END TIMES PROPHECY

God’s Firestorm......

2018-03-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

(Written by Joseph Chambers)
The entire episode around the mosque at Ground Zero or the burning of the Koran is a precursor of prophecy. The War of Gog and Magog will be driven by the false prophecies in the Koran and its dictates for the cleansing of all Jews from Jerusalem and Israel. Ezekiel gave us a powerful timeline for this war and clearly promised that the nations in this coalition will be eliminated from the earth. A firestorm – the likes of which only Sodom and Gomorrah can compare – will erase the Islamic religion from the Middle East and portions of Europe and may affect America.

Chapters thirty-six and thirty-seven of this prophetic book, which was written by Ezekiel, promised the revival of the Nation of Israel. In chapters thirty-eight and thirty-nine he revealed this war by Israel’s enemies and their effort to cleanse Jerusalem of what they view as the nasty Jews. Immediately after this picture of God’s firestorm against Israel’s enemies, the Scripture promises Israel the rebuilding of their glorious temple and an age of indescribable peace. These Scriptures are so exact that to doubt the present movement towards God’s plans requires disbelief of the Holy Bible. Ezekiel received this prophecy while in exile from Jerusalem and living on the bank of the Kebar River in Babylon.

Some writers speak of the Islamic religion as the religion of the Antichrist, but this is misguided. The Antichrist is clearly pictured in Revelation chapter seventeen as the intimate companion of the false whore church of Christianity. At no point in the twenty-two chapters of Revelation is there one bit of evidence of an Islamic religion even existing. The Islamic religion is the religion that drives the War of Gog and Magog but the apostate religion of the false church drives the Antichrist movement. The Antichrist’s passion is to unseat the God of the Bible not the god of Islam.

The nations that Ezekiel prophesied to lead this War of Gog and Magog are in perfect alignment. The two leading nations are Russia and Iran, named by Ezekiel by their original connections – Gog and Magog and Persia. If Ezekiel was alive today he could not state the facts around the coming war better. Look at this precise statement — a little research will show its perfection. “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophecy against him.” “Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee” (Ezekiel 38:2, 5-6).

The coalition may well embrace as many as 25-30 governments and an army of incredible numbers. They all will be driven by the Islamic fury against Israel and America. There is no date set by this prophecy, but the present storm is certainly evidence of how quickly the fury can reach the necessary pitch. What is happening may cool down or it may not, but at God’s ordained hour it will explode and the world will tremble.

Such an army will gather to march that all possibilities of defence will be eliminated. Israel will clearly see her existence as beyond human hope to survive. Some believe Israel already has a plan that they understand as “Ezekiel’s Option.” Their intent is to exhaust all their military resources and to accept whatever results. When this massive army crosses the borders in Northern Israel – stretching all the way from Russia and covering the countries that border the Promise Land – it will be God’s signal to intervene. Chills of joy run up and down my very being when I consider what our Great God of the pure faith of the Bible is going to do.

Burning the Koran is barely worth mentioning. This dark religion is an affront to God and everything He loves and will defend. The firestorm will break with a fury that only faith in God and the Bible can possibly understand. God said it like this, “And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 38:21-23). When God issues this call, the angels of Heaven and Earth will move into action and Israel’s defence will no longer be human.

I believe that when the War of Gog and Magog is over, there will not be any capitols in Russia, Turkey, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, and on and on. The city called Mecca will be non-existent and the sands of these capitols will be melted as glass. Joel spoke of the ruins that will welcome the remnant of this army as they try to go home, “But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.” (Joel 2:20-21).

I have no desire to burn the Koran although I understand that this book is on the same level as the Satanic Bible. The apostate church of America is full of people that are perfectly willing to call it a “Holy Book.” To do this reveals a state of mind towards the absolute Bible that borders on blasphemy. It’s dark out there and will get darker until our God says it’s enough. That could be and probably is right at the door. To all my Bible-believing friends, “Get ready, judgment is coming.”

The End of the World?

2018-01-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

(Written by Britt Gillette)
Since the beginning of human history, speculation about the end of the world has fascinated mankind. Myths and stories about the end of the earth exist in almost every religion and culture ever known. And yet, somehow, men seem unsatisfied with the answers they receive. They turn to Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, or ancient Hindu writings hoping to uncover some modicum of truth that will satisfy their innate desire to know something about the future and the ultimate fate of the world.

Never has mankind’s fascination with the end been more prevalent than it is today. Fears of global warming saturate the news media. Worry over a nuclear holocaust persists into its sixth decade. And storylines of asteroids, comets, aliens, or bio-engineered super-diseases wiping out all planetary life continue to dominate the themes of many Hollywood blockbusters. Throughout the world, people are plagued with the same recurring questions. Will the human race become extinct? Will nuclear war or global warming destroy the biosphere? Will the world as we know it continue to exist?

The answer to these questions and many others concerning the end of the world are not found in the writings of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, or any other self-professed psychic. They can’t be found in Islamic, Hindu, or Buddhist writings. However, they can be found in the Bible. The bible, which has a track record of 100% accuracy when it comes to future events, has much to say about the ultimate fate of the earth, the people who live here, and creation itself. For those who wish to know the answers to these age old questions, the bible is your definitive source.

What the Bible Says
According to the bible, the earth is eternal. So despite what some people say, we shouldn’t worry about the earth itself being destroyed. However, throughout the ages, the nature of the earth has changed, and it will change again in the near future.

The Book of Genesis teaches that God created the earth and everything in it to be perfect. However, the nature of the earth changed when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. This act prompted God to place a curse on the earth, and it radically transformed the nature of the earth itself. Several centuries later, the human race had become so corrupt that God decided to destroy it with a flood. However, God spared Noah and his family, allowing them to repopulate the earth of the present day. Throughout these changes, the earth as a creation has remained intact. But its nature has been radically altered twice. The bible teaches that it will soon be altered third time, and this time, the result will be far different from the previous ages.

The New World
Verses throughout the bible point to the creation of a new earth. This shouldn’t be viewed as an entirely new physical creation by God. Rather it should be viewed as a highly transformative process whereby the current earth is reshaped by the hand of God to create a different world. The prophet Isaiah described this process over two thousand years ago:
Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more. Isaiah 65:17-19 (NLT)

The nature of the present earth will change dramatically. It will be transformed from a place of sadness and weeping to a place of intense happiness, where the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more. The creation of this new earth is also mentioned by Peter who encourages us to live our lives in accordance with God’s will. He encourages us to do so, because he knows this present age will soon pass: "And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish." 2 Peter 3:7 (NLT)

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment. 2 Peter 3:10 (NLT) Since everything around us is going to melt away, what holy, godly lives you should be living! You should look forward to that day and hurry it along the day when God will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God. 2 Peter 3:11-13 (NLT)

From these passages, it is clear that God will one day use fire to create a new earth from the present world. It will be dramatically different from the one in which we live. But how different? What will the new earth look like? The bible provides us with a vivid illustration.

What Will the Future Earth Look Like?
The Book of Isaiah contains a wealth of information on the nature, quality, and characteristics of the new earth. One of the first references is found in Chapter 11:
“In that day, the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do. Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes and pull it out unharmed. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. And as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. Isaiah 11:6-9 (NLT)

God will finally lift the curse He placed on the earth following the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. This curse created a conflict between the animal kingdom and mankind with many humans killing animals and many animals killing humans. But on the new earth, nothing will hurt or destroy. And the number of people who know the Lord will be as endless as the waters in the sea.

