The Old Testament of the Christian Bible (which is the whole of the Jewish Bible) gave many astonishing predictions of what will take place during the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI). The key passages found in the Old Testament include Psalms Chapter 83, Ezekiel 36-39, Zechariah 14, and Daniel 7-12. The last book of the Christian Bible, Revelation, and many other New Testament books are full of end-times predictions.
Jesus combined most of these Old and New Testament prophecies about the end times when he gave the Olivet Discourse (Mat 24, Mark 13, Luke 21). This was Jesus’s last teaching just before his arrest and execution, so at least Jesus considered these end-time events to be important. It is also important to remember that the Bible is primarily the story of the Jews and their Jewish homeland, which includes Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. And the prophecies foretold in the Bible are presented from a Jewish point of view. Since we are constantly bombarded with human ideas and deceptions, wouldn’t it be reasonable to get our “Perception Bias” on end-time events from the most important book ever written?
All these end-time predictions defined at least 11 Key Trends to watch for leading up to the final seven-year Tribulation. As described in Matthew 24, a key condition to knowing these Trends are occurring during the end-times is they all will grow in Frequency, Intensity and Visibility like birth pangs until by Tribulation time they become Unstoppable.
These trends are:
- Global Travel (Faster/Easier) (Dan 12:4)
- Global Knowledge (Exponential Increase/Easily Available) (Dan 12:4)
- Global Deception (Clever/Diabolical) (Mat 24:11, Luke 21:8, 2Ti 3:13)
- Global Weather Anomalies (Violent/Extremes/Widespread) (Luk 21:11)
- Global Communication (Faster/Easier) (Dan 12:4)
- Global Pandemics (Mat 24:7)
- Global Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) (Zechariah 14:12, Rev 18)
- Global Materialism/Hedonism (Mat 24:12, Rev 18)
- Global Christian Evangelism (to Every Tongue & Tribe) (Mat 24:14)
- Global Digital Money (Enabling Global Tracking) (Rev 13:17)
- Global Hatred for Israel (Zech. 12:3)
Of this list of Trends, we can see that most are now in the Visible/Unstoppable phases: Travel, Knowledge, Deception, Weather, Communication, and WMDs.
Some are still in the more Frequency/Intensity phases: Pandemics, Materialism/Hedonism, Christian Evangelism.
And the final two trends are just around the corner:
Digital Money and Global Hatred of Israel
So, what still needs to transpire before we can definitely know this is the end of current history. What specific Future Events do we need to look for not including but leading to the 7yr Tribulation period?
Global Panic Attack
This “Panic Attack” will be caused by incessant wars, riots, earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, epidemics/pandemics, and strange heavenly sights. Specifically, what will this look like over the next several years?
War – “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Mat 24:6)
A hybrid WWIII with NATO vs Russia has already started and will intensify and spread beyond Ukraine. Then China/N Korea/Venezuela/others will be tempted to take this opportunity to seize their neighbor’s lands. With our advanced communication and media we hear of every rumor of wars.
Riots – “Nation shall rise against nation” (Mat 24:7)
In modern context nation here would mean tribal groups against other tribal groups. We can see now that most riots have a tribal mentality, especially political, BLM, and Palestinian causes. Anti-Semitism incidents have increased over 350% in the past 6 months. Elon Musk just recently stated that DEI training and enforcement is inherently anti-Semitic. Therefore, Pro-Palestinian riots will continue through 2024. But that is just a cover in order to test the legal limits they can get away with. These riots will also test and improve the details of their political cover (“Let them through, they are just expressing their frustrations”) and media cover (“Mostly peaceful protests”). Then political riots will ensue and intensify in US if Trump is seen leading or outright wins the 2024 Presidential election (if one is held). On the flip side, limited riots may also happen if perception that the vote was rigged and Democrat nominee wins (notice that I didn’t say Biden). But those latter pro-America protests will be met with ferocious legal/political/media responses. Either way, 2024-2026 will likely be the most violent time in the US since the 1861-1865 Civil War.
Lawlessness/Fascism – “And because Iniquity shall abound the love of many will become cold” (Mat 24:12)
Rampages and general lawlessness will continue around the world. The October 7 war and Israel’s retaliation to Hamas atrocities has exposed the convergence of Ultra Liberals (historical Reds) and Ultra Conservatives (historical Greens): the so-called Red-Green convergence. This Left-Right fascist convergence has been unwittingly inculcated into our youth over many decades by extremists in our educational institutions across both the Western and Islamic worlds.
Climate Change – “…and there will be famine and earthquakes…” (Mat 24:7)
Weather anomalies and the Ukraine war will intensify worldwide hunger and famine. Then, as we know, the convergence of political anger and hunger will intensify riots and possibly end in revolutions. Hunger, famine, and riots will all be blamed on Climate Change caused by human selfishness. If all these political/economic/social riots continue, many countries, including the US will likely invoke Martial Law or descend into civil war.
