“THE LAST GENERATION”
“Now learn the parable from the fig tree:
when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves,
you know that summer is near; even so you too, when you see all these
things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to
you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place.”
Matthew 24:32-34 (NASB)
According to my interpretation of this passage,
this is a reference to Israel becoming a nation. This became a
realization on May 14, 1948. The fig tree is a symbol for Israel. The
Bible refers to the fig tree some 33 times – 18 times in the Old
Testament alone. In context, the fig tree is always a symbol for
Israel. Just as the general time of summer has arrived when the fig
tree puts forth its leaves, so the restoration of Israel to her land is
a sure sign that the general time of Christ’s return has arrived.
This is a reference to His second coming, not the rapture that occurs
at least seven years earlier.
Not everyone agrees with this interpretation for
the last generation. My recent book is titled, The Last Generation:
Prophecy, Current World Events, and the End Times. The purpose of my
book is to present the evidence that backs my thesis that the
generation that was born in or since 1948 will be alive when Christ
returns the second time, if they are not taken at the rapture. For
those who do not believe that the birth of Israel was the start of the
last generation, the evidence presented will still support, using other
sources, that we are in that last generation.
There is an abundance of evidence that we are
living in that last generation apart from how one interprets Matthew 24:
32-34. We know that certain things have to be in place before the
second coming. For example, we know there will be a final one-world
empire. We will look at the development of this one world empire
through the lens of Bible prophecy, its relation to current events, and
some of the predictions of scientists, academics, and other leading
authorities, who are not Christian and, in some cases, are atheists.
The starting point will be the birth of Israel in 1948. This coming One
World Empire will consist of three pillars. These Three Pillars include:
1. One World Government [with a dictator who rules over all three pillars]
2. One World Economy
3. One World Religion
ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT AND DICTATOR
(Daniel 2:40-43; 7:19-21; Revelation 13:1-7)
There will be a one-world government ruled by a
dictator, sometimes referred to by names such as: the son of
perdition, the man of sin, the lawless one, and is most commonly
referred to as “Antichrist.” This one-world government will
originate from the ancient Roman Empire. According to Daniel 2, the
fourth and last empire was the Roman Empire. It was never taken over by
another empire, but it literally broke into pieces, and a patchwork of
individual kingdoms emerged. The revived Roman Empire will consist of a
recombining of these pieces. The revived Roman Empire began developing
in 1948, the same year that Israel was reborn.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE
A few of the developments of the revived Roman
Empire since 1948 include the following events:
1. Congress of Europe (1948): Following WWII, the Congress of Europe met in 1948. They
adapted seven resolutions on political union. The relevance of this is
seen in Resolution # 7, which reads, “The creation of a United
Europe must be regarded as an essential step towards the creation of a
united world.” A one-world government was in the planning stages
since 1948.
2. The Brussels Treaty (1948): This treaty added France and Britain to the Benelux
countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) established by the Benelux
Treaty (1948). The real significance to this treaty is found in the
amended, or modified version in 1954. This will be discussed under
“The Establishment of the Western European Union (WEU)
(1954).”
3. Official European Symbols: link Biblical imagery and mythology. Consider the
following symbols and their significance:
• The official European symbol: is
a picture of Europa riding on a bull (Zeus). This symbol is taken from
pagan mythology. This symbol also can be seen in the Bible. The symbol
of a beast and a woman riding on it is described in Daniel 7 and
Revelation 13 and 17. The beast represents the one-world government and
the antichrist. The woman represents the one-world religion.
• The European Flag: consists of 12
stars in a circle. This does not represent 12 member states of the
European Union (E.U.). There are already more than 12 member states.
According to Leon Marshall, a formal Secretary General of the Council
of Europe, the stars represent those of the “Woman of the
Apocalypse.” This is a reference to Revelation 12 where the
woman, according to Roman Catholicism, represents the Virgin Mary.
• The European Union Poster: shows
a partially built Tower of Babel with a crane in the background
rebuilding the Tower. It has 12 eurostars above it. We all know that
the first attempted one-world government was the building of the Tower
of Babel under Nimrod, a prototype of the antichrist and the one-world
government.
4. Establishment of the Western European Union
(W.E.U.) (1954): This was the result of an
amended 1948 Brussels Treaty. Article 5 modified the original Brussels
Treaty of 1948. This modified Brussels Treaty allowed for the
establishment of the Western European Union (W.E.U.) and made them
responsible for the collective defense of the E.U. The W.E.U. became
Europe’s only Security and Defense Assembly. The W.E.U. is a
growing military power and a major player on the world stage. It is the
enforcement arm of the E.U.
OTHER WORLDWIDE DEVELOPMENTS
1. Establishment of NATO (1949): This was signed on April 4, 1949. The initial provision
was to protect Western European Allies and the U.S. against an attack
by the U.S.S.R. Many NATO countries, now called “member
states,” are also members of the E.U. and the W.E.U. It is of
interest to note that all three have their headquarters in Brussels.
2. Club of Rome (1957): is a German based think tank established in 1957. It has
a limit of 100 countries. One major country not included is Israel.
Purpose: figure out ways to solve humanity’s problems. Many years
ago the Club of Rome advocated a “one world order,”
dividing the world into 10 economic centers and called them “Mega
Territories” and “Kingdoms.” [Remember the 10 toes in
Daniel 2:41-43, the 10 horns and 10 kings in Daniel 7:24 and Revelation
17:12?]
Since 1974, we have almost completed 5 of the 10
designations or regions, called “Unions,” on the world map
proposed by the Club of Rome. They are:
• The European Union (1993)
• The African Union (2002)
• The Mediterranean Union (July
2008)
• The Union of South American
Nations (UNASUR) [or possibly the
South American Union] signed the
constitutive agreement on May 27, 2008. These will
soon be followed by the
• North American Union [Canada, U.S., and Mexico].
This one world government has been in the
development stage in this last generation. [Read more about the role
the U.S. plays in prophecy in a book authored by Jerome Corsi titled, The Late Great U.S.A.: NAFTA, the North American Union,
and the Threat of a Coming Merger with Mexico and Canada.]
