“What is truth?” Pilate asked his prisoner, and he was certainly asking the right person. The world’s greatest Teacher of truth—the very embodiment of God’s truth in the world—stood before him as the defendant. Truth was on trial, but the judge didn’t know what truth was.

Pilate’s famous inquiry is the same question that has perplexed the world from the fall of man all the way to the age of fake news. What is truth? Some people, like Pilate, ask it in contempt or disillusionment, while others are sincere truth seekers. In this post, we’re taking a look at five traits of people who put truth at the top of their priority list.

Know the Source of Truth vs. the Source of Lies

If you want to seek the truth, you have to know where to find it.

The Gospel of John records ten times that Jesus spoke about truth in His last few hours with His disciples, between the Passover supper and His betrayal and arrest. Perhaps most critically, He tells His followers where to find the source of truth: in Him, in the Father, in the Holy Spirit (the “Spirit of truth”), and in the Word of God (John 14-17).

In your search for truth, you also have to deal with “untruths”: lies, deception, and everything false. Jesus identified the source of falsehood when he confronted the corrupt Pharisees:

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44, NASB

Satan was the source behind the lies of the Pharisees and is still the ultimate source of falsehood in our world today.

Study the Truth

If your third-grade teacher made you memorize the multiplication tables, then you know without thinking that 7 x 7 = 49. A truth seeker takes the same approach to the truth, studying until it is second nature, ingrained in the heart and mind.

The foundation of this study should always be the Word of God:

“The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Psalm 119:160, NKJV

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God…accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15, NASB

“We keep asking God that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding— to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9b-10, TLV

Patrick Morley, author of The Man in the Mirror¹, asks, “How many of us have carefully chiseled our life view by a search for truth? Or, is our life view more the product of our environment and circumstances?”

A truth seeker will build on their biblical foundation by examining every fact and event in relation to Scripture. Over time, they develop a Christian “life view” that allows them to be discerning and act in accordance with God’s truth, even in areas that are not specifically addressed in the Bible.

For example, we can know something true about the existence of fossils or the structure of DNA. But what do these facts mean? Do they confirm the account of a global flood and show the genius of an intelligent Creator, or do they prove that we evolved from a primordial ooze over the course of billions of years? A true fact can point to a bigger truth or it can be manipulated to tell a complete lie, and that is why a truth seeker must remember that anything true will be consistent with God’s Word.

Know the Signs of the Times

The “end times” started in the first century AD. The apostles considered themselves to be living in the end times, which biblically means the period of the new covenant leading up to the second coming of Jesus. With the prophetic fulfillment of Israel once again becoming a nation and the Jewish people returning to their homeland, we are seeing signs that we are nearing the end of the end times. (Check out this article for a list of biblical signposts that can help us identify where we are on the biblical, prophetic roadmap.)

The Bible tells us the end times is an age of deception, where many false prophets and evil men arise and mislead many (Matt. 24:11 and 2 Tim. 3:13). We are called to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1) and be bold for the things of God. This is a time to be led by the Spirit of truth, who will “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

The Bible paints what appears to be a bleak picture for truth in the end times:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:3-5, NKJV

That last sentence is the key for truth seekers. Though there are forces of evil at work, the bottom line is that we are called to fulfill our ministry. And how do we do that? Stay alert and be aware of the deceptions in the world, so that we will not get caught up in them.

Speak the Truth

Knowing the truth is important but it doesn’t do you any good unless you act on it. A person who is a truth seeker should also have the courage to be a truth speaker. Sometimes that is an incredibly difficult thing to do. The people that need to hear the truth the most are usually the people who want to hear it the least, but if we truly love our neighbor then we can do nothing less than speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:14-15).

Author and pastor Rick Warren has said, “Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”

When speaking the truth, we must remember that we cannot control whether our neighbor believes the truth. We may be called to be a witness but the rest is between them and God.

Defend the Truth

Once you know, study, and are willing to speak the truth…you have to be ready to defend the truth. It says in 1 Peter 3:15, “…but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence…” (NASB).

This defense could entail sharing your faith with someone you don’t expect to be receptive. It could mean risking a friendship because you won’t go along with the crowd. It may even require you to risk your job because you won’t tolerate corruption. Whatever the situation, a truth seeker will obey God’s truth even when it costs them to do so.

When these types of situations arise, the Apostle Peter gives us this encouragement:

“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled.” 1 Peter 3:13-14, NASB

The truth is that God’s children have nothing to fear, because His blessing is greater than any threat the world can devise. That truth opens the door to the kind of life that God intended for his people, a life of freedom. As Jesus proclaims, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32, NKJV.

¹ The Man in the Mirror written by Patrick Morley and published by Zondervan in 1997, updated in 2014.

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Article originally published July 2019. Updated August 2024.

“For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev. 19:10

At the midpoint of the final seven years (Daniel’s 70th week), the Anti-Messiah will desecrate the temple in Jerusalem. This is the Abomination of Desolation, beginning the final 3.5 years called the Great Tribulation.  At the end of the Great Tribulation, we reach the day of which nearly every biblical prophet spoke, the Day of the Lord. One of the main causes of confusion in the book of Revelation is that it builds up to the Day of the Lord several times, and just before it tells you the good part, it interrupts the story with an aside or it jumps back in time to show another perspective on the events leading up to that day. In this article, we will work through several of these narrative jumps to highlight the clear chronological sequence of events, especially at the end of the Great Tribulation.

The Feast Days in the Great Tribulation

The Day of the Lord and return of Messiah is strongly correlated with the fall feast days: Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Six months before these holy days, we have the spring feasts of Pesach (Passover) and Unleavened Bread. The Abomination of Desolation is likely to happen on Pesach, one of the holiest days of the year, 3.5 years before the return of the Lord. For more background on this idea, check out our video Prophetic Fulfillment of the Biblical Feasts.

From the time of the Abomination of Desolation, Jerusalem and the court of the Temple will be “given to the Gentiles, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months” (Rev. 11:2). The two prophets are witnessing in Jerusalem during this time. At the end of the Great Tribulation, they are killed, and after 3.5 days, they are resurrected and called up to Heaven. The flow of chronology from chapter 11 to chapter 14 suggests that this is not a special, stand-alone event, but rather the beginning of the global rapture/resurrection at the return of Messiah.

The End of the Great Tribulation

Chapter 11 ends with the 7th trumpet (11:15-19), which initiates a scene in Heaven. The angels and saints declare that the time has come for final judgement and the beginning of Messiah’s rule, which connects us back to these previous passages:

Sixth Seal:
“Then I watched as he broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, the sun turned black as sackcloth worn in mourning, and the moon became blood-red. The stars fell from heaven to earth just as a fig tree drops its figs when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Then the earth’s kings, the rulers, the generals, the rich and the mighty — indeed, everyone, slave and free — hid himself in caves and among the rocks in the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the One sitting on the throne and from the fury of the Lamb! For the Great Day of their fury has come, and who can stand?’” Rev. 6:12-17

Seventh Trumpet:
“There will be no more delay; on the contrary, in the days of the sound from the seventh angel when he sounds his shofar, the hidden plan of God will be brought to completion, the Good News as he proclaimed it to his servants the prophets.” Rev. 10:6b-7

“The seventh angel sounded his shofar; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
‘The kingdom of the world
has become the Kingdom
of our Lord and his Messiah,
and he will rule forever and ever!’” Rev. 11:15

Chapter 11 ends with the Temple in Heaven opening to reveal the Ark of the Covenant (v.19). Chapters 12 and 13 are an aside to explain the origin of the beast (Anti-Messiah), and then chapter 14 resumes the scene in Heaven where we left it in chapter 11. When 14:1 says, “there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; and with him were 144,000”, I see this as the heavenly Jerusalem (compare to Hebrews 12:22) from which Jesus and his saints are about to return. The 144,000 are the Messianic Jews mentioned in Revelation 7 and the “full number” of the martyrs mentioned in Revelation 6:11.

The Rapture/Resurrection

Chapter 14 proceeds with angels proclaiming three messages over the earth: the Gospel, the announcement of Mystery Babylon’s fall, and a warning not to worship the Anti-Messiah. These are the final chance for anyone to respond to God’s mercy, because Messiah is on His way to judge the earth and set up His kingdom.

Then the rapture/resurrection takes place:

“Then I looked, and there before me was a white cloud. Sitting on the cloud was someone like a Son of Man with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Start using your sickle to reap, because the time to reap has come — the earth’s harvest is ripe!’ The one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.” Rev. 14:14-16

The end of chapter 14 (v.17-20) summarizes the bowl judgments as the treading of the winepress of God’s wrath, which chapters 15 and 16 describe in detail.

Setting aside chapters 12 and 13, Revelation 11:11 through 14:16 is all describing a continuous series of events on the same day. The end of chapter 14 (summarizing the bowl judgments) appears to happen over the course of several days, possibly between Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur.

Armageddon and the Bowl Judgments

The events of the bowl judgments in chapters 15 and 16 coincide with the return of Jesus, the final battle (aka Armageddon), and His march to Jerusalem. Put another way, the bowl judgments are the means by which Jesus fights the final battle. Chapters 17 and 18 are another aside about Mystery Babylon, and then chapter 19 is a vision of Jesus that compliments chapters 14-16. He goes forth from the Temple in Heaven on a white horse accompanied by the armies of Heaven and He treads the winepress of God’s wrath (bowl judgments, final battle).

There is a great deal of curiosity about “the battle of Armageddon”, so we made an entire video about it.

Revelation moves through this time period swiftly and focuses on the cataclysmic plagues that accompany the Day of the Lord. Many other parts of the Bible provide details about what happens in the days immediately following the bowl judgments and the return of Messiah:

• The marriage supper of the Lamb
• Jesus judges the nations (think tribunal as opposed to the plagues of judgement)
• The resurrected saints join Jesus in ruling the earth (Rev. 20:4)
• There is a years-long process of cleanup and reconstruction (Ez. 39)
• All nations submit to Messiah’s authority and celebrate Sukkot in Jerusalem annually (Zech. 14:16)
• The Earth is restored to an Eden-like state

In Revelation 20, Satan is bound and Jesus begins His millennial reign. After 1,000 years, Satan is allowed one final rebellion, and then cast into the lake of fire forever. At this point, Jesus holds the Great White Throne Judgement, where all the living and the dead are judged — except those whose names are written in the Book of Life (Rev. 20:15).

The Book of Life

How do you get your name written in the Book of Life and escape the Great White Throne Judgement? This is perhaps the least mysterious part of Revelation: “Blessed and holy is anyone who has a part in the first resurrection; over him the second death has no power” (Rev. 20:6a). If you believe in Jesus now, before His return, you will be part of the first resurrection and you never have to fear judgement again. The Book of Life will also contain the names of those who survive the Great Tribulation and then turn to the Lord, and those who are born during the Millennium and serve Messiah faithfully, but they still must pass through that final judgment. We who live in the present age have the greatest and simplest opportunity for eternal security, because now is the time we can receive Him by faith. In the Day of the Lord, every eye will see Him and faith, at least in the manner and to the degree that we now depend on it, will no longer be possible. Don’t let that opportunity pass you by!

