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ot so long ago Joy and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Israel. To walk where Jesus walked; to sail across the Sea of Galilee where Jesus and his disciples crossed; to enter the gates of Jerusalem and visit the Holy City and say a prayer at the wall of the ancient Temple where Jesus challenged the religious Pharisees (and predicted that this temple would be destroyed—and it was in A.D.70 by the Romans); to be at the Mount of Olives and walk down through the Garden of Gethsemane to the place of the skull where Jesus was crucified; and then enter the tomb where Jesus lay dead for three days, and upon exiting read the sign, “He is not here, he is risen,” made God’s Word, the Bible, and his message of salvation leap right off the pages of history.

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All of this, plus overlooking the city of Bethlehem where Jesus was born, was a life-changing experience.

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It was also a vivid reminder that the events that happened in the places we visited were foretold in the Bible hundreds of years prior to their happening—providing positive evidence of the validity of God’s Word and his message to mankind. For instance, some fifteen hundred years B.C., God gave the first hope of a Savior (the Christ) who would come from Israel through the tribe of Judah.¹ A thousand years B.C., the Bible said that Christ would come through the family of David.² Seven hundred years B.C., Bethlehem was named by the prophet Micah as the birthplace of Christ.³ About the same time the prophet Isaiah wrote that Christ would be born of a virgin,⁴ and six hundred years B.C., the prophet Daniel predicted the time of Christ\'s coming.⁵ All of these predictions were fulfilled exactly as stated in the Bible.

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Also, hundreds of years before Christ came to earth David and Isaiah predicted the sufferings of Christ and the manner of his death. David, referring to Jesus, wrote, \"They pierced my hands and my feet.\"⁶ This is precisely what happened when Jesus was crucified.

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I will restore the fortunes of my people
Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined
cities and live in them again....— God

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Furthermore, some fifteen hundred years B.C., God also said through Moses that Israel would turn from God and be driven from their homeland. God said, \"I will bring the land into desolation ... I will scatter you among the nations ... your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.\"⁷

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The result? In 721B.C., the ten northern tribes of Israel were taken into captivity by Assyria and in 586 B.C. the two southern tribes were taken to Babylon (modern day Iraq). Seventy years later a remnant of 40,000 Jews returned to Israel while the rest were scattered throughout the world. In A.D.70 Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, and the remnant of Israelites was dispersed among the nations. Israel then became desolate as predicted 1,500 years before.

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However, God\'s Word also stated that Israel would be restored, saying, \"Neither will I destroy them utterly.\"⁸ \"For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all countries and will bring you into your own land.\"⁹ \"I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and live in them again,\"¹⁰ and the nation \"will blossom as the rose.\"¹¹

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To witness in person these places of Biblical prophecy and see that Israel, after almost two thousand years, is again “blossoming as the rose” and, since 1948, has been restored as a nation, is further evidence of God’s fulfilled promises to Israel and all mankind.

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The Third Temple

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Perhaps even more exciting was to visit the Temple Institute in Jerusalem—a vivid reminder of events yet to come—and learn firsthand that the Jews are right now planning on building the third temple. In fact, they are currently training priests to lead the worship and are making the needed instruments for worship in this temple.

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What, then, is the significance of this new temple? Simply put, it has to be in place for the coming Antichrist and Christ’s return to earth.

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Page Two

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It is true that genuine Bible scholars vary as to the specific timing of end time events, but all agree that Jesus will return as promised by Jesus himself.¹² Furthermore, as Jesus’ first coming—from his birth to his crucifixion and return to Heaven—covered a period of thirty-three years, so his second coming will cover a period of seven years.

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The Rapture

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First, will be the rapture—the catching up into heaven—of every believer who has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her Savior. As God’s Word states, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”¹³

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Immediately, in heaven there will be a time of great celebration as we behold the Savior face to face, and meet up with Christian loved ones and friends, knowing that we will all be together forever. We can’t even begin to imagine what this glorious time will be like—or what it will be like for those not ready for Christ’s return and are left behind!

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Armageddon .... will be the climax of world
history as we know it.... After which will be
the second coming of Jesus Christ.

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The Great Tribulation

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Immediately following the rapture on earth will be the start of the seven-year Great Tribulation when the Antichrist will appear. He will become the ruler of the revived Roman Empire (probably the EU), and cause devastation—the like of which the world has never before seen. The Antichrist will be the ruler of the coming one-world government, the one-world economy, and a one-world religion which will be worship of himself. [For more information see, “The Antichrist Is Coming”.]

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At the end of the Great Tribulation the nations of the world will come against Israel seeking to destroy her. This will be the greatest battle the world has ever seen—the Battle of Armageddon. This will be centered in the Valley of Megiddo in Israel.¹⁴ At this point Jesus Christ will return to earth (with his true followers) via the Mount of Olives and totally destroy the Antichrist and all enemies of Israel. This will be the climax of world history as we know it. Jesus Christ, with his followers, will then reign on earth for a thousand years¹⁵ prior to the creation of the new earth and the new heaven.

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The Significance of the Third Temple

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The building of the third temple is profoundly significant because it has to be in place for the Antichrist who, half-way through the tribulation, will enter it and desecrate it by setting himself up as God in it.¹⁶ The fact that right now the Jews are planning on building the new temple—and making all the necessary preparations for worshipping in it—is a profound reminder and a serious warning for all mankind that the entrance of the Antichrist could be just around the corner.

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While only God knows the day and hour of
Christ’s return, there is no major prophecy
that has to be fulfilled to precede the rapture
—the second coming of Jesus Christ.

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The exciting news is that, according to my understanding of and belief in Biblical prophecy, the second coming of Jesus Christ for the rapture—the catching up of all true Christians into heaven—will precede the entrance of the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. And while only God knows the day and hour of Christ’s return, there is no major prophecy that has to be fulfilled to precede the rapture—the second coming of Jesus Christ—to catch up and take all his true followers to be with him forever for all eternity.

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The critical issue is not so much the exact timing of these events, but are you ready? If Jesus Christ should return today—and he could—would you be “caught up to meet him in the air,” or would you be left behind? Whatever you do, make absolutely sure you are ready to go with Jesus.

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For help, read, “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://www.actsweb.org/christian or “God’s Invitation” at: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php.

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1. Genesis 3:15 and 49:10. 2. 2 Samuel 7:12-16. 3. Micah 5:2. 4. Isaiah 7:14. 5. Daniel 9:25, 26. 6. Psalm 22:16 and Isaiah 53. 7. Leviticus 26:32-33. 8. Leviticus 26:44. 9. Ezekiel 36:24. 10. Amos 9:14 (NLT). 11. Isaiah 35:1. 12. John 14:1-3 (NIV). 13. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NIV). 14. See Revelation 16:16. 15. Revelation 20:6. 16. 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

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