http://www.rogershermansociety.org/fortnight.htm
Tishri 4 straddled September 23-24 on the Gregorian calendar last fall. At that time, the constellation Virgo appeared as it was described in Revelation 12. Many of us thought the harpazo was being signified, and I confess to being among those who were disappointed when the rapture did not happen.
If the sign was significant (as many probably believe), then a "birth" could be expected. What if the sign was the beginning, rather than the end, of the process? What if the sign appeared at the time of conception? If this conjecture is correct, then we could reasonably expect the "birth" to take place 280 days later. While the gestation of humans is fairly well-known and generally agreed, we can't say for sure how long gestation would be for the church. I'm guessing about 2,000 years real time, which equates to 40 weeks of "symbolic" time, and I hope I'm at least close. This would mean each "week" is about fifty years, or one Jubilee cycle. The number "40" is often associated with testing, probation, or trial.
The question concerning the Revelation 12 sign is simply this: If it truly was a sign, then why wasn't it visible? I personally expected a partial fulfillment of Isaiah 13:10 in that the sun would be darkened as soon as it rose on the morning of the 24th, and every news source would have its Jerusalem team broadcasting the event. I expected the sign to be visible on every TV set and smart phone on the planet. Most people probably would not have understood what they were seeing … but everyone would have seen the sign. Obviously, God's plan is better than my expectation, and the "sign" remained relatively unseen.
Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. Births are noisy and highly visible events, but conceptions are not. If this were a conception, one would expect that the only people aware of it were those who were looking for it, knew when and where to look, and had the necessary equipment. And that was EXACTLY the case.
The story behind the July 1st date is here: Key Dates in Daniel's 70th Week. Tammuz 18 aligns with a historical rapture model, and I am assuming the final seven years begins immediately, based on Tom Bigbee's conjecture that "the daily" might actually be "the blameless" and that our departure is a triggering event. As we all know, this is perfectly consistent with 2 Thessalonians 2:7.
I claim no special knowledge. This is a conjecture that accounts for the facts as I understand them. July 1st could come and go … just another day. The alignment last September might not have been a "sign" at all, and God might have something else in mind to fulfill Revelation 12. It's entirely possible that someone will present something that accounts for the facts much better than I have.
But one certainty remains stark and unchanging: One of these days, we will see Jesus Christ face to face. What Jesus said to His disciples, He also says to us: "Watch!" (Mark 13:37)
(NOTE: Send comments to stevekerp 'at' att dot net)
"You can always forget an unkind thought,
but you can never unsay an unkind word."