Armageddon 2026? Part Three Continuing on from where we left off in Part Two . . .
In many cases, the most powerful and prosperous tribes, nations, and empires set the stage for their own demise through moral degeneration, long before its military defeat and occupation by foreign forces. In other cases, the existing nations were “invaded” by uninvited colonists who, in time, would take the land away from the present inhabitants by force, or threat of force, with its overwhelming power and resources. “Except the Lord build the house (nation), They who build it labor in vain; unless the Lord guards a city, the watchman (police, border patrols, etc.) stays awake (alert) in vain (Psalms 127: 1 NASB2020 parentheses mine).” “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory (who the winner is going to be) belongs to (is in the hands of) the Lord (Prov. 21: 31 NASB2020 parentheses mine.” Church Age, born-again believers, and believers from past and future dispensations, have the assurance of residency and citizenship in Heaven, and in the 1,000-year Kingdom of God that will be established at the Second Advent, following the Battle of Armageddon. But until then, no one has the guarantee of political freedom here on Earth. The peace, prosperity, and security that one’s nation provides can be taken away in a relatively short period of time. Know that the end of the world as we presently know the world to be, will not take place until the preceding events outlined in End Time Biblical prophecies are fulfilled, beginning with the Rapture (1) of the Church. Until the Rapture takes place, the Church and its born-again- believer members have a mission (2) to complete. It’s beneficial to have an accurate understanding of what is going to take place after the Rapture, and before the Second Advent takes place, but the focus of attention of an edified and advancing disciple of the Church Age will not be so much on the Second Advent, but on being prepared, and preparing others, for the Rapture that IS going to take place seven (some teach 3 ½) years before the Second Advent. I say this because, as of the Rapture, the Church that God designed (consisting of all born-again believers throughout the Church Age) will no longer be here on Earth, when those left behind go through the horrific events of Great Tribulation described in John’s Revelation. It is interesting to note, that according to Christian tradition, with the exception of John (the human author of The Revelation), all of the 1ST Century Apostles has already gone Home to be with the Lord and never heard of the details outlined in The Revelation composed around 96AD. Failure to accurately understand these details has led many “religious” leaders and their followers to compose and accept different non-Biblical scenarios concerning the End Time and what follows. The Church, along with other believers from different dispensations (periods of history), will return to Earth with the Lord Jesus Christ at the Second Advent when He establishes His 1,000-year kingdom, headquartered in Jerusalem, following the upcoming Battle of Armageddon. Only God knows the identity of the Church Age believers that will be alive on the Earth at the time when the Rapture finally takes place. The majority of the Church members are already in Heaven. Among other things, they are there awaiting the Rapture to take place. According to secular statistics, 150,000 souls leave this world every day, with their individual departure having been the last thing on the minds of many of them, when they went to bed last night, or got up this morning! Anyone who is alive on the Earth at the time of the Rapture who has not been born-again will be left behind, and are destined to go through the horrific Tribulation Period that follows, here on Earth! No one, in his right mind, would want himself, or anyone that he or she cares for, to be among those who are left behind, should the Rapture take place during his, her, or their lifetime, here on Earth. As long as the one we see in the mirror is still alive, it may turn out that he or she is going to be among the last generation(s) of the Church Age that will not experience physical death (3), but are among those who will be taken up in the Rapture. If nothing else, the present 2026 war in the Middle East should serve as a reminder of that, in God’s timing, there is a forthcoming war that will inevitably take place in the Middle East, ushering in the Battle of Armageddon. Anti-Semitism goes far back into human history as the days of Abraham. Anti-Semitism had, and has, the full support of Satan, as he knew, and knows, of the significance of the Jewish involvement and participation in God’s plans for the human race. Without the Jews, Biblical prophecies concerning the Savior and End Time prophecies could not, and would not, have been, or will be, fulfilled! Israel’s political and religious enemies will see the removal of Israel from among the international community of nations as being their solution to the conflicts in the Middle east, with the Battle of Armageddon playing a key role in securing this objective. But God has other plans for the nation of Israel. It is to be the headquarters of the Kingdom of God during the 1,000-year earthly reign of the Lord Jesus Christ! Israel, as a nation, will be rescued at the Battle of Armageddon at the Second Advent. The surviving remnant of the people in Israel will finally (on a national level) acknowledge that their Savior had come at the First Advent, but that He and His mission at that time was not understood. He was rejected by their existing leadership, and handed over to the Roman government as an enemy of state (Rome), and crucified. Little did they know, they were providing the means for Him to fulfill the very purpose for His coming at the First Advent. Details of His “execution” were written with amazing accuracy in the 22nd Psalms some 1,000 years before it took place. Every individual Jew throughout the course of the Church Age has had the same opportunity to be born-again as anyone else. The Apostles and majority of the first group of Church Age Christians were Jews. The bringing of Gentiles (non-Jews) into the Church was initially the assigned (4) mission of Saul, a former Pharisee, who before his own conversion, believed it was his divine mission to destroy the developing Church. After his conversion, he was renamed Paul, and became one of the leading 1st Century Apostles. Under the maximum form of divine national discipline, Israel was removed in 70AD from among the independent nations of the International Community, and placed under the dominion of one or another Gentile nation or empire. Orthodox Jews who left Israel have faced ongoing political, social, and religious persecution wherever they have gone. Yet through it all, the Jews have remained and will (as a nation) in God’s timing, experience all of the national promises made to them. In the meantime, the Gen. 12: 3 blessings or curse principle, regarding the treatment of the Jews, remains in place. “…I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse…(Gen. 12: 3 NASB2020).” Israel has a long Biblical history of being both prospered and disciplined by God, but before this world comes to its end, Israel will be glorified, as this world will be ruled by the returning Lord Jesus Christ who will set up His global kingdom, headquartered in Jerusalem. This was what many of the Jews were expecting to take place at the First Advent, rejecting Him and His mission, when this did not materialize. Even His closest disciples were troubled when He started to speak of the cross, and not the crown! From 70 AD to the late 1940’s, Jerusalem (Israel) was under Gentile control or influence. Scripture refers to this period to be a part of the times of the Gentiles (5). Israel, becoming its own sovereign nation again in the 1940’s, was one of many things that has taken place, and will take place, in fulfillment of END time prophecy, setting the stage for the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, the Battle of Armageddon, and the Second Advent in that sequence.