Top 10 End-Times events of 2007
| | | NMCommentary on world events that relate to Bible prophecy and on Rapture Ready issues world events. ----
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Dec 24 Top 10 End-Time Events of 2007 In order to know where we are headed in Bible prophecy, it’s important to keep track of where world events are headed. With this being the last full week of 2007, I decided to put together a reflective review of the top 10 prophetic events of this year. I've been watching prophecy unfold for nearly 25 years, and have noticed that we often have build-up years followed by birth-pang years. This cycle fits the pattern that Jesus warned about in Matthew 24:3-8. With 2007 being one of the best build-up years I've ever seen, I think 2008 has a strong likelihood of being an eventful birth-pang year. With that being the case, I say we should watch these following events closely in the coming year. 1. Putin , Russia 's Strongman - Russian President Vladimir Putin was selected as Time's Magazines’ "Person of the Year." When I first heard the announcement on the news, I thought the magazines had made a selection that was akin to its previous choice of having Mikhail Gorbachev as their man for 1987 and 1989. After reading the article, the real reason was closer to why Time gave the nod to Adolf Hitler in 1938. The reporters that went to Moscow to interview Putin found a man strangely unmoved by such a prestigious honor. "Whether he proves to be a reformer or an autocrat who takes Russia back to an era of repression—this we will know only over the next decade," said Time. History warns that a consolidation of power under one individual normally ends badly. Putin has almost total control of Russia . Anyone familiar with prophecy would be a fool not to notice the striking similarities between him and the Gog prophecies in Ezekiel 38 and 39. I think in 2008, the West is going to realize a new Cold War foe is brewing in the East. 2. Iran 's Nuclear Program - Worried that the ultimate goal is a nuclear arsenal, the United States and other countries have pressed Iran to halt uranium enrichment. A U.S. intelligence report has concluded there is no immediate danger. Israel does not share this view. It can't wait until a mushroom cloud appears over Tel Aviv to say, "See, I told you so." At some point, Israel is going decide that it cannot allow Iran to get any closer to developing nuclear weapons. When that day comes, the whole dynamics of the Middle East will be instantly changed. 3. Syria , Israel 's Doomed Neighbor - Two key factors make Syria important to Bible prophecy. The first is that Syria is a heavily armed and a natural foe of Israel. The second reason has to do with the prophecy in Isaiah 17:1 that calls for the destruction of the city of Damascus. We came very close to seeing a war break out between Israel and Syria. The Israeli political and military leadership took a huge gamble when they bombed a nuclear facility southwest of Damascus. As an indication of simmering desire for revenge, Syrian said this past week that it might attack Israel 's nuclear reactor. 4. Peace Talks - In November, there was a big meeting in the city of Annapolis. A record number of Middle East nations gathered together to talk about how the Arab nations can co-exist with the state of Israel. The Bible warns that in the last days, Jerusalem will become a source of global contention. It will be a catalyst that will draw the world into a series of epic battles. "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it" (Zech. 12:3). 5. Oil Prices- This year is the first since the 1970s that has seen such a rapid increase in the price of petroleum. Oil traders pushed the price to record highs, at one point reaching nearly $100 a barrel. The tight supplies for black gold makes the Middle East a very geopolitically sensitive area. Any event that disrupts the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf is guaranteed to get the world's attention. 6. Dollar's Collapse - One of the best measures of a nation's strength is how well its currency trades in international markets. Over the past few years, the dollar has steadily declined in value. This year has been particularly bad for the dollar. The decline of the greenback fits well with Bible prophecy. The lack of focus on the U.S. in Bible prophecy would seem to indicate that our nation will become a secondary player in the end times. There are already indications that America is no longer the superpower it once was. According to a headline in the Independent News, " London has topped the most exhaustive comparison ever compiled of the world's great cities in a finding that sees Britain 's capital outstrip global rivals as a centre of economic performance and cultural significance." The world's biggest airport, tallest building, and most active stock market are no longer located in the U.S. 7. Moral Meltdown - The decline in morality is one of the most consistent trends of any end-time indicator. Because the downturn is so gradual and broad based, it's hard for the average person to notice the change. In any given year, some examples stand out from others. For 2007, the high jinx of key pop media celebrities stand out in my mind as a prime example of a moral meltdown. I could pick for a long list of names, but because Britney Spears and her younger sister, Jamie Lynn, have the most-searched surname of the past two years, I'll use them as an example. Britney started the year in a drug rehabilitation facility, then temporarily lost custody of her two sons. Her 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, turned up pregnant by boyfriend Casey Aldridge, 19, who should be facing up to 10 years for statutory rape. The moral meltdown is how the Spears sisters have continued as if nothing is wrong. Instead of being ashamed of their actions, both of them have turned to the media to trivialize their sin. 8. The EU Gets Its Act Together - One of the most under-reported story of 2007 would have to be the amazing progress the European Union has made in resolving disputes that have happened within this organization. Just a few years ago, there was talk of the EU disintegrating into nothingness. In 2004, no one knew how to move forward after France and the Netherlands rejected the EU constitution in separate referendums. The EU is now pressing ahead with fresh leaders in France and Germany and a new game plan that doesn't require referendum votes. Just this past week, the EU's borderless zone expanded to nine mostly eastern European countries in its biggest enlargement so far. The EU is important to prophecy because this is where the Antichrist will come to power. 