Isaiah continues his description in Chapter 65:
No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only sinners will die that young! In those days, people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. It will not be like the past, when invaders took the houses and confiscated the vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees and will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the Lord, and their children, too, will be blessed. I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! The wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the Lord, have spoken! Isaiah 65:20-25 (NLT)

Babies will not die, and the lifespan of the human race will be extended well beyond current expectations. Life expectancy will be so great that the death of a one hundred year old person will be a notable tragedy. People will enjoy the fruits of their labour without fear that someone will come and steal what they have. The people of the new earth will be so close to God that He will answer their prayers before they have even prayed them! Animals who are natural enemies in our age will become friends on the new earth, and all the animals of the earth will be herbivores.

In addition, waters will burst forth and give life to that which was previously uninhabitable:
“And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the desert. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.” Isaiah 35:5-7 (NLT)

The first part of this passage was partially fulfilled in the miracles of Jesus Christ. Through the life of Christ, the human race received a glimpse of the new earth that is to come. It will be a place where the miracles performed by Christ two thousand years ago will be in perpetual abundance. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will leap like deer, and the mute will shout and sing.

Meanwhile, the land will be blessed with life-giving water:
“On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously both in summer and winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord his name alone will be worshiped.” Zechariah 14:8-9 (NLT)

The Dead Sea will spring to life, and the name of the Lord alone will be worshiped throughout the world. All idols, false religions, and false prophets will disappear. The new earth will be filled with people who know the Lord and are devoted to Him only. More importantly, the Lord Himself will be king over all of the earth. He will dwell among His people, providing them with everything they need:

“In the last days, the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem will become the most important place on earth. People from all over the world will go there to worship. Many nations will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Israel. There he will teach us his ways, so that we may obey him. For in those days the Lord’s teaching and his word will go out from Jerusalem. The Lord will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and military training will come to an end. Everyone will live quietly in their own homes in peace and prosperity, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord Almighty has promised this!” Micah 4:1-4 (NLT)

On the new earth, Jerusalem will be the centre of the world. It will be the dwelling place of the Lord, and people from every nation will travel to Jerusalem to worship and to have their disputes settled. War will no longer exist. Because of this, armies and weapons will no longer exist. The Lord will settle all disputes, and the people will devote the energy they previously expended on war to prosperous living and worship of the Lord. Peace and prosperity will be abundant, and there will be nothing to fear.

Knowing what we now know about the new earth, who would not want to live there? Unfortunately, the bible also tells us that many will turn down their invitation to this blessed new world. The only way to get there will be to place ones trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who will be the undisputed ruler of the new earth.

When Will This Future World Arrive?
Because the new earth is the creation of Jesus Christ, it will not arrive until after His Glorious Appearing. In the interim, many politicians, idealists, and others will conjure their own ideas of how to create such a world. But placing faith in any of these people or their schemes will only lead to disappointment.

For the bible is clear that the new earth will only arrive when God comes to physically dwell among His people:
“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.” Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT)

When God dwells among men, the earth will no longer harbour death or sorrow or crying or pain. It will be a new world. The old world will have come to an end - its evils gone forever.

The End of the World is Not to be Feared
Knowing the promises of the Lord, none of us should live in fear of the end of the world. The present fears of this world are fleeting in nature, and the Lord is in perfect control. He has made clear the end from the beginning, and it is clear that the final end of this world is not a time to mourn, but rather a time to celebrate. Jesus Himself reiterated this concept:

“The courage of many people will falter because of the fearful fate they see coming upon the earth, because the stability of the very heavens will be broken up. Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!” Luke 21:26-28 (NLT)

The arrival of Jesus Christ at the Glorious Appearing should not be a time of anguish, but a time to rejoice. Although we are familiar with the things of this world, we can not fathom the glory of that which God has in store for us. It will far surpass the things of this world, so we should patiently and eagerly await the Lord’s return. For Christ’s return will bring with it our salvation and the blessings of the new earth.

Conclusion
Those who worry about the end of the world or live in fear of a great worldwide catastrophe are not living their lives in accordance with God. For God tells us to live boldly and without fear of the things of this world:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Don’t worry about global warming or a nuclear holocaust. Don’t live in fear of a worldwide pandemic or asteroids or comets or aliens or massive volcanoes. The Lord is in control of everything, and He has already revealed what will happen to this present age. He will usher in the end of the world and transform the earth into his own dwelling place. Therefore, if we are to have fear of anything, it should be the Lord Himself. The prophet Isaiah agrees:
“Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else.” Isaiah 8:13 (NLT)

Jesus reminds His disciples of this command while teaching them not to fear persecution:
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28 (NLT)

In short, don’t fear the end of this world. Celebrate it. Christ is coming. And when He arrives, He will eliminate all the evils of this world, including our fear and worry.

Restoring Planet Earth

2016-03-10T01:16:00.001-08:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)
Jesus said to them (the Disciples), "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matt. 19:28)

He (Jesus) must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. (Acts 3:21)

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new.” Then He said, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (Rev. 21:5-6)

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendour of our God. (Isaiah 35:1-2)

The End times judgments will be devastating in the extreme, and the Lord warned that if He didn't bring them to a close at the appointed time, not a single soul would survive (Matt. 24:22). But for the sake of the elect, He will bring them to a close and when He does the restoration will begin.

I believe one of the ancillary functions of the end times judgments will be to begin the process of returning Earth to the condition it was in just after the creation, as if the Great Tribulation is the demolition phase of the restoration. This is hinted at by phrases like “every island fled away and the mountains could not be found” (Rev. 16:20) and “there was no longer any sea” (Rev. 21:1).

Comparing verses like these with the return of long life spans indicated in Isaiah 65:20, I have concluded that Earth will once again become a single land mass surrounded by water, the way Gen. 1:9 described it. Scientists call this original land mass Pangea, and Genesis 10:25 makes mention of its division into today's continents. We can see other evidence of how radically the Earth's topography was changed during and after the Great Flood, and now it will be time to put things back the way they were. I think most of the present seas will either return to their underground origins or rise into the upper atmosphere to re-establish the water vapour canopy that once surrounded Earth (Gen. 1:6-7) and enabled the long pre-flood lifespan.

The mountains will be lowered, the sea floor elevated, and the continents rejoined at their seams. Streams and rivers will flow through lands that have been parched for thousands of years. The great desserts will become verdant plains again.

I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.(Isaiah 41:18-20)

The current tilt of the Earth's axis causes extreme differences in the world's weather and makes large areas uninhabitable. I believe this will be corrected at the time of the 2nd Coming. The axis will become upright again and the year shortened to its original 360 days. Earth will once again enjoy a world wide sub-tropical climate like it did before Adam lost it and the terrible effects of sin were loosed upon it. This is something the creation has been waiting for ever since.

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-21)

When the Lord Returns in glory the wait will be over, and soon afterward the creation will once again resemble a lush garden. He will make her deserts like Eden, her waste lands like the garden of the Lord (Isaiah 51:3)

Some people are troubled by all this because they're so in love with the creation as it currently appears. I even read a book review recently whose author is asking God to be left behind at the rapture because she can't imagine anything being more beautiful than this present Earth, not even Heaven. People like this are limited in their thinking. In the first place, they don't stop to think that if the Earth is this beautiful while under a curse how much more so will it be when the curse is lifted and it's restored to its original condition?

And second, they don't realize that the Lord has spent the last 2,000 years “preparing a place for us” in His Father's house (John 14:2-3). The Church will no longer call Earth home but will dwell with Him there. Do these folks really think that after the rapture, when we see all eternity spread out before us, we'll be disappointed with our future and long to go back into this fallen creation? Is that what they think the Lord has in store for us?

But our focus here is the restoration of Planet Earth, where Israel will once again be the pre-eminent nation. One of the clues we get that the Kingdom Age on Earth features Israel and not the Gentile Nations, or even the Church, is that almost all the descriptive passages are in the Old Testament, and for the most part centre around Israel.

