Twenty-five Signs Of The Second Coming Of Christ

The importance of prophetic Scripture

Over one-forth of the Bible focuses on prophecy, the foretelling of future events. Of the Old Testament's 23,210 verses, 6,641 contain predictive material and of the New Testament's 7,914 verses, 1,711 contain prophetic material. Thus, for the entire Bible's 31,124 verses, 27 percent or 8,352 contain predictive material. If the Holy Spirit directed the writers to include this much prophetic matter throughout the Bible we must conclude that God wants to convey some very important messages to everyone, especially to those who are His people.

The purpose of prophetic Scripture (2 Peter 3:10-12a)

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God…"

Prophetic Scripture is not intended to just inform, but to motivate and transform your life to be more holy.

1. The rebirth of Israel as a nation (Matthew 24:32-35)

"Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away."

No other ancient nation has ever ceased to exist for a period of centuries and then overnight exist again! At midnight on May 14, 1948, the British Mandate officially ended and Israel became an independent nation for the first time since the days of Solomon.

Another important date in Israel's modern history is June 7, 1967. It was on that date during the Six Day War, that Israeli Paratroopers captured the Jordanian-ruled East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount sight including the Wailing Wall, in prophetic fulfillment of Zechariah 12:6, "… the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem."

Following the war, in a diplomatic move of good faith, the first instance of "land for peace," Israeli Defense Minister, General Moshe Dayan, gave the Temple Mount area back to the Arab Wakf or Islamic Authority.

2. The restoration of the ancient Hebrew language (Zephaniah 3:9)

"For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder."

No other nation has lost its language and then regained it again. A Jewish scholar, Eliazar ben Yehuda began working earlier in this century in Israel, in his attempt to revive the dead language of Hebrew with its original seven thousand words related to Temple worship as used by the priests. Eliazar created what is now modern Hebrew as the living language unifying five million Israelis who have returned from seventy different nations.

3. The return of Ethiopian Jews to Israel (Zephaniah 3:10)

"From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings."

The Prophecy concerning the Scattering of Israel - Deuteronomy 28:64
The Prophecy concerning the Regathering of Israel - Ezekiel 36:24

In the later part of the 1980's and especially in 1991 over 85,000 black Jews returned home to Israel from Ethiopia. According to a report by Grant R. Jeffrey, internationally recognized researcher in biblical prophecy, one of God's offerings, is the Ark of the Covenant.

4. The desert of Israel blossoming as a rose (Isaiah 27:6)

"In the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and sprout, and they will fill the whole world with fruit."

Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, traveled the barren desertland of Palestine in 1863. He claimed in his book Innocence Abroad that in his journey from Jerusalem to Galilee he saw only one Arab. Aside from Jerusalem and Jaffa, most of Palestine was very sparsely settled, primarily because no one could live in the barren land.

Israel now provides over 90% of all citrus fruit consumed in Europe. Since 1948 more than 200 million trees have been planted. This combined with modern irrigation has transformed the precipitation cycle which governs the weather system of Palestine.

5. The alignment of a ten-nation revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2,7)

Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel chapter 2. The dream concerns a great statue: The head of gold (i.e. Babylonian Empire); the breast and arms of silver (i.e. Medo-Persian Empire); the belly and thighs of brass (i.e. Grecian Empire); legs of Iron (i.e. the Roman Empire); and the feet and ten toes of iron and clay (i.e. the Revived Roman Empire/European Union).

Since the decline and fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler, and others have tried to reunite Europe by force. It has never worked. Europe is coming together, not by military conquest and iron force, but through diplomacy and democracy.

* The political, economic, & military clout of Europe will increase; America will decrease.

One world government

Every year since the Milan Summit and the signing of the Treaty of Rome on May 9, 1950, (9 May: Europe Day) Europe has become more powerful on the world stage. Beginning with only six member nations – France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg – it has grown into an political, economic, and military behemoth of 15 nations populated by roughly 350 million people. It is from this economic and political colossus that the unholy global ruler, the Antichrist will emerge, according to Scripture.