All Scripture taken from Complete Jewish Bible (CJB). Photo credit: Mission Media, Lightstock.com.

When we study Scripture, we gain a better understanding of God’s heart in this matter. We see that God delights in love, justice, truth, and righteousness (Jeremiah 9:24). And because He alone knows the hearts and minds of mankind, He always judges rightly (1 Kings 8:39).

When we as humans take issue with God’s approach to justice, it usually means we need to gain a better understanding of three things: God’s standard, God’s timing, and God’s objective.

God’s Standard

Notice that the Bible always divides people into two groups, the righteous and the wicked, based on those who serve God and those who do not (Malachi 3:18 and Matthew 25:31-33). In regards to holiness, Jesus uses this metaphor of fruit trees to show the simplicity of His perspective.

“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.” (Luke 6:43-45)

Most of us do not see ourselves or others in such black and white terms — partly because we do not have God’s insight into the true nature of each person’s heart and mind, but more importantly because we often do not understand righteousness.

God’s standard of righteousness is complete, absolute perfection, which no person can attain in their own power. Instead, it comes through faith, like Abraham who “believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). We believe in God’s free gift of salvation and it changes the way that we live our lives, and it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to produce good fruit. This allows God to maintain His standard of holiness without condemning every human to eternal punishment, and at the same time, it allows our actions on this earth to have a meaningful effect on eternity.

Each one of us will give an account to the Lord at the judgment seat of Christ, and we will be recompensed for the way we spent our lives while on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10). Revelation 2:23 tells us, “I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.” We also read in Jeremiah 32 that God is “great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jeremiah 32:19).

Those who have produced good fruit will be given a resurrection of eternal life, but those who have done evil and rebelled against the truth will be given a resurrection of judgment and wrath (John 5:28-29 and Romans 2:5-8).

So if God’s standard divides all humanity into the righteous and wicked categories, then why does He need the prophesied events of the end times to happen? Why not just stop the clock right now?

God’s Timing

The first thing that we need to understand about God’s timing is that God’s perspective on time is always longer than ours. He has existed from eternity past and He sees into eternity future, so it only makes sense that He does not see a year, decade, century, or even a millennium as a very long time. This can feel frustrating when we are waiting on God to act, but it actually works to our advantage. Psalm 103:8 tells us, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.”

The second thing we must realize is that God’s timing always follows the principle of sowing and reaping. The Bible describes righteousness and wickedness as two harvests, which will not be gathered until they have reached full maturity (Matthew 3:8-12 and Revelation 14:14-19). The longer a righteous person lives, the more time they have to produce good fruit. The longer a wicked person lives, the more thoroughly they earn their coming judgment. This is even more true on the global scale than it is on a personal scale.

When Jesus returns, He will utterly defeat the forces of evil at the height of their power, and pour out His wrath on the nations and peoples that do not know or worship Him (Jeremiah 10:25). If He returned before the appointed time, it would diminish the glory of His victory. Likewise, when Jesus returns, He will find His own people fully refined, purged, and purified by the fires of tribulation (Daniel 11:32-35), and if He rescued them early He would deprive them of the full measure of their reward.

In short, God has designed His story of redemption to reach a perfectly-timed righteous crescendo. If He dealt with every turn of events in a piecemeal fashion, the kingdom of Heaven would trickle in rather than arriving with a bang!

God’s Objective

God’s objective, in a single word, is salvation. I Timothy 2:4 says that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Peter underscores the connection between God’s objective and His timing when he writes, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

As long as a wicked person is alive on earth, he still has the opportunity to repent. “‘Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,’ declares the Lord God, ‘rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?'” (Ezekiel 18:23, see also 33:11). God may intervene with discipline in a person’s life, “striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord” (Isaiah 19:22). Until that person’s last breath, God is extending the offer of eternal salvation while also allowing the free will to choose life or death.

Let’s return to our original question: Is God too permissive today, or too severe at the end of the age? In truth, He is neither. As pastor Charles Stanley says, “He tempers His justice with grace.”¹ Only God has the wisdom to balance His standard of righteousness with His desire to save. If that balance ever looks off from our point of view, we can rest assured that the error is in our human perspective. God’s ways are perfect, and trusting them will always be in our best interest.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36)

¹ The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Daily Bible, NASB, page 354.

And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God,
but to the rest it is in parables…” Luke 8:10

From the time that the world began, God the Creator has had a prophetic plan for the consummation of all things. As we read through His Word, we discover more and more details of this end time plan. Jesus called it “the mysteries of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10) and admonished us to not just hear it but to understand it with our hearts. The apostle Paul called servants of Christ to be trustworthy “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1-2), therefore we are wise to study and apply these “things hidden since the foundation of the world” (Matthew 13:35).

Tares of the Field

And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable
of the tares of the field.” Matthew 13:36

In Matthew 13, Jesus shares a parable of the harvest at the end of the age. It begins with the Son of Man sowing good wheat seed (representing sons of His kingdom) in the field which stands for this world. Unfortunately the enemy (Satan) sows his own seed in the same field, mixing in weeds (called tares, representing the sons of the evil one) with the good seed and that resemble the wheat. At the end of the age, the harvest comes.

As the One in charge of the end time harvest, Jesus then separates the wheat from the weeds. Both have an eternal destiny, determined by whom they served while in the world, with the righteous given eternal life and the evil ones given eternal damnation. “His winnowing fork is in His hand…and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12). It also says “the Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:41-43).

We gain a few more details of “the mysteries of the kingdom of God”, later in Jesus’ ministry, from Matthew 24:29-31:

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

As long as we reside in this world, there will always be lawless ones among us. We are called to be good seed who bear “kingdom fruit” with perseverance until the coming of our Lord and Savior.

Parable of the Sower

“But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word
in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” Luke 8:15

In Luke 8 we read another parable where Jesus describes four types of people who hear the Word of God. First, there are those who hear the Word but Satan snatches away the truth and they never accept Christ’s salvation message. Secondly, there are those who hear the Word but it never takes root. Their faith falls away when affliction or persecution comes. Third, there are those who hear the Word but never produce mature fruit for the kingdom. The worries of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth and the pleasures of this life stop them from living with an eternal perspective.

Then, Jesus tells about those who hear the Word, understand it, and bear fruit with perseverance. These believers become steadfast in their faith, strategically producing a yield thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold for the kingdom.

One of the mysteries of the kingdom is when God’s children stand apart while living in a wicked culture that is destined for destruction. We do this with our devotion to the Word of God and wholehearted obedience to His commands. We shine forth in the darkness through the purity of our conduct and by displaying the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And we keep our focus on heaven, not wrapped up with the futile things of this earth, cultivating an eager anticipation of our Savior’s return.

“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:11-13)

What kind of fruit are you bearing for the kingdom? Are you ready for His return?

All Scripture taken from New American Standard Bible, 1995 version. Emphasis added by the author. Photo credits: Mission Media, Lightstock.com.

So where do we start and how do we begin to understand what God has revealed?

1. God gives wisdom and knowledge, revealing the profound and hidden things.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments,” says Psalm 111:10.  We must start by recognizing that God is the source of understanding, and we have to approach Him with an obedient and teachable heart. Paul tells the Ephesian believers he is praying “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).

The prophetic is not excluded from God’s offer to share His wisdom or from His admonition to learn.

• “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:19-21)
• “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances [gifts]. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21)
• “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

The study of prophecy can be challenging and it does require persistence, but we are not wandering alone without a guide. Jesus encouraged His disciples, saying, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13).

There are also many good resources and commentaries that can help us understand the context of Scripture and evaluate various interpretations, but we must remember that the Holy Spirit is our primary guide. Also, Scripture is the best commentary on itself, and all the important prophetic concepts are described in multiple passages from multiple angles to help us gain a fuller understanding.

2. God’s people must actively seek after the Lord in these end days.

Jesus told His disciples that the second coming would be like the days of Noah for those who did not understand the prophetic timetable of the Lord and heed His warnings. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

Believers are admonished to know the Lord’s will and be on guard lest we fall away from the faith as the days get darker.

• “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
• “…be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18)
• “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron…” (I Timothy 4:1-2)
• “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…you have forgotten the law of your God…” (Hosea 4:6)
• “Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!” (Hosea 7:13)

Though Jesus tells us in the last chapter of the Bible that He will soon return to judge the world, some may wonder how soon that will be. As we wait, the faithful will continue to grow in their faith, staying in close fellowship with the Lord, and seeking to understand the will of the Lord.

3. God’s children are to be walking in a holy manner, growing spiritually, and bearing fruit.

Christ-followers have a high calling on their lives. Jesus assigned us to take the Good News into all the world, sharing the message of His eternal salvation until the day of His return. As we work to fulfill this ministry, the apostle Paul instructs his reader to “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

We grow in our knowledge of the truth by taking it in daily. It is also through diligently studying the Word that we get more rooted in Christ and established in our faith. And it is through “Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). If we want to know the mysteries of God’s plan, the answers can be found in communing with the Word of God — Christ Jesus (John 1:1-3).

We also receive the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ. We read in Philippians 1:9-11, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

As we grow in our spiritual walk with Christ, we are “filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:9-10).

And this growth brings God great delight. He tells us in Hosea 6:6, “For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”

4. Discerning the signs of the times.

Ultimately, we will understand God’s prophetic plan at the time of the end. We are told in the book of Jeremiah, “The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; in the last days you will clearly understand it” (Jeremiah 23:20).

As we watch for God’s plan to be unveiled, we are encouraged to discern the signs of the times, asking God for wisdom.

• “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:3)
• “…the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do…” (I Chronicles 12:32)
• “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)
• “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.” (1 Peter 4:7)

You have probably noticed that this article isn’t preoccupied with a particular interpretation of Bible prophecy. In truth, it is much more important to walk faithfully as a disciple and study God’s Word as a whole (including, but not limited to, prophecy) rather than trying to predict the future. By studying and seeking the Lord’s guidance now, we will have all the pieces of the puzzle clear in our minds so that when they begin to take shape on the stage of history, we’ll know how they all fit together.

All Scripture taken from New American Standard Bible, 1995 version. Emphasis added by the authors. Photo credit: Kevin Carden, Lightstock.com.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing
but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15 (NASB)

Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the eastern side of the Temple in Jerusalem. Soon His disciples would witness His crucifixion and three days later His resurrection, and the completion of numerous prophesies from the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible).

The disciples used the remaining time with their Rabbi to ask for details about something that had been weighing on their minds and hearts, longing to know more of “the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus was very generous in His reply, detailing events that would kick start His second coming as Judge and King.

We can now look back, almost two thousand years later, and realize that Jesus was really giving us instruction on how to discern the times of the end. And one of His first warnings is to beware of deception.

• “And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will mislead many.'” Matthew 24:4-5
• “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.” Matthew 24:11
• “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.” Matthew 24:24-25

False Christs and false prophets are a prerequisite to Jesus coming on the clouds at His second coming. So how do we prepare, standing ready to test the spirits and discern the truth?

Guided by Scripture

“But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
and who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2b

In times of apostasy the culture goes from bad to worse. Such a time happened in the prophet Jeremiah’s day.

