Persia’s Gog-Magog Motivation?

Most observers of Bible prophecy and developments toward eventual fulfillment—from the pre-Trib perspective—believe a motivation for the Gog-Magog attack of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 will involve economics. It seems, as a matter of fact, that perhaps the primary motivation will be monetary.

The scriptural basis for this presumption derives from the following:

“Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land” (Ezekiel 38:9-12).

Of course, the real motivation, the impetus for this future attack, comes from Satan. He wants the Jewish nation of Israel destroyed. If he can cause God’s promise—for Israel to be a nation forever—to fail, he doubtless believes he can avoid his own promised punishment, which is to burn throughout eternity in the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The “evil thought” in this Ezekiel prophecy, though, will have at its root in the mind of the Gog spirit indwelling the leader of this satanic coalition the dark idea of stealing all the riches Israel is blessed with.

This motivation, it more and more appears, will be not only from just the desire to take Israel’s riches, but also from the determination to turn around all the coalition members’ (Gog-Magog nations’) abject, dismal economic conditions.

And this monetary-fiscal failure is ever more evident within the economic conditions of these major players that will lead the Gog-Magog assault, according to today’s news cycles.

Russia is in dire stress economically, and many observers believe this is one reason Vladimir Putin keeps feeding the youth and now even the older soldiers of Russia into the deadly machinery of war in the bloody battles against Ukraine. He must distract from the increasingly horrendous economy and living conditions suffered by the Russian people to preserve his position of power.

This has often been the strategy of the likes of Josef Stalin and subsequent dictators of the Soviet Union and around the world.

But we’re looking here at the Gog-Magog coalition member called “Persia.”

This, of course, is the area now called “Iran.”

Here are some news tidbits about that nation’s dismal fiscal condition:

• Iranians use internet connectivity to fight hated regime: Iran’s latest wave of unrest began with the kind of trigger that regimes fear because it spreads through every class: money. Shopkeepers in Tehran’s large mobile phone market shuttered their stores, and the anger pulled in students and more cities as the rial [Iran currency] kept sliding and prices kept climbing. The protests did not reach the scale of the 2022 uprising, yet the tone shifted quickly, and the content online sharpened.

• Why Iranians are calling for the return of the Pahlavis and their monarchy: Protesters took to the streets of Iran this week, amid chants of anger against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and fury over an economy in free fall, a slogan once considered politically unutterable returned, and the sounds of crowds chanting it filled the air. “Javid Shah” – Long Live the Shah.

• Regime Change Here? Protesters Call for the Death of Ayatollah Khamenei As Violence Erupts All over Iran: Is this the end for the tyrannical regime of Ayatollah Khamenei and his minions? During the fifth day of protests in Iran, violence erupted in multiple major cities, and protesters were shouting for Khamenei to be killed. But I wouldn’t get too excited yet. Demanding regime change is easy. Bringing it about is something else altogether. Khamenei and his minions have a lot more guns than the protesters do, and the current regime will never step aside willingly. So those that are desperately hoping for regime change in Iran should not count their chickens before they hatch. (Rapture Ready News, January 2, 2026)

The stories of Iran’s radical Muslim regime coming under assault by the Iranian people continue to mount. And it is reported that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini has made arrangements to go into exile in Moscow at any moment.

But it is reasonable to wonder if this will happen because of Islam’s absolute dedication to establishing the rule of Allah no matter the opposition. War in the cause of Allah—even to the extent of murdering all people who oppose the Islamic law and rule—is justified, and there is to be no quarter given.

Like in the case of Putin and Russia, the Islamic dictatorship will not be deterred. Anything and everything will be done, if history is an indicator, to forge ahead with satanic-directed hegemony. Therefore, Bible prophecy and its fulfillment could well be in play in light of the dire economic conditions and resultant rage by the Iranian people.

It’s easy to postulate that the wrathful unrest of the people who now occupy the land of ancient Persia will cause Iran’s evil leaders to eagerly join with Russia, Turkey, and the rest of the Gog-Magog force in the assault against God’s chosen nation and people.

The “evil thought” of the one called “Gog” will almost certainly center around deflecting the anger and rage of the millions of people under these regimes’ dictatorships.

