Chronology of the
End Times
by Steve Ashburn
Many people wonder what the term “end times” means. Indeed,
a proper understanding of this term is crucial to
understanding Bible prophecy, properly interpreted and in
context.
Fortunately the Bible provides a definition of this very
important term, as well as a sequence of events contained in
this time period. These events are scattered throughout the
Bible in sort of a jigsaw puzzle, which must be analyzed
carefully and in context, but once put together, yield a
brilliant picture of things to come. So let’s spend some
time putting together this jigsaw puzzle. I have discussed
all this in my book,
The Next Nuclear War: Are We on the Edge of the End Times?
(Deep River Books, 2014); in this
article I provide a concise summary of my findings.
We begin with Ezekiel 29, which provides a handy definition
of the end times:
Behold, therefore I am
against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the
land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of
Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia. No foot of man shall
pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it,
neither shall it be inhabited forty years. And I will make
the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries
that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are
laid waste shall be desolate forty years: and I will scatter
the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them
through the countries. (Ezekiel 29:10–12)
The “tower of Syene” probably refers to the Aswan Dam,
located near the ancient town of Syene; such a tower did not
exist in Ezekiel’s time. This hydroelectric project was only
completed in 1967, thereby allowing Bible prophecy to be
fulfilled. Ezekiel 29-30, 32 apparently describes the
destruction of this dam along with the troops massed nearby
to invade Israel, and flooding of the Nile River to the
mountains on either side:
I will also water with
thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the
mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee. And when I
shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the
stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and
the moon shall not give her light. (Ezekiel 32:6-7)
Since the Aswan Dam is so massive, it would take a nuclear
weapon to destroy it. Our Scripture passages suggest just
this event, with troops drowned by flooding of the Nile
River far across the banks on either side, with thick clouds
of radioactive fallout (“I will cover the sun with a cloud”)
destroying not only Egypt, but other countries in the area
(“the countries that are desolate”). Ezekiel 30:5 lists the
nations that will be allied with Egypt in this war:
“Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people,
and Chub…” It is these nations and peoples, which are Libya
(“Put,” eastern coastal region), Ethiopia (Sudan), Lydia
(western Libya), and “all the mingled people” (all Arabs),
and Chub (remainder of Libya), and enemies within Israel
(“and the men of the land that is in league”) that the Bible
predicts will be destroyed.
Who would launch such a nuclear attack on Egypt? Although
Ezekiel doesn’t say specifically, it is most likely Israel,
in a desperate attempt to prevent a blitzkrieg invasion by
the Arab nations which surround her. She apparently will
have no other choice, being faced with annihilation. Psalm
83 provides a general description of this war, while other
chapters in the Old Testament provide the details of the
destruction of specific Middle East nations. The instigator
of this war apparently is Iraq, which results in a third
US-led coalition invasion and obliteration of Iraq as a
nation. This is described in detail in Isaiah 13 and also in
the parallel passage in Jeremiah 50-51. The context is
absolutely fascinating, and describes the US as “sanctified
ones… even them that rejoice in my highness” (Isaiah 13:3).
The 1991 Gulf war and 2003 Iraqi invasion are described as “rumour[s]”
in Jeremiah 51:46. I go into all this in detail in my book.
The parallel passage in Isaiah 19 provides more illumination
as to the specifics of the attack on Egypt: “The burden of
Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall
come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at
his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst
of it” (Isaiah 19:1). In context this probably refers to an
Israeli nuclear missile(s) with a contrail behind it,
heading for Egypt at supersonic speeds. This explains the
description of a “swift cloud” which the Lord “rides upon”
to execute his judgment upon Egypt, which witnesses are
encouraged to look up and “Behold.” Verse 1 then describes
what will happen after that: “the idols of Egypt shall be
moved at his presence [thermonuclear detonations], and the
heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it [nuclear
fireballs turning sand into melted glass].”
After this, Egypt will be scattered “among the nations.”
Then, after forty years, they will be regathered as a
nation:
Yet thus saith the
Lord God; At
the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the
people whither they were scattered: And I will bring again
the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into
the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and
they shall be there a base kingdom. It shall be the basest
of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more
above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall
no more rule over the nations. (Ezekiel 29:13–15)
The context of this passage indicates that after forty
years, Egypt will be reestablished as a nation, during the
millennial reign of Christ. This regathering of Egypt will
occur at the end of the tribulation, which apparently
comprises the last seven years of the end times period.
So there you have it! The Bible has given us a definition of
the end times period (forty years) and a description of the
nuclear war against Egypt which begins it in Ezekiel 29, 30-32.
