Micah 5 Timeline - This is Huge!

Could the Revelation 12 Sign be the key indicator of when God will shift His focus back to Israel?  Many of us now believe that an Old Testament prophecy could hold the answer to that question...

In Micah 5:2-4 a timeline is formed by 3 consecutive verses which span from before Christ's birth, through the partial hardening of Israel after His death, and into His millennial reign.  Smack dab in the middle of this sweeping passage is a huge clue as to the timing of this.  It potentially identifies the timing of when God will return His focus to Israel and close out the Church Age. The implications of this are huge.  In order to wake-up the Jews, God will unleash a 7 year period of unprecedented disasters on the whole Earth.

For this post I would like to focus on when the current Church Age (otherwise known as The Age of Grace) could come to an end.  I believe that Micah 5 could point to a sign found in Rev 12 that indicates when God will choose to refocus His attention back on Israel (and thus usher in the End Times).  In order to make that case I have created the following timeline, focusing on these three consecutive verses in Micah Chapter 5.

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Lets go through these verses in order. Below is Micah 5:2, the first verse in this timeline:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel whose coming forth is from of old from ancient days.

In this verse you see a prophecy about where Jesus will be born.  This is the same passage King Herod's priest's read to him after the wise men dropped in for a visit after seeing an astronomical sign. Sound familiar?  You can read about this direct reference in Matt 2:4-5 and in Luke 2:4.  Verse 2 also gives more info about Jesus, stating that he will be the ruler in Israel and that he is coming forth from old, from "ancient days".  I believe this is eluding to his eternal nature which can be referenced in Daniel 7:13 and John 1:1.  Furthermore it could even connect to His taking on of human likeness described in Phil 2:6-8. 

We now have our first portion of the timeline. It's fairly easy to see that Micah 5:2 is referring to Jesus, specifically during His pre-incarnate state, birth and coming forth onto the scene during the time the of Gospels.

Next let's look at the first part of Micah 5:3...

Therefore he shall give them up... 

Who shall give up who, and why?  The context of the previous verses tell us who and pretty much all of scripture tells us the why.  The one coming forth from ancient days (Jesus) shall give up the clans of Judah, otherwise known as the Jewish people.  He gave them up because they didn't accept Him as their Messiah, but instead crucified Him.  Of course, we now know this was all part of Gods grand plan (John 3:16), but they are still responsible for their actions and God put them in a time-out so to speak.  In Romans 11, Paul does an amazing breakdown of why God gave up the Jews for this time period (which has been going on for some 2,000 years now).  Romans 11:25 specifically describes this partial hardening and its purpose.  You know all about it because it was for the very purpose of opening up the plan of salvation to you and me. Fortunately for the Jews, God has promised that this hardening won't last forever. Unfortunately for all other unbelievers, that means the Age of Grace will end at some point too.

Continuing on... This is were it gets really good.  Look at the next part of verse 3:

Therefore he shall give them up... until the time when she who is in labor has given birth;

For many centuries I am sure people have pondered that phrase. When you think about it, it does seem like an awfully general indicator for such and important event.  According to Google there are 360,000 births each day on this planet.  Multiple that by 2000 years and you can see the problem. But now with the Revelation 12 breakthroughs things might be starting to make some sense.  Maybe this woman in labor who is giving birth in Micah 5:3 is related to the woman in labor who is giving birth in Revelation 12:2?  Could it be?  The possibility is certainly intriguing.   I just wish some of the "professional debunkers" who are calling us all astrologers and telling everyone to ignore this amazing information would put some actual thought into the subject!

Lets keep moving, now looking at the remainder of verse 3:

then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.

This is when the partial hardening ends.  This is when the time-out is over. You can read about it in Romans 11:26 and in Jeremiah 31:33-34, among other places.  Notice the word "then".  Above was the word "until".  These are indicators of time.  Wait until this thing happens, then this other thing will happen.  For example: In my house it might go like this: "Until you pick up your toys, then you can have some ice cream."  Those words indicate that something must take place in order for the next thing to happen.  In Micah 5:3 many of us now interpret this to mean that the sign of the woman in labor (Micah 5:3 / Rev 12:1-2) must happen in order for the next dispensation to take place.  The sign is the indicator, the Jews won't be "un-hardened" until after this sign. His brothers will return.  What causes them to soften their hearts toward Jesus?  You guessed it...  The Tribulation.  And if that is true, it could mean exciting times directly ahead for us Christians who are eagerly longing for Our Lord's appearing (2 Tim 4:8).  To be specific, it could potentially mean that the rapture of the church is at hand.  We won't know if we are right until it happens, but it sure seems like a reasonable idea that it could happen sometime around the Revelation 12 Sign which is taking place this September especially in light of what we are learning here. Whether it is on the exact day of the sign, or weeks or months after it (or better yet, before it), I do not know.  But even if we don't know the day, and even if we don't know the hour, I think it is reasonable to be very excited about the possibilities surrounding this upcoming season!

Ok, lets wrap this up by quickly talking about the last verse in the timeline, Micah 5:4.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

This is pretty straight forward and clearly talking about the Millennium and beyond. Jesus will stand and be the shepherd to His flock (all those who believe in Him whether Jew or Gentile).  His strength and majesty will be evident. We will dwell secure and His name will be great across the entire earth. What a glorious time it will be!  Christ will come down to earth to take his place as ruler in Israel just like what was mentioned in passing up in Micah 5:2.  The secure dwelling is talked about in Rev 22:3 and Isaiah 32:18 and sounds wonderful. I am hoping and praying that every one of you guys and gals reading this will be there with me... adoring and praising our hero, Jesus Christ. I cannot wait for that day!

In summary many prominent scholars already know that Micah 5:3 is a key biblical indicator pointing to the End Times.  Until now, most didn't know what the woman in labor sign would consist of.  Case in point: Read what John MacArthur has to say in the notes section of my personal Bible... Notice at the bottom how he even references us back to a certain special chapter that has gotten a lot of attention lately!

I sincerely hope this study has encouraged you.  Micah 5 has been referenced by those studying the Rev12 Sign, but I was waiting for someone to do an in-depth break down of it because I think it is so cool.  Instead of waiting around for someone else to do it, I finally felt called to take a stab at it myself.  This post has been a labor of love because ever since I first studied these passages a few short years ago I have considered Micah 5:2-4 to be an absolute key piece of the Rev12 puzzle. I hope this little break-down gets shared and many people who are much more qualified than I can dig into this further, with more skill (and probably better spelling).  I really hope they do because as the title of this post suggests... This. Is. Huge.