Greetings friends!  At times, signs are crystal clear, while at other times it seems impossible to navigate in this world!

Today we’ll begin a mini-series I’m calling “Signs of the Times.”  Scripture often provides clear signs of the end times, and most are not difficult to understand if we are good students of the Word.  In fact, the Lord loves to reveal things to us!

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
~Deuteronomy 29:29

So, let’s examine some things God has revealed to us as His children.

Perhaps the most significant sign of all is the re-birth of Israel, and the re-gathering of the Jewish people to their own homeland.  Known by some as the “super sign,” Israel’s re-birth was essential to the fulfillment of several other end time prophecies, and is at the center of God’s plan for the last days.

Consider for a moment the soon-coming War of Gog and Magog described in Ezekiel 38-39.  Verse 14 of chapter 38 tells us that the invasion from the north will occur when Israel is “dwelling securely.”  Never did Israel dwell securely when they were banished to the four corners of the earth.  However, since returning to their land, Israel has become more and more secure.  It is now possible for that prophecy to occur.

Furthermore, the prophet Daniel speaks of the abomination of desolation in Daniel 11-12.  The New Testament writer, Matthew, harkens back to it in Matthew 24:15.  These passages are clear reference to the Tribulation, when the antichrist will allow a third Jewish temple to be built, only to desecrate it, inhabit it, and demand that the world worship him.  How is building the Jewish temple on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount possible if the Jewish people are scattered throughout the earth, rather than gathered back in their land?

There are other examples throughout Scripture, but you see that end time prophecies such as the War of Gog and Magog and the Tribulation cannot happen without the Jewish people being re-gathered to their Jewish homeland, Israel!  When Israel declared statehood in 1948, the land once more was hers, and Jews have been returning to the land ever since.  (Read about recent plane-loads of French and Ethiopian Jews.)

Incredible signs of the times are falling into place in our lifetime.  Though even early Christ-followers (such as the disciples) were looking for signs of the end (Matthew 24:3), it was prophetically impossible for the end of the age to come between 70 AD and 1948!  Why?   Because Israel was not back in the land as required by Scripture!

We’re living in the season, fellow sojourners!  The Jews are back in their land, and we must be ready for what the Bible tells us will follow.  There are no other signs that must occur before Jesus returns.  Sure, it is possible that other prophetic events may happen prior to that, but none are required.  Jesus could return at any time, now that Israel is re-born and God’s people are being re-gathered!

This is only one clear sign in our day.  Hang out with us over the next few days as we examine other Biblical signs of the times.  Tomorrow, we’ll look at a second sign with current implications, the revived Roman Empire.  See you then!