Here in part two of this study (
Click Here for part one) I'll offer evidence that this generation is the first in history that not only could have been the one foretold by the Hebrew prophets, including Y'shua, Paul and John, but that it has to be!
Luke 21:24
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.In both Matthew (24) and Luke (21) Prophet Y'shua gives details into the future of our world. Most people, including me, usually stress the importance of Matthew 24 but here in Luke he gives us one the most important signs for when the Kingdom will be established. Note the time line here.
"And they [the Jews] shall fall by the edge of the sword..." He explains that Jerusalem and its Holy Temple will fall (Matt 24:1) and the Jews will be butchered. This happened in 70 CE when Titus and his forces laid waste to Zion.
Next, "... and [the Jews] shall be led away captive into all nations,,," With the destruction of the City and Temple the Jews fled Zion and the Great Diaspora began. Since 70 CE Jews have lived as perpetual refugees in most nations of the earth.
And here is the important point for our present consideration: "... and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles..." This is precisely what happened. The Holy City came under the control of various Gentile powers. For how long?
"..., until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
The Kingdom therefore will not be established until Zion, especially the city of Jerusalem proper, is in ruled by a Jewish government.
This single verse, and there are many others, makes it crystal clear that until Israel was reborn in 1948 and, moreover, not until the Holy City was taken in 1967, there was no way the Moshiach would come.
Israel's critics at times include Jews who maintain that only the Messiah can restore Israel to the Jews. Master Y'shua debunks this notion. In his time table he shows that first the Jews will return to Jerusalem, thus ending the Tims of the Gentiles, and THEN...
25
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;As the Jews return to and reclaim Holy Zion the nations will enter into a time of chaos and political upheaval. These nations are likened to a great sea and this sea is roaring!
26
Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.A time of terrorism and fear will rock the earth and HaShem, the God of Israel, will once again directly enter into the affairs of the world. As this time advanced:
It is during this time that HaShem will fulfil His promise to father Abraham:
Genesis 12
1 Now HaShem had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.Those nations that Bless Israel will be blessed, those who curse Israel will be cursed.
The United States/New World Order is currently working to divide Jerusalem, to drive the Jews out of large segments of the Holy City and to give those areas to their Arab enemies. God will curse those who curse Israel and its Holy City. Will He spare this fallen and corrupt nation? For more on this see my blog entries
Here and
Here)
So... Prophet Y'shua clearly says the Jews will return to Israel, then...
27
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.The general assumption made by Christians is that this Son of man refers to Jesus, in the Greek it does not specify who this man is . I discuss this elsewhere in some depth (
Click Here) but with this study we're looking and timing.
Paul adds more insight:
II Thessalonians 2
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.In other words, although there were people at the time who believed the Kingdom would soon be established, Paul is very clear that it is not "at hand."
The coming of Moshiach had been the hope of Jews for over two thousand years, it was understandable that the
Jews and
Noahides who accepted the teachings of Master Y'shua hoped the Kingdom was at hand. Paul wrote this letter about eighteen years after Master Y'shua's death. As mentioned above, the primary role of the Moshiach is the establishment of the Theocratic Kingdom.
This view is expressed by the great Jewish theologian Maimonides as follows:
"If a king will arise from the House of David
, diligent in Torah
study and the fulfillment of Mitzvot
- of the written and Oral Law
– like David his ancestor, and will compel all the Jews to go in its [the Torah's] path . . and builds the Holy Temple
and gathers the Diaspora [to the land of Israel], this is certainly the Messiah." (Laws of Kings 11:4).
3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;Prophet Daniel refers to this son of perdition as well. We'll discuss that later. For now, note that before the Kingdom is established, ie "that day," another man must come.
4
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.As this study is considering timing rather than the specifics, note that this man will sit in the Temple of God.
Paul was fully aware of Prophet Y'shua's teachings and he had predicted the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the Jews throughout the world:
Matthew 24
1
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the [age]? Yet here in II Thessalonians he tells us that the coming Son of Perdition will sit in the Temple. It is therefore clear that Paul is referring to third Temple which Maimonides tells us the Messiah will establish. More on this below. For now we note that since
the third Temple has yet to be built the Antichrist or Man of Perdition could not have come.
