Happening Now
Biblical Current Events • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Pre-Tribulation Rapture
Mid-Tribulation Rapture
Post-Tribulation Rapture
Pre-Wrath Rapture
A. About 27% of the Bible is prophetic. About half of these prophecies have come to pass exactly as they were foretold, and today we are continuing to see prophecies fulfilled and the foundations laid for future ones to come to pass.
19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
I. A Most Blessed Generation
I. A Most Blessed Generation
II. The Re-Establishment of the Nation of Israel
II. The Re-Establishment of the Nation of Israel
A. Israel reborn in a day
8 “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. 9 “Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God. 10 “Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
On May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation once again
B. Preparation of the land for Israel’s return
8 ‘But you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come. 9 ‘For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be cultivated and sown. 10 ‘I will multiply men on you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities will be inhabited and the waste places will be rebuilt.
“There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent — not for thirty miles in either direction. There are two or three small clusters of Bedouin tents, but not a single permanent habitation. One may ride ten miles, hereabouts, and not see ten human beings … Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine [Israel] must be the prince … Can the curse of the Deity beautify a land? … Palestine [Israel] sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies.”
Water
Israel used to be known for water scarcity, but now it has achieved water security.
“90% of our water is recycled, and that’s around four times higher than any other country in the world. Today, only 25% of Israel’s water usage is from natural water resources. Natural water sources like the Sea of Galilee and aquifers have been replaced by man-made water: 26% desalinated water, 23% purified waters, and 14% saltwater sources (where saltwater content is lower than that of sea water but still undrinkable). The Israeli capability to reach a stage where 70% of our water is artificial is incredible.”
Food
In 2020, 10 Israeli companies listed among the top 50 global AgTech food firms
“While farmworkers made up only 3.7% of the work force, Israel produced 95% of its own food requirements (2008).”
Energy
8% of Israel’s energy comes from a solar plant in the Israeli desert, with plans to reach 20% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas was recently found off the shore of Israel.
With all of the problems in Russia, do you know where much of Europe and the Middle East is looking to for energy support? Israel!
Military/Defense
Arrow 3 — designed to intercept missiles outside Earth’s atmosphere
David’s Sling — designed to intercept mid-range ballistic missiles
Iron Dome — designed to intercept short range missile attacks
C. The remnant’s return
12 “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 “Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 14 “I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord.’ ”
In 2020, the year of the pandemic!, 20,000 Jewish immigrants from 60+ countries relocated to Israel.
D. The Hebrew language revived
9 “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, That all of them may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder. 10 “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings.
In the late 1800s, Russian-Jewish immigrant Eliezer Ben-Yehudah, revived the Hebrew language, giving the returning exiles a common tongue.
E. Jerusalem restored to the Jews
24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Signs of this fulfillment have begun falling into place since 1948
III. Reading the Signs of the Times
III. Reading the Signs of the Times
A. The Bible does not teach an imminent return of Christ
So what must take place before Christ returns?
2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 (NASB95)
3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
B. A Great Apostasy
Apostasy literally means ‘departure’ or ‘abandonment.’
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
All of this will escalate to an ultimate climax before the Antichrist is revealed.
Now tell me Church: are we seeing evidence of Christian’s abandoning the authority of God’s Word today? Are we seeing evidence of people leaving the faith altogether today?
The Deconstruction of Christianity
C. The Antichrist revealed
2 I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
Can you imagine a governmental power without even firing a shot that could get you to behave in a certain way?
I don’t think everything about Covid was necessarily pre-planned. I think power-hungry people took advantage of the situation. But in the spiritual realm, the spiritual battle that is raging on all around us, I think Covid was a test-run to see how people will respond in the midst of fear.
In order for humanity to seek peace and stability from a singular leader, there first has to be tremendous chaos, unrest, and uncertainty.
Everything we are seeing on the world’s stage is preparing for the arrival of the Antichrist.
D. Balloons, Trains, and Automobiles
Could it be that the events we are seeing play out today merely precursors to events yet to take place?