The United States is slowly losing its national sovereignty

The World Heritage Treaty for the protection of valuable national cultural and natural assets as World Heritage sites was adopted at the 1972 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) General Assembly. The treaty has been signed by 147 countries to date.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, one of the most important symbols of America freedom and sovereignty, has been placed under United Nations jurisdiction as a World Heritage site. It's one of at least 17 historic sites in the U.S. now controlled ¾ to one extent or another ¾ by the U.N. Others include the Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone National Park, Everglades National Park, Yosemite National Park, the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, Glacier National Park, the Grand Canyon, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Independence Hall was the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was there that George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. It was there that the American Flag was approved in 1777. It was there that the Articles of Confederation were ratified and the Constitution was written. All of these American historical sites are under the jurisdiction of the United Nations.

One world economy

In January 1, 1999, the Euro dollar will be implemented for general use on all financial markets. This currency is being promoted as a credible alternative to the American dollar as an international standard.

Antichrist and middle-east peace treaty

On April 10, 1997, the European Union made a request in a letter to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to expand its Middle East peacemaking role. The Palestine Liberation Organization believe that Europe has a role to play and a contribution to make. "They have a more even-handed policy when it comes to our rights," said Hanan Ashrawi, leading Palestinian delegate to Washington.

6. The knowledge explosion (Daniel 12:4)

"But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

Knowledge is increasing in quantum leaps especially in the fields of computers and physics.

Computers

Computer processors are doubling in speed and power about every two years just as Gordon Morre, Intel cofounder predicted in 1965 (Moore's Law). The Intel Corporation's produced its first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 in 1971. It operated at 108KHz (0.06 MIPS) and contained 23 hundred transitors. MIP is an acronym for "millions of instructions per second."

When I started using PC's in 1985, the processor was an Intel 8088 which ran at 4.77MHz (0.75 MIPS) and contained 29 thousand transitors. The Intel 80286, better knows as an AT system operated at 2.66 MIPS. The Intel 80386 released in 1985 operated at 11.4 MIPS. The Intel 80486, released in 1989 operated at 41.0 MIPS. The 80586 trademark named "Pentium" released in 1993 operates at 219 MIPS. The Pentium Pro released in 1996, operated at 150MHz (now 200MHz) and contained 5.5 million transitors, and operates at 400 MIPS). On May 7, 1997 the same Corporation released the Pentium II MMX processor with 7.5 million transistors ran at 300MHz and an astounding 750 MIPS. The latest Pentium II processor to be released in the first quarter of 1999 runs at 500MHz.

In 1998 IBM will release microprocessor chips that use copper instead of aluminum for tracings. These new chips will run at a whopping 1GHz. Intel reportedly will release new chips using copper for PC beginning in the year 2002.

Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Motorola Corp. are investing $250 million over the next five years in new technology. They have hired scientists in three federal research laboratories to develop chips for making computers 100 times faster with features like 3-D graphics in affordable machines. The new technique under development employs ultra-violet light to etch lines smaller than one-thousandth the width of a strand of human hair - that's 60% smaller than the patterns in the most sophisticated chips now available.
The aim is to be able to cram 1 billion transistors onto each thumbnail-size chip by 2011, a goal of Intel chairman Andrew Grove.

Astrophysicist Mike Warren needed a super computer but couldn't get the computation time he needed on the machines at Los Alamos National Laboratory so he built his own! His "home-made" super-computer with off-the-shelf components. The total price for this super computer which is ranked 100th fastest computer in the world is a dirt-cheap $313,000. His system is composed of 140 533MHz Alpha 21164A processors using Linux as the operating system, and connected with ordinary Ethernet equipment and 35.8 GB of memory can perform an astounding 48.5 billion calculations a second!

Powerful systems are also becoming more and more compact. IBM is now working on a human networking system that would use a person's body as the network media. You can exchange information by simply shaking hands with another person.

Stanford University and the Air Force are currently testing a system that links electrical signals from the human brain to computers. This will make it possible for users to interact with computer systems merely by thinking.

