(from an email I received)
Seven Major Prophetic Signs Of The Second ComingA Bible Study by Jack Kelley
www.gracethrufaith.comThere are seven major prophetic signs of the Second Coming, and ever since we started tracking them all seven have been in some stage of fulfillment. As in years past, I'll list the seven with their primary biblical references and offer commentary from current events.
1. Israel Will Be In The Land... Ezekiel 38:8After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.
In 1948, when Israel took its place among the nations of the world again for the first time in nearly 2000 years, students of prophecy recognized the fulfillment of the primary sign that the end of the age was upon us. Ezekiel had predicted this would happen and in effect Jesus had said that the generation being born when it happened would still be alive when He returned (Matt. 24:34) because the things He gave as signs of His impending return require that Israel be a nation in its historical land with a functioning Temple.
The fulfillment of this prophecy caused another reaction as well. Satan reads prophecy too, and began exerting his influence on world leaders in his continuing effort to thwart the plan of God. As a result, Israel has fought six major wars in the last 58 years, each of them an attempt to erase the Jewish Homeland from the face of the Earth. And it's clear that this effort will continue, with the biggest battle of all looming on the horizon, foretold by Ezekiel in chapters 38-39. Israel's enemies, both physical and spiritual, won't let up until they've either succeeded (their view) or been destroyed (God's view).
Although US and Israeli leaders promised that abandoning Gaza in 2005 would improve the nation's security, the opposite has happened. As those opposed to the abandonment predicted, Gaza has become a major center for terrorist activity and there's mounting pressure from the military to take it back.
Even so, there's now serious talk of repeating this mistake in the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem, all in the name of Palestinian statehood. In the political sense there are good reasons for pursuing this strategy, even considering its dangers. First, with their high birth rate, Israel's Arab population could actually achieve an electoral majority position in another generation and effectively vote Israel out of existence. So having their own state preserves Israel's Jewish majority. And second, if the Palestinians become a sovereign nation, Israel will have a legal entity with internationally recognized borders to hold responsible for preventing cross border attacks against it.
The real issue, of course, is religious not political. God made it clear that while the land He was giving to Israel would be theirs to use, He would always be its real owner. They were not permitted to permanently dispose of it. (Lev. 25:23-24) In case of an existential threat, they should turn to Him for protection. But they haven't and in the past few years we've seen the weakening effect each effort to trade land for peace has had. As hard as it is to watch, we know this has to happen in order to put Israel into a position where only God can help when the inevitable consequences of their appeasement strategies present themselves. Then they'll have to turn to Him for help.
And help He will, because the God of Israel has also said. "I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God. (Amos 9:14-15)
2. Jerusalem Will Be In Jewish Hands... Luke 21:24They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Lord prophesied that the reunification of Jerusalem as a Jewish City would be a sign that foreign (gentile) influence over His land, and indeed the world, was about to end. With the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, prophecy experts saw another major sign being fulfilled, although as we'll see this gentile trampling won't be completely over till the 2nd Coming. Even so, the almost world wide effort to take the city apart again is in essence a battle of wills; the Will of God vs. the will of man.
Until recently every Israeli politician has stood firmly on a pledge to keep Jerusalem united forever as Israel's capital. But then former Prime Minister Sharon said that he'd consider abandoning parts of the eastern suburbs to achieve peace, and Ehud Olmert has hinted at following through on Sharon's proposals. There's even talk of turning the Temple Mount over to Jordanian custody with an international overseer composed of the UN, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Because sentiment in Israel's influential religious community runs strongly against this, the government has denied any talk of giving up the Temple Mount. But non-religious sources, including some among the Palestinians, insist that it's a “done deal.” If so we might not have long to wait to see if a theory first proposed by Clarence Larkin over 100 years ago is valid. A distinguishing feature of the treaty that begins Daniel's 70th week is permission to built a Temple in Israel. Larkin suggested that a correct understanding of Ezekiel 40-48 requires that Israel's 3rd Temple be built in Shiloh, not Jerusalem. I first became convinced of the validity of Larkin's position about 10 years ago, and have been pleased to learn that at least a few other prophecy scholars agree. If we're correct, the status of the current Temple mount will soon become a non-issue.
