Times and Seasons
Prof.
Johan Malan, University
of Limpopo, South Africa
There
are various indications of times and seasons in the Bible, some of them
explicit and others less explicit. We must interpret these times, as well
as their physical, moral and spiritual characteristics (the signs of the
times) in a biblically correct way if we wish to make justified assumptions
and conclusions about the time in which we live, as well as the nearness
of predicted events related to the future. In this article, we will review
the significance of seasonal years, prophetic years and generations
with specific reference to Israel’s chronology
and the first and second comings of the Messiah.
Seasonal
years
The
most commonly used chronology in the world is based upon seasonal years,
which are also referred to as solar years. In these units of time, the perceived
cycles of the sun (actually the position of the earth in its orbit around
the sun) result in the phenomenon of different seasons – spring, summer,
autumn and winter. Every year is also divided into months, derived from
the full cycle of the moon from one new moon to the next. Months are divided
into weeks of seven days each, while days are composed of 24 hours – about
12 hours in the night (four night watches of 3 hours each, from sunset to
9 o’clock, from 9 to 12, from 12 to 3, and from 3 to sunrise) and more or
less 12 hours of daytime between sunrise and sunset.
The
problem is that these different units of time do not fully synchronise with
one another. There are exactly seven days in a week, but there are
not an exact number of weeks in a lunar month, neither an exact number of
lunar months in a seasonal year. A lunar month is 29½ days long (the length
of months alternating between 29 and 30 days on the Jewish calendar), resulting
in a so-called “lunar year” of 354 days. It falls 11¼ days short of a full
seasonal year of 365¼ days.
Israel still observes lunar months, starting on every new moon. However,
they do not observe lunar years but seasonal years, since certain months
in their calendar are directly associated with seasonal changes in the annual
agricultural cycle. Nisan is always regarded as the spring month while Tishri
is related to the final gathering of the harvest during autumn. In order
to keep track with seasonal changes, Israel has introduced
leap-years in which a 13th month of 29 days (Ve-Adar, or Second
Adar) is added at the end of the year. In every cycle of 19 years, there
are seven such leap-years, i.e. years no. 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19.
In
the Gregorian calendar, the length of months were adapted with a view to
having exactly 12 months per seasonal year, resulting in the fact that months
do not synchronise with the cycles of the moon. The bottom line is that
in the Gregorian and Jewish calendars we both observe seasonal years.
Because of the much longer leap-years in the Jewish calendar, their annual
festivals often fluctuate up to a month or more on the Gregorian calendar,
but never go completely out of cycle with it. The starting-point of years
is also quite different. Israel observes a civil calendar which starts on the 1st day of
Tishri (Rosh Hashanah) while their religious calendar starts in the
spring month of Nisan (formerly called Abib; cf. Ex. 12:2). In the Gregorian
calendar, the starting point for years is shortly after the winter solstice
in the northern hemisphere, on January 1.
Prophetic
years and year-weeks
There
is also another calendar in the Bible, popularly referred to as the prophetic
calendar. It comprises years of 360 days each, being composed of 12 months
of 30 days each. The major reason for this calendar, referred to in Daniel
9:24-27 and Revelation 11 to 13, is to afford an exact countdown to the
first and second comings of the Messiah, even in days. Other prominent events
leading up to the coming of the Messiah are also discussed within the same
prophetic chronology. This calendar does not replace the Jewish or Gregorian
calendars but cuts across them to pinpoint certain very important events
beyond any doubt. It is clearly not applied to the church dispensation and
therefore does not afford a calculation of the date for the Messiah’s secret
coming shortly before the resuming of the year-week cycle when Israel will conclude a covenant with the false messiah. Only the 70th
year-week is still outstanding in the cycle of weeks discussed in Daniel
9. In the New Testament, this year-week is described as the tribulation
period, of which the last half will be the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21,29;
Rev. 7:14).
Daniel
presents a very remarkable prophecy which spans Israel’s divine history
from the end of the Babylonian captivity to the beginning of the Messiah’s
reign of peace: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people [Israel] and
for your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish transgression, to make an end
of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy… From the going
forth of the command to restore and build up Jerusalem until Messiah the
Prince, there shall be 7 weeks and 62 weeks [a total of 69 weeks]; the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after
the 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut of, but not for Himself” (Dan. 9:24-26).
The
starting-point of this prophecy was the decree by the Persian king, Artaxerxes,
allowing the return of the Jews to their land and the rebuilding of Jerusalem
and the temple. The Jews in exile were in a downtrodden and, humanly-speaking,
hopeless position. The royal family and the rulers of Judah were all killed
by the king of Babel (Jer. 52:10-11). Jerusalem was destroyed and the magnificent
temple of Solomon lay in ruins. A small remnant of Israel, including members
of the dispersed southern kingdom of Judah and the formerly dispersed northern
ten tribe kingdom of Israel, were in Babylonia, facing a bleak and uncertain
future.
