Let’s take a quick look at today’s prophecy-related headlines which point towards the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the end of the world as we know it.
First, today, under the Sign category of THE TURMOIL IN ISRAEL & THE MIDDLE EAST — According to Reuters, the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and the establishment of a Palestinian state by late 2017. The resolution called for negotiations to be based on territorial lines that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. It also called for a peace deal within 12 months. Even if the draft had received the minimum nine votes in favor, it would have been defeated by Washington’s vote against it. The United States is one of the five veto-wielding permanent members.
Second, today, under the Sign category of THE TURMOIL IN ISRAEL & THE MIDDLE EAST — According to the Algemeiner, a commander of Iran’s widely feared Basij paramilitary corps has inadvertently confessed that the Tehran regime aims to build up an arsenal of nuclear and chemical weapons. Abdul Dashti, the head Basij commander in Bushehr – a city on Iran’s Persian Gulf coast that contains the Bushehr nuclear power plant – had been addressing the fight against “foreign influences” in Iran when he made the admission. Dashti is reported to have said, “The battle against satellite TV and social networks on the Internet is more important than the effort of achieving chemical and atomic weapons”, thereby admitting that there is indeed an effort to weaponize a program that the regime continues to insist is peaceful in intent.
Third, today, under the Sign category of WARS & RUMORS OF WARS — According to the Guardian, Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have declared the “defeat” of the US and its allies in the 13-year-old war, a day after the coalition officially marked the end of its combat mission. The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force is shifting to a support mission for Afghan army and police more than a decade after an international alliance ousted the Taliban government for sheltering the planners of the 9/11 attacks. A Taliban spokesman said, “ISAF rolled up its flag in an atmosphere of failure and disappointment without having achieved anything substantial or tangible.” He vowed the Taliban would restore their regime and said, “the demoralised American-built forces will constantly be dealt defeats just like their masters.”
Fourth, today, under the Sign category of DISEASES & EPIDEMICS — According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that this year’s flu season has officially crossed the epidemic threshold. Fifteen children have died across the country from influenza, as the number of states reporting a “high” level of influenza activity jumped from 13 to 22 in one week. The determination follows an earlier warning from the agency that this year’s flu season could be a severe one.
Fifth, today, under the Sign category of THE TURMOIL IN ISRAEL & THE MIDDLE EAST — According to Israel National News, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said Tuesday’s vote at the United Nations Security Council on Palestinian statehood underlined the need for Israel and the Palestinian Authority to urgently resume peace negotiations. In a statement, she said the vote “underlines once again the urgency of resuming meaningful negotiations between the parties and the need for the international community to focus on concrete achievements” to reach a final settlement. In a sign of EU divisions, France and Luxembourg voted for the resolution, but Britain abstained as the measure fell one vote short of winning the nine “yes” votes necessary for adoption by the 15-member council.
You can read these stories in more detail and get more prophecy-related news at SecondComingHerald.com.
The prophetic passage of Scripture we are looking at today is Exodus 19:7-8 which reads: “And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.”
Allow me to share with you some commentary on this passage from the Popular Bible Prophecy Commentary, edited by Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson.
Dwight Pentecost continues his explanation of the Mosaic Law: Seventh, the law was given to provide a way in which the people could be restored to fellowship after committing sins against God and the community. Individual Israelites “received forgiveness for specific sins through the various offerings that God provided.” Eighth, the law was given to provide instructions to guide Israel’s worship. The minutiae of the laws concerning the Levitical priesthood, the tabernacle’s structure and service, the weekly Sabbath, the monthly new moons, and the annual cycle of festivals were all given to ensure Israel’s regulation of acceptable worship practice.
Ninth, the law was given as a standard to reveal whether an individual Israelite was properly related to the Lord. And tenth, the law was given as a means to prophetically reveal the Messiah to Israel. As this volume reveals, the Torah is studded with messianic prophecy. After all, Jesus is the incarnate Word, the indwelling Torah, to all those who believe.
Although the Torah is “holy and righteous and good,” it was only a temporary provision for Israel that served a purpose and ran a course. Its areas of deficiency, such as its inability to justify an individual, let alone transform the human heart, led to its being replaced by the superior New Covenant.
If the Lord tarries His coming and we live, we will continue looking at the prophetic passages of the Bible in our next broadcast / podcast.
Our second coming quote for today is from Thomas V. More. He said, “Christ is coming to the earth, in such form at least as shall fulfil his purposes of mercy to his friends and justice to his foes.”
If you are not ready for the return of Jesus Christ, may I encourage you to get ready today by receiving Him as your Savior. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh. Let us join in the prayer of John the Revelator — “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” God bless you.
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for over twenty-seven years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.