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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Prophecy Series: "Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 6" - Prophecy in the News

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Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 6

By  on July 15, 2011

In this continuing study, we have attempted to make some chronological sense of the period immediately preceding the seven-year Tribulation, as described in Scripture. We began with the observation that the prophets Joel, Zephaniah, Malachi and others, state in plain language that certain key events will begin to happen before the Tribulation. These upheavals of nature, we commonly associate with the Tribulation, itself.

But they are pretribulational, as well. For example, Joel writes of an astronomical cataclysm of the type that is commonly thought of as being part of the Tribulation. But he places itbefore that time, using the term “day of the Lord,” which is accepted as the Old Testament term for the Tribulation.

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:31).

Zephaniah sends a warning to latter-day Israel, urging them to organize themselves for the dreadful days just ahead of them in the Tribulation. Without a doubt, the Jews who read this are those who will have been regathered into their own territory, just as are the Israelis in today’s Israel. He warns them to devote themselves to worship God in the true spirit of God’s Word:

“Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; 

“Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you. 

“Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger”(Zeph. 2:1-3).

Zephaniah’s intended audience is national Israel as a people, as they experience a specific period in history. That period is the one in which we are currently interested … the time before the Tribulation, at the very end of the Church Age. By inference, those to whom he directs his warning are living in a state of bliss, ignorant of the fact that God’s judgment is about to fall upon them. He urges them to prepare for that which is soon to come.

Similarly, the prophet Malachi, whose writing is appropriately placed at the very end of the Old Testament, declares that there will be a way to determine that the Great Tribulation is very near. He does this by making the emphatic declaration to Israel that they should look for Elijah before the Tribulation:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Mal. 4:5).

One of the central truths about Israel and the Jews in general is their powerful connection with God through the Torah and the annual cycle of the seven feasts they observe. Their annual observation of the cycle begins with Passover, which is both a retelling of the Exodus miracle and a prophecy of the latter-day miracles that will bring Israel into the prophesied Kingdom period.

It is well known that a key element in the observation of this first feast, is the prophecy of Elijah. A place is set for him at the table, and toward the end of the meal, the dinner host even pours a cup for him, should he appear. At one point, children are urged to go to the door and peek out to see if he has arrived.

As Elijah’s cup is poured, the host utters words that invoke prophetic Scripture. He would say something like, “Blessed are you O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who has created the fruit of the vine. Pour out your wrath upon the nations who fail to recognize you. They have demolished Jacob and his land. Let the fire of your wrath destroy them from beneath your heavens.”

In other words, in the direct context of Elijah’s coming, the host calls for the judgments of the Tribulation!

The truth of the Passover prophecy becomes clear. The coming of Elijah marks a great turn of history. Before his arrival, the presence of the body of Christ and the cultural influence incumbent upon the church age is the most significant force on the planet. Elijah’s rise to prominence changes all that. Before he leads Israel to the center of the historical stage, the church must be moved out of the way.

A great many prophetically significant events are prophesied to befall Israel and the world before the Tribulation, and by definition, the church must be absent from the world scene. This leads to the inescapable conclusion that the rapture occurs long before the initiation of the seven years, which are set in motion by the Antichrist’s affirmation of a covenant with Israel.

We have demonstrated that many prophecies of the Old Testament coalesce into a fairly complete picture of the dramatic period before the Tribulation. It is the period of Israel’s regathering, which began in the latter years of the nineteenth century and extends to the present. This phase of prophetic development will necessarily grow more and more dramatic, until it finally reaches the point of open conflict in a series of wars and the structuring of a global government. The world will assume its prophesied form. The prophesies of Daniel and Revelation will be played out to the end. Long before that, the church will have been taken out of the world.

Old Testament, New Testament

The New Testament also speaks volumes about this same period. We may not ordinarily think of it this way, but New Testament prophecies that expound upon the nature of the church in the end times are actually focused on the transitional period we’re currently examining.

And amazingly, the imagery of the Mosaic Law provides a beautiful picture of the transition that must take place in the unfolding of the latter-day prophetic drama. A single, dramatic ritual at the center of Israel’s seven feasts brings together the two Testaments in a single, perfect visual symbol – two loaves of bread on Pentecost.

Strategically placed between the three spring festivals (Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits) and the three fall festivals (Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Tabernacles), is Pentecost, symbol of the redemptive process. In particular, this observance symbolizes God’s Spirit, in act of sanctification. As originally observed, this festival features a beautiful and meaningful ritual, performed by the High Priest:

“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 

“Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. 

“Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD” (Lev. 23:15-17).

Balanced at the centerpoint of the seven feasts, we find this beautiful symbol that includes both houses of the redeemed, held aloft and waved before the congregation of Israel as a sign that what God as begun, He will complete. The loaves are formed, risen and baked.

Though Israel could not have imagined its true meaning in those days, it speaks of two separated covenants – Old and New – and two separate houses – the Jew and the church.

The two covenants are separately fulfilled. The sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have a different prophetic destiny than does the elect of the body of Christ, the church.

A good example of this is found in Romans, where Paul prophesies of a future day when Israel will reach spiritual “fulness:”

“Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?” (Rom. 11:12).

In the same chapter, he goes on to say:

“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 

“For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins”(Rom. 11:25-27).

Here, Paul invokes the term “mystery” to explain the events that will unfold as the church age comes to a close. At the rapture, the church will be complete, but Israel’s appointment with destiny will only have begun.

On the basis of this idea, which is the subject of his discourse, we interpret this mystery as that of the two houses of the redeemed. This is precisely the message of Pentecost.

A Subtle Change

In the near future, the transitional period from Gentile Christian dominance to Jewish dominance will pass. It is precisely this current zone of change that draws our attention. We recall similar period in the early church, during the forty years from Pentecost to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. This phase of history witnessed the formative years of the church, while the ritual sacrifices were still taking place in Jerusalem. Judaism declined as Christianity rose.

At the present time, we are witnessing a similar period, as Israel rises once again toward a period of war that will precipitate the radical reshaping of the world, as it moves into the Tribulation.

Changes take time. Again and again, history shows us that before a major changes takes place, hundreds of small details must transpire, until all is in readiness for something that to the uninformed observer, seems to happen in an instant. At present, those with eyes to see are watching a passing parade of just such details. Soon, when enough of them have come as preparation, Israel will be ready. Before that time, the church will have been raptured.

Dispensationalists believe that the era or dispensation of Mosaic Law ended at Pentecost. Few realize that it had begun fifteen centuries earlier, on the same day. Then came the era of the church, which will end with the rapture. Many believe that the catching-away will also come on a future Pentecost. Whether or not this is true, it will certainly come before Elijah’s arrival, which Malachi tells us, takes place before the Tribulation. We remember his words:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Mal. 4:5).

And it is also a certainty that the rapture takes place before or at the beginning of a great war (Ezekiel 38) and a wave of astronomical disturbances (Joel 2). Furthermore, Jesus told the men who were to be the founders of the early church that before the Tribulation there would be geophysical upheavals:

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 

“All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:6-8).

These words are specifically directed toward the Israel of the latter days, and are indicative of conditions that will develop just before the Tribulation. In the context of this statement, Jesus interjects, “but the end is not yet,” literally meaning that the Tribulation has not yet come as these things begin to happen.

At the present time, we have already endured two global wars. Now, we hear of military escalation, agricultural shortfalls, disease (including biological warfare) and increasing earthquake intensity. The preliminaries are underway. We are well along in the transition, which is so well illustrated in the book of Revelation.

Philadelphia and Laodicea

The letters to the seven churches at the beginning of Revelation culminate in the two churches that are diametric opposites. Philadelphia is the church of sound doctrine and brotherly love; Laodicea is the church of humanism and wealth. The chasm between them is wide and deep. There are many good reasons to believe that this great divide falls within the chronological zone that includes the rapture.

Many preachers have uttered words to the effect that the first Sunday after the rapture will witness some of greatest numbers in church attendance history. Something will have happened; a strange fear of unfathomable proportions will grip the hearts of men. They will want answers to the questions that they never asked before the church was caught away. Among those questions, the first and foremost was, “What must I do to be saved?”

It is commonly held that the Philadelphian church of Revelation, chapter 3, symbolizes the faithful church of the latter days, roughly the chronological era from the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries. This is the church that promotes the sound doctrine and practice of the Apostles. It is obvious, however, that it also extends into the twenty-first century, since the rapture has not yet occurred. Members of his church are still on earth.

The Lord speaks of an “open door,” historically affirmed by the rise of world missions during this period. It also speaks of those who presumptuously adopt the role of Jews, assuming that they have inherited the Kingdom promises that the Bible guarantees to Israel alone. To this branch of the church, the Lord promises that the world will one day be made to understand the truth that has evaded them for so long. In the following passage, one of those truths is that the Jews, not the church, will inherit the Kingdom:

“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 

“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 

“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee”(Rev. 3:7-9).

