On Disappearing and Damascus 

To my way of thinking, the next events of end-times importance outlined in God’s Word are front and center at this very moment. Two things are about to be fulfilled that Bible prophecy specifically details for those who “watch,” as commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ.

The first on the cusp of fulfillment is encapsulated within a book my friend Pete Garcia and I wrote a few years ago: The DISAPPEARING: Future Events That Will Rock the World is described by the following pulled from its back cover.

Each hour brings troubling headlines from the many news sources now available. Every report seems more intrusive upon our daily lives than the previous, and all accounts appear to be setting the end-time stage for soon fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word…

A dramatic presentation of the Rapture…

Vivid depiction of unfolding events immediately following the Rapture and beyond—through planet Earth’s judgment and its ultimate restoration…

My presentation titled “Rapture Ready,” delivered at the Prophecy Watchers’ conference at Branson, Missouri, on December 7, was meant to cover the reasons believers should be ready for that great event–and why.

That session was devoted to the proposition–the exciting and, yes, the comforting certainty—that all the signals around us today indicate all is in “Rapture readiness.” We who are believers and in God’s eternal family should be “Rapture ready.”

Using PowerPoint, I tried to make clear what it means to be ready for the Rapture by presenting the following:

• First, being Rapture ready means we who have accepted Jesus Christ are automatically, by default, Rapture ready through salvation—for redemption from sin. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We will all, without exception, go to Christ when He calls!
• Second, being Rapture ready means we are watching for signals by understanding the times we live in as we anticipate Jesus coming for us. We are expecting the any-moment call of Christ into the clouds of Glory. The Rapture is a salvation issue. We are redeemed by the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Believers have a commission to “watch” (as recorded in Mark 13:37). So we know the Holy Spirit will give us a heads-up on the nearness of the end of the age. Those signals are everywhere at present.
• Third, again, we are to be living lives that are righteous in God’s holy eyes as we anticipate Christ’s call. This, too, is being Rapture ready.

Based on all we sense in our spirits–that something profound is about to happen—I am convinced the disappearing is now at the very prophetic moment Paul the apostle foretold:

“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6).

As we now watch soberly, with great anticipation of Christ’s call, the signals we are commanded to look for by Jesus are profound.

There is a growing cry for peace in various places where wars and rumors of war are threatening nuclear holocaust. And now the one city on Earth–the longest-inhabited in human history, according to historians—is front and center in an unmistakable signal of the lateness of the prophetic hour.

The second matter covered under our article’s title, Damascus, Syria – as we all know from news accounts that proliferate daily with reports of tremendous turmoil in that ancient city – is a powder keg unlike no other possible ignition point for nuclear war outbreak. This city is known to be the headquarters for most every Islamic terrorist organization, to one degree or another.

Russia, in effect, having been evicted from influence by Assad’s removal, means tensions will ratchet up in days to come, with Russia’s Putin suffering yet another embarrassment under the scrutiny of the Russian government underlings hungry for power. His position becomes more and more tenuous.

The great prophet Isaiah’s words seem on the verge of fulfillment:

“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1).

A recent statement issued by terrorists who are now taking over that ancient city makes understandable why it is destined to be obliterated, never to rise again. Again, most every terrorist organization headquarters is there, and now they have seized almost total power. Their statement shows why God will allow the destruction that is so complete, I believe: “This is the land of Islam, this is Damascus, the Muslim stronghold. From here to Jerusalem. We’re coming for Jerusalem” (Israel 365 News).

The forcible abdication of Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad and the powerful geopolitical turbulence created in its wake should alert every believer to just how near we are to the instant of disappearing. The Apostle Paul fervently told the generation of his day–and we who are now seeing all these things begin to come to pass—about that disappearance, the great rescue Jesus commanded us to look for when His coming for us is at the very door of eternity (Luke 21:28).

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

—Terry

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Gabriel’s Prophetic Announcement

The Old Testament contains a great many messianic prophecies. Jesus fulfilled forty-eight specific predictions during His first visit to the earth. A much greater number of biblical texts refer to the end times, Jesus’ appearing, the seven-year Tribulation, Christ’s Second Coming, and eternity.

