What will happen tomorrow?
According to the Bible: Human history will reach a breaking point just as the Gospel is reaching the edges of earth (Matthew 24:14). Out of the drama of the Last Days a great and charismatic world leader will arise (2 Thessalonians 2:3). He will broker a peace treaty in the Middle East (Daniel 9:27) and will gain control over the governments of the world (Revelation 13:5-7). But his power will be derived from Satan (Revelation 13:2) and he will become a Man of Lawlessness and the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 John 2:18). In the course of time, he will set up his own image in the Third Jewish Temple (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:14). When the Jews rebel against Him, he will seek to destroy the nation of Israel and the Jewish people once for all (Matthew 24:15-21), unleashing a reign of terror and great tribulation unrivaled in human history (Zechariah 14:2; Luke 21:20-24). Vast armies of demonic forces will be unleashed (Revelation 16:14). The antichrist will summon the armies of the world to the Middle East and they will come from the East, West, North, and South. His forward operating base will be in the valley of Megiddo, or Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). He will attack Jerusalem and appear to be conquering the city. But just when it appears he has achieved victory, Christ will return to earth like lightening flashing from the east to the west (Zechariah 14:2-3; Matthew 24:27). The Lord will descend to the Mount of Olives, whence He left (Zechariah 14:4; Acts 1:11). The Jewish people will see Him whom they pierced and will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, turning to Him in faith and repentance (Zechariah 12:9 – 13:1; Romans 11:26). There will be atmospheric phenomenon as if the whole universe were collapsing (Luke 21:25-26; 2 Peter 3:10). The Messiah will slay the threatening armies with the breath of His mouth (2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 19:15). He will dispense with the devil and antichrist (Revelation 19:20). He will establish His millennial reign on earth (Revelation 20:1-6) and subsequently usher in the eternal state with the New Heavens, the New Earth, and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21-22).
That’s what will happen tomorrow.
What, then, would we expect to see in the headlines today? We would expect to see…
- The Jewish people back in their historic homeland
- Ongoing efforts among the Jews to rebuild the Third Temple on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
- The city of Jerusalem becoming the powder keg of the world
- The state of Israel encircled by increasingly radicalized and dangerous foes
- Tension growing, armies rising, rulers in disarray
- The globalization of civilization, including the rise of intrusive and chlling levels of surveillance
- Growing anti-Semitism
- Increasing secularization
- Proliferating weapons of mass destruction
- A growing fascination with the cult of personality
- Increased godlessness at the very time the Gospel is reaching the edges of the world.
That’s what we would expect.
When you see these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near (Luke 21:28).