Symbolic pattern showing how #99 points to the future return of the Lord

One of the easiest ways to observe patterns revealing the symbolism of God's numbers is to look at themes found in like referenced verses. To do this, examine Bible verses with the same chapter and verse looking for a common theme running throughout them. The symbolic pattern will usually not be obvious at first, but go through the examples a few times and a clear pattern will emerge.

In the example below I show the most obvious 11 example verses of a total of 37 Bible verses with a chapter of and verse equal to 9:9. In my book I explain the symbolism of the basic numbers one to ten and also how numbers have both positive and negative meaning, so be ready to see multiple ways a pattern can surface. In my experience I find in any set of verses there are three categories of how easy the themes are to see; about 1/3rd the verses contain the most compelling examples; 1/3 seem related in a bit more vague way; and the last 1/3rd take even more work to discern the related theme (I.E. contain a list of names that need to be studied to see the relationship). In the eleven examples presented here I'm showing how the symbolism of #99 relates to patterns pointing to the return of Jesus in the last days. These eleven constitute a bit less than 1/3rd of the 37 total 9:9 verses.

One last thought -- when you run into verses that don't seem to fit any theme and which can cause you to doubt the patterns exist, before giving up, remind yourself of the preponderance of other evidences you see. For example, in the case of 9:9 verses, think about how amazing it is that the eleven fit such similar types of events such as where men are coming to see the Lord upon his coming down to earth. As you experience more pattern examples, your mind will more quickly identify them. Remember also, that it is true that our minds can form patterns when none actually exist, but that is not a reason to dismiss valid pattern evidences you have identified. Ponder the overall perponderance of evidences and I believe you will not be able to dismiss as coincidence the pattern of how like chapter and verse numbers help you understand the Bible's DNA like number symbolism.

#99 and Last things; often to events related to "The Return of the Lord"

Note how the following chapter nine, verse nine, passages in one form or another point to a Return of the Lord type event. Watch for key wording such as "passing by", "coming down" and references to things associated with the Lord showing up and people going to meet him - I.E. "breastplates of iron" worn by those that are coming with the Lord.

Deu 9:9 "When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water.  (The Lord came down to the mountain)

Josh 9:9 They said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the LORD your God; for we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt, 

1Sam 9:9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, "Come, and let us go to the seer"; for {he who is called} a prophet now was formerly called a seer.) 

Amo 9:9 "For behold, I am commanding, And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations As {grain} is shaken in a sieve, But not a kernel will fall to the ground. 

Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout {in triumph,} O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

Matt 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him. 

Mrk 9:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 

Luke 9:9 Herod said, "I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see Him. 

John 9:9 Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one."

Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise: "AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON." 

Rev 9:9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

Bible scholar E.W. Bullinger (1837-1913) wriote that God's numbers are perfect

Today people ignore and even fear the study of the Bible's numbers, but scholars of the past have told us God placed meaning in every number -- much of what I write about has been commented on before...

•  E.W. Bullinger (1837-1913), a well-known and highly regarded Bible scholar to whom the Archbishop of Canterbury awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1881, wrote in his book Number in Scripture,  

We can have neither words nor works without “number.” The question which we have to answer is—Is number used with design or by chance? Surely if God uses it, it must be with infinite wisdom and with glorious perfection. And so it is. Each number has its own significance; and its meaning is found to be in moral harmony and relation to the subject matter in connection with which it stands. This harmony is always perfect. Every word of God’s Book is in its right place. It may sometimes seem to us to be deranged. The lock may be in one place, and the key may sometimes be hidden away elsewhere in some apparently inadvertent word or sentence
 

The Most Compelling of All Evidences that God Numbered the Bible... 31 Topic Transition Verses

The KJV and like Bibles have 31,102 verses and every 1000th verse is a God established section transition marker

God said with him "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE", but could he have arranged the Bible precisely into 31 sections - each exactly 1000 verses in length? The evidence for this supernatural perfection of Biblical writing is near impossible to ignore. Of course, there's no way for the average person to be able to count off and find every 1000th verse in scripture, but if you could you would find the below list of verses, each one of them being at a very definite transition point in the Bible's text. In every case, a key event or statement is found that ends one section of scripture and begins another. For example, in the 4000th Bible verse at Numbers 10:11 the Pillar of Cloud first moves to begin Israel's wandering; in the 5000th verse Moses asks to enter the promised land and is denied - ending this episode of Israel's history; and in the 9000th verse Solomon's Temple is completed and at this exact place, God enters it in a cloud completing another episode in Biblical history. All the other of the 31 transition verses have an equally compelling message to declare. I believe future published copies of the Torah and the Bible will specifically note these 1000 verse sections so everyone may study them.

