Correlating current events with bible prophecy to know we are indeed in the times just preceding the second coming of Jesus

The four angels bound at the Great River Euphrates are released to kill a third of mankind.

Not many I know pay the least bit of attention to what is going on in eastern Europe or what is going on in the middle east. I’m talking about war. The Russia/Ukraine war, and the war between Israel and the Iranian backed forces attacking Israel.

I mention both of these wars, and they are wars, as they both have biblical implications. As a student of bible prophecy, I am always interested in what is going on with the countries mentioned in bible prophecy. There are two prophecies in particular that I am interested in. The prophecy in the Book of Daniel that speaks of a peace accord that when affirmed will bring great clarity to the end of age prophecies is of interest to me, and also the prophecy dealing with the 6th Trumpet war that we read about in the Book of Revelation.

Make no mistake about this fact - the things we read about in the bible that are of a prophetic nature are cryptic to say the least. The bible speaks of these things using symbolic language for instance. And, to add more confusion to the matter, the timing of these prophetic events is generally so ambiguous that the best we can hope for regarding timing is an educated guess that usually proves to be wrong. We can for the most part only know the prophecy we read about has been fulfilled only after it has actually happened.

One of the most profound prophecies in the bible deals with Jesus, and it is found in the Book of Isaiah. It was written over 700 years before the times of Jesus, but the prophecy, once fulfilled, makes it very clear that Isaiah did indeed speak of a future event that would take place. Isaiah prophesied about the life of Jesus in great detail including His crucifixion and the place of His burial. What Isaiah wrote would have been meaningless to anyone reading his words prior to the time Jesus lived.

Another astonishing prophecy is found in the Book of Daniel. Actually, Daniel made a number of prophecies that have come true, and some which as of this date have not yet come true. Daniels “seventy 7’s” for instance predicted with great specificity a precise timeline that takes us clear through to the time of the second coming of Jesus. We are talking about a period of 490 years or seventy 7’s, and the last 7 years are separated from the preceding 69 periods of 7 years. The 69 periods of 7 years have come true just as Daniel wrote. The prophecies regarding the last 7 years have yet to come true.

The last 7 years leading up to the second coming of Jesus will begin as we read in Daniel with the affirming of a peace accord involving Israel by many. Among those who will affirm the accord will be the Antichrist. We won’t know who he is until midway through the last 7 years, but when the peace accord is signed, we will know the Antichrist is alive on earth and the last 7 years leading up to the second coming of Jesus has started.

There are other prophecies that speak of the Antichrist’s government during the last 42 months leading up to the second coming of Jesus where He returns and defeats the Antichrist and his followers at the Battle of Armageddon and sets up his millennial kingdom where He will rule the nations for 1,000 years.

The number of prophecies that speak of the things that will happen - either just preceding the last 7 years spoken of in Daniel, or during those last 7 years - are many and involve nations that will exist at that time. The nations are not mentioned by name, but rather spoken of in symbolical terms. For instance, the bear, the leopard, the lion with eagle’s wings, the woman, and the 10 horned beast.

Of interest is the fact there are nations today who fit perfectly with that symbolic description. The woman is Israel, the bear is Russia, the leopard is Germany, the lion is Great Britain, and the eagle’s wings would be the United States. Daniel makes note of a lion with eagle’s wings and goes on to say the eagle’s wings were plucked from the lion and made to stand alone. We also read that the woman will be protected during these times by the wings of an eagle.

Is Israel at this moment in time being protected by the United States? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. You might not even know that to be true, or for that matter that Israel is fighting a war on multiple fronts right now if you don’t pay attention to current events, and I will add that you probably don’t hear much about this fact at all in the mainstream media, and if you do hear about it what you hear is the message that Israel is the aggressor in this war.

It is odd that the public sentiment influenced by mainstream media for the most part is anti-Israel on this matter while at the same time the US government strongly supports Israel. In symbolic terms as we read in Daniel and the Book of Revelation as well, the wings of an eagle will protect the woman, or we could say the United States will protect Israel as more and more countries align against Israel.

The nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem are God’s people and God’s holy city. We are told in the bible that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed so if it mattered to you at all you would want to stand alongside Israel in these times, but the majority of Americans don’t stand with Israel today.