Leading up to the exile in 586 BC, Israel had numerous false prophets telling the people what they wanted to hear — that God would overlook their idol worship, child sacrifice, and wicked hearts. God called the false prophecies appalling and horrible. He warned, “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?” (Jeremiah 5:31)

Jeremiah had his work cut out for him, faithfully proclaiming the truth that the Lord told him to proclaim, amongst so many false prophets. We read in Jeremiah 14:13-15:

But, “Ah, Lord God!” I said, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own minds. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! Jeremiah 14:13-15

God declared that the very thing the false prophets said would not happen would be how they meet their own end, “for I will pour out their own wickedness on them” (Jeremiah 14:16).

Those who faithfully studied God’s Word in Jeremiah’s time knew sound doctrine and how God defines apostasy, and could therefore discern right from wrong. But we are told the majority had abandoned God’s Word. “To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed and they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; they have no delight in it” (Jeremiah 6:10).

The majority had also forsaken the God of their forefathers to the point that they no longer knew the Lord Almighty. Out of His great love, God would send judgment in an attempt to bring them back into relationship with Him.

• “I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.” Jeremiah 1:16
• “Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts lodge within you?” Jeremiah 4:14
• “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Jeremiah 4:4

The progression of falling away from God started with forsaking His Word, then turning to other gods. Ultimately, the apostasy led to the destruction of the nation.

Detect the Counterfeit

The best prevention for spiritual deception is a pure and devoted relationship with the Lord. When we walk close with Jesus, we know His character, His love, and His commands. So the next time you come across a new teaching or “authority figure” that says something that sends your spirit a warning, be like the Bereans who “…received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). If it doesn’t line up with God’s Word, then it’s a false teaching, no matter how much it tickles the ears!

By strengthening our faith muscles now, we’ll stand ready to discern the truth as the days get darker. Now more than ever we must be living in close fellowship with the Lord and taking in His Word daily.

All Scripture taken from New American Standard Bible, 1995 version. Photo credit: Kevin Carden, Lightstock.com.

We serve a promise keeping God. His word is absolute truth and the plans that He establishes do not fail. We are told in Isaiah 46:

“I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a far country.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, surely I will do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11)

A substantial portion of Scripture is prophetic text, disclosing God’s predetermined plan of redemption in the first and second comings of the Messiah. It is our job to study His Word and share this prophetic plan with the world around us, because too many have never heard such good news!

The Mysteries of God

“…we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” 1 Cor. 2:7

Without the Spirit of God, man cannot understand the “depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33). God’s redemptive storyline appears as foolishness to the natural man until the Holy Spirit guides him to the Truth and that which can only be spiritually appraised (1 Cor. 2:10-14).

Before the beginning of time, God foreknew mankind would need a Savior and all throughout the Old Testament the way was prepared for the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.

• After the resurrection Jesus declared, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).
• And a few verses before that, while traveling on the road to Emmaus, Jesus “explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27).
• Then in Acts, Peter tells the men of Israel, “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away…” (Acts 3:18-19)

The proclamations of the prophets were fulfilled, “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10). And the prophetic storyline continues…

Looking for the Blessed Hope

“…until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” Acts 3:21

Since Scripture was fulfilled literally and precisely for Jesus’ first coming, we can rest assured that He will return to fulfill the remainder of the prophetic text regarding the period of restoration of all things in which the Righteous One punishes the world “for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity” (Isaiah 13:11). Jesus came the first time as the Lamb of God but He returns as the King of kings and Lord of lords ruling over all the nations.

The entire last book of the Bible describes the second coming in great detail, and is called “the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place…” (Rev. 1:1). It goes on to say that those who read and heed this prophetic text will be blessed, as we stand ready to keep the faith in times of great persecution. But again, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to “guide [us] into all the truth…and He will disclose to [us] what is to come” (John 16:12-15).

Quickly, here are a few verses to note:

• “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up…But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” 2 Peter 3:9-13
• “…because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31
• “…because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.” Luke 21:22

And as we wait for the King’s return, Scripture admonishes us to:

• “…live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus…” Titus 2:12b-13
• “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things [day of the Lord], be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless, and blameless…” 2 Peter 3:14
• “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17
• “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
• “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.” John 16:1
• “Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
  Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
  And you are My witnesses.” Isaiah 44:8

Hastening the Day of the Lord

“So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19

For now, we only know in part all that God has in store for the climatic finale of this age (1 Cor. 13:9-12). It is not for us to know all the details “which the Father has fixed by His own authority” (Acts 1:7). But we know God’s prophetic text will not fail, at the appointed time it will certainly be fulfilled (Habakkuk 2:3). Like the prophetic word, we too are to shine God’s truth to a dark world, sharing the eternal hope of Jesus the Messiah!

All Scripture taken from New American Standard Bible, 1995 version. Emphasis added in bold by the author.

Famine was in the land of Samaria. It got so bad that the citizens started eating their children. It’s hard to even fathom such a desperate situation! One citizen cried out to the king for help but he replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you?” And again he said, “Surely this calamity is from the Lord.”

The historical account from II Kings 6:24-33 is very humbling to read. It appears to have started when the enemy besieged Samaria, cutting off the food supply, which lead to inflation, famine, and starving citizens. But in reality, the root cause had been going on for generations.

Abandoning the Lord

For decades, since the reign of King Solomon, the people of Israel had been slowly replacing worship of the One True God with pagan worship and sacrificing to false gods. They sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, even to the point of killing His prophets and performing child sacrifices. Finally, the Lord had declared disaster on the people. Viewing things from a human perspective, we might consider this a harsh punishment. However, God had warned the nation of Israel that He is a jealous God and would not tolerate false religions or other gods. He was now returning their evil on their own heads.

Around one hundred years before the famine hit Samaria, King Solomon dedicated the (first) Temple in Jerusalem unto Jehovah. We read the account in I Kings 8 and verses 31-40 are especially prophetic of the events to come for Israel:

“When anyone sins against his neighbor…then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel…”

The next few verses list the consequences for sinning against the Lord, which include drought, famine, pestilence, enemy attack, plague, sickness, etc.

Applying this passage to modern-day events, one can understand why many Christians asked if the recent plague of Covid-19 was from the Lord. Of course, based on this passage, it could also apply for food shortages, inflation, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, political unrest, etc. Most definitely, God sends judgment when His people of covenant turn their hearts from Him.

God’s Consequences

In the very next chapter, we read the Lord’s reply to Solomon’s prayer. He confirms the consequences that follow when a nation that has been established by God forsakes the Lord.

“And the Lord said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness…then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever…’” (I Kings 9:3-4)

“But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’ ” (I Kings 9:6-9)

The Lord clearly laid out the requirements for blessing and the consequences of forsaking. It was up to the people to remain faithful and keep their hearts pure before the Lord.

The Power of Prayer

Another time when God’s hand was turned against His people, due to the sin of Solomon’s father towards the end of his reign, David cried out to the Lord for mercy.

“And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.'”

The story goes on to say, “So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.” (II Samuel 24)

Through prayer and repentance the plague was stopped. America would be wise to follow the example of King David’s humble repentance. Our nation must turn back to God and repent of our abandoning His ways. We were founded as “one nation under God” and our forefathers entered a covenant relationship with the Lord. Across this land we have forsaken the Lord, from the church pews to the government buildings. God is our only hope for salvation, both eternal and from the consequences of sin. Both require heartfelt repentance and a turning away from sin.

In the words of the prophet Elijah, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him…” (I Kings 18:21)

All Scripture passages taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8 (NASB)

There are two conflicting belief systems in this world, God’s ways and man’s ways. The way of the Spirit or the way of the flesh. Christianity versus secular humanism and false religion. The godly versus the worldly. There is no neutral ground.

God’s Word promises that those who sow godliness will reap bountiful blessings. However, it also says that the ungodly will reap consequences for their sins. Those can be natural consequences, such as losing someone’s trust if you lie to them. Or, God may intervene, as a loving heavenly Father, and stop you in your sins before they hurt you or others.

Those who bear good fruit are those who do the will of God, and they will reap eternal life. And those who do not bear good fruit, those who reject and rebel against the ways of God, are headed for eternal death.

“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Matthew 7:17-21

When you trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then a transformation of your heart and actions takes place. You turn from the deeds of your past and instead desire to please God in all your ways. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you are no longer in bondage to the desires of your flesh or the temptations of this world. You start to bear good fruit and, as a result, will see God’s favor on your life.

When Jesus Christ returns at the end of days, He will judge all the inhabitants of earth on account of the fruit of their deeds. The Righteous Judge, who examines our minds and hearts, will separate the righteous from the wicked — separating His children from those who never knew Him.

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man
according to what he has done.” Revelation 22:12

“For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you.
Your dealings will return on your own head.” Obadiah 1:15

You may feel like a “pretty good” person, but God’s standard is complete holiness. The Bible tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Truth be told…we have all sinned. But there is hope. Because the Bible goes on to say, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Those who sincerely give their life to God are promised eternal salvation. And when the days of divine retribution come, you will have nothing to fear, for Jesus paid the price for all your sins on the cross. Oh, what a gift of amazing grace! All you have to do is receive His gift of salvation. (You can learn more about God’s gift of salvation at this link.)

We are not promised tomorrow, so today is the day to make things right with God. Today is the day to chose eternal life. When you’re ready, pray this prayer to the Lord.

Oh Lord, I admit I am a sinner. I need Your forgiveness. I accept Your death on the cross as the penalty for my sin, and recognize that Your mercy and grace is a gift that You offer to me because of Your great love, not based on anything I have done. By faith I receive You into my life as my Lord and Savior. From this day on, help me to honor You in all things. Amen.

Now you have assurance in Christ Jesus. The Bible tells us, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

The next step is to live out your faith and bear good fruit. Go tell others about the best gift that you’ve ever received. When you live separate from the world, seeking after the things of God, it won’t be easy. But God will be there by your side as you fight the good fight of faith.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.” Matthew 16:24-27 (NASB)

In our video The Prophetic Fulfillment of the Biblical Feasts, we describe the seven appointed times that God gave His people: four in the spring that correspond perfectly with the first coming of Jesus, and three in the fall that foreshadow His second coming.

The biblical year is a pattern for the whole of human history. You have the period leading up to the springtime arrival of Jesus, then a summer of “working in the fields” to spread the Gospel, which is the time we’re in now, followed by His return in the fall to conclude the harvest and begin the Feast of Tabernacles — God dwelling with us.

Today, we’re going to look at an even earlier and more fundamental pattern of human history, which God established at the very beginning.

Creation Week

In God’s plan, all of history centers around the Messiah. From the book of Ephesians, we read:

“In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will, in keeping with His good pleasure that He planned in Messiah. The plan of the fullness of times is to bring all things together in the Messiah—both things in heaven and things on earth, all in Him.” Ephesians 1:8-10 (TLV)

The timeline of history is made up of increments of time — days, weeks, months, years, millennia — and God has built some really interesting patterns in time that all point to the Messiah. Take creation week for example: we know that God created all things in six days and then rested on the 7th day.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” Genesis 2:1-3 (NASB)

Paul tells us in Colossians 2:16-17 that the sabbath day is a mere shadow of what is to come, and “the substance belongs to Christ.”

