Seven
Prophecies That Must Be Fulfilled Before Jesus Christ's Return
Previous
generations have thought that Jesus Christ would return in their lifetimes, but
they were proven wrong. Many people alive today think that Christ's return is
imminent. Certainly, the Bible contains prophecies that could not have been
fulfilled until this generation.
Shortly
before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus Christ delivered a major
prophecy of end-time events, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. He
was asked by His disciples: “When will these things be? And what will be the sign
of your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).
Jesus
responded with a description of conditions and events that would lead up to His
second coming. Moreover, He said that when these signs became evident, His
return would occur within one generation (Matthew 24:34). Could this be
that generation?
Throughout the nearly 2,000 years since Christ
gave His prophecy, many have thought that theirs was the time of His return—and
turned out to be wrong, of course. But interestingly, there are a number of
prophecies in the Bible that could not be fulfilled until our modern era, the post–World War II period.
1. The human race
would have the ability to exterminate itself
In Matthew
24:22, describing world conditions prior to His second coming, Jesus said that
“if that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive;
but for the sake of God’s chosen it will be cut short” (Revised
English Bible).
The main message that Jesus Christ brought was
of the coming Kingdom of God. This is described as “the gospel” (Mark 1:14). Gospel means “good news.” While some of the
prophecies concerning events prior to the establishment of the Kingdom can seem
negative, we should always keep in mind that the central focus of Bible
prophecy is the good news (gospel)
of the coming Kingdom of God.
Matthew 24:22 shows us that if Jesus
Christ does not intervene in world affairs, the human race will be faced with
extinction. It’s crucial to note that humanity has had the capability for
self-annihilation for only a little more than 50 years, since both the United
States and the Soviet Union developed and stockpiled hydrogen bombs and the
world had to learn to live with “mutually assured destruction.”
At that time there were only three nuclear
powers (Britain being the other). By the middle of the 1960s France and China
had joined the nuclear club. Today at least eight nations have nuclear warheads
and the number looks set to increase with a nuclear arms race in the
Middle East.
Of course, the more nuclear powers we have in
the world, the more likely it is that someone will use this deadly force
for evil.
Although international attention has been
focused on the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran during the last few
years, little attention has been given to the possibility of some or all of
Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of radical Islamists.
During the ongoing crisis in Pakistan, the
Taliban and al-Qaeda and their sympathizers have steadily gained more power,
territory and influence, making nuclear terrorism more likely. Consider the consequences
for the rest of the world if Osama bin Laden (or others like him) had access to
nuclear weapons!
Meanwhile, Russia and China are determinedly
flexing their military muscles, raising fears of a return to Cold
War–era tensions.
The good news in all this is that Christians
have an assurance that Jesus Christ will intervene to save mankind from
annihilation. This prophecy could not be fulfilled until man had the potential
for self-extinction through weapons of mass destruction. Again, only in the last 50
years has this become possible.
2. A Jewish
homeland had to be re-established in the Middle East
Geopolitically,
the central focus of end-time events is Jerusalem and its environs, what many
people refer to as the Holy Land.
Luke 21 is a parallel chapter to Matthew 24.
Notice Luke’s account of Christ’s long prophecy that answered the disciples’
questions: “Teacher, . . . when will these things be? And what sign
will there be when these things are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7)
.
In response, Jesus showed that Jerusalem would
be the central focus of the political and military upheavals that would
immediately precede His return: “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by
armies, then know that its desolation is near . . . For these are the
days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (Luke
21:20-22).
Anyone living a century ago would have found
these words nearly impossible to comprehend. Jerusalem in ancient times had
been fought over countless times, but for four centuries from 1517 the city had
been at peace within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. Jews lived there as
a minority under Turkish rule. But this was going to change dramatically during
the course of the 20th century.
It had to
change for the fulfillment of Bible prophecy to take place.
The Old Testament prophet Zechariah was used by
God to reveal a great deal about end-time events and the second coming of the
Messiah. Zechariah lived and prophesied more than 500 years before Christ’s
first coming, yet his prophetic book tells us a great deal about our world
of today.