Physics

In the TV series and movies, Star Trek, the propulsion system of the U.S.S. Enterprise was matter-antimatter. Physicists at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, near Geneva, have created the first complete atoms of antimatter ever seen in nature by man. In antimatter, the electrical charges of all component particles are reversed. If an antimatter atom comes into contact with an ordinary matter atom, the two atoms destroy each other in a violent flash of energy.

7. Great increases in travel and communications (Daniel 12:4)

"But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

Many will go back and forth both literally and virtually. Literally using airplanes and virtually using global computer networks.

Literal movement… at MACH 2.04

Since the British and French aircraft Concorde entered scheduled service in 1976, over 3 million passengers have traveled across the Atlantic Ocean at MACH 2.04 or 1,350 mph.

Virtual movement… at the Speed of Light!

The rise of the Internet for commercial and personal use is unprecedented (21% of adults or 40 million people in 1997, up from 21.5 million in 1996). So many people have signed up for online services that telephone systems have been unable in areas to provide emergency services.

Bill Gates & Craig McCraw have created the Teledesic Corporation. The goal of this company, beginning in 2000, is to launch 3000 Volkswagen-sized low-altitude satellites to provide high speed, fiber-optic quality communications to 99% of the globe. The network supposedly will allow anyone on earth the ability to connect to the Internet and revolutionize telecommunications technology.

Bill Gates announced on October 11, 1997 that Teledisc has made an agreement with the Russian government to use converted SS20 rockets, originally designed to deliver nuclear warheads, to launch the low earth orbit satellites.

On Sunday October 30, 1998, the Washington-based company, Iridium Technology, launched communication satellites. When complete its 66-satellite global communications network will allow individuals, corportations, and the United States military services to talk using special Motorola cell phones to anyone in the world from anywhere in the world at any time. The special phones are priced at $3,000 each and connection times are charged at a rate of $6 per minute.

8. Preparations for the "Mark of the Beast" (Revelation 13:16-18)

"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six."

Studies reveal that less than 5% of the total money in our society exists as paper currency or coins. In other words, America is presently 95% cashless! Various credit card companies are testing smart cards for financial transactions. The embedded computer chip, the size of a dime, can contain as much information as 30 complete sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica, including your finger, hand, voice, retinal, or vein prints.

According to the May 19, 1997 edition of Business Week, a United States patient was issued to Interval Research Corporation, stated by a group that includes Microsoft Corporation co-founder Paul Allen. The patient was issued for a device that is a small liquid-crystal display implanted beneath a layer of skin on the wrist close enough to the surface to be visible. The device would contain a control chip and small battery charged by holding the wrist near an external charger.

Racom Systems, Inc., a company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, a pioneer in the development of contactless smart card technology announced on September 22, 1997 the availability of the first of a new generation of affordable smart card systems that offer secure transactions in both contact and contactless operation.

For a contactless transaction, the card is powered remotely and communicates via a radio signal from the RXR-1500 contactless controller. The entire transaction including mutual authentication, encryption/ decryption of transmitted messages and purse or file update is accomplished in less than 100 milliseconds (1/10 of a second) resulting in true "walk and wave" operation.

National ID Card Now Federal Law

The Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Section 656 states, "After October 1, 2000, Federal agencies may only accept as proof of identify driver's licenses that conform to standards developed by the Secretary of Transportation." A national registry will be established that will include information on every human in the United States of America. The database will contain an individual's Social Security Number, credit cards issued, date of birth, eye and hair color, distinguishing character-istics, addresses, licenses, organizations, titled properties, taxes, income… you name it! George Orwell's, 1984, is no longer fiction.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) outlines a process to achieve uniform national health data standards and health information privacy in the United States. Enacted with the widespread support of the industry and bipartisan support in the Congress, the law requires that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) adopt standards to support the electronic exchange of a variety of administrative and financial health care transactions. All health plans, health care clearinghouses, and those health care providers who elect to conduct the specified transactions electronically are required to comply with the standards within 2 years of their adoption, except that small health plans are required to comply within 3 years.

