March 25th, 2022

Greetings and welcome to the End Times Berean Watchman Report!

I’m starting a new series, based on chapter 4 of my upcoming book, Witnessing the End. I’ll be going over a host of prophecies that have been fulfilled in these last days regarding Israel. Some of them you may be familiar with, but many you will probably not be. I hope that they will encourage you that we are truly living in days that were prophesied thousands of years ago, and they are telling us that our redemption is indeed right at the door.

I’ve also got some news updates for you at the end that are continuing to confirm our prophetic trajectory…

THE BIGGEST SIGN—THE RETURN OF ISRAEL AS A NATION

Most of the Old Testament prophets wrote about a time when the messiah would restore all things to the Jewish people and return them to their land. Probably the single greatest sign that the world has entered the last days was the return of Israel as a nation in 1948. Since that time, people have been asking the question whether this is a legitimate fulfillment of Bible prophecy or just an interesting coincidence. The return of Israel as a nation forces us to answer some important questions. First, are God’s promises made in the Old Testament to the Israelites applicable to the Jewish people living in Israel today? Second, have we seen the fulfillment of last days prophecies in this generation, and if so, does that mean that we are now in the last of the last days? To find the answers to those questions, we need to examine how current events fit the scenarios predicted for the return of Israel.

I remember first seeing footage of Holocaust victims when I was in middle school. It was beyond shocking. It was horrifying. It helped me understand what evil looks like, and why it is so important to stand up against it. When the reports and images of the Holocaust horrors finally got out after the war, they shocked the world… they moved the world. 

When I reflected on those events, it seemed to me that such a severe tragedy for the Jewish people must have been foretold through the prophets. Searching the Scriptures, I think that indeed it was. David prophesied about a time of great tribulation that would lead to the appointed time to show favor to Zion. He described suffering and pain, becoming skin and bones, being taunted, having one’s name used like a curse, being thrown aside, placed among ruins, withering away, and even burning bones. I don’t think it requires too much imagination to visualize gold stars, ghettos, concentration camps, or the death camps with their gas chambers and ovens, when reading these descriptions. It would seem utterly hopeless, except for the final lines, “You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; The appointed time has come.” Out of this unspeakable tragedy, God changed the heart of the world and brought Israel once again back into her own land.

It may be tempting for some Christians to think that the Jews brought all of that suffering on themselves because God rejected them for their hardness of heart; but God has repeatedly delivered his people through tribulation and travail to save them because He loves them. Remember the deliverance of Noah. If you think Noah was on a pleasure cruise for a year while the earth was being destroyed by water, you might have the wrong picture of what being saved through a global flood was like. 

Job, too, was a preacher of righteousness in his day; and yet God put him through some terrible trials so that Job would know Him even better and serve as an example to future generations of those who fear God. In the days of Moses, again the people of Israel were delivered through great hardship. Later in the times of the Judges, God’s people were also delivered by travail. The days of Esther and the Maccabees were likewise such occasions. Each time, the hardships drew the people of God closer to himself and set an example of patience and endurance under tribulation—waiting for, and trusting in, God’s deliverance.

There is one more example of the fulfillment of Psalm 102 that God took upon himself. It can be seen in the trial of God asking Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice, but instead, God himself provided the sacrifice (Genesis 22:13). Read the beginning words of Psalm 102 again and imagine them applied to our savior, Jesus Christ, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. God sent his Son, as the Messiah of Israel, to suffer and die, according to the prophets, at just the right time—the appointed time. 

Remember, there can be more than one fulfillment of a given prophecy. It is a demonstration of God’s power and omniscience that can he make a proclamation with multiple fulfillments down through the ages, like a skipping stone. Before Psalm 102 pointed to the Holocaust of modern times, it first pointed to the time when God would send his one and only son, who would face a trial just as severe as the one he knew the Jewish people would face 1,900 years later. The purpose of both trials was for the ultimate deliverance of his people and of the nations. And this will also be true of the final travail that we must face, the great tribulation. And yet, once again, travail will yield to deliverance. Psalm 102 ends with a promise of deliverance. God will renew all of creation, as if changing worn out clothes. 

In a wave of support from the global community, the appointed time finally arrived in 1948. As inexpressibly horrific as the Holocaust was, it opened the door for one of the most amazing works of God the world has ever seen—the regathering of the exiles and the restoration of the nation of Israel. Independent sovereign nations were not formed by international agreements in the days of Isaiah. Independence was gained at the point of a sword, through hard fought battles. And yet, Isaiah predicted what we have observed. 