In Zechariah 12:2-3 God says:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding
peoples, when they lay siege against Judah [the Jews inhabiting the land of
Israel] and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make
Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will
surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered
against it.”
In Zechariah 12:9 He adds, “It shall
be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come
against Jerusalem.”
Reading these verses, it is possible to think
that they apply to ancient events, as Jerusalem has been fought over repeatedly
down through the ages.
However, chapter 14 makes clear that this is talking
about future, not past,
events. The time setting is immediately before Jesus Christ’s return.
Behold,
the day of the Lord is coming . . . For I will gather all the nations
to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and
the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity . . .
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in
the day of battle.
“And in that day His feet will stand
on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of
Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley;
half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the
south” (Zechariah 14:1-4).
Clearly
the last few lines of this prophecy remain to be fulfilled.
Further in this same chapter we read of how
those nations that came against Jerusalem will have to go up to Jerusalem to
worship the King, Jesus Christ (Zechariah 14:16).
These chapters of Zechariah are a prophecy
about the events that precede and include the second coming of Jesus. A
Jewish-controlled Jerusalem is notice-ably the central focus.
Shortly before Zechariah, another Jewish
prophet named Daniel lived during the time of the captivity of the Jews in
Babylon. His book speaks of the Jews’ daily sacrifices being cut off in the end
time (Daniel 12:11; see Daniel 12:1-13)—an event that had a forerunner in
the temple defilement under Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century B.C.
However, Jesus Christ confirmed this as a future event to precede His return (compare Daniel
11:31; Matthew 24:15). This means that these sacrifices must first be
reinstituted in Jerusalem—requiring Jewish rule over the city.
One hundred years ago such developments were
hard to imagine for the simple reason that no independent Jewish political
entity existed in the Middle East.
After rebelling against the Romans in A.D. 66 and again in 132, Judea was crushed
and most of the remaining Jews were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire and
beyond. No Jewish homeland existed again until 1948 when the modern nation of
Israel was established.
An independent Jewish homeland was merely a
dream for a small group of zealots a century ago. It moved a step nearer during
World War I, when forces of the British Commonwealth took control of Jerusalem
from the Turks in December 1916. A few months later, the British government
pledged itself to the establishment of an independent Jewish homeland in the
ancient lands the Jews had inhabited for centuries.
It was to be another 30 years before the dream
was realized in 1948. Yet since then tiny Israel has had to fight wars for
survival in 1948, 1967 and 1973 and has suffered countless terrorist attacks
and threats of annihilation from hostile neighbors determined to eliminate the
Jewish state.
Once again, here
is a prophecy that can now be fulfilled in our time.
3. The end-time
king of the North and king of the South
In
Daniel 11 we find an amazing prophecy about two leaders, the kings of the North
and South, the heads of regions that were geographically north and south of the
Holy Land. To understand this prophecy we have to go to the time of Alexander
the Great, who lived near the end of the fourth century B.C., 200 years after Daniel.
Alexander figures prominently throughout the
book of Daniel, even though Daniel did not know his name and never knew him
personally. He couldn’t have, since he died almost two centuries before
Alexander appeared on the world stage.
But God revealed to Daniel that after Babylon,
Persia would arise as the greatest power of the region, to be followed in turn
by Greece. Not surprisingly, the prophecies regarding the rise of Greece are
centered on Alexander the Great, one of the greatest conquerors
in history.
Daniel 8 gives a vivid account of the coming
clash between Persia and Greece. As you read it, remember that a horn
symbolizes royal power and authority. Persia had “two horns and the two horns
were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.”
This refers to the Medo-Persian Empire, the coming together of two nations or
peoples. As foretold here in Daniel 8:3, the Persians rose to greatness
after the Medes.
In Daniel 8:5 we read of Persia’s
later defeat by Alexander the Great: “And as I was considering, suddenly a male
goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without
touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes” (Daniel
8:5).
The “notable horn” or royal leader was Alexander
the Great. The prophecy about his army not even touching the ground is a
reference to the incredible speed with which he conquered the known world. All
this was achieved in a very short time. Alexander died in 323 B.C. when he was only about 33 years old.
Even his sudden, unexpected death was
prophesied: “The male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the
large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the
four winds of heaven” (Daniel 8:8).
