If I were to tell you that within four years, billions of people will die, how would you react? Concerned? Shocked? Or would you write me off as a crazed Doomsday Prophet before I finish the word “die”?
I know it sounds crazy, and I’m not even sure if I believe it or not… “Billions to Die!” It’s unimaginable.
Yet that is exactly the impression I’m getting lately. End Times scholars, such as Irvin Baxter, have redoubled their efforts to warn the populace of the impending judgment day.
Baxter in particular has made it his ministry’s goal to reach every man, woman, and child on Earth with the Gospel message within 2008.
I am humbled by his ambition.1
Billions. Dead. What do I do with a claim like that?
To be honest, I haven’t dismissed it entirely. I’m not claiming omniscience or any other kind of precognition of the future — truly, only the Father knows the timetables! — yet I cannot simply remain willfully ignorant of the things going on around me, things which seem to be reaching a fever pitch among some.
All of that said, anything which I add to the myriad of voices would be mere speculation. Keep that in mind as you continue reading.
I first want to take you to the Book of Daniel; this passage is, if I may say, rather thick, but please stick with me.
“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” Daniel 9:24-27, ESV
My apologies to my Reformed Covenant Theology readers — this will probably get a bit too dispensational for your tastes. Continue reading at your own risk.
The first thing to keep in mind is that in this passage, a “week” refers to what is sometimes called a “prophetic week,” that is, a seven year period. In other words, “seventy weeks” would be 490 years. In verse 26, we see the Messiah being cut off after 435 years (sixty-two weeks).
Want to see Bible prophecy in action? Daniel records that the Messiah would be cut off 483 years (seven weeks [v. 25] + sixty-two weeks [v. 26]) after the decree to restore Jerusalem. This decree to rebuild Jerusalem came sometime in 457 BCE by Artaxerxes I in the seventh year of his reign (Ezra 7:12-256). Now, 483 years after that would be 26 CE. A slight adjustment to that to take into account the Jewish use of a 360-day lunar year would instead place us in 27 CE. That is the year that Jesus Christ was very likely crucified. As prophesied in the Book of Daniel, the Anointed One was cut off right on schedule.
Messiah being cut off fulfilled sixty-nine of Daniel’s seventy weeks. What about that last week?
In verse 26, still, we see that after the Crucifixion, there is a “people of the prince who is to come” which will destroy Jerusalem. When was Jerusalem destroyed? That took place in 70 BC, after the Messiah was cut off, just as prophesied. That siege took place under the command of Titus, a Roman emperor.
I do not believe Titus is the “prince who is to come” referred to in verse 26, and I’ll tell you why. In verse 27, there’s some business about a covenant which will be confirmed by a “he.” I believe this “he” refers back to verse 26’s “prince who is to come.”
Near as I can tell, Titus did not enter into a covenant relationship with the Jews.
I believe that this prince — the prince who ruled over the Romans even as they laid siege to Jerusalem — is still even today future.
Some people feel that the “he” who will form the covenant refers to the Messiah; however, this covenant is very temporary — lasting only seven years — while the New Covenant is an everlasting covenant.
Now what will happen is that this prince — whoever he may be — will show up on the scene and make a covenant with the Jewish nation.
Tell me, what is it that’s going on in the world today? Take the Annapolis Conference as an example. Efforts are very much underway to bring peace between Israel and her most persistent enemies. And it’s entirely possible that by the end of this year, a peace agreement will be reached, settling the borders of Israel.
Is this the confirmation of the covenant mentioned in Daniel? It’s entirely possible; if the agreement reached has a seven-year timetable, then that possibility will be a whole lot more likely. If it is, we’re in for one wild wide.
Daniel’s seventy weeks are not continuous! While the first period of seven weeks and the second period of sixty-two weeks followed one right after the other, there is an interval separating the sixty-ninth from the seventieth week. You can easily see this in that more than seven years passed between the cutting off of the Messiah and Jerusalem is destroyed. The gap is often called the “Church Age.” It is the period described in 2 Peter 3 as the period in which all of the elect are being saved. The Jews were given a very specific timetable of seventy weeks which many felt should have been completed by the time Peter wrote his epistles; many scoffers arose who mocked the Christians for believing in a future Second Advent. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise (that the “decreed end is poured out on the desolator” [Daniel 9:27]). But the fact of the matter is, we do not know how long it will take for all of the elect to come to repentance; our best guesses based upon current events are just that — guesses.
What kind of a ride?
Oh boy…
I’m not going to go into whether Christians will be present for these events or not; frankly, I do not know. Also, I won’t get into arguments with those who believe we should do everything in our power to stop these events from taking place; they are prophesied, and they will happen. You’re free to pursue whatever political interests you want — including advocating against unification of nations in a move toward global government — but don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re somehow stopping the Apocalypse. If the Apocalypse never happens, Jesus Christ will never return to this Earth in glory — frankly, that is something I’d be more than willing to endure Hell on Earth to enjoy.
