Prophecy
Update 2008
New
Year's Eve
December 31, 2007
Introduction
For many Calvary Chapels, it has become tradition on New Year’s Eve to do an annual “Prophecy Update”. I know for me, it stems back to the annual trek to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa to hear Pastor Chuck give his annual talk about the things that are happening in the world and how they are pointing to the soon return of Jesus Christ.
The New Year is often a time when people make their resolutions. It’s a time when we look forward to “turning the page” on last year and in a sense starting out with a clean slate. I hope that one of the things we will take into account as we make our resolutions and think about the coming year, that we take into account that Jesus Christ could come back at any moment.
Jesus Himself gave us the example of teaching that He might return at any moment.
(Mark 13:35-36 NKJV)
"Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house
is coming; in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in
the morning; {36} "lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.
Even if the actual Second Coming of Jesus doesn’t take place today or
tomorrow, it’s not impossible that for some, they will be seeing God face to
face very soon.
(Luke 12:16-21 NKJV) Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:
"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. {17} "And he
thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store
my crops?' {18} "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns
and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. {19} 'And
I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years;
take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' {20} "But God said to
him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those
things be which you have provided?' {21} "So is he who lays up treasure
for himself, and is not rich toward God."
We need to be ready. Are you ready
to meet God?
Jesus said we should pay attention to the signs of the times.
(Luke 21:28 NKJV)
"Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your
heads, because your redemption draws near."
Warning about news sources.
I don’t know if you’ve realized this yet, but many of our sources of news have an agenda. If you only watch CNN to get your news, you will end up with a liberal bias. If you only watch FOX to get your news, you will end up with a completely different point of view. If you venture out into the world of the internet, you will find some sources so twisted that unless you choose to check your brain at the door, you will not have a clue as to whether they are telling the truth or making up a story.
Just about every news source has to be weighed in relation to their bias.
For example, on MSNBC today was the headline:
2007 was deadliest year for U.S. troops in Iraq
Then the subheader said:
Officials note
sharp drop in violence in second part of the year
You can take the same story and spin it two different ways.
When I find a story being reported by major news sources on both sides, it seems to have more validity.
Nation Watch
There are several ways to put together a “Prophecy Update”. You can go through the various Biblical passages on the future and then look for the corresponding “signs of the times”. You can hit the top news stories of the day and go back to the Scriptures to see how they reflect the trends. I think this year I want to make you aware of the key nations to watch in the news.
*Israel
Any study that intends to look at the future of the world needs to spend time on the nation of Israel. Israel is the “apple” of God’s eye. It is God’s beloved country.
Fruit
(Isa 27:6 NKJV) Those who
come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And
fill the face of the world with fruit.
Israel is not only a leading exporter of literal “fruit” around the world, but look at some of the other “fruits” that Israel is giving to the world:
*Anti-Viral Drugs: There’s an Israeli scientist who has developed an anti-viral drug based on cinnamon. He did this after studying his Bible and thinking about the cinnamon that was used in the anointing oil of the Bible.
Biodiesel: The Israeli alternative and renewable energy company, Ormat, is poised to accelerate the biodiesel market…"We have developed biodiesel which has the same features as conventional diesel, but that can be used in engines with a concentration of 100 percent biodiesel and without changing anything in the car,"…
*Memory Erasing Drug
*Cancer treatments: Special drugs that are like guided missiles aimed at cancer cells.
*Coral: Discovering how to grow coral in a warehouse – something once considered impossible
*Turning radioactive waste into glass and clean energy
A new way of curing leukemia
*Nano Technology
And Out of Zion Will Come the World's First Nano-Torah
(IsraelNN.com) Out of Zion
has come the world’s tiniest Bible, engraved in gold on silicon, to illustrate the
science of nanotechnology.
More than 300,000 words
and 1,200,000 letters, including vowels have been placed on less than half a
square millimeter, allowing the tiny Torah to fit inside the first dot of the
first letter of a traditional Torah scroll.
