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CHRISTmas 2020 is almost here! It is hard to believe all the changes during this year. I believe it is not about hardship but about being given a lot more time to acknowledge God's place in our lives. And, just as important, it's about Jesus sacrifice and His soon return to defeat evil and refresh the world. Evil wants to reset our world also, in the form of global governance, banking, surveillance and other things that will be very intrusive to our way of life. But, Good does triumph over Evil, it is guaranteed, even when life gets very dark and dangerous. Jesus is our light at the end of the tunnel and needs to be the central light in our lives. That is the point of the year of our Lord, 2020. 
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Copied from a Youtube page. All of the links work but you will see a redirect message from Youtube. Just click on "Go to site" to get to the link page. Bible prophecy is converging and flying off the pages from the Bible! We are on the cusp on the rapture!! God bless Bro Keegan Watchman in the wilderness🙏 Mywebsite: www.rapturecountdown.com 1. 📖SCRIPTURE: The miraculous rebirth of Israel as a nation🌱. Just as Isaiah 66:8 says, on May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation in “one day.” This sign alone tells us we live in the last days before Jesus’ return to earth. At that time, the land of Israel was a barren wasteland just as Ezekiel 36:34-36 said it would be when Israel returned to the land. In verse 35 the prophet says, “The land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden,” indicating how God would turn the desert into fruitful fields. 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY: Today, Israel exports one billion dollars worth of fruits and vegetables. Is this not a fulfillment of Isaiah 27:6? God’s protection of the current nation of Israel has been nothing short of miraculous. Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War of 1967 compares with the victories we read about in the Old Testament such as those of Joshua and Gideon. 2.📖SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 17, the destruction of Damascus!💣 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY : Damascus is already 75 % destroyed! We do know that tensions continue to escalate in Syria as Israel continues to bomb Iranian military installations. This does not, however, appear to discourage Iran from building up its military in the area. THIS PROPHECY IS ON THE VERGE! https://storyful.com/resources/blog/how-war-has-changed-syrias-landscape-mapping-the-destruction-of-east-damascus/ 3.📖SCRIPTURE: Wars and rumors of wars, pestilences (Matt. 24:6-7): Jesus said that one sign of the end of the age would be “wars and rumors of wars.” While this has been true in some way or another for centuries, this sign defines the times in which we live. 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY : Tensions with Iran have escalated significantly!! Pestilences-Coronavirus: https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-51318246 10 plagues are hitting our planet simultaneously: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/10-plagues-are-hitting-our-planet-simultaneously 4.📖SCRIPTURE: The Temple (Matt. 24:15): Jesus predicted the antichrist would someday defile a temple in Israel just as Daniel prophesied (9:27). 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY :Everything is ready for construction to begin including the architecture plans, vessels ,priestly garments and the Temple Institute in Israel is now training Levites for service in the temple. https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/144915/sanhedrin-gets-authorization-to-use-their-trees-for-third-temple/ 5.📖SCRIPTURE : SCRIPTURE : DEUTERONOMY 28:37 The rise of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Christian fervor. 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY : Does not the dramatic increase we see in Anti-Semitism violence along with today’s fierce opposition to biblical values set the stage for the killing of Jews and believers during the tribulation? 6. 📖SCRIPTURE: The battle of Gog and Magog (Ezek. 38-39):The armies that the prophet Ezekiel prophesied would invade Israel in the last days are currently in Syria, and their forces are growing by the month. The nations of the Middle East are aligned precisely as the prophet said they would be over 2,600 years ago. 📖 SCRIPTURE: ZECHARIAH 12: 1-3 https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/143754/turkey-deploys-2000-troops-to-libya-to-reestablish-muslim-caliphate-with-jerusalem-as-capital/ 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY :The alliance between Russia,Iran,Sudan Turkey and Libya has set the stage for the Gog and Magog War (Ezekiel 38). http://dmgnews.com/index.php/2020/01/17/the-rise-of-gog-putin-positions-himself-to-influence-russia-for-life/ 7.📖SCRIPTURE: Scoffers (2 Peter 3:1-10): The mocking of our beliefs in a rapture and premillennial return of Jesus is prevalent both inside and outside the church. 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY : We live in a day when even believers ridicule the rapture, the millennium, and the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21-22. 8.