During
their exile, Daniel prophesied on the ultimate restoration of Israel, their land and
their capital city. He said that after seventy year-weeks (70 X 7 prophetic
years) there will be a definite end to Israel’s national sins,
which means that the entire remnant of Israel will be reconciled
to God through the Messiah. This future vision of Israel’s salvation is
corroborated by all the prophets (cf. Isa. 49:5-6; Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek.
36:22-28; Hos. 14:5-7; Zech. 8:23, 13:1) and also by Paul in the New Testament
(Rom. 11:26). Zechariah says that this wonderful event will take place after
a personal encounter with the Messiah at His second coming (Zech. 12:10;
14:4-5). Only then, everlasting righteousness will prevail in Israel. All the prophecies
on their spiritual restoration and their subsequent blessings during the
rule of the Messiah will be fulfilled (and sealed) and the rebuilt temple
of the millennium will be anointed and dedicated to the Lord (Ezek. 40 to
44).
However,
Daniel did not foresee a quick and trouble-free history for Israel up to the point
of the final fulfilment of prophecies on their spiritual restoration. To
the contrary! He said that the city and the temple would be restored during
a period of 7 year-weeks, which would be troubled times for Israel. Their trouble
wouldn’t end there but extend further to the end of the 69th
week when they would “cut off” the Messiah. They did exactly that, as a
nation, by formally rejecting and crucifying Him. Isaiah says that He was
“cut off from the land of the living” (Isa. 53:8), which means that Israel severed their
ties with Him and were temporarily cut off from God’s divine plan. There
would not be any future in God’s plan for Israel without accepting
the Messiah.
Jesus
clearly warned the Jews that their rejection of Him would lead to the desolation
of their land and city, and also to their international dispersion (Matt.
23:37-38; Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-24). During the time of their spiritual blindness,
the Gentile world would be evangelised (Matt. 28:19).
Since
the dispensation of the church age was not revealed to the Old Testament
prophets, Daniel did not indicate the consequence of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah, which gave rise to their Diaspora during
the church age. Towards the end of the church age, Israel would be restored
to their land. Since they are still in a national state of rebellion against
God because of their continued rejection of the Messiah, there would still
be no end to their long history of troubles that were experienced during
the Assyrian and Babylonian exile of the nation, their subsequent restoration
in unbelief, their Diaspora because of not believing in Jesus as Messiah,
and also their end-time restoration in unbelief. God said that He would
gather them in Jerusalem to blow the fire of His wrath against them (Ezek.
22:18-22). From this painful process of testing and melting a remnant will
be saved (Zech. 13:8-9; Rom. 9:27).
The
inevitable result of rejecting the true Messiah would be spiritual blindness
that would eventually lead to the concluding of a covenant with the false
Messiah (John 5:43). That will give rise to their biggest problems yet.
Jeremiah said that it will be a time of trouble for Jacob (Jer. 30:7). Jesus
said that there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been since
the beginning of the world (Matt. 24:21-22). Since the coming tribulation
period will be a time of suffering and purification from which a remnant
in Israel will be saved,
this seven-year period will form part of Israel’s divine history.
They will resume the cycle of 70 year-weeks the day when they conclude a
covenant with the false messiah.
Daniel
says: “And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city
and the sanctuary… Then he [the false messiah] shall confirm a covenant
with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an
end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be
one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined,
is poured out on the desolate” (Dan. 9:26-27).
This
final year-week in Israel’s divine history
between their Babylonian exile and the start of the dispensation of righteousness
during the coming reign of the Messiah, will be fulfilled just as literally
as the first 69 year-weeks. It will, globally, be a time of great turmoil
and divine judgements, leading up to the second coming of the Messiah. During
this time, the final destiny of Israel and the nations
will be determined. A remnant of them will be saved, while the majority
will, to their eternal ruin, conclude a covenant with the false messiah
(the Antichrist).
Since
the 70th year-week is part of Israel’s divine history, it does not form part of the church dispensation.
The latter will be formally ended by the rapture of the true church, allowing
the Antichrist to be revealed and to conclude his covenant with Israel and the nations
(2 Thess. 2:6-8). This week is clearly divided into two halves of 3½
years each, which are also expressed as 42 months (Rev. 11:2; 13:5) or 1260
days (Rev. 11:3; 12:6). This leaves no doubt as to the literal nature of
the final seven years, which will be an exact countdown to the second coming
of the Messiah on the Mount of Olives.
