1999 In ReviewThe Year In ProphecyBy Ron GraffIntroduction Jesus gave us this parable about recognizing future events: Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. - Matthew 24:32-36 (NIV) This parable means that the generation, which sees these things beginning to happen, will not pass away until all have been fulfilled. We have more reason than the people of any other age to believe that we are living in that generation. To better understand this, consider this brief outline of the things which must still happen on earth before Christ returns as King of Kings. Scholars who take the Bible literally generally agree on these major aspects, though some differ about the timing of the events and of the Rapture (catching away of the Church). Jesus Christ will call His true believers up to be with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Soon after that, a powerful leader (Antichrist) will appear - one who will have solutions to the political and economic woes of the earth (Revelation 6:1-2). When Israel is finally at peace, presumably because of a good agreement between Israel and its neighbors, there will be a great war (Revelation 6:3-4). This will probably be the same as the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 in which Russia and its allies, including many nations of the Islamic world, will attack Israel, and, in the process, be defeated by God. The world will suffer many global calamities, including famine and plagues. During this time the brilliant leader will consolidate his power until, at the middle of a seven-year period of time (Daniel 9:27), he will require people to worship him and to accept the "Mark of the Beast" on either their forehead or right hand (Revelation 13). Without the mark, no one will be allowed to buy or sell. At this point in the future there will be a virtual one-world government, a religious system which encompasses all the earth, a method of controlling all commerce, and a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. For the remainder of this time (the "Great Tribulation"), the Earth will be punished by supernatural judgments (Revelation chapters 16-18), and Antichrist, in desperation will call Jesus Christ down to battle. At this war, The Battle of Armageddon, Jesus will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19), and will set up a righteous kingdom on Earth for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-6). After that, there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth (Revelation chapters 21-22).
Jesus told us we should be able to discern the signs of the times. When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. - Matthew 16:2-3 (NIV) He also gave us some of these signs in His Olivet Discourse (Matthew chapters 24 and 25; and Luke 21). They included False Christs, Wars and rumors of wars, Earthquakes, Famines, Plagues, Fearful Events, Signs in the Heavens, and Persecution. Here now are some of the things that have transpired during this past year which make us feel that we are surely closer to Christ's coming than ever before! Documentation for all of these events may be found in the pages of the PROPHECY CENTRAL website (https://www.bible-prophecy.com).
The New Age Religion seeks to reconcile all beliefs and unite them. They teach that there are many "Christs" or "ascended masters," which have been responsible in the past for the formation of various religions. One group, Share International., which is sponsored by the United Nations, claims that the Messiah for our age is already alive, but in hiding. He is known as Maitreya, and, according to Benjamin Creme, he will be revealed some time soon when the world to be ready for him. In December, the BBC reported that as many as 40,000 cases of "Jerusalem Syndrome" are expected in Israel during the holidays this year. This is usually a short-lived condition, which convinces thousands of tourists they are Jesus or another biblical figure. Some people, like Ernest Moch from California continue to play their roles and even attract followers. Moch believes he is Elijah the Prophet
There is an ongoing debate about whether or not there is greatly increased earthquake activity, but there have been more than 90 earthquakes this year with a magnitude of 6.0 or greater. Some of them have been very deadly. By October, six of these earthquakes had claimed more than 20,000 lives!