📖SCRIPTURE: The world now has the capability via computers, Artificial Intelligence, and gigantic data bases to control buying and selling on a worldwide scale, just as Revelation 13:16-17 says the antichrist will do in the tribulation. 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY :This is already on the way through chip inserts and tracking of products and bank accounts. With the world moving in this direction even before the appearance of the antichrist, how close must we be to the rapture and the tribulation? China has begun micro-chipping its population for the purpose of controlling them through rewards based on what they purchase and how they spend their money and they have a credit scoring system in place! Cash, plastic or HAND?: https://www.wsj.com/articles/cash-plastic-or-hand-amazon-envisions-paying-with-a-wave-11579352401 ID 2020 Alliance: https://principia-scientific.org/id2020-alliance-will-combine-vaccinations-implantable-id-microchips/ 9.📖SCRIPTURE: Earthquakes (Matt. 24:7) 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY : Creation is groaning!. An earthquake survey revealed that the number is 3 times over! Rarely a week goes by without a strong earthquake somewhere in the world! https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-15/number-global-earthquakes-3-times-above-normal 10.📖SCRIPTURE: (Revelation 13: 2-4, 7) Pope Francis openly and repeatedly calls for a one-world religion, as well as for a one-world government to combat climate change. 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY : At the World Government Summit in February of 2019, thousands of leading globalists, communists, Islamists and others from around the world converged on the Arabian Peninsula. Their goal: promote technocratic globalism and plot the future of what they often call their “New World Order”. Pope Francis Unveiled the Globalist New World Religion at Summit with United Nations Leader: https://www.endtime.com/prophecy-news/pope-francis-unveils-globalist-new-world-religion-at-summit-with-united-nations-leader/ Pope -Imam sign covernant: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-07/snyder-one-world-religion-looms-pope-islams-top-imam-sign-historic-covenant Abrahamic house: https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/truth4freedom.wordpress.com/2019/09/23/the-catholic-muslim-interfaith-council-created-by-pope-francis-announces-new-chrislam-headquarters-opening-in-2022-that-combines-a-mosque-and-church-according-to-signed-covenant-now-the-end/amp/ Pope Francis to attend inter-religious Peace Event in Rome!: The ecumenical service is called “An Encounter of Prayer for Peace in the Spirit of Assisi,” and the theme is “No one is saved alone — Peace and Fraternity.” 11.📖SCRIPTURE: Matthew 24:6,7 📖 SCRIPTURE :(Revelation 17:12-13 ) 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY: The nations of the GLOBE are in a complete state of political and economic unrest and uncertainty!!.From the U.S to South America ,Europe to Hong kong! https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1106006 12.📖SCRIPTURE: (Revelation 17:12-13) A one world army. 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY :We are seeing the ten toes described in the book of Daniel formed right before our eyes with President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Merkel from Germany leading the way as they just paraded the 10 nations army! https://www.thetrumpet.com/20971-bastille-day-showcases-european-military-cooperation 13.📖SCRIPTURE: (Revelation 13:16-17) A one world currency! 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY :Then U.S currently has a debt amounting to in trillions! So when the U.S dollar is knocked off ,the question you need to ask is... where is your next go to currency? Also there is a crypto currency called LIBRA that is currently being readied! https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/businessday.ng/technology/article/facebooks-libra-a-one-world-currency/amp/ 14.📖SCRIPTURE : The parable of the Fig tree (Matthew 24:32-34) 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY: Israel(Fig tree) is the number one sign of the end times which has flourished like never before!.They are the 8th most powerful economy in the world! https://www.christiantruthcenter.com/the-fig-tree-generation-the-generation-that-will-not-pass/ 15.📖SCRIPTURE: We are the generation (Psalm 90:10). 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY: We are the generation that are seeing all these signs come to pass!! 16.📖SCRIPTURE:Peace and saftey (1 Thessalonians 5:3). 📖Parted my land (Joel 3:1-2) 📖Covenant with Abram(Genesis 15:18) 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY: The Trump peace plan dubbed the "Deal of the century" is being discussed almost everday!. This plan could very well be made greater as the forerunner to DANIEL 9:27 (The false peace covernant)! https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-plan-gives-palestinians-capital-in-jerusalem-but-beyond-security-barrier/ https://m.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/UN-Security-Council-unanimously-calls-for-two-state-solution-618671 17.📖SCRIPTURE: Increase in birth pangs (Matthew 24:8). 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY:The number of volcanos, earthquakes, tornadoes, forest fires have increased in both frequency and intensity! https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-australia-50951043 18.