Message 59: The 3 Days Of Darkness, The Great Soul Harvest & The First Rapture

—— Mark Chen 11-14-2014

Dearest brothers and sisters-in-Christ, the Lord wants me to explain the 3 events mentioned in the title of this post, with regards to their Biblical evidence and sequence of occurrence. I am doing this with His help and leading, through His Holy Spirit. I know many of you have been wondering about these coming events, and whether they are supported by Scripture, as well as their chronology in God’s prophetic timeline. I pray that this teaching message will help you to understand these prophesied events better, and to clarify your doubts through the Holy Spirit’s teaching (John 16:13, Revelation 19:10b). We shall study relevant material from both the Old and New Testaments. This message is lengthy, so I ask for your patience and focus, as you go along with me.

Before we begin, I must explain something important. One thing that the Lord has shown me regarding end-time Bible prophecies is this: they are typically a recurring fulfilment of previously recorded events in Israel’s biblical history. This means that many events written about in the Bible act as God’s template or pattern for the fulfilment of His prophecies in the end times. Simply put, they will be repeated in a similar manner. Is this concept Scriptural? The answer is yes! We see instances of this in the fulfilment of prophecies concerning Jesus’ first coming and ministry on earth. The Lord has also confirmed this to sister Gwendolen Rix in a message some weeks ago regarding the truth of Bible prophecies cycling and recurring.

One well-known example of these recurring types of prophetic fulfilment is the ‘saviour’ figure throughout Israel’s Old Testament history. The Book of Judges is filled with such figures, including Barak, Gideon and Samson. To be sure, they all have their flaws and shortcomings, for they were still sinful men. The most famous savior figure in Israel’s history is arguably David, the shepherd boy who became King of all Israel, for God found that he was a man after His own heart. Many of us understand now that David was foreshadowing Israel’s true Saviour, their Mashiach, the Promised Messiah- Jesus Christ. Hence, we see that the Bible contains instances of archetypes and shadows of what will come in our near future. So is it with end-time Bible prophecy.

Let’s begin now, shall we?

Old Testament Evidence

We shall look at the sequence of events in the Ten Plagues performed by Moses in the time of God’s people being enslaved by Pharaoh in Egypt. Please read Exodus 7:14 to Exodus 12:30 for the full biblical account of these events. Just as God commanded Moses to lead His people out of enslavement to national Egypt in those ancient days, God is similarly calling us to come out of bondage to spiritual Egypt in these last days. In His Word, God uses both Egypt and Babylon as biblical metaphors of the satanic world system, and all the detestable idolatrous practices and wickedness these 2 nations represented at their time of historical dominion.

We read in Revelation 18:4-8, that God is calling His children to come out of Babylon, and be separate from her before His coming judgment destroys her and her inhabitants. This prophecy refers not to ancient national Babylon, as many Christians believe, but to modern spiritual Babylon. Which nation does this refer to in our world today? Ask yourself this question, “Which country is at the forefront of promoting abortion, drug abuse, witchcraft, idolatry, homosexuality, adultery and fornication both within its lands and to other nations? Which country has literally turned evil into good and good into evil?” (Isaiah 5:20) The answer is quite obvious for many of us who are God’s watchmen on the wall. It is the United States of America. For those who disagree, please seek the Lord on this matter and ask Him to reveal to you, the truth of Scriptures pertaining to this prophecy regarding the destruction of spiritual Babylon in modern-day America.

How does spiritual Babylon today tie in with the Exodus account of the Ten Plagues in ancient Egypt? The answer is simple. At the time of the Exodus account, the kingdom of Babylon had not risen to power yet, and it would not do so for many hundreds of years more. God uses the superpower country of that time, Egypt, to highlight the same point that He is telling us today in Revelation 18:4 (NIV), ‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sin, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;’ We see that this is a repeated call of God from Hosea 11:1 and Matthew 2:13-15. See the recurring pattern of prophecy in the Holy Bible?

