[This is another timely article from Rapture Forums - this one covers almost everything that we have been watching lately and puts things in perspective. It is a rather long article but it's worth reading every word. Below are the highlights (which are still lengthy). This information is important because we seem to be right on the threshold of these things happening, and it is hard to imagine that we will see a sudden reversal of these events - events which appear to be leading directly to war. The only peace covenant the world should expect to see is Daniel 9:27 and the beginning of the Tribulation. Therefore war seems imminent in the Middle East, specifically Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39]
Steve Meehan
The Rapture of the Church is a sign-less event but the subsequent seven-year Tribulation period that occurs after the removal of the saints from Earth has many visible indicators that let’s one know that that time is upon them or about to get under way. If we are seeing preludes of the signs of this final “week” of years enveloping us, then we know that the Rapture is even closer. It is hard to look around to see what is befalling the world presently and not come to the conclusion that the onset of the Tribulation hour is soon upon us.
We know that an antichrist and his globalist rule must arise at the very kickoff of the final seven-year period. A globalist push has been well underway for a number of years now. Secularists, and even the Vatican, have long been pushing for the establishment of such a worldwide government rule. Their goal to achieve this seemed to be going along methodically and gaining momentum, until Brexit occurred, and the election of Donald Trump in the USA stalled the movement in its tracks.
Anyway, venting over, we know that in the end, an antichrist figure and his global rule will arise, in spite of apparent momentary setbacks like Brexit and the Trump presidency. The Bible warns us of it, so it will happen. There are more than likely a few candidates waiting in the wings. A few personalities have gotten some exposure lately in Europe, so when the time comes – after the Rapture of the Church – Satan will pick his man and this “beast” figure will confirm a seven-year covenant with Israel, only to break it halfway through the Tribulation Period. It is looking more and more like the Rapture could be the single event that propels this man forward. The desire to entrap Israel into a so-called “land for peace” deal with the occupying “Palestinian” Arabs has long been underway, and it is only a matter of time until the aforementioned man steps forward to ink his “covenant with Death and Hell” with the Jewish State.
We also know that a global religion will encompass the Earth and it will be used by the antichrist to further secure and establish his rule. I don’t have any doubt that the Vatican will be the nucleus of this false worldwide religious system and they are the only entity on the face of the planet that is trying to usher in all other faiths into their fold, under the leadership of the Roman pontiff. Their “Come Home to Rome” campaign is a clarion call for all former Catholics to reunite with her and their ecumenical tentacles reach far and wide to grab in any and all who will bend the knee to their “Holy Father”. Their alluring siren call has already tempted and deceived many a victim onto the rocks of her false religious system and those numbers will only increase exponentially after the catching away of the true church. Her cheap perfume and garish mascara will only be too enticing not to lure in unsuspecting victims, after the Rapture has taken place. They will be instrumental in the promotion and advancement of the one who will rule the world.
Rumors of nuclear war are all about us in these end times. North Korea is hellbent on acquiring nukes and their bellicose rhetoric by the “Dear Leader” directed at the United States is almost a daily news item. The people of South Korea, Japan, Guam and Hawaii are concerned about his threats to launch a nuclear tipped missile in their direction. We all know now about the false warning issued in Honolulu a couple of weeks ago, so folks are alarmed that this sad example of a country’s leader will follow through on his threats. He has tempered his tone recently, due to the ongoing Olympics, but it is only a matter of time until a misstep occurs, either by his actions or in a preventative measure taken by the USA. Is God holding this back only until after the Rapture happens? It sort of seems that way, which means the Rapture of the Church could be oh so close.
Perhaps the biggest indicator to me that we are in a final two-minute warning period of the final Church Age is what is going on in the Middle East, and in particular events that are encompassing Israel, which is Ground Zero for Bible Prophecy and End Time events. Israel finds itself buoyed in the middle of a tempestuous sea of those surrounding her that long to bring about her demise.
Hamas to the West never ceases in their quest to infiltrate Israel via their clandestine tunnel operations, in order to carry out terrorist activities. We occasionally hear of the Jewish State finding these tunnels and destroying them, but in this ongoing effort by these terrorists, Israel has to be ever vigilant and not allow those bent on terror from accomplishing their goals. They also continue to lob rockets into Israel, which brings about a swift retaliatory IDF air attack on the areas that launch those weapons.
