Look Up! Your Redemption Draws Nigh
“Apophis, Wormwood, And Time”
IN THE BEGINNING
Astronomy (not astrology) helps us understand these heavenly bodies. We can predict with accuracy when we’ll experience such phenomena as a full moon or total eclipse. We also use the sun, moon, and stars to determine days, months, and years. We’ve gotten so accustomed to reading instruments for time that we forget that time measurement is based on the movement of heavenly bodies.
When Earth makes a complete turn, we call it a day. Each of the twenty-four equal divisions of a day marks an hour.
In referring to events that will take place before His return to earth, Jesus told His disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.’ Matthew 24:34.
With technology (clocks and calendars) to keep track, we no longer need to look up to determine where we are on a timeline. We’ve become so focused on the never-ending drama on Earth that we sometimes forget to look up to see the signs above.
This year, we will experience a total solar eclipse, and next year, we are scheduled to start seeing a potentially earth-impacting asteroid. Are these signs beckoning us to pay attention?
PAST
The Star of Bethlehem (around 4 BC)
Over 2000 years ago, Yahweh used a sign to indicate His Son was about to show up on earth as a baby. A star led three wise men/magis to the place where He was born. (Matthew 2:1-2). We are told that these men paid attention and were rewarded with an audience with the King of the world.
PRESENT ERA
The asteroid Apophis (2025 AD)
As of 2025, an asteroid (a giant rock orbiting the sun) will become visible to us on Earth. Discovered in 2004, the Apophis asteroid is projected to pass within Earth’s surface on Friday, April 13, 2029. The spacecraft, OSIRIS-APEX has been commissioned to study the asteroid. Is it just me, or do the names (Apophis – darkness, and Osiris – death), Osiris-Apex (highest point of death), sound ominous?
Well-known astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson seems to agree. He told an audience:
“In the year 2029, that’s one orbit away from the 2036 date, it has a seven-year intersection orbit with Earth. On that date April 13th, which by the way is a Friday…so April 13th, 2029 this asteroid named Apophis, named for the Egyptian god of death and darkness. Seen of course, only after we calculated its trajectory to intersect Earth.
If it were not gonna hit Earth, we could have named it like “Bambi” or “Tiffany”, something non-threatening. Alright, so, we know for a certain that Apophis, on Friday the 13th April 2029 is the size of the Rose Bowl. It will get close enough to Earth that it’ll dip below Earth’s communication satellites. It will be the biggest closest thing ever to come, known to come near Earth.”
TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE (2024 AD)
This year we’ll experience a total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024. This follows a similar event from seven years ago, 2017.
Total Solar Eclipse 2024
Pic Source: National Eclipse | Eclipse Maps | August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024 – Total Solar Eclipses
There are some who think it is significant that superimposing both images creates an “X.” The intersection is projected to occur over Carbondale, Illinois. According to Wikipedia, Carbondale is located within the Southern Illinois region informally known as “Little Egypt.”
CLIMATE CLOCK (2020 AD)
The World Climate Clock is on display in major cities across the world. The clock is a timer, counting down to zero. And remember, time is measured by the movement of heavenly bodies.
As of January 17, 2024, the clock displayed: 5 years, 186 days. Using mathematical calculations, that means the clock will run out in July 2029.
Billed as “the most important number in the world,” anyone can access the current time, accurate to the second, at www.climateclock.world.
The website states that the deadline indicates the time remaining “to avoid raising global temperature above 1.5ºC – a point of no return that science tells us is likely to make the worst climate impacts inevitable.”
At the same time, Hollywood has been producing a steady stream of apocalyptic movies, such as Don’t Look Up (2021) and Greenland (2020). Those are fiction. However, what is not fiction is what is written in the prophetic books in the Bible, such as Daniel and Revelation.
IN THE END
The vision of the great star – Wormwood
The Book of John was written before 100 AD, by John, one of Jesus’ disciples, while he was held captive on the Isle of Patmos. He saw a vision of a future “star” hitting Earth: “The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The star’s name is Wormwood.” Revelation 8:10-11
If we are still expecting a massive star to hit Earth, shouldn’t we expect to see that star for an extended period before it gets here?
The Scriptures are powerful, alive, and active and are relevant to the world. They don’t stay in a “religious” box and operate only within a religious or Christian circle. The physical world is subject to what happens in the spiritual, not the reverse. God doesn’t confine Himself to work only through Believers. For example, at the end of the Babylonian captivity, God used a pagan king, Cyrus, to provide for the rebuilding of His temple in Jerusalem.
Heaven and Earth will pass away, but His words will not pass away. Matthew 24:35We can see the changing times by paying attention.
Unfortunately, since Christ ascended around 30 BC, we have had people declaring that they knew the date He would return. This has tarnished the Church’s reputation. No one knows the day or hour He will return (Matthew 25:13). However, we can know the time is near, based on the season – signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars. ( Luke 21:25–36)
God is precise in His execution. Everything happens in the right season and at the appointed time. Ecclesiastes3:1.
‘But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.’ Galatians 4:4
The day and time for each God-ordained event are fixed. No one can delay, stop, or avoid it.
‘The vision of the end is set for an appointed time…though it tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come.’ Habakkuk 2:3.
On our calendars, each of us has at least one appointment. ‘And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27
LOOK UP
We are experiencing a campaign of deception. To combat the effects, we must continue to put on the armour of God, invest meaningful time with loved ones, and develop deep, trustworthy relationships. Get a physical Bible and read it. ‘Physical’ as it is easy for the online version to be contaminated. Read it so you know how to counteract deception; you’ll know the true Messiah versus the counterfeits. Be sure to get a Bible translation that is closer to word-for-word translation, even if you still use others that rephrase.
With deep fake technology, we are going to be hard-pressed to differentiate between real and fake anything. Do you recall years ago when we were subjected to an experiment with “Yanny” and “Laurel?” If you recall, we listened to a single spoken word together, yet we heard differently – some of us heard “Yanny,” and others heard “Laurel.” Can you imagine being subjected to that type of technology and more?
Do not panic. Do not worry. I’ve never seen my children worried or anxious when I arrive home (unless they’ve done something wrong). They are happy and expectant. That’s how it should be with us as we await the second coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We haven’t been given new orders, so let’s not copy the customs and responses of this world.
And if you are not yet a child of God, He is always willing to welcome you. Read Romans 10, verse 9: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. If you feel an urge in your spirit to do what the Scripture says, do it. Then find a Bible-believing church and tell them.
Let’s continue to persevere as we fulfil our purpose, in and out of season. 2 Timothy 4:2-5 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28.