Introduction
This article does not cover every aspect regarding Bible Prophecy. This serves as a kind of overview of the subject at hand.
Part I gives some important reasons why Bible prophecy is superior to all other kinds of prophecy, and why it can be trusted by mankind, because of ALREADY fulfilled prophecies.
Part II looks at various Bible prophecies that are still yet to be fulfilled, and attempts to provide a biblically sound framework to understand how they might fit the age we currently live in.
Part III, which is to some is controversial, looks at how "signs and wonders" are scrutinized by Bible prophecy from within the framework, to give us a more specific season of time for their fulfillment.
Part IV, which is I think the most controversial part, tries to specifically correlate and extrapolate current events and people to rather specific scenarios. Since becoming a Christian in 1973, I have come up with a scenario that is based upon how I have seen Satan apparently working to prepare the world to accept his Antichrist.
This is a working document, in that I am still trying to better understand the Bible as a whole, by studying it in its original languages, and in its historical and cultural contexts, with minimum reading into the verses MODERN biases, so that I can better form a proper BIBLICAL framework. I approach this framework with the belief that prophecy MUST completely integrate with the REST of Scripture. Therefore, it is my firm opinion that it is FRUITLESS to try to understand the details of prophecy without a good understanding of the ENTIRE Bible. Thus, Christians who ONLY study Bible prophecy and do not read the rest of the Scripture, are like a travelers trying to figure out a map in which the travelers has NO IDEA what any of the symbols or lines mean, so they have to GUESS. I have played this guessing game for too many years in the past with them regarding prophecy, and I want to move on.
Note: I do not agree with all the information found at sites I link to, but I typically use them to show correlation to what is being stated here.
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Part I - Why We Can Trust Bible Prophecy
Most of us have heard of people predicting "the end of the world." Many people, from "psychics" to even Christians, have tried to predict when it would happen, and have obviously failed. When Christians try this, most of these attempts are largely based on things such as a single Bible verse taken out of context, or from a weird dream that maybe somebody had. Because of all these failures, should we ignore all predictions that we have ever heard? I do not think so. From my own studies and experiences, I have come to the conclusion that the Bible contains the ONLY reliable predictions we can trust in. Why is this? Simply put, the Bible claims to be THE Word of God, a divinely inspired and protected book in the original languages of Koine Greek and ancient Hebrew. This article deals with PART of the evidence for that fact. It would take a massive number of other articles just to begin to cover all the other evidence that the Bible is DIVINELY inspired and protected. I will discuss just some of the prophecies in the Bible, and their significance to us.
What is at least one reason to trust the Bible as being written by God? You can because so many astounding predictions of the Bible have already come true. For example, most people do not know that in the Bible, Daniel 2:37-48 and Daniel 7:2-27 were not only clear predictions of the four major world empires that would exist after its writing (the Babylonian, Medio-Persian, Greek, and Roman), but the details about them were studied right from the Bible in secular public schools in Great Britain and the USA as late as the end of the 19th Century. Scholars that reject the Bible as being of divine origin have been FORCED to believe that because of how astounding these predictions were, that the book of Daniel MUST have been written much later in history, in the mid-2nd Century BC, as opposed to the traditional view of it being written by Daniel himself by the mid-6th Century BC. One major problem with believing it was written in the mid-2nd Century BC, is that the book of Daniel also makes astoundingly accurate predictions of events occurring around and after 167 BC regarding the Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, who issued decrees in Judea forbidding all Jewish practices, even forcing the Jewish High Priest to sacrifice and eat an "unclean" pig on the Jewish altar. This led to a Jewish rebellion and the famous Maccabean War. Daniel chapter 11 gives astoundingly accurate predictions about Antiochus and this war.
Some of the most amazing predictions in the Bible had to do with a future Jewish Messiah. Jesus ALREADY fulfilled so many of the specific predictions during His life here during 1st Century AD, that it is beyond coincidence or mere human ability to have done so. Here are some of the things predicted centuries before Christ was born, that He fulfilled during His lifetime on earth:
He was born of a virgin woman (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:26-35).
He was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7).
He was a descendent of King David (Jeremiah 23:5; Luke 3:23).
He performed many healings (Isaiah 32:3-4; Matthew 9:35).
Jesus fulfilled at least 26 specific predictions on the very day that He died!