*Aliya – Returning to Israel
The Bible speaks of the Jews returning to their homeland in the last days:
(Zec 10:8-10 NKJV) I will
whistle for them and gather them, For I will redeem them; And they shall
increase as they once increased. {9} "I will sow them among the peoples,
And they shall remember Me in far countries; They shall live, together with
their children, And they shall return. {10} I will also bring them back from
the land of Egypt, And gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the
land of Gilead and Lebanon, Until no more room is found for them.
Since 1882, there have been several waves of “Aliya”, the Jewish people heeding God’s call to come home. Before 1948, something close to 650,000 Jews immigrated to Israel. Between 1948 and 1999, another 2.7 million Jews came home to Israel. And it continues – every year we see articles of groups of Jews immigrating from all over the world, like:
From Jerusalem Post
July 25,
Two flights
carrying 600 new immigrants from France landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on
Wednesday …
August 26,
Recent Bnei Menashe
immigrants settle
A group of over 100 Bnei Menashe who arrived here from India late
last week spent an emotional first Shabbat in Israel this past weekend, as they
sought to adjust to their new surroundings.
Over 1,200 Bnei Menashe
already live in Israel, and another 7,000 remain in India awaiting permission
to make aliya…
*Temple
(Mat 24:15 NKJV) "Therefore when you see the 'abomination
of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy
place" …
This event requires a Temple Temple Temple
For
years we have watched as the folks at the Temple Institute
have begun their work of making new articles for a new Temple, such as the
Menorah.
From Arutz Sheva, April 3,
(IsraelNN.com) The
modern-day Sanhedrin, headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, has decided to purchase
a herd of sheep to be used for the Passover sacrifice ritual to be held
this year if possible at the Temple Mount. The Sanhedrin, which was formed
several years ago, meets once a week, according to the Haaretz news service, in
what it says is a renewal of the Jewish High Court that existed more than a
thousand years ago. A member of the Sanhedrin, Professor Hillel Weiss, said in
an interview that the symbolic Passover sacrifice is intended to remind Jews
that the Temple rituals will resume when the Messiah comes.
If you want one fact that places us in the “end times” of the Bible, you don’t have to go any further than the simple existence of the nation of Israel.
The nation was wiped out and scattered across the world when the Romans put down the Jewish revolts of AD 70. For 1900 years the Jewish people survived as a race, but did not have a national identity.
On May 14, 1948, a miracle happened and the nation of Israel was born.
In the famous passage about “signs of the times”, Matthew 24, Jesus hinted at the rebirth of Israel even before it had been scattered.
(Mat 24:32-33 NKJV)
"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has
already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. {33}
"So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near; at the
doors!
In the context of the passage, the fig tree is a picture of the nation of Israel (Mat. 21:19; 21:34). In 1948 the nation began to put forth some leaves.
Ezekiel also prophesied of a rebuilding of the nation. He saw a valley full of bones. As he watched the bones began to reassemble themselves back into a skeleton and then into a live person.
(Ezek 37:10-14 NKJV) So I
prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and
stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. {11} Then He said to me,
"Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say,
'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!' {12}
"Therefore prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD:
"Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up
from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. {13} "Then you
shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and
brought you up from your graves. {14} "I will put My Spirit in you, and
you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that
I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it," says the LORD.'"
Even though you might apply this passage to Israel coming back to the Babylonian captivity, they did not come back as an “army” (vs. 10). It’s only with the rebirth of the nation in 1948 that this prophecy has been fulfilled.
Look at the chapter that follows Ezekiel 37 …
(Ezek 38:1-9 NKJV) Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
{2} "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the
prince of Rosh (Russia),
Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, {3} "and say, 'Thus says the
Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech,
and Tubal. {4} "I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead
you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a
great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. {5}
"Persia (Iran),
Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; {6}
"Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and
all its troops; many people are with you. {7} "Prepare yourself and be
ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard
for them. {8} "After many days you will be visited. In the latter years
you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered
from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they
were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. {9}
"You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you
and all your troops and many peoples with you."
We call this the battle of Gog. There will be an invading army made up of several countries. They will invade the nation of Israel. God will respond and wipe out 5/6 of the invading army.
