The Five Cycles

I must admit, I thought for sure I would lose some followers after last week's blog. The fact that you have stuck around signifies you are seekers like me, and are probably as certain as I am that no one holds all answers other than God alone. This week will be relatively short, but will be a "real doozy":

Daniel 12:4: "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end."

Daniel 12:9: "And he said, 'Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end."

Possibly you have heard all of the recent chatter about the Mayan Calendar and how it ends on December 21, 2012, supposedly ushering in the end of time. The Mayan people were interesting to say the least: they calculated the exact duration of a year to a thousandth of a decimal point, predicted every solar and lunar eclipse to this day, and found the exact center of the Milky Way (calling it the Sacred Tree---Or the Tree of Life). Considering the Mayans lived around 2600 BC, during a time many would have us believe cavemen were still roaming around with big clubs in their hands, the Mayans should give us pause for thought and consideration. We can all agree, I am certain, they knew a lot about the stars.

The following is something you may not know, that I find very interesting. The Mayan people divided time into five cycles, and every cycle had a well defined end:

Cycle 1: Ended when a Jaguar came and ate everyone on earth.
Cycle 2: Ended in air
Cycle 3: Ended in fire
Cycle 4: Ended in flood
Cycle 5, most interpreters of the Mayan Calendar agree, will end with earthquakes.

December 21, 2012 shares something else in common with the Mayan's prediction of the end of time....it is also a day when the Sun will hold still in the sky right smack dab in the center of our galaxy, the very point the Mayan's called the Tree of Life.

Since most secularists believe the earth has been around for billions of years, this would be no big deal....especially since the Sun passes the "Tree of Life" every 25,800 years (meaning according to their creation philosophy, this event has already happened many times). But for those who believe in a young earth, this becomes a HUGE once-in-creation deal.

Job 38:31: "Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades or loose the bands of Orion? Can you bring forth Mazzaroth in season? or can you guide Arcturus with his sons? do you know the ordinances of heaven? can you set the dominion thereof in the earth?

Mazzaroth....are you familiar with the term? The word simply means constellations.

Astrology is very different from Astronomy. Astrology plays into the "all about me" trap while Astronomy can assume an "all about God" strategy. What I am suggesting is that it is possible God placed the stars and planets in the sky in such a predictable order to speak HIS-story to us. It is a fact the Hebrews believed each constellation told a God-story: The Promised Seed = Virgo / Triumph of the Lion of Judah = Leo /Messiah Coming to Rule = Taurus / etc.

Since Satan craftily attempts to corrupt all things God intends for good, it is no surprise to see the constellations (called Zodiac) splattered over the Internet and in newspapers to "predict the future" for humankind. But God says:

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God...day unto day utters speech and night unto night reveals knowledge."

Have you heard of the software called "Starry Night" that can take our present day alignment of stars/planets and successfully go back to any point in history to see, with great accuracy, what the night sky looked like on any particular evening. Are you ready for this? A little over 2000 years ago, a wonderful phenomenon happened in the night sky when two planets perfectly lined up to create what looked like a magnificent star in the sky. Hmmmm. Can you think of any relevance to a magnificent star and a significant historical event that occurred just over 2000 years ago? (Note: while we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th as a matter of tradition, it should be noted December 25th was actually deemed to be the birthdate of Jesus under the rule of Constantine in the year 336AD when he attempted to blend the pagan celebration of Winter Solstice with a Christian celebration in hopes of unification---therefore, in my opinion, the "date" of the bright star is not as important as the time period).

To close, I want to wrap all of these facts together into one big bundle of epic thought. Supposing God did indeed put the stars and planets in an orderly fashion in order to shout out His Way and His Truth to us, it can be inferred that the Mayans somehow understood this Divine connection. I mentioned earlier that the Mayans broke time into five cycles for a specific reason. Christians also break time into five cycles:

1. Creation - Flood
2. Flood - Abrahamic Covenant
3. Abrahamic Covenant - Jesus' Crucifixion/Resurrection
4. The Times of the Gentiles/Christian Era
5. The End Times


From the Old Testament:

Leviticus 26:33 "I will scatter you (Hebrew/Jewish people) among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins."

Deuteronomy 4:27: "The LORD will scatter you (Hebrew/Jewish people) among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive..."

Ezekiel 34:13: "I will bring them (Hebrew/Jewish people) out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements of the land."

Ezekiel 36: "And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds....'Thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations....but the nations shall know that I am the Lord when I am hallowed in you before your eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land."


From the New Testament, Jesus says in Luke Chapter 21:

"Then let them (the Jews) which are in Judaea flee....and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."

Jesus spoke these words around 33AD, and in 70AD Titus the Roman completely decimated Jerusalem, burned the second temple to the ground, scattered the Jews and banned them from reentering until Israel was miraculously reborn in May of 1948....and since June 6th, 1967, following The Six Day War, the Jews have ruled Jerusalem.

Prophecy fulfilled. Jews have been re-gathered from among the nations by the Almighty!

If the times of the Gentiles has been fulfilled, then we are living in the 5th cycle called The End Times right now. Next week we will begin to consider world-changing events that are unfolding every day in the form of volcanic activity, earthquakes, flooding, famine, food shortages, economic meltdowns, inflation, rising oil prices, etc. This is an exciting time to be alive!

Psalm 121:1-2 "I look to the hills from whence cometh my help....my help comes from the Lord."