The
equation of 3½ years with 42 months or 1260 days determines the time framework
of prophetic years as consisting of 12 months of 30 days each. They are
slightly shorter than solar years, but nevertheless afford exact countdowns
to the Messiah’s first and second comings. Daniel in effect said that 69
year-weeks (483 prophetic years) would elapse between the decree by Xerxes
on 1 Nisan 445 BC that Jerusalem was to be rebuilt (Neh. 2:1‑8), and
the death of the Messiah on 14 Nisan 32 AD. That represents a total period
of 173 880 days. When divided by 365¼ days, this period equals 476,06
seasonal years on the Gregorian calendar. On this calendar, the 69 year-weeks
elapsed between 23 March 445 BC and Friday 11 April 32 AD.
Then
the clock stopped ticking for Israel as a nation in
the divine plan of God, and the time for the evangelisation of the non-Jewish
world began. That meant that Israel would temporarily
lose its position as a special servant and mouthpiece of God, and that all
the people on earth, including the dispersed Israelites, would be given
the chance to accept Jesus as their Messiah and Saviour to become part of
the kingdom of God.
With
the present restoration of Israel and the city
of Jerusalem, we are now nearing the end of the times of the Gentiles (Luke
21:24). This means that the last year-week of Israel's history of
salvation must pass before the remnant will come to accept Jesus in one
day (Zech. 3:9). Because the people of Israel are physically
restored in a spiritually blinded state it is evident that they will be
deceived by the false messiah. When, exactly halfway through the 70th
week, the false messiah will declare himself to be God in the rebuilt temple
in Jerusalem (2 Thess. 2:4; Dan. 11:36), Israel will realise
that he is a false messiah who lied about his true identity.
The
Antichrist will then institute his satanic reign of terror, and the whole
world will be shocked out of their false sense of peace that they have enjoyed
for the first three and a half years: “For when they say, Peace and safety!
then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant
woman. And they shall not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3). Israel will be greatly
disillusioned when they realise that they have been worshipping a false
messiah who pretends to be God Himself. They will immediately revoke their
covenant with him and completely reject him. In reaction, the false messiah
will forbid them to sacrifice in the name of God and instead erect an image
of himself in the Holy of holies in the newly built temple in Jerusalem,
and demand personal worship: “...and in the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and
one-half years]; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one
who makes desolate; until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator”
(Dan. 9:27 Amplified Bible). The false messiah will then be revealed as
a ruthless dictator and self-declared God who will demand to be worshipped
by all people on earth.
As
in World War II, genocide will be perpetrated against the Jews during the
second half of the tribulation – in the 3½ year period known as the “great
tribulation” or “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” The true Messiah described
this time of terror in His prophetic discourse: “Therefore, when you see
the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing
in the holy place… then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the
beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:15-21).
This clear prophecy by the Messiah about the end-time is undeniable proof
of the fact that Daniel’s prophecies were not all fulfilled in Old Testament
times. Daniel also refers to the dark days of the coming tribulation period
in his prophecies about the end-time: “And forces shall be mustered by him,
and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away
the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation”
(Dan. 11:31).
At
the height of the great tribulation, the Messiah will come: “Immediately
after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon
will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear
in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will
see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”
(Matt. 24:29-30). “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
which faces Jerusalem on the east” (Zech. 14:4). He will destroy the false
messiah, the false prophets and their armies (Rev. 19:19-21).
It
was with a view to this terrible time of turmoil, demonic deception and
unequalled tribulation that the Lord has given Israel a countdown to
His second coming: “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never
was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people
shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book… And from
the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of
desolation is set up, there shall be 1290 days. Blessed is he who waits,
and comes to the 1335 days” (Dan. 12:1,11-12).
From
the time when the false messiah abandons the sacrificial service and defiles
the sanctuary by placing an image of himself in the Holy of Holies, 1260
days will expire until the arrival of the Messiah on the Mount of Olives
(Dan. 9:27; Rev. 13:5). After a further thirty days of mourning (cf. Zech.
12:10-11; Num. 20:29; Deut. 34:8), the spiritual reconciliation between
the Messiah and the remnant of Israel will be complete. By then, 1290 days will have expired since the false
messiah's self-deification in the temple.
Another
45 days will be taken up by the marriage feast of the Lamb, the restoration
of the throne of David and the judgment of the nations (Rev. 19:7-9, Acts
15:16-17, Matt. 25:31-32). By then, 1 335 very dramatic days will have
expired since that very evil day when the false messiah declared himself
as God in the temple and instituted his satanic reign of terror. After 1 335
days, the Son of the living God will have crushed the evil powers and established
His kingdom of peace. Jews who survive this terrible onslaught will, after
1260 days of great tribulation, see the Messiah return. After 1290 days
they will be spiritually restored, and after 1335 days they will enter the
promised kingdom of the Messiah.
