Signs of the Times...It's Later than you Think!

I'm going to use this thread to present signs of Christ's second coming. It's pretty clear even to those who have no real understanding of Bible prophecy that we're living in a crazy world. Christ gave some specific signs to look for to herald His second coming. In fact, over one third of the Bible was written as prophecy. Most of these prophecies have already been fulfilled literally in the pages of history. I heard this the other day, and think it's a profound statement. "I'm not looking for signs anymore, I'm listening for sounds." The signs are everywhere and happening so rapidly you don't have to search to find them. I'm listening for the sound of the trumpet that calls us home. Please feel free to contribute or add comments. I pray everyone that reads this will understand the critical hour we live in. God bless you all.

I will dedicate these first couple of posts to specific signs regarding the nation of Israel. Israel is God's timepiece and His sovereign hold on history can be seen in the history of the Jewish people.

25 Messianic Signs Being Fulfilled in the Nation of Israel

1) The Prophecy of the Fig Tree.......Christ said in Matthew 24:32-35 "Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When it's branches bud and it's leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know His return is very near, even at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear but my words will never disappear."

The nation of Israel is the fig tree. Christ said when you see the fig tree start to bloom then the time of His return would be near. Israel was not a nation for many years following the destruction of the temple in AD 70 by the Romans and the Diaspora, or scattering of the Jews in AD 135. The end time prophecies could not be fulfilled until Israel was regathered as a nation and that happened in 1948. Modern day Israel was born in May 15, 1948. In the subsequent years, the nation has prospered and "bloomed" just as Christ said it would. This is a major prophecy that we are living in the end times.

2) The Order of the Return
The order of Israel's return to the land was prophesied in the Scriptures, and it happened exactly as predicted.
East....It was first told they would return from the East. This was fulfilled as they began to first return from countries in the Middle East...those nations surrounding Israel.
West...Next they returned from Europe falling the horrible persecution of Jews during World War II.
North...This was fulfilled after the fall of Communism and the Iron Curtain. This event allowed Jewish people to return to their homeland from Russia.
South...This was fulfilled when the Ethiopian Jews returned home in the 1990's.
The regathering happened just as foretold in the Scriptures. Today Jews from all over the world continue to move back to the homeland given to them forever by God through the covenant promise to their father Abraham.

3) Born in a Day
According to Isaiah 66: 7-9 the nation of Israel would be born in a single day. This prophecy was fulfilled on May 15, 1948 when modern day Israel was born, as predicted in a day.

4) Buying Back the Land
It was prophesied in the Bible that Israel would buy back the land and that is exactly what happened. They bought it back piece by piece from foreigners and Arabs who owned it starting in the late 1800's and continuing until the state of Israel was born. They not only have a God given right to the land, but they also have a right to the land because they bought it. This fact is overlooked in modern day politics and world affairs.

5) Pure language
The Scriptures predicted that when God brought Israel back into the land, He would give them a pure language. Hebrew is the only language that has ever been revived after being dead for thousands of years. This is an interesting story and can be read about in the history of Israel. Today, Hebrew is the language of Israel...it has been revived and is the pure language prophesied about in the Bible.

6) Return of the Shekel
The prophet Ezekiel prophesied that when Israel returned to the land, they would also return to using the shekel, and this prophecy has also been fulfilled. The shekel is the unit of currency for modern day Israel.

7) Trees of Israel
The prophet Isaiah predicted that when Israel was returned to the land, that the land would be filled with trees. After the fall of the temple, the Romans plowed Jerusalem with salt so that nothing would grow there for centuries. Also following the Diaspora, the land was denuded and deforested. It was left completely barren and bare. Today there are forests covering the land and mountains of Israel and there are many types of trees there including some that never grew there before. The Lord continues to use the land of Israel to prove His existence, sovereignty and hand in history as well as human affairs.

8 ) Cities of Exception
Jesus pronounced a curse on the cities that rejected His message. They rejected it even though He did most of His miracles and work in those cities. He told them they would become desolate and never inhabited again. These cities of Capernaum, Chorezin, and Bethsaida are desolute and in ruins and just as Christ predicted, have never been rebuilt. He prophesied that the city of Sodom would fare better than these cities in the end days. Today there is some industry in a small town named Sodom in Israel, again proving that God is in control of the future and of Bible prophecy.

9) Cities of Inclusion
The prophet Ezekiel prophesied that in the last days, after Israel was regathered in the land, that the cities would be renamed according to their Biblical names. The Biblical cities had been conquered and reconquered and had been renamed many times. Today the cities in Israel are named according to their Biblical names as predicted by Ezekiel. These include Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Beer-Sheba, Bethlehem, and Haifa among others.

10) Productivity
The prophet Isaiah wrote that in the end times, the fruits of Israel would be restored to the land and they would fill the world with fruit. The Lord gave the Israelites a good land and one flowing with "milk and honey." The land laid barren and waste while the Jews were scattered abroad as predicted in Deuteronomy 29. In 1865, Mark Twain visted the holy land and said it was the most barren and desolate place he had ever seen in his life. Yet, after the Jews returned to the land, God fulfilled His promise to them to restore the land. Today, Israel is a lush land with an abundance of fruit and vegetables. They export their fruits and vegetables all over the world. They have perfected farming techniques and their crops grow in abundance more than anywhere in the world. This is truly a miracle of God, and the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy.

11) Biblical animals
The bible speak of birds of prey that will feast on human flesh in the Valley of Jezreel after the armies of the world are defeated when they come against Israel in the Battle of Armageddon. Today in the Gamala area of Israel, there is a large population of the Griffon Vulture and other varieties of birds of prey. This also seems to be an area that birds of prey migrate over. This phenomenon is setting up to fulfill the end time prophecies. There is also beginning to be a large population of other type animals. During the Millenial Kingdom, all of God's creatures will inhabit the earth and live together in peace.

