Prophetic Signs Converging
Prophetic Signs Converging
By Dr. Nathan E. Jones
Which of the prophetic signs are converging?
Nathan Jones: We at Lamb & Lion Ministries are very passionate about the soon return of Jesus Christ. We study that 31% of the Bible that’s called Eschatology, meaning “the study of the end times.” Sharing our passion is Dr. Allan Walker of Allen Walker Ministries. He’s an expert on how to teach the Bible as well as the martyrs from Church history.
Allan is going to help us answer this question concerning the converging of end times signs. But, first, let’s get a little about Dr. Walker’s background.
Allan Walker: About the time of the first Gulf War, I started traveling to local churches teaching Bible prophecy. Due to the war, there was a great focus on the Middle East and current events happening there. I carried around a large chart to help me explain it all.
Since that time, there’s continued to be a heightened interest in Bible prophecy. And so, I’ve condensed God’s plan for the ages down into a two-part presentation called “Bible Prophecy 101.” Dr. Scofield once said that a lot of people give up on Scripture because they don’t have a working knowledge of how it all fits together, but once we “harmonize the ages,” as another scholar once said, the Scriptures harmonize.
In doing so, the Bible map put out by Bible Believers Evangelistic Association divides all of Genesis to Revelation into seven distinct time periods in which God tasks mankind. Five of these time periods fall into the Old Testament leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are now in the sixth time period, that being the Church Age. We are soon approaching the very end of the Church Age, and so the signs of the prophesied end times are all converging together showing us that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, while imminent, is very likely to occur very soon.
Converging Signs
Tim Moore: Christians are called to live expectantly for Christ’s return and to look out for all of those different signs to come to pass that Jesus talked about, as well as the prophets and the apostles. What exactly are some of those converging signs that the Bible tells us to be watching?
Allan Walker: Well, back in the days of my grandparents, an isolated war or famine or earthquake would break out here or there. But, today, we see the pattern of events increasing in frequency and intensity. Also, Israel has been restored in 1948 as a nation again, so most scholars refer to that miraculous event as “the super sign” of Bible prophecy.
Nathan Jones: After all, what nation comes back from the dead, right? It’s never happened, much less that nation being the primary nation of the Bible.
Allan Walker: Yes, absolutely! Israel’s rebirth is the number one reason why those who study Eschatology believe that we are now living in the last of the last days. On top of the sign of Israel, Russia has returned as a dominant military and political power, and allied with her Islamic allies could engage in the Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39. China has also been charging onto the world scene and growing as one of the Kings of the East in influence and power. The European Union has coalesced into an economic superpower that will one day give rise to the Antichrist.
To think that all of these patterns of events have just come about in the generation following World War Two, and they have continued to move in the prophetic direction for some 70 years now. To me, this phenomenon is just unanswerable, and yet it proves that the Bible is indeed the Word of God for the prophecies, when taken literally and not symbolically or figuratively, are coming to pass.
The Sign of America?
Tim Moore: America wasn’t mentioned in your list. What about America? Where does the United States fall in Bible prophecy?
Allan Walker: The common consensus among prophecy scholars is that since America is not mentioned specifically in prophecy that it doesn’t play a significant role in end times events. There are several viewpoints about where America could be in prophecy. Some believe that America will be destroyed as the prophetic Babylon from Revelation 18. Others suggest that America may be missing because it will have become allied with the European Union. America’s future may depend more or less on how we respond in faith and repentance to what God wants to happen here in America.
Nathan Jones: It seems pretty clear that the only place where America can truly be found in Bible prophecy is when the Antichrist is ruling the world and his empire’s armies march down to Israel in an attempt to annihilate it. The Bible prophesies that all of the nations will be invaders. Zechariah 12:3 reads, “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.” That means that eventually, the United States will become a part of that terrible global coalition longing to destroy Israel.
The Eternal Choice
Tim Moore: The Lord does judge nations, but each one of us must stand in judgment for ourselves. In other words, it is my decision whether or not to choose to obey Christ or to reject Him. One of my favorite rock-and-roll lines is, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” What is the eternal choice that each one of us must make?
Allan Walker: The proper understanding of Bible prophecy should drive us to know our basic need for God and to have a personal relationship with Him. We’re in the dispensation of the Gospel right now — the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for the sins of the world, and in doing so, God provided salvation for every single member of the human race who accepts His free gift.
The saddest thing to think about is that someone who refuses to claim the forgiveness which Christ provided by sacrificing His own life. God loves everyone from every background, nation, kindred, and tongue. The shared blood of the Lord Jesus Christ provides atonement for all of our sins.
In the short time that we have left, Christians need to get the Gospel message out to as many people as we can as quickly as we can. Bible prophecy drove me to get right with the Lord nearly 50 years ago. I remember being young and thinking that Christ’s return could be 400-500 years off. But, now we are seeing these prophetic signs coming to pass. This should make us want to make a decision for Christ. For those who haven’t made Jesus Christ the Lord of their life, now is the time to repent of your sins, receive Him as the Lord and Savior of your life, and establish a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer and Bible reading. Too many people have joined a church, having been baptized in water or in taking communion, but they have never entered into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Joining another world religion will not provide peace with God and salvation for your sins. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Nathan Jones: Excellent, Allan! We pray that people will take advantage of the opportunity to get to know you and take your starter class on Bible prophecy from your website at Allen Walker Ministries.
Remember that when Jesus wins, His children win as well. What a marvelous promise!