Pestilence – “…and there will be … pestilence…” (Mat 24:7)
Regional Epidemics leading to Global Pandemics are likely to emerge. This will trigger the new World Health Organization’s Pandemic Accords, which essentially will take away our 1st Amendment rights. These new Accords will allow the WHO to define what is a pandemic, say, Climate Change, or Disease X potential. It will allow them to decide what are the mandatory remedies to resolve/reduce the pandemics. And just as important control/ remove what are NOT remedies (Ivermectin/coal?). It will allow the WHO to control travel, give stay-at-home directives, and even limit certain purchases. And it will allow the WHO to decide what is dis/misinformation, giving them authority to stop it. It will even allow them to decide and remove “malinformation”, what DHS defines as things that are based in truth but cause you to distrust authority.
Heavenly Events – “And I will give wonders in the heavens above… The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood…” (Acts 2:19-20)
Strange events in the heavens will be shown around the world. Since these haven’t happened yet, not sure what they will be. And it is possible that these will only occur during the final Seven-Year Tribulation.
Earthquakes – “…and earthquakes in diverse places.” (Mat 24:7)
Earthquakes and Tsunamis will continue to increase around the world and be shown globally. The biggest world-wide news of Jan 1, 2024 was the 7.6 earthquake in Japan followed by a tsunami scare. The aftermath was shown around the world via TV and the internet. These events will continue.
Global Desire for Peace
As the aforementioned trends and events intensify all peoples will cry out for Peace and Security.
“Take heed that no man deceives you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many”. (Mat 24:4-5, 11)
Therefore, False Peacekeepers (religious/political/social/military) will arise around the world. Deceptions will make it hard to determine who is sincere. This is when trust becomes an important commodity. We must build a community of trust before it is too late.
Finally, just before the seven-year Tribulation, the Anti-Christ will arise, deceiving the world and espousing global peace.
Digital Money & Tracking
This is one of the trends from above that is not quite there. So, this will continue. The current global US Dollar is likely replaced by BRICS gold-backed currency or global IMF agreement for a single digital currency.
Going digital will allow governments and corporations to more easily track where we are and what our spending habits are. It will then be very easy to move to enforcing DEI/ESG/social credit requirements via digital purchase denials or even confiscating bank accounts. And this will likely happen prior to the seven-year Tribulation and the Mark of the Beast (Rev 13).
Israel Hated and Alone – “And in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples… all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.” (Zec 12:3)
Current supporters USA/UK/etc. will disavow and separate from Israel likely because of their violent response to Hamas/Hezbollah atrocities. Perhaps the Palestinians will be forcibly resettled into South Gaza, South Lebanon and/or West Bank thus further angering the world and isolating Israel.
Israel at Peace – “In the latter years … on the mountains of Israel, which have always been waste. Israel shall be brought out of the nations of the world, and they shall dwell securely, all of them” (Ezk 38:8)
Somehow, Israel will return to peace. This means that Hamas and Hezbollah will be defeated. Perhaps Israel will also destroy Iran’s leaders and WMDs allowing a reprieve. If Israel does not return to peace, then that means the peace of Israel is already over and the next event below is just a continuation of the Hamas War.
Battle of Magog (Ezk 36-39)
A specific League of Nations, led by Magog and Persia will attack Israel (Ezk 38). Remember, this prophecy was written ~2600 years ago, long before Islam arrived in the Middle East. Now all the nations listed in these Biblical prophecies are Islamic, except Magog.
Persia – Iran has been in the news ever since 1997 when the Ayatollahs took over what was called Persia for thousands of years. From a Biblical point of view Persia was the land where the Jews were exiled to in 586BC, where Queen Esther and Mordecai lived, where the evil Haman tried to destroy all the descendants of Jacob, the Jews. The current rulers of Persia, the Ayatollahs, have consistently and publicly stated their desire to destroy Israel.
Magog – Many scholars believe that Magog is Russia, and it very well may be based on how nations are aligning. The Scythians have historically been identified as the descendants of Magog. They are now settled in the steppes of Russia. Magog will be forced into the battle likely because of treaties w/Iran. So, Magog doesn’t sound like an Islamic nation.
Beth Togarmah and Gomer – Their historic lands are now Turkey. Therefore, watch for Turkey to move from prior EU/NATO centric and align towards this evil league based on mostly Islamic Shia-inspired dogma.
Cush – This is the northern part of Africa along the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. So should include Islamic nations of Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. Interestingly, this league will not include Egypt, as they are not on the list and currently have a peace agreement with Israel.