We are perhaps witnessing now the buildup toward solidifying that coalition Ezekiel spoke of thousands of years ago.

Money—the love of which, God’s Word tells us, is the root of all sorts of evil—certainly is at the nucleus of much of what’s going on in our world today. Whether considering the hatred surrounding the Israel-Muslim world, the blood-drenched Russia-Ukraine war, or the US action against the drug cartels of oil-rich but citizen-destitute Venezuela, economics are surely a prime motivating factor in the drive toward global dictatorship that will one day be attempted by Antichrist.

In that regard, we can see where President Dwight Eisenhower had it right in his warning against the military-industrial complex. The munitions industry it takes to foment and carry out war continues to create wealth for the producers and the merchants of weaponry.

All this we see developing points to the truth that Christ’s call to the Church is drawing near.

Speaking of motivation: Seeing that glorious moment drawing ever nearer, how motivated should we be to be about our Father’s business in carrying out the Great Commission?

Here again is the heart of that gospel to use in our mission to reach the lost:

“That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

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A Time Like No Other

I often hear statements such as, “Today is no different than any other time in history; look at what happened in the last century with its deadly wars and oppression.” Others point to New Testament times when immorality across the Roman Empire rivaled that of our day, as if to say there’s nothing new about our day.

How do we answer such objections? Is our day truly unique in we live in the season of Jesus’ imminent appearing?

The most telling difference between today and no other time in all of Church history is this: since 1948, Israel has existed as an independent nation capable of entering into the covenant with antichrist that will start Daniel’s seventieth week. The extensive preparations for another temple and animal sacrifices also tell us that we live in the shadow of the rapidly approaching Tribulation period.

Beyond what we see happening with Israel, I believe there’s something else that demonstrates we live at a time like no other: It’s the intensity of what we see.

The worldwide death toll from abortion now exceeds one billion, which alone puts today in a category all its own in terms of violence and immorality. And at no other time since John wrote the book of Revelation have we witnessed so many world developments pointing to the nearness of the seals of Revelation 6, which have progressed to the point where many errantly say they have already begun.

Perilous Times on Steroids

There have always been people who fit Paul’s vivid characteristics of the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. However, what we see today is nothing less than “perilous times on steroids.”

The headlines of the past twelve months show that we live at a time like no other when people “are lovers of money.” We recently learned that estimates of the fraud from fake childcare centers in Minnesota has risen to eight billion dollars. In a recent statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that as much as ten percent of the U.S. budget, somewhere between $300 and $600 billion, is stolen every year. Is that not mind-boggling? Power and corruption have always existed, but the scope of today’s greed and dishonesty have reached new heights.

Just a cursory glance at the apostle’s list tells me that much has changed in just the past sixty years. People have always been “lovers of self,” but has this not reached epidemic proportions with the advent of cell phones with built-in cameras? Many were “arrogant,” and “brutal” back in the 1960s, but what we see today is a whole new ballgame.

The Scoffing

The books of Jude and 2 Peter depict the last days as a time of scoffing. When Jude wrote about it, he referred to “the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus” concerning the latter day mocking (Jude 17-18). Notice that the reference is plural; it wasn’t just Peter who had this to say about the mocking:

“Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

Today, the ridicule of our belief in the Rapture has reached new heights.

I recently began recording podcasts again for my YouTube channel, and before this past weekend, they had attracted a few hundred views with several positive comments. My most recent post, “Daniel’s Seventieth Week, Israel, and the Rapture,” however, resulted in many more viewers along with a firestorm of comments mocking the Rapture and our belief in the future restoration of Israel.

The response reminded me that scoffing is indeed a sign of the last days. But more than that, it’s the intensity of the ridicule that points us to the nearing of the midnight hour.

The Reprobate Mentality

Though not typically regarded as a prophetic text, I believe that Romans 1:28-32 also depicts the intensity of today’s rebellion against God. I say that because these verses aptly describe the reprobate mindset that will lead to the killing of a multitude of Tribulation saints as well as a great many Jews after antichrist’s desecration of their temple. Because of the momentum that this God-hating mentality has already gained in our day, it’s easy to see how the attributes described in these verses will lead to the horrific bloodshed of the Tribulation period:

“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32).

