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This Generation?
70TH
ANNIVERSARY OF ISRAEL’S REBIRTH COULD HERALD CHRIST’S RETURN
MichaEL Sawdy
Israel will celebrate the
70th Anniversary of the Biblical Nation’s REBIRTH on May 14th, 1948. Thus, I
believe 2018 will be a very prophetically-significant year.
You may ask, why is the
number 70 so important? Why is it any more significant than the 25th
Anniversary, or the 40th, or the 50th???
While there are many
reasons I will give in this article, I believe the main reason is a single
word. That word is “GENERATION.”
In
Matthew 24, arguably the most comprehensive account that Jesus Christ gave of
Last Days’ Signs concerning His Second Coming, our Lord mentioned “this
generation.”
What He meant by this was that the generation to
witness all of the Signs which He gave would also be THE generation that would
witness His RETURN to earth.
First, He gave His disciples many specific signs of
the End, such as powerful earthquakes, signs in the heavens, Christian
persecution, false Christs and false prophets, rumours of wars, and rampant
sin.
In verses
32-34, He mentions the most important Sign of them all. For without this Sign
being fulfilled, the rest of the Signs could all be taking place at once yet
they would mean NOTHING prophetically-speaking.
He tells His disciples to “Learn
a parable of the FIG TREE; When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth
leaves, you know that summer is near...”
He went on to say, “So
likewise, when you shall see ALL these things, know that it (the End) is near,
even AT THE DOORS. Truly I say unto you, THIS generation shall not pass away,
until all these things be FULFILLED.”
So, Jesus
didn’t say when you “see some” of these Signs, rather He was clear that we must
“see ALL” of them.
Many generations, after Christ left earth, believed
that they were THE generation.
There have been many powerful earthquakes
throughout history, as well as celestial signs, world wars, false prophets and
the rest.
The reason none of them could have been the
generation, that Jesus spoke of, was because they had not witnessed the Sign of
the Fig Tree fulfilled.
So what exactly is the Fig Tree blooming all about?
Why is the verse and Sign so crucial to the Return of Christ?
When Jesus returns, every Christian knows that He
comes back down to defend Israel from certain destruction, and to defeat the
antiChrist and the nations of the world who are warring against the tiny Jewish
State.
He then rules and reigns from the Holy City of
Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, as King of kings and Lord of lords over the
whole earth.
The only way any of these Last Days prophecies
could be fulfilled is if there were actually an Israel on earth to begin with.
For over 2,000 years, the nation of Israel was absent from the world
scene.
After the
exile of the Jews by the Babylonians, the Romans, the Muslims and others, as
well as the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in 70 A.D., the
Israelite Jews were spread out across the globe.
Thoughts of their homeland ever being resurrected
appeared dismal, and virtually impossible. They had one sure and strong hope to
cling to though, and that was God’s Eternal Word of Truth.
The LORD had never broke one promise which He had
ever made to Israel in the Holy Bible.
God
promised in His Word numerous times to return the Jews to their God-given Land,
and to reestablish the State of Israel.
This is what Lord Jesus was referring to in Matthew
24:32, the nation of Israel being REBORN.
For any of the other Signs of Christ’s Return to
mean anything, there had to be a nation of Israel resurrected.
In 1948, God kept that Promise, and the Fig Tree
known as ISRAEL blossomed once again in the ancient Holy Land.
How am I so sure that the “Fig Tree” Jesus was
referring to was the nation of Israel? Just examine the Old Testament, and
whenever God mentions His Fig Tree –
“Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good FIGS
(Jews), so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of JUDAH
(Israel), whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for
their good.” ~
Jeremiah 24:5
“I found ISRAEL like grapes in the wilderness; I saw their
FATHERS as the firstripe in the FIG TREE at her first time…” ~ Hosea 9:10
“For a nation is come up upon MY LAND (of Israel), strong, and
without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek
teeth of a great lion. He has laid My vine waste, and barked My FIG TREE…” ~ Joel 1:6-7
So, back
to “THIS generation.”
Jesus was prophesying that the generation which
witnessed the miraculous rebirth of the nation of Israel would see His RETURN.
The Holy Bible tells us that a generation ranges
from 70-80 years (Psalm 90:10). 70 years from 1948 would put us at the year
2018!!!