1- He was betrayed by a friend (Psalms 41:9; John 13:21)
2- He was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:15)
3- The betrayer's money was thrown into God's house (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:5)
4- The betrayer's money was used to buy a potter's field (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:7)
5- Jesus was forsaken by His followers (Zechariah 13:7; Mark 14:50)
6- He was accused by false witnesses (Psalms 35:11; Matthew 26:59,60)
7- He stayed silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:12)
8- He was wounded and bruised (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 27:26)
9- He was punched and spit upon (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67)
10- He was mocked (Psalms 22:7,8; Matthew 27:31)
11- His hands and feet were pierced (Psalms 22:16; Luke 23:33)
12- He died as a criminal along with other criminals (Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 27:28)
13- He prayed for His murderers (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 23:34)
14- was rejected by His own people (Isaiah 53:3; John 7:5,48)
15- He was hated without a cause (Psalms 69:4; John 15:25)
16- His friends stood afar off (Psalms 38:11; Luke 23:49)
17- His own Jewish people shook their heads at Him (Psalms 109:25; Matthew 27:39)
18- His clothes were taken away and gambled for (Psalms 22:18; John 19:23,24)
19- He was very thirsty while dying (Psalms 69:21; John 19:28),
20- Gall and vinegar was offered to Him to drink (Psalms 69:21; Matthew 27:34)
21- He asked why He was forsaken by the rest of the Trinity of God (Psalms 22:1; Matthew 27:46)
22- He committed His spirit to God (Psalms 31:5; Luke 23:46)
23- He had no bones broken in His body (Psalms 34:20; John 19:33)
24- His heart literally burst open (you need to have a bit of medical understanding for this, Psalms 22:14; John 19:34)
25- His side was pierced (Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34)
26- He was buried in a rich man's grave (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60).
No psychic has EVER come close to being as correct with their predictions as the prophets who wrote the Bible. Many think the predictions of Nostradamus were amazing. His predictions might sound amazing, until you take the time to check out his ACTUAL words as opposed to what OTHER PEOPLE said he predicted. I have personally read ALL of his alleged predictions. Apart from a small handful, they are all so very vague. Certainly, the "interpretations" you read by other authors are not vague, but any reasonable person will see that 99.9 percent of the interpretations are simply blind guesses when compared to what Nostradamus actually wrote. His most specific prediction was regarding the starting of the "end of the world," that it would be at the end of 1999. But it did not come true. It appears that Nostradamus was not too far off in this prediction, but that is because he BORROWED this idea from much earlier written sources. The year 1999 is not far off from what Christians such as Martin Luther believed and wrote about at least a few decades before Nostradamus' first predictions were published in 1555. By interpreting the "one day is like a thousand years to the Lord" verse as a key to the length of all of human history. They saw the seven day period God took to create the universe as standing for 7000 years of human history, where work and suffering would last 6000 years, and then there would be a rest for a millennium (1000 years). Not only did Nostradamus and Luther write this, but many early church fathers wrote this very thing down as early as 100 AD (please disregard this web site's obsolete date setting attempts)! What is more amazing, is that this belief was not new. I have talked to a number of those of the Jewish faith, and found out that such a belief existed with them many centuries before Jesus was even born!
Part II - Bible Prophecies of the Future Seen Within a Biblical Framework
Most people do not realize that about one-FOURTH of the Bible deals with prophecy. There is strong biblical reason to believe that the actual percentage is much more than that, if we include all the typologies and symbolisms that are implicitly built into the Bible. As amazing as it is that so many prophecies of the Bible have ALREADY been fulfilled, MOST of the prophecies are about the end of human history, still awaiting fulfillment. A single article could not possibly deal with every aspect of these particular prophecies.Whether we know it or not, many Old Testament typologies are accepted as prophecies by Christians, because the New Testament SAYS that they were prophecies. For example, consider the following New Testament passage:
Acts 2:24-32
24 "But God raised Him {Jesus} up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
25 "For David says of Him {quote of Psalm 16:8-11}
'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE;
FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.
26 'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED;
MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE;
27 BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY
SOUL TO HADES,
NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.
28 'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE;
YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.'
29 "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 "And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE,
31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.
32 "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
The apostle Peter claims that David was not speaking of himself in Psalm 16:8-11. If one just naturally read this passage, it would appear to be David making a prophecy about HIMSELF. Yet, Peter points out that this prophecy was NOT fulfilled by David after he died, so it must be talking about SOMEBODY ELSE. Is this the only place where symbolism and typology is so well embedded into the Old Testament? Certainly not. The New Testament in quite a few places identifies Old Testament typologies that are actually meant to be treated as prophetic.