From them we learn of the desert bursting into bloom (Isaiah 35:1-2), of the land being so fertile that before they can complete the harvest it will be time to begin planting again (Amos 9:13). Peace will flow like a river and the wealth of the nations like a flooding stream (Isaiah 66:12) In Jerusalem men and women of ripe old age will sit in streets filled with playing children (Zechariah 8:4-5). And in the country side, “Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken.” (Micah 4:4)

Peace will prevail in the animal kingdom as well. Predators and prey will live side by side, and their young will lie down together, all of them existing in perfect harmony with each other and with mankind again (Isaiah 11:6-8). This will be another reversal of a post-flood condition, when fear and dread of man fell upon all the beasts of the earth and the birds of the air (Gen. 9:2-3).

And so the time of restoration will have come, and in every way Earth will be like it was in the beginning. Where ever one goes there will be peace on Earth and good will toward men, like the angel Gabriel promised to the shepherds so long ago. The Lord Himself will rule, assisted by the Church.

The mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths."

The law (Torah) will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. (Isaiah 2:2-4)

But like it was at the beginning, the seed of rebellion will still exist in the heart of natural man. Even though he's been given every conceivable advantage in this, his last best chance to live in peace with God, within a generation or two that seed will begin to germinate as the children of Tribulation survivors come of age. Some will choose to follow their parents to the foot of the cross and receive their personal redemption. But with each generation an increasing number won't. This will happen even though Satan will be bound, the Lord Himself will be their King, and God's Law will be their law.

You see, there is no condition or circumstance that will allow natural man with his sin nature to live in peace with God. As the end of the Thousand Year Kingdom approaches, unbelievers will vastly out number believers again, especially among the nations. When Satan is released they will mount up as one and march across the breadth of the Earth to surround the camp of God's people and the city He loves in a final attempt to kick the Lord off the planet. But fire from Heaven will devour them, and Satan will be captured again, this time to be thrown into the lake of fire forever. (Rev. 20:9-10)

Prophetic Signs of the End Times (Part 3)

2016-01-13T18:25:00.000-08:00

(Written by Jennifer Rast, Contender Ministries)
5. APPEARANCE OF THE RED HEIFER AFTER 2000 YEARS
Numbers 19:2-7 "This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. "You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. "Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned. "The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening."

A red heifer will be required to be used in the process of purification described in the book of Numbers. In May 1997 the first Red Heifer was born in 2000 years. Another red Heifer was born in Israel in March of 2002.

6. INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL
Daniel 12:4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

Billy Graham was quoted as saying, "ninety percent of all the engineers and scientists who have ever lived are alive today." Air travel, space travel, DNA research and human cloning are all examples of the rapid increase in knowledge in our generation.

7. RETURN OF THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL
Zephaniah 3:10-11 "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings. In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain."

In 1984, Operation Moses saw the airlift of 15,000 Jews who had already fled to refugee camps in Sudan to escape starvation. In 1991, Operation Solomon flew 20,000 Jews to Israel from Ethiopia itself. A further airlift began in June of 1999, aimed at transporting the last 3,000 members of the Quara Jewish community from north eastern Ethiopia to Israel.

8. THE RISE OF RUSSIA
Ezekiel 38:2, 4, 8 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords. After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them."
In order for some end time events to occur Russia will have to be a strong nation with a strong military.

9. RETURN OF RUSSIAN JEWS TO ISRAEL
Jeremiah 23:7-8 "Therefore behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I have driven them. Then they will live on their own soil."

In the 1970's and 1980's there was a mass exodus of Russian Jews out of Communist Russia. In 1999 the Associated Press reported a dramatic increase in the number of Jewish immigrants from Russia, bringing the largest number of Russian Jews to Israel since the early 1990's.

10. TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MARK OF THE BEAST
Revelation 13:16-17 "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name."

On May 10, three members of a family in Florida became the first people to receive the biochip implant. Each device made of silicon and called a VeriChip, is a small radio transmitter about the size of a piece of rice that is injected under a person's skin. It transmits a unique personal ID number whenever it is within a few feet of a special receiver unit. VeriChip's maker describes it as "a miniaturized, implantable, radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, emergency and healthcare applications."

Is the biochip the mark of the beast to be used by the antichrist? We can't really know. What is significant is that people are being softened to the idea of a mark or an implant as a means of maintaining security, providing medical information, and regulating a more interdependent world. As attitudes change, fears subside, and people are convinced of the need for such a mark, the true mark of the beast will be easily introduced to the world by the antichrist.

11. PLANS FOR THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT
The United Nations, World Trade Organization, International Criminal Court, UN peacekeeping/police force, numerous UN NGO's, and other agencies are preliminary steps to the formation of a one world government. We now have the communications technology, transportation, and the pro-globalization media necessary to usher in the one world government headed by the antichrist. The increasing terrorist threat and the Middle East conflict will only speed up the formation of this governing body as fear and promises of better security make more people willing to give up their national sovereignty for global governance.

12. INSTANT COMMUNICATION AROUND THE WORLD
Revelation 11:3, 7-10 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophecy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth."

Television and the 24-hour news networks make it possible for people around the world to see the dead prophets and rejoice at their deaths.

Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Luke 21:32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place."

Prophetic Signs of the End Times (Part 2)

2015-10-06T19:51:00.001-07:00

(Written by Jennifer Rast, Contender Ministries)
TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF THE END OF THE AGE FROM THE APOSTLE PAUL

1. GODLESSNESS IN THE LAST DAYS
II Timothy 3:1-5,7 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

For anyone who has watched television, read a newspaper, lost a retirement to corporate greed and corruption, or just walked outside their front door, it is obvious this prophecy has been fulfilled by our generation. Our leaders are often corrupt; our cities are filled with crime, brutality, and neon signs proclaiming our sinful, godless nature. The New Age Movement brings in increasing numbers of mystics who claim to be the enlightened ones. They are some of the most educated and influential people in our societies, and yet the most lacking in real truth.

2. APOSTASY (FALLING AWAY FROM THE FAITH)
I Timothy 4:1-3 "But the spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth."

Churches today are becoming more and more ecumenical, embracing the New Age interfaith agenda, and denying Christ as the only way to salvation. Giving in to the politically correct media and a corrupt society, they have embrace homosexuality as an acceptable alternate lifestyle and preach tolerance and compromise in place of God's truth for the salvation of the world. The environmentalist movement within the New Age movement lures them into a worship of mother earth, belief in past lives, reincarnation, and Karma while demonizing all those who would eat the meat God gave us as nourishment for our bodies.

ELEVEN FULFILLMENTS OF BIBLE PROPHECY REQUIRED FOR THE END OF THE AGE

1. EXISTENCE OF A 200,000,000 MAN ARMY IN THE EAST
Revelation 9:16 "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them."

An army of that size had never existed until China's army reached that number in the 1960's.

2. REDEVELOPMENT OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (EUROPEAN COMMUNITY)
Daniel 2:32-33 "The head of the statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay."

Daniel 2:40-43 "Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have the toughness of iron, and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. And in that you saw the iron mixed with clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery."

The fourth kingdom of iron is the Roman empire according to Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The two legs are the division of the Roman empire into an eastern portion called the Byzantine empire which ended in the 1400's and a western portion based in Rome which ended in the 400's. The nations of Europe since the Roman Empire dissolved have never adhered or formed one empire but continue as separate nations, however, the European Union now has 15 Member States and is preparing for the accession of 13 eastern and southern European countries.

3. RETURN OF THE ONE PURE LANGUAGE, HEBREW, TO ISRAEL
Zephaniah 3:9 "For then I will return to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent."

Prior to the restoration of Israel in 1948, Hebrew was a dead language. Now Hebrew is spoken throughout Israel.

4. REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE, RESTORATION OF TEMPLE WORSHIP AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES IN JERUSALEM
For several end time prophecies to be fulfilled, the temple will have to be rebuilt.

Revelation 11:2 "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months."

Daniel 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolation, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Daniel 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary."

Some archaeologists believe that the temple mount is actually 340 feet south of the Dome of the Rock site, putting the Dome of the Rock within the Court of the Gentiles. This may be the court outside the temple that is left out.

There are many groups already working on preparations for the new temple. The blueprints are already done, the temple garments have been made, and there have already been attempts to lay the cornerstone of the temple. The only thing standing in the way of the construction of the new temple is Islam's third holiest site, the Dome of the Rock and government support for such an undertaking. Some possible scenarios for the rebuilding of the temple are as follows:

1. The persuasion and performing of miracles by the Antichrist and False Prophet convinces the Islamic world to approve the rebuilding.

2. The United Nations will negotiate the rebuilding of the temple following a war with the armies from the North (Russia and Islamic forces). This assumes that the war with the armies from the North is not the battle of Armageddon as some feel and that this attack occurs before the rapture or tribulation period begins. The supernatural destruction of the Russian army and Islamic forces will cause an outpouring of Christian worship and zeal amongst the Jewish people who will reconstruct the temple.

3. It is determined that the site of the first two temples is actually south of the Dome of the Rock and the court of the gentiles (Dome of the Rock) will be left out of the 3rd temple.

A group in Israel called the “Temple Mount Faithful” have obtained most of the clothing; instruments and other equipment required for temple worship and are actively preparing for the laying of the third temple's cornerstone.

To be continued……

Prophetic Signs of the End Times (Part 1)

2015-09-30T05:58:00.001-07:00

(Written by Jennifer Rast, Contender Ministries)
The Bible gives many examples of signs that should warn us of the coming end of the age. Six such signs are given by Jesus, two characteristics are given by Paul, and eleven other occurrences are given by the prophets to occur prior to or soon after the end of the age. While we are also told we will not know the time of the End, God obviously wanted us to know when that time was getting closer. As the Christian church is increasingly drawn into the interfaith movement, and as more and more churches go into isolation, preparing to sleep through the growing attacks on their faith, perhaps God knew it would take a few signs to wake us up and remind us that we have work to do.

Unfortunately, many Christians take the verses that tell us we won't know the time of His coming to mean they should ignore any and all scripture that might warn us of this time of tribulation. Others have fallen into the trap of fearing being labelled a "conspiracy theorist" should they display an interest in the Biblical prophecies about our future on Earth. My philosophy is simple. God included it in the Bible and, since God is all knowing, we should trust that it is something we should know and study along with the rest of His Word.

It is increasingly obvious that the time of our Lord's coming is drawing very near. Prophecy is being fulfilled daily, and at a faster pace than ever before. Whether you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, or believe Christians will be witness to the full tribulation, wrath, and final judgments, matters not. The beginning of birth pains and the signs of the times should have the same effect on all of us. It should motivate us to save as many souls as we can in the time that we have left. The Great Commission tells us to be disciples to all nations, bringing the message of salvation through Christ to all people.

If the Church is raptured before the tribulation, it is important that we leave behind an explanation for the trials and judgments those left behind will face. How else will they recognize the deception of the anti-Christ and seek instead the truth of the Bible? If we are to endure the tribulation along side them, we will need to be prepared to not only share the message of salvation, but share with them the reasons for God's judgment and hold it up as further proof of their need to be saved.

Below is a study of the prophetic signs God gave us as a warning of the approaching end of the age. Many of them are being fulfilled now and many will be fulfilled in the near future. I would encourage you to study prophecy, know what is coming and be prepared to share it with others.

SIX SIGNS GIVEN BY JESUS TO INDICATE HIS COMING AND THE END OF THE AGE
In Matthew24:3 Jesus was asked, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Jesus told his apostles to look for the following signs prior to his second coming and the end of the age.

1. FALSE PROPHETS AND CHRISTS
Matthew 24:5 "For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and will mislead many."
Matthew 24:11 "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many."

In the last several years many have claimed to be the Messiah. Jim Jones and David Koresh are examples of these false Christs as well as countless others who are not as newsworthy. These false prophets are a prelude to the ultimate false Christ, the Antichrist. Many New Age groups, some even NGO's working for the United Nations, are anxiously awaiting the antichrist, preparing the way for his acceptance as the head of the hierarchy of gods and the one who will usher in world peace.

2. WARS
Matthew 24:6 "And you will be hearing of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end."

Rumours of wars in all areas of the world now occur frequently thanks to instant media coverage and the availability of a multitude of 24-hour news sources.

Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

More people have been killed in warfare in this century than at any other time in history. As the death toll rises in the Middle East, more and more countries work feverishly to develop devastating weapons of mass destruction. Add to that the expanding threat of terrorism and unpredictable dictators such as Saddam Hussein, and the potential for the outbreak of war exists in nations, kingdoms and places across the globe.

3. FAMINES
Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

As white, Christian farmers are driven out of Zimbabwe in increasing numbers, and foreigners move in to replace life-sustaining crops with poppies that now supply 25% of the world’s drugs, famine spreads across the African continent. The under nourished are not limited to Africa, however. A large portion of the worlds 5 billion people suffers from a shortage of food.

4. EARTHQUAKES
Matthew 24:7 "For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes."

The number and intensity of earthquakes this century is at a level higher than any other time in history. A staggering number of seismic events occur around the world daily. The earthquake seismic monitor IRIS shows all major earthquakes for the last year. Indicated by yellow and red circles, the seismic events of the last 15 days provide strong evidence of the fulfilment of Matthew 24:7 in our day. By contrast, in the years from 1890 to 1900 there was only one major earthquake in the world.

5. TRIBULATIONS
Matthew 24:8-9 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of my name."

Christians are under attack throughout the world today. In the United States Christians still enjoy freedom to worship God without suffering much more than ridicule, hatred, or discrimination at work and school. However in many other countries such as China, Sudan, Africa, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Russia, and many Muslim nations, Christian suffer much greater persecution and often times death for their faith. During the tribulation this suffering will be worldwide and will continue even to the point of martyrdom. These first 5 signs will increase in intensity and severity as the tribulation approaches, much like the birth pangs or contractions of a pregnant woman worsen as the delivery time approaches.

6. THE GOSPEL WILL BE PREACHED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."

This prophecy has already been fulfilled through television, radio, missionaries, the translation of the Bible into many languages, and the internet. People all over the world now hear the message of Christ from missionaries who have the means to travel the globe, and via technology that allows us to communicate with people on the other side of the world right from our own homes, churches and offices.

To be continued……

A Land of un-walled Villages

2015-08-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)
I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record by now, but there’s an enormous potential for a giant leap forward in End Times prophecy this summer, and this week we came breathtakingly close to witnessing its beginning.

After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm, you will be like a cloud covering the land.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. You will say, “I will invade a land of un-walled villages, I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people – all of them living without gates and bars.” (Ezek. 38:8-11)

Many students of prophecy, me included, see the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 as one of the most significant events on God’s prophetic calendar. In the scenario Ezekiel described nearly 2500 years ago, a coalition of Moslem countries, armed and led by the Russians, will attack Israel and be utterly defeated due to God’s direct intervention. He will use this battle to re-introduce Himself to Israel as their protector, to recall the rest of His people to their ancient homeland, and to reinstate His relationship with them.

When Will These Things happen? All agree that this battle has not yet taken place. Following WW 2 the Jewish people began returning to the land for the first time in centuries and only since then have conditions been such that Ezekiel’s prophecy could be fulfilled.

