Prophecy, especially prophecy concerning the “end times,” is a popular subject these days. A century ago, that was not the case. In fact, many of the great Christian thinkers, evangelists, pastors, and religious leaders gave little thought to the cryptic Biblical prophecies concerning the end of days. Some even went so far as to discount them as nothing more than Biblical symbolism.
So why is the subject so popular today? One word: Israel.
You see, none of the prophecies concerning the end times were relevant — much less understood — until Israel became a nation again in 1948.
In His parable concerning the fig tree, Jesus told His disciples that when it begins to put forth leaves, they would know that summer is near. In the same way, He said that the generation that saw all of the signs He listed occurring within the same time span, and increasing in frequency and intensity, should recognize that His coming is near.
Many of those “signs” involved the nation of Israel. But before there actually existed a nation of Israel, none of them made sense.
When you consider all of the other events that occurred or developments that began in 1948 — an amazing number that were necessary to facilitate the fulfillment of those end-times prophecies — it’s breathtaking. That’s why I’ve often referred to 1948 as the “hinge of history.”
And as Jesus Himself noted, the generation that sees the rebirth of Israel in its ancient homeland and the convergence of all of the “signs” of the last days will not pass away until all have been fulfilled.
Folks, that’s us!
from The Hal Lindsey Report – November 1, 2013
