Here again is one of those signs...

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." ( Matthew 24:32-33 KJV )

Jesus utilizes a parable with a possible two-fold meaning. First, He could simply be saying that just as a budding fig tree in nature shows signs that summer is near, He is providing us with signs that the Tribulation and His Second Coming is near.

Or second, He could be symbolically referring to Israel as a "fig tree" as is done in Jeremiah 24 and Hosea 9:10 and saying that when Israel is reborn as a nation ("putteth forth leaves") we should know that the Tribulation is near ("summer is nigh"). If it is the latter, remember that after almost 2000 years Israel was regathered again as a nation in May 1948.

You see, Israel is the primary reason for the Tribulation. Here's a quickie course.

The Jews are God's 'chosen people':

"For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." ( Deuteronomy 7:6 KJV )

They are the "apple of His eye":

"...he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." ( Zechariah 2:8 KJV )

And, they were given the land of Israel by way of Abraham and his descendants:

"In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:" ( Genesis 15:18 KJV )

However, they still do not believe Jesus is the Messiah:

"But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart." ( 2 Corinthians 3:15 KJV )

So the reason for the Tribulation is to finally bring Israel to repentance and acceptance of Jesus:

"Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away." ( 2 Corinthians 3:16 KJV )

Unfortunately, it is going to take the Tribulation to make Israel see the true Messiah, and this brings us to the "Times Of The Signs". Israel is God's 'time piece' by which the signs occur and the Tribulation will manifest. None of the signs mentioned by Jesus were relevant whenever they occurred individually and without Israel being occupied by God's chosen people. But now they are extremely relevant as they are occurring together, at a high rate of frequency, and at the same time that the Jews again have their nation.

Currently, the Jews believe that the Sanhedrin, Israel's highest Jewish-legal tribunal will be the body that will formally recognize the Messiah. After 1600 years, the Sanhedrin were reestablished in Tiberias in January of this year.

One of the first functions undertaken by the Sanhedrin was to convene to discuss the building of the third Temple in Jerusalem. This is, by the way, the same Temple that Antichrist will desecrate in the middle of the Tribulation:

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" ( Matthew 24:15 KJV )

Israel is preparing for a messiah, but it's not going to be the messiah they want...it will be the Antichrist. We know that the Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for seven years:

"And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week..." ( Daniel 9:27 KJV )

I believe part of this covenant will be the Antichrist guaranteeing the building of the Jews third Temple in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount where the Muslim Dome of the Rock now resides. It will be by this act that Israel will be fooled into believing the Antichrist is their long awaited messiah. We know that Satan is the 'Father of lies' ( John 8:44 KJV ), so by the lies of his offspring, the Antichrist, is how he will get Israel to 'seal the deal' with his covenant and build their Temple.

As I told you in the previous commentary, the signs are all around us that Jesus is soon coming in the Rapture to take us Home to the Father's House ( John 14:3 KJV ). Israel is again a nation. The Sanhedrin are ready. We are seeing the signs, because it's time.

Keith

04-02-2005