<>Are there typologies in the Old Testament NOT identified specifically by the New Testament that are meant to be treated as prophetic? Many Christians would think it would not be so. However, Jesus claims this is so. In fact, He scolded two believers for being ignorant of a number of typologies as being prophetic of HIM:Luke 24:25-27
25 And He {Jesus} said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all
the prophets, He explained to them the
things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
What I find the most interesting about this passage, is that the more I try to more carefully study this passage in the original Greek, the more clear it is to me that Jesus here is claiming that EVERY verse in the Old Testament is in some way a prophecy of HIM! How I wish I could have overheard this particular conversation to make sure. Even if every verse does not speak of Jesus prophetically, then at the very least, EVERY book of the Bible MUST speak of Jesus somehow! How can this be? By TYPOLOGY, of course!
<>The New Testament I believe gives us a very clear statement to show that the JEWISH holidays, Sabbaths, and New Moon observations, are all prophetic typologies, even down to the food and drink they had at these holiday celebrations and observations:
Colossians 2:16-17
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
Here is where I build much of my framework for understanding Bible prophecy. Most of the books by Christians on Bible prophecy seem to have frameworks that totally ignore this verse in its full implications. However, this verse makes it clear that ALL the Jewish feasts/holidays play a very important role in understanding prophetic.
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Some Jewish feasts have ALREADY been fulfilled according to the Bible. The Bible makes it clear that Christ fulfilled the JEWISH Feast of Passover the day He died. In fact, Jesus died the very day that the Jews were to kill the passover lamb (Nissan 14 on the Jewish Calendar every year). Passover feast:
Mark 14:12
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when
the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said
to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?"
Keep in mind that for the Jews, a new day STARTED at sunset, so since Jesus died before the NEXT sunset, He died the same day as the Passover lamb was slain.
The New Testament makes it clear that the Passover Lamb is a TYPE of Jesus' death, thus fulfilling the Jewish Passover:
1 Corinthians 5:7
Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
Jesus rose from the dead on the Jewish Feast of First Fruits (16 Nissan on Jewish calendar). The New Testament confirms that Jesus' resurrection fulfilled this feast:
1 Corinthians 15:20
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the
first fruits of those who are asleep.
The coming of the Holy Spirit onto every Christian fulfilled Shavuot or Feast of Weeks (also known to Christians as Pentecost, 6 Sivan). It occurs 7 weeks (49 days) after the 2nd day of Passover. Pentecost, which means "fifty," counts 50 days after the first day of Passover. This feast celebrates the giving of the COVENANT (Law or Torah) to people that day. Jesus fulfilled Shavuot by sending the Holy Spirit in bringing a NEW COVENANT. Covenant is in effect no different than a contract or treaty. Only Jesus was able to fulfill the Jew's contract with God in order to be in His good graces. Before Jesus came, if a gentile (non-Jew) did not convert to Judaism, then he had no contract with God to save him from death and destruction.
Those are the main spring Jewish holidays, except for the Feast of Purim. There is a set of fall Jewish holidays yet to be fulfilled, and one of them is Rosh Hashanah. Many Christians, including myself, are convinced that Jesus will return one year in the fall season on one of those particular fall Jewish holidays. I am more and more leaning towards seeing the Second Coming of Jesus Christ during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth), which celebrates GOD tabernacling (dwelling) with us. There is also good reason to believe that Jesus was BORN during the Feast of Tabernacles (His FIRST coming), and that He was conceived during the Jewish feast of Chanukah (The Feast of Lights) 9 months earlier, which ironically could have been around December 25th. DOUBLE fulfillments of Bible prophecy does appear possible therefore, and we should not rule such a thing out. Note: I need to update my Jewish holidays page to include my latest observations on some of what you read here, since some of the things I say there are slightly different there.
There are good reasons to believe that the spring Jewish Feast of Purim is prophetic typology for the day of the year when Russia and her allies will be destroyed by God raining down on the earth what appear to be comet fragments onto the earth. Purim is a celebration of the time when those attempting to wipe out the Jews got destroyed themselves, and God is credited for causing this to happen (Book of Esther). The person who led this failed destruction in the book of Esther was named Haman. That name only appears in one other Bible passage, Ezekiel 39:16-17. It is the place where all the dead Russians will be buried after the "comet" strike, which will be called the valley of "Hamon Gog." The name of the city there will then be called "Hamonah." "Haman" and "Hamon" are the same names, but with slightly different spellings. "Haman" is Persian, and Hamon is Hebrew, and both names mean "multitude." It is not directly clear when this will occur in relation to the last seven years before Christ's return. I currently think that it will occur either before or soon after the start of the seven year Tribulation. I currently think that this invasion attempt could occur as much as a year before the Antichrist signs the seven year treaty with Israel.