On November 29th, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of Resolution 181, adopting a plan to allow for the partition of the British Mandate into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The fateful day arrived on May 14, 1948, when the Jewish people living under the British Mandate of Palestine officially declared their independence, and the nation of Israel was reborn. There had not been an independent Jewish nation for nearly 2,000 years. But just as Isaiah predicted, Israel was declared a new sovereign state… in a single day. The appointed time had come.

There were some things worth noting in the news over the past few weeks. The first, of course, concerns the biggest story in the news, the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zelensky has had a surprisingly large influence on the world at large, despite being virtually unknown prior to the start of the war. He has made a lot of apocalyptic statements while garnering massive support around the globe, but he has suspended 11 political parties in Ukraine, nationalized the news media, and had some very disturbing images surface from his recent past, in a pro-homosexual/trans style dance video.

Add to those things that George Soros has been listed as the second most influential person in Ukraine, and is known to have been making massive in investments there for the past 20 years, suggests that there is more than meets the eye with this present conflict. Of course, the common people always are the ones the pay the price in conflicts like this, and there is no excusing the suffering that millions are experiencing right now, but its important to also understand that something much larger seems to be happening under the surface.

And as if that isn’t bad enough, there are signs that Russia really does have their sights set on more than just Ukraine. Poland could also be in the crosshairs, and if so, then WW3 is also a certainty. Russia also claimed to have just used hypersonic ballistic missiles for the first time in Ukraine, which was downplayed by the US military officials because they couldn’t independently verify the claim, but it’s not the use of a ballistic hypersonic missile that is troubling, it’s the fact that Russia also has them in the nuclear variety. By deploying the ballistic version, they are basically shown the world that they really do have first strike capabilities with tactical nuclear weapons, too.

And now Germany seems to be coming into play as well. Unrest regarding the war has reached Germany, and in addition to growing tensions, they have announced that they will begin building up their military…

And all this talk of war, which is in line with the rise of the second horse of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, the red rider who brings war, points us towards the third rider on a black horse who brings famine. Some analysts are now saying that major famine has already become unavoidable due to present events. And the food shortage may not be limited to only grains, because a resurgence of bird flu has also been seen in recent months, at least in the US.

Persecution of believers has long been a problem in countries closed to the gospel, and it is now worse than ever in recent years.

But there is a growing threat that such persecution could even reach the US. The demonization of Christians has been growing and it is getting a voice before some in congress…

I’ve been saying that the global COVID pandemic and the massive push towards globalism that has resulted from it were a sign that the white horse, the first of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse is already riding. Two years into this, a lot of people have been harmed by both the manmade virus (created under the gain of function research funded by Fauci in Wu Han) and the experimental vaccines that were foisted on the world as “completely safe.” There is now some evidence to suggest that COVID also effectively “ages” or degrades cognitive ability in the brain. What does that all mean? Well, the jury is still out, but it doesn’t look good, and it is now something that will affect virtually everyone in the world, because the effects are caused by infection from the virus, but seem to be independent of the severity of the infection, meaning everyone, vaccinated or unvaccinated will be likely experience the effects.

And not to forget of the epicenter of end times events, there was some more evidence that Turkey is continuing to move in a positive direction towards Israel, at least temporarily.

It is the Pool of Siloam inscription that recounts the story of digging Hezekiah’s tunnel. The inscription reads: “… this is the story of the tunnel, while [the hewers lifted] their axes toward their counterparts, and while three cubits more were to (be hewn?), was heard the voice of a man calling to his counterpart, (for) there was [a crack?] in the rock, on the right and on the left. And on the day of [the final barrier’s] piercing, the stonecutters struck each man towards his counterpart, ax against ax and water flowed from the source to the pool for 1,200 cubits and 100 cubits was the height of the rock, over the head of the stonecutters …”

But Russia on the other hand is showing signs of showing aggression towards Israel. Russia has traditionally turned a blind eye towards Israeli strikes in Syria, but Israel’s condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine, may be motivating them to change their position toward Israeli strikes in Syria. If that continues, then it may be another sign that we are getting close to the great Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38.

This conflict is also increasing the number of Jews that have been returning to the land of Israel. And while the main return of the Jews to Israel has already been witnessed, it seems like there is one more major Aliyah (return to the land) that will come before the start of the Great Tribulation. The present circumstances could be setting the stage for another major mass migration back to Israel.

I got my manuscript back from the proofer this week, so I’ll be making final edits, and will then upload the book for getting my first review copies in print, within the next 3-4 weeks. I’m also working on a Spanish translation of the book (Observando el Fin) that will hopefully be ready within 6-8 weeks of the release of the English version.

Well that’s all for now.

Until next week, may God bless you and keep you,

Christian Widener