12) Sweet wine
In the Golan Heights is the Golan Heights winery. According to Joel 3:17 there is a time of judgement and that the mountains of Israel would drip with sweet wine. This prophecy will come to pass at or near the time that we were at the end of the age as we know it, or as we draw nearer to the Messianic kingdom. This is just one of many wineries found in the mountains of Israel. Today the mountains of Israel are indeed dripping with sweet wine. This passage talks about the judgement of the nations that have come against Israel during these days. Genesis 49 says the Messiah will one day wash his garments in the blood of sweet grapes. This is the beginning of the fullfillment of this prophecy.

13) The Remnant of Edom
The book of Amos states that in the end times, Israel would posess the remnant of Edom. Today's Palestinians have an Edomite heritage through Esau. The bible states in the end times, Irael would possess the remnant of Edom and that the Messiah would settle all of these racial differences when He comes to reign.

14) Irrigation
Amos prophesied of continual crop rotation in Israel at the dawning of the Messianic age. Because of Israel's technological advances in irrigation, along with additonal rainfall, it is now possible to plant seeds and have crop rotation even in the hottest times of the summer. The land of Israel was once nothing but rock with nothing growing there at all. There had been only one grain crop in Israel prior to the twentieth century. But Amos predicted continual crops at the time of the end. The combination of the highly computerized system of irrigation as well as more rainfall has allowed this prophecy to come to pass. All of this is a fulfillment of this prophecy in the book of Amos.

15) The Eastern Gate
The Eastern gate figures prominently in the prophetic word. Jesus would enter the Eastern gate during his time on earth. In Ezekiel 44, he prophesied that the Eastern gate would be closed and not open again until the Messiah returns. The original Eastern gate was destroyed in AD 70, but was later rebuilt. Shulaman the Great sealed the rebuilt Eastern gate around 1550 to keep Christian pilgrims from going through it. Today the Jordanians guard the gate to ensure that it is not opened. It has not been opened and will not be opened until Christ returns and enters through the Eastern gate to be declared King of kings and Lord of lords.

ah....another christian..nice to see you here.....oh and about your signs...uhh..took me a while to get through but to tell ya..I havn't noticed any of those things :thinking:

Thanks....nice to see you here too. And....I'm just getting started on the signs... :D Lots more info to come. Thanks for your comments.

16 & 17) The Diaspora and the Latter Rain
The Diaspora or scattering of Israel in 70 AD and her subsequent return in 1948 is one of history's most stunning occurences. Almost every OT prophet said they would be scattered unto all the world for a time and then brought back. Even Christ predicted that the Jews would be scattered among the world and that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles was fulfilled. This prophecy is one of the most amazing prophecies and no other religious book in the world can make such prophecies except the bible. The prophecy of Hosea 3:4-5 gives the duration of the diaspora. Hosea 5:15 further explains how this will take place. After 2 days, God would bring them back. Psalms 90 states that one day with the Lord is like 1000 years. The Jews were dispersed for 2000 years and then they were brought back. Hosea prophesied that the Messiah would return after 2000 years and after the former and latter rains had been restored to Israel. This is taking place today. Rainfall in Israel has doubled since 1948 when the nation was reborn. It is an exciting prophecy which we see coming to pass before our eyes.

18 ) Democracy
Hosea and others prophesied that Israel would be without a king for many years and when they returned to the land, they would be run by governors...or be a democracy. Every 4 years in Israel, there are 30 different parties coming up for election. Today, Israel is governed as a democracy with a configuration of governors, just as scripture foretold.

19) Rebuilding of the Temple
The Jewish preparations for the rebuilding of the Temple is one of the chief and most thrilling Messianic signs of our day. Today in Israel the Temple Institute is actively preparing for the rebuilding of the temple. They have already created the vessels needed made according to the biblical law and through oral traditions. They have determined where the temple will be rebuilt. They have also built the furniture according to scriptural instructions. They are only waiting for a sign from God and the conditions that will allow for the Temple to be rebuilt as it is prophesied in the scriptures.

20) Wars of Israel
In the 12th chapter of Zechariah, the prophet word prophesied events that would happen 2500 years before they took place. Israel's wars have all been prophesied in scripture. Against all odds and outnumbered 30 to 1 or more at times, Israel has still won every one of their wars since their rebirth in 1948. Why??? Because God is a God who keeps His word and He is a God that knows and predicts history before it even happens. The Bible says once they were reborn as a nation, they would not be out of the land again. There will be times of great trouble for them during the Tribulation, but a remnant of them will be saved and come to know Christ as their Messiah.

Alright gang....the above posts are some of the signs of the end times related to Israel. There are also many other signs that Christ gave us and though He told us we would not know the day and the hour He would return for us, He did tell us we would know the times and season, based on the signs He warned us to be aware of. In fact, He commanded us to know.....and be aware.

Matthew Chapter 24 is a good place to start to read of some of these signs, although there are many places in the Bible when you start to study that detail the prophetic signs of end time events.

I will give some broad categories in this post of some of the end time signs and them explain them one at a time in later posts.

1) The signs of nature
2) The signs of society
3) The spiritual signs
4) The signs of technology
5) The signs of world politics
6) The signs of Israel

The Revelation signs of the times that are developing in today's current events include (These are tribulation prophecies)

1) The Tribulation slaughter
2) The army of 200 million
3) The two witnesses
4) The nation of Israel
5) The image of the beast
6) The mark of the beast

Again...more details later....any questions?