I will speculate for my own curiosity but never claim that “the Lord told me”, or that “The Bible says…” when it doesn’t. However, I’ve asked myself numerous times in recent years how our world might pass from its present state of affairs to the one foretold in Revelation and other passages of Scripture. Here’s a collection of rambling thoughts on the subject, guided by over forty years of interest and observation.
THE PEACE BOARD. Trump’s new “Peace Board”, instituted this week at Davos caught my eye and probably the eyes of many Christians who have some interest in Bible Prophecy. Bypassing the UN and all other world bodies entirely, the Board will work globally for peace in all those difficult places around the globe, attempting to bring real solutions where the UN appears to have failed miserably. Trump is a “dispense with the red tape” kind of a guy, and pours distain on Davos’ previous pathetic and paralysing meanderings in green theory. and claimed solutions. He also frowns upon the United Nations which has being mightily weighed down by bureaucracy and corruption.
The Board’ s make-up, consisting of one leader and thirty-five more under the one, is the closest thing we’ve yet had to Revelation’s description of the last earthly world government, and when considered along with the quotes scattered throughout Scripture that Antichrist will appear to be a man of peace and enforced security it’s tempting to think that the “Peace Board” could be its prototype. Don’t hold me to that: I’m not making a “prophecy”. The Lord has not told me anything, except to watch for His coming, and what is already contained in Biblical Scripture.
While Trump says he will remain the permanent head of the Board, it hasn’t crossed my mind for a split second (as it has for some with an axe to grind and some wild imagination) that he could be that dark man of sin, looking to dominate the world. For one thing he’s hated by half of the world, thanks to the ten-year long stream of hate and lies by the bulk of the world’s big media corporations: Antichrist will be loved and framed as a demi-god, rather like Obama was and still is. Secondly, he’s a fanatical defender of Israel – the very opposite of Revelation’s villain. Third, he has no designs on ruling the world beyond America’s borders, and fourth he’s already “getting up there” in age. However, we might think with some reason that he appears to be warming up the shoes Antichrist will wear.
THE DAY AND THE HOUR. Many professing Christians will remind us that Jesus said we can’t know “the day nor the hour” of his return and conclude that we should just get on with our lives and forget all about it. They are both right and wrong: right that we should get on with our lives; wrong about forgetting it all. Christ told his disciples several times to “watch” for his coming: that’s a command, isn’t it? He described some of the events which would precede his return. Why would he do that if we aren’t supposed to be interested? Some popular ministers, particularly of the Reformed persuasion, are pointing fingers at others who regularly make un-Biblical predictions and interpretations regarding end – times things. While I agree that we should avoid most of them like the flu, we must still watch for the coming King, and there are Biblical signs to look for.
A RAPTURE? If you’ve spent any time on my blog, you’ll know that while I believed in the Pre-Tribulation rapture theory for twenty-eight years my conviction switched radically when I looked deeply into the whole matter for myself with open eyes. I often listen to lectures by prophecy “experts” who talk for an hour about what they think will happen in the coming days according to Scripture and asking for donations to their “important ministry”, only to go on to say that “The next event on God’s prophetic calendar is the rapture”. If this is the case, why spend so much time speculating about what’s going on and what will happen, if we aren’t even going to be here to see it anyway? Why take peoples’ money? Why not go out and get a proper job?
WORLD GOVERNANCE. Scripture speaks of a sudden switch to a final world empire: a moment in which one charismatic man with a determined following will appear (or re-appear?) almost without any forewarning, and have the world handed to him on a plate. What might happen to bring this about? Will it be a large war which frightens everyone into submission to a trusted figure and newly appointed world body to avoid catastrophe? In Scripture Antichrist is indeed known as someone who appears to bring peace or/ and security.
Wiil it be an engineered economic crisis which requires a central power to restart the world’s economy? Will it be a natural disaster driving nations to hand power over to a central body? Will it be a staged “alien landing”: a close encounter of the third kind? Will it be a pandemic, or will the transition from this state of affairs to that one be so smooth that we barely notice it? Any one of the above may achieve the Biblical result.
THE STATE OF ISRAEL. If we’re near the time of Christ’s return the West will turn increasingly against the nation of Israel, and unfortunately this probably also applies to the United States, once Trump and perhaps his successor are gone. This betrayal of our true friend in the Middle East is already under way. Democrats and leftists and now some Republicans are becoming increasingly pro-Islamic, a big mistake when you consider that dedicated Muslims are against all the things Democrats and freedom lovers want to promote. For now, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
I’m not at all in the camp of replacement theology. It seems to me that to explain away prophecies relating to the nation of Israel in end times is to turn a large portion of Scripture into a mush of allegories. The nation may indeed be fallen and flawed as all nations are, but God keeps His promises. If He doesn’t, we’re all in very big trouble.