In any case, support for the idea that Jerusalem will be undivided during the 70th week can be found in Zechariah 14:2 which says that in the battle leading up to the Lord's return, the city will be captured and half its people will go into exile, but the rest will not be taken from it. There's also a hint that the Palestinian question will be resolved after the Battle of Ezekiel 38, because the area chosen for the burial of the enemy soldiers appears to be the valley at the bottom of the Old Jericho Road, near the Temptation wilderness. It's described as being in Israel in Ezekiel 39:11 but today it's part of the Palestinian West Bank Traditionally, they call it the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
From all this we can reasonably conclude that if whatever happens to the Holy Land and its Capitol City in the next year or so includes dividing them between Israel and the Palestinians, it'll only be temporary.
The fulfillment of these two major prophecies concerning Israel has caused confusion in the minds of some commentators. It centers around an incorrect interpretation of Matt. 24:34, that all end times prophecies are to be fulfilled within a generation, nominally 40 years, of Israel's re-gathering in 1948. That error made 1988 seem like the likely time for the End. But when 1988 came and went scholars focused on the Jerusalem date, 1967, and began adding 40 years to that, advancing their predictions to 2007 even though the Jerusalem prophecy won't be completely fulfilled until the 2nd Coming. As of this year, that deadline has also passed.
But the Lord didn't promise that all end times prophecies would be fulfilled within a generation of their beginning, only that the generation of people being born at the time of the first of the signs would still be alive to see their completion. According to Psalm 90:10 an average Biblical life span is 70 years, so if you begin with 1948, predicting the approximate time of the End requires the addition of 70 years, not 40. And remember, the culmination of End Times prophecies is the Second Coming, not the Rapture of the Church, which precedes it by at least 7 years.
3. A Moslem Coalition Armed And Led By Russia Will Attack The Holy Land... Ezek. 38:2-6"Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army--your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops--the many nations with you."
(For a more detailed explanation of the modern equivalents to these biblical names, read "An In Depth Look At The Modern Equivalent To Biblical Names in Ezek.38) It's in the Ikvot directory.
Over 130 historical references make it plain that Magog stands for modern Russia, and the other countries named here form a coalition based on their common religion, Islam. (Today Russia is 30% Moslem and growing.) Among them are Iran, several North African countries, Eastern European countries along the Danube, and the Turkic nations of Asia Minor. A quick look at a world map will reveal that these areas are home to some of the most violent Islamic terrorist groups.
In 2007 there were several items of note is this category. Russia's continuing effort to re-establish itself as a force to be reckoned with is becoming more obvious with some in the West calling it a return to cold war conditions. Plans for re-locating its Black Sea fleet to the Mediterranean with headquarters in Northern Syria, the sale of even more advanced anti-air defenses to Syria and Iran, and the long delayed delivery of nuclear fuel rods to Iran's Busheir reactor are notable, as is it's claim to the North Pole, which if legal would make Russia the world's largest holder of oil reserves. The Russians are already a major supplier of arms for the Moslem coalition, just as Ezekiel prophesied, and will be drawn into joining in this battle by God Himself. Russia's barely disguised policy of becoming the major outside force in the Middle East is playing right into the Lord's hands.
Turkey is also flexing its muscles, crossing the border into Iraq recently to hammer the Kurds. This is something Iran has an interest in as well, since what the Kurds want is their home land, some of which in in Iran. Earlier this year it was reported that Iran was helping with weaponry and intelligence.
Russia has already formed commercial and military alliances with Turkey and Syria, becoming Turkey's 2nd largest trading partner after Germany. Since recent polls show a dramatic decrease in public support among Turks for EU membership, Russia has been quickly moving to bring Turkey under its influence, a shift that could help cause Turkey to abandon the West and line up with the Moslem coalition as Ezekiel foretold.