A question then - are we in those days leading up to the last 7 years Daniel spoke of? The years just preceding the second coming of Jesus to set up his millennial kingdom on earth. It is dangerous to say with certainty a particular prophecy is about to be fulfilled and for good reason - we won’t know it is being fulfilled until it actual happens and so a lot of people over the years have been humbled for making absolute predictions on the timing of one of these prophecies.

Personally, I believe we are in those times as there are so many signs that suggest we in fact are, but I must add the caveat that I am not sure and won’t be sure until a few things happen. First, the peace accord being affirmed, and second, the 6th Trumpet War must begin.

I haven’t mentioned the 6th Trumpet War yet, but we can read about it in the Book of Revelation:

Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates

¹³ Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, ¹⁴ saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. ¹⁷ And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. ¹⁸ By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

This war will happen as will the peace accord that begins the last 7 years of Daniel’s seventy 7’s. Will the war happen first and be the impetus for the peace accord, or will the peace accord happen first and then be broken leading up to the establishment of the Antichrist’s world government?

I don’t have the answer and must wait a while, but all the pieces seem in place for both of these prophecies to be fulfilled in short order. Of some note is the alignment of power amongst the nations. Right now, we have nations aligning against Israel and in the region of the Euphrates River. It is clearly a matter of the nations of Islam aligning against the nation of Israel.

Israel at the moment is fighting against Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah - all supported by Iran. The nations that border the Euphrates River are Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

Look again at these verses from Revelation:

“Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

In Daniel 10 we read the following words:

¹¹ And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.

¹² Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

¹⁴ Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

It is interesting to say the least that the message God wanted to deliver to Daniel about the end time events that would take place was delayed for 21 days. Gabriel, God’s messenger angel, was in a battle in the heavens with the “prince” of Persia and could not deliver the message from God to Daniel until the archangel Michael joined the battle to help Gabriel. Persia is modern day Iran.

We are talking now of a spiritual battle in the heavens in the verse above speaking of Gabriel and Michael battling with the prince of Persia (Iran) and that battle took place over 2400 years ago. In Revelation we are talking about more angels - the angels who are bound at the Great River Euphrates that will be loosed, or perhaps have already been loosed. These angels were “loosed” to “kill a third of mankind.” Four angels and four nations bordering the River Euphrates.

These prophecies are stunning when one considers the events taking place in our time. Iran is at the center of this conflict dating back to the time of Daniel, and today Iran has aligned with the other countries - Iraq, Syria, and Turkey along with other nations against Israel. And let’s not forget the wings of an eagle protecting Israel in these times. The buildup of naval assets in recent days by the US is solid proof that the bible prophecy regarding the wings of an eagle (United States) protecting the woman (Israel) during the times spoken of in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation is coming true in our time.

I don’t know how to present all this information in a way that readers can fully understand. If I go deeper into the biblical prophecies the subject becomes so complex that many will be confused, and if I leave these prophecies out of the presentation altogether and just deal with the matter from a secular perspective the whole matter becomes highly subjective. Can we know what is about to happen? Yes, but not without knowing what the bible says will happen.

Of this I am certain - we are living in the times just preceding the second coming of Jesus to set up His millennial kingdom, and not in the heavens but rather here on earth. Once the peace accord is affirmed by many - the one that will allow Israel to build their third temple - we will know with great specificity exactly when Jesus will return. It will be seven years from the affirming of that peace accord.

Should we then hope that all the tragic events prophesied in the bible not take place? That the world will see the dangers in the things going on today - things that many in governments around the world see leading up to World War III and take action to make sure these things don’t happen. My answer is an emphatic no to that question. These tragic events must take place as the bible says they will, and for good reason - these events lead up to the final battle between good and evil, and the good side ends up victorious.

So many I know tell me my presentations on biblical matters are too long and too complex. Many just throw up their hands and stop reading. I don’t know why that is so. There was a time when all knowledge was conveyed via the written word, and people loved to read. Today that is not so much the case, so for that reason I think maybe using a video in lieu of written words might be a good way to end this post. Watch it as this short presentation - supported by scripture - tells us what will happen to those who follow God and those who follow Satan during these times leading up to the second coming of Jesus.