This list is based upon the one in the Tim LaHaye Prophecy Study Bible2 called “Twenty Major Prophetic Events Yet to Be Fulfilled” (page 1,445).
- Antichrist, the “prince” who confirms the covenant in Daniel 9, sets up a one-world government (Revelation 6:2; 13:1-8). Efforts toward this have been taking place all around us, with the United Nations, European Union, and (possibly) impending North American Union as evidence. The passage in Daniel links the Antichrist with the people who destroyed Jerusalem, and we know that people to be the Romans. Antichrist’s kingdom will likely be a global revival of the Roman Empire.
- Antichrist establishes a seven-year covenant of peace with Israel (Isaiah 28:15; Daniel 9:24-27).
- A global church is established (Revelation 17:1-15) which is the ultimate culmination of thousands of years of idolatry on the part of Babylon. As Rome will hold political sway over the world, so will Babylon hold the world in a religious stranglehold. All interfaith and ecumenical movements seem to be working toward this, especially where cooperation between the Roman Catholics (Rome) and Muslims (Babylon/Iraq) is concerned.
- God’s first wave of judgments upon the world, known as the Seven Seals, results in a world war which kills twenty-five percent of the population, among other things. (Revelation 6:1-17) Assuming the population of the world has reached seven billion by then, 25% would be 1,750,000,000 people. The passage actually says “over a fourth of the earth.” Can you wrap your mind around that? I can’t, and I’m thankful that I can’t.
- During the judgments of the Seven Trumpets, a third of the remaining unbelievers will die (Revelation 8-9), among other things.
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Halfway through the Antichrist’s covenant with Israel, he betrays the Jews, breaking the covenant and setting an image of himself up in the Jews’ temple, proclaiming himself to be god and demanding worship. (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8). This event is known the Abomination of Desolations.
Not only are plans moving forward to establish peace of Israel, but materials have already begun to be gathered for the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. End Times events cannot move forward without the Jews’ temple. Prophecy is unfolding before our very eyes.
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A false prophet arises to direct worship of the Antichrist — some believe this could be a future papal father of the Roman Catholic Church — while in economics, the mark of the beast is established as a requirement in order to buy and sell. All who take the mark and worship the Antichrist in effect declare their antagonism toward Jesus Christ.
Great strides are being taken in economic technology; the mark of the beast is becoming increasingly plausible in ways that it never before would have been.
- The second half of the seventieth week is known as the Great Tribulation, and things get even more wild than during the first three and a half years.
- Armageddon. The world turns against Israel (Revelation 16:12-16).
- Despite all his power, ultimately the Antichrist’s political, economic, and religious systems are toppled.
- Jesus returns to this earth to establish His kingdom (Matthew 24:22-31; Revelation 19:11-21).
- Jesus reigns for 1,000 years while Satan is bound and all his pawns are cast into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:1-7).
- The New Heavens and the New Earth are created and the New Jerusalem comes into view. History has been consummated. Yahweh reigns forever. (Revelation 21-22).
I don’t know how soon those events are. We are told in the Scriptures to be awake, watchful of the events around us, prepared for the coming of the Lord (Revelation 16:15); yet we ought not to let anticipation of future events distract from the here and now.
The confirmation of the covenant with Israel may take place within a year; it may not. Interestingly enough, if the covenant is confirmed in the latter half of 2008, then Armageddon would take place in 2012 — a date somewhat notorious for its association with End of the World ideas, notably the end of time according to the ancient Mayan calendar.
We’re also amazingly close to my seventh-grade prediction of 2015. Indeed, if 2008 is the year of the covenant confirmation, then the return of Jesus Christ would be seven years later… 2015. Back then, I didn’t know a bit of biblical prophecy; not bad for an uneducated guess!
At the very least, the next few years will be interesting. Numerous “Really Big Things” are taking place in the world today, and seeing how it all plays out isn’t something you’re going to want to miss.
- Indeed, any believer living in a town full of people they’ve yet to reach out to should be humbled by such lofty ambition. You don’t have to agree with Baxter’s End Times related motivations, to be sure; you simply need to believe the Gospel enough to get it out there! [↩]
- Think what you will about Tim LaHaye, I have found his study Bible to be fairly reliable and it contains a wealth of information on various topics related to the End Times. [↩]
7 Comments
I have been reading and evaluating the writings of prophecy for years. I have also noted that all the statements and declarations of God are about the Jews and the world around them. I would not be surprised to see that the end times are the world as known then, with the Middle East and Europe being the world.
While it is never good taste to understand how God may do his work, I can foresee a military force of all Muslim forces along with Russia postured against Israel, a meteor hitting the earth in the Mediterranean Sea affecting the area of Israel. The impact could destroy a massive number of people in that area as well as initiate action of all tectonic plates and the volcanoes around the world. Such an action would represent the description of most of what I read.