📖SCRIPTURE : The exponential increase in wickedness (2 Tim. 3:1-5) 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY : Communities formed like the LGBT, transgenderism and laws passed with regards to killing of unborn children! https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/lgbt-rights 19.📖As in the days of Noah and Lot (Matthew 24:37-39) 🎯CURRENT WORLD EVENT: With the abortion laws and LGBT rights passed these are the days of Noah and Lot that we are living in! 20. 📖The Great Apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:3) 🎯CURRENTLY IN PLAY: We are witnessing apostasy and the falling away like never before! My pdf on the TOP 20 END TIME SIGNS speaks on the 2 words CONVERGENCE and AGENDA that define the very final moments that we are living in!: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Sq83X7nijaQM0HN-WqnWsUEWASw9aSSr Another article shared from Brother Keegan:
Most of the world is asleep today while the signs are screaming loudly for the return of our Lord!! The church today is like Harry R. Truman saying yes one day the Lord will return not realising that day is here!! As Mount Saint Helens rumbled during the Spring months of 1980, he stood firm in his resolve to remain on the mountain as if he owned it!! Harry R. Truman, an innkeeper, refused to leave his home despite an evacuation order and repeated warnings that came via recurring earthquakes, just as the Lord is repeatedly warning this world!!! The birth pangs are increasing and intensifying by the minute!! Harry R. Truman acknowledged it was “possible” the mountain might “blow” someday, but he never reached the place where he was willing “to pack up his bags” and leave his home! Finally on that which he thought would happen 'one day' occurred on May 18, 1980 as Mount St. Helens erupted with such force that the top 1,300 feet of the mountain instantly disappeared! The explosion caused a huge landslide that moved down the mountainside at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour devouring everything in its path, including his residence at Spirit Lake!! Harry R. Truman is a reflection and epitomizes so many in our world today! Just like Mr. Truman, they hear the warnings of biblical prophecy and sense the danger inherent in our day, but they do not turn to the Savior or watch for His appearing as we are told to do! 📖Matthew 24:42 "watch" 📖Matthew 24:44 "be ready" 📖Matthew 25:13 "watch" 📖Mark 13:33 "watch and pray " 📖Mark 13:35 "watch" 📖Mark 13:37 "what i say to you i say to all, watch" THE WARNING SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE!! The Lord is not silent during these last days. The first significant indicator of the last days occurred on May 18, 1948 when Israel became a nation in fulfillment of Isaiah 66:8!! Fast forward to 2020 and we see the world government of the coming tribulation waiting to take over before our eyes along with the technology necessary for the antichrist to enforce the “mark of the beast” under the penalty of death! Lawlessness abounds along with the violence of our day, coupled with the multitude of signs, repeatedly warn us of the approaching devastation and death of the coming day of the Lord. Sadly like Harry R. Truman, many believers are not yet willing to “pack their bags” in anticipation of Jesus’ imminent return. They do not recognize the urgency of the day in which they live and as a result they live solely for the things of this world without the necessary balance of an eternal perspective. JESUS IS COMING QUICKLY!!! Jesus’ last words to His church contain the promise of His speedy return. “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20). The word for “soon” in the Greek is tachu, which is much better translated “quickly.” It refers to the swiftness or the speed of an action. The Lord ended His direct revelation to the church as a whole with the promise of His quick return for His bride! Amen!! Our glorification is going to be in an instant! Paul describes the swiftness of Jesus’ appearing to take us home, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). Jesus will raise the dead in Christ and catch the living saints away in an instant, in the “twinkling of an eye.” !! What we already see in our world tells us this day is exceedingly close...at the door!!! Just like the devastation that followed the Mount St. Helens eruption, 1 Thessalonians 5:3 tells us that “sudden destruction” will fall on those left behind after the rapture. After we depart from the earth, the world will experience unspeakable terror during the seven-year tribulation! What You Should Do? So with all that's taking place, what should you do? The answer is clear - make the most of the time you have left. If you're not a Christian, turn to Jesus now. He paid for your sins through His blood was shed on the cross. There is no other name by which we are saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus alone is the way to heaven (John 14:6), so turn to Him while you still can. If you're already Christian, don't fear the events of the Tribulation. Jesus promised to protect His followers from "the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world" (Revelation 3:10). But don't think that because you'll avoid the Tribulation, you won't face trials