Jordan on the East, occasionally mouths words of contempt directed towards Israel, especially when they feel slighted or wronged by some of the actions taken by the Netanyahu government. Donald Trump’s recent acknowledgment of Jerusalem being the eternal capital city of Israel was one such declaration made that gave Amman heartburn and the usual tongue lashing followed from the country’s leader. Militarily, they have never been a serious threat to Israel. They like to play it both ways: in a desire to curry favor with their Muslim brothers, King Hussein will utter the usual vindictive rhetoric at Israel when a perceived affront to the Islamic cause has taken place; but then, in order to appease the West, and the US especially – since they desire our military aid and protection, to an extent – they will usually cool their heels after a short period of venting their rage. They still have a peace agreement in effect with Israel, but again, with the sudden occurrence of the Isaiah 17 prophecy unfolding sometime soon in the future, they will side with those lined up against the Jewish State.
Up to the North, Israel faces a variety of threats – more insidious and extremely more lethal. Hezbollah, to the northwest, has been allowed to flourish along the southern tier of the nation of Lebanon. Through the support of the rogue state of Iran, they have amassed quite an arsenal of rockets, numbering in the tens of thousands. Israel does all they can to stop the shipment of those weapons from Syria into Lebanon, with forays into Syrian airspace to launch missile strikes at the convoys transporting those weapons of war. Hezbollah has also been operating in the confusion taking place in Syria, along with other enemy combatants in that ongoing quagmire. It is only a matter of time until those rockets north of Israel get launched into the Jewish homeland. Something or someone must be holding that event back, for the time being.
The greatest threat, by far, to Israel, has to be what is taking place in Syria. It is totally out of control – at least from a human perspective. God is always in control, so prophesied events to occur will only happen at their appointed time. Who could have foreseen the circumstances that transpired to allow for the ingathering of all the forces that are now occupying what is left of the country of Syria? Assad may still be in charge in name only, but certainly the country has become a multi-front shooting gallery and disaster looms on the horizon for its capital city.
Russia has been entrenched in the country of Syria now for a couple of years, for the supposed intention of propping up Assad and his regime. Putin doesn’t care a whit for Assad; he just wants his warm water port on the Med and to further along his expansionist goals. Assad is a willing dupe, and under the protection of the Ruskies, he gets to maintain control of the country [har har].
Obama tried to exert his will in Syria [another har har moment] by supporting the rebels that wanted to overthrow the Assad regime and by his placement of disappearing red lines for Syria not to cross, when it came to their use of chemical weapons against the rebels and civilians. It was all pretty much downhill from there.
Russian forces are fighting, Assad’s forces are fighting, the US backed rebels are fighting, Hezbollah moved in to fight and now, the most troubling aspect of the war, as far as Israel is concerned, is that Iran has troops directly involved in the country and are in position to launch attacks against the Jewish State.
Netanyahu met with Putin to warn the Russians and to the others involved by extension, that Israel will not allow Iranian forces to operate within 40km or 25 miles of the Israeli border; and that serious repercussions would ensue if Israel was not heeded in this regard.
There can be no mistaking of what Iran’s desires are for the Jewish State. They have said repeatedly, for quite a while now, that they intend to destroy the Jewish State or drive them into the sea, as their bluster goes.
Israel has been warning the world for years of the Iranian threat, and it has, to a large extent, fallen on deaf ears. Iran and the world should take seriously what Israel intends to do with Iran, in order to safeguard their own country’s existence. Will the world heed? No. Not until disaster strikes.
Now with Iran on the doorstep of Israel, things have ratcheted up rather quickly, in the shadow of Bible prophecy. An Israeli fighter jet, conducting operations to take out Iranian drone launching sites after one of the drones had infiltrated Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights area, was shot down by a Syrian missile defense system. The IDF responded by taking out a battery of the Russian built missile defense systems, that were positioned near the Israeli border. So, there are now ongoing operations directly involving Iran and Israel, and not through proxies like Iran had been doing in the past. This can only escalate and where it ends, students of Bible prophecy have an idea.
There are two prophecies of significance that have yet to occur and could be extremely close to their fulfillment.
Some subscribe to the notion of a third prophecy happening – a Psalm 83 war – but I don’t believe that that Psalm speaks of an actual war, but instead is a plea for help. Isaiah 17 foretells of a future destruction of the city of Damascus. It seems to indicate that the city will be standing in the evening, but by morning time, it has been obliterated. Only a nuclear device or a series of nuclear attacks could level a city that quickly.
Another prominent end time prophecy is the so-called Gog/Magog invasion of Israel by a horde of nations that seem to point to Russia, Turkey, Iran and others confederated with them, into the land of Israel.
