“You’re right, Carl. Of course there were,” John answered. “You can’t imagine how busy we were in the eighties and nineties verifying the signs. It was perfectly clear to anyone with an ounce of biblical understanding that humanity was heading toward some kind of collision. A person would have to be blind not to see it. And to those of us who had spent our lives studying and teaching the Word of God, the signs were screaming at us.”

“Like what?” said Carl. “Name a few.”

“Okay, Carl,” said John Edwards. “I’ll try to outline the events that seemed uppermost to us in the mid-nineties. The first was the sign of Jerusalem. . . .”

JOHN RECALLED A DAY IN 1967—June 5, to be exact. It was 10:00 o’clock in the morning. Behind him, bulldozers and construction workers had gathered to begin the construction of a new, enlarged sanctuary for his church. There was to be a small ceremony. The church board and a few local officials had gathered for the event. Just before it got underway, the last member of the board arrived.

“They’ve started a war in Israel,” he shouted breathlessly. “The Egyptians and Jordanians against the Israelis. They’re fighting in Jerusalem.”

Then, over the next five days, they followed the news reports. There was a brilliant Israeli strike, right through the center of the Egyptian line in the Sinai, followed by brutal fighting up the sides of the Mount of Olives.

King Hussein of Jordan rejected Israel’s offer of neutrality and joined the battle against Jerusalem, only to be driven back, humiliated. The television cameras showed a haggard King Hussein conceding defeat. John watched the stirring scene of General Moshe Dayan standing at the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem . . . the high priest blowing the ram’s horn, the shofar . . . Jews once again at the wailing wall. It was called the Six-Day War, less than one week from start to finish.

As the events unfolded, John Edwards announced publicly that this was the most significant prophetic event in recent history. For the first time since King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Jerusalem—in 586 B.C.—the Jews were once again in control of Jerusalem. For Edwards and his people, there was a sense of destiny. The start of their church building coincided with a prophetic event of great significance.

SUDDENLY JOHN EDWARDS REALIZED that everyone was waiting for him to speak. With a slight shake of his head, he dispelled the memories and returned to the present. “Flip over to Luke’s gospel, folks,” he said. “I want to look at the twenty-first chapter and the twenty-fourth verse.” He read these words to them: “‘They’—that is, the Jews— ‘will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’

“In 1967, that prophecy was fulfilled,” he continued.

“It was?” asked Lori. “How do you know?”