It
is very clear that the prophecy on the 70 year-weeks includes an exact and
dependable countdown to the first and second comings of the Messiah, while
also counting down the time of the false messiah’s reign in prophetic years,
in months and in days. However, this prophecy gives us no indication
as to the length of the church dispensation that followed after the “cutting
off” of the Messiah in Israel. Other Scriptures will be consulted for this purpose.
Millennia
The
Lord did not provide a countdown for the church dispensation, other than
an approximate indication that His ministry of healing and salvation will
last for “two days” (of one thousand years) each. In God’s chronology, there
is not only a week of days (7 days; cf. Lev. 23:3), a week of weeks (49
days; cf. Lev. 23:15; Deut. 16:16), and a week of years (7 years; cf. Lev.
25:3-8; Dan. 9:24-27), but also a week of millennia (7000 years; cf. 2 Pet.
3:8). In the latter case, one day represents a thousand years (cf. Hos.
6:1-2; Luke 13:32). In the week of humanity’s divine history, two days elapsed
between Adam and Abraham, two days between Abraham and Christ, and two days
during the church age, while the seventh millennium will be the thousand-year
reign of Christ on earth. During the seventh day, which is the “Day of the
Lord,” Christ will be revealed as Judge and King (Isa. 13:9; Zech. 14:9;
Rev. 6:16-17; 20:6).
Generations
In
the Olivet Discourse of the Lord Jesus there are explicit references to
the first and last generations of the church dispensation, but many people
overlook the tremendous significance of these pronouncements. The first
generation after the coming of the Messiah ended with the destruction of
Jerusalem and the Diaspora of the Jews (Matt. 23:33-38), while the last
generation will culminate in the second coming of the Messiah to end the
great tribulation and to restore Israel spiritually (Luke
21:25-32; Ezek. 36:24-25).
A
full generation represents a period of 70 years (Ps. 90:10). The beginning
of the last full generation before the return of the Messiah to Jerusalem
(Zech. 14:4-5) was the birth of the modern Jewish state in May 1948. But
the Lord mostly deals with Israel within the framework
of adult generations of 40 years as He keeps the adult generation accountable
for their actions. After their exodus from Egypt, the Lord made them wander
in the wilderness 40 years until the adult generation that had done evil
in His sight had perished (Num. 32:13). Full adulthood in Israel is attained at
the age of 30 when men come of age politically and religiously, and are
therefore eligible to perform public duties in these spheres. For the same
reason, Jesus could only commence His public ministry as teacher in Israel after having
reached the age of 30. An adult generation refers to the period between
the ages of 30 and 70 (cf. 2 Sam. 5:4).
It
is to be emphasised that there is no such thing as a “prophetic generation”
of 14000 days which is calculated in terms of prophetic years. The ages
of people in Israel have always been
reckoned in seasonal years, to which Israel’s lunar calendar
has been adapted.
The
parameters of the first and last adult generations of the present age between
the first and second comings of Christ are clearly defined in Scripture.
The first generation started when Jesus offered Himself as Messiah-King
to the Jews, only to be rejected and crucified by them. The end of the first
generation was marked by the destruction of Jerusalem and the beginning
of the Diaspora.
The
last adult generation commenced with the restoration of Jerusalem to its
former position of Israel’s capital city.
This generation will end in the same situation where the first one began:
The inhabitants of Jerusalem will again be given the opportunity to accept
Yeshua as their Messiah-King and to bow down before Him for salvation and
cleansing from their sin (Zech. 12:10; 13:1). At the first occasion they
rejected Him, but at the second occasion they will fully accept Him. They
will look on Him whom they have pierced, and say: "Blessed is He who
comes in the name of the Lord!" (Mt. 23:39).
A
very conspicuous characteristic of the inaugurating and concluding generations
of the church dispensation is the coexistence of Israel and the church. During the first generation, the church was gradually
phased in while Israel was on a course
to be phased out as a nation by way of the Diaspora. During the last generation,
modern Israel is gradually phased back into their land and into world affairs, while
the true church must prepare itself to be phased out by way of the rapture.
That
there will be a last generation before the second coming is just as sure
as there was a first generation after the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus
Christ. But we must be very clear on the starting point and the end of these
two generations. By way of comparison, we may shortly review the first and
last generations.
