The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. (Revelation 1:1-3 ESV).
We live in a time when it is easy to wonder what Jesus meant by “soon” in our reading today. After all, it has been over 2,000 years since He first told the Apostle John that the time was near. It is true that there are some significant things prophesied that have been clearly fulfilled. And, as we look through the lens of history and see these fulfilled prophecies we can be reassured. Believers in earlier times couldn’t do this. Over the next few days we’ll look at a few of these.
There are three prophetic signs of the second coming that have happened in the last hundred years or are happening today. The first may be the most dramatic and easily recognized. This concerns the physical nation of Israel. There is so much about Israel and the Middle East in the news today we could concentrate on this prophecy for weeks. However, I want to focus on just one. Remember, the Prophet Ezekiel records the Lord saying: And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. (Ezekiel 12:15 ESV). In 500 B.C., Israel was scattered among the nations. God said that Israel would be dispersed because of her rebellion. He also promised that the Messiah could not return until the land (Israel) and the people (the Jews) were in place. This took place on May 15, 1948.
This is also a critical moment because it fulfills the exact number of years of the judgement of God on the nation because of their rebellion. It is at that time that the people began to migrate back to Israel. Today there are representatives of every tribe gathered and living in the Land. Just as God promised to restore the nation (cf. Ezekiel 37) so He will keep His word with every promise. This is just one of the fulfilled prophecies, but it does help us to increase our expectation that Jesus’ Coming is indeed soon!