Gathering Over Jerusalem
What's Next?
What are the next signs? Unrest in the Middle East always gets my attention. Small nations seeking nuclear weapons gets my attention.
First Israel will fight a war and win, but at a heavy price. In the whole land, declares the Lord, two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, They are my people, and they will say, The Lord is our God. A day of the Lord is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it Zechariah 13.
Second The Antichrist, whoever that is, will bring about world peace after this war, sign a covenant of peace with many nations including Israel, and the Great Tribulation will start. He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven Daniel 9:27. Thus begins the seven years of the Great Tribulation.
The Great Tribulation and following
The seven year Great Tribulation period is divided in half: 3 1/2 years of peace, 3 1/2 years of tribulation. After the war there will be 3 1/2 years of peace and the Great Temple of Jerusalem will be built with animal sacrifices reinstituted. Then the antichrist, the lawless one, defiles the temple and declares war on all believers (Rev . The two witnesses emerge and for the next 3 1/2 years they are the conduit of God's wrath poured out on the earth. Things get bad. Christians and Jews will be killed all over the world, and the two witnesses are eventually killed toward the end of the 3 1/2 years. At the very end, the antichrist will bring the armies of Gog of Magog down to the Valley of Armageddon to destroy Jerusalem (Ezek 38:16, 39:7,11, 26; Rev 16:16), and just when it seems like Jerusalem's total destruction is inevitable, the rapture takes place and Jesus Christ returns in the Second Coming. He speaks just a word (Rev 19:15, 21), and the mighty army of the antichrist is instantly destroyed. After Great Tribulation and Second Coming we will enter the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem (Ezek 34:23, 36:26-27, 37:27-28) and the restoration of Earth, starting in Jerusalem. At the end of the thousand years, Satan is released from prison and deceives the nations again (Rev 20:7-8). Gog of Magog attacks Jerusalem again, but this time in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2, 10-12). This army is destroyed by fire from heaven and the blood flows as high as a horse's bridle (Rev 20:9, 14:18-20). Finally, Satan is thrown in to the Lake of Fire for eternity and the Great White Throne Judgment takes place (Matt 13:40-42, 25:33, 41; Rev 20:10-12).
Why is it so important to study this biblical prophesy?
Do you want to be informed or deceived? Do you want to be prepared or unprepared? You do not want to be with those poor people taken by surprise, like a thief in the night, or do you want to be ready, with your extra oil on hand for the long night to come.