THE LAST DAYS
Anita Clark
"...I will be
found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will
gather you from all the nations, from all the places whither I have driven you,
saith the LORD: and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you
to be carried away captive" Jeremiah 29:14.
God allowed His
chosen people to be taken away into captivity. First Israel (the ten tribes in
the northern part of the land) captured and taken away by Assyria, and then
Judah taken away by Babylon. He did let Judah come back to their land, but not
all of them desired to return. We read of this history in Ezra and Nehemiah.
However, the far reaching fulfillment of this prophecy is the fact that
"the dry bones" (Speaking of Israel - Ezk. 36) have been coming
together over a period of some time. Especially after World War II and the
holocaust, Jews began to come to Israel, their ancestral homeland, and many
continue to arrive to this day.
In Matthew 24:32,
Jesus speaks of the fig tree. He says, "Now learn a parable of the fig
tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that
summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that
it is near, even at the doors. Verily, say unto you, This generation shall not
pass, till all things be fulfilled." The "fig tree" represents
the Jews. We have been seeing a drawing to Israel of the Jews over a period of
several years. Remember, God does not count time as we do. Some of Israel has
returned, but there will be a greater gathering at the end of the tribulation.
God will send out a cry for His elect (Israel) to come from all the places of
the world where they have been scattered, and they will come back to their
homeland given to them by the promise to Abraham (Gen.15:18) .
After an attack on
a kosher deli in East Paris, where a gunman killed four Jewish hostages, Prime
Minister Netanyahu of Israel called for French Jews to immigrate to Israel.
France harbors the third largest Jewish population in the world, behind Israel
and the U.S. Then, at a later time he said, "I call on all the Jews around
the world: to come to Israel." He further said, "This is your land,
this is your birthright and the only place you can proudly proclaim "I am
a Jew. These days we are blessed with another privilege, a privilege that
didn’t exist for generations of Jews - the privilege to join their brothers and
sisters in their historic homeland of Israel."
Matthew 24:31
says, "And He (Christ) shall send His angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds from one
end of the heaven to the other." Even the American Jews, who are left
after the great tribulation will hear the trumpet and return to the land of
promise. The sad thing is that according to Zechariah 13:8-9, "And it
shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein
shall be cut off and die: but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring
the third part through the fire, and will refine them as gold is tried: they
shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and
they shall say, The LORD is my God." This purging of Israel will come
during the last half of the tribulation, known as "the time of Jacob’s
trouble." which Jesus describes in Matthew 24:15-31.
HARPERCOLLINS
PUBLISH MAPS WITHOUT ISRAEL – This map company has given into pressure
from Arab Countries, who have declared that they won’t accept a map into their
schools that shows the state of Israel. This company declares that their atlas
is "developed specially for schools in the Middle East." (According
to www.virtualjerusalem). This does not change the reality that exists; Israel
has been a state since 1948, some sixty-seven years. This definitely shows the
hostility that these Arab countries holds against Israel. This, however, does
not change the plan of God, nor the reality that Israel exists miraculously according
to the divine purpose of God.
NETANYAHU’S
REELECTION MAY PUT HIM ON COLLISION COURSE WITH OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND E.U. –
Prime
Minister Netanyahu was trailing behind in the Israeli election, but He
abandoned a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state and promised to go on
building settlements on land considered "occupied" by the U.S. and
E.U. This brought about a great and unexpected victory for him, after the last
opinion polls four days before the vote had shown his party, Likud, trailing
the Zionist Union by four seats, looking like sure defeat.
The U.S. and E.U.
both are weighing steps including trade measures to sanction Israel for its
settlements in what they call "occupied territories." An article from
Reuters.com says that Prime Minister Netanyahu made a statement, "There
would be no Palestinian State on his watch." Since then in a news
conference he said he didn’t mean he would not negotiate with the Palestinians
to seek a peaceful solution.
Some day there
will be a man arise from among the Gentile nations who will claim to have the
answer for obtaining peace. That man will be the Antichrist. He will make a
covenant with Israel, and they will think that they have finally achieved peace
and security (Daniel 9:27). This will happen at the beginning of the Seven
Years of Tribulation. We will be caught up to be with our Prince of Peace, the
Lord Jesus Christ before Antichrist will be manifest as to who he really is.
Antichrist will ride in on a white horse (Rev. 6:2) pretending to be the God of
peace.
THE POPE EMPRESSES
THE WORLD – Secretary
Ben Ki-moon of the United Nations has announced that Pope Francis will visit
the international assembly of the U.N. on Sept. 25, 2015 to address that group.
He will also address the congress of the U.S. The Pope says that he will
"...push for international commitments this year to curb greenhouse gases
and to help poor countries to protect themselves against climate change."
He also has spoken out for the need to address global inequality, and desires
that Europe be willing to accept more refugees fleeing war in the Middle East
and North Africa.
Pope Francis has
been amazing the world as he has traveled around, talking with the people in
crowds, kissing and holding babies and even hugging and kissing an AIDS
patient. He announced on March 13, 2015 that this year is an extraordinary
"Holy Year for Mercy." He wants to inspire the international
community "to redouble its efforts to achieve human dignity for all
through ensuring greater social justice, tolerance and understanding among all
the world’s people." It is interesting that Pope Francis has said several
times that he does not feel that he will be Pope for a very long time.
We wonder if He
might be the False Prophet as Revelation 13:11-18. God only knows that. Many
are being deceived by this man. We wrote before how that several leaders of
Charismatic groups are enamored with him, even going to visit him in the
Vatican in the recent past. Now other religious church leaders have been
reported as agreeing with him on certain issues. God knows the end from the
beginning and "...knows them that are His."
CONTINUED TROUBLE
WITH ISIS – This
group took the credit for twin suicide attacks in the capital of Yemen, the
city of Sanaa, that reportedly killed more than 100 people, and injured a
hundred or more others during mid-day prayer. The battle rages between the
Sunni Muslims, who include Al Quada affiliates, and Shia (or Shiites who are
backed by Iran). These terrible enemies battling one another has brought much
sorrows to many, but we need to focus on Jesus and the safety He gives us, and
all the good and glorious benefits and victories Jesus has given us.