Speaking of this battle the Lord said, “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them (the attacking Moslem coalition). From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. (Ezek. 39:22). He concluded by saying, “I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.” (Ezek. 39:28)

Israel’s re-gathering, officially begun in 1948, will continue to completion and will be both spiritual and physical. According to Acts 15: 13-19 and Daniel 9:27 it will result it a temple being built. That means the Jews will return to their Old Covenant relationship with God, bringing an end to the Age of Grace and causing the Church to disappear into Heaven. The 490 year clock that stopped on year 483 at the time of the Crucifixion will begin ticking again, its final 7 years (known as Daniel’s 70th Week) unfolding. God’s attention will again be focused on Israel.

The Jews will begin Temple construction assisted by the anti-Christ (Dan 9:27) in what will be his first big move to establish himself as the god of this world. 3 1/2 years later he will stand in this very Temple and proclaim himself to be God, a declaration that will jump start the Great Tribulation. (Matt. 24:15 & 2 Thes. 2:4)

So Ezekiel’s battle must be inserted into the window of time between the rebirth of the nation in 1948 and the rebuilding of the Temple, still in the future. You can see why prophecy students are so interested. Israel’s return to God, the Rapture of the Church, Daniel’s 70th week, the Coming Temple, the introduction of the anti-Christ, the Great Tribulation and the 2nd Coming are all somehow impacted by this battle. (Although the Rapture can happen at any time, I believe Rom. 11:25 says it has to happen before the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week) Can you imagine any event more critical to the fulfilment of End Times prophecies?

“A Peaceful and Unsuspecting People”, so what else has to happen before this battle can take place? The participants are in place and it’s no secret that they’re in the final stages of preparation. Nor is their intent a mystery. Iran has openly predicted Israel’s soon coming demise, and Turkey has finally taken its place in the Moslem Coalition Ezekiel described.

There’s just one other condition. Israel is described as living in safety in Ezek. 38:8 at the time of the attack. The Hebrew word translated safety there is betach. Of 42 Old Testament appearances, it’s translated into some form of the word safety 28 times. (One meaning of the word is careless, in the sense that the people feel so safe they’re not being cautious.) To underscore the attitude in Israel at the time of the attack, Ezekiel calls them a land of un-walled villages, a peaceful and unsuspecting people, living without gates and bars (Ezekiel 38:11).

It’s safe to say that none of these conditions exist in Israel today. Two thirds of a proposed 436 mile long security fence has been built to prevent Palestinian terrorists from crossing into Israel, so it’s decidedly not a land of un-walled villages. The Jewish people know there are up to 40,000 rockets and missiles pointed at them, leaving no part of Israel safe from attack. Then there’s the Gaza blockade crisis. Last week Hezbollah and Iran announced their intention to break the blockade with ships that were ready to set sail on a moments notice. Israel responded quickly, saying they’d be treated like enemy ships if they entered its territorial waters. (As of this week both have been at least temporarily held back by pressure from the international community. Had this not been the case, we’d literally be hearing the opening salvos of Psalm 83 by now.) For months, Israel’s military leaders have been telling their troops to prepare for war this summer.

These are not the actions of a peaceful and unsuspecting people. In fact, persistent rumours have Israel preparing to launch a pre-emptive attack against Iran. According to DEBKA file Israeli bombers have been secretly positioned in Azerbaijan causing Iran to declare a state of war along its nearby border and position troops there, and it has also been reported that Israeli aircraft have the green light to overfly Saudi Arabia en-route to an attack on Iran.

Observers have called this summer the time when things will change forever in the Middle East. What ever happens will not be the long awaited Battle of Ezekiel 38 but it will certainly be setting the stage for it. We’ve already discussed the Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 scenarios. A pre-emptive attack on Iran could easily trigger the fulfilment of these prophecies and decisive victories could put Israel into the state of mind consistent with one meaning of the Hebrew word betach; feeling so safe they’re no longer being cautious. Time will tell. But more so now than ever before, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

Psalm 83....Conflict on the Horizon?

2015-03-31T04:58:00.000-07:00

from Rapture Ready.com
Major Mid-east wars are coming according to the Bible prophecies in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39. It would be prudent for people to prepare now, in 2010, for their soon and sequential arrivals. It is public knowledge that as of December 2009 Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas became allied together by bonafide war pacts against Israel. Iran is a member of Ezekiel 38-39 and Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas appear to be identified in Psalm 83. These war pacts reportedly commit them to fight alongside each other should any of them come under attack by Israel. Had these war pacts been in place during the 22 day conflict between Israel and Hamas that ended in January 2009, the outcome could have been dramatically different.

Back then the Israeli Defence Forces (I.D.F.) seemingly ambushed Hamas with their retaliatory show of force and caught these others off guard. None of them were able to lift a finger to rescue Hamas from the pounding inflicted by the I.D.F. Iran’s nuclear program was incomplete, Hezbollah was in the process of restocking their rocket arsenals, and Syrian war scars from 1948, 1967, and 1973 made them reluctant to join alongside Hamas. Thus, these vowed enemies of Israel were reduced to sideline saber-rattling at the time.

However, matters have deteriorated and are quite different today. A brief review of Mideast events occurring since the Israel – Hamas war suggests the Fertile Crescent is presently a ticking end time’s bomb set to explode. In addition to the war pacts described above, here are a few more troublesome interim occurrences:

1. Israelis are being fitted for gas masks.
2. Israelis are preparing for a multi-front chemical war with Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, and Hamas.
3. Israel is constructing new and renovating thousands of old bomb shelters.
4. Israel is threatening a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear sites.
5. Iran could have a nuclear bomb within eighteen months.
6. Syria is now thought to have the most powerful scud missiles in the world.
7. Syria has reportedly shipped scud missiles to Hezbollah.
8. Syria has threatened to attack major Israeli cities in the event of war.
9. Hezbollah has declared that it can wipe out one-half of Israel’s army.
10. Hezbollah has been training for hand to hand combat inside Israeli cities.
11. Hezbollah and Syria reportedly have chemical weapons.
12. Hezbollah has stockpiled over 50,000 rockets.
13. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are within rocket reach of Israel’s enemies.
14. Hamas reportedly has rockets that can reach Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona.

These are just a few of the numerous events that point toward war soon in the Middle East. The Israel – Hamas war created a heightened degree of animosity amongst Israel’s Arab and Persian enemies against Israel. As a result of the conflict, Turkey restricted relations with Israel and the Arab League voted unanimously again not to normalize relations with Israel.

Warranting additional concerns, King Abdullah of Jordan recently voiced serious dissatisfaction about his country's fragile peace treaty with Israel. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he warned that "Jerusalem could blow up into another war" and declared "Jordan was better off economically before it made peace with Israel in 1994." Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab States presently at peace with Israel making Abdullah's statements extremely disconcerting.

Odds are strong that war is about to break out soon in the Middle East. Diplomatic solutions to resolve the conflict have continually failed. Relations between Iran and Israel, the Arab League and Israel, and even America and Israel are desperately tense and in a seeming state of disrepair.
At no time in Israel’s history has it ever faced an existential threat of the magnitude it faces presently. Israel’s ancient enemies possessed bows and arrows, but today the Jewish State faces arsenals that can wipe it off the map.

Humanity ought to now heed the war prophecies of the Bible and prepare for war rather than peace in the Middle East! These prophecies are scheduled to occur soon and sequentially each building upon the other. According to scripture the aftermath of these wars will lead to a one world order, construction of a third Jewish Temple, and the arrival of Antichrist.
Time is of the essence evidenced by events stage setting in the Holy Land. Christians, not knowing if they will experience these prophetic wars or be raptured prior, should consider living each day on earth as though it were their last. In so doing, they will improve their Christian witness. These are the days when Evangelists and Eschatologists should work together in order to bring more people to Christ.