In
the year 32 the Lord Jesus addressed members of the adult generation, i.e.
persons of 30 years and older, and told them that within their generation
(of 40 years) Jerusalem would be destroyed and that Israel’s dispersion among the nations would already have begun (Matt. 23:32-38).
He thereby literally implied that by the year 72 AD these prophecies would
be fulfilled. It is a historically known fact that Jerusalem was destroyed
by the Romans in 70 AD, and all the surviving Jews were taken away as captives
of war (Luke 21:20-24).
The
full generation of 70 years included all the Jews who were born in or before
the year 2 AD. This generation expired in the year 72 AD. In the year 32
AD, when this generation had come of age spiritually and politically, Israel had to decide
whether they would accept Jesus as King and Messiah. Because they refused
to do it, members of that adult generation had to bear the consequences
of their unbelief and apostasy (Matt. 23:37-38). That generation did not
pass away until all the prophecies on Jerusalem’s destruction and Israel’s dispersion were fulfilled.
The
last generation of 70 years that started in 1948 with the birth of the state
of Israel, came of age
30 years later in 1978. Shortly afterwards, in 1980, Jerusalem was declared
as capital city without giving any recognition to the Messiah. Israel is now in the
40 years of accountability because of their continued rejection of the Messiah.
As a result, they will wrongly conclude a covenant with the false messiah.
But before this seven year period begins the Lord Jesus will snatch away
the true believers (Luke 21:36; John 14:2-3; 1 Thess. 4:16-18).
The
final year-week
We
have strong proof of the fact that we are in an advanced stage of the last
generation, which cannot extend beyond 2018. The Lord Himself had promised
that this generation will not pass away till all things (including the tribulation
period) are fulfilled. We do have to take a close look at Israel’s year-weeks, which have been reintroduced in 1980 when Jerusalem
was declared as their capital. The present year-week started with the Rosh
Hashanah of 2001, very close to the fall of the twin tower buildings in
New York. The next year-week, due to start in September 2008, will be the
last one that can be fully accommodated within the last generation, and
is therefore destined to be the 70th year-week of Daniel. That
is, if our understanding of the parameters of the last generation is correct.
There
is another point of caution here. Back in the 1980’s, rabbi Ben Zion Wacholder’s
research indicated that Israel’s present year-week cycle, which is based
upon dates given for sabbatical years by rabbi Maimonides in the 12th
century, does not synchronise with the biblical chronology and should be
advanced by one year. Whether that is true, and whether Israel will still react to this information after so many years, is not certain.
What is certain is that we are rapidly approaching the last year-week
of the last generation before the Messiah comes again. At the beginning
of that year-week, Israel will definitely
conclude their covenant with the false messiah for seven years. Shortly
before this critical year-week commences all born-again Christians have
an appointment before the judgement seat of Christ in heaven. The only way
to get to the venue of this judgement and reward ceremony in our glorified
bodies is by way of the rapture. We will be “caught up” by divine power
to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-18).
Run-up
to the terminal year-week
Since
the Antichrist will conclude a covenant with many nations for one year-week
(Dan. 9:27) it is only logical to assume that a clear pattern of events
within a seven year cycle will emerge during the preceding year-week. If
the present year-week (Sept. 2001 to Sept. 2008) is the run-up to the 70th
year-week of Daniel we should heed the serious warnings contained in various
signs of the times during this very important period. Consider the following
events that have dominated the news during the first year-week of the new
millennium:
Terrorism
and war
·
The present year-week started in the shadow
of 9/11’s big bang, the worst ever terrorist-induced disaster to have struck
the US or any other country. These attacks have far-reaching consequences
for the US and the entire world as they elevated terrorism to a major
form of global warfare. Evil men are sneaking into host countries to establish
their network of terror: “The dark places of the land are full of the habitations
of violence” (Ps. 74:20).
·
The years before 9/11 saw a relentless building-up
of tension between the US and fundamentalist Islamic groups in the world
due to America’s support for and arming of Israel – Islam’s sworn enemy
in the Middle East – and also because of America’s dominating role in Operation
Desert Storm, which, to most Muslims, was a highly disturbing and unacceptable
military intervention in an Islamic state.
·
The involvement of Islamic terrorists in
the 9/11 attacks introduced a period of rapid escalation of hostilities
between fundamentalist Islamic groups and America and its allies.
The spectacular injuring of America’s pride led
to severe reprisals in Afghanistan and Iraq, thereby setting the scene for a global showdown.
The
rise of Babylon
·
When the US invaded Iraq they invaded a
region which is not only associated with the origin of humanity in the Garden
of Eden, but also a region of pronounced demonic activity in ancient times.
