversary of Jesus’ second ascension.)
In Genesis 3:16 God tells Eve that the man will rule over her as one of the consequences of what she chose. Note I Corinthians 11:3, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman . . .”. Do not think here of human relationships in terms of the point I am trying to make. Think in terms of Jesus, the Adam group or the Body of Christ, and the Eve group or the Bride of Christ. Christ is the Head of the Body of Christ, and the Body of Christ will function as the head of the Bride of Christ, embodying Jesus to her.
To summarize, I am thinking that the Body of Christ will escape/rapture/ascend to Jesus on the Feast of First Fruits this
th th
year, or April 16 /17 . Jesus will then come back down (likely with some of us) to not only fulfill the sign of Jonah toNinevah, but to be present as the Bride of Christ puts in her last 40 days before escaping/rapturing/ascending on the anniversary of when Jesus ascended His second time. The coming 15 years of judgment will then begin, possibly on when the day of Pentecost fully arrives, which is on July 31st per my 7 weeks plus 50 days calculation, or near the end of the Jewish 4th month. I believe the Feast of Shavuot/Pentecost has a theme of pointing to the moment of a Transition in terms of how God deals with/relates to humans. Both the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ will be gone by then.
For what it is worth, Douglas Henney
P.S. Thinking outside of the box in terms of what I have presented so far, if I follow the type/shadow of Adam and Eve per the book of Jubilees more “exactly”, the “Bride of Christ” might not have Jesus fulfilling the first of 40 days of her required 80 days on her behalf. Jesus will be present with her like as Adam was with Eve for 40 days, but she will have to put in a full 80 days herself, starting from Nisan 15 or April 15/16. Counting 80 days forward takes me to the 5th day of the 4th month on the Jewish Calendar, the timing of which I find interesting in two respects:
One, in Ezekiel 1:1, it was on the 5th day of the 4th month, while the prophet was in Babylon, that the heavens were opened and God manifested Himself to Ezekiel as though He came down to him (I am thinking it is more likely that the Father “warped” space/time to bring the created dimension into His Presence within the Throne Room.) Might the timing of this heavenly places gate/door/portal, per Ezekiel 1:1, be the timing of when the same will open up to receive the Bride of Christ to appear before Jesus and the Father?
And two, this year the 5th day of the 4th month also happens to be July 3rd/4th, or the day that the “end of the church age” Babylon celebrates their presumptive, god-like, independence with motives other than humility before the Holy One, the Great I AM. Might this be when the Bride of Christ is harpatzo-ed quickly out of harms way while the judgment of God is carried out on another Babylon per the prophecies of the Scriptures, especially described in Jeremiah 50, 51 and also in Revelation 17, 18?
Another reason that the Bride of Christ might have to put in the full 80 days is that they did not know Jesus by the timing of the first Passover (this year?) but instead were “touching” a dead/mortal body . . . their own, hence disqualified, and which also then required at least one week (perhaps two weeks per Leviticus 12:5) of purification/cleansing according to details in Numbers 9:6-12. The reason the Body of Christ gets to leave when they do is because at the moment of their escape they are not “touching” their dead/mortal body with their spirit. Instead, they had accepted Jesus prior, and in receiving the Spirit of God and also in being brought into union with Jesus, they underwent the circumcision of Christ (I Corinthians 5:7 with Philippians 3:3 with Colossians 3:3) where their spirit became one with Jesus in union. Though “tented/tabernacle-d” within a dead/mortal body, they were not directly connected to it in the spirit. They are “one with Jesus” beings (I Corinthians 6:17). They had/have embraced Jesus as their Head.
I am not clear when the Bride of Christ’s 80 days take place, both the start of it and the completion of it. I will enjoy discovering that Jesus truly did put in 40 days of her total 80. If “she” has to put in a full 80 days herself, then I am thinking that the start of it will be on the 15th day of the 1st month of the Jewish calendar, with it being completed during the 4th of July weekend.