- Israel the most significant sign -

ISRAEL; A sign of where we are on God's calendar.
The state of Israel is one of the most obvious signs that we have entered the last days of which the Bible speaks. If today there were to be a vote in the United Nations like the one in 1948, Israel would not be a sovereign state. Many nations are turning against her. Israel plays a pivoting role in the events of the last days. God created a time slot to bring His people back to the land that He gave them thousands of years ago but that they lost in 70 AD, as Jesus predicted.

In Luke 21 there are two distinctive time periods Jesus is talking about and sometimes he dwells on the short term one and sometimes he dwells on the period we call the end times, but from verse 24 to 25 Jesus swifts from the Short Term LOCAL events to the Last Days GLOBAL events:

In Luke 21 Jesus starts talking about LOCAL events in Israel: (UNTIL the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled)

• [5] And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, [6] "As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down."
  Jesus clearly predicted the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army of Titus when He said to His disciples: [20] "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near . . ." The disciples, who were awed by the magnificent temple in Jerusalem, asked Him to specify when these things would take place. The Roman assault of Jerusalem came only 35 years later, in AD 68, and continued for two years until the entire city, including that magnificent temple, was utterly destroyed. And what happened to the Jews . . . ?
  
• The survivors who escaped the edge of the sword were dispersed among the nations.
  [24] and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles* until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Now Jesus starts talking about GLOBAL events: (AFTER the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled)

• Luke 21:25-28 "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, [26] 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. [27] "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
• Then Jesus talks about the parable of the fig tree: Luke 21:29-31
  Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees; [30] as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. [31] "So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
• Luke 21:32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place."

After Jerusalem and the Holy Land were destroyed by the Romans, they were further trampled by the Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, Turks and British. Jerusalem is not trampled anymore! It is no longer in the hands of foreign powers.

Praise God (the suffering of the Jewish people is not over but at least they have a place to call home again) in 1948 Israel became a nation again but did not have its beloved capital back until 1967, after the Six-Day War.

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CNN summary of the Six Day War:

As Egypt, Syria and Jordan were mobilizing their forces against Israel in the spring of 1967 , Israel launched a preemptive strike. Starting on June 5, the Israeli air force destroyed Egypt's planes before the Egyptian planes left the ground. Then Israeli tank columns and infantry overran the Golan Heights, the West Bank of the Jordan River including the Old City of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. The war ended with a U.N.-arranged cease-fire on June 10.
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Egypt, Syria and Jordan had plans to trample the land again but, despite those plans and against overwhelming odds, Jerusalem was set free and became a part of the state of Israel again!

Do we realize that we may be part of the generation that will not pass away until all these things take place?
Luke 21:29-33 Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees; [30] as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. [31] "So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. [32] "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. [33] "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
The word "truly" is the English translation of the Greek AMEN. If this interpretation of Luke 21 is correct, (and I ask every reader to closely examine Scripture to confirm or dispute), then the generation that will not pass away until ALL things take place, is the one that witnessed the recapturing of Jerusalem by the reborn nation of Israel in 1967. Do we realize that we may be part of that generation? That means that Jesus' second coming is imminent! It also means that the global events that He predicted are imminent! A generation according to the Bible can be 40 - 100 years. The Lord led Israel through the desert and called it a generation. The Lord told Moses the Israelites would return to the promised land in the fourth generation and it took 400 years (Gen 15:16)

[28] "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Jesus Christ is coming again; endure,
be prepared, and do not miss the Wedding of the Lamb.
Are you interested in things that
come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth?
Do not guess,
do not look for explanations from anywhere else but the source . . .
Take God's Word for it!

Luke 21:34-36 "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; [35] for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. [36] "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

The word escape does not imply an early rapture(*) before all these things take place, as many people suggest. We need to be alert at all times and pray for strength to escape all these things that are about to take place. Strength we will need to escape the dangers of the great distress. To not be deceived in these days, we need to be alert.

In Matthew 24 (the parallel section of Luke 21) we find the same warnings in different wording.
ALERT: [4] "Watch out that no one deceives you." and [24] For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect(**) --if that were possible.
ESCAPE: [21] "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

A little further in Matthew 24 the rapture(*) takes place immediately after the distress of those days when JESUS RETURNS and sends his angels out to the North, South, East and West with a loud trumpet call to gather His elect(**).

Matthew 24:29-35
"Immediately after the distress of those days" 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' [30] "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. [31] And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. [32] "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. [33] Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. [34] I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. [35] Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Rapture(*) Click pointer to read more. Elect(**) Click pointer to read more.