The signs clearly say, as so many rabbis and experts have confirmed, that we are living in prophetic times preceding the messiah.

2018 saw a host of “End of Days” events and predictions actualized. In January, snow fell on the Sahara – the world’s hottest desert – paralleling prophecies of Isaiah. In May, President Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, many likening the American leader to Cyrus, the Persian King who ended the Babylonian exile and paved the way for the Second Temple in Jerusalem. In September, an entirely red female calf was born (which later died, though there are two more candidates that will be checked in the coming week), the prophesied tenth and final of its kind before the messiah, enabling Israel to become ritually pure and reinstate the Temple Service. In November, nations gathered in Israel for an interfaith conference about the Temple Mount. Throughout the year, Jerusalem saw a spike in inbound-tourism, breaking all-time records of tourists, many Christian. We call it tourism, but prophets talked about it as Biblical prophecy.

Indeed, many extraordinary events signal the miraculous times in which we are living. Breaking Israel News looks back on these prophetic moments and suggests five further prophecies that could be fulfilled in 2019.  

5 Biblical Prophecies Fulfilled in 2018

High Speed Train Opens in Prophesied Development of Jerusalem

[The Lord] says: Build up, build up a highway! Clear a road! Remove all obstacles From the road of My people! Isaiah 57:14

In September, 2018, Yisrael Katz, Israel’s transportation Minister, announced the opening of the first stages of the new high-speed train to Jerusalem, saying, “we are connecting and strengthening our capital city of Jerusalem, and we are connecting to Jerusalem’s history.” One of its stops will bring people to the Western Wall from different locations of Jerusalem’s capital. These developments in Jerusalem were prophesied by Isaiah, and this was surely a point of major fulfillment in 2018 as well as continued fulfillment into 2019. Additionally, such infrastructure improvements, including the new Ramon airport that is set to open in early 2019, will pave the way for future pilgrimages to Jerusalem during the annual feasts.

2.    War of Gog and Magog in Iranian-Backed Syria

I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws, and lead you out with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them clothed in splendor, a vast assembly, all of them with bucklers and shields, wielding swords. Among them shall be Persia, Nubia, and Put, everyone with shield and helmet; Ezekiel 38:4-5

Iran, with its modern-day incarnation of Biblical Persia, is explicitly identified by the Prophet Ezekiel as an end-of-days foe of Israel. In early 2018, Israel and Iran made direct military contact for the first time over Israeli airspace, an escalation of conflict in an already volatile region that brings the armies of various nations in close proximity to one another. Rabbis and experts, including Rabbi Pinchas Winston and Rabbi Yosef Berger, equated this confrontation to the prophesied war of Gog and Magog – the second part of a two stage process for the returning of the divine presence to Israel – beginning in the North (with Russia, perhaps) and Iran. As leaders wonder what to do about Iran’s nuclear program (as well as Iranian support of Israel’s terror-sponsoring neighbors of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon), Rabbinic authorities look to prophecy to find clear answers for a developing situation that Winston describes as “about to get Biblical.” In addition to its nuclear program that promises to wipe Israel off the map, Iran has already established military bases in war-torn Syria, where a civil war has resulted in approximately 600,000 killings, more than 5.6 million fleeing and 6 million displaced internally.

3.  Increasing Control Over Temple Mount and End of Ishmael’s Reign

These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his kin. Genesis 25:18

The year 2018 began with a lunar eclipse signaling “a harsh period for B’nei Ishmael (sons of Ishmael, i.e. the Arab nations), which is necessary for the beginning of Moshiach (Messiah),” Rabbi Berger, the Rabbi of King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion, told Breaking Israel News. In Genesis, it is told that when Ishmael falls, it will be the end-of-days and the Son of David (the Messiah) will flourish and the Temple Mount will change from its current state into its prophetic role as a “House of Prayer for All Nations.” When one views the struggle over Temple Mount sovereignty as a zero-sum game between B’nei Ishmael and B’nei Yitzhak, one could conclude that this year’s increase of Jewish presence on the Temple Mount signals the end of Ishmael’s reign. Indeed, in 2018, more Jews ascended the Temple Mount than ever before since the Jewish Temple stood, with 28,500 Jews ascending in the last Jewish calendar year. As this occurs, we have seen various strange phenomena on the Temple Mount – perhaps signaling the prophesied shift that will occur in Jerusalem pre-Messiah – such as an eerie mist, sinkholes and snakes.