Among these standards are:1. Certain uniform transactions and data elements for health claims and equivalent encounter information, claims attachments, health care payment and remittance advice, health plan enrollment and disenrollment, health plan eligibility, health plan premium payments, first report of injury, health claim status, referral certification and authorization, and for coordination of benefits. 2. Unique identifiers for individuals, employers, health plans, and health care providers for use in the health care system. 3. Code sets and classification systems for the data elements of the transactions identified.4. Security standards for health information. 5. Standards for procedures for the electronic transmission and authentication of signatures with respect to the transactions identified. Privacy and confidentiality protections for health information play a prominent role in the law as well. The Secretary is required to adopt security standards to safeguard health information, during transmission and while stored in health information systems, to ensure the integrity of the information, and to protect against unauthorized uses and disclosures. Further, the law requires the Secretary to make detailed recommendations to the Congress for protection of individually identifiable health information.

These recommendations were delivered to the Congress on September 11, 1997. If the Congress does not enact legislation for health record privacy by August 21, 1999, the law requires the Secretary to issue regulations to protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information transmitted in standard transactions. These regulations must be finalized by February 21, 2000. The law also specifies steep penalties for misuse of a health identifier and for wrongfully obtaining or disclosing individually identifiable health information. The penalties, which increase by type of offense, can be as much as $250,000 and 10 years in prison. More serious offenses are defined as those committed under false pretenses or those committed with intent to sell, transfer, or use individually identifiable health information for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm. HHS formed five implementation teams to identify and analyze options and propose policies to implement the statutory requirements. Through the publication of several proposed rules in the Federal Register, HHS will propose standards for each item required in the legislation.

There has been considerable consensus on most of the standards that HHS is to adopt. However, opinion on the unique identifier for individuals is deeply divided. Given the level of controversy surrounding the individual identifier, HHS made the decision to proceed cautiously in fulfilling its statutory responsibility to adopt a unique health identifier for individuals for use in the health care system.

9. False Christs (Matthew 24:5, 24)

"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many."

Rev. Jim Jones, The People's Temple, Jamestown, Guyana (11/18/76) [900+ died]
David Koresh, Branch Dividian, Waco, Texas (4/19/93) [70+ died]
"Do", Marshall Applewhite, Heaven's Gate, Rancho Sante Fe, California (3/27/97) [39 died]
A number of Buddhist nomads and religious leaders in a province of China are saying they believe Bill Clinton is the reincarnation of a revered Tibetan religious leader - the Gamyat Shepa, who died almost 50 years ago. Just before he died in 1947, he reportedly asked his followers, "If I am reborn as a Western political leader, will you recognize me?" A Buddhist monk in China said nomads regularly ask him about "Clinton's ethereal status."

10. Wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6-7; Mark 13:7)

"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

Greek term ethnos, "nations", is used in Matthew 24. Therefore, many conflicts between tribes and ethnic groups world-wide will be experienced during the end times. Such tragedies have recently occured in Armenia, Rwanda, Zaire, Burundi, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Georgia, Northern Iran, Mexico, Tibet, Cambodia, and Bosnia.

"Peace, peace, but there is no peace!" (Jeremiah 6:14). Since the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989, global conflicts have doubled according to the National Defense Council Foundation headquartered in Washinton, D.C. In year the wall came down there were 35 conflicts, in 1995 there were 71.

Suitcase Nuclear Bombs… A respected Russian scientist and former adviser to President Boris Yeltsin said on October 2, 1997 that Moscow secretly developed nuclear "suitcase bombs" under KGB orders in the 1970s specifically for terrorist purposes. Alexei Yablokov, who served on the Russian National Security Council, contradicted statements by Russian officials denying the existence of the weapons and buttressed claims that many of them have gone missing.