I am well aware of the problem most Christians have about date-setting any "End Times" Bible predictions. Their problem comes from statements that Christ made, recorded in three places in the Bible (Matthew 24:29-25:13, Mark 13:26-37, and Luke 12:39-46). The problem centers around the fact that Jesus said that no one knows the day or hour. What most Christians believe this teaches is that we cannot know the day or hour of ANY future prophecy. Upon careful study of the three passages, it becomes clear that this not knowing refers only to the day or hour of Christ's return, not to any of the many other prophecies. Also, many Christians make the false assumption that we cannot even know things like the week, month, or year of Christ's return. Christ's return is NOT in two parts. His return is at the end of the Tribulation. The "rapture" (resurrection of all believers) will also occur when He returns after the Tribulation.
The answer to what the meaning of no one knows the day or hour is found in the Mark passage. It shows us that we can narrow down knowing Christ's return down to a two day period (Mark 13:32-37):
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, WATCH and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to WATCH. 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-- lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to ALL: WATCH!
First off, if we are not supposed to know when Christ will return, then WHY are we commanded to keep AWAKE through the night, WATCHING for His return once we see other certain signs? Is God going to all of a sudden take back what He said about not knowing the day the hour any time before Christ's return so we can obey His command to watch? I don't think that too many Christians have really thought this Bible passage through much at all. It is clear that we are not allowed to know the exact day or hour, but we may know it down to a certain two day period, thus we can follow the command to not sleep though the night of Christ's expected time of return, WATCHING for Christ's return. Greg Killian and Roy Reinhold agree in their beliefs that Christ's return will happen during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah (also called Yom Teruah) which covers a two day period which occurs during the first two days of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. Greg and Roy seem to disagree in a few of the details, but they concur enough to support my point. In theory, if you can narrow Christ's return down to a two day period, then you are not violating Jesus' words regarding His return. In light of the Mark passage just quoted, it appears that we are allowed to narrow our watch for Christ down to a two day period. As an aside, some argue that Christ did not know this "day and hour" while He was on earth, since He put off His Deity in such a way as to rely on the Holy Spirit for all His power, to give us an example for us to follow. Now that He is relying on His own divine knowledge, He would be less than omniscient if He still knew everything EXCEPT when He would return to the earth. Getting back to the other line of reasoning, if we can figure out which year He will return, then we should automatically know which two day period Jesus will return in. See many more details regarding the "day and hour" here.
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Part III - Using Signs and Wonders Within the Framework
According to the modern Jewish calendar, we are still over 200 years away from the end of this 6000 year period (for example: in our Gregorian year of 2007, it overlaps the Jewish years 5767 and 5768). There is strong evidence that the Jewish calendar year was intentionally altered, This was done in the 12 Century AD, by Jewish rabbis such as Maimonides. Christians for centuries were confounding Jews by showing them from the Old Testament that Jesus was not only their Messiah, but that God was THREE Persons! Maimonides went so far as to change the meaning of various Old Testament passages about the God and their Messiah, even changing the Hebrew word "echad," from meaning "united," to meaning the literal number "one," and changing "Elohim" from meaning "FAMILY or SONS of God" (the "im" ending meaning THREE or more) to meaning a "majestic" SINGLE person. Unfortunately, even many of the top Christian Hebrew "experts" bought into many of these very late alterations of meaning.
Now, back to what rabbis like Maimonides did to the Jewish calendar to alter it. The Bible teaches that the Jews spent 430 years in Egypt. This was accepted fact by the Jews, until Maimonides and his followers adjusted those years down to around 200 years. This unbiblical calculation led to making the Jewish year something like 230 less than it really is. Therefore, the Jewish year 5767 (Gregorian years for late 2006 and early 2007), it is really 5767 plus 230 years: around the Jewish year 5997. Of course this does not mean that we really know when year one is for sure, but it does appear that we are very close to the end of 6000 years of human history from the Jewish point of view, biblically speaking. It all really depends upon when "year 1" was. Most would agree that this would be the year Adam from Genesis chapters 1 and 2 was created.
Probably the most famous calculation of when Adam came into existence, thus starting human history, was made by Bishop Usher. He took a literal interpretation of all the time periods and generations stated in the Bible, and deduced that human history started in the year 4004 BC. Clearly, 6001 years after that date did not see the start of the millennial peace expected by the ancient Jew or Christian, since that year would have been 1998. It is debatable how accurate Usher's calculation could be, since it is known that Jewish genealogies can traditionally skip generations. Nevertheless, using the allegedly more accurate Jewish year before it was changed along with Usher's calculation, it seems that we are very close to the general time period where we end 6000 years of human history, and enter the start of 1000 years of millennial peace.