4. Tikkun of Esau: US Embassy Opens in Jerusalem

“Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; let what you have remain yours.”” (Genesis 33:9)

The US Embassy in Jerusalem opened on May 14, 2018 after U.S. President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017. Rabbi Mendel Kessin, a rabbi who interprets modern events from a Torah perspective, maintained that this decision is bringing the world closer to the Messiah, calling it the ‘Tikkun (fixing) of Esau,” describing how Esau (embodied in part by Donald Trump’s paradigm shift) will be restored by helping Israel. Others have paralleled Donald Trump to Cyrus, the Persian King who ended the Babylonian exile and paved the way for the Second Temple in Jerusalem, even minting a Trump/Cyrus replica of the silver half-shekel Biblically mandated to be donated in the Temple.

5. Global Reaction of the Embassy Opening: Prophetic Esau and Ishmael Alliance Facilitated by Erev Rav

“So Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Avraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.”  Genesis 28:9

Just as soon as U.S. President Trump moved the Embassy in 2018, Israel became the focus of condemnation on various fronts. The Arab world, Western media and even Christian leaders opposed the move. While unfortunate, this reaction is viewed as an essential step in the process of the Messiah according to prolific end-of-days author and educator Rabbi Pinchas Winston. In the end of days, those who are at war will come together as described by the Vilna Gaon (leading rabbi of the 18th century Elijah ben Solomon Zalman), namely, the Catholic Church and Ishmael (the Arab world), both of whom forged an alliance, despite their differences, to condemn Israel. Rabbi Winston explained that this unlikely union consisting of two opposing forces (known in the Bible as Esau and Ishmael) will be facilitated by the erev rav (mixed multitude), largely consisting of liberal, left-wing Jews. This is exactly what we witnessed in 2018, another prophecy fulfilled as rabbis maintain that the Messianic era is upon us.

5 Prophecies We Expect to See in 2019:

1. Increased and Prophesied Torah Awakening Among Non-Jews    

“Our mouths shall be filled with laughter, our tongues, with songs of joy. Then shall they say among the nations, “Hashem has done great things for them!”Psalms 126:2 (The Israel Bible)

It is prophesied in the Bible that in the Messianic era, the nations will restore their love for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Indeed, a worldwide movement is just beginning in which Christians from all over the world have “awakened” to their Hebrew roots and have chosen to stand in solidarity alongside the people, land and God of Israel. More Christians are rejecting replacement theology, the idea that God’s covenant with the Jewish people has been replaced with Christians, and are instead embracing their Hebrew roots through various means. Upon its release on Israel’s 70th Anniversary, The Israel Bible became a bestseller on Amazon among both Jews and non-Jewish readers interested in commentary that explains God’s focus on the land of Israel. Educational platform Yeshiva for the Nations engaged non-Jews with authentic classes on the Hebrew Bible, Jewish history and Israel. Author Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler pioneered a look inside this phenomenon of a Torah awakening among Christians in her book Ten From The Nations: Torah Awakening Among Non-Jews. As the new year picks up, it is likely that Torah literacy will increase even further, leading the world towards further prophecy fulfillment and the Messianic era in 2019.

2.    Increasing End of Days Natural Phenomena

“Sing to Hashem a new song, sing to Hashem, all the earth.” Psalms 96:1

According to Torah scholars, the End of Days will be marked with unusual natural phenomena such as stars and earthquakes. This past year, Breaking Israel News reported on various natural phenomena heralding the Messiah, including the Dead Sea coming back to life, snowfall in the hottest desert, seismic activity, eclipses, volcanoes, tsunamis, blood moons, blood red rivers and asteroids. According to Rabbi Pinchas Winston, as time goes on, such events indicating divine intervention in mundane events will become more prevalent. “In the later stages of the geula (redemption) the mixture of miracle and nature will increase to the point where it will become so clear it will be undeniable,” Rabbi Winston told Breaking Israel News. Some suggest that Gog and Magog will be a war fought through nature. While he made a disclaimer that we cannot prove anything is hashgacha pratit (divine intervention), looking toward 2019, “the people who are prepared to look at the big picture will be able to connect the dots in a way that makes more sense than trying to explain everything in strictly natural terms.”