Preview of a coming Attraction

2015-02-02T00:13:00.000-08:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)
Hezbollah says that Israel’s disappearance after the next war is an established fact. Iran’s President has called Israel a dirty microbe and a savage animal that will soon disappear in a flash. The commander in chief of Iran’s army predicts that millions will soon receive the joyous news of Israel’s destruction. Israel’s chief of staff warns of a “tough ordeal” coming soon. With all the rhetoric flying around the Middle East about a major war this summer, and with multiple countries (including the US) rapidly beefing up their military preparedness, a quick review of Psalm 83 is in order to refresh our minds on the prophetic details of this coming attack against Israel.

Psalm 83 was probably written some time after the end of King Solomon’s reign (about 900 BC) but the Bible contains no account of such a coordinated effort by all of Israel’s neighbours to destroy them, either during that time or since. A partial fulfilment may be in view in 2 Chron. 20 when Moab, Ammon, and parts of Edom invaded Judah during King Jehosophat’s reign (872-848 BC) Interestingly, Jahaziel, a Levite who prophesied Judah’s victory in that battle was a descendant of Asaph, who wrote Psalm 83. Applying one of his favourite tactics, the Lord set Israel’s enemies against each other and they defeated themselves. Ezekiel 38:21 tells of a future use of this same tactic.

But the Battle of 2 Chron. 20 doesn’t fully meet the requirements of Psalm 83, having many fewer antagonists, so on that basis we’ll assume its fulfilment is still in the future, perhaps the very near future. If so, it could be the bridge between the current state of affairs in Israel and the conditions necessary for the Battle of Ezekiel 38 to happen. Let’s find out.

Psalm 83
“O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish.”
“Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you- the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendants of Lot. (Ps. 83:1-8)

The language is out of today’s headlines and the countries lined up against Israel in this Psalm inhabited the lands of Israel’s current neighbours. Edom and the Ishmaelites were in land occupied by southern Jordan today while the territories of Moab and Ammon make up the rest of that country. Ahman, the modern spelling of Ammon, is the capital of Jordan. (While the government of Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, we should remember that some 70% of Jordan’s population is “Palestinian” and in fact the country was originally formed to be the Palestinian home land.) .

The Hagrites were part of Aram, whose capitol was Damascus in modern Syria. Gebal (also called Byblos) and Tyre can still be found in present day Lebanon. The Amalekites lived in Israel’s southern desert and Philistia settled in Gaza on Israel’s southern border. Assyria would conquer Aram shortly after Psalm 83 was written and the descendants of Lot is another reference to Jordan. Remember, Moab and Ammon were the sons of an incestuous union between Lot and his two daughters.

So here we have all of Israel’s next door neighbours, all of them sworn to Israel’s destruction, and all of them being whipped into a frenzy by Syria and Iran.

Do to them as you did to Midian, as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, who perished at Endor and became like refuse on the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.”

Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm. Cover their faces with shame so that men will seek your name, O LORD. May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD—that you alone are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:9-18)

Asaph, the Psalm’s writer, can’t resist telling the Lord exactly how he’d like Israel’s enemies to be dealt with. In that sense he’s just like you and me.

Midian was defeated by a vastly outnumbered force under the command of Gideon. It was another case of the Lord turning Israel’s enemies against each other and defeating themselves. (Judges 7)

Jabin was a king of the Canaanites and Sisera was the commander of his army. The Lord lured the Canaanite army into a trap and the Israelites destroyed them. (Judges 4) The commander of Israel’s army was named Barak, just like Israel’s current Defence Minister. Probably it is a coincidence?

Oreb, Zeeb Zebah, and Zalmunna were all leaders of the Midianite army defeated by Gideon.

Asaph’s prayer was that Israel’s current enemies will be just as soundly defeated as were the Midianites and the Canaanites, their armies scattered and their leaders executed.

Thousands of missiles and rockets located in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza are positioned to strike strategic targets everywhere in Israel. As of this week, Syria has moved 800 long range missiles into firing positions, placed them on combat readiness, and given them updated target coordinates. This was done in response to Israel’s nationwide civil defence drills. To avoid duplication in targeting, Iran has created and will direct a unified command centre in Damascus to coordinate the massive simultaneous deployment of these weapons upon the outbreak of hostilities. Their thought is that the Israelis will not be able to protect themselves against such an all out attack and will be effectively disabled.

But Israel might pick this opportunity to launch a pre-emptive attack against the command centre, wiping out Damascus in fulfilment of Isaiah 17. Losing their command and control abilities could cause the enemy attack to degenerate into a confused and chaotic effort that Israel will soundly defeat just like Gideon defeated the Midianites.

Should this be the case, Israel will become larger, not smaller, with the contention over the ownership of Gaza, the West bank and the Golan put to an end. Israel will become stronger, not weaker, its military reputation restored and even enhanced. The divided land will be divided no more, and Jerusalem will remain a unified city. The controversial security fence will likely come down, since the borders on all three sides will be safe and the threat of terrorist attacks eliminated. 60 years of war will have finally ended. It will be the perfect opportunity for Israel to be lured into a false sense of security and become a peaceful and unsuspecting people living in a land of un-walled villages. And it could all happen this summer.

Meanwhile, the Russians and Iranians, who will have fought this battle primarily by proxy, will study their defeat and learn from their mistakes, lying in wait for the next opportunity to strike. It won’t be long in coming. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

A Hook in the Jaw Part 2

2015-01-16T19:54:00.003-08:00

(Written by Matt Ward)

There is a multi-spectrum war currently being waged by the West and the epic enter is Moscow.

Vladimir Putin has in the past decade spent billions of dollars that the Russian economy does not have modernizing his military, especially his nuclear arsenal and military command and control structures.

This was fine as long as the price of oil remained stable as 70% of the Russian economy is based on oil. However, in order for the Russian economy to break even it needs to sell oil at a minimum price of $109 per barrel. Today it is being sold at under $50 dollars per barrel.

To try and counter the negative effects of this oil crash Russia have been ramping up their own production of oil to 10.667 million barrels per day. This is, however, proving ineffective because OPEC, in the Middle East, are flooding the market with cheap oil at low, low prices to try and kill off the more expensive American Shale oil markets. There seems to be no imminent solution on the horizon.

Russia’s outlook is bleak. Holgar Schmieding, Berenberg Banks London based chief economist puts the situation succinctly: “...the risk is that, as a badly-wounded and cornered bear, Russia may turn more aggressive in its increasing desperation, threatening global peace and the European economic outlook.”

On January 13, 2015 Goldman-Sachs also slashed its forecast for the Rubel in 2015, predicting that it will lose 70.0 Rubles per month against the US dollar, for at least the next three months. The same forecast also predicts the price of oil to fall over the next twelve months to anything from $42 to $39 per barrel.

Russia and Vladimir Putin face a terrible dilemma.

At present they are fully capable and able of launching a major war. The paradox though is that if the economic situation remains constant and does not improve throughout 2015, the longer they leave it the more incapable they are of actually fighting a prolonged war. This is because, “…the massive blow to Russia’s economic capabilities should –- over time –- make it less likely that Russia will wage another war.”

The condition of the Russian economy, aligned with the global economic outlook is virtually guaranteeing war. As with Nazi Germany in 1939, Putin understands that a ready solution to Russia’s worsening economic woes would be to simply take and then consume economically valuable assets from other nations, like land or oil and gas fields.

This is exactly what Bible prophecy dictates will happen, “…have you come to take a spoil?”(Ezekiel 38:7) The recent Russian invasion and agitation in the Ukraine should be seen in this light.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the renowned older world statesmen is openly voicing his concerns that this present situation could turn into a limited hot war which may expand to a global conflagration between Russia and America, with the current trigger point being Ukraine,“…a war of this kind would unavoidably lead to a nuclear war,” the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize winner told Der Spiegel.