According to the Bible, the actual "end of the world" is when all the heavens and the earth are destroyed by fire. That occurs after 7000 years of human history, according to ancient Jewish views, and many of the early Christian Fathers. What many refer to as "the end of the world" (or Armageddon) is really the time when all the world's authorities and powers are uprooted. The battle of Armageddon occurs when Jesus Christ comes back to earth, and destroys the armies that will oppose Him. Then, Jesus sets up His kingdom on earth, ruling the entire planet for 1000 years. This is supposed to be an amazing time of peace and prosperity that the world had never seen before.
Another possible indicator that may fit in with the one day is like a thousand years to the Lord approach in calculating Christ's return is found in Hosea 6:1-2-- Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but He will heal us; he has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. The reasoning goes like this: Christ waits two days (two-thousand "biblical" years of 360 days per year) before he revives and raises us in resurrection, and then we live in His sight as He rules on Earth during the third day (one-thousand years, probably the "biblical" type also). This would put Christ's return within the next few decades at most, depending upon what you you decide to start counting from exactly.
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It is interesting that the Bible appears to treat years as being 360 days long. Why would the Bible not treat a year to be what it is, 365.25 days? Yes, ALL the ancient world used to think a year lasted 360 days. Where they stupid? No, they were very well aware of how long a year was based upon their keen knowledge of astronomical details. It is important to note that up until around 700 BC, ALL nations on the earth held to a 360 day long year. Then for roughly 100 years, every nation's calendar system suddenly was found to be incorrect. It took about 100 years for all the nations to MAKE CORRECTIONS to all their calendars. Once again they all agreed, but then they all said the year was now 365.25 days long! Emmanuel Velikovsky covers the evidence for what he believes caused this major change in his book, "Worlds in Collision" (no longer in print), written back around 1955. Some think that Matthew 24:22 indicates that the last seven years before the millennium of peace will be "cut short" to some degree, which may explain for the 36.75 day difference between the two different lengths of years. Could God use some massive force in space (gravitational pull from a wayward planet) to change the earth's year back to being 360 days per year? I tend to think so.
There seems to be evidence that comet Hale-Bopp had disturbed quite a bit of our solar system when it passed through in 1997, especially the Trojan asteroid belt orbiting along the same orbit as Jupiter. Did Comet Hale-Bopp disturb Jupiter and Venus on its relatively close flybys? Was NASA secretive about what it knows about this? Who is to say that there is not some other object the public does not know about that is heading toward us which will end up either as another great sign or a collision? In spite of the official statement of NASA saying that Comet Hale-Bopp's head was about 25 miles across, many amateur astronomers estimated from NASA's own pictures and their own that its head was BIGGER THAN THE EARTH! http://www.tmgnow.com/repository/cometary/shechinah/pinwheel.html . I never thought NASA would lie about what was going on in space, until I read what they were saying about this comet. Here is just one of many of the things that were red flags to me that NASA was doing a major cover-up regarding comet Hale-Bopp details:
http://www.enterprisemission.com/nasabell.html
It appears that there have been some very strange things that occurred in the past few years (starting after the arrival of comet Hale Bopp), especially regarding increased activity on the sun. "Global Warming" is being blamed on mankind's creating "excessive" carbon dioxide, but there is plenty of evidence that this warming only started recently, in my own observations and studies, in late 1997, due to the increase of solar activity.
It is even more strange when contact with the SOHO satellite was suddenly "lost" shortly after a scientist independent from NASA discovered a massive comet (C 1998 J) that had all the same markings as supposedly long gone come Hale-Bopp!
The Bible calls this impostor by such names as "the beast," "the Antichrist," and "the little horn that brags." According to Daniel 9:27, it is understood that this beast will make a seven year treaty with Israel, which actually starts the seven year countdown (roughly) to Jesus Christ's actual return.
Part IV - Fleshing Out Details in the "End Times" Scenario
What kind of treaty will this coming impostor messiah make with Israel? Daniel chapter 9 teaches that it will allow the Jews in Israel once again perform animal sacrifices and offerings. This seems to clearly indicate that the Jews will be allowed to once again have their temple for the place to do such things as they did before. Currently, the Palestinian Muslims are in control of the site where the Jews have had all their previous temples. It would take some heck of a negotiator to get the Muslims to let the Jews even near the site, let alone perform any Jewish ceremonies there. This seems to imply that something will take the Palestinians out of the area, or at least out of control of that area.
