By Victor Vasnetsov, 1848, Wikipedia, Public Domain
We know what Bible prophecy is; like the history of the future. If we wonder how close we are to the end, there are at least two important and maybe spooky things to watch for, 1) reverberations, and 2) possible impossibilities.
1) Reverberations:
We might see a pattern in history, or in world events now. This pattern might fit something promised in the Bible, but it might not be the final event, at the end of our history. For example, we are promised an evil world leader, called the Antichrist “that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2: 3 and 4).
Most people understand the concept of this evil world leader, but there is a promised reverberation, “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world” (1 John 4: 3).
So we have a “spirit” of something, a pattern that is already with us, but there will be a final, extreme, expression of that spirit.
When we see something in history that fits a prediction in the Bible, we should be careful, this may just be an expression of a “spirit” a reverberation. The final expression might still be in the future. For example, Christians were convinced, in the 1940s, that the Italian dictator Mussolini was the Antichrist. His behavior might have fit the pattern, but he was not the finalist.
2) Possible Impossibilities:
Have you ever heard of “British Israelism”? It was very important in the history of the modern world, and then it disappeared, dramatically, in 1948. The popular idea was that the Jews were disappearing, and the new Israel was English-speaking Christians. I’m not making this up. It was common to read about any promise from God, to Israel, and to apply that promise to Christians.
It’s a complicated topic, but it had a surprising influence on world affairs. The United States was expanded and built on the concept of “Manifest Destiny” the belief that the nation was appointed by God, to expand westward. Spin-off ideas from this concept are still important to groups like the Mormons.
The destiny of Christian civilization evaporated in 1948, with the creation of the new Jewish nation of Israel. Suddenly it was possible to apply Bible references to the Jews and Israel, to an actual Jewish state of Israel.
Did you know how much our world has changed in the last few decades? We think differently now.
So, now we have two wars in our world; Ukraine and Gaza.
1) Ukraine: We are promised that there will be “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” when the end comes. There will be four radical events in history. The first, beginning event, is: “a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6: 2).
Nations will start wars and set out to conquer their neighbors, and we have a reverberation, if this is not actually part of the final act.
We also have a possibility. The Bible tells us that the end will include an invasion of Israel from the north.
Now we have world military powers in a vicious fight, in that northern place. That was not a realistic possibility, a few years ago. We were promised: A king of the north “will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power” (Daniel 11: 16).
Now these words are a possibility, and we see at least realistic reverberations.
2) Gaza: I don’t want to say too much about the recent war in the Middle East. It is too controversial and people like me, who express strong opinions, can be censured, severely. I hope that all sides can find a peaceful end to the war, soon.
I have opinions, and so do you, but peace is the best conclusion. We all know that.
What we have now, suddenly, is an international push to abolish the state of Israel. That was almost unknown, a few months ago.
I will skip over the details because we all read the news.
We should all see, that some impossible things are now happening. If this is not the end, it is a reverberation, a rehearsal. It is possible, now, to see how the final scenario in the Bible is very possible and believable. There is now a strong push to abolish something that didn’t even exist, a few decades ago.
We can clearly see how the end could happen, just the way it was promised. We can see the ingredients in the recipe. The stage is being set for the promised drama.
It’s a new conversation, and we are promised an impossible conclusion:
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21: 3 and 4)