So what is the “substance” that the weekly sabbath is a shadow of?

Maybe you’ve heard of the millennial reign of Messiah that is to come. It will be a 1,000-year period following His second coming, during which He will rule on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.

It’s easy to see how Messiah’s millennial reign will be a sabbath age that fulfills the foreshadowing of the weekly day of rest. And if that 1,000-year period is equivalent to the seventh day of a week, what does that imply about the “days” preceding it?

When a Day is More Than a Day

There are other hints in Scripture that make the same implication. For example, we read in Hosea:

“After two days He will revive us. On the third day He will raise us up,
and we will live in His presence. So let us know, let us strive to know Adonai.”
Hosea 6:2-3 (TLV)

This prophecy indicates that God’s people will be raised up following the same pattern as the resurrection of Jesus himself, “On the third day.” But this obviously does not refer to literal 24-hour days. One interpretation is that the third day is the sabbath age, the millennial reign of Messiah, which we know will be the time when “we will live in His presence.” And if the third day is 1,000 years, it makes sense to see the two preceding days as two millennia.

By this time, you may be thinking of 2 Peter 3:8:

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” 2 Peter 3:8 (NASB)

This verse is the biggest hint the Bible gives when it comes to understanding human history as a week of millennia. Based on this premise, and what we know of history so far, here is how the seven “days” add up:

• Messiah’s first coming was about 4,000 years after creation.
• It has been nearly 2,000 years since Messiah’s death and resurrection.
• Messiah’s millennial reign will be 1,000 years.

According to this timeline, we are very close to Messiah’s second coming — although on a scale of millennia, “very close” may still be many decades.

By the Numbers

In addition to the passages mentioned above, there are a couple more biblical patterns that correlate with this idea.

The number seven is prominent throughout Scripture as the number of perfection, completeness, and sufficiency. Seven days was just the right amount of time for God’s work of creation, including a day to enjoy its completion. Perhaps seven millennia is just the right amount of time for God’s work of redemption, including a millennia to enjoy its completion.

While seven is the number of perfection, six is just short of it—the number of imperfection. Man was created on the sixth day, and it is plausible that man may be given 6,000 years to rule imperfectly over God’s creation before Jesus returns to establish His perfect rule in the seventh millennium.

Conclusion

The idea we have presented in this article is not a matter of primary or even secondary doctrine. It cannot be proven from Scripture beyond a shadow of a doubt. It is only an interesting pattern, which time will confirm or disprove. But we thought this mental exercise was worth pondering together.

Whether or not this theory turns out to be accurate, the important thing is to keep our attention focused on our Lord and our hearts longing for His return. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and God’s story starts and ends with Him.

“The plan of the fullness of times is to bring all things together in the Messiah—both things in heaven and things on earth, all in Him.” Ephesians 1:10 (TLV)

We are living in the End Times, but how close to the end of the end are we? If history is truly a week of millennia, then we don’t have to wait long to find out.

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Have you ever felt like studying the End Times was much more complicated than it should be? We’ve been there.

We have been avid students of Bible prophecy for many years now, and it always amazes us that simple, clear, and concise information is so difficult to come by. We firmly believe that the overall outline of the End Times is simple enough for every Christian to understand without needing to become a “prophecy buff”.

In this 15-page ebook, we stick to the essentials and present a straightforward study of the end of the age based primarily on Jesus’ own words, covering the span of time from the present day to the return of the Lord, the millennium, and eternity.

As always, we want to give away the resources that we create for free, so we invite you to download a FREE copy of our latest eBook.

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When it comes to studying the End Times, the Word of God should be the first place to look for information, not the last. So grab your Bible because today we’re going to find out what the Bible says about a very specific end times revival: the national salvation of Israel.

This end times revival will be initiated when the Jewish people cry out, “Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai.” (Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.)

You might recognize this phrase from the triumphal entry of Jesus the Messiah on Palm Sunday. (Or in Hebrew, He is called Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.) We find the account in the Gospel book of Matthew…

The crowds going before Him and those following kept shouting, saying, “Hoshia-na to Ben-David (the Son of David)! Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hoshia-na in the highest!”  Matthew 21:9 (TLV)

In Messiah’s first coming, the Jewish people did not recognize the time of their visitation. They recognized the humanity of Yeshua, but not His divinity. They expected Him to be their geopolitical savior, but He came for a much greater purpose—eternal salvation. But there is still hope for the Jewish people to be reconciled to the Messiah! Students of end times prophecy know they return to Yeshua in the last days.

The book of Hosea tells us…

Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.  Hosea 3:5 (NASB)

In Romans 11, the Apostle Paul shares about this mystery…

For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved…  Romans 11:25-26a

Paul wants to make sure that gentile Christians never make the mistake of thinking that God is done with Israel. However, keep in mind that, although the nation will be saved in the end, we should still be sharing the Gospel with Jewish individuals here and now.

The book of Hebrews tells us more about this end times revival of the Jewish people…

For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Hebrews 8:10 (NASB)

Adonai will inaugurate a new covenant with the houses of Israel and Judah. The Jewish people will see Yeshua as their Messiah, who came in the first century to save His people from their sins. And they will long for His return!

Fulfilling Prophecy

But in His first coming, Yeshua told the inhabitants of Jerusalem that He would not return until they welcome Him and acknowledge that He comes in the name (and therefore the authority) of Adonai.

I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say,
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Luke 13:35 (NASB)

There’s the same phrase we heard in the triumphal entry:
“Baruch ha-ba b’shem Adonai.”

This will fulfill the end times prophecy that we find in Psalm 118…

I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation.
A stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This came about from the LORD;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
Please, O LORD, do save us;
Please, O LORD, do send prosperity!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.  Psalm 118:21-26

 A day is coming when the Jewish people will find eternal salvation in Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. From Scripture, we see that this will happen in the last days and it will usher in the second coming of the Messiah!

And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.  Zechariah 12:9-10 (NASB)

With repentant hearts, the Jewish people will return to Yeshua, and He will turn their mourning into gladness and their weeping into dancing.

May we say together with the Apostle Paul that our heart’s desire and prayer is for Israel’s salvation.

My heart’s desire and my prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation.  Romans 10:1

When it comes to studying the End Times, the Word of God should be the first place to look for information, not the last. So grab your Bible because today we’re going to find out what the Bible says about…the Battle of Armageddon.

Scripture Passages

Here are 10 key Scripture passages about Armageddon (and the Day of the Lord):

Ezekiel 38 and 39
Rev. 16:12-21
Rev. 19:11-21
Rev. 14:14-20
Joel 2:1-11
Joel 3:2, 12-17
Isaiah 13:3-13
Isaiah 63:1-6
Zechariah 12:1-3, 9-10
Zechariah 14:1-9

So grab your Bible and let’s see what the Bible says about darkness in the End Times.

Difficult Times

In 2 Timothy 3, it describes the end times as “difficult times” and gives a very descriptive list of the character traits that we can expect from people who oppose the truth and our biblical faith.

It says, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.“

And continuing in verse 8, “…these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith.”

And then in verse 13, “But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”  2 Timothy 3:1-5, 8, 13 (NASB)

It’s not very encouraging to hear that things will go from bad to worse. Some of you may have a natural reaction to want to escape such difficult times.

But, as Christians, we have victory through Jesus, who has already defeated evil on the cross. When the times get dark, it’s our greatest moment to shine His light into the darkness. And, we must remember that light is most valuable in the darkest moments.

We read in I Thessalonians 5, verses 1-11…

“Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing.”  I Thessalonians 5:1-11 (NASB)

This is a very important passage about the End Times. Some Christians have used it to say that we will escape the evil to come. But that’s not the case. Rather, Paul is telling us to use this passage to encourage each other to stay on the alert as the Day of the Lord approaches. And Paul details the armor that will help us in the battle of good versus evil, which includes the breastplate of faith and love and the hope of salvation as our helmet.

Fulfilling Our Ministry

Those who have placed their hope in Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, need to stay focused on God’s overall plan. We are placed on this earth to shine forth God’s love to a lost world. That’s not an easy task but it is our calling.

We read in 2 Timothy 4:3-5:

“For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But as for you, use self-restraint in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.“

In a world of darkness, Christians will endure hardship and persecution, but we must stay focused on fulfilling our ministry!

In I Peter 2:9, the apostle Peter gives us a great reminder of who we are and our divine task…

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…“

The gift of salvation is an incredible gift. We need to be willing to share the Good News of the Gospel with those who are still trapped in the domain of darkness…no matter the cost. So they too, can be rescued, have their sins forgiven, and be transferred into the kingdom of His marvelous light! (Colossians 1:13-14)

And, I’ll close with probably the most well-known passage on how to fight the good fight of faith against the powers of darkness. These are spiritual tools that we will use more and more as the days grow ever darker.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

[And the apostle Paul goes on…]

18 With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints, 19 and pray in my behalf, that speech may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”  Ephesians 6:10-20 (NASB)

So today, as children of the light…it’s time for us to take up the full armor of God, standing firm and fully alert. So that we can make known the Mystery of the Gospel of Truth to a dark world.

We have a high calling on our lives! Let’s go out and fulfill our ministry!

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Sometimes we need to be reminded that we serve an amazing, awesome, incredible God. Our God knows everything about every single human on this planet. And He has our best interest in mind. God’s Word tells us in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

And that is a theme we see in Jonathan Cahn’s latest book called The Harbinger II: The Return. God is working behind the scenes in countless ways in our country, in our churches, and in each of our lives. He is orchestrating events in ways we can’t even imagine.

Rabbi and Pastor Jonathan Cahn leads the Beth Israel congregation at the Jerusalem Center in Wayne, New Jersey (located just outside New York City). It’s one of the largest Messianic worship centers in the world, and we had the pleasure of attending services there on our road trip around the U.S.A. last year. We got to meet Rabbi Jonathan in person and we were touched by his humility and great love for the Lord. We enjoy listening to his sermons every week online.

We first discovered Jonathan Cahn in 2013, after the release of his first book The Harbinger. We’ve read all of his books, and we give them out as gifts because they are so important to read in these prophetic days that we are living in.

The Harbinger II: The Return

As of September 1st, 2020, Jonathan Cahn has released his sixth book, The Harbinger II: The Return. And we’d like to share some thoughts about it, hoping to inspire our readers to go pick up a copy and read it for themselves. (And just a quick note, if you haven’t read the first book called The Harbinger, don’t worry. We suggest you skip that book and just start with The Harbinger II, which does a good job of summarizing everything from the first book.)

Just like the original Harbinger, The Harbinger II takes the form of a story, following the same fictional character, Nouriel, as he discovers real-word facts. It helps keep the book from being just an information download, because the experiences of the protagonist help to pace things out.

As far as subject matter goes, this new book speaks of a biblical pattern of judgment, calamity, and destruction that appeared in ancient Israel, a template of judgment on a nation that once followed the Lord’s will, the ways of God, and reaped the blessings of God…but then turned in defiance against God. Even warring against God.