It should be emphasized that of all the seven churches, the Philadelphian church is the only one to whom the Lord makes the promise to “come quickly.” No doubt, this is a reference to His promise to come to them and take them home in the rapture before the Day of the Lord … the Tribulation, which He calls, “the hour of temptation [trial].”

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. 

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 3:10-13).

The Philadelphian church is juxtaposed with the church of the Laodiceans, a word meaning roughly “the people’s victory.” This is the church of humanism, which had its beginnings in the nineteenth century in the school of “higher criticism.” Its heart and core is the philosophical position that man, not God, is the measure of all things.

This church enthrones human potential. It is the church of environmental consciousness and diversity. It is the church that leans toward evolution as the explanation of life’s origin. It is the church of “social justice,” the proposition that health and wealth must be distributed fairly throughout society by human means.

But most of all, it is the church that has departed from the passionate devotion to the doctrines of Holy Scripture. It is this zeal for the divine inspiration of God’s Word that has maintained the vitality of the church over the centuries:

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:14-16).

The gradual turning-away from sound doctrine is here branded as being “lukewarm.” The Lord likens it to an unpalatable food or drink, which one anticipates with enthusiasm, but upon tasting it, spits it out. Except here, the Greek word is stronger than that. “Spue,” is translated from the Greek emeo, meaning “to vomit” or “throw up.” It suggests more than merely being unpalatable. Instead, it tends toward violent rejection. Chilled or heated foods are not only more palatable, they are more likely to be sanitary, and more free from contamination.

This would be perfectly descriptive of an unbelieving church, which has lost its objectivity, thinking itself to be rich and blessed, while in reality, it is naked and blind. Both of these conditions, by the way, are expressions for the condition of being unsaved.

To complete the metaphor, its members are thrown up – hurled into the stark severity of the Tribulation. This would be the same as being rejected from the body of Christ. The membership of this church cannot in any way be construed as having experienced salvation.

To make the point clear: Laodicea’s members may attend what they call “a church,” but they are unsaved. Their real allegiance is to the world system. One can think of many churches that fit this description.

Finally, they are called naked and blind. Nakedness is the opposite of being clothed with a robe of righteousness, the Bible’s way of depicting justification by faith. And blindness is the common condition of those unable to see the truth of God’s Word and their need for redemption. These are further proofs of their unsaved condition:

“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 

“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

Rev. 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev. 3:17-22).

A strong lesson to be learned from these two churches is that Philadelphia, the church keeps God’s Word, is accepted; Laodicea is rejected. The issue is the rapture; one will be taken, while the other is left. This conclusion has nothing to do with a “partial rapture” theory. Laodicea is a blind church; as such it is unsaved. Within its walls, it may harbor a few believers. Certainly, they will be taken in the rapture, leaving the majority of their congregation on earth.

And while it is impossible to be dogmatic on the following point, it seems likely that the Philadelphian church will at some point have been taken home, leaving the Laodicean church to be vomited out into the Tribulation. This is yet another suggestion that the rapture takes place a considerable time before the Antichrist initiates the seven years.

As many have already pointed out, the next event in Revelation that follows the letters to the churches is that a door is opened to heaven. John is taken through it to heaven, where he witnesses a number of significant events that unfold before the Tribulation.

As we have pointed out in past studies, Christ’s acceptance of the seven-sealed scroll, the antichrist’s advent, and the four horsemen are all pretribulational.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Yes! Jesus is Coming!


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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Prophecy Series: "Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 5" - Prophecy in the News

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Prophecy in the News

Pre-Pretribulation Rapture: Part 5

By  on July 15, 2011

This is the fifth part of a study, which attempts to bring together and organize the flow of events immediately preceding the Tribulation. Two such incidents involve nations that are, at present, Israel’s sworn enemies. The Bible says that both are to be removed as major powers in the crucial period prior to the Antichrist’s signing of the seven-year covenant. One is Syria, represented in Scripture as Damascus, said to be the world’s oldest continuously-occupied city. The other is Egypt, whose architecture is much older, and whose cities were once the earthly fortresses of idolatry.

Today, Damascus and Cairo bracket Israel on a north-south axis. That will change.

It is our purpose to make connections between certain biblical narratives that at first glance, might not seem to fit together. As we have already demonstrated, the Bible plainly designates a number of important episodes as coming before the Tribulation. However, in their respective contexts, they are not necessarily connected in an order that shows causal linkage, that is, one event leading to another.

