The End Has Begun

 

The End Has Begun

 

For nearly 2000 years, since Christ Jesus ascended into heaven, Christian followers have been in expectation of His Second Coming. The early church, led by the apostles of Jesus, awoke each day in anticipation of Jesus’ return and every evening they went to sleep waiting for the next day in preparation for His return. Unfortunately, over the past centuries, Christians have become relaxed and complacent with regards to End Times prophesies which concludes with the church reuniting with Jesus in eternity. Lives were not being led as if each day would be their last day. One day turned into the next with many generations passing with no definitive presentation or expectation of Biblical prophesy.

 

However, that all changed on May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel and U.S. President Harry S. Truman also recognized the new nation on the same day.

 

My interpretation of Biblical scripture translates May 14, 1948 as the first indisputable sign of “End Times” prophesy being fulfilled - Isaiah 66:7-8 “Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son. Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem’s birth pains begin, her children will be born.”

 

Did you notice the claim that a nation will be born in a single day? May 14, 1948 was the single day when Isaiah 66:7-8 was fulfilled. One must remember that God gave that vision to Isaiah 740 years before the birth of Jesus. Did Isaiah realize what “… a nation born in a single day….” meant? Probably no, not any more than did this or previous generations understand until it happened. Even today, many Christians do not comprehend the magnitude of this one event has in fulfilling Biblical prophecy - all other End Times prophesy hinge upon this singular event.

 

Look at Jeremiah 16:14-15, “However, look, the days are coming” the Lord’s declaration “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’ but rather, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them. For I will return them to their land that I gave to their ancestors.”

 

Also Hosea 3:4-5, “For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols. Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come with awe to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days.”

 

Since Rome destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, Jews have been displaced all over the world. Israel was no longer their land; they had no temple to perform sacrifices, no place to call home.

 

But as important as it was for Israel to be recognized as an independent nation, another prophesy had to be sequenced into the order of End Times events. You see, in 1948 the United Nations returned only a small portion of what historically had been Israel’s land; it did not include the city of Jerusalem nor the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, or the West Bank. Without Jerusalem, the nation of Israel was still incomplete and the remaining End Time prophesies could not proceed.

But when Israel was attacked in 1967 by the enemies surrounding them, Israel overcame all military odds and at the end of the Six Day War, Israel reclaimed Jerusalem along with the other territories - and thus another prophesy among many fulfilled.

 

Zechariah 8:7-8 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west. I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God.”

 

Note: Remember that Israel has never occupied all of the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That, however, will soon come to pass following Jesus’ return.

 

So what remains to be fulfilled before the return of Christ Jesus? What about the Rapture? What about the signs regarding the seven year Tribulation period? What do I need to know? Most importantly…

 

What must I do before it’s too late?

 

(stay tuned)