in this life. Jesus says you will. He says you'll face many trials and tribulations in this world, but don't let them bring you down, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Realize the rapture itself could be the next traumatic event to hit the world!! Think of those left behind, the fear they'll have, and the world they'll be living in. Use that as motivation to spread the Gospel. Right now, more people than ever are seeking Him. God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them (Romans 8:28). Paul referred to a “crown of righteousness” reserved for “all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8); a special reward exists for those eagerly anticipating Jesus’ return to take us home. As for readiness, the apostle John wrote, “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him at his coming” (1 John 2:28). There’s no genuine imminent hope for those who dismiss the prophetic signs of the day in which we live; only the fleeting hope that “somehow life will somehow return to normal in the future.” They cannot see how the “Great Reset” championed by the elite of our world will lead to the kingdom of the antichrist just as John wrote about in the book of Revelation. Those of us who understand the warnings of Revelation know that the judgments described on its pages are imminent!!!! We who are students of Bible Prophecy today and as Bereans (Acts 17:11) can clearly discern the times we are living in ! The Sons of Issachar as told in 1 Chronicles 12:32 ... had understanding of the times, but people did not discern the signs of the times during Jesus’ first coming even after over 300 detailed Bible Prophecies had foretold of it!! Unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day, we recognize the signs of Jesus’ return and look up in anticipation of His appearing to take us to the place He is preparing for us in his Father’s house (John 14:1-3). It does not get any better than that! The story of Harry R. Truman warns us of the dangers in ignoring the prophetic signs that tell us we indeed live in the last days....in fact in the FINAL HOUR!!! Just like the eruption that suddenly consumed the top of Mount St. Helens, so the day of the Lord will bring sudden devastation to this world, to those who now reject the saving message of the Gospel and will be left behind to face the day of the Lord. Harry R. Truman ignored the warnings of the impending disaster. What will you do with the warnings of biblical prophecy? As this dispensation of the church age (The Age Of Grace) draws to an end, it’s time for us to take our stand as Children of the Light(1 Thessalonians) and tell a lost and dying world that it’s time to repent, believe the Gospel, and be converted to a new life in Jesus Christ today! Explain to them with simplicity (Not Religion) the gospel of our salvation (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 10:9-10)!!! Here is an article shared from Brother Keegan:
Promise of the Rapture Jesus promised in John 14:3, “I will come again.” Where was He going? Remember that Jesus said this to sorrowing disciples because He had just told them He was going away (13:33, 36). He will tell them later (16:7) that it will be for their benefit that He go away. So where was He going? To where He was before He came to earth. “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father” (16:28). In chapter 16, He said three times that He was going to the Father (verses 10, 17, 28). Where is the Father? In the Father’s house (14:2 – “In my Father’s house are many rooms”). What is the Father’s house? Heaven, the place from which He came. At this “coming again” He says He will “take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (14:3). Jesus promised to come again and to take the disciples to the place where He is going. The attacks on the pre tribulation rapture often run something like this...The word “rapture” is not found in Scripture. The Latin Bible does contain the word rapio (1Th 4:17), and our English word “rapture” is derived from it. Rapio means “to seize or snatch away.” Purpose of the Rapture (Why?) What is the purpose of this great event? Jesus stated two things about the purpose of the Rapture. One is “to receive you unto myself” (this happens in the air) and the other, tied closely to the first, is “that where I am there you may be also” (this happens by taking us to the Father’s house). Paul writes that the purpose is “to meet the Lord in the air.” And as a result, we will forever be with the Lord (1Th 4:17). What needs to happen, then, for this purpose to be realized? Christ’s Bride is composed of those in heaven without bodies, yet Christ Himself is in a body of glory. They need to be reunited with bodies, but bodies of glory. Another part of the Bride is upon earth, in bodies of corruption. They must be changed, which is exactly what we find in 1 Corinthians 15:51: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (KJV). Thus, believers who have died are raised and changed, and believers who are living are changed. The Lord Jesus “will transform these humble bodies of ours into the likeness of his glorious body” (Php 3:21 NET). Immediately afterwards, we will be “caught up together … to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Th 4:17 KJV). So the purpose of the Rapture is for Christ to unite His Bride, the