Peering Into 2005
By Terry James
Source Article www.raptureready.com
While fortune telling and other forms of soothsaying are expressly forbidden by the Word of God, we are
nonetheless exhorted by the Lord Jesus Christ to discern the times in which we live. Jesus scathingly admonished the pious
Jewish leaders for their complete lack of discernment concerning His first coming:
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning,
It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can
ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matt. 16:1-3).
Jesus said the religious leaders were deliberately ignorant of the signals that led to His first coming. They refused to
recognize the time of their visitation by the promised Deliverer–the Messiah.
It is with the determination not to be put in the same classification as those hypocritical people that we always strive,
as good servants of Christ, to discern the signs of our times relative to the Lord’s second visitation to Planet Earth.
And, as anyone who prayerfully observes signals happening around us understands, under the magnifying glass of God’s
Holy Word He continues to provide tremendous revelation that these times are very near His Son’s return to this violently
troubled world.
So, as the new year 2005 begins, we will address some key prophetic indicators, with an eye toward discerning what might
await this year.
Israel
Despite sporadic suicide bombs and attacks from Islamic terrorists there seems, with the elections for new Palestinian
leadership, to be a serious effort to keep the Roadmap to Peace on track. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has the endorsement–for
the time-being at least—of the most powerful Mid-Eastern leader, President Hosni Mubarek of Egypt.
Very interesting is the talk of Sharon possibly acquiescing to a new Palestinian state, whose capital would be Jerusalem.
This is hard to fathom, but it is the conjecture within the international community of diplomats. It is certainly not hard
to imagine that such a slap to God’s face, combined with a covenant with the enemies of God (Daniel 9: 26-27), could
be the catalyst for bringing great wrath from Heaven.
Look for talk of such an arrangement to continue to develop as 2005 progresses.
The EU
Powerful movement is afoot within the reviving version of the empire of the people of the “prince that shall come”
(Daniel 9: 26). The EU’s monetary unit–the euro–is currently worth $1.35 against the US dollar. Prospects
are that unless swift and dramatic adjustments are made, the dollar will fall further against the EU currency. With the nations
of the ancient Roman Empire coalescing into an economic power bloc that obviously intends to dominate world economics, other
regions are looking toward similar rearrangements. The Americas–for example, Canada on the north, the United States,
Mexico, Central and South America–are exploring possible advantages of their coming together economically.
Some prophecy scholars have maintained for some time that the one-world economic power structure as given in Revelation
17: 12-13 will consist of 10 such power blocs. Certainly, advances in global technologies that permit ever-faster communications
and linkages through electronic funds transfers means that the one-world beast state over which Antichrist will hold sway
is within view right now.
The EU is developing an army distinctively its own, absorbing many of NATO’s forces. How long before we see these
forces moving in to assist and possibly replace much extended US military forces? These are possibilities well worth observing
as the world moves deeper into 2005.
Russia/China/Iran
These three are intertwined through nuclear and missile delivery systems technologies. Russia has equipped Iran with much
of its nuclear capability–technology the Ayatollah-controlled regime continues to work toward turning into nuclear weapons.
China, having gotten much of America’s missile technologies through bribes, theft, and purchases, has provided Iran
its vehicles to deliver the nuclear warheads to points as far distant as central Europe.
Most who view Russia and a Russian leader as the nucleus of the Gog-Magog attack of Ezekiel 38 and 39 believe it is more
than mere coincidence that “Persia” (Iran’s ancient name) is mentioned as a key nation that will one day
come with many other nations against Israel. The current Russian president, Vladimir Putin, demonstrated recently with his
attempted interference into the Ukrainian elections that he hasn’t given up his old Soviet KGB ways in dealing with
those he intends to dominate. It will be more than interesting to watch Putin’s continuing efforts to bring despotism
back into the political process of that region which will, Bible prophecy says, be aligned against God’s chosen nation,
Israel, in the latter days. The year 2005 could be significant in this regard.
Nature
Without meaning to be overly speculative, one must look hard at the way nature seems to have revved up its violence during
the year just past. Todd has written above about this phenomenal increase in destructive weather and earthquake activities.
Tornadoes in record numbers occurring in the US in 2004, eclipsing the previous record number occurring in 1998. Hurricanes,
one after another, in the Atlantic. Typhoons, some of the most destructive ever recorded, in the Pacific. And one of the most
powerful earthquakes in recorded history in the Indian Ocean just before year’s end, causing tidal waves that killed
possibly as many as a quarter of a million people. These are disasters of near-biblical proportion, even according to secular
media news commentators. These upheavals of nature, taken in to consideration with every other prophetic indicator on the
horizon of history while we enter the year 2005, makes us ask whether this is the time Jesus spoke of when He said: “…When
you see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your head, for your redemption draweth nigh”
(Lk. 21:28).