Former Russian National Security Adviser General Alexander Lebed alleged that up to 100 portable bombs, made up to look like suitcases, were unaccounted for since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. According to Lebed, who has agreed to testify before the House committee later this month, the devices have an explosive capacity of one kiloton—the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT — can be activated by a single person and could kill as many as 100,000 people.

11. Famines, earthquakes, pestilences (Matthew 24:7; Revelation 6:7; Luke 21:11)

" … and in various places there will be famines, earthquakes, and pestilences" (KJV).

Famines

Famines have greatly increased especially on the continent of Africa. North Korea is experiences a sever famine as families are eating grass, weeds and bark; orphans whose growth has been stunted by hunger and diarrhea; people going bald for lack of nutrition.

Starving North Koreans are turning to cannibalism and the government has started
executing villagers selling human flesh, according to a North Korean deserter quoted in Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, October 1, 1997.

As the drought worsens in Haiti hundreds of thousands of people go hungry. People are so hungry they are reportedly eating cattle that have died in the fields.
Great Britain has experienced the worst drought in 200 years! In the 25 months from April 995, rainfall in Great Britain has fallen to the lowest level since accurate records began in the 1850's.

Earthquakes

Earthquakes will increase in number and severity. In 1935 there were 45 earthquakes recorded globally; in 1993, the year Israel signed a peace treaty with Yassar Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, there were 21,476!

In 1945 there were 189 earthquakes; in 1946 there were 4; in 1947 there were 4 in 1948 there were 4; in 1949 there were 395! The number in the Bible for God is 3 and the number 4 in the Bible represents the earth or world created by God. Here we have a sequence of three fours ending in year 1948. What happened on May 15, 1948? The birth of the nation Israel!!

The Top Ten Deadliest Earthquakes Occurred in the 20th Century:
Chile, 1906, 8.6, estimated death toll: 20,000.
China, 1920, 8.6, estimated death toll: 100,000.
Japan, 1923, 8.3, estimated death toll: 100,000.
China, 1927, 8.3, estimated death toll: 200,000.
Chile, 1939, 8.3, estimated death toll: 28,000.
China, 1976, 7.8 to 8.2, official death toll: 242,000. Unofficial estimate 800,000.
Guatemala, 1976, 7.5, official death toll: 22,778.
Iran, 1978, 7.7, estimated death toll: 25,000.
Armenia, 1988, 6.9, estimated death toll: 25,000.
Iran, 1990, 7.7, estimated death toll: 50,000.

Pestilences

The global AIDS epidemic is striking harder than ever at the world's women and children, as infection rates climb swiftly in many nations previously barely touched by the disease. About 22.6 million people are now infected, according to the United Nations AIDS program. Of these, 3 million adults were infected in 1996 alone - nearly half of them women. In addition, 400,000 children are newly infected. AIDS is spreading most rapidly now in the former Soviet Union, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and especially Africa

The extreme nature of man-made biological weapons has recently come to light with the defection in 1992 of Dr. Kanatjan Alibekov. Dr. Alibekov was formerly the First Deputy Director of Biopreparat from 1998 to 1992. Biopreparant was the Soviet Union's biological weapons program. Reportedly the Russians have DNA engineered the Eboli virus, which to totally fatal with the Smallpox virus, which is highly contagious. There are also reports that genetically engineered viruses designed to target genetic traits or specific racial groups exist.

12. Martyrdom and persecution (Matthew 24:9; Daniel 7:25)

"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name."

The twentieth century has probably witnessed more martyrs than any preceding century as millions have died because of the faith in Christ. Increasing anti-Semitism and anti-Christian attitudes, actions, and even legislation are features of our current world.

The Wall Street Journal reported in December 1996 that there was between 60-80 million Christians facing persecution in China today. Freedom House reports that Islamic Sudan has abducted or killed more than 1 million of its own people in a jihad against non-Muslims. Young Christian boys are held captive, forced to convert to Islam and then sold as slaves.

