At the end of each year I like to review how Bible prophecy played out during the year. Seeing dark news items from a prophetic perspective causes the darkness to be more bearable. I often post these stories to my “headlines” daily which can be found here.
These Tribulation stage-setting events aren’t in any particular order. But we must keep our eyes on Israel, God’s timepiece. The minute-hand is Jerusalem and the second-hand is the Temple Mount. They have all been prominent in the news.
1) Zechariah 12:3 became a blunt reality on December 23. This was the day the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to come against Israel. America abstained which is essentially voting with the other members. She symbolically became the world’s burdensome stone. This was initiated and instigated by the President of the United States which means terrible repercussions are coming to this land. So Israel is to return to 1967 “Auschwitz” borders. The holy city of Jerusalem becomes “occupied territory.” And Israel is further isolated and alienated as predicted.
2) The great falling away didn’t stop falling in 2016. Many evangelical churches became nothing more than advocates for open borders and multiculturalism. The social gospel made such giant inroads and salvation issues became unrecognizable. Emergent/Postmodernism raged. Other churches fell into lukewarmness. Hardly any would deal with the issues of the day or the Lord’s return.
3) The longing for a “man with a plan” was never so prominent. Even CNN’s Home page begged for a man who could restore order. It asks in smaller print, “Is there a leader who can stop the chaos and heal America?”
4) II Timothy 3 character was on overdrive in 2016. Various presidential candidates were consumed with pride and self-aggrandizement. Values seemed to tank this past year. National industries featured same-sex ads with no shame. It seemed like everyone was drowning the lake of me-myself-I.
5) Israel’s re-convened Sanhedrin took the momentous step of nominating a High Priest for the Temple--for the first time since it’s destruction in 70 A.D. The Tribulation Temple is in the works, even though the United Nations just declared this area off-limits to the Jews!
6) Israel struck Damascus in early December, targeting some weapons. This is a precursor to what is predicted in Isaiah 17:1.
7) God continues to intervene for His sovereign nation of Israel. In November, he sent a pillar of a cloud of dust and rain to push back ISIS on Israel’s border. See it here.He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121). The cloud of dust and rain stayed right at the border and did not cross into Israel.
8) There was stage-setting for the Tribulation’s natural disasters which will be far worse than anything the world has known thus far. Publications called many events “record setting,” “unprecedented,” and “of biblical proportion.” The Bible calls them “birth pangs.”
9) The war on cash intensified. A few nations are banning cash and this will eventually lead to “Mark of the Beast” accounting. Technology was introduced that enables the total payment of goods and services using only an embedded chip.
10) Gog-Magog players are getting ready. Russia is the new power player in the Mideast thanks to America’s absence. So is Iran. Turkey is in chaos and looking to Russia for support. These are the three primary players in Ezekiel 38-39, although other nations participate.
11) Europe is in a meltdown–setting the unstable stage for the arrival of the Antichrist out of Europe. Its godless culture welcomes all things dark and occultic. Their refugee policy has thrown the continent into chaos. It will welcome a “Mr. Fix-It” to calm the storm. On June 1 they had a literal Satanic ceremony as they dedicated the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland. European leaders cheered this. Below is the demonic “goat man” who was celebrated. This was addressed by Amir Tsarfati at our October 15 conference.
12) The season of mocking the Lord’s return intensified. The Christian publication “Christian Today” scorned the Lord’s return and said a “zombie apocalypse” was more likely.
13) The predicted rise of evil continues as foretold in II Timothy 3:13. A new term was introduced in late 2016: “Spirit Cooking.” It is too dark to write about but you can Google the information. We don’t recommend it for sensitive people. It is borne out of the occult followers of Satanist Aleister Crowley and it would have entered the White House and Oval Office had Hillary Clinton won. This may be the biggest reason the Left lost as many in the Clinton campaign were cheerleaders for this evil.
14) The run-up to the lawlessness in the Tribulation has begun. There was post-election rioting with the promise of much more to come — all a blatant rejection of Donald J. Trump. Barack Obama was the most lawless president in U.S. history. He even told illegals they could vote with no consequences. Now the Left is making daily comments about assassinating Donald Trump.
15) The gay agenda has turned blatant. Many major corporations promoted this with their national advertising. The “days of Noah” have returned as predicted by Jesus. The transgender agenda also flourished. In both cases Target led the way with promotion.
16) The predicted rise in the persecution of Christians and Jews intensified. At the same time, some pastors were forced to turn over sermons for inspection in America and Christian businesses were hammered for trying to stand for righteousness. Yet Islam is protected and no condemnation can be given.
17) For most of these to play out required the prophesied rise in strong delusion (II Thess. 2:10-12). Those who take delight in mocking and rejecting Him, He will condemn, confuse their thinking, and cause them to believe fables. And they do! Remember, global warming is a greater danger than radical Islam. Today it would seem the Mad Hatter is in charge.
18) Technology giants came against righteousness once again. From Facebook to YouTube to Google to Twitter, their progressive agenda rejected a conservative and Christian message. The Christian film “I Am Not Ashamed” had their YouTube trailer taken down one year in advance, marginalizing ticket sales.
Things are not falling apart — they are falling into place. Can you hear the hoof beats of the four horsemen of the apocalypse in the distance?
I won’t be silent about the signs of the times. If Jesus chastised the Pharisees for not knowing the signs of His first coming, why would we not be expected to be aware of today’s apocalyptic signs?
Rise up, wake up and look up!
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