FULFILLMENT OR ENORMOUS COINCIDENCE. Many of the prophecies regarding Israel in end times can be said to be fulfilled or in process of fulfillment. A part of this is the regathering of Jews from the nations into their ancient homeland, followed by a spiritual awakening. The former part is still in process, fueled in part, ironically, by anti-Semitism. How much longer it needs to proceed is hard to tell.
The latter is true in a percentage of Israelis but not on the scale the Bible predicts. This will happen, as Zechariah tells us, when the nation sees its Messiah arrive to save them from annihilation, and realize that He is the one they rejected in the first century.
What else needs to happen to Israel before that moment? The Bible foretells a vehement and hateful opposition to the existence of the nation being in their ancient homeland from surrounding nations, and then ultimately by an organized coalition of world powers. The former has been a reality since the nation’s inception. Radical Islamic groups and nations around the promised land are intent on wiping Israel off the map and taking what they claim is their land. The will of more distant and global powers to deal badly with Israelis is already simmering. Anti-Semitism is common in Western nations now, with Jews being literally blamed for the ills of the world. It’s not hard to see the possibility of a large – scale invasion from “all nations” as Zechariah and other prophets report.
COMPARING THE WARNINGS TO PRESENT REALITY. When will this happen? I’ve examined references to the regathering particularly in Ezekiel’s prophecy. There are indicators here of timing. The regathering nation would grow greatly in number and become very prosperous and fruitful before that day of invasion from the north. You could look up figures describing the phenomenal growth of Israel’s population and economy, not to mention political and technological clout, over recent decades. But there’s one other very intriguing indicator.
In Ezekiel’s prophecy the invading force is aware that it’s attacking a land which has recently been regathered from the nations (Ezekiel 38:11). It also suggests that Israel is not suspecting this invasion: perhaps the “Peace Board” will have done its work. We could rightfully ask, then, how long we could reasonably expect this regathering period to continue to be a recent feature. How long does a nation continue to be regarded as new? Is it thirty years, fifty years, seventy years or perhaps a hundred or two? It’s hard to put a number to it all besides making calculated guesses. What is perhaps most significant is the timing of this regathering in relation to other factors such as world governance and the potential for a global financial setup such as the mark of the Beast.
Israel has officially been regathering as a nation since 1948, and the “Aliyah” continues: you can find numbers online for that also. Israelis regained control of Jerusalem in 1967. Who knows which or what event or time God regards as significant in the rebuilding of the nation. We can only have an idea that we are in the general time. Surely, we do not know the day or the hour, but we can have a very good idea that the Day is near. This was Christ’s message in his “Olivet Discourse”.
What might be the “trigger” for the Biblical events of end times? It seems that Israel as a nation will think of itself as being secure. There are indications that the big discussion of the time will be on the subject of peace. Perhaps Trump’s Board of Peace or its successor will facilitate that in the near future. Ezekiel’s prophecy tells us that Israel will be recovering from war when they are attacked by world powers from the north in a surprise invasion. Zechariah seems to be telling us that the nation will at first successfully ward off attacks from surrounding peoples: this could be said to have already taken place. Tiny Israel has put up an incredible fight against its many foes, and it’s hard not to see that resistance as being divinely supported. However, Zechariah also tells us that immediately before the appearance of Messiah over Jerusalem, Israel will be severely challenged militarily and will appear to be facing total defeat.
We might say then that the fierce and successful defense of the nation as foretold by Zechariah and some would say in Psalm 83 has happened already. Israel has trampled on the related groups attempting and planning to annihilate her: Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Isis, Iran and others. What remains to happen is the Ezekiel invasion from the north, including Turkey, and the Armageddon battle in which the nations of the world will besiege tiny Israel and attempt with total futility to stop Christ coming.
For these events to occur Trump must be gone, because he is a ferocious defender of the nation of Israel, and continues to work for peace in the Middle East. We cannot know how long it may be before these things take place, but it seems to me that we are talking decades at most, not hundreds or thousands of years.
What must happen for these events to take place is the following. The United States will somehow either turn against Israel or be neutralized militarily. The West must continue to turn against tiny Israel. It will also continue to fall into godlessness according to Revelation. The nations of the West – descended from Rome – will continue to dominate while being unable to fully unify. The world will experience some sort of event or condition or amalgamation of these to drive it into the arms of a charismatic leader. The technology to fulfill his schemes already exists.
Fuel for Faith, Food for Thought 