The “End Times” – 5
A Look into the Immediate Future
Dr. Roger G. Ford, Ph.D., P.E.
dr-ford.net
May 2018

Introduction

Why does God give us prophecies in the Bible of things yet to happen? The simple answer is to show us that He has a plan for all of mankind that restores our fellowship with Him – the fellowship that was lost when Adam sinned because God cannot accept even one sin in His presence.

The more robust answer of why God gives us prophecies in the Bible is because He loves us so much that He wants us to know that He WANTS us to be with Him eternally. He wants us to have joy in THIS life as well as in eternity. He shows us that a great number of once-prophetic now-fulfilled prophecies certainly happened just as He said they would. The greatest of these is, of course, the birth of a Savior, in Bethlehem, Who died for our sins, and was resurrected on the third day. The next most important fulfilled prophecy is that Israel has, indeed, become a nation in one day (Isaiah 66:8), and is celebrating its 70th anniversary on May 14, 2018! This fulfilled prophetic promise has ushered in the End Times in which we exist today. And, we see Jerusalem being the center of attention for the world just as Zechariah 14:2 clearly predicts.

Israel is the Key

Why is Israel so important to God? Why is there such attention on Israel? Zechariah 12:2 & 3 says, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day (the End Times) will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” Are we not seeing this today? Anti-Semitism is growing at an alarming rate through social media. More than 2.6 million anti-Semitic Twitter posts including those aimed at Israel, were viewed an estimated 10 Billion times from August 2015 to July 2016 according to the Anti-Defamation League. More than 7 Million on Facebook follow the Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency. Is it any wonder that YouTube (owned by Google) bans pro-Israel videos from Dennis Prager, a Jewish radio talk-show host, and allows anti-Semitic videos of viscous content?

Students of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, know that God chose the Jewish nation for a specific purpose. “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people who are upon the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6). God chose them according to His sovereign will so that He could bring from Israel the Savior of the world. Plus, God gave to the Israelites, the Jews, the Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 12:2 – 3, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Deuteronomy 7:7 – 9 makes it clear that God never has and never will give up on His people, “The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations”. A thousand generations in time covers much more time than the biblical age of the earth of 6,000 years, another way to say always!

And Israel’s future is unique in all of history. First, it will be characterized by unprecedented suffering also known as the Tribulation to get Israel’s attention turned to God. But, Israel’s future will also be characterized by unequalled blessing starting with Jesus’ Second Coming. Messiah will end global war and bind Satan for a thousand years, then set up His Millennial Kingdom where Jesus will rule from Jerusalem for a thousand years. Then, all nations will come to Jerusalem and seek out the Jews and their God to worship Jesus and to pay respect to Israel. Isaiah 55:5 says, “Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.”

The restoration of Israel has begun. In fact, it is 70 years old May 14, 2018. What does this mean for the Church since we are NOT Israel? It means that Daniel’s 70th Week is about to start – the Tribulation. The first 69 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy brought us Jesus Christ. But, there has been a pause in the prophecy because the 70th week has not taken place yet. God wants His people back worshipping Him and His Son as Savior. But, the hard-hearted and hard-headed Jews will require seven years of terrible wrath to wake them up spiritually.

How do we know that the End Times are about to begin? Because Jesus told His disciples, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: so ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done” (Mark 13:28-30). The fig tree is Israel, “these things” refer to what Jesus had just told His disciples concerning the signs of His coming again (Mark 13:7-8, “And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.”) And, what is a generation? Psalm 90:10 says a generation is threescore and ten (70) and maybe 80. If the generation that sees all these signs of Christ’s Coming is also the generation that sees Israel becoming a nation again, then that must be the generation Jesus was referring to as not passing away entirely until He comes back. Plus, the number 70 is very important and has played a significant part in the Bible, for example: Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy; seventy elders appointed by Moses to assist him; the seventy years of Jewish exile in Babylon; seventy of Jacob’s family went to be with Joseph in Egypt; and seventy disciples were sent out by Jesus in Luke 10. Therefore, we ARE that generation since it has been 70 years since Israel became a nation!

