What Must Take Place Before The Tribulation Period Can Begin
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October 2, 2003
It’s true that the Lord
could return at any moment to rapture the church.
As Christians, we are to wait in anticipation of that day.
It’s also true that the
Bible teaches that a generation will not pass away before the Lord comes back to
rule and reign here on earth (Matthew 24:33-34).
Many guesses have been
surmised at how long a Biblical generation is.
Some say it is forty years because that is how long the children of
Israel roamed the wilderness due to their lack of faith.
Others believe a generation is seventy years since that is the number of
years that God has allotted man. Then
throw in the two possibilities of when that generation began (1948-rebirth of
Israel; 1967-recapture of Jerusalem) and you’re left scratching your head.
It’s a fact that God
isn’t interested in us knowing the exact time He will send His Son Jesus back,
but He does expect us to know the day we are living in (I Thessalonians 5:1-5).
He’s left too many clues for that not to be the case.
But how close are we?
What should we expect next?
Of course, the Lord could
come before you finish reading this article, there are no further requirements
that need to be met. But that’s
not the case for the tribulation period; there are still many possibilities that
need to be played out before it will be the right time for it to begin.
First of all, I believe
peace will have to be established between the Arab world and Israel.
That will pave the way for the real peace agreement with the antichrist,
which I feel will be in the form of E.U. membership (Daniel 9:24-27).
But according to the E.U. constitution, unless Israel is at peace with
all its neighbors they cannot be considered for membership.
That must be straightened out first.
When that is resolved, I believe the issue of the temple will be solved
as well.
Next, the antichrist must be
in place as E.U. president and must have a powerful army at his command.
Both are in the works as we speak. April
of 2004 will mark the first presidential election for the European Union and the
creation of a future full-blown military (apart from NATO) was just announced
the other day. But it will
probably take years before their military develops into the powerhouse that has
been prophesied. The Bible says
that the antichrist will be the leader of a ten-nation kingdom for which he will
take three by force (Daniel 7:24). I
don’t see that kind of aggression happening in the Union’s immediate future.
Personally, I believe that’s years away.
It’s feasible that the Lord could come at anytime and that a number of years could pass before the antichrist comes to power and signs an agreement with Israel. It’s also possible that after the antichrist announces his claim to deity that three countries will attempt to break from his kingdom. They will quickly be subdued.
I hope this has shed some light on what could happen in the near future.
Pastor Malone
Disclaimer: If an unChristian banner comes up just ignore it. It is a mistake that will eventually be rectified