We wholeheartedly embrace the doctrine of imminency, which upholds the any-moment coming of the Lord for His church, unheralded by the coming of any intervening  incident, episode or sign. Nevertheless, we observe that there are a number of developments mentioned in Scripture that can be tied to Israel’s current regathering. These can be arranged into a meaningful flow that explains much of what we’re seeing in the world today, as the stage is being methodically set for the Great Tribulation.

It is in the very nature of Bible prophecy to seem paradoxical or ambiguous at times. (Some would say that this is a massive understatement.) Yet in retrospect, we can demonstrate that each critical stage of human history is documented in the Bible. In this, the era of culmination for the church and for Israel, our Lord has encouraged us to be watchful and aware of the signs attendant to our generation. In the past, He criticized those alive at His first coming for their lack of preparedness for His arrival.

The prophecies surrounding Abraham, Moses and the prophets (though often veiled and rearranged) allow us to look back and observe that first-century Israel had enough information to know with certainty the time of Christ’s coming. The Jews of the first century witnessed Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Yet they did not seek the Spirit of the Lord. They did not study or listen to their own prophets. As a result, they failed to recognize Him, even when they were told. Herod, for example, was told by the priests and scribes that the Messiah would be born in Bethelem. His infamous reaction was to kill all the baby boys there.

Jesus castigated the Sadducees and Pharisees for not knowing the times:

“He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 

“And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matt. 16:2,3).

Surely, godly Jews at the time must have watched all this, and sensed that they were living in Messianic times. Unfortunately, the ones who knew were few and far between, and had no influence in the affairs of state. History sadly relates that though the leaders of national Israel suspected His identity, they failed to put it all together. One reason for this is that prophecy is deliberately written in an obscure fashion; another is the self-serving nature of man.

Clearing the Obscure

Anyone who has studied Scripture in depth has long since come to realize that prophecy is not written in a linear manner. Of course, in certain places, one may encounter an obvious timeline. For example, the eleventh chapter of Daniel lays out the lives of Alexander the Great and his successors. It chronicles the lives of the Ptolemies in Alexandria and the Seleucids in Aramea (Syria). From Alexander to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, one finds a clear lineage. But then, at a certain point, Daniel’s narrative skips forward to the Antichrist. In the following example, there is the appearance of chronological continuity:

“And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 

“And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done” (Dan. 11:35,36).

Actually, there is break here. Verse 35 refers to the exploits of the Maccabees against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a century and a half before Christ. Then, verse 36 jumps forward to the Antichrist and the Tribulation. Between these two verses, there is a leap of twenty-one centuries. A myriad of events and critical timelines pass unchronicled; events of the age of the Church are entirely omitted.

More importantly, the details of Israel’s regathering are missing. They must be reconstructed from other Scriptures. However, it is well understood that this is the rule in Bible study, not the exception. Timelines are occasionally found, but just as quickly, they are lost.

Still, it is human nature to think in a linear fashion, placing events along a timeline, or calendar, both of which are usually missing in the Bible.

The Necessity of Antecedants

In everyday life, we are accustomed to a sort of procession of events. It is our habit to lay out events in serial order. Particularly, since the industrial revolution and its “efficiency experts,” we have laid out life by the calendar and the clock. Then, with the advent of the computer, there has arisen a literal day-by-day and hour-by-hour accounting of global events, creating a record so complete that someone in the future might assemble even a minute-by-minute record of any given hour of any given day. Each event would be seen as the culmination of a series of antecedents – foregoing events.

We have become slaves to the clock. Astronomy and the computer have given us the ability to look both forward and backward. Ironically, this fact provides a useful illustration of how to unlock the truth about biblical prophecy.

We take it for granted that certain requirements be fulfilled before others can arise. Furthermore, details tend to become compounded, as in the following example:

Before an event (such as a wedding) can be accomplished, it is absolutely necessary to fulfill a number of events along a timeline. Perhaps six months to a year before the event, a church and reception hall must be secured. Then begins a countdown, in which costumes, caterers, flowers, singers, and photographers are reserved. Assuming that the couple is Christian, a minister will be acquired. His services will include some form of counseling, as well as playing a role in deciding  the type of ceremony to be held.

Anyone who has ever participated in a wedding understands one thing very clearly: The period between the engagement and the wedding grows increasingly complex. What begins with good intentions as – “a meaningful ceremony with just a few people, family and close friends” – rapidly grows into a full-fledged pageant, with music, drama, complex attire, and arrangements: food, transportation, hotels and a host of honored guests who bring heaping piles of treasure for the blessed couple.

