The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Eyewitnesses to the Times of the Signs

Jack Kinsella

What Lamb & Lion Means To Me

Jack Kinsella: We were thrilled when asked to contribute to the 1,000th column issue for Lamb & Lion Ministries. Lion & Lamb, and of course Dr. Reagan, are a great source of inspiration and discussion among our members in the Omega Letter Member’s forum. His essays and teaching have helped answer many of the difficult questions regarding Scripture and Bible prophecy, both in our forums and well beyond. Lamb & Lion has blessed our members, their friends and our visitors. We are grateful for their faithfulness to Scripture in the face of so much empty sensationalism that is out there as we count down the days to the Trumpet. It is my prayer that the Lord will continue to bless Dr. Reagan and the ministry he founded and continue to prepare the Church for what is surely to come upon this generation. May He come quickly!

Guest Article: “Eyewitnesses to the Times of the Signs”

The Jerusalem Act

The Jerusalem Act, passed by Congress in 1995, has several key provisions that enshrine that commitment as a matter of law, rather than of foreign policy. It notes that every country designates its own capital, and that Israel has so designated Jerusalem, the spiritual center of Judaism.

It states that since the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, religious freedom has been guaranteed to all. And it recalls several previous Congressional resolutions calling for the city to remain united.

The Act then states what henceforth will be not Congressional preferences but the official policy of the United States toward Jerusalem: that it should remain a united city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected; that it should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and that the U.S. Embassy should be established there no later than May 31, 1999.

The Act gives the President the authority to suspend relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, but only for a period of six months at a time. To suspend the provisions of the Jerusalem Act, the President must report to Congress that implementing it at this time would not be in the best interests of national security.

The administration has to do more than just invoke national security, the Act requires him to give details explaining how suspending the Act for another six months is in America’s best interests. The Act had near unanimous support by both Houses and was overwhelming passed by the Senate (93-5) and by the House (374-37).

The United States is one of only three nations in the world that recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Only two nations actually relocated their embassies to Jerusalem — Costa Rica and El Salvador. (The Arab world severed relations with them both.)

The United Nations issued a 1997 report entitled “The Status of Jerusalem” that declares it an “international city” that should remain divided along the armistice lines of the Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement of April 3, 1949.

As a consequence, the whole world opposes Israel’s possession of Jerusalem, except for the United States.

Zechariah’s Prophecy Concerning Jerusalem

This is exactly the scenario prophesied twenty-five hundred years ago by the Prophet Zechariah. The prophet Zechariah lived in the 6th century BC and was among those Babylonian exiles who returned to Judea after the seventy years of captivity prophesied by Jeremiah was completed around 536 BC. The book bearing his name divides itself into two major portions. Chapters 1-8 deal principally with events contemporary with the prophet, while chapters 9-14 sweep across the centuries, reaching all the way to the second coming of Christ at the end of history.

It is the prophet Zechariah who prophesied that in the last days, the world would be focused on Jerusalem and would be united against Israel’s possession of the Holy City. The prophet Zechariah also predicted that any nation who “burdened themselves” with Jerusalem would be “cut in pieces.” Portions of Zechariah’s prophecies for the last days are already in the process of being fulfilled in our day.

At the present time, Israel’s only ally is the United States. The United States, as a matter of national law, is committed to Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, despite the policies of any sitting administration.

It was US support of Israel that was cited by Osama bin-Laden in his declaration of jihad against America, and it was US support of Israel that Osama claimed was the impetus behind the September 11 attacks and the subsequent war on terror.

Zechariah’s Prophecy Concerning the Messiah

The prophet Zechariah also said that God Himself will stand with Israel, promising that, “he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David” (Zechariah 12:8) and that, “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (12:10)

That is pretty amazing stuff, when you think about it. Here is a Jewish prophet, living five centuries before the First Christmas, discussing the second coming of the Messiah Whom the prophet acknowledges was “pierced” by His Own people.

But for the most part, Zechariah’s prophecies for the last days remain unfulfilled. But they will be. Zechariah’s track record for specificity is unrivaled. Consider the following prophecy concerning the Lord at His First Advent: “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give Me My price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for My price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” (Zechariah 11:12-13)

Zechariah, speaking on behalf of the promised Messiah, makes the following points.

Zechariah speaks of haggling over His price, “If ye think good, give Me My price; and if not, forbear.” Matthew records Judas haggling over the price for betraying Jesus, saying, “What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.” The term “covenanted” (suntithemi) means “to work out a mutually agreeable contract” — a negotiated settlement. Zechariah specified the metallic composition of the coinage by which the transaction would be made. It was neither gold nor copper, but rather, “silver” and Zechariah predicted the precise number of coins to be paid.