Church, to receive us to Himself forever, and to take us home to be with Him. Perhaps His anticipation of this event is even greater than ours! Pre-tribulation Rapture (When?) A number of Scriptures point to a pre-tribulation Rapture. First, consider texts teaching that Christ’s return is imminent. If He were not going to return until after the seven-year tribulation period begins or concludes, the texts emphasizing His return “at any moment” (i.e., imminent) appear senseless. Some argue the tribulation period has either passed or we’re living it now. Jesus described the tribulation as follows: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Mat 24:21 ESV). This language strongly implies the tribulation has not yet occurred. Consider some of the imminence texts. In Titus 2:13 Paul says we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” . Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:7-8, “… so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end” (KJV). Also, 1 Thessalonians 1:10 instructs us to “wait for His Son from heaven.” The teaching of these and additional texts (Php 3:20; Heb 9:28) is that we await the “any-moment” appearing of our Savior to take us to be with Him. The imminence texts are consistent with a pre-tribulation Rapture position. Second, there are texts teaching exemption from wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 says that we are to wait for His Son from heaven, even Jesus, who “delivered us from the wrath to come” or, literally, “the coming wrath”. The coming wrath appears to be a reference to the tribulation period. The nature of the tribulation itself is God’s wrath (Rev 6:17). Paul writes, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th 5:9). If some contend that part of the tribulation is not God’s wrath but Satan’s, the argument doesn’t hold, for we are saved from wrath – period. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation [judgment] for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Revelation 3:10 is also helpful here, where Jesus promises, “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth” . He does not say, “I will keep you in” but “I will keep you from.” The next verse (v11) tells us exactly how Christ will accomplish this – “I am coming soon.” We are saved from the coming wrath (i.e., the seven-year tribulation period) because the Rapture will remove us from the place where that wrath will be poured out. Third, a pre-tribulation Rapture is consistent with the removal of the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. Paul is writing to address the faulty belief among the Thessalonians that the Day of the Lord had already arrived (v2). They had received a letter, claiming to be written by Paul, which led them to embrace this false view. Because of this, they were “shaken in mind” and “alarmed” (v2). They believed they had missed the Rapture and were going to endure the horrors of the tribulation period!! The tribulation period cannot begin until this restrainer is removed. Who or what is this restrainer? First, note that the word for restrain (v6) is katecho and means “to hold something back.” Second, both neuter and masculine nouns are used to refer to this restrainer (v6 “what” and v7 “he”). Third, consider that this restrainer must be removable. Fourth, the restrainer must be powerful enough to hold back the outbreak of evil under “the man of lawlessness.” Only God can hold back the outbreak of evil. I believe this refers to the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is spoken of in Scripture as restraining sin and evil in the world (Gen 6:3) and is our restraint as believers. He convicts us of sin and wars against the flesh, thus restraining the full outbreak of evil in our lives. But how can God be removed, for God is omnipresent? I believe the restrainer is the Holy Spirit at work in and through the Church. This is the only view that adequately explains the use of both neuter and masculine genders. In Greek the word pneuma (Spirit) is neuter. But the Holy Spirit is also referred to consistently in Scripture by the masculine pronoun “he” (esp. in John 14-16). Mark Hitchcock wrote, “The church and its mission of proclaiming and portraying the gospel is the primary instrument the Holy Spirit uses in this age to restrain evil. We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Mat 5:13-16). We are the temple of the Holy Spirit both individually and corporately.”[2] But how can the Holy Spirit of God be removed? Is He not omnipresent? This is why I say the restrainer is the Holy Spirit in the Church. The event in 2 Thessalonians 2 seems to be a reversal of the Day of Pentecost. What began the Church Age? The coming of the Holy Spirit. What will end the Church Age? The removal of the Holy Spirit. How can He be removed? By removing from the earth all those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (i.e., all that are part of the Church) at a pre-tribulation Rapture. This must happen before the Day of the Lord begins. That trumpet is going to sound any day now!  For Christians and Jews, there is no better example of Bible prophecy than Isaiah chapters 52 and 53. It forms a complete picture of Jesus suffering and Jesus the Messiah. Many Jews have become Messianic Jews because of these verses that were written over 600 years before Jesus was born!