Satan’s first victory against humanity was achieved here, where he successfully
deceived our first parents, Adam and Eve. Later, after the Flood, Satan
was the motivating force behind the establishment of the first apostate
world empire with its capital, Babylon, on the banks of the Euphrates River.
The restored Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar attempted to annihilate
Israel as the representative
of God’s kingdom. This region is also destined to be the venue of the last
great conspiracy against humanity, which will be the world government of
the Antichrist (Rev. 17 & 18). Before that can happen, the Islamic/Iraqi
conflict must threaten world peace to such an extent that it becomes the
biggest single challenge to the introduction of a new world order of global
peace and unity.
·
The American-led war against Iraq has revived the
ancient Babylonian spirit of unbridled rebellion against the kingdom of
God. This spirit resents and resists every nation and ideology that is directly,
or only nominally, associated with God’s Kingdom. Most important among the
adversaries of the kingdom of darkness are Christian nations, as well as
Israel and its supporters.
The spirit of rebellion against Judeo-Christian principles is perpetuated
by fundamentalist Islamic groups, and has been stirred up to unprecedented
fervour by American interventions in the Islamic world.
·
The significance of Babylon’s end-time role
is confirmed by many Biblical prophecies (cf. Isa. 13; Jer. 50–51; Rev.
17–18). It is completely unjustified to apply these prophecies to Rome or
New York. These cities are not the origin or symbol of Satan’s rebellion
against God and will therefore not be utterly destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah;
neither are they places where Arabian herdsmen would consider pitching their
tents (Isa. 13:19-22). Babylon is the matrix of all evil in the world and
therefore the only appropriate place where its defeat and utter destruction
can be demonstrated in the sight of the nations that were deceived by her.
Economic
signs
·
The fall of the twin-tower buildings in
New York was symbolic of America’s economic downfall
and its rapid demise as the sole superpower in the world. The administration
of George Bush has made dangerous compromises with so-called “moderate Islam”
(particularly the renegade Palestinian state) while also conditionally supporting
Israel. In the process,
they polarised Islam by provoking the violent fundamentalists, and at the
same time forced Israel to make self-destructive compromises by relinquishing parts of their
God-given land. The weakening of Israel is fanning the
flames of the escalating global jihad. The inevitable consequence
of this dangerous game of helping and harming Israel is that America is bringing upon itself the curse of Genesis 12:3. However, this country
will not be reduced to ashes as is expected by those who wrongly equate
the US with Babylon, but it will at least lose its economic capacity to dominate
the world.
·
The economic future of the world is dependent
on the continued supply of large quantities of crude oil from the heavily
over-exploited oil-fields. The present year-week has seen a rise in the
oil price from slightly more than $20 a barrel in 2001, to over $65 a barrel
in 2005. The seven Persian Gulf countries hold 57% of the total oil reserves
in the world. The highest reserves are in Saudi
Arabia, followed by Iraq. It is obvious
that peace and political stability must be established and maintained in
the Middle East if the world’s economic future is to be secured. This fact
necessitates active intervention by the international community in the affairs
of the highly volatile Middle East. The economic destiny of the world will
be decided here – not in New York, Rome or London.
·
The major events that are contributing to
the sharp rise in the oil price are wars, natural disasters, the using of
oil as a political weapon by Opec, and the soaring demand for oil in China because of a very high economic growth rate. If China’s growing industrial
capacity is threatened by unsure oil supplies, this politically unpredictable
country with its population of 1,2 billion people might well invade oil-producing
countries in the Persian Gulf region to secure continued oil supplies from
there.
Religious
signs
·
The Millennium Summit of the United Nations
provided for a United Religions Initiative to support the efforts of politicians
to establish world peace and unity. It articulates an important sentiment
of the present time and ties up with other initiatives such as the Parliament
for the World’s Religions. The first year-week of the new millennium is
indeed characterised by a global alliance between politics and religion,
thereby paving the way for a future world leader who will not only be a
political and economic leader but also a spiritual saviour of humanity.
·
The death of Pope John Paul in the middle
of this year-week, as well as the inauguration of a new pope, underscored
the potential of a spiritual leader to unite humanity in its quest for peace
and reconciliation. Even former adversaries of the Catholic Church came
to Rome to congratulate the new pope and to be blessed by him. These developments
demonstrate the spirit of religious compromise which is promoted at the
expense of sound doctrine. The end result will be multireligious ecumenical
ties, favouring the coming of a universal messiah.