Zechariah’s prophecy indicated that the money would be returned to the Jewish leaders, the custodians of “the house of God.” Matthew’s record reveals that Judas, in a swoon of regret, brought back the coinage to the chief priests and elders. But they would have none of it. Instead, they used the money to buy a “potter’s field” to serve as a burial place for strangers.

And, the prophet indicated that in some way the silver coins were to be “cast” (thrown) into the “house of Jehovah.” Zechariah has perfectly depicted the act of the betrayer. Judas “cast down the pieces of silver into the sanctuary” (Matthew 27:5).

An Awesome Responsibility

The detail, as already noted, is breathtaking, when one sits down to think about it. But in our day, so much of Bible prophecy seems to be on the cusp of its ultimate fulfillment that we tend to get a bit complacent about it.

Even among serious Christians with a love for His appearing, there is sometimes a sense of “so what” that replaces our earlier “gee whiz” attitude to the signs of our times.

“Knowing this first, that there shall come IN THE LAST DAYS scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Peter 3:4-5)

Peter goes on, writing; “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, BY THE SAME WORD are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3:5-7)

The fact is, He IS coming back, and He IS coming back soon. This isn’t a case of wishful thinking, or a hopeful interpretation of the signs of the times. We are living in the final hours of human history, and we have been given an awesome responsibility.

Every person that we meet in the course of our day-to-day lives has an eternal destiny. Either it will be spent in unspeakable joy in the presence of Christ, or it will be spent in unspeakable horror in the lake of fire.

And for all any of us know, we may be the only hope they have of learning the truth. Before it is too late.

Don’t let yourself get complacent. The Bible is true and the Lord IS coming back — in this generation.

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ABOUT AUTHOR View all posts Author Website

Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

7 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus, come! I started reading this blog every day because of the 1,000th Article flurry. Now that the 1,000th article has probably passed, I am "hooked" on coming here every morning. Thanks for another informative piece.

  • I can not agree that the United States is an ally when you consider the fact, it is this nation that is the chief component in compelling Israel to divide the Land to their enemies! It is also chief in prohibiting Jewish citizens from building Jewish homes on Jewish land! We all know that the Road Map is only a revised and subtle form of the "Final Solution" using diplomacy to destroy the State of Israel!

    It is also clear that our embrace of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Libya, and plans for Syria, clearly compromise the security of Israel to better serve the interest of the U.S. and their appeasement of Islamic factions! Though they have plans for Syria, I do not believe they will come to fruition, Russia and China seem to want to maintain this territory as a strategic buffer against further Western encroachment!

    We all are entitled to believe what we will, yet it is clear that when it comes to the Land of Israel and the warning of the Lord God against those seeking to carelessly divide it, that they are in direct conflict with the God of the Universe! It might be true however that the U.S. is an ally of a secular Israel that cares nothing for the things of God, perhaps in those circumstance one would have to agree, yet who have they formed an alliance with would be my next question!

  • The prophecies being fulfilled currently are indeed staggering for those watching and will be startling to those asleep. Lamb and Lion had an article on thie prophecies of fulfillment not too long ago. Many more to come in quick succession it may seem. What a marvelous time we have been dropped into I hope I don't squander this gift for it truly is from the Lord.

  • As long as Barak HUSSEIN "My Muslim Faith" Obama is president the nation of Israel has no friend in the White House.

  • If the information being pumped out by the media is true that Bashar Assad has now taken up residence in a fortified compound in Latakia, that would be quite a strategic move! Russian personnel are located in both ports of operation, Latakia and Tartus! Regardless if Russia is providing security for Assad or not, if any attack threatens Russian personnel, it could end badly for the perpetrators! The Western backed rebels and their terrorist militia affiliates would find themselves on the receiving end of Russian retribution! That would surely put a damper on Western plans for another Muslim Brotherhood dominated State threatening the security of Israel!

    I for one would rather have Russia deal with these terrorist militias supported by the West then have Al Qaeda gain access to the large stockpile of chemical/biological agents! If the West wants to back these terrorists then perhaps they should be willing to accept responsibility for their strategic blunder providing WMD's to Al Qaeda! I know my opinion goes against the popular grain yet that comes with being well informed of the current situation, not relying on the corporate media for the strategic picture!

  • Hey y'all,
    Here's something very uplifting: Answer to Christian-bashers shoots up Amazon
    “The Magic Man In The Sky: Effectively Defending The Christian Faith”

    Watch the short video at the end of the article – Wow!!

    I've heard preachers make mention of someone in the past [I think it was even way before 1948], when asked of his proof for the existence of the God of the Bible, he replied "the Jews"…

    But I don't recall anyone ever doing anything or making the case with Deuteronomy 4:34-35 before. It just seems like those 2 verses have been dormant for the past 3400 yrs until Gallups came along.

  • Excellent video, DrNoFog! I like how Gallup took Israel as a super sign and applied it to not only to Bible prophecy but proof in God's existence. Makes me want to read the book.

    Still praying for you, Brother!

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