Most of the believers with whom I speak today still have doubts as to if we are in the last days or not. Many of them have an issue with interpreting and deciphering the mysterious prophecies in the bible about the end time. And these prophecies are manifested in world politics and events, especially those involving Israel or the Middle East. A careful analysis of the message and prophetic signs points to it, especially: the confederation of ten nations, the appearance of the Antichrist, and the mark of the beast, the reconstruction or rebuilding of the third Temple, the increase in natural and catastrophic disasters, and even the bear of the north -Russia. While these signs are there in the bible, they are apocalyptic texts because they are veiled and cryptic.
Although all of the signs above are undoubtedly important, many other signs are clear enough today but are overlooked or ignored at different levels.
These are some of the most apparent signs proving that we are reaching the end times and must be on the lookout for the return of the Son of God. These are subtle signs God has given to us because he wants us to be in the know and be ready in the last days for His return.
In fact, the phrase “last days” has a double application, and it refers to the period after the death and resurrection of Jesus and, on the other hand, to the days immediately before his return.
The Temple (Luke 21:5-6)
If you look at Luke 21, you can see this prophecy: “And while some were talking about the Temple, how it was decorated with beautiful stones and offerings, Jesus said, ‘As for these things you are looking at, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another. Everyone will be torn down!’” (Luke 21:5-6). The Temple of Herod was destroyed, and Jerusalem was sacked in 70 AD to fulfill the words of Jesus. If you continue to read the terrible warnings of what is to happen, much of the prophecies point to the terrible Roman devastation which occurred around that time. But then the verse 24b didn’t happen until 1967, “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,” with the reunification of Jerusalem came about after the Six Days of war in 1967.
And verses 25-28 point to a time we all must expect and wait for, and wait for a time when Yeshua returns: “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars. And upon the earth, nations will be confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves.
People will lose heart from fear and anticipation of what is overtaking the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, stand straight and lift your heads because your salvation is near!”
Luke 21:32 is proof that we are the generation that will see the second coming of Jesus Christ.
“Truly, I say to you; this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.”
Some of those prophecies were made about Israel, so the nation plays quite an essential role in Christ’s second coming. And while some of these prophecies have already come to pass, some are yet to be seen.
Israel becomes a nation (Amos 9:14-15)
Another of the signs of the end time, with Israel in the middle, is the formation of Israel as a nation and the challenges they will be facing. Because God has said that Jerusalem would play a vital role in the last days according to Zechariah 12: 2-3 NTV: “I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves”
Israel with lots of enemies
Israel, the only Jewish country, has quite many enemies since the time the country was formed. The war between Israel and the Arabs worsened diplomatic relations between Israel and the Arab League. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has also made Israel an enemy of many countries.
These nations include Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Bangladesh, Brunei, Sudan, Algeria, Malaysia, Pakistan.
The scriptures also prophesied in Ezekiel 37 about the coming together of Israel as a nation, that the Jews would find themselves in their land, and this prophecy of the scripture was fulfilled when Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948.
The Six Days of War (Joel 3: 1)
After Ezekiel 37 comes chapter 38, which speaks of an attack by a vast nation against Israel to the country’s north. A series of allies will accompany this nation as they attempt to invade Israel from all directions. The scriptures repeatedly pointed out that in the last days, this will happen, as we already know of the various enemies of Israel today.
And talking about the enemies of Israel, Ezekiel 38: 8-11 offers an interesting detail explicitly:
“A long time from now, you will be called into action. In the distant future, you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. (((insert the enemy nations of Israel here)
And then the prophecy of the six days of war between Israel and some enemy nations as prophesied by Joel 3: 1 happened in 1967.
“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
The road to war was paved in 1963 by the growing tension in the region concerning the exploitation of River Jordan and Kineret lakes. This led to intensified military clashes launched by Syria and increased Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel; this was mostly encouraged by the Arab countries, Syria, in particular.
The immediate cause of the war included a series of increasingly intense steps that was taken by the Arabs, which was the conclusion of a Syrian-Egyptian military agreement, in which Jordan and Iraq would later join in, the displacement of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) from the Sinai Peninsula, and then, a concentration of the Egyptian forces in that region. Then, Egypt’s final closure of the Strait of Tiran against Israeli shipping constituted a casus belli for Israel.
When Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon transferred their forces to the Israeli border, Israel was forced to mobilize its reserve forces and then launched a diplomatic campaign to gain international support to end Egypts’ blockage to Israeli shipping by the straits of Tiran.
This, however, failed, and then in response to the Arabian threat to destroy Israel, the war began on June 5, 1967, with an Israeli airstrike. It ended on June 10, 1967, with the great victory of Israel.
CONCLUSION
There are signs around us that the world should be preparing for the return of the Messiah. One of the most important signs, as we have seen, is the restoration of the Israelites as a nation, and the six days of war and other prophecies are no less significant.
These all point to the fact that the second coming is not far away from us, and we must do all we can to ensure we are ready.
Originally posted 2021-06-11 07:39:47.