This is an ill-conceived attack against the Jewish people, and the Ezekiel 38 & 39 description of this account says that God Himself will intervene and wipe out 5/6ths of the invading forces. It is interesting that not all the forces will be decimated, but that 1/6th of them will survive. Nevertheless, it will a huge invasion into the mountains of Israel, and it will cover the land like a cloud, according to the verbiage used by Ezekiel in this prophecy.
How close are we to that? Those three nations – Russia, Iran and Turkey – are confederated now and operating within the next door neighboring country of Syria, just on the doorstep, so to speak, of Israel. Ezekiel talks of “hooks” being placed into Gog’s jaws by the Lord and turning him around and drawing him into Israel to begin the annihilation of these forces that wish to destroy the Jewish State.
From a human perspective, what could be the hook to draw in Putin and Russia, and the other forces allied with him? Russia needs funds to continue their expansionist endeavors and to acquire those recently discovered natural gas fields off the coast of Israel would go a long way in furthering his conquests. There is also the possibility of crude oil being found in Israel, so that would be alluring as well.
Russia could also lay claim to the natural land bridge that Israel forms between Europe, Asia and Africa. Israel is also situated along the Med, is close to the strategic Suez Canal, and the Gulf of Aqaba to the south. That would be very desirous for Putin to have access to those waterways for his navy to operate.
For Iran and Turkey, who have ambitions of recreating an Islamic caliphate, the destruction of the Jewish State might be a big enough carrot to entice them into this invasion, to do away with the Zionist regime once and for all.
Then the question comes up: when will these two events – the Isaiah 17 and the Ezekiel 38,39 prophecies happen? Which will come first? Will they happen before the Rapture of the Church, or later? Will one immediately precede the other or are they two separate events that are not interrelated?
Students of Bible prophecy have mixed ideas about when these two events might take place. Obviously, we can’t be dogmatic on their timing. We don’t know for sure. All we can do is stay immersed in the Word and to keep an eye on daily events. We have the benefit though, of knowing that there is more behind the scenes going on and what it will lead up to in regard to Bible prophecy, more so then does the casual observer who sees or hears of an Israeli jet being shot down in Syria, due to operations against Iranian forces. We know that there are epic events going to take place, along that front – in Syria and the land of Israel – that will have enormous implications to the combatants on both sides. They will be earth-shattering events, both in the physical human realm, as well as the spiritual.
As far as timing, the final seven-year period known as the Tribulation Period, or Daniel’s Last Week of Years, is also referred to as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. And indeed, the final seven years will be a time when the Lord deals directly with and through the Jewish people again, since the Church has already been raptured out and off the planet. Since this will be the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, my belief is that the Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38/39 campaign will happen after the Rapture. With the True Church gone, the whole world will hate Israel and they will be the prime target of Satan and his demonic cohorts, and he will sway all the human governments to do his bidding against the Land and people of Israel.
There are a couple of reasons why I believe this. First, the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit will be lifted at the removal of the Church, and any evil thoughts or motives will be more easily realized and effected without this restraining influence holding them back. North Korea could more easily launch a nuke, an evil dictator will be allowed to arise, Iran will be able to seek to destroy Israel, etc. etc. Evil will abound.
Secondly, in the Ezekiel 38,39 verbiage, it seems to indicate that the US will be nothing more than a protesting nation sitting on the sidelines of this invasion, if they are indeed included as one of the “young lions of Tarshish”, and most likely they are a part of this group. Others could include nations like Canada and Australia, nations who had their origins and roots in Great Britain. The Lion is the symbol for Great Britain and so the “young” could refer to her offspring countries, like the US, Canada and Australia who have only been nations for a couple of hundred years.
Why would the US with all its military might, not come to the aid of our ally Israel during this invasion, especially now with Trump in office, who seems to be very pro-Israel? And why would the UK, or Canada, or Australia and/or others just lodge a mild protest, probably in the halls of the UN, at the invasion of this large armed force into the country of our present ally Israel? Even Saudi Arabia, as most believe that she is the Sheba and Dedan that Ezekiel references, is sitting out of this invasion and is voicing displeasure or concern. They certainly don’t want to see Iran get any stronger and grow in their hegemony over the Middle East. For the time being, there is a quasi-cooperation going on between Jerusalem and Riyadh to limit the influence of Iran in the region.
Of course, the invasion could happen after Trump is out of office and is replaced with another anti-Israel, left leaning stooge president.
Or, is it possible, that after the Rapture takes place, that there will be a lot of chaos going on worldwide after such a momentous event has happened, where millions of people have vanished, and those particular countries forces may have been drastically reduced by this event and a protest is all they can muster? It would seem that this would be a very good time for the enemy to seize the opportunity of worldwide panic and confusion to launch a somewhat sneak attack into Israel, while everybody else is befuddled and consumed by what has taken place.