All of this comes under the heading of “Getting Married.” If you had never experienced the whirlwind of events that inevitably precede the exchanging of vows, you could become quite confused. You might imagine the engagement, followed by a full-blown ceremony, complete with reception and honeymoon trip, all taking place within about a week and a half. In truth, it takes longer than that to decide the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses!

Yet this is exactly the mistake that is commonly made by those musing about the Antichrist’s rise to power. Among Christians, there is this same tendency to reduce a complex event to the ridiculously simple, as in “We’re getting married, ” forget about the details.

But if you think about it, we make the same mistake when we simplify prophecy as “First the rapture, then the Tribulation and the Antichrist, then seven years go by, culminating in Jesus’ Second Coming.”

It just isn’t that simple.

Complexity is Normal

From this has come our attempt to link obviously-pretribulational events together within biblical narratives. Doing this presents a complex challenge, to be sure, but complexity is normal in this life.

We should always remember: It is the Antichrist’s affirmation of a seven-year covenant with Israel’s elders that initiates the seven-year Tribulation.

In the same way that a wedding is preceded by a complex series of interlocking events, the rise of the Antichrist from “prince” (Daniel 9:26) to “king” (Daniel 11:36) must be linked with important shifts in power that change the latter-day world from a loose collection of nations to a global power structure with him at the top.

As we have repeatedly stated, there is no one in the world today with the power demonstrated by the biblical Antichrist. At present, no human being has the political clout to sit down with a group of Middle Eastern leaders and hammer out an agreement that would allow Israel to install a Temple on Mount Zion and begin priestly sacrifices. Yet this is the covenant described in Daniel 9:27 that starts the clock ticking in the seven-year Tribulation.

And as easily as he confirms the covenant, he nullifies it three and a half years later, at the middle of the Tribulation, in what Jesus calls “the abomination of desolation” (Matt. 24:15). Truly, he is a powerful man.

If anyone were to sign such a covenant today, it would have to include representatives from both Israel and the leaders of the 57 Arab States in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). It would take enormous political clout to pull off this feat.

The man who ultimately has this kind of power must develop it by rising through a series of trials that confirm his power to the watching world.

Huge changes must come between now and then. And as we have suggested in the studies leading up to our current one, the change is both drastic and multi-phased. Like the procession of actions that finally ends in a wedding and a honeymoon, it mushrooms into an uncontrollable series of conflicts that conclude with an invasion that is specifically aimed at Israel. Even then, it continues to expand into a global conflict that rearranges the structure of global powers. Daniel says that they emerge as ten kings, one of whom becomes the antichrist.

He will be welcomed by Israel as their long-awaited Messiah. At last, the wedding has come, and soon the honeymoon in the Kingdom. Or at least, so they will believe.

The Coming Syrian Catastrophe

We hold that the Tribulation will be preceded by a monumental war in the Middle East. This, of course, would be the oft-referenced battle of Gog (Ezek. 38). But in fact, even thisinvasion seems to be preceded by precursor events, such as the one we shall now discuss.

There is a specific prophecy in Isaiah that must somehow be placed into the scenario of pretribulation events. It has to do with the ancient city of Damascus, which is over 4,000  years old, most likely dating to the centuries just following the great flood of Noah.

The name of Damascus is quite ancient, and known in the Akkadian and Babylonian tongues before the later Semitic language  groups came to dominate the region of the fertile crescent. Around 1600 B.C., during the reign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III, the city is named among cities that he listed among his conquests.

The long history of Damascus has witnessed the ebb and flow of various powers … Egypt, Assyria, the Syrian kings, the Seleucids, Nabateans, Herod and the Romans, under Augustus, Tiberius and Nero. From A.D. 636 to the present, it has been under Arab rule.

In all that time, it has been a bustling agricultural and trade center. In the New Testament, the city of Damascus is seen as the center of a spiritual conflict. The early church took root there, challenged by Jerusalem’s Pharisaical authorities.

Of course, one of them was Saul of Tarsus who traveled there from Jerusalem to harass the society of believers. He is met by the Lord and taken to a home on an ancient street:

“And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 

“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 

“And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 

“And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 

“And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 

“And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 

“And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 

“And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. 

“Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem” (Acts 9:5-13).

To this day, in the old city of Damascus, the location of Straight Street is still known, and is, in fact, a tourist destination. Since time immemorial, this place has occupied the same location and status that it has held for millennia. If there is a place on earth that might be called permanent and secure, it is this street, and this city, which makes the following prophecy especially powerful:

“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 

“The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. 

