When teaching His disciples about what conditions would be like just prior to His coming, Jesus mentioned that there would be “wars and rumors of wars“. These He lumped in with other signs He called “the beginning of sorrows” (birth pangs). If you follow this blog, you know that I believe we are currently experiencing these early contractions, as Jesus metaphorically called them. The current war in Gaza certainly testifies to this position. And yes, this means we are getting very close to the fulfillment of all the events prophesied to occur before the arrival of His kingdom.
When Jesus said this, He added something else that we need to consider so we do not take His prediction out of context. Here is the entire verse: “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” (Matthew 24:6). Note: the end is not yet. The word “end” Jesus used here is to answer to the disciple’s question of when the sign of the end of this age will be. The end of this age comes when Jesus returns and begins to rule in His millennial kingdom. Even though we are seeing the beginning of sorrows Jesus cautioned us to not assume this is the end. Much has to happen yet to fulfill all the events of Daniel’s 70th week (the last seven years of this age). Many prophecy teachers are teaching that this Israel/Gaza war indicates the second coming is imminent. Also, many are teaching that this is a lead-in to the war of Gog and Magog depicted in Ezekiel chapters 38-39. This cannot be, as Ezekiel 38-39 is describing the final conflict of Armageddon. You can read my earlier post concerning this war here: Ezekiel’s GOG-Magog War is Armageddon – Jim’s Eschatological Info (eschatontrails.com)
You may be aware that I’ve recently published a book that will help you sort out the prophetic events that will soon occur in a chronological format. You can find it here: Last Days Events: Sequence and Synchrony: Weinert, J D: 9798858723684: Amazon.com: Books
Yes, the Israel/Gaza war has prophetic significance, but just remember what Jesus said; “the end is not yet“.
Maranatha, Jim