I believe it’s likely that this event will happen BEFORE the rapture. Why? Because it seems that after this battle, Israel will once again be God’s chief focus on earth.
(Ezek 39:29 NKJV) 'And I
will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit
on the house of Israel,' says the Lord GOD."
For now, the focus of God’s hand seems to be through the Gentile church. This doesn’t mean that the Jews are less loved, but that God’s work and witness on the earth is primarily being done through the Gentile church.
(Rom 11:25 NKJV) For I do
not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you
should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to
Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
I believe this “fullness” of the Gentiles speaks of the completion of the church’s work, that last Gentile before the Rapture gets saved, and we are all caught up to be with the Lord. It’s at that point that God turns to once again primarily focus on working through the Jews – when God pours out His Spirit (Eze. 39:29) on Israel.
*
Russia
Russia is the land of Rosh and Magog of Ezekiel 38-39.
Putin is stepping down because of constitutionally imposed term limits. He is expected to hold his power becoming the next Prime Minister.
In America we are becoming a little suspicious of Putin, but in Russia he is adored, 70% popularity. He has taken the nation and has moved them into a better economic position in the world.
Time has made Putin “Man of the Year” for 2007. In an interview with Time, he says he doesn’t do email (his staff does it for him), but he does have a Bible on his plane. Hmmm.
To make you more confused…
*
Russia has completed a contract to sell some 30 air
defence missile systems to Iran, a senior official has said.
From BBC, January 23
The deal -
worth $700m (£380m) and signed last year - has angered the US and Israel who
say Iran may use the missiles to attack its neighbours.
Russia
eyeing military buildup
From Boston Globe, Feb. 8
Defense minister outlines $190b in new
spending
MOSCOW -- Russia's defense minister laid out an ambitious plan yesterday
for building new intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines, and
possibly aircraft carriers, and set the goal of exceeding the Soviet Army in combat
readiness.
*Iran
The “Gog” war with Russia will include some other countries, including Iran.
(Ezek 38:5 NKJV) "Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with
them, all of them with shield and helmet;
You’ve probably heard the news lately that the CIA has announced that Iran stopped it’s nuclear weapons plans back in 2003. I saw an interview the other day with John McCain, warning that this news doesn’t mean that Iran is any less dangerous or that we shouldn’t pay attention to it.
The radical president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not backed off on any of his rhetoric about destroying Israel and the U.S.
From DebkaFile, November 11,
Saturday, Oct. 20, the fire-eating president succeeded in removing the formidable Iranian nuclear negotiator, head of the National Security Council, Ali Larijani, from his path. He then sent the Revolutionary Guards missile and artillery commander, Gen. Mahmoud Chaharbaghshe, to warn that, in the first minute of an attack on Iran, the Islamic Republic would fire 11,000 missiles and mortars against enemy (US and Israeli) bases. The scale of ordnance threatened implied Tehran’s certainty that Syria, Hizballah, Hamas and the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq would join the assault.
*From Joel Rosenberg, January 2, 2007
(LAST YEAR):
The New Year may not be so
happy if Iranian leaders have their way. The Islamic Messiah known as the
"Twelfth Imam" or the "Mahdi" may come to earth in 2007 and
could be revealed to the world as early as the Spring Equinox, reports an official Iranian government news website.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) website says the world is now
in its "last days." It claims that the Mahdi will first appear in
Mecca, and then Medina. He will conquer all of Arabia, Syria, Iraq, destroy
Israel, and then set up a "global government" based in Iraq,
interestingly enough, not Iran. Such
Islamic eschatology (end times theology) is driving the Iranian regime and
helps explains why Iran has no interest in helping the U.S. and E.U. create
peace in Iraq or the region, much less in ending its bid for nuclear weapons,
the Iraq Study Group Report
notwithstanding.
Shiite Islamic scholars also say Jesus is coming back to
Earth soon. He will not, however, come as the Son of God or even as a leader
but will serve as a deputy to the Mahdi to destroy the infidels, they say.
