We know that the Tribulation is called the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” outlined in Jeremiah 30. That time of terrible catastrophe on planet earth for seven years, with the church absent, occupies much of Revelation. Israel will trust in the Antichrist. At the halfway point of the Tribulation, he turns on them and tries to destroy them as a people.
No, that time period has not started now, but it would seem like Israel is in Tribulation-like turmoil even now. Many of us have watched Israel in recent months and have come away puzzled by all the chaos. Amir Tsarfati, founder of Behold Israel, states, “Israel is facing the most dangerous reality since the Yom Kippur war in October of 1973.”
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Amir writes in a recent Worldview, “I’ve been carefully examining the situation in Israel over the past three years, ever since we entered into what seems to be never-ending political chaos.
“My conclusion is very simple: The progressive, liberal, deceptive, and diabolical demon has completely taken over a large portion of Israeli society, to the degree the Bible calls– STRONG DELUSION!
“For years I’ve struggled with the portion from Zechariah 13:8-9 where it says that two-thirds of Israel will be cut off and die and the last third the Lord will bring through fire and refine them. That’s the one third that will survive the looming Tribulation, known also as Jacob’s trouble.
“That’s the one third that will be there to welcome the Messiah’s return as Zechariah 12:10 describes. They’ll mourn, cry, and repent!
“Based on what I see today, if the Antichrist rises to power tomorrow, I believe two-thirds of Israel will be easily deceived to the point of eventually receiving the Mark of the Beast.
“Interestingly enough, even some major Rabbis can see the coming Tribulation. Now, if the Tribulation is so close, can you imagine how much closer our Rapture is!
“Yes, the fig tree is blooming! Israel is back in the land! However, only the physical restoration has taken place. The spiritual restoration will be painful and tragic.”
Note how quickly Israel is collapsing, America is drifting away from her defense, and how Russia, China, and Iran are closing in. The significance of this is of biblical proportion.
Indeed, He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps. 121:4), so all that is transpiring does not catch God by surprise. There is only one city God asks us to pray for—Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6). That is the city to which He is returning and that is the city from which Jesus Christ will reign in the Millennium. In the meantime, the city—and all of Israel—is in turmoil as they await His return.
As it concerns the lateness of the hour, Israel is the clock, the city of Jerusalem is the minute hand, and the Temple Mount is the second hand. And, it is one-minute to Midnight.
