Iran's attack on Israel: A sign of the times
Iran's attack on Israel on April 13, 2024, was without precedent. And it has prophetic significance, because the increasing isolation of Israel is one of the signs of the times that Jesus told us to be looking for.
In the 21st chapter of Luke's gospel, Jesus gave the disciples a bird's-eye view of end-times events. Sometimes we get so bogged down in the details that we don't see the big picture. Thus, this is a very helpful chapter. It begins with the emergence of the Antichrist and ends with the return of Jesus Christ.
It describes the tribulation period that is yet to come upon the earth. And it also says a few things about prophetic events that already have taken place. Luke 21 directly parallels Matthew 24, which is commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, where Jesus describes the same scenario. Both chapters also closely parallel Revelation 6.
The occasion for this message was the disciples' admiration of the Temple in Jerusalem. There also was a sense among the followers of Jesus that he would establish his kingdom then and there.
Against that backdrop, Jesus used this opportunity to bring things into focus and help them understand that he hadn't come to establish an earthly kingdom at that time. But he did describe for them how the kingdom ultimately would be established. Then he predicted something that would happen within their lifetime as well as things that are yet in our future and very well could happen in our lifetime.
The Temple in Jerusalem was one of the great wonders of the Roman world. It had been under construction for 46 years and was near completion. That happened in A.D. 63, a mere seven years before it was destroyed. Many of its stones were the size of boxcars, which was incredible, considering the fact they didn't have modern construction equipment like we have today.
However, Jesus said of the Temple, "The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!" (Luke 21:6 nlt).
That didn't even seem possible. The disciples thought there was no way that could ever happen. But sure enough, just as Jesus predicted, Titus led Roman legions into Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and began to slaughter the Jews. The Temple caught fire, and its gold began to melt within the Temple's crevices.
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Because Titus wanted to recover the gold, he gave orders to dismantle the temple stone by stone. And by the time they were finished, the Temple had been destroyed, exactly fulfilling the words of Jesus.
Having seen what has already happened, let's look at what Jesus said about the future: "Don't let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Messiah,' and saying, 'The time has come!' But don't believe them" (verse 8 NLT).
Jesus was saying that in the last days, there will be an explosion of religious deception, culminating in the appearance of the ultimate deceiver, the Antichrist.
One of the things we should be looking for in the times in which we are living is religious deception. There has been a literal explosion of mysticism and spirituality in recent years, but for the most part it hasn't been a return to biblical Christianity. Instead, it has been a New Age mixture of everything under the sun, all under the umbrella of so-called spirituality.
As Richard Lacayo wrote in Time magazine, "We have seen the Beast of the Apocalypse. It's Bambi in a tunic." People basically have a do-it-yourself Divinity. They will say things like, "I don't believe in organized religion, but I believe that I'm a very spiritual person. I draw a little from this belief and a little from that belief. It all will get us to Heaven or closer to God or help us discover that we are gods."
The Bible tells us that in the last days, Satan will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction, because they refused to believe the truth that would save them. As a result, they will be condemned.
We need to realize that whenever there is the genuine, there always will be the counterfeit. We also need to understand that the Devil is the Great Deceiver and the Great Counterfeiter. He is an expert at offering substitutes for the real thing, with just enough truth to make it believable and just enough error to destroy us.
That is why we must be students of Scripture. The Bible tells us, "Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world" (1 John 4:1 NLT).
Far too often in the church, we are gullible because we allow our feelings and emotions to direct us instead of looking at things through a biblical lens. We need to learn to think biblically and compare all things to what Scripture teaches.
Without question there is a blessing in having a proper and balanced understanding of what the Bible teaches about the last days. This is not to drive us into a state of panic or needless alarm. Rather, it should have a spiritually purifying effect on our lives.
When you see anything in the news about Jerusalem and any movement toward the increasing isolation of the nation Israel, this is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Jesus said this is what it will come down to in the last days. Pay attention, because it is a super sign.
It also makes me want to stay on my toes spiritually, because Jesus said, "So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!" (Luke 21:28 NLT).
I believe the next event on the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church. We need to be living in such a way that we're ready for his return. We need to be living in such a way that we make every moment count.
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