Don't worry, I'll get to numerology at some point! This week I was reading through Matthew and I thought I should share how I believe Jesus' prophecy of the end lines up with John's vision in Revelation. I'll also touch on something that will occur after Jesus reigns on earth that seems to indicate our country may be there to see Him coming in the clouds.
For those unfamiliar, Jesus spoke to His disciples about signs of His coming and of the end of the world in Matthew 24:3-34. He speaks of many signs, and they line up with markers in Daniel and Revelation. Today, we're going to focus on lining them up with Revelation.
Prelude to the End
Jesus first starts with what He calls the beginning of sorrows. In verses 5-8, He states this is the false messiah's, wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. You may ask yourself, why say nation against nation AND kingdom against kingdom? Aren't these the same thing? If you take a look at the Greek word used for nation, you'll see that it's ethnos. Look familiar? It's where our word "ethnic" comes from. So really when He says nation against nation He means races against other races and it's different than kingdom against kingdom.
So far, we see wars (between races and kingdoms), famine, pestilence (plagues/disease), and earthquakes. If we turn to Revelation 6, we see the seals being opened and we can line those up with Jesus' words. The second seal (vs. 3, 4) has a red horse taking peace from the earth, causing people (races and kingdoms) to kill one another (wars). The third seal (vs. 5, 6) has a black horse with balances. As this horse rides, there is a voice telling John barley and wheat will be very expensive (a day's wages for one meal of wheat or three meals of barley), which means food scarcity, famine. The fourth seal (vs. 7, 8) has more of the same, however it's focused on a fourth of the earth. This seal adds the killing of people with death, which includes pestilence since the word used, thanatos, covers all types of death. The sixth seal (vs. 12-17) has a great earthquake that actually moves all mountains and islands out of their places.
But this is not the end. Jesus says following this we will be delivered up to be afflicted, killed and hated by all nations (again ethnos) (Matthew 24:9,10). And why wouldn't we? Revelation 6:15-17 tells us the people on the earth know this great earthquake is the prelude to the wrath of the Lamb. Many false prophets arise, influenced by Satan and his minions, to lead people astray, people will lose love for each other, and the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world (Matthew 24:11-13).
"THEN the end shall come," He says. If we turn to Revelation 11:1-7, we see how the gospel is preached in all the world. The two witnesses that end up getting killed by Satan. We know this is where Jesus' words line up because the next verse in Matthew 24 (vs. 15) is where He refers to the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel (Daniel 9:27 & 12:11). This abomination of desolation refers to the anti-Christ ceasing sacrifices in the third temple, which is rebuilt in Jerusalem by that time (Revelation 11:1, 2 has John measuring the temple).
The End
People in Judea have to flee once this abomination comes to pass, because this is when the great tribulation begins and Yehovah will shorten those days because His elect (eklektos, those chosen by God because of their salvation through Christ) will have to go through them (Matthew 24:16-22). Just as a side note, this confirms that Christians will have to go through the great tribulation, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Jesus continues by repeating that there will be may deceptions, that may even deceive the elect (Matthew 24:23-27). Jumping back over to Revelation 13:11-18, we see there will be the anti-Christ that will show great wonders and deceive people using miracles (vs. 13,14). But we know, the light of the coming of Jesus will be seen everywhere (Matthew 24:27,30), so we will not be deceived! The sun will be darkened, the moon won't shine, the stars will fall and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then we will see Him coming (Matthew 24:29).
The Second Major Battle
I'm kind of jumping here, but something in scripture led me to believe our country may be around during Jesus' reign on earth. So I wanted to leave it here for you to study and come to your own beliefs. It may be a long shot, because a lot can happen over the course of 1,000 years, but there's some convincing evidence to support it!
I'm not going to go into great depth, but if you take a look at Ezekiel 38 and 39 there are two major wars the house of Israel will be involved in. And if you take a look at their descriptions (and recognize that prophecies in the Old Testament are written in reverse order of when they will occur), the Ezekiel 39 war occurs prior to the 1,000 year reign of Christ (lines up with Revelation 19) and the Ezekiel 38 war occurs after the 1,000 year reign of Christ when Satan is released from the bottomless pit (lines up with Revelation 20). In the Ezekiel 39 war, many groups of people will band together and seek to make war with Israel. It says "the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof," are going to question these people about what they intend to do (vs. 13). Well if you jump back to Genesis 10:1-4, you'll see that Tarshish is one of Noah's descendants, so this lineage must continue through Jesus' reign if they exist during the Ezekiel 38 war. An explanation of who Tarshish is in today's world shows they are modern-day Britain. And who colonized our country? Britain! So who are the young lions of Ezekiel 38? Australia, New Zealand, Canada and us!
I hope this newsletter has helped you better understand how Jesus' prophecy of end times lines up with Revelation, and given you at least a starting point for your own studies. I also hope my short trip into Ezekiel sparks a hope in you that our country is not done yet! I believe although it looks dire right now, Yehovah has a hand in what is happening and we will not go down the path it seems we are on right now. So have faith and keep praying for our country!
Shabbat Shalom and God bless you!
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