How do you know that we are getting close?

How do we know that we are living in the last days? Daniel 9:2 ; "in the first year of the reign of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years." Actually, this means seventy "sevens" of years, or seventy weeks of years, or 490 years. This is the Jewish clock set by God until the abomination of desolation is set up in Jerusalem.

The problem with prophecy is that it often has a double meaning. In this case, it has two meanings.

Look at Daniel 9:25-26; "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined."

You can see that there is 70 weeks of years or 490 years on the clock of Israel until everything is over. Some people believe that this timeframe was complete in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem and it began in 445 BC with the proclamation to rebuild Jerusalem. That is the first meaning of the prophecy. To say that it is the only meaning is to say that God is through with Israel. Romans 11:25-26, "For I do not want you brethren to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in, and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written." You see the covenant with Israel is irrevocable just as our covenant of salvation by grace is irrevocable. God will finish what He started with Israel in the last days.

According to Daniel, after the seven weeks of years and the sixty-two weeks of years the Messiah will be cut off. That is that the decree was given around 445BC and Jesus was cut off or crucified around 32 AD which is exactly 483 years. That means that there is one week of years left. Seven years which Matthew 24 calls the tribulation. The whole book of Revelation was written so that we could know what was going to happen.

According to Daniel 9:27, "And he (the antichrist) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering,"
So, the one week is yet to come and it will begin with a seven year peace treaty. The pressure is on Israel more than ever to sign a peace treaty. I believe that this peace treaty will be with the Palestinians to give them a home land and half of Jerusalem. What will Israel get for such a sacrifice? There is only one thing that would be worth it. Control of the Temple mount so that the Jews could re-establish the Temple worship. To do this would put them back into a relationship with God and reestablish His protection upon Israel. That would mean that they could sacrifice animals on the altar and follow the old covenant again. The Ark of the Covenant may be put back into place. The problem there will be is it the copy that King Solomon made for his son, or is it the real one. I believe that I know where both are. So, in the middle of the seven years, the antichrist, who has signed the seven year peace treaty with Israel will break it and put himself on the throne of the Temple and claim himself as god. That is because he will be infilled with the spirit of satan and satan has always wanted to be God. This will happen 1260 days into the tribulation.
If you look back at the old blogs you will see that there is a 30 period just after that called the "hour of testing". This is when the mark of the beast is enacted on all mankind. This is another great sign to show we are quickly approaching the end time. Today, we are closer than ever to being able to mark everyone with a chip that will take the place of our money system so that you cannot buy or sell without it. If you take the mark, you will be condemned by God. That is why Israel will run for the hills during that time (see Matthew 24:15-22).