Now that we have seen the connection, we shall focus on the Ninth and Tenth Plagues that Moses performed in Egypt by the power of God, in order for us to focus on their relationship to the coming 3 Days of Darkness and the Rapture of the Bride of Christ. The plague of darkness (Exodus 10:21-23) foreshadows the coming 3 days of great darkness in the whole world, while the first Passover (Exodus 12:1-42) foreshadows the global Passover, which is the first Rapture (1 Thess 4:16-17, 5:9). The Lord is calling us out of bondage to the satanic world system today, and releasing us into His glorious freedom as the redeemed children of God through Jesus our Saviour. (Isaiah 61:1-3)

I read previously that many believers asked why the Lord’s prophetic message through sister Gwendolen regarding the Rapture and the Passover celebration in April 2014 did not come to pass, according to their understanding. The simple reason is because the Lord wasn't referring to the fixed date of the Jewish celebration of Passover, but to the coming global Passover in the Rapture of the Bride. This is what Jesus is referring to, my brothers and sisters, and its fulfilment is at the door, prophetically speaking.

How do we know? Well, we see in the Exodus account that the first eight plagues must take place before the ninth plague of darkness and the tenth plague of the firstborn, when the Lord passed over the blood-marked homes of the Hebrews. Those who closely watch world news for the fulfilment of Bible prophecies will be able to see that God has already caused instances of the first eight plagues to be manifested in recent years, from various rivers mysteriously turning blood-red in colour (First Plague) to the dramatic increase in fly infestations in various places (Fourth Plague) and even the appearance of painful boils in people stricken with the deadly Ebola virus (Sixth Plague). Quite recently, people have also noted the appearance of enormous swarms of locusts in certain areas, including Israel. Here is a link to a news article on this plague:

http://christiannews.net/…/millions-of-locusts-like-the-pla…

Do we know which was the Eighth Plague performed by Moses in Exodus? Yes, it is the plague of locusts! According to the recurring nature of Bible prophecy, what can we expect to happen next on God’s prophetic timeline? That is right- the Ninth Plague of Darkness! Therefore, we see that the coming 3 Days of Darkness must take place before the Rapture of the Bride (Tenth Plague/Passover). It is not after the Rapture, as some Christians believe.

Having looked at the Old Testament, we may ask whether there is Scriptural evidence for this sequence of events in the New Testament. The answer is yes, and we shall look at the Gospel accounts for guidance and understanding.

New Testament Evidence

The Lord has taught me that His beloved Bride will go through a series of end-time events that will mirror His own journey during His earthly ministry here. This means that we need to examine Jesus’s own experience as a Son of Man and the things he had to go through, in order for us to appreciate and understand what we must go through as His redeemed and sanctified Bride. We see many parallels between the Lord’s own experience and our experience as His followers.

The Lord has called many members of the Bride out of lukewarm churches, and they have been rejected by their worldly church leaders for standing out and teaching the importance of holiness and repentance as true disciples of Jesus Christ. What was the Lord’s own experience? He was rejected by the people of His hometown in Galilee, and eventually by the nation of Israel. Did not Jesus Himself say that a prophet has no honour in his own home town and among his own family? (Mark 6:1-6)

Jesus clearly says in John 15:18-20 that His followers will experience the same type of persecution from the world as He has, for no servant is greater than his master. This confirms for us that the Bride of Christ will walk the same path of rejection and persecution as the Lord did on the road to Calvary.

Obviously, this does not mean that we must all be physically subjected to the horrible act of death by crucifixion as the Jews did to our precious Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, though, many of our Christian brothers have been executed in this manner by the recent ruthless killings carried out by ISIS in the Middle East. However, we are called to carry our crosses daily (Matthew 10:38) in order to be counted worthy of the Lord, just as Jesus Himself was made to carry His heavy wooden cross out of Jerusalem to Golgotha. These examples have been given to help us understand that it is entirely biblical to say that the Bride of Christ must walk the same path as her beloved Bridegroom and Saviour did about 2000 years ago.