The Church and Its Destiny

The Abrahamic Covenant specifically states that ALL the families of the earth will be blessed through Abraham’s descendant. Later in Isaiah, God speaks to His Messiah, the Lord said, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6) It is clear that God does not limit His salvation to just the Church or to just the Jews but to all. But, the killing of Jesus was the sign that the time for His Kingdom had not arrived. Therefore, the Age of Grace began at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it continues today. That era of Grace now 2,000 years in duration will end at the Rapture, and it is sometimes called the Great Pause because of the 2,000-year postponement of Daniel’s 70th week.

The purpose of the Great Pause is so the Lord can take from among the Gentiles a people for Himself. Of course, Jews that believe are included, but there will be but few Jews that accept Jesus as Savior because the need for the Tribulation still exists. Acts 15:14 says, “Simeon (Peter) hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.” The Greek word translated “take” in this verse is “lambano”. A look at the primary meanings of “lambano” reveals that the intent of the word is to describe one who takes something for the purpose of carrying it away. Once the church is complete, the Lord will carry us away before turning again to Israel.

This is consistent with Paul’s statement in Romans 11:25 (“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”) that Israel has experienced a partial blindness until God is ready. The phrase “come in” means to arrive at one’s destination, as when a ship has “come in”. According to John 14:2-3 (“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”) our destination is Heaven. Once the church has been carried away to its destination in Heaven, taken by Christ from earth and received by Him in Heaven, the blinders will fall from Israel’s eyes, the Great Pause will come to an end, and Israel will complete its final seven years of Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy.

The Rapture has to happen before Daniel’s 70th Week can begin, because the 70th Week is all about Israel and not about the Church. After chapter 4 in the book of Revelation, the church is never referred to until Christ’s Second Coming in chapter 19. Daniel’s 70th Week is the Jews final opportunity to be reconciled to God through the Messiah and prepare for the Kingdom He promised them so long ago. 2500 years before the fact, Zechariah prophesied that this would take place near the end of the 70th Week. “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zech. 12:10) Therefore, many Jews will accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, but, sadly, many will not.

Darkness is Descending

There remain many prophecies unfulfilled. The nature of these unfulfilled prophecies centers on the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of Lords. The Jews in the time when Jesus was on the earth the first time wanted Him to be a conquering King, ridding them of the Roman conqueror. But, the Bible was quite plain in saying that a suffering Servant had to come first to take away our sins (the book of Isaiah) which Jesus accomplished 2,000 years ago. The rest of Biblical prophecy is about to come true since Israel is back in their land.

We need to be able to understand the times from Scripture mainly because Jesus wants us to be able to do so. Why? Jesus scolded the Jewish leaders for not being able to “discern the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3). Jesus said that they could read the signs of the weather but were oblivious to the signs of His first appearance on the earth and why. So, why shouldn’t we expect Jesus to be upset with Christians today if we are not understanding the times we are in or watching for and seeing the signs of His Second Coming and prepare for it? In fact, we are to be actively watching and waiting for the Lord’s soon return. Luke 12:37 says, “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.”

Since there are no signs that indicate the exact timing of the Rapture, which occurs first in the End Times plan, it is because the Rapture is supposed to be imminent ensuring those who anticipate it will remain pure. Then, since we cannot see signs leading up to the Rapture, we must look at the signs that we see today as signs of the start of the Tribulation. If the Tribulation is about to start, then the Rapture is about to happen since it precedes the Tribulation. The book of Revelation describes the Tribulation in great detail, and there are some other prophecies that I believe occur before the start of the Tribulation. Those signs, namely the Psalm 83 war and the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war, occur after the Rapture and before the Tribulation, so just what are the signs that Daniel’s 70th Week is about to start?

2 Timothy 3:1-5 is very clear about the End Times and is a good measure for us to determine just how close we are to the Rapture and the start of the Tribulation. “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” I can remember in my lifetime when these things were not very prominent. Life was much simpler when I was a kid, more people obeyed laws, more people respected their fellow man, there was less crowding and, hence, less tension and calmer. But, do we see these things today, growing by leaps and bounds, with no end in sight? Astoundingly, Yes!

Consider this list that is indicative of our nation and world today: (1) Divisive and blatantly false cable and network news; (2) intolerance of free speech especially conservative free speech; (3) lack of parental training, incessant peer pressure through social media, and corrupt curriculums being taught our children; (4) an inexplicable rise in popularity of socialism indicating the failure of our schools to teach history; (5) the opiate, marijuana, and heroin epidemics; (6) governors and mayors, even the Justice Department and the FBI not obeying established law on immigration, privacy, and confidentiality; (7) Congress and its inability to accomplish any kind of bi-partisan government; and (8) Replacement Theology, the Social gospel, and Prosperity gospel accepted in our churches that many do not even mention the concept of sin or repentance.

