I have heard that in the late 1800s, when there was considerable expectation among Christians that the Second Coming was nigh, a group of Bible scholars compiled a list of 75 prerequisites that had to be in place before the Second coming could occur. For example, there had to be a nation or group of nations that could send an army of 200,000,000 across the Euphrates River toward the nation of Israel. As of the late 1800s, only about 1/2 those prerequisites were in place. But now, all but two are in place. The last two are the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and the birth of a 10-nation confederacy — the resurrected Roman Empire.
Can you confirm this story? If so, can you provide a reference for further reading on the subject?
Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this topic.
The size of your list depends on the amount of detail you include. I haven’t seen this list of 75 so I couldn’t tell you if there are only two left. The two you mention certainly would be included but right off the top of my head I can think of the Battle of Ezekiel 38, the destruction of Damascus, the Rapture of the Church, the rise and fall of the One World Government and One World Religion, and the rise of the anti-Christ as major events all having to take place before the 2nd Coming. I’m sure there are others who would add to that my list.
It sounds like the 75 prerequisites were developed primarily to convince people that the 2nd Coming was not going to happen during the Great awakening, as the 1800’s are often described. Also the study of prophecy as being literally true had just become popular again after centuries of being seen as only allegory, so our understanding was not as refined as it is today.
All that said, the things yet to come in fulfillment of End Times Prophecy can all be fulfilled within the life spans of those alive now. So today there is no legitimate reason to deny the Lord’s imminent return.