"We read in the book Tazkarat ol-Olia, 'the Mahdi will come with Jesus son of Mary accompanying him,'" the
series explains. "This indicates that these two great men are complement
each other. Imam Mahdi will be the leader while Prophet Jesus will act as his
lieutenant in the struggle against oppression and establishment of justice in
the world."
*Europe
I haven’t seen much in the news about Europe lately. But we believe it will be the center of the kingdom of the antichrist, who will rule over a form of a revived Roman empire (Dan. 2,7).
It is interesting to see how much Islam is spreading into Europe. France is becoming greatly affected by Muslim thought by the large number of immigrants (5-8 million out of 60 million total population). The US State Department estimates 10% of France’s population now to be Muslim.
Keep your eyes out for what’s happening in Europe.
*China
(Rev
16:12 NKJV) Then the sixth angel poured
out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that
the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
(Rev 9:16 NKJV) Now the
number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number
of them.
We have long thought that China will be the face of these eastern armies marching toward Israel.
This week the cover story of Newsweek was: “China 2008”. We’re going to be hearing a lot more about China as we get close to the Summer Olympics. The magazine was filled with articles about how this is the year that China rises in the world to the same level as the United States. From that article:
“The much-heralded advent of China as a global power is no longer a
forecast but a reality. On issue after issue, China has become the second most
important country on the planet. Consider what's happened already this past
year. In 2007 China contributed more to global growth than the United States,
the first time another country had done so since at least the 1930s. It also
became the world's largest consumer, eclipsing the United States in four of the
five basic food, energy and industrial commodities. And a few months ago China
surpassed the United States to become the world's leading emitter of CO2.”
*Pakistan
I’m not sure Pakistan is mentioned in Bible prophecy, but with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benizir Bhutto last week, the country is in a turmoil. They are a nuclear nation with about 100 warheads.
Would the radical Islamicists get them? What if Al-Qaeda gets a nuclear weapon?
*United States
It is also questionable as to whether or not the United States appears in the Bible. For some, this is a sign in itself that perhaps we won’t be around when things come to a close and Jesus returns.
Some see this as pointing to the Rapture – perhaps when the Rapture occurs, the United States will lose so many of its citizens that it will cease to be a world power.
Others see the possibility that the United States might go through some sort of collapse as a nation, much as the Soviet Union did back in 1991.
But the reality is that for now we are still the richest and most powerful nation in the world.
And this year we are facing an important national election. Who will end up as our next president?
It has often been suggested that as a nation, we get the leader we deserve. What’s that going to look like?
As the most powerful nation in the world, we have a huge influence on what happens in the rest of the world. We are often the only friend that Israel has in the world, and at times we aren’t much of a friend. There is a growing economic connection between us and China. We have a pretty hefty cultural influence on places like Europe and Russia.
Anti-Israel sentiment
(Zec 12:2-3 NKJV)
"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the
surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. {3}
"And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy
stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in
pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
If it weren’t for the United States, Israel would be alone in the world. I think this is one of the upcoming implications of the November Presidential elections.
Miscellaneous Stuff
*The Doomsday Clock
Back in 1947 a group of concerned scientists formed a board to discuss the realities and dangers of the world we live in. They came up with their “doomsday clock” to give an indication of how close they felt we were to the end of humanity based on their observations. The clock started out at 7 minutes to midnight, got as close as 2 minutes to midnight in 1953 with the testing of the hydrogen bomb, and as far as 17 minutes to midnight in 1991 with the end of the Cold War. Currently, these scientists put the “clock at:
IT IS 5 MINUTES
TO MIDNIGHT
2007 — The world stands at the brink of a second nuclear age. The United States
and Russia remain ready to stage a nuclear attack within minutes, North Korea
conducts a nuclear test, and many in the international community worry that
Iran plans to acquire the Bomb. Climate change also presents a dire challenge
to humanity. Damage to ecosystems is already taking place; flooding,
destructive storms, increased drought, and polar ice melt are causing loss of
life and property.
*Weird Weather
2007 a Year of Weather Records in U.S.