BUT SUCH SUPERNATURAL CONSTRUCTION IS IMPOSSIBLE ACCORDING TO WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HOW THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE CAME TOGETHER... Yes, but...

 Mrk 10:27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

Why is this so compelling?

What makes these one thousand verse sections so compelling is that the transition verses that mark them are so clearly visible and that their exact 1000 verse locations could not be contrived.  It's very difficult for people to accept other evidences of numbering perfection I have written about because the numbering/text patterns might possibly be contrived out of my imagination. But these 1000th verse section verses could not have been contrived by me. One might disagree that they are transition points, but these are a very definate set of repeatable evidences that together as a whole tell a story that I believe says only a supernatural God could have created the KJV Bible as we know it today.

The List of all the Bible's 1000th verses

Below I’ve provided a reference for these 31 transition verses. Even if you are not so sure of the compelling nature of this perfect pattern, this list is still a valuable tool in noticing some major breakpoints in the events of scripture. (First published on the AmazingWord Blog by NJP on June 17, 2012. Updated March 28, 2014)

List of the Bible's 31 one thousand verse sections. Each 1000th transition verse marks the end of one series of events and the beginning of another….
	1000th— No longer set apart - Gen 34:19 The young man did not delay to do the thing, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter…	1,000
	2000th –The defeat of Amalek -- Ex 17:16 …the LORD will have war against Amalek from generation to generation. …	2,000
	3000th  God's Holiness-- Lev 11:2 "…These are the creatures which you may eat…"	3,000
	4000th – Wilderness Wandering begins-the cloud moves and Israel sets out–Num 10:11 …the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle.	4,000
	5000th –Consequences—Moses pleads to enter the land but is denied   Deu 3:24-25 ''Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan…"	5,000
	6000th –Sin exposed and removed--Josh 7:23 They took them from inside the tent…and they poured them out before the LORD.	6,000
	7000th—Allowed to enter the land—Judg 18:6 The priest said to them, "Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the LORD'S approval."	7,000
	8000th—Type of Jesus going out to meet the Godly--1Sam 30:21  David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow…they went out to meet David…then David approached the people and greeted them.	8,000
	9000th –Work of building the temple is complete--God appears in a cloud enters it…Model of Jesus return--1Kin 8:14 Then the king faced about and blessed all the assembly of Israel……	9,000
	10000th—The lord declares judgment on Israel and the exile begins--2Kin 17:16 They forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves molten images...and served Baal...v18 So the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them from His sight... …	10,000
	11000th  David dies, Solomon made king and charged with building the temple--1Chr 23:16 (middle of a list of names of Levites being counted)	11,000
	12000th –Judment-Judah Led Away Captive; and the Babylonian Exile--2Chr 36:6 Nebuchadnezzar …bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. …	12,000
	13000th -- (#13 is about those deceived, fooled, confused and not following God's instructions) -- (#13 spiritual battle/confusion) ...Job 6:21 "Indeed, you have now become such, You see a terror and are afraid.…	13,000
	14000th -- (Jesus the Redeemer) -- (#14 Jesus the King, Passover)... Psa 7:4 If I have rewarded evil to my friend, Or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary,…	14,000
	15000th -- (Being restored) --(#15 related to resurrection) Psa 71:23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; And my soul, which You have redeemed.…	15,000
	16000th -- (Those who have committed to follow God in their hearts -- although they may still fail -- see Romans 16) -- (#16 re the Godly) Psa 119:101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word.	16,000
	17000th -- (Associated with saving blood/cleansing flood) -- (flood/blood Lifted Up/Thrown Down) Prov 21:15 The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, But is terror to the workers of iniquity.…	17,000
	18000th –#18 related to #666 (6+6+6=18) & Sin...Announcing the Lord's return and Judgment to come--Isa 18:1-2 To a people feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation Whose land the rivers divide. …	18,000
	19000th -- (Sinners and need for Jesus to return) --  Jer 2:34 "Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things,	19,000
	20000th -- (20 refers to the Messiah to Come - Here, denial of his coming?) -- Jer 43:2 Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there';	20,000
	21000th—(21/777 regards sanctification) - Here: God is about to deal with the unsanctified-- Eze 22:23-31 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,...'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.... "I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. v31 "Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads.	21,000
	22000th—God declares the nation of Israel is to be dispersed (911)--(#22 Jesus the Lamb of God) Dan 9:11 "all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us…for we have sinned against Him. …	22,000
	23000th—(#23 God with us,  where two or three are gathered) Before the Day of the Lord people from all nations seek protection with the Jews--Zech 8:23 Ten men from all nations seek to go with the Jews for God was with them…	23,000
	24000th—(#24 the "DAY" of the LORD") - Matt 24:42 Believers taken up and a warning of the coming Day of the Lord --Matt 24:40 "…two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. …Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left….(24,000th) v42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.	24,000
	25000th—(#25 appearances of Jesus on earth - IE Christmas) The firstborn male baby Jesus presented at the temple--Luke 2:26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. …	25,000
	26000th –(#26 God?) Disciples realize for the first time Jesus has risen!--Luke 24:8 And they remembered His words, …	26,000
	27000th—The Disciples begin to preach and heal the Gospel message (witness-27=72)--Act 3:3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. …	27,000
	28000th—(#28 Jesus the King & Redeemer?) Jews warned all are guilty under sin--Rom 3:8…Their condemnation is just…. v9… both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; v10…"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; …	28,000
	29000—(#29, #9, & #99 - Serving/persevering until Jesus returns)--2Cor 11:10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped…	29,000
	30000th –Jews are called to consider Jesus?—Heb 3:3-4 For He has been counted worthy…the builder of the house has more honor than the house. (30,000th) v4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. …	30,000
	31000th –The faithful in Israel were just called out and now judgment is about to begin-- Rev 18:4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;  (31,000th) Rev 18:6 "Pay her back even as she has paid……	31,000

