How close are we? You don’t need to read this blog to find out. Just pay attention to the evening news on FOX, Newsmax or One America News (OAN). Are we beginning to see the signs of the End Times? Is Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and its fallout, such a sign? Revelation is full of signs, much of which have piqued the interest of many Christian radio and TV show hosts and guests. This blog posting isn’t intended as study of Revelation, but portions of it that seem to be especially relevant, such as the invasion of the Ukraine, which in and of itself isn’t a sign, but when we look at everything taking place in the world, including the Covid-19 pandemic, unprecedented government lockdowns, empty supermarket shelves, rising energy costs and gas prices, one can’t help but see a pattern. 

Russia is continuing its unprovoked attack on the Ukraine, savagely destroying a wide range of civilian areas, and killing civilians—even the elderly, women and children. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish. Does that have significance? I believe so, especially in him asking Israel to step into the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, which we will look at. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:8, what we are seeing is only the beginning of the birth pains leading to the End Times. The key sign is an increase in intensity and frequency. 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. It’s said that talks are taking place between Ukraine and Russia officials, yet Russian troops continue their aggression again civilian targets, even hospitals, as intense bombing of Ukraine cities continue. We can be certain that Satan is heavily involved in this degree of evil, as we are told in Ephesians 6:12. Is Putin one of the antichrists in 1 John 2:18? I can’t help but believe so. 

The seals in Revelation 6, could only be opened by the Lamb—Jesus Christ—to release God’s wrath carried out by the four horsemen of the apocalypse. As shown on the slide, the four Horsemen’s destruction ends with these martyrs calling out from under the altar, referred to as the martyrs’ prayer. The 7 trumpets of further wrath are still to come. 

Jerusalem and the Jewish homeland were destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. For well over 1,800 years there was no Israel. Since there were yet unfulfilled Old Testament prophecies, Christians believed that the Church was the new Israel, because God’s Word will never be discarded and will ultimately be fulfilled. No one for all of that time, anticipated the following event…

In 1948 everything changed. On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, head of what was known as the Jewish agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on that same day. It showed the importance of America on the world stage. But, sadly, in just a year, America has relinquished its leadership position, even its prestige and influence in world events, becoming nothing more than a paper tiger in the eyes of its enemies. Which means, anything goes, with little fear of consequences. Is that significant? Absolutely!

Almost immediately after the state of Israel was proclaimed, it was attacked by the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, and Egypt (map), yet Israel prevailed and drove the invaders back. Was it their might? Absolutely not, because they lacked might. It was by the hand and providence of God. Even that there was an Israel was by the hand of God. Satan, through Hitler and others, tried to destroy all Jews via the Holocaust and other atrocities, yet it was the Holocaust that drove successful Jews, from a comfortable lifestyle in Europe, to create a new state in a barren Middle East land. 

At many times and in many places, Satan tried to destroy the Jews.   1 John 2:18 tells us there would be many antichrist in the world. We can be certain that Adolf Hitler was one of them, with satanic influence and intense hatred of the Jews as God’s Chosen people. When destroyed by Rome, the Jews were scattered across the Roman Empire and beyond. As successful merchants, lawyers, doctors and scholars, throughout Europe, without the Holocaust there would be no compelling reason for them to return to the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God’s promise to the Jews was not short lived or hollow. It was and is very real. 

Chapter 5 of Revelation opens with this verse (slide)… No one was worthy to open the scroll. One of the elders told John, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." The scroll was given to a Lamb “looking as if it had been slain”. We know that Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ. The significance being, He was from the Tribe of Judah, and the Root of David. Sometimes we forget that Jesus was a Jew. No, God is not finished with the Jewish people, which He will fulfill during the Great Tribulation. 

The seven seals were fixed to the scroll. The significance of the seven seals, are outlined on the chart. Briefly ponder each one in regard to these last two years and now the attack on the Ukraine, and where it could lead. The U.S. government continues its efforts to take control of the American people, something unheard of or even imagined, just a year ago. What is its significance? It is exactly the type of situation in which the Antichrist will rise to power. 

Will God rescue His people, the Body of Christ? Many believe so. But, Christians interpret Revelation from different perspectives. If the Church is the new Israel, than the Church will go through the Tribulation. Christians following history from the 2nd to the 19th century could very well come to that conclusion, since there was no Israel. No one during that time would ever have expected that there would, against all odds, be a restored Israel. Satan tried to kill the Jews via the Holocaust and Russian pogroms, but God used it to bring the Jews home to the land He promised Abraham. Jews are even returning from China—yes China—and now the Ukraine. There will be 144,000 Jewish evangelists during the Tribulation, who will accept Jesus Christ as their promised Messiah, and evangelize with a passion. God isn’t finished with His Chosen People. 

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