·
There is indeed a growing expectation among
the members of most of the world’s religious groups that a Messiah will
soon appear to lead humanity away from a threatening world war into a new,
global dispensation in which all nations and religious groups will share
a common destiny. The universal Messiah will be Christ to the Christians,
the Messiah to the Jews, the Imam Mahdi to the Muslims, Krishna to the Hindus
and the Maitreya Buddha to the Buddhists. The Bible calls this common, interfaith
messiah the Antichrist.
Moral
decline
·
Immoral lifestyles are increasingly becoming a general characteristic
of the liberated, post-modern society of the third millennium. The normative
values of Christianity have been completely abandoned while immoral practices
such as sodomy, prostitution, extra-marital relations, abortion, liquor
and drug abuse, as well as cursing, are the order of the day. Pornographic
websites on the internet are expediting the process of world-wide moral
decline. The reputation of Sodom and Gomorra as the most wicked and licentious
societies in the world is challenged by strong competition from a technologically
modern but morally highly depraved world.
·
A culture of violence is emerging everywhere in “developing countries”
where there is considerable competition for power, money and various commodities.
Violence is the consequence of rejecting moral and religious values. As
in the days shortly before the flood, the world is filled with violence
(Gen. 6:5,12-13). The most extreme forms of violence are used against political
opponents, while wars between antagonistic religious groups often lead to
bloodshed. Even opposing sports teams and their supporters may pay with
their lives when violence erupts in sports stadiums. In many of the lawless
societies persons of authority, such as government officials, teachers and
policemen, are attacked and killed by terrorists, gang members or unruly
youths. Many other people in society may suffer because of robbing, assaults
and looting. Banks and financial institutions are often the victims of armed
robbery.
·
Materialism, gambling, corruption and theft are sharply on the increase
as Mammon, the god of money, induces people to accumulate more and more
money. Every method of self-enrichment is applied to achieve this objective,
whether it is the financial exploitation of others, gambling or theft. A
disposition of excessive materialism leads to many other sins, for the love
of money is the root of all evils (1 Tim. 6:9-10). The end-time church,
Laodicea, also deviated from the truth because of the love of money, and
are rejected by Christ for being only materially prosperous but spiritually
bankrupt (Rev. 3:16-17).
The
new world order
·
America’s “Road Map to Peace” in Israel is a typical
new world order policy which intends to internationalise the political situation
in the Middle East by yielding to Muslim demands at the cost of Israel. It is an effort
to appease the international community, which is decidedly pro-Palestinian
and anti-Israeli. This policy document also legitimises outside intervention
in the affairs of states, thereby implicitly denying the principle of the
absolute sovereignty of any state outside the sphere of world opinion. The
withdrawal of Israel from territories in Gaza and the West Bank will increase pressure
on the status of Jerusalem as Jewish capital. This is an important sign
of the times, which is paving the way to an international coalition against
the Jewish control of Jerusalem. This problem will aggravate to the point
of a full-scale war against Jerusalem (Zech 12:2-3). There, God will judge
the rebellious nations that refused to respect Israel’s divine right
to their land and capital city (Zech. 14:2; Joel 3:2).
·
At the UN 60-year summit in 2005, grave
concern was expressed on the effectiveness of the world body to contain
and eventually eliminate global problems such as terrorism, dictatorships,
poverty and disease. The mindset that was generally adopted by members is
that the world needs a UN with executive powers – not only a paper tiger.
This will be the beginning of world government and will allow the Antichrist
to gain international control: “The Dragon [Satan] gave him [the Antichrist]
his power, his throne, and great authority… he was given authority over
every tribe, tongue, and nation” (Rev. 13:2,7). The UN is clearly playing
in the hands of the Devil by contemplating a new world order and planning
for a world government that will be used to institutionalise satanic powers
on a global scale.
·
The emerging new world order will constitute
a revival of the ancient world empires that all functioned in a close alliance
with a false world religion. This system of rule will be repeated as the
harlot woman (the mother of the false religions) will ride on the beast
(the Antichrist). The coming dispensation will simultaneously embody core
aspects of the ancient Babylonian, Greek and Roman Empires. The Antichrist
is the “little horn” that will not only arise from among the ten horns of
the revived Roman Empire (Dan. 7:20-21), but also from the divided Greek
Empire after Alexander the Great (Dan. 8:8-9,21-25). Furthermore, he will
revive the ancient Babylonian religion as well as the city of Babylon (Rev.
17 & 18). From these indications it is clear that the Antichrist will
arise from a region in the Middle East which featured in all three these
empires – it was the Syrian Province in the Roman Empire, Syria [the king of the North] in the Greek Empire, and Babylonia in the
Babylonian Empire. Present developments in the Arab world, particularly
in Iraq and Syria, are of great
prophetic significance in paving the way for a false prince of peace who
will establish a strong power-block to the north of Israel. From here he
will extend his political, economic and religious control to the entire
world.
