The ‘Signs’ of the end
Have you ever considered the prophetic Bible passages in Isaiah 63 and in Revelation chapter 19 and how they are connected to the last great end-time battle between the Lord Jesus the Messiah with Islam? Today the nations of the world are rapidly heading towards that time described in the Word of God as a time of great distress unequalled from the beginning of the world and never to be equalled again. (Daniel 12:1-2) (Matthew 24:21-22) The conditions in the world are deteriorating. Wars, rumours of wars, earthquakes, famines, diseases, spiritual deception and persecution have always been around (Matthew 24:4-14) but as the end draws near these ‘labour pains’ will increase in frequency and intensity as the physical ‘birth’ of the Messiah’s kingdom on earth gets closer. The Lord Jesus called them ‘birth pains’ (Mathew 24:8) and as these ‘contractions’ get closer we know that the physical birth of the Messiah’s Kingdom on earth is near at hand, even at the very gates!
A ‘rattling’ of the bones
While these ‘signs’ have always been with us the difference today from previous generations is that Israel is back in the land as Ezekiel the prophet foretold in Ezekiel 37:1-10. The ‘rattling noise’ of the bones coming together was heard around the world in 1948 and since then the ‘bones’ have been clothed with sinews and flesh but as yet the life giving power and presence of the Holy Spirit is yet to come to the nation as a whole. The Time of Trouble for Jacob for Israel, for the faithful Church and for the whole world at large still lies ahead but even though Israel as a nation and the faithful saints go onto that time of testing for three and a half years they will be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30:1-7) (Revelation 7:14)
As in the Day of Battle
A day is coming when the Lord Jesus the Messiah will actually fight Antichrist and his forces and destroy them completely. If you turn to Isiah 63:1-6 and compare it with Revelation 19:11-21 you will see that they both describe the same battle. The garments of the Messiah are spattered with the blood of His enemies as they are trodden down in the winepress of God’s wrath. (Isaiah 63:2-3) The same things are mentioned in Revelation chapter 19. The Messiah’s robe is dipped in blood and His name by which He is called is called is the Word of God. (Revelation 19:13) He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty (Revelation 19:13-15) these armies He is fighting are Islamic. If you go back to Isaiah 63 we are told that the Messiah is seen coming back from Edom and Bozrah where He has been in a battle. (Vs 1) Edom today starts in Southern Jordan and Bozrah is the town that is the southern gateway into Saudi Arabia itself. Edom itself goes all the way down into Saudi Arabia, the heart of the Muslim world. In Ezekiel 25:12-14 God takes revenge on Edom for what they have done to Israel and to the saints. God says He will lay Edom waste from Teman to Dedan and these areas lay in the region of Saudi Arabia today. Added to this we are told that Edom’s ultimate destruction will be at the hands of Israel (Vs 14).
The Messiah’s war with Islam
Now if you go back to Revelation chapter 19 you will see that this battle against the Beast Empire of Islam is actually the battle against Antichrist and the false prophet. These two passages in Isaiah chapter 63 and Revelation chapter 19 when compared with each other clearly define Islam as the final beast empire the Messiah destroys at the end of this present age. Israel will also be present and fight alongside their Messiah. (Zechariah 12:5-9) I am persuaded that we are in the very last days. How far the consummation of all things is away we cannot be sure but the ‘birth pains’ of all the things mentioned by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13 are escalating in frequency and intensity today. As Isaiah the prophet writes; ”The earth is broken asunder, The earth is split through, The earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again (a new heaven and earth will immerge). So it will happen in that day, That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high (Satan and the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places), And the kings of the earth on earth.” (Isaiah 24:19-21) This clearly describes the spiritual conditions in the world today. Compare this with (Revelation 6:12-17)
Side by side with the Messiah
At this last great end-time battle against Antichrist and his forces every believer will be fighting side by side with Israel under their Commanding General the Lord Jesus the Messiah. (Revelation 19: 7-8, 14) At His command and the sound of the trumpet blast the armies of heaven will launch their final assault on the Kingdom of Antichrist. (Revelation 19:15) The mighty ‘boulder’ of God’s Kingdom will smash all of those world empires arrayed against the Messiah and then that ‘Boulder’ of God’s Kingdom will fill the whole earth. (Daniel 2:32-35, 44-45) The Antichrist will come to his end at Jerusalem. (Daniel 11:45) After that the saints will inherit the earth and Israel as a nation will “possess her possessions.”