WASHINGTON (AP) - When the calendar turned to 2007, the heat went
on and the weather just got weirder.
January was
the warmest first month on record worldwide—1.53 degrees above normal. It was
the first time since record-keeping began in 1880 that the globe's average
temperature has been so far above the norm for any month of the year.
And as 2007
drew to a close, it was also shaping up to be the hottest year on record in the
Northern Hemisphere.
U.S. weather
stations broke or tied 263 all-time high temperature records, according to an
Associated Press analysis of U.S. weather data. England had the warmest April
in 348 years of record-keeping there, shattering the record set in 1865 by more
than 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit.
It wasn't just
the temperature. There were other oddball weather events. A tornado struck New
York City in August, inspiring the tabloid headline: "This ain't
Kansas!"
*Pestilence
(Mat 24:7 NKJV) …there will
be famines, pestilences, and
earthquakes in various places.
You’ve already heard all about the Bird Flu and AIDS. Have you heard about…
Mystery ailment
kills hundreds of Saudi camels,
August 18, 2007, CNN
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -- Hundreds of camels have died in Saudi Arabia this week from a mystery
ailment. The Agriculture Ministry has said 232 camels died in the space of four
days in the Dawasir Valley, 250 miles south of Riyadh. King Abdullah has
promised compensation for owners, who say the real number of deaths is far
higher. Agriculture ministry officials have denied an infectious disease caused
the deaths and blamed them on animal feed supplied by food storage authorities.
"The disease has to be limited to one place to prevent it spreading and
then they have to find a serum," said camel breeder Hamad al-Harthy, who
talked of hundreds of deaths.
*
Honeybee deaths sting Ontario apiaries; Tuesday, April 17, 2007; CBC News
A wet fall, a long winter and an
influx of invasive species are the usual suspects investigators have rounded up
in search for clues to a malady crippling honeybee populations in southern
Ontario and other parts of Canada.
But so far Canadian apiarists
aren't sure whether the hive losses in this country are connected with those in
the United States and Europe, where a mystery illness is causing honeybee
colonies to leave their hives and never return.
Beekeepers from 24 U.S. states
have reported losses of up to 90 per cent of their hives from the mystery
ailment — called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD — that investigators say is
unlike anything they had encountered before.
*False Christs
(Mat 24:23-24 NKJV)
"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or
'There!' do not believe it. {24} "For false christs and false prophets
will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the
elect.
*Nepal 'living goddess' loses status
By BINAJ
GURUBACHARYA, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 3, 4:26 PM ET
KATMANDU, Nepal - A 10-year-old Nepalese
girl was stripped of her title as a living goddess because she traveled
overseas to promote a documentary about the centuries-old tradition, an
official said Tuesday.
*Zeus worshippers demand access to temple
DEREK
GATOPOULOS, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 19, 1:07 PM ET
ATHENS, Greece - After all these centuries,
Zeus may have a few thunderbolts left. A tiny group of worshippers plans a rare
ceremony Sunday to honor the ancient Greek gods, at Athens' 1,800-year-old
Temple of Olympian Zeus. Greece's Culture Ministry has declared the central
Athens site off-limits, but worshippers say they will defy the decision.
"These are our temples and they should
be used by followers of our religion," said Doreta Peppa, head of the
Athens-based Ellinais, a group campaigning to revive the ancient religion.
*The Pastor with the “666” tattoo
We saw this guy a few years ago…
Feb. 19, 2007
By John
Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann
CNN
MIAMI,
Florida
(CNN) -- The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm.
But Jose Luis
de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or "Daddy"
as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he
is God.
Miami church Brands members with
“666” tatoos
FOX, Feb. 24, DORAL, Fla. — Surrounded by a mob
of news cameras, a group of smiling, well-dressed church members crowded into a
South Beach storefront parlor on a recent muggy evening and got matching
tattoos of their prophet's symbol: 666.
…Church
members say the symbol doesn't connect them to Satan but rather to De Jesus'
claim that he has replaced Christ's teachings with a new gospel.