Am I saying that the Lord is returning next year?!
No, I’m not.
When I refer to the return of Jesus Christ, I’m
referring to “the event” that must take place BEFORE His feet hit the Mount of
Olives after the 7-Year Tribulation Hour in His BODILY return to earth.
I’m
referring to the RAPTURE of His faithful, when He comes again to rescue those
Who are His from the worst tribulation the world has even experienced.
Those who believe we are living in the 7-Year hour
of testing TODAY need to think again.
Yes, things are getting worse by the day, but they
in no way compare to a ⅓ of the earth being destroyed during the great tribulation.
I believe we are on the doorstep of the 7 years,
and that is why I believe the Rapture could occur at any time.
Now, to
those who do not believe in the Pre-Trib Rapture, but believe that the Church
will have to live through the Tribulation, what do you do with Jesus’
comforting words in Revelation 3:10?
He said, “Because you have
kept the word of My patience, I also will keep you from (OUT OF) the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon ALL the world, to test them that dwell upon
the earth.”
I don’t know about you, but to me “out of”
literally means OUT OF!
So thus far, I’ve given the number one reason why I
believe that this 70th Anniversary of Israel is the most important one in our
lifetime.
I also have a few other examples of why the number
70, besides referring to this 1948-2018 “generation,” is an important
number regarding Biblical Prophecy.
Israel spent 70 years in Babylonian captivity.
So, as God likes to mirror historical periods
regarding Israel from bad-to-good, it would make since they would spend 70
years as a reborn nation before Latter-Day prophetical fulfillment of the
Rapture or the Tribulation occurs.
For
instance, from the time that Israel went into Babylonian captivity to the time
that Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians, the period totalled 19 years.
From the time that Israel became a nation again in
1948 to the time that they regained full control of their Capital Jerusalem in
1967, the period totalled 19 years!
God is on time all of the time. Also, it was a 70 year
period from the time that Israel’s Messiah Jesus was born to the time of the
destruction of Jerusalem’s Holy Temple.
Here are
some other big reasons why I believe that this Anniversary for Israel is
leading to something Biblically monumental on the horizon…
The Hebrew year preceding the 70th year was 5777. I
have explained in great detail in past articles, like 5777: Year of the
Rapture, that YaHWeH God
Almighty’s number is 777.
On top of this, in 5777 (2016-17), we celebrated
the 50th Anniversary of the reunification of Israel’s Eternal Capital,
Jerusalem.
We also just celebrated the 100th anniversary of
the Balfour Declaration, which led the nations to accept the recreation of a
homeland for the Jewish people in their ancient Holy Land of Israel.
Wait though, there is more! The year 5777 closed
out the Biblical “Jubilee Year” (only coming around once every 50 years), which
followed the “Shemitah Year” (coming once every 7 years), and was the year
which an accurate 800 year old Rabbinical Prophecy stated would BEGIN the
Season of the Messiah’s Coming (in our case, His RETURN).
Rabbi
Judah Ben Samuel was a top Talmudic scholar in Germany. Just before he died, in
the year 1217, he prophesied that the Ottoman Turks would rule over the Holy
City of Jerusalem for 8 Jubilees.
8 x 50 = 400 years. The Turks indeed took control
of Jerusalem 300 years after his death, in 1517, and his prophecy came to pass,
as the Ottoman Turks then lost Jerusalem in 1917. Exactly 400 years
later!
During
WWI, British General Edmund Allenby walked into Jerusalem, on Hanukkah 1917,
without firing a shot.
The Rabbi went on to prophesy that after the 8
Jubilees, the 9th Jubilee would have Jerusalem being “a no-man’s-land”.
The 9th Jubilee was from 1917 to 1967, and he was
“right on” again with his prophecy. The Holy Land was placed under British
Mandate in 1917 by the League of Nations and literally “belonged to NO
nation”.
The Rabbi then stated that in the 10th Jubilee
“Jerusalem would be controlled by Israel,” which it has been ever since the Six
Day War of 1967! His Prophecy continued, that “THEN” the Messianic end times
will begin.
The “THEN” referred to the end of the 10th Jubilee,
and the beginning of the new, which would be 2017-2018!!!
If this Rabbi was 100% accurate on everything else,
we should take his Messiah Prophecy very seriously.
