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Are We Living in The Last
Day's I believe we are. You judge for yourself. Jack Van Impe Ministries International Newsletter May 5, 2003 A MESSAGE OF HOPE What Is the Importance of the Jews Finally Reclaiming Jerusalem? Since 400 B.C. the city of Jerusalem has been handed over to one Gentile superpower after another. Here are a few of those "transference" dates since A.D. 70 concerning Jerusalem: A.D. 70, the Romans; 614, the Persians; 637, Caliph Omar; 1099, the Crusaders; 1187, Saladin; 1250, the Egyptian Mamelukes; 1517, the Turks; 1917, the British; and finally, in 1967, the Jews captured Jerusalem. The event took place during the Six-Day War, from June 5 to 10 of that year. The Jewish control of Jerusalem is a most important sign because of Jesus’ statement in Luke 21:24. The disciples had asked Him, "When are you going to return to this earth?" Jesus replied, "Jerusalem shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." What was the Savior saying? Simply that the Jews would be scattered throughout the world and the city of Jerusalem controlled by Gentile powers until the time of His return. All the various Gentile groups—the Romans, the Persians, the Crusaders, the Egyptians, the Turks, and the English—controlled Jerusalem from A.D. 70 until May 1967. Then, in June 1967 the Jews took control of Jerusalem for the first time in more than nineteen hundred years. When we tie this historical information to Ezekiel’s bones coming to life, the Jews returning from the Gentile nations, and the earlier prophecies already outlined, there can be only one conclusion: Christ must come to earth soon, primarily because during the third and final invasion of the Armageddon campaign, all nations come against Jerusalem to battle and to take it back from the Jews (Zechariah 14:2). This would have been impossible before 1967 since the Jewish people did not possess Jerusalem until that Six-Day War fought June 5—10, 1967. Thus, when the final invasion during Armageddon occurs, Christ descends to the Mount of Olives to end the atrocities committed against Israel at Jerusalem and to then set up His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4). What signs exist in Israel today
that provide clues Of the hundreds of questions I am asked, issues related to the Great Tribulation always seem to top the list. To review, there is going to be a terrible period of tribulation. Jeremiah 30:7 says, "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it." Daniel 12:1 warns, "There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation," and Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:2 1, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Although this event will not be the end of the world, it will bring death to one-half of our planet’s inhabitants: "By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone" (Revelation 9:18). When one combines the cumulative facts and figures from the Book of Revelation in 9:18 and 6:8, he discovers that nearly one-half of the earth’s population will be destroyed in the greatest fiery conflagration and pestilential judgment that have ever occurred in the history of mankind. Again, however, let me remind you: This great war signals the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, when He reveals Himself to the entire world and stops the carnage (Revelation 11:18). As we learned earlier, this event is called the Revelation, and it is the second phase of the Second Coming. We have also learned that prior to the Revelation, a Rapture—the evacuation of all saints (all Christians), dead and living, from the earth—will occur (Revelation 4:1). Immediately following the Rapture, the Tribulation Hour, that period of seven years of unprecedented turmoil and trouble, begins. Then, at the end of the seven years, Jesus Christ comes back to the earth to set up His kingdom for a thousand years—called the Millennium. Remember that all the signs of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 and 21 point directly to the second phase of the Second Coming, and not to the Rapture. If there were not one sign in existence anywhere at this moment, we could still go home to be with our Lord, because all the signs could occur during the seven-year period described in chapters 6—18 of the Book of Revelation. However, since all the signs point to Christ’s return to the earth—not His coming in the clouds (Revelation 4:1) but His coming to the earth (Revelation 19:11), and since you and I as Christians return with Him to the earth—then every sign in Revelation 6—18 points to our coming back to the earth as well. This glorious event must occur soon since all signs are already in place. Three Signs in Israel For many decades, Orthodox Jewish rabbis said: "When three signs appear in the Holy Land, it will be the hour for Messiah to return." What are these three signs?
Have these things happened? I will leave the answers to you. When my wife, Rexella, and I last visited the Holy Land, we had an opportunity to preach, teach, and spend time with Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. So what I am about to share with you regarding the "signs in Israel" is not theoretical. As I began to observe them, I said, "Rexella, these are the signs that point to our return with Jesus Christ." Since they are already in progress and are now being fulfilled, Jesus must be coming soon for His church in that glorious event called the Rapture. Let’s investigate these three signs that the rabbis have so long awaited. Nahum 2:3—4 states, "The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his [Messiah’s] preparation. . . . The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another [accidents] in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches [headlights and taillights], they shall run like the lightning's [the speed of these vehicles running through the streets of Jerusalem]." This phenomenon is presently occurring! Isaiah 31:5 tells us, "As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem." Since A.D. 70 the much beleaguered city of Jerusalem has passed from one Gentile power to another. In 1517, the Turks took control and maintained their authority for exactly four hundred years. Then, in 1917, General Allenby of England marched into Jerusalem with his troops. The British had just discovered airplanes, and as they flew overhead, the Turks, never having seen such machines, became frightened, dropped their guns, and fled the city. Britain’s conquest of Jerusalem was one of the few battles in history won without weapons. Why? Because the Turks saw men flying as birds over Jerusalem. This event was the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Today, as one stands anywhere in the Holy Land, he sees jets flying overhead daily. There is no end to it. The prophecy is here. It is being fulfilled now! Isaiah 35:1 promises, "The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." During our first visit to the Holy Land in the late 1950s, Rexella and I noticed that everywhere we looked the ground was dry, arid, barren, rocky, and mountainous. Today, however, when one visits the Holy Land, it is anything but arid. It has been wondrously transformed into hundreds of square miles of fertile, blooming, productive land. Truly, Isaiah’s promise has become a reality; the third major sign pointing to Messiah’s coming. It's Time to Make a Decision... The hour is getting late and a loving God is calling your name. Click on the link to find out why you should listen: One Road
Are You Ready for Jesus Return? http://wm.thegospel.com/wmv/jvi/jvi0749.wmv Links...
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