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Sunday, October 27, 2024

Will the Middle East Situation Lead to the Great Tribulation


Dennis Edwards

Israel has attacked military installations in Iran a few days ago. Iran is threatening to retaliate. Russia says she will not stand by and allow Israel and USA to destroy Iran. Turkey, with the largest standing army in the Middle East, is also speaking out against Israel. Putin has offered to help negotiate a settlement with Netanyahu, but Netanyahu is not interested. There are rumours that the International Bank, Bank of America may be at the moment of collapse, which means another banking crisis could be looming in the background. The BRIC nations have just finished their summit and inaugurated a new alternative transfer of currencies using blockchain technology. The West won't be able to use banking sanctions to harm the BRIC economies any longer. The dollar will decline as an international currency affecting America's standard of living, possibly leading to a great financial crisis similar to 1929.

The American elections are scheduled for the 5th of November. Trump has said he will back Israel no matter what. It is uncertain what Kamala would do. USA has some 58,000 military troops ready to respond to a war in the Middle East on aircraft carriers, battle ships, and on military bases. If Trump will stop the war in Ukraine on day one, Russia would be more available to help intervene in the Middle East, like she did in Syria some years ago. As long as the Ukraine war continues, it will be hard for Russia to be much of a help in the Middle East situation. It seems Israel or, at least Netanyahu, wants to take advantage of the present situation and push forward towards the plans for Greater Israel from the Egyptian sea to the Euphrates, Exodus 23:31. Does Bible prophecy give us any clues to how things will work out?

Jesus in His End-time discourse in Matthew 24 warned that before His 2nd coming, there would be "wars and rumours of war." He said, "see that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet," Matthew 24:5. He went on to give a series of signs of the end. He said, “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. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold,” Matthew 24:6-12.

Christianity and Christians are the most hated and persecuted religious group in the world today. The political and cultural atmosphere in many countries has polarized over the last ten years due to the Left’s push and use of identity or gender politics, critical race theory, abortion up to birth, gay marriage, drag queens in public libraries reading to children, etc. During Covid we saw how the deception was propagated by the highest Health Officials who cow towed to the Pharmaceutical Industry and lied to the general public. Doctors who had pledged to only do good to their patients, followed blindly the mandates of the Pharmaceuticals to the detriment of their patients. Millions were coerced into taking an experimental gene therapy disguised as a vaccine. The deaths and side-effects have been innumerable.

Jesus went on to say, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come,” Matthew 24:14. Various international organizations have been working towards getting the gospel written or spoken in every language of the world. Mel Gibson’s movie on the Passion of Christ, and the 5-year online program “The Chosen,” have both helped to explain or to preach the gospel message throughout the whole world. Internet has made it possible to breach barriers and preach the gospels over borders into countries formerly closed to the gospel. Surely the gospel has been preached around the world today more than ever before.

However, the main sign Jesus gave regarding the start of the Great Tribulation period that would immediately precede His coming is found in the next verses. “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whosoever reads, let him understand):…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened (they have been shortened to 3 and ½ years), there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (the true believers) those days shall be shortened,” Matthew 24:15, 21-22.

If we go to the prophecies of Daniel in 9:27, 8:13-14, and 11:31; we find that an international agreement is going to be made involving the situation in the Middle East. The agreement will be for a seven-year period. We don’t know all the details of the agreement or pact, but we do know that the Jewish people will be given permission to begin sacrificial worship on the Temple Mount, something they haven’t been able to do since before the invasion of Jerusalem by the Roman forces in 70 AD. The Arab countries would not be keen on Israel doing religious ceremonies on the Temple Mount, unless there was some international concession for the Palestinian people and a possible statehood. Therefore, we are looking for some type of international agreement resolving the Palestinian situation, perhaps forced on Israel by the international community.

What we know from prophecy is that Israel will be given permission to start sacrificial services on the Temple Mount and perhaps even build a temple. Some 250 days, or 8 months and 10 days after the pact is signed by many nations of the world, perhaps the United Nations, Israel will start their prayers and animal sacrifices. It will be the first time in some 1,950 years. However, 1010 days later, or 2 years, 9 months, and 20 days later, Israel will be invaded by the Antichrist. His military enters the Temple Mount, and stops Israel’s sacrificial service and worship. The stopping of the sacrificial service and the placing of the abomination of desolation happen at the midst of the seven-year agreement, according to the Daniel prophecies, Daniel 9:27 and Daniel 11:31. Jesus said that the placing of the abomination in the holy place was the sign to look for that would start the Great Tribulation, a cataclysmic period just before His 2nd coming.

If you are interested in finding out how I arrived at the dates above, see the following article explaining how to break down the 2,300 days of Daniel 8 here.

The Great Tribulation will last a period of 3 and ½ years, the second half of the 7-year pact period. During the tribulation God’s people are persecuted as never before by the Antichrist world government, Daniel 7:25, 8:24, 11:32-35, Revelation 12:12-17, 13:15. The Antichrist will try to enforce the Mark of the Beast technology and no one will be able to buy or sell unless they have the biometric implant or tattoo on the right hand or forehead, Revelation 13:16-17. The world will go through a period of 6 catastrophic events with a 1/3 destruction of much of the earth and the earth’s population according to Revelation 8-10 where the 7 trumpets of tribulation sound. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,” Jesus will return in the sky to rescue His elect from the four winds of heaven in the rapture event, Matthew 24:29-31. The seventh trumpet is the rapture, and is found in Revelation 10:7, Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18.

