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TOWARD 2037

THERE ARE VERY FEW CHRISTIANS HERE are very few Christians who do not believe that we are living in the last days. We have lived in the last days since that day Jesus appeared upon the earth. However, the real question on most people’s mind is “Are we living in the last of the last days when the Antichrist will be on the scene, the great tribulation occurs, and Jesus appears? “

Every generation since the death of Christ have had their prophets proclaiming, “The end is near!” They were correct in their proclamations in that the signs of the end increased more with each generation and each generation brought us one step closer to the end. However, they were wrong to proclaim that the return of Christ was imminent, failing to perceive that the final end time events were to converge all at the same time, were to take place on a global stage, and would not take place until Israel was restored and Jerusalem brought back under her control.  

Today, prophecy students understand there is a distinction between the events of the last days and the events of the last of the last days. Understanding last day events is not a problem for most; understanding the last of the last days has become a source of confusion since it requires understanding the ordering of events. 

There are innumerable interpretations concerning where we are on the prophetic timeline. One group proclaims the rapture of God’s people before the great tribulation while another proclaims the opposite. Another group proclaims we are living in the time of the opening of the seven seals while another teaches the seven trumpets are now blowing or the seven vials are being poured out. How can there be so many contradicting views when there is only one correct view, one truth, one direction revealed by God to His people? How can there be so many different views when God’s people are able to instruct many? (Dan. 11:33) There must be understanding before there is instruction. How can there be so many different voices when God does nothing without informing His prophets? (Amos 3:7)

The number one reason for all the confusion is that God’s people are in apostasy, not connected with the Holy Spirit. The number two reason is there is not one foundation from which last day events are built upon.

A COUPLE OF THINGS

A couple of things to keep in mind when considering where we are on the prophetic timeline is that knowledge will increase and Israel will be restored as a nation.

First, knowledge shall increase. Daniel 12:4 records that the last seven years of earth’s history will take place when knowledge increases exponentially. There is no question that the twentieth century has experienced an exponential increase in knowledge…this also includes Biblical knowledge. This indicates there was not the knowledge base to understand the last of the last days until there was this exponential increase of knowledge. Now that we have the knowledge, we must be connected with the Holy Spirit to receive understanding. Understanding leads to discernment of where we are on the prophetic timeline. Before the knowledge base increased, it was not possible to understand the prophecies concerning the last of the last days. 

Second, and this is the most important signpost of end times prophecy, Israel must be restored as a nation with Jerusalem as its capital. If this did not happen, even if many last day events came together at the same time, the last of the last days could not be upon us. This is why many prophecy students prior to 1948 were either incomplete or completely wrong in their understanding of last day events. Israel’s return as a nation, regaining Jerusalem as her capital, and her people returning to Israel are the events that shouts to us that we have transitioned into the last of the last days to begin the countdown to the rise of the Antichrist and the return of Christ. 

ISRAEL IS THE MAIN THING

In Revelation 12:1 Israel is pictured as a woman with the moon at her feet, representing that time is submissive to her. Israel is our time clock. When we look at what is happening to Israel, we know where we are on the prophetic timeline. What is happening with Israel is that she has been restored as a nation, Jerusalem is again her capital, and her neighbors are in continual conflict with her.

In Jeremiah 16 and Amos 9, it is recorded that Israel is born-again as a nation prior to entering the great tribulation brought by the Antichrist. The great tribulation takes place in the last of the last days after the Antichrist appears. Therefore, Israel’s restoration is the main event that lets us know we have transitioned into the last of the last days.

It was in 1948 that Israel was restored as an independent, self-governing nation. This was the year the Jews began to return in mass and her desert land began to bloom after almost two thousand years of being desolate and uninhabitable. Nineteen years after reforming as a nation, Israel recaptured Jerusalem as her capital in 1967. After over two thousand years with Israel and Jerusalem under the control of gentile rulers, she is now under Israel’s control. It is clear that Israel has only partial control of Jerusalem with the dome of the rock still plaguing the temple mount. This is in line with Luke 21:24 which tells us that the times of the gentiles will not be fully complete until after Israel has gone through the great tribulation, which is still in the future. After the great tribulation, Israel will then enter her eternal inheritance, beginning with the millennium reign with Christ on the throne of David.