What better time would there be to attempt to try to wipe out the people of Israel. The devil is aware of some of the events to unfold during the Tribulation Period, and that he only has about seven years to accomplish what he hopes to get done. Having been around for eons, he is more than likely well versed in Bible Prophecy – he did quote scripture to Jesus in the wilderness in his tempting of Our Lord, after all – and he knows how most of the Tribulation period will play out – but he doesn’t know ALL of the details. In his thinking, maybe, why not seize the moment? Try to catch everybody off guard.
So, again, what will trigger these two events causing them to take place? To my way of thinking, I could see where the Isaiah 17 prophecy of the destruction of the city of Damascus could be the catalyst that sets off the chain of events leading up to the Gog/Magog massive invasion into Israel. The world will be extremely incensed at the action taken apparently by Israel, in the leveling of this city. I mean, what other event could possibly bring about such a large invading force into Israel, while the rest of the world seemingly looks on indifferently?
We’ve discussed the hook inserted by God, but still it seems that something so out of the ordinary has had to have taken place to mobilize such a huge response against the tiny nation of Israel. Obviously, lobbing a nuke or two, at a city like Damascus will have the region and the world inflamed with rage.
It could also be that Isaiah 17 happens concurrently at the very onset of a large invading force getting ready to sweep into the land, and an opening salvo of the war could be a nuclear strike at maybe the heart of the area where this invading force is plotting and getting ready to make a move.
Some of the language used by Isaiah in this I-17 prophecy could provide some of the answers to the instigation of this massive response against a neighboring capital city by Israel. Verse 4 reads: “And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean “. This almost sounds like those conditions that occur after a chemical weapon attack, and the accompanying photos of people whose flesh looks gaunt.
Verses 5 and 6 talk about how that time will be compared to a reaped corn field and empty olive trees, how empty and barren they are at this prophecy. Does this foretell of a massive assault on Israel where large numbers of casualties have taken place, and then such a massive response by Israel would then be warranted? It is cryptic language, no doubt, but something huge must first have first occurred in the Jewish State in order for the Israeli government to launch a nuke at Damascus, if that is indeed what Isaiah 17 would seem to indicate.
If they did level Damascus, then again, that would certainly infuriate the world enough and especially the combatants listed in Ezekiel 38/39 to launch an all-out offensive against Israel.
I tend to think that these two prophecies may be co-related. It might be a wrong assessment, but I think one triggers the other or happens in conjunction with the other.
Obviously, we don’t know for sure. But I think they are more than likely linked and could happen in rapid succession or are taking place at the same time. Isaiah 17 could trigger a massive response like Ezekiel 38 and 39...Time will tell.
So, are we in the closing minutes, hours, days, months of the Church Age and only have a brief time left before the shout and trumpet blast and the Church’s mission on Earth is over?
With Iran now in Syria and the Israeli’s launching attacks into the country to stop the advancement of the encroaching Iranian forces, it would seem that we could be on the brink to a major escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran. Any attack on Israeli soil or forces by the Iranian troops in Syria, will be met by a measured counterattack by the IDF on the mullah’s henchmen now carrying out operations in Syria. One escalation could lead to another. Things could quickly spiral out of control. It would seem that the burden of Damascus as foretold by Isaiah could be coming into clearer focus, or that the Ezekiel 38/39 prophecy could soon be realized.
This indeed could be a two-minute warning
Many of us sense that the end is near. Knowing what we know of end time events and watching just those two future prophecies develop before our very eyes, it is inescapable that we are reaching the very end. Could this be an aberration and we are not approaching the time that we think we are in and that those events may happen later in another time frame? That is possible but seems highly unlikely.
We see the headlong rush to establish a one world rule and a one world religion. Those things have been on a fast-track for quite a while now. The threat of a nuclear war and a huge loss of life is ever present with us now, and more rogue countries are in the process of acquiring these mass means of destruction. Evil in this world has reached epidemic proportions, with school shootings, the wholesale slaughter of unborn babies worldwide, radical Islamic extremists and their terrorist activities, all the transgender and homosexual abominations, the garbage taking place in America to destroy the current president, and again, all of the prophesied countries lined up in Syria, just awaiting the hook to draw them into Israel to do battle with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They’ll never know what hit them…well, not until that first moment in the afterlife.
How much longer can things de-evolve in the world before the Lord exercises His wrath? Not too much longer, I would conclude.
Hurry, line up and advance the cause. Keep your eyes on the goal. The clock is running! Our time is just about out.
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