That is why some believe along with myself that the destruction of much of the Arab world power will occur sometime before the seven year treaty occurs. The verses usually quoted about this destruction are Ezekiel chapter 38-39 and Isaiah chapter 17. The Ezekiel passage includes the destruction of 5/6ths of the Russian army, who are descendants of the ancient tribes of Gog and Magog, who are destroyed by "torrential rain," "hailstones," "fire," and "brimstone" (literally, 'burning stones'), all preceded by a world-wide earthquake. From a scientific point of view, it sounds like the description of pieces of a comet will cause this destruction as it strikes the earth. Ezekiel chapter 39 talks about Israel using the remaining war equipment of the dead for fuel for seven years. I currently tend to think that this seven year period will roughly coincide with the seven year peace treaty, but it could quite possibly precede the treaty a number of years, among a few other possibilities. Also, I believe that this particular prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 38 will occur during a future Jewish feast of Purim in the coming years. Purim is a two day holiday. See this article regarding more information about the Jewish Feasts tying into future prophetic events. How would the world view such a strange disaster? Keep in mind that to the world, an invasion of the Middle East of such massive proportions would probably appear to be the start of World War 3, which many equate to "the end of the world." Then, all of a sudden, a massive raining down from space of comet material that appears to be so precisely planned that it could not have been a coincidence since it appears to stop World War 3. As strange as this might sound, I currently believe that "aliens" claiming to be from outer space will falsely take credit for stopping this invasion.
Based upon Bible predictions, many believe that the very first part of the last seven years before Armageddon (remember to use 360 days per years) will seem like a wonderful time in many ways. The impostor messiah will somehow convince most of the human race that we have finally found true world peace. That I believe ties in with the sign of the first horse of the book of Revelation (in chapter 6 verse 2). Right in the middle of the seven year treaty period, this "Beast" (the Antichrist) will himself break his seven year treaty with Israel, and he will forbid Jewish sacrifices and offerings to be continued. In its place, he will set up the "abomination of desolations" in the future Jewish temple. Antiochus Epiphanes was the prophetic prototype of this action, when he sacrificed a ceremonially unclean pig in the temple right before the Maccabean Wars less than 200 years before Christ came to the earth. Other passages make it clear that this Beast will set up a throne in the future Jewish temple and sit on it, declaring himself to be God (2nd Thessalonians 2:3). The remainder of the second half of this seven years is referred to as the "Great Tribulation" or "the time of Jacob's trouble." It is a time when the Antichrist will be allowed by God to prevail in fighting against the "saints," otherwise known as Christians (Daniel 7:21). These "saints" are clearly not the same as the 144,000 Jews that will believe in Jesus Christ, who will have special protection from God ( Rev. 7:2-8; Rev 12:6). Many Christians will be persecuted and imprisoned, and even killed by such methods as beheading (Revelation 13:10; 20:4). The Beast will possibly become a world dictator (or very close to it), who will not allow anyone to buy or sell anything, unless they have "the mark of the Beast," which somehow includes the number 666, put in or on every person's hand or forehead. It seems to function like a credit card number, but without the card. Accepting this mark will be considered an act of worshipping the beast, so this is why Christians are to refuse receiving it. Nearly the entire world is said to one day worship the Antichrist as God. Is it a coincidence or joke that the UPC code since its initial use has the number 666 in it on everything you buy? I suggest that the reader at least read all of Revelation chapter 13 to see how this Beast controls all the world ECONOMICALLY.
If you treat the book of Revelation as presenting events strictly in chronological order, then it appears that quite a few more events will occur than most Christians expect will occur during the first half (3.5 years) of the Tribulation. In my opinion, it appears clear that we will have reached the middle of tribulation by the start of Revelation chapter 13, where the Antichrist is clearly revealed. This revealing has to do with him finally doing what Satan wanted him to do: persecute the Jews and Christians, and defy God by demanding to be worshipped as God. It therefore appears that the first 3.5 years will include the opening of the seven seals and the blowing of the seven trumpets. During the last 3.5 years (still measured as 360 days per year), God appears to increase his judgments on the earth to include every unbeliever alive in the human race. In spite of this, God's predicted "wrath" still has not occurred, since God leaves room for the people of the earth to repent, at least up until Revelation 16:9. As in the Days of Noah, after the chance for repentance is over, the wrath of God begins, and then there is no letting up. That is why "the Day of the Lord" is so frightening. God's grace and patience will be COMPLETELY OVER on the day Jesus rides on His horse down to earth to fulfill this part of the so-called "Lord's Prayer:" Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). Nearly every occurrence in the Old Testament that uses the phrase "in that day" refers to "the Day of the Lord." Check some of them out to see how amazing and frightful "that day" will be, and what wonderful things it will finally bring to the earth afterwards.