9. Violent Crime - A new record for mass murder in America was set at Virginia Tech by Seung-Hui Cho, 23, who had avoided court-ordered mental health treatment despite a history of psychiatric problems. He killed two fellow students in a dormitory on April 16, detoured to mail a hate-filled video of himself to NBC News, then shot dead 30 students and professors in a classroom building before killing himself. As I just reported a just couple weeks ago, just 2 miles from my house, Robert Hawkins opened fire on the third floor of the upscale Von Maur specialty department store in the Westroads Mall, killing eight and wounding five others before committing suicide. 10. China is the King of the East - With an economy booming at double digits, China has muscled itself onto the list of major world powers. As China continues to grow, it will eventually come into conflict with other major industrial powers. The desire to control the oil wealth of the Middle East could be the reason China musters an army of 200 million solders. -- Todd ----
In Search of Peace So, we come to another time of Christmas. Many aboard spaceship Earth send tidings of peace and good will. But the prospects for the times, sadly, are not joyful upon this tremblous sphere. The only one who can spread such tidings –and make joyous times a reality--is relegated to the status of one religious figure among many by those who cry for peace. They, as a matter of fact, do all within their politically correct power to remove mention of Him from the season of celebration that has for centuries bore His holy name. The incessant plea for there to be peace is, itself, prophetic in nature. The peace today’s earth-dwellers seek above all other is centered around the terrifying prospects of war that threatens to erupt from the most sensitive geographical location on the planet. God considers this place the center of the world. He deals with man based upon their treatment of how they deal with Israel in general, and with Jerusalem in particular. The Bible is replete with those who deal treacherously, seeking to establish hegemony over the region. The Lord will not allow tranquility to reign so long as that tranquility is based upon establishing governance that does not include Him as sovereign in the matter. One prophecy about such surreptitious “peace” powerfully thunders God’s Word on the matters involved. “[To wit], the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and [there is] no peace, saith the Lord GOD” (Ezek. 13:16). The Lord God condemns all who try to establish their wicked man-made peace within His land. “The way of peace they know not; and [there is] no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace” (Isa. 59:8). Israel’s God states in no uncertain terms the truth about the false peacemakers: “[There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked” (Isa. 48:22). His judgment is certain, and He minces no words in pronouncing what will happen to those who force man-made peace upon Israel and to the people of Israel herself who sign on to that pseudo-guarantee of peace and safety. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1Thess. 5:3). The prophet Jeremiah speaks for the Lord in pointing the finger of judgment at Israel, which has throughout history turned to others than their God for security. Modern Israel, in particular, seems at this moment to be at the end of the Almighty’s finger of condemnation. Israel’s leadership more and more observably leans toward a quick fix to the nation’s increasingly unpopular position among earth’s nation-states. It is a man-made pseudo remedy to which Israel’s God speaks directly: “For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace” (Jer. 8:11). The present road to false peace will eventuate in devastation –to which the prophet Daniel speaks. The ultimate false peacemaker is the subject of Daniel’s forewarning. The Antichrist. “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many…” (Dan. 8:23-25c). But, thankfully, that isn’t the end of the story for Israel or the world. Daniel gives the outcome of Antichrist’s false peacemaking that results in unprecedented devastation. “…he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand” (Dan. 8:25d). Antichrist and all of the phony peacemakers of history will be crushed and ground to powder. They will be blown away by the winds of history into the dustbin of eternity. Daniel foretells the final destruction of the false purveyors of peace talk through interpreting Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s strange dream of a man-image that represented the four great kingdoms that would rule over earth until Christ’s return: “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:34-35). Nahum the prophet gives the final Word of God about the resolution to the long search for peace. Again, peace on earth centers around Israel, Jerusalem, and the Prince of Peace, that great earthly power-crushing stone--the Lord Jesus Christ. “Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off” (Nah. 1:5). PEACE is the purpose for which the Christ-child was born--to bring peace to humanity by providing sin-destroying reconciliation to God the Father through Christ’s shed blood on Calvary’s cross. God chose that the Redeemer, His Son Jesus, would become the God-man through Israel. That’s why we are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Only when the Prince of Peace reigns and rules will there be peace on Earth, good will toward men. --Terry ----
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