17 Missing NIV verses help validate the KJV Bible translation is likely the one preserved by God

The NIV Bible Contains 17 Fewer Verses than the KJV - Which is more correct?

It is said that there are 17 missing verses in the NIV Bible translation. This fact, in addition to many other differences in translation, seem to show the NIV contents has gotten out of alignment from the King James Version published back in 1611. There are seemingly good arguments on both sides of this issue claiming which version is more accurate. How do we settle this debate? I believe the numbering in the Bible is so perfectly in line with the contents of the text, that we can use this alignment to demonstrate the KJV is numerically correct in the number and organization of books, chapters and verses.

This perfection in numbering takes the decision regarding the accuracy of Bible versions out of the minds of opinionated men and lets the preciseness of numbers answer the question.  Of course, a numerically perfect Bible structure seems impossible, but it is worthwhile to remember that God told us in His Word that it is perfect and that he would preserve it.  

God preserved his word...Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. v7 You, O LORD, will keep them; You will preserve them from this generation forever.

When we realize that God not only inspired the text of the Bible, but also the numbers, we can use the perfection of the numbering to confirm if and when it has been tampered with. One of the best examples of observing this numerical perfection is seeing the exact center verses in the KJV and how the text lines up with the verse numbering God apparently assigned. Other Bible versions that do not have such numeric alignment simply don't provide such evidence for their correctness.

I should note, once I began to observe a pattern to how Bible verse numbers lined up with their text, over a period of years my research let me to discover the preciseness of the KJV. I did not set out to prove the KJV correct, but rather simply was seeking to find out about the DNA like numerical perfection of scripture and eventually discovered only the 31,102 verses, 66 books and 1189 chapters of the KJV all lined up numerically perfect with numbers and text. Take away any verse or change the organization in any way and the numbering alignment was in error. The perfect book identifies itself.

The perfection of the KJV's exact center verses...
It would appear God has left us easily visible clues as to the validity of the Bible -- even though the evidences take some thought to comprehend. Consider the below facts as possible indications of the 1611 KJV Bible's perfect numbering and structure.

Psalm 103:1-2 are the exact middle verses of the 1611 KJV Bible. These two verses are found at the 15551-15552nd cross Bible verse locations and are the 1611-1612nd verses in the Book of Psalms. 

Psa 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Psa 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;

 Consider these surprising facts about these verses:

• There are 31,102 verses in the KJV Bible as opposed to 31,085 verses in the NIV translation
• The middle verses of the KJV Bible are Psalm 103:1-2. It is very interesting that the chapter and verse reference seem to relate to the total number of verses in the KJV  (31,102 contains the same digits as 103:1-2 (Hebrew gematria)
• The middle verse number of the Bible is 15551 & 15552. The number 15551 is very interesting with likely gematria related symbolism
• The middle verses of the Bible both declare  "Bless the LORD, O my soul...". Is it coincidence that the last verse of the first half of the Bible and the first verse in the last half start and end with this same exact phrase giving praise to the LORD?
• These middle verses point precisely to the first two verses of a chapter that both begins and ends with the phrase "Bless the LORD.."  Psalm 103:1 through Psalm 103:22. Note: #22 is a number symbolic of Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
• Psalm 103:1 is the 1611th verse of the book of Psalms and the KJV bible was published in 1611. It's as if this is a direct pointer to this specific Bible version. Note: There's many evidences that both the cross Bible book and verse numbers have a DNA like perfection and relationship to the Bible's text.

