What other prophecy must be fulfilled b4 the rapture? I’m not a big end times prophecy buff but we have been told what the signs would be... the only bigger sign would be if “aliens” landed from “space”. The world quakes at the precipice of irreversible conflagration, when war is declared in middle east, the earth will fall headlong into an engulfing rage... it is my belief that the rapture will occur either just prior to or in the midst of that engulfing rage.
If you want the Evangelical view, there are legions of books, websites and arm-chair Prophets out there more than willing to turn any event into a "sure sign of Christ's Return".
I'm bored, so let me spin a new tale in Speculative Theology
The Orthodox view of things says that Satan through the Church Age has been bound in chains. (Rev 20:2). Never mind the Futurists, Revelation is written, in their view, for the benefit of the Reprobate.
The argument goes that in Mt 16:19;18:18 gives the Apostles the power to bind and loosen spiritual entities. And in Acts we see them effectively performing exorcisms. This is actually a useful thing because in Mk 3:27 we read that one can't pillage the strong man's house unless that man has been previously bound. The context of this binding of the strong man directly relates to Satan.
In view of the totality of OT history, very few Gentiles came to faith, and only then when they were confronted by men of faith. Easily, nearly 100% of humanity before the cross was reprobate. Why? Because Satan was able to darken the minds so that they could not understand (2 Cor 4:3-4)
Now after Pentecost, the disciples began in Jerusalem then went througout Judea, Samaria and to the outermost parts of the world. How is it that they could get the message to the Gentiles where it was accepted? They bound Satan progressively. We see in Acts where Satan was progressively bound as the disciples and only the disciples went out.
Now for secular sources. If you read "Cessation of the Oracles" written by Plutarch a wealthy playboy historian, adventurer, a contemporary of Paul, we read that in one of his travels he came about the men of a particular Greek city who were weeping because the Oracles were silent. I don't think that this story was made up, that indeed the Oracles must have spoken at one time, but now are silent. Why? I submit that Plutarch visited this town after the Apostles came through.
We read in Exodus how the Egyptians were able to do things that our magicians today can't do in response to what Moses and Aaron were doing in Pharoah's court. One of the more interesting stories comes from Elijah confronting the priests of Ba'al and staging a winner takes all contest in who can conjure up fire from the sky.
Fire from the sky was Ba'al's specialty, that is why Elijah chose it, and the priests quickly accepted the challenge. Now if Ba'al couldn't do this, why would any priest of Ba'al accept the challenge. What if demonic spirits could produce that occasional bolt of fire from the sky? What if demonic spirits could assist the Egyptian magicians in duplicate many of Moses' signs?
We know how the story went with Elijah, God is LORD over the demonic entities so their fire was stopped. If we examine the Dueling Plagues in Exodus, you will note that while the Egyptian magicians could make a mess, they couldn't clean it up, and Pharaoh petitioned Moses to restore the Nile after his own people corrupted it.
You may see where I am going now. The NT Church after the Apostles has never seen what a world with an unchained Satan is like. Yes, Satan while metaphorically chained up can still tempt, but his powers to deceive are bound in so much as the Church can prosper. Is he upset about that? Sure, that is why he is characterized as a raging lion. Now in Revelation, we read that prior to the Last Day, Satan will be unbound and for many this marks the Great Tribulation where God and Death have the final showdown.
I submit, for this mother of camp fire stories, that modern man has absolutely no clue as to what things will be like as far as wierd signs from the heavens once Satan is unleashed to deceive the nations once more. All I know is Satan once was permitted to send fire down from heaven and turn the Nile into blood. Let your imagination go on from there.
There are 2 prophecies that do happen either right before or at the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation. One is the Gog/Magog war with Israel. Basically a huge coalition army with primarily muslim nations and possibly Russia.
The other is a leader who comes on the world scene, and oversees and agrees with a 7 year peace plan with Israel. This plan will be broken by this leader 1/2 way through.
My thoughts are that this agreement is the starting point of the Tribulation. The question I have is will we see this leader rise up, before he agrees to the peace plan.
We know that during the 7 year tribulation that a one world government is implemented. We are watching as the world lines up for this already.
There will also be a one world monetary system, that people will be required to have special mark, that without no one will be able to buy or sell. There is a push to dissolve every nations currency and bring in one currency, much LIKE the Euro, but for the entire world. Also, groups like the Council On Foreign Relations want to have EVERY person "chipped" by 2017. A chip that would have all of a persons vital information and banking info, doing away with physical money. Kind of hard to buy and sell anything without a chip, if physical money is eliminated.
SO we do not need to have specific prophecies to actually be fulfilled (past tense). We can watch as these prophecies evolve.
There will be a one world government-which means the US must lose preeminence and sovereignty. What is happening today with our dear leader?
If all the worlds currencies are virtually bankrupt, then its easier to create a single monetary system. Whats happening with Europe and the Euro, and Greece and Spain? The US dollar will soon collapse. China holds over $1 trillion in US debt, not to mention others debts. What will happen to Chinas money if the US dollar collapses?
Watch Israel. EVERYTHING in Bible prophecy revolves around Israel. Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone to the entire world. The world is aligning step by step against Israel. In the Islamic world, Turkey WAS an ally of Israel. The last 2 years Turkey started to slowly change its stance with Israel. Today Turkey is no longer viewed as an ally of Israel. If Turkey has changed this much in 2 years, slowly at first, more rapidly recently, what will they be like in the no too distant future? Turkey is one of the main nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38&39, in the battle of Gog/Magog w/ Israel.
EVERYTHING Israel does is condemned by the worlds leaders. Israel is attacked-no problem. Israel responds or defends itself-Israel is evil.
There are numerous people that I have talked to, or I have heard comment, that end time events have rapidly increased in the last 2 years, and are building faster. I have thought this myself, BEFORE I heard others confirming this in me.
I am pretrib mainly because I hope it is. But, my faith is not predicated on any of this happening as I envision it. I (and the rest of us) are likely wrong about at least parts of it.
BTW saw a supposed UFO from China video on Fox this morning. Have not had a chance to look that up yet, but it was the strangest thing I’ve seen (that didn’t come from a movie studio). We live in interesting times.