By Tsvi Sadan, Israel Today—
In April 2011, William Taply (pictured) published a video discussing the planetary alignment that would happen on September 23, 2017. Taply, a prophet in his own eyes, based his prediction on his own earlier “prophecies,” along with a computer program called Stellarium.
His conclusion is that the upcoming alignment of the moon, Jupiter, the Sun, Mercury, Mars, Venus and the position of the constellation Leo right on top of Virgo, are the literal manifestation of Revelation 12:1-2, which reads: “…a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.”
This composition of stars that, according to Taply, will hover over Jerusalem, will happen only on September 23, 2017. On that day, there will appear in the sky Virgo, who is the woman pregnant with a child clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet. The crown of twelve stars on her head is Leo with its nine stars, plus three additional aligning “stars” in Mercury, Mars and Venus. This cluster of stars, says Taply, resembles the crown, although a bit in a Celtic shape.
Virgo, the “woman,” is giving birth to Jupiter, symbolizing Jesus. Taply believes his image is a visible heavenly sign of warning that will be followed by the great final war of Armageddon, which is supposed to break out in 2017.
Taply’s prediction was further popularized by Evangelical preachers like Scott Clarke of ERF Ministries, Greg Lauer of Revelation 12 Daily, and Gary Ray of the news portal Unsealed Christian. This “prophecy” even caught the attention of media outlets like the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and CBN News.
September 23 comes just as the Jewish feast of Rosh Hashanah (new year) ends. Though this biblical holiday marks the beginning of 22 days – from Rosh Hashanah to the Feast of Tabernacles – during which God judges every single Jew for the previous year’s deeds, the Evangelical heavenly warning sign does not appear on the Jewish radar.
The few similar end-times sensational Jewish predictions give a broader picture, though few would risk providing an exact date. www.sod1820 for one states that the prophesied War of Gog and Magog already began on August 28 2017, when North Korea launched a missile toward the territorial waters of Japan. This site brings Hurricane Irma as another clear end-time sign. By dividing the Hebrew spelling of the word Irma, a known Jewish interpretation tool, the authors of this website came up with “fear God” (yere mh’). They also see the shape of a trumpet (shofar) in Irma’s path of destruction.
Rabbi Nir Ben-Artzi, another controversial but popular end-time “prophet,” continues to warn Jews through his weekly “messages” that Gog and Magog is already happening in plain sight. Though he does not give precise dates, Ben-Artzi nevertheless urges all Jews to stay put in Israel, the safest place on earth for them in times of great trouble.
Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak, another popular figure, says that everything is set for the great War of Gog and Magog. The nations are setting the stage by pushing Israel into a corner, a situation in which any little miscalculation could be the spark that will set off this great war. Israel’s perceived violation of the Temple Mount’s “status quo,” or an Israeli attack on Syrian military targets that accidentally kills Russian soldiers, things of that nature could ignite the Gog and Magog war in an instant.
But, judging by similar predictions in the past by both Christians and Jews, the year 2017 is just as likely as not to come and go in relative peace.
Actually, the September 23rd sign does show up on the “Jewish radar”. The sign will appear in the heavens on a Sabbath, but not just any Sabbath…it will be “Shabbat Shuva” and is a very special Sabbath. It is the Sabbath between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement and is called the Sabbath of “our return.” And doesn’t “return” relate to the year of Jubilee?
And the Torah reading for “Shabbat Shuva” is just one chapter…Deuteronomy 32. And this Torah reading begins, “Give ear O heavens and let Me speak, and let the earth hear the words of My mouth”!! And Revelation 12 tells us a “great sign appeared in heaven”. And the Greek word for “great” is “mega” which is translated as “loud” more times than any other word besides “great.”
And the Torah reading says He carried them on eagle wings (Deuteronomy 32:11)….and our “great sign” of Revelation 12 tells us He will carry the woman on “two wings of the great eagle.” (Revelation 12:14)
And our Torah reading for Shabbat Shuva speaks of Jubilee …”And He will redeem His land and people”. (Deuteronomy 32:43) Exactly what Jubilee is about.
This sign actually began on November 20, 2016, and you can go back and watch Jupiter enter the “womb” of Virgo during twilight in Israel. It is simply amazing.
And Jupiter exited Virgo’s “womb” this past Sabbath, September 9th! Exactly 42 weeks later….full term human gestation period. The Torah reading for this past Sabbath?….about First Fruits! (Deuteronomy 26:2)
This great sign is warning that Satan/devil/dragon is about to be cast out of heaven and down to earth. (Revelation 12:7-12) “Woe to the earth and sea.”
There can be found a number of informative teachings on this sign. However, there are very few who recognize this sign for what it is. Most are teaching it is signaling that the “rapture” is imminent. This is unfortunate. This chapter (Rev.12) makes it very clear that the purpose of this sign is to warn us the dragon is coming! He will be cast to earth and no longer has access to the throne room of God.
This is why he is no longer called Satan (adversary) or called the devil ( accuser)! He can no longer accuse us as our adversary before God’s throne. He is now only called the “dragon” throughout Revelation until he is cast into the abyss for 1,000 years!
And what does “dragon” (drakon) mean?….”to see” or “seeing one”, “able to spot prey in any hiding place.” Have you been paying attention to the news lately?….How all our conversations are being recorded? The recent “vault seven” revelations. The newest NSA “data” center in Bluffdale, Utah that can collect data at the rate of 20 terabytes – the equivalent of the Library of Congress – per minute. How about drones, sky-net, over our skies? “Woe to the earth and to the sea.” The dragon is coming! We do well to heed the warning of this sign instead of look for ways to be critical. People pay no attention until it is too late.