Are we the generation that will see the Rapture? Do we see the signs of Christ’s Second Coming? Consider these End Time signs that have become common in our fallen world: (1) “As it was in the days of Noah” is very clear today since most are oblivious to the End Times; (2) Mocking and scoffing that Peter prophesied in 2 Peter 3:3 is rampant; (3) there are worldwide calls for “Peace and safety” just as I Thessalonians 5 foretold just before sudden destruction; (4) Strong delusion associated with the transgender nonsense and shared bathrooms of little girls with abominable men posing as women; (5) the meteoric rise in capability of technology, robotics, and the internet leaning to surveillance, invasion of privacy, and perversion; (6) the great and rising interest by the Jews to build a third Temple in Jerusalem; (7) the alignment of nations corresponding to prophecy, most notably Russia, Iran, and Turkey; (8) the prospect of “mystery Babylon” from Revelation or the rise of the Apostate World Church led by an unconventional Pope like the one now; (9) the globalist movement to nations without borders pointing to a world empire run by a “charismatic leader”; (10) the often-missed but real intensification, almost exponential growth in disasters, murders, terrorism, gang activity, earthquakes, hurricanes, death and disease, etc.; (11) the increased persecution of not only the Jews but Christians around the world and even here in the U.S.; and (12) the “convergence” of so many signs coming together as never before in recorded history.

The End of the Church Age and the Start of the End Times

Daniel 9:24 lists six things that must happen to Israel and the Jews before Jesus can make His Second Coming a reality, “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.” None of these has happened with Israel or the Jews yet, so, they must be in our future. Is Israel ready to begin this transformation? I would say no since Israel today is very prosperous and in no immediate need from a worldly perspective. But, God does not prioritize worldly goals. He is interested in spiritual goals that will last eternally. Is Israel vulnerable for attack? Most certainly Israel is already under anti-Semitic attack, is unbelievably more hated than even North Korea or Iran, and even a faction of the so-called evangelical Christian groups espousing Replacement Theology, Amillennialism, Preterism (all prophecy has already been fulfilled), and Post-Millennialism (The Millennium has already occurred or is present today) discredit, despise, or ignore the Jews.

Jerusalem has been unified and under Jewish control for 50 years now since the six-day war of 1967, and our President has officially recognized Jerusalem as the capitol of the State of Israel, something three previous Presidents failed to do since the legislation was signed in 1995. Israel’s enemies are aligning today amazingly just as Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 have told us. Remember, the Psalms and Ezekiel were written from 2700 to 3000 years ago, and their prophecies are happening today! The threat of Chinese emergence into world politics militarily, economically, and diplomatically is new and concerning when the kings of the east in prophecy is considered. Those kings of the east play a role in the Battle of Armageddon at the end of the Tribulation since they rebel against Christ at Megiddo. The worldwide acceptance of the elimination of cash, the genetic editing and cloning work being advanced, the growth of clandestine surveillance and privacy invasions are all daily increasing in number and in intensity resulting in great anxiety. Many nations including our own are heavily in debt, their debt-to-production ratios are upside-down with debt being larger than income. This signals a worldwide economic collapse that will and must happen with all the unsustainable borrowing happening today by virtually every country.

I believe this collapse is being supernaturally held back by God because of His timing of the Rapture. As soon as the Rapture occurs, world markets and every country will collapse in an ocean of debt making world commerce stop dead in its tracks. This will lead to many wars and eventually to a world leader to “fix” the problem at least temporarily. Thus, the rise of THE Antichrist. Is he alive today? Because of the convergence and intensity of the End Times signs, I believe he is already a man of considerable political power or financial influence and is well known around the world.

These times just before the real End Times are filled with godlessness. The 2 Timothy 3:1-5 reference given above speaks of perilous times to come and are already here. But Paul’s definition of perilous times does not include wars or earthquakes, it refers to the wickedness of man, the lawlessness and loss of love that is very easy to see in what is happening today. The left, the so-called caring and compassionate ideology that lies in such contrast to God’s Word, dominates the media, state and federal government, and has as its base humanism, socialism, and an aversion to common sense and the morals of God’s Word.