The fulfillment of Messianic prophecies began with Gabriel’s visit to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:28-38). Along with explaining her supernatural virgin birth, the angel referred her to Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Messiah’s birth as a “child” (Isaiah 9:6-7). His message to the mother of Jesus included the promised millennial reign of her Son:

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31-33).

The Isaiah 9 Prophecy

Why did Gabriel incorporate Isaiah’s prophecy into the announcement of Jesus’ birth? First, it reminded Mary that the Messiah would enter the world as a baby. Mary’s response reveals her previous knowledge of the prophet’s words as she expressed her understanding of the great favor bestowed upon her to be the mother of the promised Messiah (Luke 1:38, 46-55). She was likely one of many young women in Israel hoping that they would give birth to the Christ.

Additionally, the angel’s message confirmed the hope of her day, namely that the Promised One of Israel, her Son, would someday sit on “the throne of his father David” and rule over His people. His words brought to mind all the words of this cherished prophetic text:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: 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” (Isaiah 9:6-7, KJV).

Though many in Israel at this time looked for the Messiah to immediately deliver them from the Roman oppression, that doesn’t negate the Lord’s promise. Just as Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s words by entering the world as a baby, in the same way, He will literally fulfill the prophet’s words concerning His future rule over a restored kingdom of Israel.

Did the Jewish Rejection of Jesus Invalidate Isaiah’s Prophecy?

Many pastors and Christian leaders today teach that Israel’s rejection of their Messiah invalidated God’s promise of a glorious kingdom for Israel. They say the church has inherited these promises, albeit spiritually. Proponents of this unbiblical teaching believe that Jesus began ruling over the nations at His ascension back to Heaven.

Gabriel’s announcement to Mary refutes today’s Replacement Theology, which asserts that God rejected Israel after it spurned His Son and replaced the nation with the church. More than that, the angel’s words fully substantiate the Premillennial beliefs that Jesus will sit on the “throne of David” after the Second Coming. Why do I make such a claim?

First, consider how Mary would have understood Gabriel’s words. They would’ve conveyed the idea of a physical kingdom with her Son ruling over the nation of Israel. The idea of a spiritual realm would never have entered her mind.

The angel’s quote of the promise that the Messiah would sit upon “the throne of his father David” would also have conveyed the image of a literal fulfillment of the Isaiah 9:6-7 prophecy. Why would God fill Mary with such hope unless it truly depicted Jesus’ future rule? He already knew about Israel’s rejection of their Messiah and crucifixion, yet the repeating of the promises from the Isaiah text points to their fulfillment regardless of the actions of the first-century AD Jews.

Second, Gabriel specified that Jesus would rule over the “house of Jacob.” This points to the realization of Ezekiel 37:15-28, which foretells the joining of Judah with the northern tribes of Israel under the kingship of David. These words signaled the joyous joining of the nation into one kingdom, which Mary also would’ve understood as a future fulfillment of the Lord’s promises to her people.

Third, the New Testament never places Jesus on the “throne of David” at the current time or in its description of His headship over His Church. It instead places Him at “the right hand of God,” as we see in Colossians 3:1:

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”

Jesus is the “head of the church,” as the Apostle Paul stated in Ephesians (1:22, 4:15; 5:23) and Colossians (1:18; 2:19). His promised rule over all the nations is far different than his current place as the “head of His body, the church.” Of course, He’s sovereign over the affairs of humanity, but that’s far different than saying He is now ruling over the “house of Jacob” seated on the “throne of his father David.”

Just as Gabriel spoke on behalf of the Lord concerning the Savior’s birth, so he also predicted His future reign over a united Israel. How can one say that the first happened exactly as Isaiah prophesied while the other denotes a spiritual reality? To make such a claim implies that He misled Mary, who surely would’ve viewed both the Messiah’s birth and future rule over Israel as tangible outcomes of the Lord’s original promise to Isaiah (9:6-7).

-Jonathan