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Spies

(Like Us) Preface

This article provides both context

and commentary on the parallels

  found between the ancient Jewish

  feast day of Tu B’  Av and the

  promised rapture of the Church.

The story starts with one member 

  from each Hebrew tribe being

selected to spy the Promised Land.With only two returning with a

  good report, the Jewish people

sided with the naysayers. Their 

lack of faith and contempt for the

  promises of God led to a 40-year 

sentence of wandering the desert

instead of taking possession of 

God’s blessings. The feast of Tu

B’ Av celebrates the day when the

sojourn ended for the faithful

  generation. In that respect, those

looking for the promised raptureof the Church are spies (like us).

Background

The Twelve Spies were a group of Israelite chieftains, one from each of the Twelve Tribes, who

were dispatched by Moses to scout out the Land of Israel for 40 days during the time the Jews

were in the desert. The story is found in Numbers 13:1-14:9

God had promised the Israelites that they would be able to conquer the land with its incumbent

Canaanite nations, but the Israelites wanted to scout out the land for themselves. Moses

specifically instructed the spies to report back on the agriculture and lay of the land. Duringtheir tour, however, the spies saw fortified cities and in-dwelling giants, which frightened them

and led them to believe that the Israelites would not be able to conquer the land as God had

promised. Ten of the spies decided to bring back a false report, emphasizing the difficulty of the

task before them. Two of the spies — Joshua and Caleb — did not go along with the majority

and tried to convince the Israelites that they could conquer the land, but the Israelites believed

the majority's conclusions.

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The Israelites' acceptance of the false report amounted to the acceptance of lashon hara (slander)

against the Land of Israel. This was considered a grave sin by God. Corresponding to the 40

days that the spies toured the land, God decreed that the Israelites would wander in the

wilderness for 40 years. Moreover, the entire generation of men who left Egypt during the

Exodus would die in the desert, save for Joshua and Caleb who did not slander the Land.

The sin of the spies produced the annual fast day of Tisha B'Av. When the Israelites accepted

the false report, they wept over the false belief that God was setting them up for defeat. God

declared, "You cried for no reason, and so I will establish for you weeping for all generations."

The night that the people cried was the ninth of Av, which became a day of weeping and

misfortune for all time.

 July 26 (15th of Av), marks the Hebrew

celebration of Tu B’Av. Since it is the “last”

festival of the Jewish year, prophetically Tu

B’Av pictures our marriage to the Lamb of

God, the LORD Yeshua:

“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a

 great multitude, like the roar of many waters and

like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying

out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the

 Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and

 give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb

has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” — for the fine linen is the righteous

deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the

marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God” (Revelation 19:6-9).

One day soon those who belong to the LORD, and are faithful to follow His ways, will beblessed with the unspeakable joy of consummating their relationship with Him. This is heaven

itself - to be in the Presence of the LORD and to be His beloved. The analogy of a joyous Jewish

marriage, with the sheva berachot (intimating the seven years of rapture before Tribulation), is

our great and blessed hope (Titus 2:13).

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If you're someone who looks for the Lord's return, you may also enjoy this commentary on the Jewish

tradition of Tu B'Av (celebrated July 26)...

Tu B'Av has many traditions associated with it that are parallels for the rapture. One of the most

compelling deals with the Jews when wandering in the desert and commanded by Moses to

sleep in their graves as punishment for believing the negative reports of those sent to scout out

the Promised Land. The Jews who slept in their graves each year would arise from their graves

and discover that 15,000 of the older generation had died in the night. This continued to happen

each year until all of the older generation had died off over 40-years.

Tu B'Av was celebrated because they knew that at long last they were freed from the curse of

the grave (like Christians) and free to enter the Promised Land (picturing heaven) under the

leadership of Joshua. And we all know that the name of Jesus is derived from Joshua. So the

ancient Hebrew celebration of Tu B'Av also pictures a future where all the chosen people are

translated to immortality, while in the presence of the Lord, enjoying an existence without

worry or want for eternity.

The Jews also celebrated by allowing the virgins to dress in white and dance in the vineyards to

attract husbands. Someone else pointed out that the tribe of Benjamin was allowed to snatch

brides on Tu B'Av and that the word snatched in the Septuagint is harpazo! The same word as

rapture! So the celebration of Tu B'Av became closely associated with courtship, marriage and

the triumph of life over death at the Marriage of the Lamb.

Friends, there is no closer parallel to the rapture than the celebration of Tu B'Av. There is no

better picture we could use to illustrate the pre-trib rapture! It all fits. Every detail! There was atime when I thought Rosh Hashanah might be a rapture date. I was told by various writers that

Rosh Hashanah was the next holiday on the Jewish calendar for Jesus to fulfill, as He had

already fulfilled all of the Spring dates. But those writers skipped over the summer celebration

of Tu B'Av like it wasn't even on the calendar!

Tu B'Av was listed as the happiest, most important celebration by a number of Jewish sources.

It fell into obscurity after the destruction of the temple. Today, Tu B'Av is regarded as

something like Valentine's Day on several Jewish websites. But it wasn't always something so

minor. I have read everything I can get my hands on regarding Tu B'Av. I have written rabbis to

confirm various points that I had questions about. I am not an expert, nor do I consider myselfan authority. I am just a seeker after the truth and I have done my best to research this date.

Why, I had to ask myself, did so many published writers, TV evangelists and preachers miss Tu

B'Av? Was it because it was to remain a hidden day until it was time? IS THIS THE TIME?

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Another prophetic timeframe for the Church this year arrives next month on August 11 (Elul 1).

In the Jewish tradition, the month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High

Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The word “Elul” is similar to the root of the

verb “search” in Aramaic. The Talmud writes that the Hebrew word "Elul" can be expanded as

an acronym for "Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li" - "I am to my Beloved and my Beloved is to me." Elul is

seen as a time to search one's heart and draw close to God in preparation for the coming Day of

 Judgment, Rosh Hashanah, and Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Of the articles listed below,

don’t miss “After Two Days He Will Revive Us.” Author Daniel Matson’s research ties back

directly to a potential prophetic fulfillment on Elul 1 (Aug. 11).

Provided are links to the latest articles

in my Predictive Prophecy Collection:

The Guns of August Redux 

History repeats itself this summer,

with proxy skirmishes that grow into

battles of biblical proportion.

Chronology 

Where are we on God's prophetic

timing? This commentary suggests

what we should be looking for next.

After Two Days He Will Revive Us 

Daniel Matson, author of Signs of the

End, provides compelling

commentary with this recent

prophetic update.

Predictive Prophecy (entire collection)

This collection serves as a prophetic

primer for the reader, with a special

emphasis on eschatology (i.e. the

study of end times) from a

dispensational perspective.

Roy Tanner