The Ten Year Cycles of Change

                                                                                                 By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                                                 January 22, 2017

     "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me,
     Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,"  Isaiah 46:9-10.  
Introduction
     A brother in Christ reminded me that back in 2007, I wrote a Bible study on the meaings of the numbers seven and eight, pointing out in that study that seven is the Bible number signifying "completion or fulfillment," and eight is the Bible number signifying "change or a new beginning."  And sure enough in 2007 the American economy nearly collapsed due to the collapse of the housing market, and in 2008 many changes were made in the American economic system to guard against a complete collapse of the banking system and the economy.
     The brother's reminder caused me to begin looking into the changes that have occurred in these "last days," especially in relation to the nation and people of Israel.  What I discovered was that there has been a cycle of changes every ten years since 1897, always occurring in the 7th and 8th years of every decade.  Amazing! This study is an examination of the changes which have occurred since 1897, and their relation to end-time Bible prophecy.  I leave it up to my readers to decide for themselves the Biblical value of what I am presenting in this study.......
A Home for the "Wandering Jew"
     I will begin this study with the year, 1897, because that was the year the history of the Jewish people began to change for the better after nearly 2,000 years of turmoil, strife, persecution, and "wandering" over the face of the whole earth.   
     In 70 A.D. the armies of the Roman Empire invaded the nation of Judah, and burned Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple.  Thousands of the Jewish people fled from the Holy Land, and were scattered among the nations all over the world.  And for nearly 2,000 years they wandered from nation to nation, never finding a place of rest. Their situation through the centuries only grew worse and worse until finally in.......
     1897.......It was in August of 1897 that Theodor Herzl convened the First Jewish Congress in Basle, Switzerland.  He invited prominent Jewish leaders from all over the world to come together for the stated purpose of "seeking out a national homeland for the Jewish people."  When that First Jewish Congress ended, without any immediate results, Theodor Herzl uttered these prophetic words,  "The nation of Israel may not become a reality in my lifetime, but the ground work has been laid.  Israel will exist again as a nation among the nations of the world within fifty years."   Theodor Herzel did not claim to be a prophet in any Biblical sense, yet in the month of August, 1947, fifty years to the day, the United Nations voted to end the British Mandate over the holy land, and separate the land, giving half of it to the Jews and half of it to the Arabs to establish their own states.  This action made it possible for Jewish leaders to re-establish the nation of Israel the following year in 1948.  What a change took place that year!  Was all of this just "coincidence," or was the God of Israel working out His will for His covenanted people?  
      Ten years after 1897 would be the year of.......
      1907.......For many centuries the nation of Japan was a closed nation in regards to the rest of the world, and the Japanese emperors wanted to keep it that way.  Foreigners were not welcome nor wanted in Japan.  But Japan was teeming with hordes of people, and the rest of the world wanted to "do business" with these people.  So.......
     In 1907, the American government sent it's naval vessels, what was then called The Great White Fleet, sailing into the harbor in Tokyo, Japan, to force the opening of the country of Japan to trade with the rest of the world.  The Japanese emperor at that time was faced with complying with America's request or going to war, and he made the decision to open up the country of Japan to foreign trade.  
     So in 1908 the first trading vessels arrived in Japan with their merchandise, and the change  in Japan's policy and economy began.  Japan's modern history is well known by most of our readers.  
     1917.......For 400 years the Holy Land had been under the direct control of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.  But during the First World War in 1917 the Ottoman Turks were defeated and driven out of the Holy Land by the advancing Allied forces.  The city of Jerusalem was abandoned by the Turkish army to the extent that the commander of the Allied Forces, General Allenby, entered and took control of Jerusalem without a shot being fired.  Instead of giving their ancient homeland back to the Jewish people at that time, the whole land was placed under the British Mandate by what was then known as The League of Nations.
     The next year, 1918, Jewish people. which for 400 years had been barred from even entering their ancient homeland by the Ottoman Turks, were allowed to begin immigrating back to the Holy Land.  Indeed a change had taken place!
     1927.......Another ten years later most of the nations of Europe were still struggling to recover from the economic impact of the First World War.  It was during 1927 that the whole world economic system began to show signs of being in trouble.  But the signs were generally ignored, and nothing was done.  Then in 1928, the change came as the economy of nation after nation began to collapse.  The world economy was changing, so much, so fast, that in 1929 the entire world economy collapsed and the Great Depression came upon the whole world.  