Crossing A Moral Tipping Point

We’ve obviously crossed a moral tipping point in the United States of America, but The Harbinger II makes the case that we have been standing in a window of grace between initial signs of warning and a coming national judgment.

America’s hedge of protection was temporarily lifted when terrorists attacked our nation on September 11, 2001. For decades, the nation had been departing from the Lord and God sent a wake-up call in the form of a terrorist attack.

For America, the pattern of judgment began on 9/11, and the harbingers of judgment have continued ever since on American soil. If America does not turn back to God, then following the ancient biblical pattern it will be destroyed. That will be the end of America as we have always known it.

On the day The Harbinger II was released, Jonathan Cahn sent out an email blast and this is one part of what he said. “The ancient template leads up to where we are right now. What I have written in The Harbinger II, I believe all the more is that the present moment is most critical and dangerous – one that could seal America’s future once and for all, for judgment or redemption.”

Patterns of Judgment

We have now studied Jonathan’s Cahn books and listened to his sermons for 7 ½ years. When his first book, The Harbinger, was released, we exhaustively researched all the details of 9/11 that he connected to patterns in biblical prophecy. We were thinking, could all of this really be true? But it was; all the details are verifiable. And then we started thinking, how in the world did he make all those connections?

What we’ve come to realize is that Jonathan Cahn has a unique gift for identifying patterns, both in scripture and in history. It partly goes back to his Jewish background, because in western thinking and philosophy, going all the way back to Aristotle, you have this tendency towards categorical reasoning — how can we divide up ideas into discreet parts. But Hebraic thought is much more typological. Prophecy is pattern, not just prediction and fulfillment. Jonathan Cahn is able to see things through that lens and make connections that we never would have seen… but now we can’t not see them.

In this new book, so many new connections, or “mysteries” (as they are called in all of Jonathan Cahn’s books), are revealed that are very shocking. There are numerous new insights into 9/11 (which was the event when judgment began in this nation)… and connections following the same template of judgment that ancient Israel went through, shakings that impacted America’s economic power, its military power, and its position as a world superpower.

The whole idea behind both the first Harbinger and Harbinger II is that God is consistent, and we can see a pattern He used with ancient Israel being repeated now with America.

Without Repentance, There Will Not Be Revival

Throughout the book, the reader sees how only God could be behind these events…orchestrating them for the purpose of bringing America to repentance and revival. Because without repentance, there will never be revival. And repentance was a key element missing after the shakings of 9/11.

The Harbinger II is such an important wake-up call for America, and it will help Christians better understand the days of national judgment that are increasing in intensity right before our eyes.

We believe that Jonathan Cahn is a watchman, and a prophetic voice, for this generation. God has used him to sound the alarm of warning to anyone who will listen, and he has been faithful in his calling. We are grateful that God allowed us to discover his work back in 2013 so we could better understand what is going on in our nation and consider how to respond to things that are still to come.

Jonathan Cahn’s message is really simple, “Judgment is coming. Prepare to stand before God. Get right. Repent.” If there is anything in your life that needs to change, get right with God. If there is anything that you have been called to do, fulfill your calling. Time is short. We are in a window of grace, but that window is closing.

The Turning of America

Now, you may be asking, why would God judge the United States of America? And will America ever turn back to God and have revival?

These are things covered in The Harbinger II, and we want to explore this concept further in our own words. These thoughts are consistent with what you will find in the book, but not necessarily taken from it.

1. America has a covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Following the pattern of the nation of Israel. Our founding fathers formed this nation based on prayer and a commitment to honor the Lord Almighty. For example, our nation’s moto is, “In God we Trust”, and in our national pledge we state, “One nation under God”. However, over the past many decades our leaders have been abandoning this covenant in word and deed. And there are consequences for a nation that once knew God and turns its back against God. Becoming a nation that brazenly wars against God.

2. America has turned against the Ten Commandments and honoring God’s Holy Word the Bible. We absolutely believe America has crossed a moral tipping point and is now operating as a pagan nation. For example, its citizens have allowed the murdering of the unborn, to the tune of tens of millions! Helpless babies that never saw life outside the womb. Its judiciary has gone against the biblical mandate for marriage. We’re seeing rampant carnality and sexual immorality. And unfortunately, many churches and people of faith are choosing to walk hand-in-hand with the culture, instead of standing up for biblical truth.

At one point in the book, Jonathan Cahn describes it as, “not only calling evil good and good evil but establishing it, legislating it, and executing it, by sanctifying the profane and profaning the sacred.”

Walking in God’s Ways

We read in Deuteronomy 28 that a nation that the Lord establishes through covenant must be careful to observe the commands of the Lord and walk in His ways. Here is Deuteronomy 28:8-14 (NASB):

“The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10 So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, 14 and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”

This was a covenant which God made with the children of Israel in the Old Testament. And likewise, our forefathers followed many biblical templates in the founding of America, modeling it after ancient Israel.

And thus, we have seen the blessings of heaven poured out on America, when it carefully observed the Lord’s commands. We’ve seen economic prosperity, spiritual blessing, and military and political success.

Consequences for Disobedience

But all of these blessings have a condition. We read in Deuteronomy 28:13-14:

“…if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”

We’d encourage you to finish reading the rest of Deuteronomy 28 on your own. It goes on to list the consequences of a nation that once knew God but turns its back on the Creator. Disobedience that leads to national shakings and calamities.

In verses 45-46, we read, “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. 46 They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.”

It’s important to note that these consequences are for redemptive purpose. God’s love is so great that He chastises His children, hopefully bringing them to a restored relationship with the Lord.

And that is God’s hope for America. Complete restoration. Complete salvation. That is why He sends warnings of judgment to turn us back to Him.

The Window of Grace Is Closing

But the Lord’s time of warning is not endless. At some point, if America does not return and repent, then out of God’s nature of justice, He will send judgment.

Right now we are dealing with a world-wide plague, financial instability, a national debt crisis, natural disasters, civil unrest…but we believe these are only warning signs and shakings (or as Jonathan Cahn calls them…harbingers) telling us that our nation needs to turn back to God.

In the template from Deuteronomy 28, we see that a nation that once knew God but turns to rebel against God is eventually given some dire consequences. The nation will be torn from their homeland. They are given severe lasting plagues and chronic illness. And it says, “the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.” (Deut. 28:65b)

Ultimately, the nation is destroyed.

Returning To God Almighty

Over the years, we have heard many sermons by Jonathan Cahn where he shares about Christians being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and in The Harbinger II he describes a dream that the protagonist has about America being a city on a hill. These concepts come from “The Sermon on the Mount” found in Matthew 5:13-16:

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

And that is what Christians need to do in a pagan nation that once knew God. We need to commit to honor the Lord in all that we do. We must come to repentance in our own lives. We need to stand firm on a biblical foundation and unwavering faith. And we need to rise up to our divine callings.

And as the dark gets darker, we need to shine ever brighter! We must rise up and shine brightly as witnesses to the lost world.

The United States of America is dying from a spiritual disease, which requires a spiritual cure to be healed. It must return to God Almighty.

We want to encourage our readers to pray as never before for God to bring repentance, return, and revival to America. Because until God sends the final destruction, there is still hope for the revival of our nation!

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From the very first announcement of The Return, I knew I needed to be there. The event was created by Jonathan Cahn and Kevin Jessip to be a “national and global day of prayer and repentance.” For a long time now, those two actions—prayer and repentance—have weighed heavily on my heart as two of the most needed and most lacking disciplines in the American church. And I’m not the only one. There has been a rising chorus of voices from throughout the Christian community calling for the church at-large to wake up from its spiritual stupor and for the nation to reverse its descent into godlessness.

I believed that The Return would be a catalytic event, uniting the long-building sense of spiritual urgency from countless individual Christians and turning it into action. I hoped that this would be a rolling pebble that triggered the avalanche of revival.

On the morning of September 26, 2020, I found myself in Washington, D.C., weaving my way through the gathering crowd on the National Mall’s massive open lawn to find a place close to the stage. Due to Covid-19 restrictions in D.C., the stage was in a small, fenced-off area with no public access, but four giant screens and two enormous speaker arrays made the event visible and audible to everyone in the area. A great cross section of America was represented there: every age and every race, from young families trying to keep toddlers confined to a picnic blanket to elderly couples in camping chairs. They wore youth group t-shirts, business suits, tie-dye, and in one case, even sackcloth. Some groups brought banners to wave and others brought shofars to blow. We were a diverse congregation to say the least!

My Three Take-Aways

As the event got underway, I really had no idea what to expect. I knew the purpose of the event, but how would it play out with dozens of speakers and prayer leaders from many different ministries and backgrounds? And just as importantly, how would the crowd respond and participate?

I won’t try to give a play-by-play of the entire event. (You can watch the 8-hour live stream here.) Instead, I want to share a few big takeaways from the whole experience.

1. Unity and Humility

Most importantly, repentance truly was the theme of the day. Nearly all of the presenters were unified in heart and mind, speaking out of humility and a deep sorrow over America’s sins. The crowd was right there with them, kneeling, praying, and pouring out their hearts to God.

To be honest, a handful of the presenters were out of sync, using their time for self-promotion instead of repentance. But those were few and far between. Overall, The Return remained laser-focused on its stated purpose, and I don’t think I have ever seen such a large gathering of big-name leaders that was so conspicuously free of big egos.

2. The Warning Has Changed

If you haven’t watched Jonathan Cahn’s keynote from The Return, you need to. It was the foundational message of the entire day. He modeled the message after Jeremiah 19, in which God commanded Jeremiah to take a clay jar and shatter it before the leaders of the people as a prophetic foreshadowing of God’s judgment, which would soon shatter the kingdom of Judah for their sin and rebellion.

Jonathan Cahn preached that America has followed in the spiritual footsteps of the ancient Israelites and has come to the same precipice of judgment. He took an ornate clay jar and, in conjunction with telling of the event in Jeremiah 19, he smashed it on the stage. If that sounds overly theatrical to you, I urge you to watch the whole message. It was no gimmick.

The breaking of the jar was a grave symbolic act that I believe carries as much import for America today as it did for Judah in biblical times. To me it was the most significant moment of the day. It embodied a realization that I think is dawning on many Christians: that repentance is no longer a free pass for the nation to escape judgment. When we pray for revival and God’s mercy, it is so that the church can be sustained and refined during the unavoidable shakings that will come. Escape is no longer the name of the game, but rather endurance.

3. Not Everyone Gets It

Perhaps the greatest difference between attending The Return in person and watching it online was the ability to observe the crowd. The collective reactions to various moments throughout the day were revealing. At many points, I saw a true spirit of repentance—people kneeling and even on their faces before God, grieved by the sins of the nation.

But I also noticed a large percentage of the crowd that was hungry for positive words. The most jubilant reactions went to a few speakers who glossed over the repentance part and preached only revival, restoration, and power from on high. I believe there is a yearning among Christians to jump straight from where we are now directly back to the good old days, without going through the painful process of deconstructing decades of bad decisions in our nation. It is an understandable feeling, although I fear there is a strong current of denial in it.

