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HAVE ANY BIBLE PROPHECIES BEEN FULFILLEDIN OUR GENERATION? Most unfulfilled prophecies concern the second coming of Christ, an event that has not yet occurred, so most of these prophecies await fulfillment. However, as the last days come more into view, some pre-second coming prophecies are being fulfilled. These are prophecies that help to set the stage for related events to come. We shall list three examples: (1) The restoration of Israel in 1948. This is the “super sign” of modern Bible prophecy. The Old Testament predicted that “. . . the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.” (Hos. 3:4-5) Another good reference is Amos 9:14-15: “And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.” Jesus spoke of Israel as a fig tree that would one day put forth leaves: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” (Mat. 24:32-34) These are just some of the numerous passages that speak of the Jews having a national homeland in the last days. Israel ceased to be an independent nation of twelve tribes hundreds of years before Christ due to the invasions of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. This began the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) under which the Jews would have to remain until the second coming of Christ. During the time of Christ, the Jews were under Roman rule. Then in 70 A.D. the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, and the Jews were dispersed into all the world. Not having a national homeland, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became known as “the wandering Jew.” Then in the late 1800’s the Zionist movement began, which led to hundreds of thousands of Jews gradually relocating to the Holy land. Then, in 1948, the Jewish people established their own independent nation in the land of promise, something they had not enjoyed for over 2,500 years. This is clearly a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. (2) The New Testament writers foretold of a great apostasy occurring in the last days preceding our Lord’s return. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians is a good example: “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first . . .” (II Ths. 2:3) His words to Timothy echoed the same prophecy: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (I Tim. 4:1) Peter also warned of this great apostasy in II Peter 3:3: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts . . .” Then, in Revelation 3:14-22, John tells us what the end of the church age will look like. After writing six messages to six different churches, representing basically the first eighteen centuries of church history, John pens these words to the church at Laodicea, picturing the typical denominational church of our day: “ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:15-17) All of these verses add color to the same prophetic picture, that being the picture of religious apostasy in the last days preceding the return of Christ. This prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes. (3) Of the many prophecies given in the book of Revelation, probably none are more ominous than the mark of the beast prophecy found in Revelation 13:15-18: “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” For over eighteen centuries people have scratched their heads, wandering how such a massive undertaking could be accomplished, but the head scratching stopped when the computer entered the scene in the latter part of the twentieth century. Whether it be invisible ink bar codes or some other computer generated identification system, thinking people can easily see the possibilities. Only a century ago, applying the mark of the beast and then storing personal information on billions of people would have been impossible. But we have lived to see the possibilities unfold before our very eyes. Other prophecies could be elaborated on, such as the rise of Gog and Magog, the Middle-East Conflict, and the European Union, but I trust that the point has been made. There's no question that we are living in the last days.