How could this Antichrist get nearly the entire world to let him become this world's ruler? The Bible says that God will allow a "strong delusion" on the entire world in such a way that most will believe a great "LIE" regarding the Antichrist (2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12). He will be allowed to perform with all power, great signs, and lying wonders because of satanic power. One of the many "wonders" will be the ability to bring down fire from the sky (Revelation 13:13). Many have speculated on what that lie might be. Many like myself believe that "UFOs" will play a very large part in the Antichrist's plans. See "My Testimony," Cutting Edge's Independence Day article, and Watcher's UFO page to see why we all think "UFOs" are actually evil spirit beings, otherwise known as fallen angels, demons, or devils. The "LIE" may be that "aliens" are non-demonic beings from other planets who helped us evolve from monkeys into men. The reason I see this as such a dangerous lie, is because if life was somehow created and guided in the past by highly "evolved" alien beings, then THEY must have been the "gods" who we owe everything to, not to some supernatural Being that is omnipotent and omniscient. Religions like Christianity would be then considered totally obsolete. If "familiar spirits" (1st Samuel 28:8) can fool many humans into thinking that one of their dead relatives has returned for a visit, complete with not only the same appearance and sounds, but could also provide information that only the two knew, then these spirits should not have too much trouble getting away with appearing as something that they totally made up, such as "UFOs" or "aliens." One possible scenario I see of how "UFOs" might enter the scene, is that they might try and take credit for stopping the predicted Russian invasion of Israel when it finally occurs. A recent Star Trek Voyager television episode showed something very much like that, where asteroids were being guided right into a planet so as to attack a civilization there. It seems likely that Israel and most of the world would gladly give over their authority to such "benevolent and powerful" creatures such as these "aliens." It is interesting that the Beast is predicted to start a new religion that is meant to worship a god of fortresses (Daniel 11:37-39). A fortress is something that is used to provide a group of people security and protection from attack from without. What would the "UFOs" want to "protect" us from that is "from without?" Could it be protection from other comet or asteroid impacts coming from unfriendly "alien beings ?" Considering who is said to be throwing down such things in the Bible, it seems clear that the Antichrist is really trying to "protect" us from God Himself! This "protection" will eventually lead to one of the world's greatest rebellions against God, worshipping the god of fortresses, who I believe will end up being the Beast himself, while personally possessed by Satan himself. This rebellion will eventually lead to Satan's final act of "defending" the world from the "attack" (return) of Jesus Christ, during the battle of Armageddon (Revelation chapter 19).
I have found some interesting speculation on the internet about what happened to the half-man/half-angel race of beings which are talked about in Genesis 6:4-- There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown." I assumed that these "giants" were all killed during the Noahic flood, but that is not specifically stated in Genesis 6:1-7. I assumed their destruction was implied. What would these "giants" look like? Were they the beings that many Greek and other people's "myths" talk about (half "god"/half man, having a divine father and mortal mother)? Would they look freakish, maybe like ALIENS? Some believe that they somehow survived the flood, maybe by flying out into space, since there is reason to believe that human technology reached a very high point before it was all suddenly destroyed by a worldwide flood. Some think that they are the ones who created the apparent monuments on Mars and possibly on the moon and on other planets. I currently believe that these monuments (if they really exist) on other planets were created by God's holy angels to point to Jesus Christ as the focal point of all history. Maybe fallen angels following Satan will be the "aliens" that we will see landing and helping the Antichrist into power. We must be careful not to write off the demonic origins of "aliens" if they do appear as fully physical beings, not just spirit beings. Some (including myself) think that the same demons who fathered the Nephilim will be released from their prison to torture the earth for a time during the seven year period as I mentioned earlier (compare 1st Peter 3:20; 2nd Peter 2:5; and Revelation chapter 9).
Regarding the amazing structure known as the Pyramid of Giza, for the first time since about 2144 BC, a new north star, Polaris, is supposedly just about starting to shine down a significant passageway in this pyramid. The last north star to do this was Draconis (which means "the dragon"). Polaris will slowly line up more and more with this passage, thus sending its light further and further down the passage. Polaris' light will reach the floor of the Subterranean Passage SEVEN YEARS later. Many believe that this pyramid is the altar to the Lord of Hosts in the midst of the land of Egypt, and the border thereof to the Lord, and it shall be for a sign, and for a witness unto the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt (Isaiah 19:19-20). "Giza" means "border." See this site to get more details about this amazing pyramid. Regardless of how bad it will get down here, there is a good ending (at least to Christians). Jesus Christ is said to personally come down once again to earth, and He will completely put to end the reign of terror of the anti-Christ, and their followers. This will also bring to an end the 6000 years that Satan has ruled the earth (John 14:30). 1000 years of PEACE will then come to the entire earth, and Christ is said to enforce that peace. All the dead after that 1000 year period will then come back from the dead to receive final judgment by Christ. Then, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed, and NEW heavens and earth will be created. Read Revelation 19:11 through 22:21 to get the overall picture of how the "end of the world" will truly occur.