Listen to the story by Michael Horowitz. "There is a man who lives with us who is the embodiment of Christian faith, and I'm in awe of it. He is from the Ethiopian Evangelical Church where he is the senior pastor. He is trying to get asylum into the United States and is meeting every possible roadblock you can imagine. Here is a man who has been jailed over 25 times for his faith. He's been tortured. On one occasion, he was hanged upside down with hot oil poured on his feet. This is a man of abiding faith who will be tortured again and murdered if he is sent back to Ethiopia. In spite of the following tragic and disgraceful story, the United States State Department sent a letter to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and said, 'There's no persecution of Christians in Ethiopia.'" This has been the attitude of the U.S. government despite overwhelming evidence of atrocities.

13. Lawlessness and violence (Matthew 24:12)

"Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold."

In spite of the fact that fewer than four of every 10 crimes are reported in America in the last 30 years there has been a 560% increase in violent crime in America. In 1992, an estimated 6.6 million Americans were victims of violent crimes. A murder is reported to the police every 21 minutes.

More than 70,000 women are sexually assaulted every year in the United States. Sexual assault is the fasting growing violent crime occurring to a women every 45 seconds.

Doctors in the United States perform over 1.5 million abortions per year... that's one for every two live births. Over 99% of all U.S. abortions have nothing to do with the life or health of the women - they are done simply because of her desire for convenience, absence of distress, and so-called happiness of the mother.

Breakdown of Marriage: America has the highest incidence of divorce in the Western industrialized nations. Families are disintegrating: Child abuse is at epidemic proportions. Youth in trouble: Youth gangs have for years been a problem in Los Angeles, where they account for about half of the city's murders. But gangs are now responsible for 41 percent of the homicides in Omaha, Nebraska; drive-by shootings are up 3,000 percent in Wichita, Kansas; and Oklahoma City is home to 80 separate gangs. Violent street gangs are now operating in 94 percent of all medium and large-sized cities.
Drug use among America's teens has doubled since 1992.

14. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world (Matthew 24:14)

"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."

Unprecedented world evangelism via short-wave & long-wave radio, TV, satellite and Internet communications.

15. Signs in the sun, moon, and stars (Luke 21:25-27)

"There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."

The Sun

Scientists say solar activity will increase and peak in the next four or five years.

A solar flare is defined as a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness. A solar flare occurs when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. Radiation is emitted across virtually the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves at the long wavelength end, through optical emission to x-rays and gamma rays at the short wavelength end. The amount of energy released is the equivalent of millions of 100-megaton hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time! The first solar flare recorded in astronomical literature was on September 1, 1859. To date, there have been 43 cases of satellite damage as a result of solar flares.

"We're going to have a huge storm [about] January 1, 2000…," said Ernie Hildner, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Geomagnetically induced current from space weather can be picked up by power lines and disable transformers. Solar Cycle 22 in 1989 for instance, left more than 6 million people in Quebec, Canada without electric power for 12 hours. "The latest solar cycle ¾ Cycle 23 ¾ is expected to reach its maximum strength around 2000, far surpassing the strength of its predecessor," Hildner said.

The Moon

Since the Spring of 1996, there have been consecutive lunar eclipses on every major full moon feast day of Israel. The first eclipse in the series fell on Passover, April 3rd, 1996. The second, the Eve of the Feast of Tabernacles, September 27th, 1996. The third on Purim, March 23rd, 1997. These three eclipses will have taken place within the span of one biblical year.

The Stars

Comet Hale-Bopp, most brilliant comet of the century is here NOW! Hale-Bopp is approximately 25 miles wide and traveling at an estimated 40,000 mph (27 mi./sec.). It was at its closest point to earth (123 million miles) on March 23, 1977. It was closest to the sun and therefore the brightest on April 1, 1997. It last visited earth 4,210 years ago or 2,214 BC. That date is just prior to God calling Abraham to begin the Hebrew nation.

16. Rebuilding of the third Temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15)

"Therefore when you see the Abomination of Desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)."

The Antichrist will desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem. Presently, no Temple in Jerusalem exists so we know that the third Temple must be built to fulfill this prophecy.