CHAPTER 52 VERSES: Isaiah 52:13-15 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied (astonished) at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Commentary: The Messiah as Sin-bearing Sacrifice (52:13–53:12) The closing verses of chapter 52 really belong to chapter 53. They trace the history of the Servant of Jehovah from His earthly life to the cross and then to His glorious appearing. Adolph Saphir, himself a Hebrew Christian, rhapsodizes on this greatest of all prophecies of the cross: Blessed, precious chapter, how many of God’s ancient covenant people have been led by thee to the foot of Christ’s cross!—that cross over which was written, “Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews!” And oh! what a glorious commentary shall be given of thee when, in the latter days, repentant and believing Israel, looking unto Him whom they have pierced, shall exclaim, “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted!” CHAPTER 53 VERSES: 1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Commentary: 53:1 The repentant remnant of Israel recalls that when the report of the Messiah’s First Advent went forth, not many believed. And consequently the saving power of the LORD was not revealed to many either. 53:2 The Lord Jesus grew up before the delighted gaze of Jehovah like an exotic, tender plant in this world of sin. He was like a root out of dry ground. Israel was the dry ground, a most unlikely soil. The nation of Israel could see no beauty in Him, nothing in His appearance to attract them. F. B. Meyer describes the mystery of His humiliation: The tender plant; the sucker painfully pushing its way through the crust of the caked ground; the absence of natural attractiveness. Such imagery awaits and receives its full interpretation from the New Testament, with its story of Christ’s peasant parentage, his manger-bed, and lowly circumstances—fisherfolk his choice disciples; poverty his constant lot; the common people his devoted admirers; thieves and malefactors on either side of his cross; the lowly and poor the constituents of his Church. This were humiliation indeed, though the irregularities of human lot are scarce distinguishable from the heights whence He came. 53:3 Despised and rejected, He was a Man of sorrows who knew what grief was. To men He was repulsive; even by Israel He was not appreciated. “Man of Sorrows,” what a name For the Son of God who came Ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! what a Saviour! Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned He stood; Sealed my pardon with His blood; Hallelujah! what a Saviour! —Philip P. Bliss 53:4–6 The remnant now knows and acknowledges the truth about Him. They confess: “It was our griefs He bore, our sorrows He carried, yet as we saw Him on the cross, we thought He was being punished by God for His own sins. But no! It was for our transgressions, for our iniquities, and in order that we might have peace, in order that we might be healed. The truth is that we were the ones who went astray and who walked in self-will, and Jehovah placed our iniquity on Him, the sinless Substitute.” Until that time when the remnant acknowledges Him, we who are Christians can confess: He was wounded for our transgressions, He bore our sins in His body on the tree; For our guilt He gave us peace, From our bondage gave release, And with His stripes, and with His stripes, And with His stripes our souls are healed. He was numbered among transgressors, We did esteem Him forsaken by His God; As our sacrifice He died, That the law be satisfied, And all our sin, and all our sin, And all our sin was laid on Him. We had wandered, we all had wandered, Far from the fold of “the Shepherd of the sheep”; But He sought us where we were, On the mountains bleak and bare, And brought us home, and brought us home, And brought us safely home to God. —Thomas O. Chisholm Our Lord Jesus suffered all five kinds of wounds known to medical science: contusions—blows by a rod; lacerations—scourging; penetrating wounds—crown of thorns; perforating wounds—nails; incised wounds—the spear. 