“The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts” (Is. 17:1-3).

When this signal event befalls planet earth, it will certainly rank as one of the most distinct time markers in history. Apparently Damascus will be reduced to rubble. Not only that, the“cities of Aroer” will be stricken in some way. The Hebrew text suggests that these cities on the east side of the Jordan River will be abandoned. In fact, there is a darkly ominous suggestion in this phrase, for in Hebrew “Aroer” carries the meaning, “to lay bare, to leave desolate and starkly naked.”

We would suggest that this indicates the probability of a nuclear strike of some sort. Aroer would encompass the plains of Syria and Jordan, which, if pelted with nuclear fallout, would have to be deserted in a hurry.

We suspect that this event fits best into the timeline just preceding the famous northern invasion of Gog. In fact, Syria’s current political stance has been to support Hizbollah’s guerrilla war against Israel. It has provided both support and protection for them as they dig in with advanced weaponry on Israel’s northern border.

At some point, Israel must defend itself against them; Damascus lies only a scant fifty miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee! If Israel were to strike back at Damascus, or if nuclear force somehow came into play, this city would lie well inside Israel’s sphere of defense.

As this was being written, Israel’s DEBKAfile news service posted the following bulletin under the title, “EXCLUSIVE: US intelligence finds 5,000 Hizballah training to seize Galilee towns” 

We include it here because it is characteristic of stories that regularly come out of the Middle East, and also typical of biblical prophecies that speak of a key event that sets off a chain of aggressive acts in the area:

“February 1st, 2010 – When US NSA [National Security Agency] James Jones warned Iran may lash out at Israel via its surrogates Hizballah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza in response to increasing international pressure over its nuclear program, he spoke on the strength of a detailed war plan first published by DEBKA-Net-Weekly on Jan 22 …

“Hizballah would sweep across the border to capture Galilee towns backed by missile barrages and likely Syrian support.

“Jones was not talking out of the top of his head, but on the strength of solid US intelligence gathered over months on detailed war plans Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas have drawn up to send five Hizballah brigades sweeping across the border to seize five sectors of Galilee, while also organizing a massive Israeli-Arab uprising against the Jewish state. Hamas would open a second front in the south and in the east. Syria is expected to step in at some stage.”

Darkly suggesting that Syria would back this operation, both with medium-range surface-to-surface missiles and air-to-air antiaircraft rockets DEBKAfile concluded with the following assessment.

“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards instructors at especially established training facilities near Tehran are already well advanced in training a cadre of 5,000 Hizballah fighters in special operations and urban combat tactics to standards equivalent to those current in similar US and Israeli military forces.

“At the outset of the course, the group was split up into five battalions, each given a specific northern Israeli sector for capture with details of its topography and population for close study.

“The Tehran-Hizballah war strategy is all but ready for any contingency. The obvious trigger would be an Israeli military operation against Iran’s nuclear facilities, but once all the elements are in place, they could be activated by any other pretext conjured up in Tehran or Damascus.

“In recent weeks, both Hizballah and its Syrian allies have mobilized their forces while telling the Arab world that the Jewish state is about to attack Lebanon. Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah is straining at the leash to attack Israel however the crisis over Iran’s nuclear program turns out.”

It is safe to say that if the Syrians launch this kind of attack, which could capture northern Israel almost to the seaport of Haifa, Israel would launch an unabated defensive counterattack.

Damascus could indeed, be wiped out, just as described in Scripture. The blowback from such an attack could very well produce the result described by Isaiah. In other words, it is not a foolish waste of time to watch the geopolitics of this region.

Timing the Damascus Event

Isaiah’s description of the Damascus catastrophe has a familiar tone. It speaks of “Jacob”(i.e., Israel) being afflicted at a time of harvest – the universal biblical symbol of clashes leading up to Armageddon, itself. Jesus, Himself, said in Matthew 13:39, “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”

Harvest is symbolically used to denote the procession of events leading up to the culmination. We continue Isaiah’s prophecy where we left off:

“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. 

“And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. 

“Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel” (Is. 17:4-6).

Isaiah speaks here of Israel’s latter-day trial in a world that has abandoned them. A harvest has occurred, symbolic of a declining spiritual condition, and of the sparseness of their war-weary world. The “valley of Rephaim,” like the earlier-mentioned term “Aroer,” refers to the land east of the Jordan, running southward, toward parts of Israel and the Negev desert.

