Part 3: “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8)
Biblical prophecy Can be Trusted, it’s authentic!!!
Most of the times, we tend to either ignore or postpones speaking about the end. Jesus in His ministry while on earth included prophecy about the end. The church of today need to know about the end as much as the disciples of Jesus needed to know. As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will all this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:1-3). They did not ask Jesus only about the destruction of the Temple, but also the end of the age. In the past, God spoke through the prophets about the Jews going into exile, living outside their promised land, and their future restoration.
As a matter of truth, much of the end time’s prophecies have already been fulfilled. The day Israel became a Nation again in May 14, 1949 ushered the beginning of restoration of the Jewish people into their promised land. We might think this was just a normal political liberation, but it was absolutely divine. Ezekiel prophesies against an ancient enemies of God’s people. Listen to what those occupied the land promised to the Jews were mocking, and bragging about it. The bible says, “I will make you an everlasting desolation and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD. “Because you have said, two nations and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the LORD was there, therefore as I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them; so I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.… (Ezekiel 25:10-11).
Ezekiel continues in chapters 36 and 37 to speak of a physical and final restoration of the Jews to their land in Palestine. God spoke through prophet Ezekiel to say that this restoration will have no more scattering. Listen to what he says, “‘But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home… “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Because they say to you, “You are a devourer of men and have bereaved your nation of children, “Therefore you will no longer devour men and no longer bereave your nation of children, ‘declares the Lord God. “I will not let you hear insults from the nations anymore, nor will you bear disgrace from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to stumble any longer,” declares the Lord GOD.’ (Ezekiel 36:8, 13-15).
The prophecy about the dry bones of Ezekiel 37 speaks about spiritual rebirth of the Jewish people which will be brought by the messiah. Ezekiel was prophesying to the Jews in exile. They were like dead because they could not believe his prophecies. ‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.’ “So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them…. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. (Ezekiel 37:7-8, 26).
The biblical scholars who have done thorough study of the end times agrees that before the spiritual rebirth of the Jewish people which will be ushered by the setting up of the millennial (1000 years) universal kingdom, the prophesied northern enemy (Gog-Interpreted as Russia with all her allies Ezekiel 38:1-6) will invade Israel. See what the bible says in Ezekiel 38:7-8, 16, ‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety…. You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.
Russia will not be alone. John saw this happening in the book of Revelation 20:8, “and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.” The nations that will form confederacy are supposed to be in the north with Egypt, Arabic nations, in the near East and nations in the black Africa (Arab-Afro dominated kingdoms of the south).
Another member of that alliance will be kings of the East (East of Babylon in present day Iraq). Together with a confederacy of Asian nations with China as the key player: The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.(Revelation 16:12)….Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.(Revelation 16:16). All these alliances will be formed to destroy Israel. Before we proceed with the historical events, let us first examine what would have happened to the Church and the subsequence events.
Do Christians really have anything to worry about the final end time events?
…to be continued…
By Rev. Andrew Mugo and Pr. Peninah Kariuki