     1937.......The Great Depression lasted throughout the 1930's, until the beginning of the Second World War.  It was in 1937 that Germany, under the leadership of Adolph Hitler, began making moves against some of the nations around it.  This resulted in a change in 1938 when full scale war broke out in Europe.  It has been said that "wars" are fought for monetary reasons.  Certainly, with the need for mass production of weapons of war, thousands of people were put to work producing those weapons, and the world economy quickly improved.  America entered the war on December 7, 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. and a change certainly occurred, when on December 8, 1941 then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt publically announced that America had declared war on Japan.
     1947......We move forward another ten years, and once again an event of world significance occurred.  As already noted, it was in August of 1947 that the United Nations voted to end the British Mandate over the Holy Land and allow two separate states to be established, one for the Jewish people, and the other for the Arabs.  The Jews took advantage of the situation.  The Arabs did not!  
     The Jewish leaders in the world conferred together and wasted no time in agreeing to establish the nation of Israel, which they did on May 14, 1948.  A change had come in the Holy Land which effects the entire Middle East, and much of the world right to this present day.  
     The new nation of Israel was immeditely plunged into it's war of independence.  The Arabs [Muslims], rather than establishing their own nation at that time, were determined to wipe out the nation of Israel before it could be born.  However, they were not successful.  Little Israel defeated the Arabs and won their war of independence.
     1957.......Then in 1956 war broke out again in the Middle East over the use of the Suez Canal by Israeli ships.  This war was concluded in 1957, and in 1958 Israel's ships began using the Suez Canal like the ships of all other nations.  The change had taken place.
     1967.......Every reader surely knows what occurred in Israel in 1967.  The Six Day War!  Remember?  
     What may not have occurred to some readers is that this war happened exactly 70 years after Theodor Herzl convened the First Jewish Congress in 1897 to seek out a homeland for the Jewish people. "70" is the Bible number signifying "the restoration of Israel."    
     The Six Day War began when most of the Arab nations around Israel attacked Israel on all fronts simultaneously.  Obviously these Arab nations had conspired together to defeat Israel.  Well, guess who got defeated?  Little David Israel, not really even prepared for such an unexpected attack, went up against the combined forces of the Arab Goliath, and defeated all of them in just six days.  Glory to God!  The negotiations following the cease fire continued right on into the following year, 1968, when there was a change in the border of Israel, and in the attitude of some of those Arab nations.  Since that time, first the nation of Egypt, and years later, the nation of Jordan, actually signed a "peace agreement" with the nation and people of Israel,  Glory to God!  
     1977.......It was during this year that the nation of Israel received a totally unexpected visitor. In November of 1977 the Presidential plane of Egypt approached the airport at Jerusalem requesting landing permission.  The Israeli authorities were shocked, but granted permission for the plane to land.  President Anwar Sadat of Egypt stepped out of the plane to announce to the shocked Israeli authorities that he had come to "make peace" with the nation of Israel.  Glory to God!  
      Negotiations began immediately, and went on into and through 1978, both nations making changes on the map of the Sinai Peninsula
between Israel and Egypt.  Finally, on March 26, 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement, ending hostilities between the two nations.  Certainly a great change had taken place.
     1987.......It is a sad truth that, despite all the missionary efforts of the "Christian" churches throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, most of the unbelieving world had never heard of the rapture, which was taught only by a small minority of fundamental Christian churches who take God's  Word literally for what it actually says.  But the Lord God was about to do something about that lack of knowledge on the part of the lost world.
     In 1987, a former NASA Engineer, Ed Whisenant, who was also a "born again" Christian believer, began to seriously study the prophecies of God's Word.  As a result, he became convinced that mankind was living in "the last days," and the vision of Habakkuk was being fulfilled, Habakkuk 2:1-3.  He became convinced that the return of Christ to resurrect and rapture His people to glory would occur at Rosh HaShanah, 1988, primarily because that year was Israel's 40th year of existence as a modern nation.  He then wrote a small pamphlet entitled, "88 Reasons Why the Rapture will occur in 1988," and had more than 50,000 copies of it printed up at his own expense.   His little paper pamphlet seemed very insignificant, but for some reason known only to the Lord, that little pamphlet went all over the world in just a matter of weeks.  And everywhere it went it created a sensation among those who read it.  Not only did unbelieving people all over the world become acquainted with what the Bible has to say about the rapture, but thousands of people turned from their unbelief and sin and sought the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior.  
