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By Jonathan Brentner
The signs scream with the message that the seven-year Tribulation is ever so close. Just as the Bible said would happen in the last days, the world’s attention is focused on Jerusalem. For over fifty years, US presidents have sought to bring peace between Israel and the surrounding nations, but have failed. However, something is different this time; something has changed.
Last week, the UN Security Council approved President Trump’s twenty point peace plan for Gaza and the Middle East. US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, referred to the agreement as a “covenant,” which involves many other nations in process of bringing peace to the Middle East.
If you think this sounds prophetic, you are correct. We are witnessing Bible prophecy in real time.
Long ago, the prophet Daniel wrote about a future covenant that will kick off the last of the seventy weeks of years God has designated to fulfill all His purposes for Israel (see Daniel 9:24-27). In verse 27, the prophet wrote this about the final week:
“And 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.”
We know this prophecy remains unfulfilled because Jesus said the defilement of the temple “spoken of by the prophet Daniel” will occur at the end of the age shortly before His return to the earth (see Matthew 24:15-30). The Apostle Paul wrote that the Lord Himself will kill this desolator of the temple at His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8).
The Roman General Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70, but he never established a covenant with Israel and he died eleven years later of natural causes. These things alone disqualify him from being the one prophesied in Daniel 9:26-27. This prophecy awaits a future fulfillment.
What we see happening at the UN and among the nations is setting the stage for the accord that antichrist will make with “the many” to ensure peace in the Middle East. It’s likely this covenant will allow Israel to build a third temple. In order to fulfill Jesus’ words about the last week of Daniel, this temple must exist by the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation. And it will.
Based upon Daniel’s prophecy of the seventieth week and the words of the Old Testament prophets concerning the fate of Israel in the last days, what we see today is precisely what we would expect to see before antichrist appears on the scene and makes his deal.
Consider how these things fit with what the Bible says about Israel in the last days:
Israel exists as a nation steeped in unbelief.
Israel is either at war or under the constant threat of an imminent attack.
The obsession of many nations seeking to bring peace to the Middle East.
A growing passion within Israel to build the third temple.
An already trained Levite priesthood ready to serve in the future temple.
Intense worldwide antisemitism.
The only item missing in the above scenario is the appearing of antichrist.
It’s too early to pinpoint how Trump’s Abrahamic Accords and his twenty-point peace plan for Gaza will factor into antichrist’s future covenant with Israel. It seems likely, however, that today’s nonstop threat of warfare is conditioning Israel’s leaders to accept the future deal offered by antichrist.
If anything, world events are setting the stage for antichrist to make his deal with Israel.
Another sign of the season comes via The Economist, a weekly British news journal. A recent cover (pictured below) pictures a rather chaotic scene for what its editors see for the year ahead. Some analysts say the cover portrays 2026 as a time of:
War
Pestilence or Epidemics
Financial Collapse
If these things sound familiar, these are the conditions we read about in Revelation 6:1-8 after Jesus opens the first four seals releasing the riders of the apocalypse.
Is it not surprising that a secular magazine forecasts what the Bible prophesies regarding the future of our world? Will 2026 be the year for all these things to erupt? We do not know because apart from the restraining force of the Holy Spirit, these things would already have happened.
I do not know the answer to “How much closer can we get?” But I recognize that we live in the season of Jesus’ appearing. In the not too distant future, He is coming to take us home to glory. I pray that it’s soon, very soon.
You are receiving this e-mail because you are following Jonathan's blog at Jonathan Brentner.
By Jonathan Brentner
The signs scream with the message that the seven-year Tribulation is ever so close. Just as the Bible said would happen in the last days, the world’s attention is focused on Jerusalem. For over fifty years, US presidents have sought to bring peace between Israel and the surrounding nations, but have failed. However, something is different this time; something has changed.
Last week, the UN Security Council approved President Trump’s twenty point peace plan for Gaza and the Middle East. US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, referred to the agreement as a “covenant,” which involves many other nations in process of bringing peace to the Middle East.
If you think this sounds prophetic, you are correct. We are witnessing Bible prophecy in real time.
Stage-Setting
Long ago, the prophet Daniel wrote about a future covenant that will kick off the last of the seventy weeks of years God has designated to fulfill all His purposes for Israel (see Daniel 9:24-27). In verse 27, the prophet wrote this about the final week:
“And 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.”
We know this prophecy remains unfulfilled because Jesus said the defilement of the temple “spoken of by the prophet Daniel” will occur at the end of the age shortly before His return to the earth (see Matthew 24:15-30). The Apostle Paul wrote that the Lord Himself will kill this desolator of the temple at His coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8).
The Roman General Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70, but he never established a covenant with Israel and he died eleven years later of natural causes. These things alone disqualify him from being the one prophesied in Daniel 9:26-27. This prophecy awaits a future fulfillment.
What we see happening at the UN and among the nations is setting the stage for the accord that antichrist will make with “the many” to ensure peace in the Middle East. It’s likely this covenant will allow Israel to build a third temple. In order to fulfill Jesus’ words about the last week of Daniel, this temple must exist by the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation. And it will.
It’s Exactly What We Would Expect
Based upon Daniel’s prophecy of the seventieth week and the words of the Old Testament prophets concerning the fate of Israel in the last days, what we see today is precisely what we would expect to see before antichrist appears on the scene and makes his deal.
Consider how these things fit with what the Bible says about Israel in the last days:
Israel exists as a nation steeped in unbelief.
Israel is either at war or under the constant threat of an imminent attack.
The obsession of many nations seeking to bring peace to the Middle East.
A growing passion within Israel to build the third temple.
An already trained Levite priesthood ready to serve in the future temple.
Intense worldwide antisemitism.
The only item missing in the above scenario is the appearing of antichrist.
It’s too early to pinpoint how Trump’s Abrahamic Accords and his twenty-point peace plan for Gaza will factor into antichrist’s future covenant with Israel. It seems likely, however, that today’s nonstop threat of warfare is conditioning Israel’s leaders to accept the future deal offered by antichrist.
If anything, world events are setting the stage for antichrist to make his deal with Israel.
‘Tis the Season
Yes, the holiday season is here, but I am referring to another season, that of Jesus’ imminent appearing. I say that because according to 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8, antichrist cannot appear on the world scene until after the Rapture.Another sign of the season comes via The Economist, a weekly British news journal. A recent cover (pictured below) pictures a rather chaotic scene for what its editors see for the year ahead. Some analysts say the cover portrays 2026 as a time of:
War
Pestilence or Epidemics
Financial Collapse
If these things sound familiar, these are the conditions we read about in Revelation 6:1-8 after Jesus opens the first four seals releasing the riders of the apocalypse.
Is it not surprising that a secular magazine forecasts what the Bible prophesies regarding the future of our world? Will 2026 be the year for all these things to erupt? We do not know because apart from the restraining force of the Holy Spirit, these things would already have happened.
I do not know the answer to “How much closer can we get?” But I recognize that we live in the season of Jesus’ appearing. In the not too distant future, He is coming to take us home to glory. I pray that it’s soon, very soon.
You are receiving this e-mail because you are following Jonathan's blog at Jonathan Brentner.