Natural
disasters
·
The earthquakes and other natural disasters
discussed in the Olivet Discourse of Christ mostly apply to the tribulation
period as they indicate the imminence of His public coming (cf. Zech. 14:4-5;
Rev. 6:12; 16:18-21). However, we are already witnessing a marked increase
in earthquakes as a prelude to the much greater ones that are certainly
coming.
·
The tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia on
26 December 2004 has dramatically underscored the reality of the fact that
the powers of heaven will be shaken on a worldwide scale before the coming
of the Son of Man (Luke 21:25-27). There will also be disturbing signs in
outer space. If we are indeed in a year-week which is a countdown to the
tribulation period, we should expect unprecedented natural disasters to
occur more frequently.
·
A very conspicuous and alarming sign in
nature is the phenomenon of global warming. The Antarctic ice sheet is rapidly
melting. It contains 30 million billion tonnes of ice, four times more than
all the fresh water in the rest of the world. Only a part of it has to melt
to trigger a cataclysm. The level of the world’s seas could rise by about
five metres if the ice sheet melts, submerging half of Bangladesh and three-quarters of the Netherlands, and drowning Calcutta, large parts of Sydney, London and Florida.
Altogether, 50 million people in Bangladesh live less than five metres above sea level. There are also many other
low-lying areas in the world that will be affected. Other frightening scenarios
are now being put forward. The entire Amazon rainforest could dry out and
die. The world’s climate could flip into a new stable state 6°C hotter than
now, turning a third of the land to desert. The recent series of hurricanes
that have battered the southern and eastern United States have raised questions about the link between hurricanes and global
warming. The intensity of the strongest hurricanes is projected to increase
due to the higher sea surface temperatures in a globally warming world.
The Bible warns about tremendous heat-waves during the coming tribulation
period (Rev. 16:8-9).
The
end of a dispensation
If
all these signs are considered within the framework of a last generation
that was clearly identified by the Lord Jesus Himself, then we have more
than enough evidence from recent events that the world is heading for a
time of unprecedented disasters – some of them man-made, while others will
be caused by the divine shaking of the powers of nature. The severity of
the coming tribulation as a divinely-ordered judgement upon the wicked is
equated with the widespread destruction that occurred during the times of
Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26-30). Like in those ancient times, believers are
again admonished to prepare for an evacuation of the area of divine judgement
– in this case the entire planet earth.
Noah
had to build an ark to escape a devastating flood. Lot and his family had
to flee to the mountains to escape the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
by fire. We are commanded to watch and pray that we may be worthy to escape
all the terrible things that will come to pass during the tribulation period,
and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36). That literally means that
we will leave the planet in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, to meet
the Lord in the air (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:16-17). Christ
will remove His bride from the earth to take her to the heavenly mansions
that He has prepared for her (John 14:2-3).
The
bride should live holy and be constantly ready for the sudden coming of
the Bridegroom: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour
in which the Son of Man is coming” (Matt 25:13). We certainly do not know
the day or hour when the Lord Jesus will come for us, but we do know that
it is imminent: “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift
up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28). We know
for sure that we are in an advanced stage of the last generation, of which
Jesus Christ said: “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no
means pass away till all things are fulfilled” (Luke 21:32). The Lord Jesus
will not refer to a generation of which we cannot determine the starting-point
from His Word. We should heed the signs of the times: “When you see a cloud
rising out of the west, immediately you say, A shower is coming; and it
is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, There will be hot weather;
and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the
earth, but how is it that you do not discern this time?” (Luke 12:54-56).
Have
you noticed the budding of the fig tree (Luke 21:29-30) after Israel’s international
dispersion of almost two millennia? Have you witnessed this last generation
developing to the point where Jerusalem was restored as Israel’s capital
after having being trampled by the Gentiles for many centuries (Luke 21:24),
starting in ancient times and continuing until the midst of the modern space
age? Do you experience the ominous course of events leading up to a time
of tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world? Then
know that the time of God’s wrath upon the wicked is desperately close.
If
you are unsaved, you have all reason to be deeply troubled, even to the
point of despair, as there is, humanly speaking, no way of averting or escaping
the coming judgements upon the wicked. But if you have accepted the Lord
Jesus as your Saviour, you shall not come into judgement (John 5:24; Rom.
8:1). You will, instead, wait for the heavenly Bridegroom who will deliver
us from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10) “for God did not appoint
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess.
5:9).
As
in the times of Noah and Lot, utter destruction will befall the wicked soon
after the departure of those who have been shining as lights in the midst
of a crooked and perverse generation (Phil. 2:15).