53:7, 8 Like a sheep, that is, silent and uncomplaining before its shearers, He endured the cross. He was hurried away from prison and a fair trial (or “by oppression and judgment He was taken away”). It seemed impossible that He would have any posterity since He was cut off in His prime, slain for the sins of the people. 53:9 Wicked men plotted to bury Him with the criminals, but God overruled, and He was with the rich at His death—in the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Men plotted a shameful burial for Him although He had done no wrong, spoken no lie. 53:10, 11a Yet the LORD saw fit to bruise Him, to put Him to grief. When His soul has been made an offering for sin, He will see His posterity, that is, all those who believe on Him, He shall prolong His days, living in the power of an endless life. All God’s purposes shall be realized through Him. Seeing the multitudes of those who have been redeemed by His blood He will be amply satisfied. 53:11b “By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many.” This may mean that His knowledge of the Father’s will led Him to the cross, and it is by His death and resurrection that He can reckon believers to be righteous. Or it may mean “by the knowledge of Him,” that is, it is by coming to know Him that men are justified (John 17:3). In either case, it is through His bearing their iniquities that justification is possible for the “many.” The last stanza of Thomas Chisholm’s hymn, quoted above, reads triumphantly: Who can number His generation? Who shall declare all the triumphs of His Cross? Millions, dead, now live again, Myriads follow in His train! Victorious Lord, victorious Lord, Victorious Lord and coming King! 53:12 Another result of His finished work is that Jehovah will divide Him a portion with the great, that is, with the saints, whose only greatness lies in their connection with Him. And He shall divide the spoil with the strong; here again the strong are those believers who are weak in themselves but strong in the Lord. Four reasons for His glorious triumph are given. (1) He poured out His soul unto death; (2) He was numbered with the transgressors, that is, the two thieves; (3) He bore the sin of many; (4) He made intercession for the transgressors. David Baron comments: The verb … yaphˊgiaˊ (“made intercession”) is an instance of the imperfect or indefinite future, and expresses a work begun, but not yet ended. Its most striking fulfilment, as Delitzsch observes, was the prayer of the crucified Saviour, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” But this work of intercession which He began on the cross He still continues at the right hand of God, where He is now seated, a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel and the forgiveness of sins. On the paradoxes of this great passage as a whole, Moody comments: Despised, yet accepted and adored. Poor, yet rich. To die, yet to live. The Rabbis said there must be a double Messiah to fulfill this chapter. 
Friends, I found this nice list of recent Biblical signs from this website and decided to post them here as well. We should not be surprised at much of anything happening in 2020 as the Bible has foretold it.
https://www.unsealed.org/2020/06/well-you-did-ask-for-sign.html Signs Regarding Israel and Its People:
Signs Regarding the Church:
Signs Regarding Society:
Additional Signs:
Satanic Signs: As part of God's foretelling, we understand that satan is “chomping at the bit,” waiting to unleash his nefarious plan. We may watch him move his pawns into place based on what the Bible tells us he is going to do.