But the big news has to be the about face that the US has taken. From being on the very brink of an attack against Iran, and making no attempt to keep it secret, the US has suddenly decided that there's no Iranian nuclear threat and called the whole thing off. Immediately Russia stepped up its cooperation with Iran, and Saudi Arabia quickly became friends as well.
The public word is that the US and Iran have made a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia that in exchange for Iran no longer sending arms and explosives into Iraq and Afghanistan, the US would "remember" that Iran abandoned the military part of its nuclear program back in 2003 and call off plans to attack Iran. Israel has confirmed that the 2003 halt took place but swears they can prove it was just a pause while Iran relocated their program into secret facilities away from prying eyes. The rest of the world is still wondering just what to make of this, but agree it doesn't look good for Israel.
Suddenly, what we were thinking would take a huge terrorist attack, the meltdown of our economy, or the rapture of the Church may be happening without a whimper, as the US seems to be abandoning its commitment to stand against Iran for Israel's protection. All that's missing now is for something to happen to make Israel believe they've finally achieved peace with their neighbors and can relax their state of readiness. To this end, Pres. Bush is scheduled to be in the Middle East next month in a personal effort to accomplish what his predecessors could not, and that's to bring peace to the Middle East. With the exception of Iran, every leader involved is weak and desperate, so there's no telling what will happen.
But it appears likely that a false peace could soon come to pass, leaving Israel all set up for the battle of Ezekiel 38 by its supposed peace partners. When the time is right, having recently taken His church to Heaven, the Lord will use this battle to orchestrate His reconciliation with Israel, and on its heels the anti Christ will emerge with a peace plan that includes a Jewish Temple.
4. The Ancient Roman Empire Will Re-Emerge As A Political Force... Rev 17:9-10"This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while." (This one is a little obscure if you don't know your history. When John was writing this, about 95AD, there had been five great world powers; Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. All were conquered and absorbed. The current power was Rome, which was never really conquered and will re-emerge at the end of the age, according to Daniel 9:26.)
Daniel 2:36-45 describes Gentile Dominion from Daniel's time forward (Egypt and Assyria had already fallen) in the form of a giant statue. Read it carefully and you'll find some interesting things in the description of the feet of iron mixed with clay, representing the revived Roman Empire of our time. In the first place the two don't mix. We can imagine soft clay serving as glue sticking pieces of iron together, but the language describes a clay that's made of dust and already baked ... hard and brittle like shards of pottery. You can't make random pieces of iron and pottery adhere. They'll keep falling apart.
In 2005 the EU constitution vote was defeated as one more example of how the EU has had trouble sticking together just as Daniel prophesied. Half-hearted efforts to revive it in 2006 bore no fruit. The Treaty of Lisbon, signed just this month is another, more serious attempt to get it passed, and will likely be ratified. If so, the EU will have a single president, consolidated embassies, a peace keeping force, and will look ever more like a single entity.
Similar multi-national consolidations are in some stage of formation in North America, South America, Africa, the Far East, and the Moslem Middle East. Eventually the world will consist of a total of 10 of these regional governments, each with its own president, but all under the supervision of a single world leader, just as John said. (Rev. 17:12)
Prophecy buffs who've been watching the EU for years, seeing it as the fulfillment of Daniel 2, are beginning to remember that Daniel's vision of the Roman Empire had two legs. They appeared in history as the eastern and western divisions, the eastern leg situated on land that's occupied today by the nations of the Moslem Middle East. Its capitol was Constantinople, which is also a city on seven hills. With the growth and prominence of Islam increasing, and with its goals of world domination a well known fact, it's looking like this eastern leg will fulfill Daniel's prophecy along side the western one. Remember, the 10 toes, representing the ten nation confederacy, come from two feet. And with Shiite prophecies of al Mahdi being so similar to Christian ones of the anti-Christ, we may have to re-think the traditional western view of the coming one-world government. It could just a easily be a world wide Islamic Caliphate.
