He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? Luke 12:54-56
Why was Jesus so angry? Who was He calling hypocrites… and why? Jesus mocked the Pharisees—the pastors and church leaders of the day—because they should have known better. These people were so pompous and arrogant; they were always flaunting their superior intellect, and yet they missed it. They failed to recognize that He was, in fact, the Messiah who fulfilled hundreds of prophecies over thousands of years. Why didn’t they get it? Because Jesus didn’t fit “their narrative” of what the Savior of the world should look, talk, and act like. These religious leaders had a different agenda than did the Creator of the Universe.
Many teachers and spiritual leaders in our day talk about how studying end time prophecy is too confusing. Besides, they rationalize, we don’t know exactly when Jesus is coming back. Yes, it’s true that we won’t know the day or the hour, but if the God of Creation didn’t want us to know when He was planning to return, He wouldn’t have told us… but He did.
Jesus is coming back very soon. How do we know? Those who study end time prophecy understand that all roads lead back to God’s chosen people… Israel. We know from scripture that the “beginning of the end” started when Israel was established as a sovereign nation in May, 1948,[i] and that many scholars believe that this generation—the ones returning to the Promised Land in the late 1940’s—is the one Jesus predicted would not pass away before the returning of the Lord.[ii] A child born in the newly established nation of Israel would be turning 73 years old in 2021. The clock is ticking.
Many other signs regarding Israel have been fulfilled in recent years, as well, such as the restoration of the land predicted in Ezekiel 36:34, “The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate…” Remarkably, Israel has become a world-leader in exporting fresh produce such as avocadoes, kiwifruit, mangoes, and grapes; all this in spite of the fact the geography of the country is not naturally conducive to agriculture.[iii]
We are seeing signs in the sky,[iv] the aligning of nations against Israel,[v] earthquakes, famines, pestilences (i.e., COVID 19), and rumors of wars.[vi] In fact, just last week Israel accused Iran of spilling millions of gallons of oil off its shores causing major ecological damage. (Iran, incidentally, has threatened to wipe Israel off the map for decades.) Israel called the incident “environmental terrorism” and threaten to retaliate.[vii] This escalation could ignite an already-delicate situation in the Middle East.
The Bible compares these signs to the labor pains a woman experiences prior to giving birth. Even though many of these events have happened for years, every woman who has given birth understands that the pain increases in intensity as the end draws near. In the same way, it’s hard to deny that the entire world is ready to explode.
We live in very exciting times. We—more than any generation before us—have a front seat to the show. And what a show it will be because God loves drama! Yes, it’s true. Plague of locusts? Drama. Parting the Red Sea? Drama. Calling down fire from heaven? Drama. Raising a decomposing body back to life? You guessed it. And I could go on. Yes, there are times when God speaks to us in a quiet voice, but there are other times when He lights up the sky.
God is—right now—not just quietly nodding to us. He is yelling from the roof tops: “Don’t Miss This!”
To be continued…
If you’re looking for more information regarding the End Times, The Tipping Point by Jimmy Evans (released in 2020) offers the clearest, most insightful discussion of Biblical prophecy that I’ve ever read. Click HERE to view on Amazon.
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