We now have a few essential prophecies that must be fulfilled by the generation of the End Times:
The Jews must return to Zion
Many nations must oppose the re-establishment of the nation of Israel
The third Temple must be built
These things were not possible before 1948/1967 and so any claim by previous generations were in error of the prophecies.
We continue with II Thessalonians 2
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.I plan to write on this hinderer soon. I have much to say on this topic. For now however, note that there is a struggle going on between the forces of Antichrist and the forces of... those who oppose him. These opposing elements have had limited success but the Antichrist will come to power.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders... 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. 16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. Paul therefore lists several important events that must be in place. He prays that his hearers will be strengthened by their faith in the teachings of Master Y'shua, and by the mercies and blessings of HaShem.
Now let us return to the matter of the times of the Gentiles...
Master Y'shua said the Jewish Diaspora would continue until the Times of the Gentiles are ended (Luke 21:24).
I don't want to go too deeply into this here since I have written about it elsewhere (
Click Here), but according to Paul the Gentile followers of Master Y'shua were "grafted onto" to the Tree of Israel for a set duration (Rom 11). This duration is the Times of the Gentiles.
What does this mean that the Gentile followers of the Jewish Master Y'shua were "grafted onto the House of Israel?
Paul is very clear on this at Romans 11. He explains that the Noahide Nazarenes (the Gentile followers of Master Y'shua) have been shown favor by HaShem for His own purposes, however, "Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.... (Rom 11:1,2). And again, "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Rom 11:29). HaShem chose the Jews and that calling has and never will be withdrawn. Again, I discuss this
elsewhere.
The relevance of this point is that according to Paul, as well as the Prophet John (who prophetically described the future of the Christian Faith in terms of seven churches), at the time when the Antichrist rises to power the Christian church will have fallen from its position of domination and moral authority into abject greed and hypocrisy. Therefore during the hundreds of years when the Church ruled nations, during those days the word "Christian" was generally considered a synonymous for right and good, the time would not have arrived. With the rise of Israel as a nation the Times of the Gentiles began drawing to a close and the Christian religion began falling into abject hypocrisy and greed:
Rev. 3:15
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 17 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: 18 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. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Today Christianity as a religion is no longer viewed favorably by the world. It is rocked with scandals and people at large consider it hypocritial if not anemic. This is not to say there are not many sincere Christians nor that the tree is completely rotten, however as Master Y'shua made clear:
Matt 7:16
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
When we look at the fruit produced by those countries and organizations claiming to be Christian we find considerably less good fruit than previously. Indeed Islam will soon pass Christianity as the largest religion on earth. It is already by far the most devoutly observed.
Again, with this study we are looking at timing. Until the Church was in this fallen state the Messiah would not come.
Now let's consider politics.
Prophet Daniel, writing in the sixth century BCE, foretold that the future would see four global powers. At the time he was writing the Jews were living in Babylon where they had been taken following the defeat of the Northern and Southern Hebrew kingdoms. Daniel spoke in some detail of the world powers:
Babylon: Dan. 2:38-38 (see also Dan 7:4 and 8:20)
Medo-Persia and Greece: Dan. 2:39 (see also Dan 7:7 and 9:26)
Rome: Daniel 2:40--43 (see also 7:7 and 9:26)
That these are references to governments is confirmed here:
Daniel 7:17
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. Then verse 44 tells us, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."
If the Roman Empire is the fourth of these world powers, which is clear when one studies these out, then the Theocratic Kingdom will be the next global power.
We naturally ask the question, what of the United States that now seems to rule the world?
As the Cold War ended it appeared that the United States had become the only true global power, however almost immediately China established itself as a major power that rivaled the US. Likewise, even though the USSR fell, Russia remained an important player and is now returning to the political stage. Likewise the Islamic Ummah is a world power and is becoming more so every day. Therefore, since the fall of Rome there has not been a true world power.
In Daniel seven, where these four powers are discussed as well, we read the following:
7 After this [after seeing Greece] I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Dan. 7:23
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. When one studies this out we find that the Roman Empire never actually fell, rather it disintegrated into the ten basic nation states in Europe, today known as the European Union. From among these nations the Antichrist will rise to power.
Prophet Y'shua refers to this ruler when he says,
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
This "other" is the Antichrist, "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (II Thess 2:4).Timing.
The formation of the EU was needed so that the Little Horn would have a base from which to rise.
We also see from this and other verses that this leader will be Jewish.