It is incredibly unlikely all the above numeric coincidences just happen to line up with the exact center two verses of the Bible. To add to these evidences, there's more evidence for this perfection when you consider how the NIV Bible's numbers don't line up in the same type of perfection since it seems to be missing 17 complete verses. These missing verses change the Bible's numbering and thus change what verses are found at the center location.

The imperfection of the NIV center verse numbers... 

The exact center verse of the NIV is:

Psa 102:21 That men may tell of the name of the LORD in Zion And His praise in Jerusalem...

Not only does the text not consist of a complete statement, its related numbers don't line up in any sense of perfection like the NIV's center verses do:

• The NIV Bible's middle verse number is the 15543rd Bible verse -- not a balanced number like 15551.
• The verse does not begin on a chapter boundary. It is the 21st of 28 verses is Psalm 102
• The cross Psalm verse number is 1603 as opposed to 1611 in the KJV.

Along with missing verse text, the evidence for the KJV's accuracy is strong... 
It is true that the curious ways the middle KJV Bible verses line up might be coincidence, but when considered with the hundreds of such coincidences I document about the Bible's perfect structure, the chances of all the evidences being a product of chance are very small. In addition, the important text left out of the NIV version also adds to its seeming lack of God's preservation. As you learn more about the Bible's numbering, you will have a more and more difficult time dismissing all these evidences as coincidental.

17 Verses Missing from the NIV translation
Following are the KJV Bible verses that are missing from the NIV and other similarly based Bible translations:

Matt 23:14 ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]
Matt 17:21 ["But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."]
Matt 18:11 ["For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]
Mrk 7:16 ["If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."]
Mrk 9:44 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]
Mrk 9:46 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]
Mrk 11:26 ["But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."]
Mrk 15:28 [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with transgressors."]
Luke 17:36 ["Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left."]
Luke 23:17 [Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]
John 5:4 [...for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]
Act 8:37 [And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."]
Act 15:34 [But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.]
Act 24:7 "But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands,
Act 28:29 [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]
Rom 16:24 [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]
1Joh 5:7 For there are three that testify:

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1 Thes 4:17 Catching up - Do "The Godly" get taken up to heaven sometime significantly before other believers?

I've written in other posts and on my website that my observations of Bible numbers and patterns seem to reveal that the numbers 1-10 represent what I call a "Redemption Pattern" that is found behind every part of the contents of scripture. Once you comprehend the concept of the progressive pattern in the Bible’s numbers and text, it is relatively easy to see it for yourself. I came to perceive this pattern over a period of several years of observing numbers in the text. One place to observe the pattern's symbolism is in the first 10 books of the Bible  (each book having a relationship to the numbers 1 through 10). In overly simplistic terms the interpretation of the pattern can be found in the overview of the contents of the Bible's books of Genesis through Kings and might be seen as 10 steps in the believers time on earth – The steps we take in our being redeemed by God -- every believer needs to somehow proceed to sequentially learn the teaching of each of the pattern's steps….

#1 -- Genesis – Knowing God and how he separates by kind. God, creator of all

#2 -- Exodus -- Jesus, the appointed redeemer in Exodus is an example of Jesus who came to redeem God's people. We must know about God’s Son.

#3 -- Leviticus -- Holy Spirit, the holiness and righteousness of God and about what it takes to live with God in our midst...the law

#4 -- Numbers -- Man's wandering on earth. The "40" years of men wandering learning and suffering until they decide they need to live in God's land

#5 -- Deuteronomy -- Men are wanting to enter the promised land, but God instructs them again of their history and the expectations (rules) God has once we enter. You will be blessed if you follow them and cursed if you don't. We must learn the requirements of God.

#6 -- Joshua -- Represents our recognizing and repenting of our sinfulness and then entering the land. My guess is that this 6th step in our Christian walk represents what some refer to as our “public confession of faith” in Jesus

#7 -- Judges -- The 7th step in our walk is, by a process of repeated trial and error (failing, suffering, repenting), we hopefully one day will become "Godly" believers. We are not considered Godly by simply declaring we believe in God’s redeeming power and our sinfulness.