1999 was a very big year for the escalation of tensions in the world. According to the National Defense Council Foundation, 65 nations were engaged in war during the year. This is fully one-third of the 193 world nations, and is higher than the previous year. The U.S. participated in a war in Kosovo, where NATO used air power to stop supposed Serbian "ethnic cleansing" against Kosovars. During this conflict a new type of warfare was first employed. It involved attacking information on the Internet, and was dubbed "Cyberwar." The threat of nuclear destruction loomed greater with continued hostility between India and Pakistan, the newest nuclear power. Continued deterioration of the situation in North Korea made it even more unstable, and tests of new missiles by North Korea, India, Pakistan, Russia (their "invincible" Topol-M), and China (their stealth "Yahont" and their Julang 2 capable of reaching New York or London ), added to the fear of an atomic war. Russia even announced new policies in regard to the possible first-use of nuclear weapons, and the right to deploy nuclear weapons in smaller wars, such as the one it is currently conducting against Chechnya. China has deployed two Russian-built Sovremenny-class destroyers with nuclear weapons. These ships have no ability to "hide" from our radar. This must be interpreted as a threat that they would be willing to launch first strike suicide missions. Extensive Chinese espionage and inept transfers of information and supercomputer technology from our government to China have come to light during the year. The result of this is the near certainty that the Chinese know virtually all of our nuclear secrets! Meanwhile relations between the U.S. and China have deteriorated and ties between China and Russia have become stronger. China threatened the use of a neutron bomb if necessary in its eventual struggle to reunite Taiwan with China. In October the U.S. successfully tested a limited "Star Wars" defense system against the possibility of nuclear attack. The system will not be operational until at least 2005. The Russians countered with a threat to step up production of nuclear weapons to overwhelm the new defense strategy. In the Middle East, all eyes are on Israel and Jerusalem as the Wye Plantation agreements from 1998 are slowly being implemented by the gradual withdrawal of Israel from "West Bank" areas. Yasser Arafat still plans to declare Palestinian statehood next May with part of Jerusalem as its capitol. Such a thought is still repugnant to most Israelis. The most important unsettled issue is the "Jerusalem Question." Perhaps the Israelis and Palestinians will reach a compromise to allow each party to use part of Jerusalem as its capitol. President Clinton is trying very hard to make a legacy for himself by achieving a break-through in the most difficult of Israel's problems: the tension between Syria and Israel over the Golan Heights. Experts think a settlement is near, in which Israel will withdraw from most of the area they have occupied since 1967. The effort may cost the U.S. 20 billion dollars. Israel will sell it to the U.S. and we will give it to Syria! U.S. satellite and aircraft surveillance will insure Israel that Syria is not conducting military activity in the area. Syria has been Israel's most dangerous and determined enemy ever since it became a nation in 1948. Israel has never really been at peace. If this deal is made, it could tip the balance of the entire Middle East situation toward a full peace agreement between Israel and her neighbors. When peace in Israel becomes a reality, we must remember 1 Thessalonians 5:3, which says, While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (NIV) That would be the most likely time for the great war of the Second Seal (Revelation 6:3-4) to take place. This would be soon after the Rapture of the Church, and after the beginning of Antichrist's rise to power (The First Seal - Revelation 6:1-2). This could be the long-predicted war of Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38 and 39), possibly involving Russia and her allies. In that case, the seven-year peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27) could be made after this war for the purpose of restoring Israel's security. Osama Bin Laden, the multi-millionaire ex-Saudi terrorist is still the number-one terrorist in the world. He has been in hiding in Afghanistan all year, but has had ties to a number of terrorist activities and threats in many countries.
Famines are still severe in many parts of the world. Three and a half million have starved to death in North Korea alone, 10 million are hungry in Africa, and 40,000 are in danger of starving. Famine in the Sudan is the direct result of war, and in other places weather disasters and water shortages cause it. Poverty is a perennial problem in India where half of the women and children do not have enough to eat because the population is greater than the ability of the country to care for its people. The population of the Earth passed six billion during the year.
According to latest reports, 33.6 million people carry the AIDS virus worldwide. Two-thirds of the HIV-positive people of the world live south of the Sahara in Africa. Last year, the combined wars in Africa killed 200,000 people, but AIDS killed 10 times that number. In fact, more people succumbed to HIV last year than to any other cause of death on this continent, including malaria. Ebola and other super-bugs keep appearing at different places, and drug-resistant strains of once-conquered diseases such as Tuberculosis are on the rise. Several countries have biological weapons programs, which also threaten devastation if they are ever used.