When Alexander died, his empire was eventually
divided between four of his generals—the four “notable horns” mentioned here.
Two of these established dynasties would have a profound effect on the Jewish
people, caught in the middle between them. These two dynasties were the descendants
of Seleucus, who ruled a vast empire from Antioch in Syria, north of Jerusalem,
and Ptolemy, who ruled Egypt from Alexandria.
Daniel 11 is a long and detailed prophecy about
the dynastic conflicts between these two powers, their respective leaders being
referred to as “the king of the North” and “the king of the South.” Of great
significance is that whenever they went to battle against each other, the Jews
got trampled on. This was to continue from the time of Alexander until the
middle of the second century B.C., a period of almost two centuries.
Then, suddenly, the prophecy jumps down to the
end time.
In Daniel 11:40 we read: “At the time
of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North
shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many
ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them and pass through. He shall
also enter the Glorious Land [the Holy Land], and many countries shall be
overthrown” (Daniel 11:40-41).
While we don’t have space here to cover all the
details, the latter part of Daniel’s prophecy of the North-South conflict
describes a clash of civilizations between the leader of a soon-coming European
superpower—a revived Roman Empire (successor to Seleucid Syrian rule)—and a
leader who is the successor to the Ptolemaic rule of Egypt, which is now part
of the Islamic world. (To learn more, request or download our free booklet The
Middle East in Bible Prophecy .)
We now see geopolitical conditions lining up
for this inevitable clash.
Here is yet
another prophesied circumstance for which the stage has now been set within
our lifetime!
4. An end-time
union of European nations
In
Daniel 2 and 7 we see prophecies about four great gentile empires that would
arise in the period between the time of Daniel and the coming establishment of
the Kingdom of God (Daniel 2:44). Daniel was himself living in the first of
these great empires (Daniel 7:4) as a Jewish exile in ancient Babylon.
Following the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C.,
Persia would become the greatest power, to be followed by Greece (Daniel
7:5-6). After Greece came the Roman Empire, “dreadful and terrible, exceedingly
strong.” This empire was to have “ten horns” and would continue in some form
until the establishment of God’s Kingdom at Christ’s return (Daniel 7:7-9).
As we saw in the previous section, horns
represent leaders or governments. Here these 10 horns symbolize 10 attempts to
restore the Roman Empire to the power it had in ancient times. Various attempts
at a restoration have taken place since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in A.D. 476. A final attempt is to be made
shortly before Christ’s return.
We find more details in Revelation 17. Here we
read of a final attempt to revive the Roman Empire by “ten kings who have
received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings
with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and
authority to the beast” (Revelation 17:12-13).
They will also “make war with the Lamb [Jesus
Christ], and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of
kings” (Revelation 17:14). Again, it is clear that this prophecy is
still future.
Previous attempts to forge a united European
empire, from Justinian in the sixth century through Charlemagne, Napoleon,
Mussolini and Hitler, all involved force. The final resurrection of the Roman
Empire will not be attempted in the same way.
Revelation 17 suggests this will be a voluntary
union. When these 10 leaders receive power, they will then give their authority
to a single leader. Scripture refers to both this individual and the new
superpower he leads as “the beast”—acknowledging it as the continuation of the
four gentile empires prophesied in Daniel, each one depicted as a beast or
wild animal.
Only now is it possible for this to
be fulfilled.
In 1957, the Treaty of Rome was signed by six
European nations that formed the European Economic Community. Today the EEC has grown into the European Union (EU) with 27 member nations. Out of these will
likely come the 10 nations or 10 leaders that form the final resurrection of
the Roman Empire. (For more details, read “The Coming European Superpower “)
Some have speculated that the 10 kings referred
to in this prophecy will be leaders of 10 regions of the EU that will redraw the boundaries of
Europe, ending the present nation-states. The Bible is not clear on exactly
which 10 regions or nations will configure the final revival of the militaristic
Roman superpower—only that this new superpower will indeed emerge just before
Christ’s return.
However, it wasn’t until the 10th nation, Greece, was
admitted in 1981 that any conceivable fulfilment of this prophecy was
even possible.