My take on the anti-Christ and his dealings is that there is a major political figure already on the scene. Most all of you that have been examining prophecy have recognized Javier Solana, WEU and EU political leader as meeting the attributes attributed to the coming Anti-Christ, to include his initiative to move to a one world government. His European Neighbor-hood Partnership Instrument (ENPI) which he is supporting with funds for national improvement was signed by Israel, and he says the Instrument went into effect Jan 1, 2007; that makes the mid point June or July 2010, which coincides with the date he has targeted for all the military forces to be armed and ready; the military forces that agreement 666 gave him the authority to control.
Those who have read this far might like to read more about the asteroid strikes that are prophesied.
Also, there is an interesting discussion about the multiple, parallel fulfillments, prophecies and time lines of Daniels 70 Weeks prophecy in Chapter 7 of Mystery of Tammuz 17, an online book accessible form the noted web site or specifically at : http://www.apocalypse2008-2015.com/mystery-chapter7.html .
Hold fast to a biblical faith in these last days of witness.
I would like to go on the record as stating that the world will not end in 2015. You heard it here first.
People have been finding in the Bible reasons why the world was about to end for quite some time. They have always been wrong.
A prophecy that is only clear in hindsight is not a prophecy.
Senior — If prophecies were 100% crystal clear and were of the form, “In 4092, over 4 millennia after Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, He will return again. Star Trek will still be the best sci-fi, and the Bush & Clinton families are still vying for the White House,” it wouldn’t help matters any.
For the same reason that Jesus spoke in parables, the prophecies of Scripture have an element of mystery to them — not because they are inaccurate (Daniel predicted the year of Jesus’ crucifixion over 500 years in advance, for instance), but in order to keep the ears of the deaf stopped while those who have ears to hear will benefit from them.
Further, as vague as some End Times prophecies are, there are many which are crystal clear — primarily that Jesus Christ will return, which is prophesied dozens (hundreds?) of times throughout the Bible. These clearer prophecies, while they provide great hope, can also cloud our vision for the hear and now — Paul chastised the Thessalonians for foregoing responsibilities in the hear in now as they waited in eager anticipation for the Lord’s return.
Now, if people truly believed that within eight years, the Kingdom of Christ will be established on Earth, there’d probably be quite a few people who would foolishly forgo all temporal affairs — marriage, vocation, and so on — in order to get in as much “spirit time” as possible in service to the Lord. I say this is foolish because, as Paul reminds us repeatedly, we have all sorts of obligations in this world, and disobedience or unfaithfulness in them is tantamount to disobedience to and unfaithfulness to Jesus.
That is why I was careful to tag this post with “speculation.” I’d be lying if I said I didn’t believe the current events of the world are making biblical prophecy seem more and more imminent — we’re approaching the first time in nearly 2,000 years that the Jews will have their temple back, which is required for various prophecies to come true, notably the Antichrist’s setting up of an image of himself within the temple.
Likewise, whereas global government and global religion (excepting faithful Jews and Christians who, we are told, will suffer for the sake of their faith) once seemed like a fairy tale, the world is becoming increasingly united, just as John was shown 1,900 or so years ago on Patmos.
“Prophecy is only clear in hindsight” doesn’t seem to apply here at all. The application of biblical prophecies to current events is certainly a stretch and is something we will likely only be able to tell in hindsight, unless certain major aspects of the prophecies do occur which would be beyond coincidence — such as a world leader declaring himself to be god… in the Jews’ temple… while setting up an idol of himself… and giving control of his worship over to a world prophet…
Also, considering 2008-2015 hasn’t even occurred yet, I’m not sure how I’m interpreting anything in hindsight. I’m simply looking ahead and saying how things might unfold based upon how I understand the clearer major prophecies of the Bible — though there are many which I can read over and over again and they are simply above my head currently, but then again so were doorknobs at one point, but I grew out of that too.
“Also, considering 2008-2015 hasn’t even occurred yet, I’m not sure how I’m interpreting anything in hindsight”
You’re not. But since this is just another in a long line of “The world will end soon” pronouncements based on the Bible, it is meaningless.
I can predict that the Chicago Bears will win their next game. As long as I keep predicting it, I will eventually be right. Doesn’t mean I actually predicted it.
I notice that the crystal clear prophecies are about what will happen once the vaguely prophecied end times arrive.
I stand by my prediction. The world will not end in 2015.
You seem to omit the most important happening in it all: the rapture! After that antichrist will appear “For the mystery of lawlessness already works; only [there is] he who restrains now until he be gone,” 2 Th2:7
I didn’t go into the timing of the Rapture of the Church because I am uncertain of its timing myself. For the most of my Christian life I’ve been a staunch pretribulationist; however, I am coming more to the conclusion that we simply cannot know when the Rapture will be, and I’m fine with that until the Lord broadens my knowledge more so.