Today is different; we live at a time like no other in the history of the Church. We see the more obvious ones in Israel’s existence, the ongoing warfare against the nation, and advanced planning for the third temple. But as the age of grace nears its end, we also note the greatly increased pervasiveness of what the Bible says about the perilous times, scoffing, and along with it the brutal mentality of the last days. As for the violence, despite the horrific massacre of many thousands of protestors in Iran, some nations are urging America to refrain from getting involved to stop the bloodshed.

If you are like me, you wonder how much closer can we get to the time when the Lord says enough, takes us home to glory, and responds to the violence and wickedness of our day?

-Jonathan

What’s Next for America?

Beginning the New Year 2026 and considering all that’s happening that looks to signal the very end of this Age of Grace, sets the stage for wondering just how near we might be to the time when Christ calls His Bride. And, meantime, the question arises: Just what might be next for life in America?

While thinking about my research in writing my Harvest House book released in 2009—The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible Prophecy?—took me back to God’s dealing with America in the 1930s. The things Americans suffered were considered by preachers and politicians alike to be God’s wrath and judgment.

One well-known writer, John Steinbeck, even gave his famous novel on that depressed time in America the title The Grapes of Wrath.

America had gone through a tremendous time of growth and relative prosperity during the “Gay 90s” (for the younger readers, it had nothing to do with the 1990s, nor with homosexuality). It was the 1890s, and the term “gay” still enjoyed its proper definition.

Despite the early 1900s bringing about World War I, the nation leaped forward, and soon the “Roaring Twenties” brought forth the flappers and boisterous, even debauched, “good times.” Reformers tried to squash the hedonism, and the passage of the 18th Amendment instituted prohibition against alcohol manufacture, sale, and transportation. The action only increased rebellion against morality. American gangsters took over, and illegal booze, gambling, and every other type of nefarious activity permeated culture and society.

Then, in 1929 came the stock market crash in the United States, and worldwide depression quickly followed. The wrath of God had fallen!

Or had it?

No, it had not. Neither had His judgment against America’s sin fallen upon the nation, thus affecting the world—not in the sense of God’s great judgment that came upon the antediluvians, the wicked, violent, even genetically corrupted earth dwellers of Noah’s day.

But God’s mighty hand of correction through the Great Depression and the horrendous “Dust Bowl” era came down hard on the backside of this nation He so manifestly chose to accomplish great things for His great purposes. Those things would include, in particular: 1) developing the technologies that would spread the gospel around the entire world, and 2) to act as midwife for the birth of modern Israel on May 14, 1948, and to become that Jewish peoples’ closest ally—an ally that just happened to soon become the most materially blessed, most powerful, and most influential nation the world has ever known.

America has, despite recession, economic downturns, and wars that took thousands of young American lives, known a standard of living and pleasures—both unsullied and debauched—like no generation of any people in history. The profoundly disturbing questions to ponder are: Will God choose to again correct this special nation called America? Or, will He take His hand off to an extent, allowing the US to find its own way, and the people to do what is right in their own eyes, which is what much of the American electorate seems to want?

Daily I read news, even from those who write on things from the Bible prophecy perspective who fear this nation will now feel the Lord’s hand of wrath. These writers usually are those who reject totally the pre-Trib view of the Rapture. They hold that the die is cast, as one of Shakespeare’s characters said. I don’t necessarily subscribe to that “judgment and wrath is about to fall” opinion—at least not in the immediate, near-term way many who write the fear-filled articles and books believe.

God’s wrath, however, is building. It will be unleashed when the “prince that shall come” confirms the covenant with Israel and Israel’s antagonists (Daniel 9:26–27).

That pouring out of God’s anger won’t happen until the Church is removed. However, there is almost certainly a heavenly decision that has already been made and is even now in the process of implementation. It is likely the decision to either take corrective measures as in God’s past dealings with America in order to get this nation back on the moral course, to complete its work in His grand prophetic design, or to give rebellious masses what they more and more demonstrate they demand. They demand freedom to choose what is right in their own eyes.