5. End-time rise and
fall of Israel and Judah
”
Israel” was the new name God gave the biblical patriarch Jacob in Genesis 32.
The 12 tribes of Israel were descended from his 12 sons. These tribes later
formed a united kingdom.
It’s been almost 3,000 years since the kingdom of
Israel was split in two. Ten of the 12 tribes of Israel rebelled against King
Rehoboam, the son of King Solomon and grandson of King David. The Bible
continued to refer to these 10 tribes as Israel while the other two tribes
(Judah and Benjamin) that remained loyal to David’s descendants were known as
the kingdom of Judah or simply Judah.
Sometimes Israel is referred to as the northern
kingdom and Judah as the southern kingdom. Dominant among the northern tribes
were to be the descendants of Jacob’s son Joseph through his sons Ephraim and
Manasseh—prophesied by Jacob to be the chief nations of the world in the last
days (Genesis 49:1, Genesis 49:22-26; compare Deuteronomy 33:13-17).
About 200 years after the kingdom split, the
northern tribes of Israel fell to Assyria and were deported by the Assyrians to
the northern parts of their empire. Often referred to now as the lost tribes,
they later migrated northwest across Europe, eventually settling in new
homelands far from the Middle East.
The kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon more than
a century after Israel’s deportation, but its people were not lost to history.
We know them today as the Jews.
The name Ephraim is sometimes used
representatively in Scripture for the entire northern kingdom, though it can
also refer solely to the descendants of Joseph’s son of that name—prophesied to
become a “multitude of nations” (Genesis 48:19). Remarkably, this promise to
Ephraim was fulfilled in the British Empire and Commonwealth.
Ephraim’s older brother Manasseh was also
prophesied to become a great nation (same verse), separating himself from the
multitude of nations. This prophecy would be fulfilled in the formation, growth
and dominance of the United States of America.
In a revealing prophecy regarding the United
States and Britain, Jacob (Israel) said, “Let my name be named upon them” (Genesis
48:16). References to ” Israel” in end-time prophecy often refer to the United
States or the English-speaking countries of the British Empire or both.
Sometimes ” Israel” can mean all 12 tribes. We have to look at specific verses
in their context to see which is meant.
“Judah,” however, always refers to the Jews,
the descendants of the house or kingdom of Judah. We must also understand that
the modern nation calledIsrael is
really Judah, made
up of Jews. (For much more detail, download or request our free booklet The
United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy .)
Understanding this critical part of biblical
history will help us more fully comprehend a passage of Scripture in the book
of Hosea, which is a prophecy about Ephraim (the multitude of nations—Great
Britain and some of those nations that came out of her). It warns of
destruction to follow the end-time ascendancy of the Israelite nations.
In Hosea 5 we read a prophecy that mentions
Israel, Ephraim and Judah: “The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also stumbles
with them” (Hosea 5:5). The prophecy continues: “With their flocks and herds
they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn
Himself from them. They have dealt treacherously with the Lord, for they have
begotten pagan children. Now a New Moon shall devour them and their heritage” (Hosea
5:6-7).
New moons occur a month apart. A new moon
“devouring” them would seem to mean that Israel, Ephraim and Judah will all
fall within one month.
This prophecy was not fulfilled in ancient
times. As already mentioned, ancient Judah fell to Babylon more than a century after Israel fell to Assyria. Yet in the
end it appears they will fall together—within one month of each other. This
prophecy remains to be fulfilled.
Remember that Israel gave his name to Ephraim
and Manasseh, the ancestors in turn of the British and American peoples. As
Ephraim is mentioned separately in this prophecy, the reference to ” Israel”
must apply to the United States, which is now the more dominant of the two nations.
For two centuries prior to World War II, the roles were reversed with the multitude of
nations—the British Empire—a greater power than the single nation, the United
States. But today America is the greater.
“Judah” refers to the Jewish people, particularly
those who now constitute the modern nation in the Middle East that calls
itself Israel.
Here then is a prophecy regarding all three
nations—the United States, Britain and Israel (Judah). According to this
prophecy, it appears that all three will fall within the span of a month. Hosea
5:6 shows these nations turning back to God, but finding it’s too late.
Because of their sins, He will let them suffer defeat and collapse.