Severe weather patterns also plagued the globe again this year. Each year seems to give way to the next as the worst in this category. Oklahoma City experienced the worst tornado in history with winds of 318 MPH, just one mile per hour short of a first-ever K-6 storm. Pakistan was hit by tidal waves caused by a cyclone, resulting in more than 700 people missing. Venezuela had "the storm of the century" with floods and mudslides killing between 30,000 and 50,000 people. The exact count will never be known. Greater knowledge of our neighbors in the skies brings bad news that there are small but deadly comets and meteors near us, which could crash into the Earth at any time, causing the death of millions.
The Heavens brought us some interesting events this year. In February people started noticing mysterious but brilliant flashes of light from the sky. It turned out to be reflections of the Sun from the solar panels on some of Motorola's 66 Iridium satellites. Comet Lee was visible in April. On May 14, there was an extremely rare passing of the Moon in front of both Venus and Jupiter. Such an event has not been visible since 567 AD, and it is not known whether it was witnessed by anyone at that time. A meteor, possibly the size of a locomotive exploded over New Zealand on July 8. Eyewitnesses said it was as bright as the sun, with a long tail. It left a plume of bluish smoke, which covered hundreds of square miles. Falling debris from the meteor started a forest fire near Napier, on the east coast. The last total eclipse of the Sun this occurred on Aug. 11, and was seen by millions in Europe and Asia. On the winter solstice, on Dec. 21, the Moon was the brightest it had been in 133 years. It was at it's closest point to Earth in it's orbit at the same time that it was about as close as it gets to the Sun. The sunlight reflected by the moon was 7% stronger than in the summer and 20% stronger than normal for this time. During the last month of the year, the Sun was at the peak of its 11-year cycle of activity, causing solar storms and raising concern about possible interference with satellites and electrical transmission systems here on Earth. Truthfully, it is difficult to find any special significance in these events, but some prophecy teachers used them to illustrate their theories.
In the past three or four years, Christians have been alerted to the fact that there have been more Christian martyrs in our generation than in any other period of history. One of the worst places on the globe is Sudan, where Christian Solidarity International recently bought 5,514 slaves. In Indonesia, war gives the excuse for murder of many believers. Other nations where there is persecution of Christians include India, Egypt, China and Saudi Arabia. Here in the United States there has been a growing climate of anger against Christians. Bible-believing Christians must take a stand against such moral issues as abortion, homosexuality, pornography, and adultery. We also continue to proclaim that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. These beliefs contradict the world movement toward tolerance and acceptance of all people and all religions. As a result, Christians are often branded as "intolerant" in an age when not accepting everyone else's life-style and religious views is considered the worst of evils. The April massacre of high school students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado last April, was, at least in part, motivated by the fact that the two student killers hated Christianity. Some outstanding Christian young people were apparently targeted because of their faith. Again in September, Christian youth were killed at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas, as they celebrated the events of the day (The "See You At The Pole" prayer attended by approximately 2 million youth at flagpoles in front of their own schools all across the land). The good news about persecution is that it raises awareness of the message of Christ, resulting in the strengthening of the faith of many, and the conversion of many others to Christianity. It is also encouraging to see the increased prayer for suffering believers by Christians everywhere.
There is an ancient belief that the world would last for 6,000 years before Messiah would come, based on the six days of creation (Genesis 1:31), and a seventh day of rest. Psalm 90:4 states "For a thousand years in Thy sight are like yesterday when it passes by." 2 Peter 3:8 says, "… with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." Biblical records indicate that it was approximately 4000 years from Adam to Christ, and, of course it has been approximately 2000 years since His birth.
We heed Christ's warning that we can not know the "day or the hour" of His return. We can see that it could be very near. Nevertheless, we do not set dates for the Rapture or name the Antichrist. Only time will reveal these things.
