Watchfulness in humility

I have urged Christians and Jews to WAKE UP and to be watchful. This means that they need to have an awareness of the political, military and religious events in and around Jerusalem and Israel, and this is best coupled with an attitude of repentance and humility. The coming events will mainly happen within the time span of one generation, and although the time of their occurrence remains unclear, indicators, precursors and pointers already seem to be taking place. The meaning of certain portions of Scripture that to previous generations were simply shrouded in mystery, are opening up, and prophecy tends to be written for those living through the events prophesied about.

The course of the present age has always been the same, so there is nothing new in wars, violence, greediness, oppression, exploitation and ungodliness, and Jerusalem and Israel have been fought over before, but now the difference is that the Jews have come to inhabit their own land and government again after nearly 2,000 years of exile. When we see Israel and its leadership today it may be hard for some of us to realize how recent this event was – for example, it happened just three years before I was born. Things move fast. Politically, technologically and economically the world is nothing like it was when I was a kid. Yes sir, things move fast. Holding that thought in mind, what should Christians and Jews initially be watchful for? The context of the events to come include:

• 1) The emergence of restless masses of disenfranchised people in the area around or to the north of Israel – displaced economic and political migrants struggling to find a new home, giving rise to political unrest. We see this kind of thing happening right now.
• 2) The successful emergence of an expansionist, fascist-like, oppressive, cruel, militaristic, ISIS-like regime to the north of Israel. It may promote itself as being the resurgence of an empire that at the moment seems long dead. It will initially not be focused on Israel and its leadership, but it will eventually turn its cruel attention in that direction.
• 3) A probably successful attempt to build a third Temple in Jerusalem. We can see how contentious this would be, but there is a movement that is gathering supporters and funds right now to do exactly that.
• 4) This implies the potential resurgence of traditional Jewish Temple practices and the rise of a traditional conservative religious group and leadership within Israel that will be critical of the ungodly corruption of its political leaders.