     Folks, people all over the world who had never previously heard the Biblical truth about the rapture were talking about it in the streets of cities, towns, and villages, all over America, and also in other nations.  That little pamphlet, distributed all over the world in 1988, changed the knowledge of thousands of people about the Bible and our Christian beliefs.  
     Some people right to this day label Ed Whisenant as a "false teacher" and deceiver.  He was neither!  He was a dedicated Christian man with a genuine burden to see the lost saved before being left behind at the rapture.  And thousands were saved!  It was conservatively estimated that at least 150,000 people around the world came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ during the Rapture 88 Movement in 1987-88.  I was not and am not aware that Satan is in the soul saving business!  It is the Holy Spirit of the Living God who saves souls.  I personally know of over 400 people who received Christ as their Savior during that movement.   It was the greatest spiritual movement of God I have personally ever seen, and I count it an honor to have been a part of it
     Most certainly, Ed Whisenant was wrong on the "date" of Christ return, but is being wrong on a "date" the unforgiveable sin?  I hardly think so!  Is there any reader of this study who hasn't been wrong on one thing or another you once believed about God's Word?  I suggest all of the unforgiving critics give heed to the words of our Lord in John 8:7, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone...."  
     1997.......The next decade of change came in 1997-98.  It was during 1997 that Yasir Arafat campaigned for Israel to give up the west bank of the Holy Land in order that the Palestinians could establish a nation of their own.  Under pressure from Bill Clinton, then President of the United States, an agreement was reached between Israel and the PLO, and signed by Netanyahu and Yasir Arafat at the White House in Washington, D.C., on October 23, 1998.  So certainly a change occurred in 1998.  
     But what a waste of time!  To this day the Palestinians have not established a nation of their own.  Why?  Because their own leaders, like Arafat was,  are so proud and filled with their own self importance, and so jealous of one another, that they simply cannot agree on "who" will be the leader of their so-called "nation."  Stupidity in action!  
       One other thing before leaving 1998.  Divide this year number by three and here is what you will find.   666 + 666 + 666 = 1998.  Does this mean or indicate something?  You decide!  
     2007.......Here is the next decade of years ending in 7 and 8.  I wrote out a Bible study, as previously mentioned, in 2007, about the significance of these two numbers, and plainly stated in that study that there would be great changes in 2008.  Was there ever!  
     In 2007 the entire housing market in America got into deep financial trouble, causing it to collapse in 2008.  The result  was that  hundreds of
foreclosures occurred, many banks went out of business, and many  people all over America lost their homes, creating a recession in America in 2009.   Remember?  It hasn't been that long ago!  And some people are still hurting from the effects of it even today.
     There is no question that the years of 2007-08 were years of great changes in America, even effecting some other nations in the world. But just hang on!  As some are fond of saying, "You haven't seen anything yet!"
     2017.......Wow!  This year has finally arrived, the year all true believers have been waiting for, whether some realize it or not.  I could write an entire Bible study just on this year alone, but I won't!  Rather, with the Lord's help, I will point out just a few things that should make our readers realize that this year is God's appointed year to make the  change from this present Dispensation of Grace to the seven year judgment of the Tribulation period.   Are you ready?     
     [1]  2017 is exactly 120 years from 1897, when Theodor Herzel convened the First Jewish Congress, which set in motion the ultimate restoration of the Jewish people to a right relationship with their God.  Just as a 120 year warning was given preceding the judgment of the flood in "the days of Noah," so the Lord God also graciously gave mankind living today a 120 year warning of impending judgment to come.   
     [2]   2017 is exactly 100 years from 1917 when the Ottoman Turks were driven from the Holy Land.  "100" is the Bible number signifying "calling; choosing; election."  
     [3]     2017 is exactly 70 years from 1947 when the United Nations ended the British Mandate over the Holy Land, making it possible for the Jewish people to re-establish their nation the following year.  "70" is the Bible number signifying "the restoration of Israel."  