There are some other unusual astronomical things that recently occurred. On 5/6/2000, Venus, Mercury, the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon all came very close to lining up like the Jewish candlestick. This supposedly has never happened before, and occurred during the Feast of Passover. Have you ever looked at a traditional Jewish candlestick? To me, it looks like orbits of planets. Coincidence?
One other observation I think is important: it seems very clear to me that God ALWAYS gives plenty of warning before He does any kind of judgment, quite often decades of warning. It is interesting to note that the BIG 1997 "El Nino" storms started within about a week AFTER the last of the four lunar eclipses back on 10/16/97. 10/16/97 occurred during the Days of Repentance.
(Revelation 8:8-11)-- "Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter."
Do I believe that there is an maximum upper time limit to when Christ should return? We are told by Christ that once we begin to see certain biblical fulfillments, that the generation that sees them "will NOT PASS AWAY until all things are fulfilled" (Matthew 24:32-34). Many believe that this refers to the generation who saw the Jews coming back to Israel in 1948, as long as at least a few people live long enough to witness Christ's return. Those born in 1947 are sixty, in 2007. The Bible talks of the typical life span of man to be between seventy and eighty years, and most alive today who were alive back in 1948 are nearing the later years of their lives here. Some (including myself) think that the generation countdown did not start until 1967 when Israel retook their capital Jerusalem. If that is the true, we can then theoretically wait until about the year 2037 for Christ's return, when those born in 1967 will be seventy years old. That is the latest possible date I can imagine for Christ's return based upon this well-known and widely accepted indicator. Of course this calculation is prone to error since it is based on at least two different assumptions not clearly backed by Scripture.
I am convinced that the entire universe within the spirit world has known for quite a while much of the general timing of future events, and that Satan and his servants have been very busy for years trying to give out endless disinformation that has SOME truth in it about the future, but enough lies to confuse most people about what really is going to happen. The disinformation you are meant to be exposed to depends on what current biases you currently hold. If you are biased against "supernatural" events, then you will be fed disinformation that will help you to strengthen any of your currently incorrect biases, and redefine "supernatural" events as having a "natural" explanation in such a way as to keep you from dealing with who God really is. If you believe in the "supernatural," then you will be exposed to disinformation that will tend to strengthen the false myths and superstitions you may currently believe in, while discouraging you from dealing with who God really is. I actually observed this occur a number of times while I had my "occultic powers," but I did not understand the pattern I saw at that time.
I have found it a bit strange that many people (both Christian and non-Christian) in the past have tried to force me into making a very exact, specific (and final) prediction of WHEN any of the events predicted in the Bible will occur. They seem to believe that I have tried to set up a type of argument that cannot be disproved as time goes along. In a sense that is true, since if I am wrong, it only proves that some of my specific INTERPRETATIONS of the signs in the Bible were wrong. It would not automatically prove that the Bible is wrong about the future. I wish that I could dogmatically give specific dates, but the nature of this subject precludes such specific information at this time. I am NOT a prophet (at least not yet). All Christians are commanded to diligently WATCH for the signs of Christ's return. To the best of my knowledge and ability, I am doing that. It would be nice for me to be able to simply walk away from my "guard duty" and settle down into my other careers and hobbies now. The bottom line is that I believe it is clear that God is giving us signs that are telling us the end of this age is very near, but it's EXACT nearness MIGHT be uncertain. My current impression is that God would not wait too many months (or years) after the string of amazing signs that have been seen in recent times without Him soon unveiling the events that they are meant to precede and be signs of. Most of the human race missed the signs of Christ's first coming, except for a few "wise men." I hope that some of us will be wise enough to not miss the second time He comes, and not ignore the signs that He said would precede His coming.
Here is a quote from a website that provides other reasons countries such as the USA might want to "weaponize" outer space:
The technology developed to project power from outer space can also be used to defend the Earth from extraterrestrial threats such as asteroids or aliens.
Tie that in with the following two quotes that seem strangely related to this, and to Bible prophecy:
"The nations of the world have to unite, for the next war will be an interplanetary war. The nations of the earth must someday make a common front against attack by people from other planets."
-- General Douglas MacArthur, 1955.
"If suddenly there was a threat from this world from another species from another planet outside the universe, we'd forget all the little local differences that we have between our countries, and we would find out once and for all that we really are all human beings here on this earth together."
-- President Ronald Reagan, 1985.