As in the preceding portions of this study, we would once again refer to Micah, Chapter 7, in which we have demonstrated the possibility that the harvest denotes the period after the rapture, but preceding the Tribulation. Micah speaks on behalf of Israel in this dark period:

“Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit. 

“The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net” (Mic. 7:1,2).

There is agreement between the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah. In both cases, Israel is isolated and friendless, and it is harvest time. Furthermore, in both cases, an invasion is about to come. In this period, there is the smoke of battle, but Gog’s huge invasion is still in the future.

The Rushings are Coming

Isaiah’s prophecy does not allow the Damascus event to stand alone in historical isolation. The end of chapter 17, connects it to a larger episode that apparently follows it very closely. In fact, the collapse of Damascus is the precursor to a larger Middle East invasion. Given this fact, when it finally happens, it will be a major indicator of the times.

In the past, we have suggested that those alive at the time of this calamity will be able to tell where they are on the timeline, both in relation to the battle of Gog, and to the proximity of the coming Tribulation, which by that time will be very near.

Isaiah’s 17th chapter concludes with a famous passage that many have equated to Ezekiel 38 and the battle of Gog. Remember, in context, the following episode follows the destruction of Damascus:

“Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: 

“In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. 

“Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! 

“The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 

“And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us” (Is. 17:10-14).

Here, we have a remarkable description of a lightning invasion of Israel. As we have already said, it is connected with the destruction of perhaps the world’s oldest continuously-inhabited city. In the verses above, it is again mentioned as occurring in conjunction with the harvest, typical of the end-times.

As many students of Bible prophecy have noted, Syria doesn’t appear in the invasion force that Ezekiel describes as coming from the north. This would easily be explained by the fact that in the initial phases of the battle, Syria is taken out.

Isaiah’s description of the invasion emphasizes its swiftness and its rushing sound, which today, with our technical knowledge, we would attribute to the machinery of war … jets, tanks, trucks, cannons, machine guns and rockets. It seems likely that Ezekiel described the same event when he wrote:

“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” (Ezek. 38:9).

Assuredly, this describes the kind of military movement that we have come to know as vertical envelopment, in which aerial invasion softens the target that is then secured by ground forces.

We would emphasize the fact that Isaiah prophesies the smashing defeat of the enemy invader, and in a very short time, as well. He speaks of an evening and a morning, about a twelve-hour length of time. In this very brief period, Israel’s enemy is changed from a rampaging aggressor to an overwhelmed casualty.

Both Isaiah and Ezekiel speak of an overwhelming enemy rapidly invading Israel with relentless force. Ezekiel observes that it will take the Israelis seven months to bury all the bodies, as they cleanse the Holy Land.

The Egyptian Deluge

It has often been mentioned that there is another prominent nation that fails to appear in the roster of Gog’s invasion forces. Strangely, it is Egypt, the looming southern force that from modern Israel’s very beginning, has fought against the tiny nation. The following brief history illustrates the geopolitical position of modern Egypt.

On May 14th, 1948, Israel declared statehood. Their Declaration of Independence was then signed.

The next day, on May 15th, the combined armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon and Syria attacked the new state. Fighting continued until Israel reached El Arish in the Sinai Penninsula. At that time, the UN brought the warring parties together.

A tainted and simmering false peace ensued, but it was marked by continued Arab belligerence. Egypt closed the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping, and installed artillery to prevent Israel from passing through the Strait of Tiran. It sponsored fedayeen terrorists, who continued to harass Israel’s borders.

In 1956, Egypt’s President Nasser began to import massive quantities of Soviet arms. He nationalized the Suez and stepped up attacks upon Israel. A war ensued, which was forced into remission by the UN.

However, the seeds of the 1967 Six-Day War had been sown. In that war, Egypt’s attack and Israel’s victory are the stuff of legend. From that day to this, the leaders of Egypt have been seeking revenge. Their two bitter defeats have only enhanced their taste for victory. Today, their campaign against Israel is as busy as ever. They are supplying arms and war materiel to the Islamic terrorists in Gaza.

Amazingly, Egypt is absent when the war spoken of by Isaiah and Ezekiel, actually comes to pass. With their past record of aggression, why wouldn’t Egypt enter into the alliance mentioned by Ezekiel? But they are not there. What happens to them?