DANIEL'S TIMELINES

Israel’s restoration and Jerusalem regained as her capital are the main events letting us know we are now living, not just in the last days—but the last of the last days. Daniel’s timelines also verify that we are living at the end of the last days.

The timeline in Daniel 2 reveals four empires that would rise and fall before the ten toed new world order is established. The new world order is established in the last of the last days to give birth to the Antichrist. Also, the timeline in Daniel 7 reveals the four empires that would rise up to establish the path for the new world order of the fourth beast with ten horns to appear.

In both timelines, the identified empires led to the Antichrist’s kingdom (new world order). The empires in Daniel 2 have all risen up and fallen from the height of their power as revealed in king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. This shows we are living in the time of the divided Roman Empire. Daniel 7’s timeline reveals that out of the divided Roman Empire, empires with the character of a lion, eagle, bear, and leopard will rise up. These are presently on the world scene and have been identified as Great Britain, the United States, Russia, and islam. In both timelines, the next empire to rise up is one that consists of the ten regional realignment of all nations into a new world order. Both timelines reveal we are presently living in the last days of the last days, setting in place the final pieces for the final new world order ruled by the Antichrist.

LAST DAY EVENTS

Also confirming that we are living in the last days of the last days is Jesus’ comprehensive teaching on the last days in Matthew 24. In this teaching, Jesus gives three categories of events to let us know where we are as we travel through the last days. 

The first category of events is everyday events which characterize the entire last days and are always with us, outlined in Matthew 24:4-6.

The second category of events are outlined in Matthew 24:7-8 and take place during that time called the beginning of sorrows. This is the period of time we have entered into beginning with World War I, confirmed with World War II, and continues with various wars among nations. We know we are at the end of this category of events because of their intensity and frequency within our world. Being at the end of these events, we are now ready for the third category of events. 

The third category of events reveals the Antichrist and his great tribulation on God’s people as outlined in Matthew 24:9-28. After this tribulation, the rapture will then take place. (Matthew 24:29-35) With the persecution of Christians now greatly on the rise, we know we are quickly moving into the age of the Antichrist and almost unbearable persecution.

Like Israel’s reforming as a nation and Daniel’s timelines, the beginning of sorrows places us in that time period at the end of the last of the last days prior to the arrival of the Antichrist and the great tribulation.

AN IMPORTANT SCRIPTURE

Matthew 24:34 tells us, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” 

We know Jesus is not only talking about the generation of the disciples who were listening to Him because He made this statement after teaching about the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet. That abomination did not take place at the time Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, referring to a much future time when the Antichrist and earth’s final seven years are here.

The “this generation” refers to the generation that will observe all the Matthew 24 events converging together at the same time.

ONE MORE PIECE

One more piece to this last days puzzle is that, prior to 1948, student’s of prophecy interpreted prophecy mostly from a local and not a global perspective. It is our twentieth century generation that has a global perspective on world events. From our perspective, the events Jesus taught are happening together at the same time in our generation from a truly global perspective. It is this global convergence of last day events coupled with Israel’s restoration that confirms we are in the last of the last days.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Because Israel’s restoration and control over Jerusalem is the key to ushering in the last of the last days and the age of the Antichrist, the “this generation” began after Israel was restored and Jerusalem was regained as her capital in 1967. Psalm 90:10 identifies a generation as seventy years. 70 years added to 1967 equals the year 2037. Along with Daniel’s timelines and Matthew 24’s timeline of events, it appears that the Antichrist and the return of Christ will take place sometime before 2037.

As outlined in this article, the following events confirm that we are living in the last days of the last days when the stage is being set for the new world order and the rise of the Antichrist:

            1.  The exponential increase in knowledge

            2.  Israel is restored as a nation

            3.  Jerusalem is restored as Israel’s capital

            4.  Daniel 2’s empires have all risen up

            5.  Daniel 7’s empires are presently on the scene

            6.  The everyday events of Matthew 24 are fulfilled

            7.  The beginning of sorrows events of Matthew 24 are coming to an end

            8.  The new world order is presently being established

The next event on the horizon is the establishment of the realignment of all nations through the new world order and the arrival of the Antichrist from out of this new order of nations.

 Recognizing where we are on the prophetic timeline, we must be so much the more the Christian God has called us to be, so much the more the witness to those around us, and so much the more a proclaimer of prophetic truths so others might find hope.

Steve Magill
Copyright September 2017