The Bible connects these things to the worship of satan and his world system. Even during this upcoming time of trouble, most of humanity will cling to these things instead of turning to the one true God: Now the rest of mankind... still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft. (Revelation 9:20-21) Signs of War:
Future wars:
Debatable Signs: Lastly, I present to you some additional signs that there is some disagreement as to whether or not they apply:
A Preview of Signs to Come: God has clearly spelled out what will occur during the final seven-to-ten years of this age. These have not yet occurred; however, previews have been given! The stage is set for them to occur in full force very swiftly—as soon as God's restraint on them is lifted: A preview of “birth pangs”:
More previews:
I understand that we are seeing wars, earthquakes, famines, pestilences, various terrors and signs in the heavens even today. They even seem to be increasing in frequency and severity. As of yet, these are still isolated events. The Coronavirus (Covid19) Pandemic is coming close to a global event, but the other signs aren't occurring globally on top of it--yet. Think of it as grave foreshadowing... What we see now is disruptive, but what will occur then is incomprehensible! ...when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. (Matthew 14:33) The book of Revelation is meant to REVEAL, not conceal. It's challenging to understand at times, yes, but God has hidden keys throughout the whole body of Scripture that unlock meaning. It's the most amazing and beautiful puzzle which ties together the entire revelation of God to humanity. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13) What I write here is my best understanding from Scripture, but it is a human understanding, and thus will be flawed in some points. I urge you to search the Scripture for yourself to see if these things are so, praying for wisdom! It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. (Proverbs 25:2) The lists above are not exhaustive, but I hope you find them helpful as you watch and wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! Maranatha!
Friends, we all need to pay close attention to the nation of Israel which many Bible scholars call God's Timepiece. It was created by God specifically to be His chosen people. After many periods of disobedience, God scattered the Jewish people for 1,900 years. Ezekiel prophesied the reformation of Israel would occur. It reformed as a nation on May 14th, 1948. It has been 72 years since then and so much has happened around the world.
The Bible says that before the 1948 generation passes, Jesus will return. While the length of a generation is assumed by many to be 70 years, in Psalms it is extended to as much as 80 years. Psalms 90:10: The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they be eighty years, yet is their labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. This may seem an over simplification but does fit nicely with all that we are seeing in 2020: Biblical lifespan of man: 80 years (with years of labor and sorrow) Israel rebirth: May 14th 1948 Years from May 14th 1948 to 2020: 72 years Years left in lifespan: 8 years The year for 1948 generation to be over (1948 + 80 years): 2028 Latest year for Jesus Christ to return: 2028 Latest year for the Rapture and the beginning of the 7 year tribulation (2018 – 7): 2021 We can take this as a guideline on how quickly the age of the Christian church can come to a close. This end of the age will be the Rapture of the church. Afterwards, the 7 year period known as the Tribulation will begin. The Tribulation is to test and punish both Jews and unbelievers. It will be the hardest time in human history. Millions of new believers will be saved during this period. For those who don't believe Israel is special, read on just how it was preserved over thousands of years. No other nation was scattered to the ends of the earth, brought back together and has flourished like Israel, God's chosen people. Christians were grafted onto God's family tree through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. But, in regards to the coming tribulation, Christians will be dealt with separately from the Jewish nation of Israel. 
The Miracle of Israel
Morris, Henry M.. Many Infallible Proofs: Evidences for the Christian Faith . Master Books. The continued existence of the Jews, after centuries of dispersal and persecution unique in human history, is a mute but eloquent testimony to fulfilled prophecy. The restoration of Israel as a nation among nations in our own generation is merely the most recent in a long line of prophecies dealing with the Jewish people which finally came to pass. When the nation was first founded, through Abraham, God promised: "I will make of thee a great nation …And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:2-3). Not only did Israel become a great nation under David and Solomon, but it is destined for even greater days in the future. The nations that have befriended the Jews (notably the United States and, to a lesser degree, England, France, and others) have indeed been blessed. Those that have persecuted the Jews (Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Rome, Spain, Nazi Germany, and others — Russia's time is coming!) have eventually gone down to defeat and humiliation. Through the Holy Scriptures, almost all written by Jews, and through Jesus Christ, the seed of Abraham has indeed become a blessing to all families of the earth. Some from every nation have found salvation and blessing through faith in Him. God promised the children of Israel great blessing in the land of promise if they would remain faithful to Him. He also predicted great suffering, persecution, and worldwide dispersion when they forsook Him. These prophecies came to pass. Some of these warnings were as follows:
Even more impossible than that a people could retain its identity without a homeland for two thousand years is that they should then return and establish their ancient nation once again. Yet this is exactly what the Bible had predicted.
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AuthorHas over 30 years experience in Information Technology and, more importantly, 30 plus years as a believer in Jesus Christ. Archives
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