“UFO” Sightings
The Baltimore Bridge Incident
The Russian-Ukraine War
The Chinese Spy Balloon
Burning of Food Production Facilities
Every time you turn on the news its always “look over here!” or “look over there!”
Could it be these events are distractions? Could it be that all these events are driving the world to look for a “savior”?
E. Peace and Unrest
Constant conflict in the Middle East - preparing for the arrival of the Antichrist
Where does it all center around?
Ezekiel 38:1–6 (NASB95)
1 And the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. 4 “I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; 5 Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you.
Gog - Russia
Persia - Iran
Tubal - Turkey
Cush - Ethiopia
Put - Libya
Notice none of these countries have a border with Israel. It is a coalition of nations.
7 “Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. 8 “After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.
A land restored from desolation
A people who have been gathered from around the world
A people living in assumed security
9 “You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you.” 10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, 12 to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’
They come to a safe, prosperous, and secure country to take and steal what it has.
But Ezekiel does not stop here!
Ezekiel 38:13 (NASB95)
13 “Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’ ” ’
Sheba - Saudi Arabia
Dedan - Gulf States
Tarshish - Europe
Merchants of Tarshish - The countries that came out of Europe, the West, possibly the USA
For the first time, we will see a Muslim-Arab-Sunni country criticizing what will predominately be an Islamic invasion into Israel.
And not just during this war that is prophesied in Ezekiel, but did you know that we are seeing this happen even today?
The Abraham Accords
In 2020, a certain orange man in the White House helped to usher in an era of unprecedented peace in the Middle East.
The Abraham Accords are a series of treaties normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
In the span of 5 short months, these four Arab states joined Egypt and Jordan in making peace with Israel.
These were required for Sheba and Dedan to side with Israel.
Rising Tensions
In just a matter of months following Joe Biden’s ascent to the White House, the U.S. returned to negotiating with Iran, the world’s number one sponsor of terror throughout the Middle East.
In 2023, Iran greenlit the October 7 massacre because Saudi Arabia was about to sign a new Abraham Accord with Israel. So, they sent in Hamas who slaughtered 1,200 Israelis.
Just last week, Iran launched, for the first time ever, a strike against Israel from its own soil. They sent over 300 drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles directly at the heart of Israel.
This is not Hamas in the south or Hezbollah in the north. They are proxies of Iran. This is a sovereign nation attacking another sovereign nation. It is a declaration of war.
99% of drones and missiles intercepted in what many have called a “technological miracle.”
Many countries, including Saudi Arabia, helped to defend Israel against Iran’s attack.
It’s hard enough to imagine many of these Arab nations even criticizing the actions of Iran let alone publicly acknowledging their defense of Israel against an Islamic attack.
F. God is in complete control
There are many problems with our leaders in Washington. On both sides there is criticism to be had. At the same time, it is very clear there certain leaders are better than others.
But you know what amazes me about the current situation in the Middle East and Ezekiel 38?
We had one President who helped to usher in peace and stability.
We currently have another President who helped to usher in war and instability.
And God allowed both! And both were needed in order for Ezekiel to come to pass!
For Saudia Arabia to defend Israel against this attack, peace was needed.
For war to break out in the Middle East, someone else was needed.
God is still on the throne.
God is able to use chaos and unrest to draw people back to Himself
15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked— You are grown fat, thick, and sleek— Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.
Yes, this applies to Israel, but I believe it certainly applies to the church in America.
When we have foolish, wicked men in the White House and Congress, it affects not only our nation, but the entire world.
2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan.
The ultimate purpose
21 “I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 “With pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. 23 “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.” ’
Conclusion - God is in complete control
Conclusion - God is in complete control
A. Are the events in Ezekiel 38 right around the corner? I have no idea. I just want you to see that the board is set. The chess pieces are all in position.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
28 “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
You live in uncertain times
Do not be afraid
You live in unprecedented times
Do not be afraid
You live in blessed times
Do not be afraid
13 “And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’
B. Continue to occupy this world you live in until Christ returns. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for a revival in your nation. Pray for people to come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
But even if that does not happen, do not be afraid. Continue to live under the confidence you have in Christ Jesus:
2 Timothy 1:12–14 (NASB95)
12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 13 Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.