Another clue that the end times will be forty years long is
found in Micah 7. Israel previously was described as a
“terror” to Egypt in Isaiah 19 because of “the counsel of
the Lord of
hosts”; Micah 7 now extends that fear to all other nations
involved in the conspiracy to invade her, as well as the
nations in general which are watching the conflict from the
sidelines.
Feed thy people with
thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily
in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan
and Gilead, as in the days of old. According to the days of
thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him
marvellous things. The nations shall see and be confounded
at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their
mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust
like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like
worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the
Lord our God,
and shall fear because of thee. (Micah 7:14–17)
The timeline here is when Israel will be restored as a
nation (“as in the days of old”); and for forty years
(“According to the days of thy coming out of the land of
Egypt”) God will deal with them “marvelously.” This
forty-year period probably is the same as that of the
dispersion of Egypt, which ends with the second coming of
Christ: “neither shall it be inhabited forty years. . . . At
the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the
people whither they were scattered” (Ezekiel 29:11, 13).
During these forty years God will defeat Israel’s enemies
(Ezekiel 28:26); restore them to their ancient land of
Canaan with its original boundaries (Obadiah 1:19–20); pour
out blessings so that Israel will overflow with wheat, oil,
and wine (Joel 2:23) and fill the world with fruit (Isaiah
27:6); call his church to himself and leave Israel to wonder
what happened (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17); defeat Russia and
her hordes in a display of entirely miraculous power
(Ezekiel 38–39); shepherd and protect Israel miraculously
from the Antichrist and his forces (Revelation 12); and
return as King of kings and Lord of lords, at which point
Israel finally will recognize him as their Messiah
(Zechariah 12:10).
That’s a lot to happen in forty years! I explore each of
these events in detail in my book, as well as provide a
timeline of end-times events.
Also during this time, Israel will be so impressive that
“The nations shall see and be confounded at all their
might,” and their enemies “shall lick the dust like a
serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of
the earth.” This refers in particular to the defeat of the
nations surrounding Israel who try to invade her at the
beginning of the end-times period. After this war, God will
bless Israel greatly; it will blossom like a rose and become
like “the garden of Eden,” overflowing with agricultural
produce and livestock (Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 36:35; Joel
2:23–24).
Zechariah 12 also describes Israel as being indomitable
during this period, because the Lord will defend them:
In that day will I
make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the
wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall
devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on
the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own
place, even in Jerusalem. . . . In that day shall the
Lord defend
the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among
them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David
shall be as God, as the angel of the
Lord before
them. (Zechariah 12:6, 8)
The timeline here is “in that day” when “Jerusalem shall be
inhabited again,” referring to modern Israeli history and in
particular the end-times war in which Israel destroys the
nations surrounding her (“and they shall devour all the
people round about”). The weakest of the Israelis “shall be
as David” and Israel “shall be as God, as the angel of the
Lord before
them,” indicating that it is the Lord who divinely protects
them. The word “governors” in verse 6 is a translation of
the Hebrew eluf, meaning “brigadier.” In modern
Israel, this term denotes a brigadier general in the Israeli
Defense Forces (IDF). Thus it is my belief that our
Scripture passage relates to modern Israel and in particular
to the IDF, which will be so powerful that they will sweep
through their enemies like fire among wood. There have been
many stories from the 1973 Yom Kippur War about amazing
military victories by Israel against overwhelming odds; the
Bible indicates that this will happen again in the next
war.
Finally, our Lord Jesus Christ himself commented on the
length of the end times in the Olivet Discourse. After
describing the signs of this time period, including those
which would accompany the rapture and tribulation, our Lord
then said in Matthew 24:34: “Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass, till all these things be
fulfilled.” Our Lord did not specify how long this
generation would be, but in the context of Ezekiel 29 and
Micah 7, the length of time he was referring to probably was
forty years.
When will the end times begin? The Moslem Brotherhood took
over Egypt and Libya in 2012 and is well on its way to
taking over Syria. It’s unclear at this time how the recent
civil war in Egypt will turn out, but Isaiah indicates that
eventually radical Islamists will take power and will launch
an attack against Israel, in conjunction with other Arab
nations. Perhaps a worldwide economic depression—already
happening in many parts of the world—will tend to radicalize
Egyptian society to the point where they actually attempt an
invasion of their neighbor. It seems Israel rapidly is being
surrounded by radical Islamist nations committed to her
destruction.
Perhaps the moment when all these nations will attack her is
only a few years away.
[This article was published on Jan. 16, 2017] |