When Jonathan Cahn broke the clay jar, the reaction was varied. There were a few gasps. Many people knew what was coming and bore solemn witness to it. But surprisingly, a large portion of the crowd cheered and applauded. If you watch the video closely, even Jonathan Cahn seems stunned by this response. I get that people were trying to affirm the act, but I also got the sense that many people didn’t understand the gravity of what they were seeing and what it meant for the nation and for them personally.

I don’t mention this to criticize my fellow attendees. These were folks who made a long and expensive journey to Washington, D.C., to spend 8 hours kneeling, praying, and worshipping. These are dedicated people! But it is a sign of where we are as a church that even among this passionate group, there is perhaps a lack of awareness of how deep the valley is between two mountaintops.

Conclusion

Was The Return the event I hoped it would be? — Yes!

Would I go again? — Absolutely, in a heartbeat!

Is it resulting in national revival? — I believe it is one of the first steps, along with many other solemn assemblies that have taken place recently as the Holy Spirit has moved God’s people to prayer. This is only the beginning of something that will take shape in the months and years to come. I believe that those who attended will look back one day and see it as a pivotal moment in America’s spiritual history.

The Return was all about repentance and then revival. We must have the former if we want to see the latter. And when revival comes, we need to embrace whatever God brings our way—whether it is another Great Awakening or something that looks more like the persecuted underground church.

So now, mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of Adonai your God; so Adonai will relent of the calamity that He has pronounced against you.  Jeremiah 26:13, TLV

Photo credit: Images taken from The Return live stream.

Reed and Elizabeth Hewitt were blessed to meet Jonathan Cahn in April 2019 at The Jerusalem Center (one of the largest Messianic Worship centers in the world) located in Wayne, New Jersey.

And that is the main theme in his new book. America is on the verge of judgment, if it does not return to its foundation in being one nation under God. Join us for a review of this timely new book, as well as a discussion of the broader themes of repentance and revival in America.

If you’ve never read a book by Jonathan Cahn, get ready for a different way of looking at the world — in a good way! Just as we believe his message is important, Jonathan Cahn’s methods provide a fresh perspective on prophecy and history to help us understand the world we live in today.

Jonathan Cahn is a watchman, and a prophetic voice, for this generation. God has used him to sound the alarm of warning to anyone who will listen, and he has been faithful in his calling. We are grateful that God allowed us to discover his work back in 2013, so we could better understand what is going on in our nation and consider how to respond to things that are still to come.

In case you couldn’t tell already, we really think you should go get this book! Purchase it through our affiliate link here: https://www.christianbook.com/the-harbinger-ii-return/jonathan-cahn/9781629998916/pd/998916?event=AFF&p=1205899&

Scripture from this Episode

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28, NASB

“The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” Deuteronomy 28:8-14, NASB

“So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever.” Deuteronomy 28:45-46, NASB

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16, NASB

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:14, NKJV

Suggested Resources

Sermons by Jonathan Cahn through Hope of the World Ministries

The Harbinger II: The Return by Jonathan Cahn

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This week marks three years since Hurricane Harvey hit South Texas as a category 4 storm. It made landfall just north of our hometown and was the first major hurricane to hit our area in over forty-five years.

Our local communities had forgotten the amount of destruction such a massive storm could bring with its 140 mph wind gusts, tornados, storm surge, and torrential rainfall. To make matters worse, Hurricane Harvey gained most of its strength in a short period, growing from a tropical depression to a category 4 storm in less than 48 hours.

The small coastal towns that were devastated by Harvey have mostly recovered by now, but there is another storm brewing on the horizon. It is a global storm that looks on the outside like civil unrest, cultural revolution, government corruption, tyrannical oppression, and societal breakdown, with a pandemic thrown in for good measure.

Like Hurricane Harvey, this new storm threatens to go from inconvenient to devastating at a rapid pace. But unlike Harvey, the global storm in front of us is not driven by the wind and seas. It is man-made, and it stems from humanity’s loss of its moral compass and increasing rebellion against its Creator.

The Global God Divide

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  Romans 8:6-8, NASB

The Pew Research Center conducted a worldwide survey last year asking people if belief in God is necessary to be moral. They call the report “The Global God Divide”. Here’s what they found: “Across the 34 countries, which span six continents, a median of 45% say it is necessary to believe in God to be moral and have good values.”

Particularly interesting for those living in North America, the survey reports, “Less than half in both Canada and the U.S. say belief in God is necessary to be moral (26% and 44%, respectively).” For Americans, this represents a 14 point drop from a survey conducted seventeen years earlier in 2002.

Across the globe, the survey shows a divide between younger adults (ages 18 to 29) and those age 50 and older, with the older generation more likely to affirm that belief in God is necessary to have morality and strong values. This pattern has held consistent for past analysis as well.

The significance of these statistics is not about whether an individual can have a moral framework while not believing in God. We have all met unbelieving people who are nice, law-abiding citizens. The Apostle Paul writes that “they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:15-16, NASB)

Lost at Sea

The true consequences of unbelief, however, can be seen on a societal level. When a large percentage of the population pulls up their anchor of faith in God, it is only a matter of time before we collectively begin to drift out of the safe harbor and into the stormy seas.

The moral drift happens slowly in the first generation, when those who have abandoned their parents’ faith still hold on to their parents’ cultural values and traditions. The next generation sees those values and traditions as barriers to their happiness and fulfillment and begins to dismantle them. Without revival, the process continues until there is virtually nothing left of the stabilizing, safeguarding influence of a widespread faith in (and fear of) God.

Today in the U.S., citizens are essentially divided in half, with the two sides engaged in a gargantuan battle of tug-of-war over the future of the nation. This polarization is usually defined in terms of a political or ideological divide, but in truth the divide is spiritual — regardless of whether the people on either side recognize that fact.

As Christians, we believe God is the author of morality, which He gives us in written form in the Holy Scriptures. Only societies that point their moral compass to God’s unchanging moral law can find a reprieve from the storm of lawlessness and spiritual rebellion.

Excluding God

A number of years ago we participated in a study called The Truth Project by Focus on the Family, which provided an excellent description of how contemporary culture has removed God from philosophy and ethics:

“…current thought pictures reality as a closed box—a cosmic cube—in which there is no room for anything that cannot be sensually or materially perceived. The problem is that with the lid of the box closed and God excluded, philosophy is deprived of a universal reference point and thus crippled in its ‘scientific quest for ultimate reality.’ As a result, it cannot answer the most basic questions about right and wrong behavior.”

When society takes God out of the picture, it loses its ability to define right and wrong. It turns to humanism and man’s attempt to achieve the greater good. The problem there is rooted in mankind’s sin nature. The entire human race is born sinful and corrupt from the womb.

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth.” Psalm 58:3

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” I John 1:8

Without accepting Christ as personal Lord and Savior, mankind lives in hostility towards God and it leads to eternal death.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17)

There are a few things that we need to realize, if we are going to make progress out of the current situation.

1. The only way to solve a spiritual problem is through a spiritual solution. Our efforts need to be spiritual efforts and our battles need to be fought on our knees in prayer.
2. The people with whom we disagree are not our enemies. Our main concern is to bring the lost into the Kingdom of Light. When the Holy Spirit changes someone from the inside out, the political issues take care of themselves.
3. As we watch this storm rolling across the globe, we have to realize this is just the earliest rumblings of thunder. The true severity of the storm will be much, much worse and come much more quickly than we expect. (Even so, the storm will not prevent us from practicing points one and two above.)

God’s Shelter from the Storm

“He who does these things will never be shaken.” Psalm 15:5b, NASB

Throughout the Psalms, we read that God is our refuge and hope through any storms of life. So how do we make sure that we are staying in the shelter that He provides? Psalm 15 gives a beautiful description of what it looks like to walk in integrity and righteousness, and gives a promise of security to those who walk in God’s ways.

“O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.” Psalm 15, NASB

We may not be able to stop the storm from coming, but praise God that we can be found unshakable in Him. The darkest hour for the world may yet be the brightest hour for God’s people.

Perhaps the best example of a man who understood prophetic urgency was Noah. God gave Noah a prophetic revelation about the coming judgment of his generation and He assigned Noah a task to prepare for it. It says in Genesis 6:5, that Noah lived in an age where “every intent of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually”. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, being a righteous man who was blameless and walked with God. The Lord declared that Noah and his family would be spared from the coming destruction, because Noah was the only righteous one in his time.

Our mission at Living Strategically is to help you strategically pursue your God-given purpose, especially in these prophetic times that we live in. God hasn’t called you to the same assignment as Noah, but He has given all of His children specific callings. Through faith and obedience, we need to be following God’s will for our lives.

No matter how bad things get in these prophetic days, we can take courage knowing that God will always keep a remnant for Himself, and He has a purpose for that remnant.

Scripture from this Episode

“As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ,” and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.’ ” Matthew 24:3-8, NASB

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:42, NASB

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Hebrews 11:6-7, NASB

“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” Genesis 6:5-9, NASB

“Then the Lord said to Noah, ‘Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time.’ ” Genesis 7:1, NASB

“Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded him.” Genesis 7:5, NASB

“Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’ ” I Kings 19:9-10, NASB

“Yet I have preserved seven thousand in Israel whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouth has not kissed him.” I Kings 19:18, Tree of Life Version (TLV)

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39, NASB

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” Psalm 91:1-2, NASB

“Because he has devoted his love to Me, I will deliver him. I will set him securely on high, because he knows My Name. When he calls on Me, I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble, rescue him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16, TLV

“Keep serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, enduring in distress, persisting in prayer…” Romans 12:11b-12, TLV

Suggested Resources

Understanding Prophetic Urgency article
www.livingstrategically.com/2020/understanding-prophetic-urgency/

Biblical End Times Signposts article
www.livingstrategically.com/2018/end-times-signposts/

Podcast Episode 10: Living in the End Times
www.livingstrategically.com/2019/podcast-ep-10-living-in-the-end-times/

Get our free e-Book and learn how to live more strategically!
www.livingstrategically.com/newsletter/

As God’s children, it’s crucial to keep a strategic mindset and not lose hope. Again in Matthew 24, Jesus tells us in verse 6, “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.”

In these prophetic days, are you frightened and losing hope? Or are you staying strong in Christ Jesus? It’s either one or the other. It can’t be both.

Where Does Your Hope Come From

“For whatever was written before was written for our instruction,
so that through patience and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Romans 15:4, TLV

One of our five keys to living a strategic life is living with a biblical framework. When we dwell in God’s Word on a daily basis, it fills our spirit with strength and hope for any trials that come our way. The Bible especially gives us direction, encouragement, and comfort in trying times.

For example, in Psalm 91 we are given numerous promises from God when we seek refuge in Him. These verses are sure to fill you with hope.

He who dwells in the shelter of Elyon, will abide in the shadow of Shaddai.
I will say of Adonai, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.
For He will rescue you from the hunter’s trap and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge.
His faithfulness is body armor and shield.
You will not fear the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only look on with your eyes and see the wicked paid back.
For you have made Elyon your dwelling, even Adonai, who is my refuge,
so no evil will befall you nor any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways.
Upon their hands they will lift you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra, trample the young lion and serpent.