As expected, 1999 was a year full of false prophecies about the timing of Christ's return for His own. It started in January when a Denver-based cult, Concerned Christians, were deported from Israel because they were planning violent acts to hasten Christ's return as the millennium approaches. Some interpreted Nostradamus' prophecies to say that Armageddon would begin in July of 1999. In his article "Knowing the Day and the Hour," Todd Strandberg of Rapture Ready includes some mistaken predictions for Christ's return in 1999. They include: Marilyn Agee - May 21 or 22; Charles Criswell King - August 18 ; and Philip Berg, a rabbi at the Kabbalah Learning Center, New York - Sept. 11. An A&E; program aired in December 1999, was promoted this way: "Meet the thousands who are buying one-way tickets to Jerusalem for New Year's Eve 1999 when they believe the 'Rapture' will happen and they will go up to paradise. Meanwhile, American cults are stockpiling weapons for Armageddon--the battle between good and evil that will follow the 'Rapture'. " Toward the end of the year, the FBI issued a warning, called "Project Megiddo", to all police chiefs, warning them to be vigilant about religious extremists who may use the start of a new millennium as an excuse for violence to help usher in their apocalyptic beliefs. At Megiddo in Israel, the archaeological site associated with Armageddon, Ahmed Agbariah, the site's manager, said he would stay on duty all night on New Year's Eve to discourage fanatical Christians from doing anything that would give Megiddo a bad reputation.
In June, Episcopal Bishop William Swing joined the Dali Lama and other religious leaders in Jerusalem at a United Religions meeting with the hopes of working out their differences so that the organization would be functional by June of 2000. A new charter was adopted by United Religions in December. A great effort called the "72 Hours Project" met in various places around the world from Dec. 31, 1999 to Jan. 2, 2000 to "mobilize their communities to take steps for peace as we cross the threshold into a new millennium." United Religions is patterned after the model of the United Nations. There were other highly significant convocations of religious leaders during the year as well. On Sept. 24, 1999 - The Vatican sponsored an inter-religious meeting in preparation for the new Millennium, with 200 people: 80 Christians of different denominations and 120 from other religions. On Nov. 10,1999 - The National Council of Churches celebrated its 50th anniversary, but despite the support of 35 denominations with some 50 million members, the organization is plagued with debt and disorganization. Evangelicals and Pentecostals do not support it. The World Conference on Religion and Peace assembled on Dec. 1, in Amman, Jordan. Some 1000 delegates agreed to work together to achieve "coexistence" among various communities. The Council for the Parliament of the World's Religions convened Dec.1-8 in Cape Town, South Africa. Thousands of people from around the world-teachers, scholars, leaders, believers and practitioners-met to seek "the moral and ethical convergence that leads to shared commitment and action."
On January 1, 1999, eleven European nations established a single currency, the Euro. This economic partnership became the second largest economy in the world, second only to the United States. The eleven nations are: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Though considerable difficulty was predicted in the transition, it has actually gone very well and acceptance for the idea is spreading. This was the biggest event since the founding of the European Union to demonstrate the possible fulfillment of the prophecy from Daniel 2:27-45 of the creation of one last form of human world government, (iron mixed with clay) starting in the very geographical area of the old Roman Empire (iron). President Clinton has led the U.S. into many United Nations treaties and alliances, which lessen our national sovereignty and increase our support for world governance. The same thing has been going on in other nations throughout the globe.
The exponential growth of technology during our generation has provided all the necessary tools for the eventual economic dictatorship prophesied for Antichrist.
Supercomputers, operating at billions of operations per second, are at the heart of the technological revolution. IBM has just announced that it has committed $100 million to build a new type of supercomputer. They call it Blue Gene, and it will originally be used to study the function of some of the body's most complex molecules. Blue Gene will be capable of more than one million, billion mathematical operations per second (one petaflop). This will make it 1,000 times more powerful than the Deep Blue supercomputer that beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, and about two million times more powerful than today's best desktop PCs! At this speed, one computer could devote 161,000 operations to each person in the world every second.