God’s decision to take His hand off to some extent would be far more fearful than His again taking corrective action like world economic depression. To let the rebels do what is right in their own eyes, thus casting God away from any semblance of divine guidance, means America’s work is done. That is indeed a frightening thing to contemplate.

I must say that I, with reverential consideration, don’t expect immediate meltdown and correction from Almighty God. I believe with all that is within me that He has been demonstrating corrective movements over the past years and months—movements that have gone unheeded by even the majority of His people. These have chosen to bury their heads in the sands of watered-down messages that have practically no relevance to God’s message of doctrinal truth. Rather than revival, there have been false, emotional outbursts that have done disservice to the Lord, who purchased each and every one who has been born again. It seems to me that the Church’s work, like that of America, has almost run its course.

Dave Hunt once wrote a book called Peace, Prosperity, and the Coming Holocaust. His basic premise was that this fallen world system—and particularly the United States and even the Church—would be drawn ever deeper into believing in humanistic salvation by seeming peace and prosperity. He demonstrated, then, through historical precedent and Bible prophecy both past and yet to come that the world of fallen man will, at a future time of unprecedented evil activity on earth, endure a holocaust far worse than that perpetrated by Adolf Hitler. The end will bring, he concluded, God’s wrath and judgment on an incorrigibly wicked world.

I believe America and the world might be entering a time of so-called peace and prosperity as Dave foresaw. But it will be abbreviated by Christ’s sudden intervention. The “change” the country and the world is clamoring for through trust in human governmental entities rather than God’s moral governance will, as my late friend Dave Hunt wrote, swiftly bring the holocaust of the Tribulation.

As many know, I believe that Jesus’ prophecy on “the days of Lot” (Luke 17: 28-30) is exactly where this generation likely stands on God’s prophetic timeline.

It will not be world economic collapse or the end of the American dream, as some declare, that will preempt the “sudden destruction” of Luke 17-30. Jesus said that the economy will be business as usual, while wickedness proliferates just beneath the surface of civility, when He next catastrophically intervenes into the world of sin and rebellion.

As a matter of fact, instead of the economic collapse into the Tribulation, as some prophecy writers of the anti-pre-Trib Rapture sort are declaring, I believe we are headed for somewhat of an economic boom.

While, at the moment, the writers of economic collapse are pointing to the rise in prices they believe will bring economic despair at the Tribulation level, the facts are entirely different. The following item points to what is happening under this unusual president named Donald J. Trump.

Well, Donald Trump has done it again!

He stumped the chumps.

The “chumps” in this case were the “blue chip” academic and financial economists whose consensus forecast this time last year was for high inflation and low economic growth. Wrong on both counts.

As you’ve probably heard, the GDP growth for Q3 came in at a red hot 4.3% following 3.5% for the second quarter. Some 90% of the professional economists got it wrong — all underestimating the strength of the Trump economy. QED: these weren’t random errors. These were “hate Trump” errors.

They also predicted inflation of above 3% for 2025. It’s going to come in at closer to 2.7% with the last two months trending down to the Fed inflation target of 2%.

Starting in the second quarter, GDP has been nearly twice as high as predicted.

To quote the inimitable special agent Maxwell Smart: “Missed it by that much.”…

Krugman and others all thought Trump’s tariffs would ignite runaway inflation.

There’s no doubt tariffs did cause a rise in aluminum, coffee, and beef prices – commodities that got hit by tariffs as high as 50%. But the economic pundits failed to take account of the disinflationary effect of pro-growth policies like deregulation, Trump tax rate cuts, and pro-America energy policies. These counteracted the impact of tariffs on prices overall.

One would have thought that the academics and media would have learned from their mistakes of always underestimating Trump on the economy. But they seem incapable of self-correcting. They keep doubling down on dire predictions about Trumponomics. (https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/moore-economists-got-2025-all-wrong)

While prices continue to be too high for consumer affordability because of prior economic mishandling, I believe changes to bring costs down for the consumer are in process.

Do not think that this coming economic uptick is a good thing in terms of the world. Rather, it is a harbinger of the moment when God takes His great hand of restraint off this fallen planet and takes His family into the clouds of Glory!

It signals the any-moment Rapture!