Those who have made this statement before have often been labeled Antisemitic. Those who read my thoughts regularly know my support for Israel and all things Jewish.
Why must the Antichrist be Jewish?
According to Master Y'shua, according to Prophet Daniel (27:9), according to Paul (II Thess 2:4), according to Prophet John (Rev 13) and many other sources the Jewish people, like the Christians and most very one else, is going to accept this man as the moshiach. There is no way Jews would ever accept a Gentile as their moshiach. To think they would is to insult the Jewish people.
Among the things this Beast of a man will do is:
Rev. 13:16
And he [the Antichrist] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
While there remains some debate over the Mark of the Beast a few things are obvious. In order to do this a government would have to be able to identify everyone on earth. There would have been a system in place where it would be impossible for those with the mark to buy or sell. It would have to be some sort of ID that could be placed on or under the skin.
Prior to modern times most of the world grew their own food on local farms. Those who refused to accept the mark could simply grow their own food. But not anymore! With the advent of suicide seeds it is now becoming impossible to store seed for the next years harvest. This means that poor people who can not buy new seeds each year will have no way to grow food (For more
Click Here or simply Google "
suicide seeds")
I am absolutely convinced that the technology now exists for the first time in human history to establish a globally mandated implant using GPS and RFID technologies that will be able to effectively create a world in which no one can buy or sell except those who have received the implant. Someone writing 2000 years ago would have described this technologies in exactly these terms.
In the United States many animals are already given implants to identify them. But its not only animals:
Friday, May 10, 2002
BOCA RATON, Fla. — A Florida family on Friday became the first to be implanted with computer chips that researchers hope will someday become an easy way to provide emergency room staffers with patients' medical information. For more on this see my story: The Pre-Mark of the Beast is given to human beings for the first time!
At the beginning of this piece I made two two statements:
1. That this is the first generation in history in which the Messiah could come
And
2. That generation has to be it.
I believe I've made the first point although much more can be said.
As for the second point:
Matt 24:32
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. The Tree of Israel put forth its first leaves in 1948 when it was restored as a nation. In 1967 The Holy City was liberated and it could truly be said the Jews had returned to Zion. It can be debated which of these two dates applies to this prophesy, however it is clear that within the generation of 1967, if not 1948, according to Prophet Y'shua, 'all these things will be fulfilled.'
Other relevant prophecies Moshiach will fulfill (
Source for more reading):
- The Sanhedrin will be re-established (Isaiah 1:26): Done
- Once Moshiach is King, leaders of other nations will look to him for guidance. (Isaiah 2:4)
- The whole world will worship the One God of Israel (Isaiah 2:17)
- He will be descended from King David (Isaiah 11:1) via Solomon (1 Chron. 22:8-10)
- The Moshiach will be a man of this world, an observant Jew with "fear of God" (Isaiah 11:2)
- Evil and tyranny will not be able to stand before his leadership (Isaiah 11:4)
- Knowledge of God will fill the world (Isaiah 11:9)
- He will include and attract people from all cultures and nations (Isaiah 11:10)
- All Israelites will be returned to their homeland (Isaiah 11:12)
- Death will be swallowed up forever (Isaiah 25:8)
- There will be no more hunger or illness, and death will cease (Isaiah 25:8)
- All of the dead will rise again (Isaiah 26:19)
- The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and gladness (Isaiah 51:11)
- He will be a messenger of peace (Isaiah 52:7)
- Nations will end up recognizing the wrongs they did to Israel (Isaiah 52:13-53:5)
- The peoples of the world will turn to the Jews for spiritual guidance (Zechariah 8:23)
- The ruined cities of Israel will be restored (Ezekiel 16:55)
- Weapons of war will be destroyed (Ezekiel 39:9)
- The Temple will be rebuilt (Ezekiel 40) resuming many of the suspended mitzvot
- He will then perfect the entire world to serve God together (Zephaniah 3:9)
- Jews will know the Torah without study (Jeremiah 31:33, see also New Covenant)
- He will give you all the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4)
- He will take the barren land and make it abundant and fruitful (Isaiah 51:3, Amos 9:13-15, Ezekiel 36:29-30, Isaiah 11:6-9)
And from my reading of the Scriptures this has to be the generation that will witness these things.This of course has only been a summary look at the prophecies, however I think they are sufficient to make the point. As always, I invite your comments of questions.