Smart Card usage is steadily growing worldwide, though we in North America actually see a small percentage of the activity (about 6%). Europe accounts for over 68% of the usage, but Asia is already at 17% and South America at 7%. (Source: A Look at the Asian Pacific Smart Cards Market: 1999 and Onwards. ) Smart Cards are the size of credit cards, but they contain a powerful computer with its own operating system, and considerably more power and flexibility than the early models of personal computers. With a smart card, one could conceivably store all the vital information about his or her history and health. It could contain passwords for access to cars, buildings, and computers, separate programs to provide credit and debit transactions, and multiple "wallets" for storing electronic cash to be used everywhere, from vending machines to e-commerce purchases on the Internet. Some personal computers now come equipped with smart card readers to enable secure transfer of funds to and from one's bank, or any other person or business via the Internet.
The next challenge is to prevent the loss or theft of one's smart card. Once it is loaded with all this vital information and financial power, it will be a personal disaster for a person to lose his or her card! During 1999 two inventions were promoted to address this dilemma. The first invention is only a partial solution: a biometric device to verify that the person using the card is the right person. The second invention could eventually replace the card and its functions with a device implanted under the skin. On Sept 22, 1999 - U.S. Patent # 5,878,155, dated Mar 2, 1999, was granted to Thomas W. Heeter for the technology of a tattoo of a bar code or other design on an individual, which would identify him and facilitate electronic debits and other transactions. An earlier U.S. Patent, # 5,629,678, granted on May 13, 1997, was acquired last December by Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. The patent is for a "Personal Tracking and Recovery System" which they have named "Digital Angel." It consists of "a miniature digital transceiver -- implantable in humans -- with a built-in, electromechanical power supply and actuation system. These features enable the device to remain implanted and functional for years without maintenance. This transceiver sends and receives data and can be continuously tracked by Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology. "
Motorola's Iridium satellite system is functional but limited at present to high-priced communications equipment. Bill Gates and his associates are pushing ahead with their Teledesic low-orbit satellite network, which promises to make the Internet available to everyone via satellite within the next couple of years. Lucent Technologies, a newer name for Bell Labs, is the established leader of world networking. AOL has announced plans to invest $1.5 billion in Hughes Electronics to speed development of Direct TV and AOL TV with high speed Internet access. They hope the new system will be operational next year.
During the year BBC Radio and other credible sources exposed an immense global spy network. The system, code named Eschelon, operated by the immense computer complex at Ft. Meade, Maryland, is so secret that the US and Great Britain deny its existence, but the Australian government confirms that it really does exist. It has the capability of eavesdropping on every phone call, fax or e-mail, anywhere on the planet. Acxiom, a U.S. company, claims that they operate the world's largest database, with personal details on 95 per cent of all US households ( 330 million people). The company is in the process of setting up a similar service in Australia. Acxiom's clients are able to access a vast information reserve on a person in seconds. For example, if a customer called an insurance company, the company's computer system would recognize the incoming telephone number, query InfoBase, and provide a full profile on the customer before the call was even answered.
1999 has been called "The Year Of The Net." With half of U.S. households connected and more than a billion hits per day, this technology has truly come of age and will certainly change the way we do business forever. Online stores sold an estimated $4 billion in merchandise. Internet companies were the hottest things on the stock market all year. And Jeff Bezos, the young founder of Amazon.com, was named TIME Magazine's "Person of the Year." Personal computer prices are still plunging. Good, fully equipped systems are less than $1000, and some special computers sell for as little as $229. Some companies are even loaning a free computer system to customers as a fringe benefit, just for subscribing to their services.
The world seems to have escaped the worst fears of the Y2K threat. From a prophetic point of view, the Y2K scare will have done more to modernize and upgrade computer and communications systems during the past few years than any other event could have done. This de-bugged, most powerful system is now in place for Antichrist's worldwide program when he needs it.
Now, none of this should cause fear for a Christian, because we have read the Bible and know that it all leads to a wonderful conclusion for those who trust in Christ. If you know Christ, these things should have a purifying and motivating effect in your life.
If you haven't ever received Christ as Savior, you can do it now. Go to Are You Ready? AT https://www.bible-prophecy.com/ready.htm
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