Desire to Rebuild the Temple

The Jewish Prayer Book, "Because of our sins we were exiled from our country and banished from our land. We cannot go up as pilgrims to worship Thee, to perform our duties in Thy chosen house, the great and Holy Temple which was called by Thy name, on account of the hand that was let loose on Thy sanctuary. May it be Thy will, Lord our God and God of our fathers, merciful King, in Thy abundant love again to have mercy on us and on Thy sanctuary; rebuild it speedily and magnify its glory."

Immediately after the Six Day War in 1967, one of the editors of Time magazine interviewed the famous Jewish historian, Israel Eldad. When asked about the possibility of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, he replied, "When the Jewish people took over Jerusalem the first time, under King David, only one generation passed before they build the Temple, and so shall it be with us."

On June 18, 1996 in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded his first speech to the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) with these words, "We have reached the days generations of Jews have hoped and prayed for. The Jewish dream has been realized, the Jewish people has renewed its independence. In us, the words of the prophet Amos have been fulfilled: 'And I shall establish for them David's fallen tabernacle.' And it will, with God's help, stand for ever and ever."

Mr. Netanyahu, believing that the Temple will be built during his administration, was quoting Amos 9:11-12, "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old; That they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name, Declares the Lord who does this."

Preparation to Rebuild the Temple

The Temple Institute in Jerusalem, a state sponsored research, training, and promotion organization concerning the third temple, has prepared over 75 of the objects, vessels, and linen priestly garments required for future Temple services. The yeshivas, or Jewish Bible colleges in Jerusalem have trained over 500 young men from the tribe of Levi to correctly perform the duties of Temple worship and sacrifice.

On the 7th of October 1998 The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement brought the cornerstone for the Third Temple to the gates of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem believing God had called them to this mission. They were not allowed to place the stone due to Arab threats of violent riots and the presence of Secretary of State Madeline O who was in Israel attempting to negotiate a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Location of the Third Temple

According to Rabbinical sources both the First and Second Temples were built on the same foundations, at the same location somewhere on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It was exact mount upon which Abraham was tested by God with the command to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Gen. 22). And it was the precise sight of the threshing floor that David purchased from Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam. 24:18-25).

The Traditional location lies in the immediate vicinity of the Islamic Golden Dome of the Rock (former sight of the Altar of Ashtoreth, the Phoenician Goddess). The third most holy sight for the Moslem faith. The traditional location would necessitate the destruction of this sacred Moslem sight.

The proposed Northern sight is north of the Dome of the Rock and the Southern sight lies midway between the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosque, under an Islamic ablution fountain known as El Kas.

Temple may be rebuilt without destroying the Dome of the Rock
Dr. Asher Kaufman, professor of physics at Hebrew University, wrote an article in the Biblical Archeology Review, indicating that the actual location of Solomon's and Herod's temples was twenty-six meters away from the Dome of the Rock.

According to Revelation 11:1-2, John is instructed to measure the Temple and is told to omit the outer court because it will be given to the Gentiles. Consequently, the Dome of the Rock would not have to be removed to rebuild the Temple.

17. Resumption of the sacrifice of the Red Heifer (Numbers 19)

A team of rabbinical experts confirmed the birth of a red heifer, named Melody, ten months ago (May 5, 1997) on a religious kibbutz near the north Israel port of Haifa, meets the correct biblical criteria for a genuine holy cow. The ashes of the sacrificed animal are needed to cleanse the defiled Temple objects, the priests, and the stones on the Temple mount. The faithful must wait until the heifer is at least three years old to be used in ritual sacrifice (cf. Genesis 15:9).

Red Heifer Disqualified for Potential Temple Sacrifice

On January 19, 1998, Ultra-orthodox Jews, who had hoped to have found a pure red heifer which could be used to purify a new Temple in Jerusalem, reported the animal has developed some white hairs. The ashes of a 3-year old red heifer would be biblically required to sanctify a new Temple in Jerusalem which the Jews would like to build on the old Temple mount where a Muslim mosque now stands. The orthodox Jews believe that once a new Temple is erected that the Messiah will come.