This prophecy could not have been fulfilled until after the
rise of Britain and the United States as world powers in the 19th century and
the formation of the Jewish state of Israel in the 20th.
Lest the idea seem outlandish, consider that
Israel and the United States are perhaps the most maligned and criticized
nations on earth. Among Muslim hard-liners, America is commonly called “the
great Satan” and Israel and Britain “the little Satans.”
6. The gospel will
be preached in all the world
In
His major end-time prophecy, Jesus answers the question posed by the disciples:
“When will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of
the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).
After listing a number of signs of the nearness
of His coming, He reveals that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in
all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew
24:14).
The gospel is the good news of the coming
Kingdom of God. This message could not be preached around the world without the
Bible and freedom of religion. Both came gradually with the ascendancy of the
English-speaking peoples from the 16th century until the present day.
However, it was only with the technological
advances of television and radio and other means of mass communication after
World War II and their widespread acceptance that it
became possible to reach hundreds of millions of human beings with the message
of the Bible. The gospel of the Kingdom of God will continue to be preached to
all nations as long as we have the freedom to continue The Good News magazine and our other media efforts.
Even so, during the last 50 years it has not
been possible to reach all countries. The former communist nations did not
allow freedom of religion. China, with one quarter of the world’s people, still
does not. Other nations also try to suppress the publication of biblical truth
and even the Bible itself. Many Islamic nations do not allow religious freedom.
In some countries people risk the death penalty for changing religion.
But the Internet is changing everything. It is
much harder for governments to control. The gospel message of the coming
Kingdom of God is still going out to the world. It will finish when God has
decided that His work is completed and the time is right for the final end-time
events to take place.
This is yet another prophecy that could not be fulfilled
until recent times.
7. Instant
worldwide communications and God’s final witnesses
Another
end-time Bible prophecy could not be fulfilled until this era of instant
worldwide communications.
In His major end-time prophecy of Matthew 24,
Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus gave an outline of disasters that would occur on the
world scene with increasing frequency and magnitude—to the point where people
would be shaken with fear (Luke 21:26). Discerning an increase in the scale of
these events and reacting to them requires knowing
about them.
At the time this prophecy was given, it could
be many months or years before people heard about various disasters—and many
they would never hear about at all, much less be able to put together the fact
that catastrophes were on some kind of global increase.
Only with the proliferation of newspapers and
other forms of mass communications did this become remotely possible. Yet the
level of awareness and consequent fear in many that Christ speaks of implies an
even greater availability of
information—possible only since the development of rapid
electronic communications.
In any case, only with the technological
advances of the last few years has it become possible for the events in
Revelation 11 to occur—for people around the world to see the fate of God’s
final two witnesses.
These two witnesses, reminiscent of other
biblical prophets like Elijah and Elisha, will carry God’s final warning to the
world in the last 3 ½ years leading up to Christ’s return.
“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and
they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days . . . When
they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit
will make war against them, overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies
will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and
Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
“Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues
and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow
their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will
rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two
prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:3, Revelation
11:7-10).
Note that people the world over will be able to see their dead bodies
during the 3 1⁄2 days that they lie on display in Jerusalem. This was not
possible before satellite television, portable communications devices and the
Internet.
Again,
only in the last few years has it become possible for this
prophecy to be fulfilled .
It
still lies in the future, of course, but only now it is clearly possible for
this to take place.
Will this
generation see God’s Kingdom established on earth?
We
have seen how seven biblically prophesied circumstances could not have come to
pass until recent times. In fact, the establishment of the state of Israel in
1948 was clearly a major turning point in the fulfilment of Bible prophecy, as
was the acquisition of the hydrogen bomb by the two superpowers of the 1950s
that led to the period of mutually assured destruction.
All has now become possible. This, in turn,
makes it much more likely that our generation will live to see Jesus Christ
return and establish the Kingdom of God on earth. After all, Jesus Himself said
that once these things begin, the generation alive at that time “will by no
means pass away till all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34).
It’s both sobering and encouraging to think
that we appear to be living in the generation that will ultimately witness the
most important event in the history of mankind. As Jesus Christ tells His
followers in Luke 21:28, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up
and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