After the tribulation, the 75 days of the Wrath of God found in Revelation 16 with the vials or bowels of Wrath will take place. The Battle of Armageddon occurs in northern Israel sometime after the first 30 days of the Wrath of God. We arrive at that conclusion from two assumptions. First, in Revelation 19:7-9, we see the celebrated Marriage Supper of the Lamb taking place in the heavenly realm as a results of the arrival of the resurrected and raptured saints. Secondly, we see that after the Marriage Supper of the Lamb Christ returns with the saints at the Battle of Armageddon, Revelation 19:11-21. From Daniel 12:11 we know that the Abomination of Desolation stands in the Holy Place 30 days longer than the 1,260 days of the Great Tribulation period, or 1,290 days. We assume, therefore, that it is after the 30 day period difference that Jesus returns and destroys the Abomination of Desolation and saves the newly converted Jewish people. 

The prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 are parallel prophecies and give us more information.  Russia, Turkey, and Iran, with a coalition of other allies including Ethiopia and Libya (Daniel 11:43), will attempt to invade Israel with the intent of wiping her off the map, Psalm 83:4 "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." However, the Israel nation, having passed through much suffering, and having seen Jesus in the heavens calling up His followers at the Rapture event, have come to great repentance, Zechariah 12:9-14, Revelation 1:7, and Matthew 24:30. One-third of the nation will come to faith in Jesus, Zechariah 13:8-9. As a result of their repentance and truly coming to Jesus with all their heart, God will intervene and fight for the believing remnant of Israel, Zechariah 14:1-3, and defeat the forces of Antichrist at Armageddon. 

First God uses the Antichrist forces to chastise the Jews for their sins, Ezekiel 38:14-16. As the repentance takes place at the time of the Rapture and "they look on Him whom they have pierced," God also repents and turns His anger toward the Antichrist and his forces, Ezekiel 38:17-23, Ezekiel 39:1-5, Revelation 19:11-21. However, during the initial warring period up and including the first 30 days of the Wrath of God, Israel will lose 2/3 of their Jewish population to the Antichrist forces, Zechariah 13:8-9. Only 1/3 of the Jewish population in Israel will live through that horrendous warring period. They are the remnant that Apostle Paul in Romans 9:27, 11:25-26 and Jeremiah 30:6 -7 talk about. After Armageddon is over, only 1/6th of the Antichrist forces or population remain, Ezekiel 39:2. 

God will send fire on Magog (Russia?) and "among them that dwell carelessly in the isles," Ezekiel 39:6, which could be referring to the destruction of both Russia, Great Britain, and USA and spoken of in Isaiah 13:6-13, Zephaniah 1:14-18 At some point prior to the end, Babylon the Whore of Revelation 18:1-24 will be destroyed by fire by the Antichrist coalition, Revelation 17:16-17 and 16:17-21. Perhaps the prophets are talking about the same event from different perspective. All we know is that the period called the Wrath of God is going to be pretty ugly. 

At the end of the 75 days of the Wrath of God the Millennium begins under a new dispensation of grace. God begins to regenerate the earth; the atmosphere is transformed bringing longer lives. The animals will become passive, Isaiah 11:6-8, as Jesus will reign on the earth for a thousand years. The Jewish people who repented at the Rapture event will help in the cleaning up of Israel after the war and on into the Millennium, Ezekiel 39:11-15, and may become witnesses of the gospel to the surrounding Arab nations, Ezekiel 39:22. Nothing shall hurt or destroy in all of God’s holy mountain, Isaiah 11:9., neither shall men learn war any more during that 1,000 year period, Isaiah 2:4. The Bible says that the raptured saints will also somehow participate with Christ in ruling the earth during the 1,000 years, Revelation 20:6.

In Luke 21:26-28, Jesus said that men's hearts would be failing them because of the anxiety they will experience out of the fear that the end-time events will cause. He said, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh," verse 26. We who believe in Jesus have nothing to fear. God has given us innumerable promises in His Word that He will be with us through the Great Tribulation. Though some of us "will fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white," Daniel 11:35, God has promised that at the same time, "the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits," Daniel 11:32. It will be a time of great persecution, but, also, a time of great anointing for God's people who will be witnessing and testifying of their faith in Jesus, and performing miracles throughout the Great Tribulation period. 

Like the time of the Roman persecutions against the early Christians, God will empower His people in the face of their enemies. In Revelation 7:13-17, we see the reward appointed to the martyrs of the Great Tribulation period. "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in His temple: and He that sits on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them unto living waters (of eternal life): and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Apostle Paul tells us, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us," Romans 8:18. Jesus, also, stated, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you," Matthew 5:10.12. Therefore, we should fear not, but rather hold onto God's promises. He has said He would be with us through the deep waters and through the fire. 

"Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you," Isaiah 43:1b-2. God will give you power for the hour for whatever you may have to go through. In Psalm 91, the Lord promises, "Because you have set your love upon Me, therefore will I deliver you: I will set you on high, because you have known my name. You shall call upon Me, and I will answer you: I will be with you in trouble; I will deliver you, and honour you. With long life (eternal life) will I satisfy you, and show you My salvation," Psalm 91:14-16, (edited into the second person).

You might want to follow an earlier post on the same subject here. Or write me at dennismedwards@gmail.com.

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