The "red" heifer, which has caused so much media attention and general speculation, will be bred with a red bull, however, and hopes of an appropriate calf may be realized when it is delivered in six months.

18. Discovery of the holy oil of anointing (Exodus 30:22-33)

In 70 A.D. the only two groves of afars'mon trees were burned when the Temple was destroyed. Without this ingredient, God's command to anoint the rebuilt Temple could not be obeyed. Several years ago, archeologists in Israel found a clay flask buried near the Dead Sea caves filled with the ancient oil of anointing. Scientist confirmed that the oil is 2,000 years old and is composed of the precise ingredients mandated in Exodus 30.

19. The nineteen signs of the last days according to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:1-7)

"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be (1) lovers of self, (2) lovers of money, (3) boastful, (4) arrogant, (5) revilers, (6) disobedient to parents, (7) ungrateful, (8) unholy, (9) unloving, (10) irreconcilable, (11) malicious gossips, (12) without self-control, (13) brutal, (14) haters of good, (15) treacherous, (16) reckless, (17) conceited, (18) lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; (19) holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

People will be self-centered, pleasure-saturated, seeking religions without reality, intellectually knowledgeable but spiritually ignorant.

20. False teachers who enter homes and tell people what they want to hear (2 Timothy 3:6; 4:3)

"For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses."

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires."

Great proliferation of radio and TV talk shows where opinion, myth, and emotion reign supreme over historical or biblical facts.

21. The hoarding of gold and silver, and its final demise (James 5:1-3)

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!"

History setting record highs continue to occur in United States financial markets as "Baby-boomers" pour more and more money into the stock markets. Yet many fear in their hearts a violent collapse could be imminent and wipe out their entire retirement.

22. The denial of God's design for marriage and family (1 Timothy 4:3)

"But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons… men who forbid marriage…"

Rise in acceptance or tolerance of living together outside of marriage, of homosexuality and of same sex marriages, are all indicators that we are living in the last days. Many mainline Christian denominations have struggled for years with the issue of acceptance for membership and the ordination of homosexuals.

On June 29, 1996, Trinity Western University's application to offer the final, professional year of Teacher Education was denied by the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT). In denying the application BCCT's governing council argued that teachers trained at TWU might act unprofessionally because they voluntarily sign a community standards statement prohibiting, among other things, homosexual behavior while at the University. Concerned that the decision sets a dangerous precedent for Christians in society, the BCCT would be establishing what beliefs are proper for a teacher to hold, Trinity Western University's Board of Governors voted to file a petition with the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a judicial review of the BCCT decision. The case was heard in court on May 5, 1997.

In September 1997, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the University. The judge stated that BCCT's argument was "inherently flawed because it requires many unfounded assumptions… The evidence before the Council on the conduct of TWU graduates contradicts the conclusion that they are intolerant." This ruling effectively reverses the College of Teacher's denial of TWU's Teacher Education program application, affirms the schools professionalism and competency of TWU graduates, and upholds the critical principle of freedom of religion in Canada.

It appears however that this could be just a temporary victory for righteousness with the growing trend to make homosexuality a legally protected minority group.

23. False prophets and teachers (2 Peter 2:1-3)

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."

Who teach destructive heresies, deny the deity of Christ, encourage sensual/immoral living, are greedy for money, promote rebellious living- Psychic phone lines.

24. Scoffers mocking the second coming of Christ (2 Peter 3:3, 4)

"Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For every since the fathers fell asleep, all continue just as it was from the beginning of creation."

Modern religions; the popular New Age Movement; religion classes at colleges and universities scoff at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Won't they be surprised!

25. Spiritual Apathy and indifference among Christians (Revelation 3:14-16)

"And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen the faithful and true Witness the Beginning of the creation of God says this: I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth."

The Laodicean Church, neither spiritually hot nor cold, graphically illustrates the present age where there is great interest in spiritual issues but little willingness to model righteousness in daily living.