3.    Focus on and Return to the Third Temple

In the days to come, The Mount of Hashem’s House Shall stand firm above the mountains And tower above the hills; And all the nations Shall gaze on it with joy. Isaiah 2:2

Described in Isaiah is a time in which the nations will look upon God’s house in Israel – the Temple – with joy. However, lacking a Third Temple, 2018 saw various attempts to recreate its glory. September’s World Creation Concert in Jerusalem was considered a “call to prayer for all nations to come together to praise God in Jerusalem” according to Sanhedrin spokesman Rabbi Hillel Weiss, who said doing so reestablishes King Solomon’s original intention when he established the Temple. Various nations joined in, as prophesied, with Guatemala and Colombia sending delegations to the concert, including their ambassadors. Similarly, the Temple Mount Conference brought pilgrims from all over the world to bless Israel, under one leader, as prophesied in the Bible. In the past year, temple coins were minted and over Hanukkah, a dedication of the altar for the Third Temple was reenacted. The ongoing search for a perfect red heifer for renewed Temple Services is continuing into 2019 as two more red female calves are being checked in the coming weeks. The 12-year ongoing search for Temple utensils is picking up as retired criminal investigator Jim Barfield believes he has discovered the hiding location of the gold and silver implements of the Temple – Qumran – located near the lowest point on earth. Perhaps in 2019, we will continue to see increased focus on the Temple, moves towards its rebuilding and the return of Temple treasures like Barfield’s sought-after Temple utensils.

Aliyah

And you shall declare to them: Thus said Hashem: I am going to take B’nei Yisrael from among the nations they have gone to, and gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land. Ezekiel 37:21

Prophesied in Ezekiel is the ingathering of the exiles – a people dispersed from the Jewish homeland thousands of years ago in a Diaspora, only to return to the land in the End of Days, until the Final Aliyah. In 2018, the Jewish Agency reported a five percent increase in aliyah to Israel, with that increase coming largely from Russia, which witnessed a 45% jump in the rate of immigration. Also on the rise were Argentinian aliyah, with a 17-percent rise from last year, and South African aliyah with a two-percent increase. As we see prophecy coming to fruition, 2019 will likely see another rise in aliyah, gearing up for scientist Saul Kullook’s prediction (based on a formula correlating the axis of the earth and the latitudes of Israel’s Biblical borders to Prophecy) maintaining that 2020 could see largest aliyah yet.

5.   Return of the Ten Plagues

“I will punish him with pestilence and with bloodshed; and I will pour torrential rain, hailstones, and sulfurous fire upon him and his hordes and the many peoples with him.” (Ezekiel 38:22)

According to the Book of Ezekiel, beyond a punishment to the Egyptians, the Ten Plagues will return in the war of Gog and Magog preceding the coming of the Messianic age. As precursors, bloodshed, hail, torrential rain and sulfurous fire will punish Gog just before the Messiah. 2018 saw the return of a number of these precursors. In early 2018, the Molchanka river in Siberia turned into a blood-red estuary as a result of silt deposits caused by industrial pollutants. A recent wave of hailstorms struck simultaneously around the world in the most unlikely of places. The Saudi Arabian desert was covered in ice and, in precisely the manner described in the Bible, hail in Australia was accompanied by fire. Breaking Israel News reported, “In the case of the hailstorm in Africa, the devastating effect on cattle reflects the devastation the Biblical plague had on the Egyptian. Even the unlikely meeting of the elemental opposites of fire and ice was witnessed by the farmers of Australia, making the claims of a literal reading of the Bible more credible.” Meanwhile, heavy rain and hail hit Saudi Arabia’s northern province of al-Jawf, as well as in South Africa killing at least 18 cows. In 2019, we can expect to see a continuation of the Egyptian plagues, including blood in water, frogs, lice, wild animals, deceased livestock, boils, thunderstorms of hail and fire, locusts, darkness and death of the first born.