It is hard to accept that these kinds of things will grow even worse, but Paul has said that a sign of the times will be that the End Times will be just as the days of Noah and the days of Lot which are described as being exceedingly violent and wicked, so wicked that God destroyed the entire world save eight in Noah’s day and four cities and all their inhabitants save three in Lot’s day. We have already arrived at a time in our present day that the godless are mentally, spiritually, and physically unable to distinguish between right and wrong, sensible and loony, male from female, or even lawful from criminal. Are we in the last days? Seems unmistakable that we are simply because how could things get much worse or the divide between correct and incorrect be wider?

Then there is the element of convergence. What does this term mean in this scheme of the End Times? At virtually any time in Church history, we could find one or two elements of the End Times being displayed or evident in human culture. Over 2,000 years of the Age of Grace there have been many occurrences of wars, of earthquakes, of volcanic eruptions, of despots and millions murdered in the name of tyranny, but there has never been a time when ALL of the signs of Christ’s Second Coming would be occurring at the same time – a convergence of signs simultaneously happening, dramatically comprehensive, increasing in intensity. Daniel told us that the end would come as a flood in Daniel 9:26, and those of us that are not asleep but are watchers can readily see the convergence of all the signs of the End Times occurring today. The intensity of the convergence is what is dramatic. Each of the signs seems to be getting stronger as the days go by making us wonder just how far away could the Rapture be?

Let’s Consider Pentecost

First let me say I am not nor will I ever predict a date for the Rapture. That is disobedience since Jesus told His disciples and us that no man knows the day or the hour. But, we can know the season of the End Times which are preceded by the Rapture, and it is unmistakable that we are in the End Times because of Israel being back in their land for 70 years and the convergence of the signs of the Second Coming.

There is a belief that the Rapture will occur on a Jewish Feast day for the very clear reason that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection all occurred on the first three Jewish Feasts of the Spring in order. Jesus died on Passover (Pesach), the perfect Lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of the world. Jesus was buried on the second Jewish Feast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a perfect picture of the sinless body of Christ laid in the tomb however briefly. The third Jewish Feast is the Feast of First Fruits which occurs on the first day after the Sabbath day following Passover. Jesus fulfilled this feast by being resurrected from the dead, a picture of the first fruits of the victory over death that Jesus demonstrated dramatically.

These first three Jewish Feasts occur in the Spring of each year. The last three of the seven feasts occur in the Fall of each year and are believed to also picture what comes in the future. The fifth feast is the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) occurring in late September usually, sometimes in October (remember the Jewish calendar is based on the lunar cycle which makes the dates of the feasts vary in our Gregorian calendar) and it is a picture of the Rapture to many because of the trumpet. The sixth feast is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) for Jews to seek the Lord for forgiveness of sins and a picture of the judgment of the Tribulation. The seventh feast is the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) which is a foreshadow of the Millennial Kingdom when the Lord “tabernacles” or comes to live with His people in Person. All three of these feasts will, undoubtedly, be fulfilled with the End Times events we have been referring to, but the fourth feast is something special and worth of a little more study.

The fourth Jewish feast is the Festival of Weeks, Shavuot (Hebrew for “weeks”), what we call Pentecost, the Greek word for “fifty”. This feast of all the seven feasts of Israel is the most mysterious. This year, 2018, Pentecost falls on the Gregorian date of May 20 and 21, but it always falls on the fifth, sixth, or seventh days of the Jewish month of Sivan. Why three days? Because the moon’s cycle around the earth is 29 and a half days, the Jewish calendar has months of 29 and 30 days that vary from year to year to align with the seasons. In fact, they have so-called leap years that add a 13th month every few years to balance out the year with the seasons. So, fifty days after First Fruits varies from year to year as to the exact date it falls – therefore, the date of Pentecost is fluid. So, it is called the “festival without a date” by the Jews because it commemorates the harvest, the end of the grain harvest, when the High Priest would hold two loaves baked from the fresh grain ground into fine flour and leavened with yeast, and “wave” them before the Lord. These two loaves represent the completed bodies of the Church and spiritual Israel, two distinct entities in God’s eyes.