Now that we have established this, let us look at the Gospels to understand the sequence of Bible end-time events. If we look at the Gospel accounts, we know that Christ was in the great darkness of the tomb for 3 days. This is the sign of Jonah that the Lord spoke about in Matthew 12:40, for the prophet Jonah spent 3 days in the great darkness of the big fish that swallowed him. This parallels the coming 3 Days of Darkness for the world. It was in the tomb that Jesus was transformed with a resurrected body, and the Bride will similarly be transformed/transfigured when she is fully infused with the Holy Spirit during the coming 3 Days of Darkness.

After the Lord was resurrected from the dead and came out of the darkness of the tomb, He appeared over a period of 40 days preaching God's Word and explaining the fulfilment of Scriptures to various groups of people He appeared to, All these happened BEFORE He was taken up into heaven, not after (Acts 1:1-9). Similarly, the Bride of Christ will go out into the Harvest Field to preach the Gospel to all nations of the world, after her transformation and training during the 3 Days. This is the Great Soul Harvest that I refer to in the LORD's messages to me. Only after this period (40 prophetic days) is completed, will the Bride ascend to heaven in the first Rapture, just as Jesus Himself ascended to heaven after His 40 days of post-resurrection ministry on earth. (Acts 1:3)

Why is God allowing the Great Soul Harvest to happen before the first Rapture? It is because of His great love, mercy and grace. Our God wants all to come to repentance and none to perish. (2 Peter 3:9) Of course, God knows that the stubborn and hardened hearts of many will refuse to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, repentance and obedience, even in the coming days of terrible calamity. This Great Soul Harvest will take place during a time of great terror, chaos and destruction on earth. Those who come to salvation in Christ Jesus for the first time during the 3 Days and the Great Harvest, who will willingly receive Him as Saviour and surrender their lives fully to Him as their Lord, will be given the chance to leave in the first Rapture with the Bride of Christ.

This is supported by Holy Scriptures as seen in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22:1-14) and the Parable of the Great Feast (Luke 14:16-24). In both parables that Jesus narrated to his audience, He explained how the original guests invited to the banquet (Jews and lukewarm Christians) did not respond to the King (God) or rich man's invitation, and their seats were given to common folk from the streets (newly sanctified believers in the Great Soul Harvest) who were willing to attend the feast. The Lord is illustrating how it will be like in the coming time of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, when those who had long received the wedding invites failed to confirm their attendance, while those who were not originally invited, got to attend the feast instead. We, the Bride of Christ, will be the servants whom God will send out to issue invitations to people from all over the world during the Great Soul Harvest. The invitation is the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ! (Matthew 24:14)

Another parable that supports this understanding is the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), where the landowner (God) issues the same pay to those who were employed last (new believers) to work in his vineyard, as to those who were employed earlier (long-time believers). The vineyard represents the Kingdom of God, and the pay is salvation in Jesus Christ. For those who are not aware, our salvation in Christ is a journey, comprising the 3 stages of justification, sanctification and perfection in Christ. This is why the Lord Jesus refers to this process as travelling on the straight and narrow path, which few will find (Matthew 7:13-14). This is also why the apostle Paul refers to our salvation as a process, which we must work out 'with fear and trembling' (Philippians 2:12). Salvation is our journey of continuing faith, repentance and obedience in Jesus Christ.

When is our salvation in Christ complete? The Bible tells us that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6) When is the day of Christ Jesus? It is the blessed day when we see the long-awaited appearance of our Bridegroom and Saviour! (Titus 2:11-14) It is the day when we shall hear the trumpet call of the archangel and the Lord's command to ascend to where He is waiting for us in the clouds! (1 Thess 4:16-17, 2 Thess 2:1) This applies to both living saints and deceased saints alike (1 Thess 4:15).

Hence, we see another biblical reason why the Great Soul Harvest, like the 3 Days of Darkness, must take place before the first Rapture, and not after. This will be the final and greatest harvest of souls for the Lord before the age of God's grace and mercy closes with the Rapture of the true Church and Bride of Christ, when the worldwide presence of the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn from this earth (2 Thess 2:1-8). Then, the age of Great Tribulation begins, which will last 7 prophetic biblical years (Daniel 9:24-27). Let us make every effort to be counted worthy to escape the coming tribulation, so as to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36)

To Him who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and for evermore! Amen. (Jude 1:24-25)

In Christ,
Mark Chen