“We won’t survive the coming years if someone loses their nerve in this overheated situation,” added Gorbachev, 83. “This is not something I’m saying thoughtlessly. I am extremely concerned.” Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has also given a chilling assessment of a new geopolitical situation taking shape amid the Ukrainian crisis, warning of a possible new Cold War and calling the West’s approach to the crisis a “fatal mistake.” The 91-year-old diplomat characterized the tense relations as exhibiting the danger of“another Cold War.”

“This danger does exist and we can’t ignore it,” Kissinger said. He warned that ignoring this danger any further may result in a “tragedy,” [4]

On December 24, 2014 the Obama Administration ramped up the pressure on Putin and Russia by passing the anti-Russian resolution H. Res. 758 in the United States Congress. If roles were reversed and this legislation were passed by Russia against America, the United States may well interpret it as an act of war.

The title of the resolution aptly sums up its contents, “Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination.”

Other such similar legislation, such as the Iraqi Liberation Act of 1998, were used successfully as a pretext for war.

Ron Paul summarizes the key issues:

These are the kinds of resolutions I have always watched closely in Congress, as what are billed as “harmless” statements of opinion often lead to sanctions and war…If anyone thinks I am exaggerating about how bad this resolution really is, let me just offer a few examples from the legislation itself:

As to Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, why isn’t it a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty for the US to participate in the overthrow of that country’s elected government as it did in February? We have all heard the tapes of State Department officials plotting with the US Ambassador in Ukraine to overthrow the government. We heard US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland bragging that the US spent $5 billion on regime change in Ukraine. Why is that okay?

The resolution (paragraph 11) accuses the people in east Ukraine of holding “fraudulent and illegal elections” in November. Why is it that every time elections do not produce the results desired by the US government they are called “illegal” and “fraudulent?” Aren’t the people of eastern Ukraine allowed self-determination? Isn’t that a basic human right?

The resolution (paragraph 13) demands…the government in Kiev to resume military operations against the eastern regions seeking independence.” [5]

The Obama Administration then followed one week later with Act, S.2828, The Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014. The provisions of this Act allows the United States to provide a whole range of lethal and non-lethal weaponry to Ukraine, including: Communications equipment. Body armor. Night vision goggles. Humvees. Radar. Counter-mortar detection units. Binoculars. Small boats. Various other gear. Sniper and assault rifles. Hand grenade launchers. Mortars and shells. Stingers. Anti-tank missiles. [6]

The effects of these actions are considerable and damaging. As to motive, as one observer has noted:

The objectives of the US…strategy against the Russian Federation was not only to damage the trade ties and business between Russia and the EU, but to also bring about economic instability in Russia and to create currency instability and inflation. In other words, the US government was targeting the Russian ruble for devaluation and the Russian economy for inflation since at least May 2014. [7]

The West is underestimating the threat Vladimir Putin poses. The Russia of 2015 ruled by Putin represents a much different foe than the one the West has faced for the past twenty years. The Russia of 2015 is cornered, is dangerous and is under no illusions about who it blames for its current situation:

Washington.

Vladimir Putin has made no secret of the fact that he no longer believes in diplomacy with Europe, or in confidence building measures between the two, as he firmly believes that European foreign policy is simply an extension of Washington’s.

Putin also has no trust or desire to negotiate with Washington who have wasted no recent opportunity to vilify and attack a Russian regime headed by a man that Hilary Clinton herself as described as “Adolf Hitler.” This is fundamentally shaping Russian foreign policy in a way that is detrimental to the West, to Europe and to the United States of America.

It is pushing an already wounded animal into a corner.

Russian perceptions are that there has been a planned and ongoing effort on the part of the West to weaken and subjugate Russia and its interests for years. Russia was too weak previously to stand up to Western intimidation but that changed in the summer of 2008 when Washington ordered its puppet regime in Georgia to invade the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, killing a number of Russian peacekeepers and civilians in the process. Russia’s response was decisive and brutal. Within a few short hours the Russian military had comprehensively crushed the U.S. armed and trained Georgian invasion force, restoring South Ossetia once again to Russian control.

Circumstances are now forcing Russia to turn and face southwards, towards the Middle East to find new allies in a hostile world. Iran( ancient Persians), are also breaking under the weight of Western sanctions which is costing them billions and billions of dollars in lost oil revenues every year and they have made ready bed mates for the wounded Russian Bear.

Russia in return have for a number of years supplied the technical expertise, encouragement and political cover for Iran’s controversial nuclear weapons program and therefore have a heavy investment in its completion and success. It is highly probable that these facilities will be attacked by Israel in the coming months or later this year, as Israel, coupled with the virulent anti-Semitic rhetoric of Iran’s leadership, believe the existence of these weapons to be an existential threat to their very existence. Israel believe Iran would use these weapons if they had them.

And in the middle of this situation sits the newly discovered Leviathan Gas Fields, of Israel. An oil field so vast it could dwarf the existing Saudi and Iraqi fields making Israel, or whoever owns them, the richest nation on planet Earth. These oil fields also sit easily within what Russia perceives as their legitimate sphere of influence, as being within their grasp.

Ezekiel 38: 3-12

“And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:

Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.Thus saith the LordGod; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.”

For the first time in history the confederation of nations bent on attacking Israel spoken of above are not just in place, they are in alliance. For the first time in history a potential and viable economic incentive for direct Russian military intervention in the Middle East exists, with the vast Leviathan Gas Fields.

At some point in the near future the Bible tells us there will be a hook placed into Gog’s jaw by God Himself, drawing him to the mountains of Israel to face his doom.

If the current economic and world geopolitical situation remains unchanged this could be very soon indeed.

As it was in the Days of Noah

2014-12-31T00:05:00.000-08:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matt 24:37). The time leading up to the Great Flood was a lot like our time today in that it was characterized by a deliberate and escalating disregard for the ways of God. Finally it says in Gen. 6:5: “the Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time”.

What Day Is This?
If you plot the life spans of the patriarchs in Genesis 5, you’ll discover it was 1656 years from Adam’s creation to the Great Flood. During that time mankind had degenerated from human beings created in the very image of God who walked and talked with Him to a race whose thoughts and actions were totally depraved and bent only on evil (Gen. 6:5).

It’s been about 1977 years since man was first given the choice to be re-created by events at the Cross (2 Cor 5:17) but most of today’s world has declined. As a result, a single look around us is all that’s needed to see that from a spiritual and moral perspective life today is becoming pretty much “as it was in the days of Noah”.

What Planet Are You From?
I’ve made mention in previous articles of the mysterious people in Genesis 6:4 called the Nephillim. They were the offspring of marriages between angelic beings and earthlings. Would these beings with super natural strength (origin of the titans or demi-gods in mythology) be called aliens today? In many documented alien encounters there seems to be a great interest on their part in our reproductive system. Are aliens using humans to breed a super race again? In the King James rendering of Daniel 2:43 there’s a curious reference to someone “mingling themselves with the seed of men” in the last days. Is the anti-Christ part alien or in command of beings that are part alien and part human? As it was in the days of Noah?

Out of the Way
But in all my years of study comparing the days of Noah with the end of the age one insight has recently made things much clearer to me. In Genesis 6:3 God warned of the removal of His Spirit from Earth before the coming judgment. Some see this passage as capping man’s life span at 120 years, but that can’t be its purpose. In Psalm 90:10we’re told that an average man’s life span is 70 years, and Isaiah 23:15 supports this conclusion. Average life spans before the flood were much longer than 120 years, and after the flood soon became much shorter. Looking at the Genesis life spans again shows that Shem, probably the last pre-flood man, outlived 8 of the first 9 post flood generations of his descendants, including Abraham.