A marvelous prophecy tells the tale. By process of elimination, it is pretribulational. It shows Egypt appears as it is today, not as it looked in Ezekiel’s day, and not as it will be in the Tribulation

The fulfillment of this prophecy brings doom upon the accursed land of the Nile. Egypt is destroyed, then utterly abandoned for a period of forty years! This is an astonishing and completely unique development – a one-time event as distinctive as the destruction of Damascus.

For many thousands of years, men have been doing their daily business in the land of the pyramids. One day – and probably one day soon – that will no longer be possible. Here is the prophecy:

“Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt: 

“Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. 

“But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. 

“And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven” (Ezek. 29:2-5).

Here is a prophecy of the Nile, and the evil power of Satan that resides within it. Until very recently this great river, from its African headwaters in the heart of Africa, down the Mediterranean delta, was perhaps the greatest natural wonder of all rivers.

God has placed a curse upon the Nile, because the “king of Egypt” has taken ownership of it. Its doom is to be thrown into the wilderness, where millions of fish will be thrown out onto the dry land. How can this happen?

Each summer, after rains drenched the upper Nile in Ethiopia, it would flood, enriching the bottomlands on both sides, and assuring good crops. Its natural cycle marked the central feature of the Egyptian culture.

Then, in 1902, the Low Dam at Aswan in southern Egypt was completed. Its purpose was to regulate the river’s flood period. In 1970, the Aswan High Dam was completed, fully controlling the flood cycle and bringing hydroelectric power to Egypt.

In the old days, floods brought nutrients and minerals to the land, and protected the people from unpredictable, rampaging floods. Now, reservoirs store water for use in dry periods. However, the general population, while using the lands that were formerly prone to floods, has complained that fishing and farming are not as good as in the old days, when natural cycles brought fertility and change.

The following prophecy begins by chastising Egypt for pretending to support Israel, when in fact, they used every opportunity to destroy regathered Israel. Then, it quickly turns again to the theme of the River Nile’s devastation. Again, judgment centers around the idea that Egypt has declared, “The river is mine:”

“And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. 

“When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand. 

“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. 

“And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the LORD: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it” (Ezek. 29:6-9).

Syene, Aswan

How can one declare ownership of a river, whose sinews and cataracts run for over 4,000 miles? One way would be to do just what the Egyptians have done, using Russian technology and heavy equipment: Harness and control its waters with a huge dam. And here is the remarkable thing. Ezekiel mentions that dam by name, calling it “the tower of Syene.” Linguistic authority affirms that this is the ancient name for the stretch of the river now called Aswan.

This dam has backed up billions of gallons of water, beginning at the new Lake Nasser, and extending southward into Africa. If it were destroyed, the 700-mile distance from Aswan to the Mediterranean would be torn by a monumental flood.

The “Tower of Syene” (Aswan High Dam) didn’t even exist when Ezekiel wrote about it. And it won’t exist for long.

The high dam is so huge that experts say it would be impervious to ordinary explosives. The only thing that could take it out would be a nuclear blast, which would also infuse the overwhelming inundation of the land with radioactivity. Think about this as you read the conclusion of Ezekiel’s account:

“Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. 

“No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. 

“And I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 

“Yet thus saith the Lord GOD; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered: 

“And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom. 

“It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. 

“And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel, which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance, when they shall look after them: but they shall know that I am the Lord GOD” (Ezek. 29:10-16).

With these stark words, Ezekiel lays out a remarkable finale to the long life of a mysterious nation. Once the proud home of the Pharaohs, it will finally sink into disrepute. Today, the only substance that would poison a land for forty years, is radioactive waste. Imagine the horror of a land covered by rotting fish and radioactive sludge left behind by the overflowing Nile.

Such a bomb could be put in place, either by ground forces or a guerilla group, which would surreptitiously place it there before beating a hasty retreat. More likely, however, a nuclear weapon would be air-dropped, in reaction to the general outbreak of war.

Never before have the Egyptians been dispersed among the nations for a forty-year period, then regathered into their own land, which Ezekiel called “Pathros.” Therefore, this ruling is future. But since it sidelines them during the Tribulation, it must come in the general period before that, most likely around the Damascus incident, and during the general period when invading forces are aligned into what will become Gog’s combined army against Israel.

We know that this force will be destroyed, as given in Ezekiel 38. But before that, Damascus and Egypt will also be wiped out. This is the geopolitical situation from which the Antichrist will arise to pick up the pieces.

We believe that this series of actions will all unfold after the departure of the church. Why? Because, it marks the period in which Israel will begin its rise to the center of the world stage. At that point, the church will no longer dominate spiritual developments in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Yes! Jesus is Coming!


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