I also
believe that 2018 will be extremely significant for Israel prophetically
because of the “7-8-7″ pattern.
Biblically-relevant things concerning Israel,
over the past century, have occurred in a year ending with a “7”, followed by a
year ending with an “8”, followed by a year ending with a “7.”
So, a year ending with an “8” would likely be the
next big prophecy fulfillment concerning Israel.
In 1917, the 400 year rule over the Land of Israel
by the Ottomans ended, and British Minister Balfour penned his historic
declaration for a Jewish homeland in Israel.
Next, in 1948,
the nation of Israel was REBORN.
Then, in 1967,
Israel miraculously won the Six-Day War, and reunified their ancient Holy
Capital of Jerusalem.
So, with 2018 ending
with an “8”, along with all of the other prophetical connections I have
mentioned, will the 7-8-7 pattern continue?
Finally, one last thing that bears mentioning. On
November 14th, 2016, just after the kickoff of the year 5777, the Moon made its
closest approach to the earth in nearly 70 years.
It will not be as close again until 2034. So the
5777 Supermoon was extremely rare, and was the largest in our CENTURY.
I mention it because of the significance of the
previous time that the Moon and our planet had been in such close
proximity.
The year
just so happened to be 1948, which again was the year that Israel was reborn!!
God’s Word tells us that “He
appointed the Moon for SEASONS” (Psalm 104:19).
A “season” in the Holy Bible doesn’t always mean
Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter. A season can be an appointed time for mercy,
grace, reaping, judgment, or prophetic fulfillment.
Given all of the recent signs in the Moon,
including the Blood Moon Tetrad of the Shemitah Year, I believe we’re in a
season of something truly historic BIBLICALLY.
Any
believer who can ignore all of these signs around us must be spiritually blind.
God is trying to alert us to something big coming on the horizon, and I truly
believe that the something is a “SOMEONE.”
Will Israel’s 70th Anniversary herald the Rapture,
and Christ’s imminent RETURN? God willing, and MARANA THA YESHUA!
“JESUS said, When you shall see ALL these things, KNOW that MY
Return is NEAR, even AT the doors. TRULY I say unto you, the generation (to see
all THESE things) shall NOT pass, till ALL these things be FULFILLED.” ~
Matthew 24/Mark 13/Luke 21
“Thus saith The LORD
God: Surely I will take the children of ISRAEL from among the nations, WHEREVER
they have gone, and will gather them from EVERY side and bring them BACK into
their OWN LAND.” ~ Ezekiel 37:21
“The LORD does build
up JERUSALEM: He gathers together the outcasts of ISRAEL.” ~
Psalm 147:2
“For The LORD will
have mercy on Jacob, and will yet CHOOSE ISRAEL, and set them in THEIR OWN
LAND: and the strangers (Gentile Christians) shall be joined WITH THEM, and
they shall cleave to the House of Jacob.” ~ Isaiah
14:1
“Who hath heard such a
thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one
day? or shall A NATION be born AT ONCE? for as soon as ZION (Israel) travailed,
she BROUGHT FORTH her children.” ~
Isaiah 66:8
“Behold, the days
come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that
brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD
liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and
from ALL the lands where He had driven them: and I will bring them again into
THEIR LAND that I gave unto their fathers.” ~
Jeremiah 16:14-15
“For The Lord HIMSELF
shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and
with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ SHALL RISE first: Then we which
ARE ALIVE and remain shall be caught up (RAPTURED) together with them in the
clouds, to MEET The Lord in the air: and so shall we EVER BE with The Lord.
Wherefore COMFORT one another with THESE words.” ~ 1st
Thessalonians 4:16-18
“JESUS said, When
THESE things begin to come to pass, then LOOK UP, and lift up your heads; for
your redemption draws NEAR.. So likewise you, when you see THESE things come to
pass, KNOW you that the Kingdom of God is NEAR at hand.” ~
Luke 21:28 & 31
“JESUS said, There
shall be signs in the Sun, and in the MOON, and in the stars…” ~ Luke
21:25
“JESUS said, Can you
not discern the SIGNS of the times?” ~
Matthew 16:3
AUTHOR: MICHAEL SAWDY
Founder of
BiblicalSigns.com. Author of 2 Christian books on Bible Prophecy. Available now
at Amazon.com/author/michaelsawdy
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