#8 -- Ruth -- The 8th step in our Christian walk is the day we finally realize God's way is the only way to live and we commit with our heart to faithfully seek to live God's way. Of course, we still sin and fail, but we have sincerely turned our life over to God (Dead in Christ?)

#9 -- 1/2 Samuel -- Represents how the Godly persevere in faith serving God until the return of his Son, Jesus. I suspect Saul and David represent how the Godly can still fail and maybe how some fall away. Patterns seem to reveal that the "catching up" of "the Godly" occurs at the end of this 9th step of our walk.

#10 -- 1/2 Kings -- Represents the last/end things/times. When Jesus does return to judge and to save. Like in Kings where Kingdoms go two separate ways, I suspect some believers will enter heaven prior to this step in the “Redemption Pattern” and some will not.

The Redemption Pattern seems to be teaching us a sequence to the events that result in believers going to heaven. The following verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 are commonly referred to by those that teach about the end times catching up of the believers...

1The 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

1The 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Finally, I get to the point of this blog post. The general interpretation I've been taught about when Jesus returns is that the dead will rise to meet Jesus in the clouds a fraction of a second before those believers still alive on earth. I've always thought this a curious interpretation because it seemed an unimportant point for God to make. Why would God need to tell us about this fraction of a second difference? Just today (May 31, 2012) I read this verse and realized it may be referring to a point about the end times that the Redemption Pattern has been suggesting to me for years.... (Please note, I'm not claiming I'm right about this possible interpretation. Instead, I’m just suggesting what I personally observe. The reader can ponder for themselves what they suppose the meaning is).

The 6th step -- When looking at the ten steps of the redemption pattern, it seems that we can be called Christians when we repent of our sin and go where the redeemer has led us...into the promised land (book of Joshua). We "cross over" into a new life. But, there's still steps 7, 8, 9 &10 of the pattern following this 6^th step -- what do they represent? Without going into great detail, I can share what I believe to be lots of evidence that, even though we are saved once we cross over into God's land, we are just entering the part of our Christian walk where Jesus teaches us about following and trusting in him. In the 7th step of our Christian walk, like Judges, the 7th book of the Bible, we must repeatedly try, suffer, repent and try again until we finally are prepared to "die to ourselves" and live for Jesus. We don't know how many times we will go through this cycle, but hopefully one day we emerge to see the light.

In the eighth step of the redemption patter, like in the 8th book of Ruth, we decide to go live in God's land his way. I believe this is when we might be referred to as "godly" ("brethern" or other Biblical terms). Once we have made this heartfelt decision (only the Holy Spirit/Jesus knows if this truly happens in us), we are ready to go faithfully serve God until the return of the Lord Jesus. This is the 9th step of the believers walk. Remember, some will never exit the 7th step.

As I've mentioned, the 9th step is where we faithfully serve God, trusting in him for our decisions, waiting and looking forward to the Return of Jesus to take us home. The tenth step is the final judgment and I believe at the end of the 9th step (numbers, 9, 99, 999) is when the catching up occurs.. In Matthew 24:40-41 we see a catching up of believers just before the "Day of the Lord". These verses are the 23,998th and 23,999th verses of the Bible. They are the last two verses before the 24,000th verse (The "Day" of the Lord). I've believed this for several years because the redemption pattern and other evidences force me to consider a separate sequence of events.

The tenth step -- What I observe in Biblical patterns is that God takes "the Godly" to heaven just prior to the Day of the Lord and that's different from what we are often taught. I think "the Godly" are possibly a select group of faithful believers that only the Holy Spirit can identify. Like the 8th chapter of the Bible where only a remnant of eight are saved from the flood (in the ark), it seems only "the Godly"may be taken up in the first "catching up" in the last days.  Some help for seeing the Godly differentiated can be seen in Romans chapter 16 where it seems “the Godly” are greeted with a “holy kiss”.

What I observed today, and why I'm writing this blog post, is that 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 may be confirming this alternate sequence of events   "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. v17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."  If you examine my highlights, you might also observe that the catching up the "dead in Christ" might be a reference to the Godly being taken first -- before the "Day of the Lord". I believe millions of others may also be saved for eternity, but may be caught up later to be with the Lord.

If you look at the strict definition of "Godly" (see the book of Ruth), I would not put myself in that category, but only God and Jesus know for sure. I've resisted sharing this observation about the end times for several years because of the obvious controversy it might create. For some reason, this evening I observed this possible interpretation of 1 Thes 4:17 and find myself writing this post. I'm never sure why I do such things, but I hope God is leading me in what I write. I'm not preaching here or attempting to oppose what is traditionally taught about these verses...but just to share an observation I believe is worth considering.