When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” Then another horse went out, a fiery red one, and its horseman was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And a large sword was given to him. (Revelation 6: 3-4)
You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24: 6-7)
One of the critical signs are pointing to the imminent Rapture of the Church is the invasion of Israel. This invasion was foretold in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38:
God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf, God; do not be idle.
See how Your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate You have acted arrogantly.
They devise clever schemes against Your people;
they conspire against Your treasured ones.
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation
so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”
For they have conspired with one mind;
they form an alliance against You—
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
Even Assyria has joined them;
they lend support to the sons of Lot.
(Psalm 83:1-8)
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, turn your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him and say: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out with all your army, including horses and riders, who are all splendidly dressed, a huge company armed with shields and bucklers, all of them brandishing swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shields and helmets; Gomer with all its troops; and Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north along with all its troops—many peoples are with you.
“Be prepared and get yourself ready, you and all your company who have been mobilized around you; you will be their guard. After a long time you will be summoned. In the last years you will enter a land that has been restored from war and regathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long been a ruin. They were brought out from the peoples, and all of them now live securely. You, all of your troops, and many peoples with you will advance, coming like a thunderstorm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
(Ezekiel 38:1-9)
Is this great battle already beginning? What are the facts on the ground? Following the data points in the news and Biblical prophecy leads to some earth shaking predictions. First, consider some recent headlines:
CENTCOM chief meets Saudi leaders ahead of ‘Arab NATO’ meeting / Al Arabiya, April 16, 2019
US Central Command chief Kenneth McKenzie met on Monday with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud during a visit to Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency said. McKenzie also held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, focusing on bilateral ties and regional developments. McKenzie’s visit comes as Saudi Arabia prepares to host a preparatory meeting for the proposed Middle East Strategic Alliance, billed as an “Arab NATO” to counter Iran. The alliance, first put forward by Saudi Arabia in 2017, would also include the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Jordan.
Trump warns Putin of US umbrella over Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria / Debka, April 13, 2019
The Iranians were furious when the Russian military made no move to defend their sites against Israel’s latest attack on the military facilities they share with the Syrians in and around Masyaf in the western Hama province. Syrian State media reported that several buildings were destroyed, including a military academy, and that Syrian air defenses shot down some of the Israeli missiles. Syrian opposition sources cited three Israeli targets and 17 casualties, including deaths, but it was not immediately clear whether they were Syrian or pro-Iranian militia fighters. DEBKAfile adds that one of the targets was a factory for upgrading the precision of surface missiles supplied by Iran to Hizballah.
US-Russia chill stirs worry about stumbling into conflict / AP, April 14, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — It has the makings of a new Cold War, or worse.
The deep chill in U.S.-Russian relations is stirring concern in some quarters that Washington and Moscow are in danger of stumbling into an armed confrontation that, by mistake or miscalculation, could lead to nuclear war.
“The risks of mutual misunderstanding and unintended signals that stem from an absence of dialogue relating to crisis management … are real,” the Euro-Atlantic Security Leadership Group said in a statement.
It said this could lead to conventional war with Russia or, in a worst case scenario, “the potential for nuclear threats, or even nuclear use, where millions could be killed in minutes.”
What are advanced missiles doing in Syria? / Israel National News, April 17, 2019
New satellite photos published by ImageSat International (ISI) revealed that the Russian military has been deploying ballistic missile systems in Syria, according to the photographs, which are surface-to-surface missile systems capable of reaching 500 kilometers (310 miles).
The Russians have used these systems in many cases, mainly as a political deterrent. For example, the Russian army has placed SS-26 missile systems in the Kaliningrad enclave on the Baltic coast, threatening Europe. This has often led to a diplomatic crisis between Russia and the United States.
Iran’s Hassan Rouhani urges regional powers to ‘unite against US’ / Al Jazeera, April 18, 2019
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on countries across the Middle East to unite against the United States during an address at an Army Day parade in Tehran.
Speaking at a ceremony on Thursday, Rouhani also urged neighbouring countries to “drive back Zionism”, saying the US and its ally Israel were the root cause of the region’s problems.
During the ceremony, soldiers marched past a podium where Rouhani and top military commanders were standing, while locally designed and produced fighter jets took part for the first time in an air display.
Iran also unveiled missiles, submarines, armoured vehicles, radars and electronic warfare systems. It also showed off its Russian S-300 missile defence system.
Nasrallah warns of war this summer, worries he could be killed / The Jerusalem Post, April 21, 2019
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned top military commanders in a private meeting this week that there will be a war with Israel this summer and that he may not be around to support them, according to Elijah J. Magnier, a writer for the Kuwaiti Al Rai news.
Nasrallah reportedly said that he expects the war to take everybody by surprise, like the 2006 Lebanon War.
A “knowledgeable source” told Magnier that “this is the first time Sayyed Nasrallah has offered such a bleak perspective, raising the chances of war with Israel from 50/50 to 70/30.”
Magnier also claims that Nasrallah believes that other countries, including the USA, the UK and many Arab states could take part in an upcoming conflict.
USS Abraham Lincoln deploys opposite Syria, US envoy to Russia aboard / Debka, April 25, 2019
Accompanied by 10 warships, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier on Wednesday, April 24, deployed opposite the Syrian coast in a dramatic show of strength against Russia and Iran. The effect was underlined by the revelation from US Navy sources of the presence on the carrier’s command bridge of none other than US ambassador to Moscow Jon Huntsman. His message needed no commentary: “When you have 200,000 tons of diplomacy cruising the Mediterranean, this is forward-operating diplomacy – nothing else need be said.”
There is no precedent even in the Cold War years between America and Soviet Russia of a US ambassador being planted on a front line against Russian and Iranian forces in the Middle East.
Israel is being pushed into a regional peace agreement, in order to form an alliance against Iran. All the major players are picking sides right now, for the upcoming Shia vs. Sunni war, as outlined in the Book of Ezekiel, chapters 38 and 39.
What will happen next? The Bible gives us the answer:
You nations, come here and listen;
you peoples, pay attention!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it,
the world and all that comes from it.
The Lord is angry with all the nations—
furious with all their armies.
He will set them apart for destruction,
giving them over to slaughter.
Their slain will be thrown out,
and the stench of their corpses will rise;
the mountains will flow with their blood.
(Isaiah 34:1-3)
What will be the result of this upcoming invasion?
In Israel’s history, the Lord has rained down punishment on her enemies many times:
The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar. Then out of the sky the Lord rained burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord. He demolished these cities, the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground.(Genesis 19: 23-25)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven and let there be hail throughout the land of Egypt—on man and beast and every plant of the field in the land of Egypt.” So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail. Lightning struck the earth, and the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. The hail, with lightning flashing through it, was so severe that nothing like it had occurred in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. Throughout the land of Egypt, the hail struck down everything in the field, both man and beast. The hail beat down every plant of the field and shattered every tree in the field. The only place it didn’t hail was in the land of Goshen where the Israelites were. (Exodus 9:22-26)
The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.”
So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal. The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword. (Joshua 10: 8-11)
To fall under the judgement of the Lord is a terrible fate. For Russian, Iran, and her hordes, it will be too late. For them, this is the endgame.
Ultimately, all nations who do not turn to the Lord will also be judged:
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)
The “birth pains” of the world are building and converging towards an unprecedented climax. There is an upcoming “delivery date” for the Rapture, known only to the Lord.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
(Romans 8:18-23)
If you are not sure that you are saved, you can accept Christ into your life right now, by praying:
“Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior.”
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Rapture and End Times 