Did you notice a couple of terms that sounded familiar? Harvest and the two loaves? Remember those. Now consider some additional interesting dates. The Dispensation of the Law preceded the Church Age or the Dispensation of Grace. It is interesting to note that the Law was given to the Israelites from Mt. Sinai (in Midian and not in the Sinai Peninsula) by God to Moses on Pentecost marking the beginning of the Dispensation of the Law.

This same dispensation of the Law ended on the day of “THE” Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in Jerusalem marking the beginning of the Age of the Church or the Dispensation of Grace. The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost is also celebrated by the Jews as symbolic of the marriage of God, the Groom, and Israel, His bride, with the tablets Moses brought down from Sinai the marriage contract. This also corresponds to the exact date that Ruth, at the time of the harvest, laid down at the kindred redeemer’s feet, Boaz, on the night of Pentecost, and he claimed her and redeemed her as His bride. This is a perfect picture of the Bride of Christ being claimed by the Groom and being taken to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven. David, Ruth and Boaz’s son Obed’s grandson, would have a descendent who would be the Savior Jesus Christ. David both was born on Pentecost and died on Pentecost some 70 years later, another interesting set of facts.

The Song of Solomon tells us of the Bridegroom coming for His Bride when spring comes and the fruit is almost ripe (Song of Solomon 2:8-13), a notable Rapture passage. The prophet Micah in chapter 7 verses 1 to 6 tells us in the latter days Israel, at the time of the fruit harvest which is the time of Pentecost, is in distress because “the good man has perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net”. Who are the good men? The summer fruits have been “gathered” or harvested which is the Hebrew term “asaph” which means to “remove” or “take away”. So, could this refer to the good men that have been identified as Christians by the Jews, their only good friends in the entire planet, and they have been raptured and are gone? A recent survey of evangelical Christians showed that 75% or more supported Israel being back in their land. The removal of Israel’s Christian friends, the good men, is why Israel is in distress because everyone left is their enemy?

So, will the Church be “caught up” on a future Pentecost, perhaps this one? We’ll see. What about The Feast of Trumpets being the Rapture. After all, the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ rise first, right? Could be, but look at Leviticus 23:24, “In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.” Does the blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn, on the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) represent the final trumpet of resurrection? Or, does it represent a “memorial” of the heavenly Pentecost trumpet?

You know, it really doesn’t matter whether the Rapture occurs on Pentecost, or Rosh Hashanah, or some other day, it is evident that it is near, and we should be ready. Only five of the ten virgins had oil in their lamps, so the other five missed being with the Groom because they were not ready. We anticipate, we are excited at being “caught up”, rising with the dead in Christ, receiving our heavenly, immortal, eternal bodies like that Jesus already has. So, the question really is, “Are you ready?” Is your family ready? Are your friends ready? Time is very short, even exceedingly short for the call to “Come up here” could come at any minute!

Conclusion

To say that we are in the End Times is abundantly clear to those spiritually attuned to Scripture and the Spirit’s leading. The amazing alignment we see today of what the Bible says will be the conditions and the environment of the earth just prior to His Coming is astoundingly apparent IF you are a watcher and you are familiar with Bible prophecy. To be ignorant of these things or to be disinterested or skeptical of what Jesus and the apostles have told us of the times just prior to His Second Coming is to be as the Pharisees were at the time of Jesus’ first advent. Skepticism or rejection of biblical prophecy puts those who are in that camp in danger of the wrath to come, God’s Wrath of the Tribulation.

John, in his little book of 1 John gives us Christians many tests to determine if we are truly saved and living the blessed eternal life of joy and peace that only God can give through Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. True Christians can see that John wanted us to be sure of our eternal destiny and be aware of the Antichrist to come as well as many other evil and wicked things. If those things are not appalling to you as you see them grow and manifest themselves to you today, if Christ’s soon return is not thrilling to you causing your heart to leap at the very thought, if the immediate return in the clouds of Jesus to call us away to be with Him does not fill your heart with joy, your mind with wonder, if none of the convergence and intensity of the signs of the times means anything to you, then, perhaps, you need to examine your faith and seek God in earnest. Why? Because Jesus is near, even at the door. Our salvation draweth nigh, and we are about to leave this earth to escape God’s Wrath which He brings on the entire planet to convert His people Israel so that they will see that their Messiah Jesus is waiting for them to accept and worship Him. Then, Jesus can set up His Millennial Kingdom and reign for a thousand years. Let us all say, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” Maranatha! Come save us!