“Because he has devoted his love to Me, I will deliver him.
I will set him securely on high, because he knows My Name.
When he calls on Me, I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble, rescue him, and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

Psalm 91:1-16, Tree of Life Version

When we dwell in the shelter of the Most High, He rescues us from evil. He puts His guardian angels over us to keep us safe. We need not fear because the Lord will rescue us in times of trouble.

But first, we must put our trust in Adonai. We must find refuge in Him. We must devote our love to our Savior!

And when times of distress come our way, He will answer our call and be our salvation.

Eternal Hope

The last chapter of the Bible tells us that one day soon our Savior will return and establish His throne. There will be no more curse of sin on mankind. And His children will reign with Him forever and ever! (See Revelation 22:3-7)

Until that time, we need to fulfill our calling on this earth. We need to make the most of the short time we have left. We need to live strategically for kingdom purposes. As it says in Romans 12:11-12, “Keep serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, enduring in distress, persisting in prayer…”

May you abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit…until the return of Messiah!

This is our attempt to take a step back, look at the big picture, and share some signposts that can help us identify where we are on the biblical, prophetic roadmap. God has given His children knowledge of these signposts ahead of time so we will know how to best use our time and prepare for what comes next. That is what living strategically is all about.

Scripture from this Episode

A list of birth pangs – Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13

“Gog of Magog” war – Ezekiel 38-39

War between the powers in the Middle East – Daniel 8:1-14, 21

“And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week [a week of years, meaning seven years], but in the middle of the week [after 3.5 years] he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” Daniel 9:27, NASB (Brackets added.)

“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. […] For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.” Matthew 24:15-16, 21, NASB

“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 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, 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.” 2 Thess. 2:1-4, NASB

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place…” Revelation 1:1, NASB

Seal Judgments – Revelation chapters 5-7
Trumpet Judgments – Revelation chapters 8-9
Bowl Judgments – Revelation chapters 15-16

Rapture – Revelation 14:14-16
Wrath of God – Revelation 14:17-20
Battle of Armageddon – Revelation 16:13-21

Suggested Resources

Biblical End Times Signposts article
www.livingstrategically.com/2018/end-times-signposts/

Understanding Prophetic Urgency article
www.livingstrategically.com/2020/understanding-prophetic-urgency/

Podcast Episode 10: Living in the End Times
www.livingstrategically.com/2019/podcast-ep-10-living-in-the-end-times/

Get our free e-Book and learn how to live more strategically!
www.livingstrategically.com/newsletter/

Isaiah’s prophesies can be found in the Old Testament books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and obviously Isaiah, and they are repeated throughout the New Testament. Jesus Christ even read from the book of Isaiah when attending the synagogue in Nazareth, fulfilling the passage that very day (see Luke 4:16-30).

Isaiah’s words were studied way back then and should continue to be explored by today’s Bible students. For in them, we find strategic insights for daily living, as well as keys to future events of the End Times.

Seven Strategic Insights from Isaiah

1. Adonai alone will be exalted.
   The book of Isaiah tells us that the people of Judah repeatedly provoked Adonai with their worship of idols, something they learned from neighboring pagan countries. Even in today’s age, humans can serve idols—like money, security, fame, and man-made religion. However, Christ-followers are only allowed to serve the One True God.
   • “Remember the former things of old: For I am God—there is no other. I am God, and there is none like Me—declaring the end from the beginning, from ancient time, what is yet to come, saying, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will accomplish all that I please.’ ” Isaiah 46:9-10
   • “The pride of man will be humbled, the arrogance of men abased, for Adonai alone will be exalted in that day. The idols will completely pass away.” Isaiah 2:17-18
   • “But Adonai-Tzva’ot will be exalted through justice, and the Holy God consecrated through righteousness.” Isaiah 5:16
   • “Thus says Adonai, Israel’s King and his Redeemer, Adonai-Tzva’ot: ‘I am the first, and the last, and there is no God beside Me.’ ” Isaiah 44:6
     

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2. Fear God, not man.
   There are many passages in Isaiah that speak of End Times events that can cause fear in the hearts of readers. But those who have placed their faith in the Messiah—Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ), have nothing to fear. Our Savior has already conquered the enemy of this world, by His shed blood on the cross! When we encounter times of trials, both now and in the days to come, Christians will find perfect peace by fearing God alone and letting Him fight for us.
   • “You must not fear or tremble at what they fear. Adonai-Tzva’ot, Him will you sanctify, and let Him be your fear, trembling at Him.” Isaiah 8:12b-13
   • “Then you will know that I am Adonai—those hoping in Me will not be ashamed.” Isaiah 49:23b
   • “You keep in perfect peace one whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3
   • “No weapon formed against you will prosper and you will condemn every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of Adonai’s servants—their vindication is from Me.” Isaiah 54:17
     

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3. Return, be healed, and be saved.
   Isaiah proclaimed many things to the Jewish people about their coming Messiah—Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ). Isaiah 53 is probably one of the most well-known messianic chapters in the entire book of Isaiah. Again and again, Adonai calls for His children to return to Him, turn from their sins, and be healed by the blood of Yeshua/Jesus. Only then will we be wiped clean and wrapped in righteousness.
   • “Rather let them rely on My strength. Let them make peace with Me—make peace with Me.” Isaiah 27:5
     
   • “Wash and make yourselves clean. Put away the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, says Adonai. Though your sins be like scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they will become like wool. If you are willing and obey, you will eat the good of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured with the sword. For the mouth of Adonai has spoken.” Isaiah 1:16-20
   • “Have we not sinned against Him? In His ways they were unwilling to walk and His Torah they did not obey.” Isaiah 42:24b
   • “So Adonai will strike Egypt—striking yet healing—so they will return to Adonai, and He will respond to them and heal them.” Isaiah 19:22
   • “Rather you burdened Me with your sins, wearied Me with your iniquities. I, I am the One who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:24b-25
   • “The Ruach of Adonai Elohim is on me, because Adonai has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of Adonai’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of Adonai, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3
   • “But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities. The chastisement for our shalom was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
     

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4. Seek understanding, knowledge, and wisdom.
   By the power of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), God gives wisdom, insight, knowledge, and understanding. These are necessary tools to discern God’s hand at work. We don’t want to rely on our flesh or human senses to follow where God is leading.
   • “They do not notice Adonai’s activity nor see the works of His hands. ‘Therefore My people are in captivity for lack of knowledge…’ ” Isaiah 5:12b-13a
   • “The Ruach of Adonai will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and insight, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Adonai. His delight will be in the fear of Adonai. He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor decide by what His ears hear.” Isaiah 11:2-3
   • “…so they may see and know, consider and understand together, that the hand of Adonai has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.” Isaiah 41:20
     

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5. Watch for Adonai’s activity.
   Especially as the days get darker, as the End Times approaches, God’s people must follow hard after God and stay in His will. As we study His Word, we can stay in tune with how He is at work.
   • “They do not notice Adonai’s activity nor see the works of His hands. ‘Therefore My people are in captivity for lack of knowledge…’ ” Isaiah 5:12b-13a
   • “Do not remember former things, nor consider things of the past. Here I am, doing a new thing; now it is springing up—do you not know about it? I will surely make a way in the desert, rivers in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19
   • “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. It is a declaration of Adonai. For as the heavens are higher than earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without having watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to sow and bread to eat, so My word will be that goes out from My mouth. It will not return to Me in vain, but will accomplish what I intend, and will succeed in what I sent it for.” Isaiah 55:8-11
     

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6. Wait for Adonai and renew your strength.
   The prophet Isaiah provides God’s children with so much encouragement for tough times. Isaiah reminds us that only God will satisfy our souls and only through Adonai can we truly renew our strength.
   • “Have you not known? Have you not heard? Adonai is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives strength to the weary, and to one without vigor He adds might. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but they who wait for Adonai will renew their strength. They will soar up with wings as eagles. They will run, and not grow weary. They will walk, and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
   • “Then Adonai will guide you continually, satisfy your soul in drought and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11
   • “Say to those with anxious heart, ‘Be strong, have no fear!’ Behold, your God! Vengeance is coming! God’s recompense—it is coming! Then He will save you.” Isaiah 35:4
   • “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Surely I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
     
   • “Even to your old age I will be the same, until you are gray I will carry you. I have done it; I will bear you; I will carry you; I will deliver you.” Isaiah 46:4
     

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7. All prophecy will come to pass.
   Isaiah contains numerous prophetic passages, both for ancient times and events yet to come. Adonai strategically declares the prophetic to His children so we will be His witnesses and know the works of His hands. Only the Lord can declare the end from the beginning!
   • “I foretold the former things long ago. They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to be heard. Suddenly I acted, so they came about.” Isaiah 48:3
   • “Do not dread or be afraid. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? So you are My witnesses! Is there any God beside Me? Is there any other Rock? I know of none.” Isaiah 44:8
   • “Remember the former things of old: For I am God—there is no other. I am God, and there is none like Me—declaring the end from the beginning, from ancient time, what is yet to come, saying, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will accomplish all that I please.’ ” Isaiah 46:9-10
     

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The Example to Follow

“But on this one will I look, one humble and of a contrite spirit, who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2, TLV

Isaiah was a man of obedience to God Almighty, faithfully declaring the word of the Lord to his generation. When trials came his way, Isaiah would cry out to the Lord (2 Chron. 32:20). He lived his life fully devoted to Adonai, and God used Isaiah to proclaim some of the most well-known passages in the Bible about the Savior of the World.

God can use us, too, for His divine purposes. But we must be careful to live as godly men and women, following Isaiah’s example. Today, let’s all apply these strategic insights from the book of Isaiah to our lives and see how God uses it.

All Scripture taken from the Tree of Life Version (TLV), copyright 2015 by the Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society. (Emphasis added to the verses by Living Strategically.)

While on a book tour in 2019, the Benham brothers declared, “America is changing. Not from Christian to secular, but from secular to pagan.”

It’s true. America is now operating as a pagan nation. Its citizens have allowed the killing of the unborn. Its judiciary has gone against the biblical mandate for holy matrimony. And many churches are choosing to walk hand-in-hand with the culture instead of standing up for biblical truth. These are signs of the times, but are they signs of the end times?

Defining the End Times

The “end times” started in the first century AD. The apostles considered themselves to be living in the end times, which biblically means the period of the new covenant leading up to the second coming of Jesus.

In modern times, major prophetic events have come to pass: Israel once again becoming a nation, the restoration of Jerusalem, and the Jewish people returning to their homeland. These signs show us that we are nearing the end of the end times.

In Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13, Jesus gave a list of “the beginning of birth pangs” that would be precursors to His return, including persecution of the saints, false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. The takeaway from these prophetic passages is that there are signs to watch for.

God has a specific timeline for the events of the end times, and in His grace He has revealed enough of it to us that we shouldn’t be lost or confused when we see it unfolding. (Check out this article for a list of biblical signposts that can help us identify where we are on the biblical, prophetic roadmap.)

So, yes, we are living in the end times. However, the “birth pangs” have just begun and no one knows when Jesus will return. As one prophecy teacher described it, “Today we are one day closer to the end than we were yesterday.”