Put – Put was historically the area south of the 2nd cataracts of the Nile River. This could include Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Also, based on people migrations over the years, this could include Arabic peoples just across the Red Sea channel: the Houthis. Abomination of desolation
Friends of my Enemy – Interestingly, this league will include countries that have hated each other for generations: i.e. Iran vs Russia, Turkey vs Russia, Turkey vs Iran, Iran vs Iraq.
Rebuilding of the Third Jewish Temple – “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…” (Mat 24:15)
It is biblically difficult to determine if the Temple will be rebuilt before or during the seven-year Tribulation. No matter when built, preparations for the Temple instruments, priests, animals, and ceremonies will continue and be visible to all the world. The Dome of the Rock will have to be removed. This may happen if the current Hamas war spills over into the West Bank, or an act of terrorism could destroy it. The area is also an active earthquake zone so could happen that way. Either way, watch for major movements on the Temple Mount.
What Must We Do?
1. America in Trouble
In my opinion, America is in very deep trouble. From a Biblical point of view America doesn’t exist in the end-times. What happens? I can see several possibilities:
Mystery Babylon – Revelation 18 speaks of a great power that exists towards the end of civilization but is destroyed in a single day. The US fits all the items listed, so this may be our end.
CME/EMP – Modern cultures are so dependent upon electricity and our electronic devices that if a solar Coronal Mass Ejection or man-made Electro Magnetic Pulse occurs all our home electricity, travel, communications, supply chain, and electronic financial transactions will be halted, throwing us into the dark ages.
Fade Away – As the older generations die off, we are left with DEI-educated young adults that really know only a woke/liberal imaginary world. Yes, our conservative-trained children may be homeschooled and attend church or synagogue, but they are a precious few compared to the hordes coming out of the universities and service academies. The leaders of the future are just itching to become untethered from the past ‘mistakes’ that us older people have left them with. America will soon reach a tipping point where the woke have enough control to take over all institutions, then we are toast.
Merge into EU – A new Roman Empire will arise during end-times and it is possible we will merge or be closely tied to that new empire, especially if we lose our superpower status.
Rapture – 63% of Americans still claim to be Christians (Wikipedia), so if only half of these are true Christians that is still 30% of American citizens disappearing just as all these mentioned Trends converge into a perfect storm of trouble. [JWR’s Comment: Opinions of course vary widely on when the rapture will occur, i.e. before, during, or after the tribulation.]
2. Get Right with God
In my opinion, we are now entering Biblical times and events. There may be no worldly preparations that we can do to protect us from what is soon coming. Therefore, we need to prepare for our eternal peace and security.
“No one comes to the Son except first the Father draws them.” (Jn 6:44)
The word “draw” here is describing the creation of a vacuum, similar to drawing on a straw. Nature abhors a vacuum, so something must replace what was removed. In this Biblical context, God will remove our worldly attempts to satisfy our needs and wants until we finally look up and cry ‘uncle’. These are definitely ‘drawing’ times. So much has happened in just 10 years that it is almost unfathomable. It is obvious to me that all our preps will not save us for what is coming. So, we need to admit that we can’t save ourselves. I am not saying that we shouldn’t continue our preps, for we are always encouraged to plan and prepare for our families, right up to the time of our death.
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.” (Jn 14:6)
Jesus says that he is ‘The Way’, there are no other alternatives. Even our Jewish friends will eventually recognize that they missed the first coming of their Messiah.
Jesus says that he is ‘The Truth’. We are inundated with dis/mis/mal information so much now that it is hard to know what is truth. He says that his truth can be found primarily though the Bible, prayer, meditation and like-minded community.
Jesus says that no one gets to Heaven except ‘Though Him’. That path was created when He died on the cross for all the world’s sins. When He was buried for three days to signify the destruction of his earthly body. And when He arose from the grave on the third day in a resurrected body to show the hope of everlasting life if we follow the same path. But it is not just a path of death, burial, and resurrection, but that we do each step ‘Through Him’.
So, we first admit that we are sinners headed for destruction. Second, we admit we cannot save ourselves and that we therefore need a savior. And finally, we ask Jesus to be our savior and come into our heart and make us a new person.
When we follow these steps we give our sins to Him, we spiritually die to this world thru Him, we turn away (repent) from our sinful nature through Him, and we receive a second birth with a renewed soul and spirit. We are Born Again. We also get an added bonus because the Holy Spirit is now given an avenue into our new spirit, showing us the way we should live our lives.
“I have spoken these things to you so that you might have peace in Me. In the world you shall have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33)
Christians are not perfect while living on this earth. We will continue to make mistakes. We will continue to sin and we will continue to have hardships as we go through life. But now we have two advocates for us to help guide our path to love, peace, truth, and goodness. To encourage us to make amends for the wrongs we do and to keep us from the evil that is soon upon us. Take heart, do not fear, we are not alone.