Jesus said the economy will be just like it was in Sodom when Lot was removed. Business in that wicked place was booming—so much so that Lot chose to settle there when his Uncle Abraham gave him a choice.

It also will be like it was in Sodom once God’s family—all born-again believers in His Son Jesus Christ—are removed. Sudden destruction will follow, like in ancient Sodom.

So, like in the case of Lot’s family (the only righteousness God recognized in Sodom), the righteous–all born-again living and dead during the Church Age or Age of Grace will be removed from amongst the unbelieving of this fallen planet. This will be the Rapture—the pre-Trib Rapture!

Let us pray for the president and for all governmental leaders, so that we might lead peaceful lives. This is commanded of us by the Lord. But let us work to complete whatever He puts in front of us to do for the Kingdom. Let us, as Oswald Chambers entitled his book of devotions, do “Our utmost for His highest” while our fleeting time remains upon this fallen sphere.

—Terry

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Pakistan Ministry Mission Appeal from Terry James

To my Rapture Ready and Prophecyline family: I again solicit your support in spreading God’s Word in Pakistan.

Your generosity in past missionary efforts has just been wonderful beyond measure. I again prayerfully ask that you open your spiritual heart in helping fund the distribution of the books I have given to our pastor in Pakistan to use while he preaches and teaches about our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Anil Jasper translated my little book, Prophecy Power: Strength from God to Face Your Future. He has now also translated into the Urdu language my small book, HeavenVision: Glimpses into Glory.

This is the book in which I describe my widow-maker heart attack on Good Friday of April 22, 2011. In this book, I tell of being somewhere in the heavenly sphere each time my heart stopped. The voluminous documentation of that medical emergency shows why my survival was so unusual that the Cardiological Association gave me the “Cardiological Patient of the Year” award and asked me to speak at their convention.

Of course, at the heart of my testimony is the salvation message that Jesus alone can save the soul from an eternity apart from God the Father.

The first book Pastor Anil translated, then distributed, and continues to distribute to the people of his country, Prophecy Power remains a great witness of Christ’s saving power. HeavenVision will now add a second tool that will help Pastor Anil win souls for God’s eternal family.

I have special permission from my publishers to donate these books to this ministry. I receive no compensation whatsoever from their distribution in Pakistan.

Your donations are essential to carry out this all-important mission. I believe your contributions will result in great heavenly rewards some eternal day when we all come before our Lord at the judgment seat of Christ.

We need funding to print and distribute these books beginning this month.

May the Lord bless you mightily for helping in this mission to the people of Pakistan.

Again, I don’t have a way to accept credit cards or PayPal-type contributions. I ask that you send a check to the address below.

Please put in the line at the bottom of your check: “For our Pakistani mission.”

Also, please include your email address so I can thank you individually. Being blind now since I was fifty-one, sending out letters is beyond my ability. But sending emails is easily within my capability, and I certainly want to thank each of you.

Please make the check out to my name–Terry James—and send to:

Terry James Prophecyline
P.O. Box 38
Benton, AR 72018
Thanks, and God’s Blessings.

Terry 

PS—I am thankful and so pleased to announce that we have received a donation offer that will greatly help in this effort to fund printing and distribution of my books in Pakistan.

A most generous brother in Christ has offered up to $7,500 in matching funds for donations we receive.

In other words, for each donation you send, he will match with an equal amount up to $7,500.

This will greatly bless our effort to provide for the printing and distribution of these two books, each of which has been translated by Pastor Anil Jasper into his Urdu language.

Thanks to each of you who helps reach our goal, which we believe will be sufficient to accomplish this missionary effort in our Lord’s service.

All funds received will be used toward reaching the people of Pakistan with truth from God’s Word.

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The Winds of Tribulation

A popular 1971 novel, The Winds of War by Herman Wouk, depicted the buildup to WWII starting six months before Germany’s invasion of Poland and ending shortly after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. The lengthy novel, almost 900 pages, followed the events in the family of Victor “Pug” Henry, a fictional middle-aged naval officer and confidant of President Franklin Roosevelt.