Alert and Expectant

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
Matthew 24:42

Two of the basic principles that Scripture gives us about the end times are that the day of judgment is coming soon and that there will be a great apostasy as the return of Christ draws near.  But how soon is “soon”?

Many believers throughout the centuries have expected Jesus to come back in their lifetimes, and they were right to do so. The Bible admonishes us to be alert and expectant. If He delays, it is out of grace so that more may be saved. Regardless of the amount of time that passes, the day of judgement will come “soon” in this regard: it will be much sooner than the world or any complacent believer expects.

According to Faith

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen,
in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household,
by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness
which is according to faith.” Hebrews 11:6-7

Perhaps the best example of a man who understood prophetic urgency was Noah. God gave Noah a prophetic revelation about the coming judgment of his generation and He assigned Noah a task to prepare for it. The Bible does not record any reluctance or delay on Noah’s part; instead, it says, “Noah did according to all that the Lord had commanded him” (Genesis 7:5).

Our mission at Living Strategically is to help you strategically pursue your God-given purpose. God probably hasn’t called you to the same assignment as Noah, but He has given all of His children specific callings. Through faith and obedience, we need to be following God’s will for our lives.

Noah lived in an age where “every intent of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, being a righteous man who was blameless and walked with God (see Genesis 6:8-9). The Lord declared that Noah and his family would be spared from the coming destruction, because Noah was the only righteous one in his time (see Genesis 7:1).

What does it take to live righteously? A commitment to honor the Lord in all that we do. Standing firm on a biblical foundation and unwavering faith. And rising up to our divine callings.

For Such A Time As This

These are prophetic days. Days just like the days of Noah. And before we know it, our Savior will return. We read in Matthew 24…

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:37-39

From studying God’s Word, we understand the big picture. We see the signs of the times and we fully trust in God’s plan. Now it is time for biblical Christians to live each day with prophetic urgency.

Reed and Elizabeth Hewitt were blessed to meet Jonathan Cahn in April 2019 at The Jerusalem Center (one of the largest Messianic Worship centers in the world) located in Wayne, New Jersey.

We began our current podcast series telling listeners about the impact that Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn had on us in 2013, which led us to start Living Strategically. It seems fitting to end our podcast series by reviewing Jonathan Cahn’s new book, The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled, which was released in September 2019.

We’ve read all of the books from best-selling author Jonathan Cahn, since he first released The Harbinger. (The Oracle and The Book of Mysteries are now our two favorites.) Through Rabbi Cahn’s new book, you’ll learn about the prophetic history of Israel, from it being reborn as a nation in 1948 to present day events, and see the fingerprints of God through Jubilean mysteries.

Outline of the Episode

1:10 – Are we living in the End Times?
3:08 – Signs of the Times
5:42 – Cultural Christians
7:34 – Israel’s Prophetic History in The Oracle
9:14 – God’s Recurring Patterns from the Bible
10:14 – Israel’s Return to the Holy Land
11:36 – Prophecies Fulfilled, Following God’s Plan
12:53 – Jubilee of 1867 and the Ottoman Empire
13:23 – Jubilee of 1917 and the British Empire
15:05 – America’s Support of Israel in 1948
16:19 – Jubilee of 1967 and the Six-Day War
17:13 – Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel
18:09 – Jubilee of 2017 and President Trump’s Declaration
19:04 – Messianic Movement
20:13 – Worldly Pagan Roots
20:56 – Wrap Up

Scripture from this Episode

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4:6, NASB

“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, NASB

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, NASB

“If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.” Deuteronomy 30:4-5, NASB

Suggested Resources

End Times Signposts article by Reed Hewitt

Sermons by Jonathan Cahn through Hope of the World Ministries

The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled by Jonathan Cahn

What follows is our attempt to take a step back, look at the big picture, and share some signposts that can help us identify where we are on the biblical, prophetic roadmap. God has given His children knowledge of these signposts ahead of time so we will know how to best use our time and prepare for what comes next. That is what living strategically is all about.

When did the end times start?

The “end times” started in the first century AD. The apostles considered themselves to be living in the end times, which biblically means the period of the new covenant leading up to the second coming of Jesus. But there are many signs which will show we are nearing the end of the end times, the events of the book of Revelation that describe the final years leading to the return of Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13, Jesus gave a list of “the beginning of birth pangs” that would be precursors to His return, including persecution of the saints, false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes. But Jesus is careful to explain that although these things must happen, they do not mean that the end is near. However, there will eventually be one giant, unmistakeable sign that ushers in a “great tribulation,” followed immediately by His return. (More on that in a moment.)

The takeaway from these prophetic passages is that there are signs to watch for. We are not completely in the dark, and while no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return, we should be able to see it coming.

The Next Signposts

War

Yes, war has been a regular feature in most of human history, and it is one of the things that Jesus said does not mean that the end has come. However, it is still worthwhile to pay attention to military actions in the Middle East because there are some unfulfilled Old Testament prophecies about wars. When these things come to pass, the world is one step closer to the resolution of the age.

• Some believe the “Gog of Magog” war, described in Ezekiel 38-39, will come before the events of Revelation.  Others believe this war describes the battle of Armageddon, which happens at the triumphant return of Christ near the end of Revelation. Either way, the scenario is that Israel will be attacked by its neighbors and other major powers, but will be miraculously delivered by the hand of God. If this war happens sooner rather than later, it will be hard to miss—but if it happens later rather than sooner, we shouldn’t let the absence of it affect our perception of other signs.
• Before the end, we will see war between the powers in the Middle East as described in Daniel 8:1-14. This war describes Iran (the ram) conquering new territory, but being overcome by “the goat”.  We believe this stands for Turkey, based on the connection to the territory of Javan (or Yavan) in verse 21. (Many translations render Yavan as Greece.) Four kingdoms emerge (verse 8), leading to the rise of the Antichrist (the “little horn”).
• The power structure of the world, and especially of the Middle East is likely to change, with a trend toward consolidation of power. Currently, there are three major regional powers in the Middle East vying for supremacy: Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. End times prophecy depicts the nations of the Middle East acting with a level of unity that at the time of this writing they do not currently display.

The Abomination of Desolation

This is the big one, the sign that cannot be missed, the lynchpin of end-times prophecy that both Jesus and Paul give as a fool-proof reference point.

Daniel 9:27 lays the foundation: “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week [a week of years, meaning seven years], but in the middle of the week [after 3.5 years] he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” (Brackets added.)

Jesus adds some detail in Matthew 24: “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. […] For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.”

And Paul makes it crystal clear in II Thessalonians 2: “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 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, 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.”

To summarize: there will be a powerful leader who initiates a seven-year “covenant” that involves Israel, but three and a half years into the covenant, he will set himself up as God in the temple. Other passages in Daniel and Revelation make it clear that the very end, the return of Christ, will happen three and a half years after the abomination of desolation.

When we see something that looks like the seven year covenant, we should be on very high alert.  When we see the abomination of desolation, we’ll know exactly, beyond any shadow of a doubt, where we are on the calendar of end-times prophecy.

It’s worth pointing out that the abomination of desolation requires the existence of the temple and the re-institution of the Torah’s sacrificial system in Jerusalem. If that seems far fetched to you, consider that 100 years ago, most people thought end-times prophesies about the nation of Israel could not possibly be literal because there was no nation of Israel. If God can bring back an entire nation to validate His Word, He can bring back one building!

The Events of Revelation

The entire tribulation that surrounds and follows the abomination of desolation is described in great detail in the book of Revelation. One key in studying this book is to look for Jesus in what you read. The first verse says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place…” (Revelation 1:1).  Our faith in Jesus will get us through any trial, and we must remember that all the trials the earth will go through in the end times are part of the plan of God.  He will sustain us! Don’t let your hearts be troubled!

We know there will be war, terror, and severe weather during the tribulation.  There will be an increase in the shakings that God sends on the earth, first with the “seal judgments” (see Revelation 5-7) and then the “trumpet judgments” (see Revelation 8-9).  These shakings are meant to bring people to repentance but the majority will not turn to the Lord as their Savior. Satan will keep his strong hold on many.

It is our belief that the rapture is described in Revelation 14:14-16. The wrath of God greatly increases at this point, figuratively pictured in Revelation 14:17-20. His wrath takes the form of the “bowl judgments” in chapters 15-16 and culminates in the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-21).

Conclusion

As one begins studying prophecy of the end times, fear is a common reaction. But fear is a weapon of the enemy. Scripture never tells us to be afraid of the world or the powers of darkness. “Be sober, be vigilant,” absolutely, but never lose sight of the One who wins in the end.

Now you know the main signposts to keep in mind as we stay alert for the approach of the end of the end. Many prophecy teachers proclaim that the return of Christ could happen any moment, but it’s not as simple as that. God has a specific timeline for the events of the end times, and in His grace He has revealed enough of it to us that we shouldn’t be lost or confused when we see it unfolding.

Maybe you’ve heard of Passover or Yom Kippur, but did you know that there are seven total feasts prescribed in the Bible? These holy days contain precise prophetic details about the first and second coming of Jesus Christ.

Spend some time digging deeper into the Jewish roots of our Christian faith with this quick overview of the Biblical feasts and their past and future fulfillment.

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The Mystery of the Shemitah¹ is an important read in today’s age. The author, Jonathan Cahn, is a Messianic Rabbi in New Jersey who also wrote the book The Harbinger. We have spent many hours listening to his sermons and researching the “mysteries” he reveals in The Harbinger, and we feel Pastor Cahn is a very down-to-earth, biblically grounded, cautious preacher who really does have a message from the Lord for America. (It was important to us to make sure he is not one for speculation or date setting.) His message for Believers is simple: stay right with God and stay pure in all your ways, in order to be a bright light in this world that is getting darker and darker. And for America, his message is to turn back to God, or else God will bring judgment on the nation as a loving act to bring us back.

We share this book with you because we believe the Shemitah pattern is biblical and applicable to us today. We believe God is a loving God who sends judgment when it is needed in order to turn people back to Him. Out of His love, He also warns before bringing judgment. If God chooses to bring a national shaking to our country in the years to come, we feel a need to send the warning to be ready.

While reading the book, Pastor Cahn would want you to keep in mind two cautions. First, while the author believes God is calling this nation back to Him, and it would seem that the pattern of every seven years (the Sabbath year, aka Shemitah) could bring a national “shaking”, God does not have to follow the pattern. On the flip side, God certainly could continue the pattern you’ll read about and we should be prepared if this happens in an upcoming Shemitah.

It seems that we have crossed a tipping point in America, and when a tipping point comes, momentum increases. Now is the time to stand strong for the Lord. Now is the time to stay grounded in the Word. Now is the time to rid our lives of anything that keeps us from total dependence on God. And, if our nation increases in boldness against God, we must increase in boldness for the things of God!

We have learned so much about the ancient Hebrew and present-day Jewish cultures from Rabbi Cahn since he was raised Jewish and is also a Believer. We hope this book will open your eyes to new insights that you may not have known before, and that you will prepare for the days ahead however God leads you. 

¹The Mystery of the Shemitah written by Jonathan Cahn and published by Frontline in 2014, updated in 2017.

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