     [4]     2017 is exactly 50 years from 1967 when the Six Day War was fought, restoring the city of Jerusalem and the entire west bank to the nation and people of Israel.  "50" is the Bible number signifying "the Jubilee; freedom; liberty; restoration."  See Leviticus 25, the entire chapter.  
     [5]     2017 is the year 5777 on the Jewish calendar.  "777" is the Bible number signifying "the exceeding fullness of the wrath of God."  Are our readers aware that the father of Noah was 777 years of age?  See Genesis 5:31-32.  Are our readers also aware that America's new President, Donald Trump, on the day he was inaugurated, his age was 70 years, 7 months, and 7 days?  [777].     
     The numbers which identify this paticular  year of the century are quite unique.  There have been no year numbers like them since 1917, one hundred years ago.  1 + 7 = 8.  1917 was a year of drastic CHANGE.  Likewise 2017 will be a year of amazing CHANGE.      
     The numbers this year are 1 and 7, making up the number 17.   The number, "1," in God's Word signifies "unity; to unite; to become united or in unity."  The number, "7," in God's Word is the Bible number signifying "to fulfill; to finish; to complete; to bring to completion."  The two numbers together as a unit make up the number 17. The number, "17," is the Bible number signifying "Victory; to acheive a victory; to become victorious."  
     Therefore, during this particular year, we can expect unity to be accomplished between two parties who have previously been at odds with one another, divided, and out of fellowship.  The second number indicates that this unity will come even as another event is being fulfilled, finished, or completed. Then the number, 17, indicates that some will finally acheive a victory. Now what could possibly be indicated by these particular numbers for this year of 2017?  I'm so glad you asked!  
      I have previously pointed out that eight is the Bible number signifying "to change; to begin anew; a new start or beginning."  Ordinarily changes always occur in the eighth year, following the year number ending in seven.  But this year is different in that the year numbers, 1 and 7, add up to 8.  This year, just like the year of 1917, will be an entire year of CHANGE, drastic change, amazing change, and every reader of this study will see and experience these changes for themselves.  Just grab your Bible and hang on.  In view of the inspired prophecies of the Bible, this year is going to be a wild ride.......
Conclusion
     2017 is the year that a "remnant" of Israel and the Jewish people will turn back to the Lord God of Israel, and be restored to a right relationship and fellowship with Him.   Even as I write Jewish people are turning to and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, and the Tribulation hasn't even started yet.  Glory to God!
     2017 is the year when this present Dispensation of Grace will end with the return of Christ to resurrect and rapture His Church and all true New Covenant believers to glory, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  The love and  longing for Christ, in the hearts and minds of all true believers, will finally burst into glorious reality as we see and hear the Savior calling for us to "Come up hither," Revelaton 4:1.  Just as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:49-57, when the rapture occurs, we who are true believers, will finally have "victory" over the flesh, the world, the devil, and death. Glory to God!  Praise the Lord!  Hallelujah!  Thank you Jesus!  
     2017 is the year when the terrible judgment of the seven year Tribulation will begin.  Many today who "profess" Christ with their mouths, but deny Him in their hearts and lives, will find themselves left behind when the rapture occurs, to face and go through this terrible time of judgment upon a Christ rejecting world.  How terrible to be so close to the kingdom of God, and yet miss it.  I remind our readers that "profession" is not "possession" of salvation and eternal life.  Read 2 Peter 1:10-11 and Romans 10:8-10 and act upon these Scriptures while there is still time to be saved.  Hurry!  The rapture could occur at any time now!   
     The desire of my heart is that every reader of this study will meet me
in glory when the Trumpet of God sounds, 1 Thessalonians 4:16.  Please don't disappoint me!
     May our precious Lord God add His blessings to this message.   
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     Permission is granted to any true believer or Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this study to share with others, or to quote from it in context as written.  Please do share it with others.  
     Time is swiftly running out!  Thank you dear brothers and sisters in Christ for your prayers and gifts which have made it possible for me to carry on this literature ministry for now nearly fifty years.  May the reward of each of you dear people be great in glory.  
     Please address all comments, questions, and correspondence to:  Pastor F. M. Riley, 14275 County Road 8120, Rolla, Missouri 65401.  Those who prefer to speak with me, please call 573-201-0491.  
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