This article is different from what I usually write, but I decided to present some Scriptures and comments that will hopefully help readers understand the situation.
I do have a reason for presenting these Scriptures.
First, concerning the signs of His coming and the end of the age, Jesus said, “Learn a parable of the Fig Tree” (Matt. 24:32-35).
There is wide agreement among prophecy teachers that the Fig Tree is Israel, and Jesus was saying, “Watch Israel” (Hos. 9:10; Jer. 24).
Jesus was talking to His Jewish disciples when He revealed the parable of the Fig Tree, and this was before the Church and the New Testament came into being, so I want to examine a prophecy from the Old Testament.
Second, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “For unto us a child is born [first coming], unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder [Second Coming]: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isa. 9:6-7).
The birth of Jesus and His first coming literally happened, so it is not unreasonable to believe that the Second Coming of Jesus will literally happen.
Isaiah even said, “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
God performed a virgin birth to make a physical first coming happen, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead makes a physical Second Coming possible.
Third, God promised to raise Israel from the dead in one day so Israel could go through the 70th week of Daniel (so Israel can go through the Tribulation Period; Isa. 66:7-8; Dan. 9:25-27).
God showed Ezekiel a Valley of Dry Bones that He said represented the whole house of Israel (Ezek. 37:1-11).
God said He would bring those dry bones out of their graves among the heathen.
God would raise Israel from the dead (like Jesus at His first coming) and take Israel back to the land of Israel (Ezek. 37:12-21).
Fourth, God said, “I will make them one nation” (not a Northern Kingdom and Southern Kingdom) . . . “And David my servant shall be king over them . . . And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore” (Ezek. 37:24-28).
It looks like the Tribulation Period is shaping up; and according to the Bible, it will end with the return of the resurrected King of kings to the resurrected nation of Israel to take the government of the world upon His shoulders (Rev. 19).
Fifth, now let’s read something from the New Testament, “And the angel [Gabriel] said unto her [Mary], Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:30-33).
This kingdom is mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
There will be 7 seal judgments and then 7 trumpet judgments.
Listen to what happens when the 7th angel blows the 7th trumpet “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).
When the 7th trumpet sounds near the middle of the Tribulation Period, God will begin to destroy the nations to take possession of this world.
He redeemed this world at the cross, and He will take it back during the last half of the Tribulation Period.
Then, He will come back at the end of the Tribulation Period to establish His throne.
God may be giving us a preview of some of the Tribulation Period events to let us know that it is getting close.
Sixth, notice God’s fulfilled promises up to this point.
God promised to raise Israel from the dead; to raise Israel from the dead before the Tribulation Period; to raise Israel from the dead in one day; to take Israel back to the land of Israel; to make Israel one nation (not two); to cause Mary to bear a Son, and that He should be named Jesus.
Seven, notice what must still happen.
God promised to give Mary’s Son the throne of David (an earthly throne in Jerusalem, different from being seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven); to make Mary’s Son the King of Israel; to sanctify Israel; to dwell in the midst of Israel; that Jesus will reign over the house of Jacob forever (the house of Jacob is not the Church; it is Israel), and that there will be no end to the kingdom that will be ruled by Jesus.
Eight, there is more about the King and Israel in the Old Testament, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:5-6).
“I will take you [Israel] from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you [Israel], and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you [Israel], and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you [Israel] an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you [Israel], and cause you [Israel] to walk in my statutes, and ye [Israel] shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye [Israel] shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye [Israel] shall be my people, and I will be your [Israel’s] God” (Ezek. 36:24-28).
“And it shall come to pass in that day [at the Battle of Armageddon], that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem [the Jews], the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zech. 12:9-10).
“And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one” (Zech. 14:9).
Jesus is the King of the Jews, but He is also the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The government that will be upon His shoulders will include Israel and all of the nations (Jews and Gentiles).
Nine, the New Testament contains more about the salvation of Israel.
Paul wrote, “…blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Rom. 11:25b-27).
Israel’s blindness is temporary; all Israel will be saved; God will cause Israel to repent (give up her ungodliness), and God made a covenant to take away Israel’s sins.
Ten, Psalm 2 may be relevant for our time.
Verse 1: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?”
- Why are the Gentile mobs raging and imagining worthless things?
- Why are people rioting, looting, stealing, and imagining things that won’t do anyone any good?
Verse 2: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,’
- The mobs are not doing this by themselves.
- The world’s political leaders have hardened their hearts and conspired with others against God and against His anointed, Jesus Christ.
Verse 3: ‘Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.’
- These mobs and political leaders have come together to say we intend to fundamentally transform the world.
- We intend to break the restraints of the Scriptures and the Judeo-Christian ethic.
- We intend to weaken the Church and Israel.
- We intend to get rid of the Bible and the Ten Commandments.
- We intend to silence those that say abortion and same-sex marriage are wrong.
Verse 4: “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.”
- God is laughing at their foolish idea.
- God is so powerful in comparison to these mobs and the foolish political leaders of the world that He looks at their plot to break the restraints of the Scriptures, weaken the Church and Israel as a lot of hot air.
- The idea that anyone can oppose God and get away with it is preposterous.
Verse 5: “Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.”
- God will speak to the mobs and world’s political leaders with anger and afflict them with His obvious displeasure (Trib. Per.)
- He is not pleased with those that are trying to establish a world government whose goal is to legislate Him and Jesus out of existence.
- It is impossible to marginalize God and Jesus or to make them irrelevant.
Verse 6: “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”
- Despite what they are doing, God will still move forward with His plan to put Jesus on the throne.
- The effort of the mobs and world’s political leaders to get rid of the Bible, weaken the Church and Israel will not stop God or even slow Him down.
- God’s plan to set Jesus on the throne in Jerusalem will go forward on His schedule.
Verse 7: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
- God declared to the world that Jesus is God’s Son when God raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 13:33).
- It is a mistake to try to ignore the God that raised Jesus from the dead.
Verse 8: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”
- God told Jesus to ask of Him and He [God] will give Jesus the people on earth for His possession.
- Satan is the prince of the power of the air, but all Jesus needs to do is ask, and the God that raised Jesus from the dead will give Jesus absolute rule over this earth.
Verse 9: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
- Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is coming to judge this earth.
- He will take over the world.
- He will break the rebellion on earth with a rod of iron and smash the nations like an angry person smashes a vessel of clay.
Verse 10: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.”
- God has a message for the world’s political leaders and others.
- Be wise; Take this advice.
Verse 11: “Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.”
- Serve God with respect and rejoice with an understanding of how powerful He is.
Verse 12: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
- Love on Jesus because He could be angry, and it would only require a little of His anger to destroy everyone on earth.
- Know that Jesus will bless everyone that puts their trust in Him.
Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc.
Daymond & Rachel Duck
duck_daymond@yahoo.com