In the same way, we see unmistakable evidence today of the nearing time when antichrist will “make a strong covenant” with the many (Daniel 9:27), which will start the clock ticking on the seven-year Tribulation. I know that many of you, like me, thought that the Rapture might happen in 2025 because of the many signs pointing to the start of the Tribulation.

But take heart, the winds signaling the Tribulation’s soon arrival continue to blow and along with them, the nearness of our homegoing.

The Winds of War

Just like the months preceding WWII, wars and rumors of war fill the airwaves and Social Media. As I write, another major conflict with Iran seems imminent and given the widespread nature of the rumors, it might possibly begin before you read this article.

The winds of war are again blowing through Europe as its nations, especially Germany, appear ready to join Ukraine’s fight against Russia. At times, both sides in this ongoing war have seemed ready to agree on a ceasefire, but the horrific bloodshed continues unabated. But for the Lord’s restraining hand, this war might have already triggered WWII with Europe joining the conflict to defend Ukraine.

Tensions between the U.S. and the alliance of Russia and China continue to simmer below the surface with the recent U.S. capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro drawing sharp rebukes from them. The Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which seems inevitable, will likely lead to a catastrophic war between America and China with Russia coming to the defense of its ally.

The winds of war tell us that second rider of the Apocalypse will soon begin his trek across the earth (Revelation 6:2-3). But this cannot happen until Jesus opens the second seal after we are already in Heaven with Him.

The Winds of Financial Distress

The national debt in the U.S. recently soared to over 38 trillion dollars pointing to the fact that our economy is a house cards that might collapse at any moment.

The efforts of President Donald Trump to infuse tariff and foreign investment money into the U.S. economy have seemingly forestalled the inevitable, but troubling signs persist. The excessive cost of living in American has many here on the brink of financial disaster with most living paycheck to paycheck. Inflation is down, but the explosion of prices under the Biden Administration remains and continues to bring hardship to most families.

The U.S. economy is a ticking timebomb that someday will play a significant role in the depression conditions described in Revelation 6:5-6.

The Winds of Antichrist

Daniel’s prophecy regarding antichrist’s future peace accord with Israel tells us it will include “the many.” Until this past year, I didn’t understand this reference. I knew it would include Israel, but who are “the many?” Recent events have brought clarity to this matter.

As President Trump seeks to do what other presidents have sought to do for over five decades and failed, he has introduced a new wrinkle into the Middle East peace negotiations. He’s involving other nations, most of them Arab, in the process to relieve the tensions. Could this be a template that antichrist will follow in his future agreement that kicks off the seven-year Tribulation? The sense of Daniel 9:27 is that he will take an existing covenant and make it better or stronger.

The Bible tells us that only Jesus will bring peace to the world, including Israel, at His Second Coming. Today’s ceasefires will fail, but the Lord will continue to protect the nations and do so quite visibly in response to the Gog/Magog invasion (Ezekiel 38-39). In the meantime, the continual battering of war is conditioning Israel to readily agree to the terms offered by antichrist.

The Winds of Another Temple

In Matthew 24:15-31, Jesus referred to the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy as something that would start a time of great suffering for the Jewish people leading up to the time of His Second Coming. What’s pertinent to our discussion concerning the soon start of the Tribulation is that between Jesus’ day and May 14, 1948, Israel didn’t exists as a free and sovereign nation with whom antichrist could make his deal. It’s only been since then that the words of Daniel 9:27 could happen.

The other assumption in Jesus’ words is that a third Jewish Temple would exist for antichrist to desecrate. Since this couldn’t happen before 1948, another one must exist by the midpoint of the coming Tribulation. The advanced preparations for this future temple, the training of Levite priests to serve in it, and the building of a trainline to take people from the Ben Gurion airport to the Temple Mount all point to the nearing time of its construction and thus also to the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27.

Just like time leading up to WWII, we see unmissable evidence that the Tribulation period is oh so near. Should anyone attempt to write a novel entitled The Winds of the Tribulation, the amount of source material would seem endless.

In His sovereignty, God has already determined the moment of Jesus’ appearing to take us home to glory as well as the time of antichrist’s deal with “the many.” The words of Scripture, however, indicate that our wait for the realization of our blessed hope will soon come to an end.

-Jonathan