The fact is that 120 years was the time God gave man to prepare for the coming judgment. He said He was going to remove His Spirit from the earth prior to that judgment. In 2 Thes 2:7 a similar warning is given concerning the end of the age (but without a deadline), and there is confusion over it’s interpretation just as with Gen. 6:3. The only truly literal interpretation of this passage is that sometime before the anti-Christ can be revealed in all his power beginning the Great Tribulation, the restraining force of the Holy Spirit must be taken out of the way (literally out of the midst, or from among).

Then as I was reading Genesis 6 again, the most remarkable thing happened. In my Bible Genesis 6:3 is in the right hand column about 1 inch down the page. I’ve had it high lighted for years. In the left hand column directly across from Genesis 6:3 is another verse I highlighted some time ago.

In Genesis 5:24 it reads; Enoch walked with God and then he was no more because God took him away. Seeing those two high lighted verses side by side like that caused the sequence of events to suddenly become so obvious to me, I don’t know why I hadn’t seen it before. First Enoch was taken alive from earth and the Holy Spirit was withdrawn. Then in Gen. 6:5 man’s behaviour is described as having become unbearably wicked and in Gen. 7 the judgment came, in that order.

Enoch’s name means teaching and according to Jude 14-15 he gave the first prophecy of the 2nd coming. Hebrew tradition holds that he was born on the 6th day of Sivan on the Hebrew calendar and was taken by God on his birthday. The 6th of Sivan is the day we know as Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. For these reasons Enoch is often seen as a model or type of the church, whose calling is also to teach the world the ways of the Lord and to talk about His coming.

You Promised You Wouldn’t Do That
The Bible declares that the Holy Spirit is sealed within believers as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance (Ephes. 1:13-14). Paul wrote that the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn from earth sometime before the anti- Christ is allowed to trigger the judgment known as the Great Tribulation (2 Thes. 2:7).

Withdrawing the Holy Spirit with out removing the Church would break God’s promise to us since it would require “unsealing” the Holy Spirit from within us. That’s something that God can’t do. “What I have said, that will I bring about,” He declares. “What I have planned, that will I do.”(Isaiah 46:11)

If Enoch is indeed a model of the church and if the Lord’s prophecy of Matt 24:37 is meant to describe the sequence of end times events, as seems likely, then one day soon we will be taken alive (raptured) from earth like Enoch was, and the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn. Man’s behaviour will quickly become unbearably wicked and the judgment will come, all in that order, as it was in the days of Noah.

A Hook in the Jaw…

2014-12-22T01:29:00.000-08:00

(Written by Matt Ward)

There is a perfect economic storm rising in Russia.

Seventy percent of the Russian economy is dependent upon oil. In order for the Russian economy to break even they need to be able to sell oil at $109 per barrel. Right now the price is $59 per barrel. Despite Putin recently winning: Russian Man of the Year for the 15^th straight year, he is in big trouble.

The one major failing of Putin since he came to power is that he promised the Russian people he would diversify the Russian economy and wean them off their over reliance on oil. He has failed to do so and this failure is now coming back to haunt him.

Now, because of competition between OPEC oil producers in the Middle East and the United States over American Shale production, OPEC has increased the amount of oil produced each day and reduced the price of the oil per barrel. Their intention is to flood the oil market with really cheap oil and therefore kill off the U.S. shale market, which has considerably higher costs per barrel in terms of production. This has crushed the Russian oil price index.

This is exacerbated by unusually poor demand for oil in 2014, especially in Asia.

Russian actions in Ukraine and Crimea have drawn a reaction from the United States and its allies in NATO that have surprised and even shocked Vladimir Putin. The resolve and unanimity with which the West have applied sanctions against Russia has substantially contributed to the devastated oil price which is crippling the Russian rubble.

Vladimir Putin blames the West for the collapse of the Russian rubble. Vladimir Putin has hinted that he could interpret these financial actions as an economic attack on Russia, as an act of war.

This comes against a background of increased Russian military mobilization in previous months.

Common place has been the headline of Russian long distance fighters and nuclear capable bombers “probing” and “testing” both US and western European air defenses by coming unusually close to infringing member nation sovereign airspace. The Soviet Navy last month sparked a huge search and destroy operation from the Swedish military after it was revealed they were “90% certain” that a Soviet nuclear submarine had entered the country’s main bay, just a number of miles from the capital Stockholm. [1]

This act was described as a blatant act of aggression by both the Swedish military and by Nato’s Secretary General, Anders Rasmussen.

Parallel news reports also disclosed in the last month that Russia may have developed a new game changing supersonic nuclear delivery system that employs stealth technology. A system that has been successfully tested. This would render all US and NATO first strike warning systems, and therefore first strike retaliations, as null and void. It would allow the Russian military the opportunity to deliver a devastating nuclear first strike without fear of immediate nuclear reprisal.

At the same time Moscow, whilst the US and NATO are downgrading and cutting back their nuclear arsenals, have been investing millions in developing the next generation of nuclear weapons and in particular in building a huge central command and control post deep under the city of Moscow. This facility in itself at a cost of multiple billions of dollars (in an economy already struggling)

Vladimir Putin is preparing for something. Putin now truly has his back against the wall and has limited options for quickly reversing the situation he finds himself in.

80% of the Russian public, according to recent surveys think Putin is doing a good or very job. 85% of the Russian public unconditionally support the Russian military. What are Putin’s options now?

He could further raise interest rates, but this could turn a recession into a depression, or they could allow the rubble to continue its fall, but this may trigger inflation. Putin could move closer to China…or he could lash out and start a war.

In the past this has been his traditional fall-back position when faced with extreme domestic issues. Does anybody remember when Putin first came to power and his position was weak and unstable? He immediately launched a full scale war in Chechnya.

Putin has worked hard to established close relations with a significant number of major players in the Middle East region. Russia is deeply involved in developing the Iranian nuclear program Israel has such issue with. Turkey is now considered to be a major ally of Russia, both against the United States and against Western Europe, who have denied Turkey membership of the European Union.

Russia also enjoys substantial influence over Syria through Bashir al-Assad, who Russia directly financed and protected during his most unstable period 3 years ago (even going so far as to house Assad and his family on board a Russian Naval Vessel in the Mediterranean so he would not be assassinated during the initial stage of the Syrian civil war)

Let us also not forget the newly discovered Leviathan Gas/Oil Field resting in the Middle East. A field so vast that by some accounts it dwarfs fields found in Saudi Arabia, and will make the nation controlling it the sole oil superpower for the majority of the next century.

And the Leviathan field is owned by Israel.

Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.

Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:And thou shalt say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land’” (Ezekiel 38:3-12).

Vladimir Putin is cornered. The pertinent question is this: Is he going to lash out?

Is the hook in his jaw yet?

The Events At The End Of The Age II

2014-12-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

(Written by Daymond Duck)
11) When the sixth seal is broken world leaders will finally admit that the great day of his (Jesus’) wrath has come (Rev. 6:12-17).

Jesus will break the first five seals before He breaks the sixth seal---After the first five seals are broken, world leaders will admit that the Tribulation Period has started. The day of wrath is also the great day of the Lord and also the Tribulation Period. It is a day when mighty men will cry bitterly (Zeph. 1:14-15).

The word translated “stars” can also be translated meteors. Most stars are bigger than the earth. Not many, if any, stars could fall on the earth without decimating it. “Stars” could refer to meteors or missiles.

“The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled up” is an accurate description of what nuclear weapons do. They drive the wind up and out. Then it rolls up and collapses back in.

12) Another indication that Chapter Six is before Chapter Seven.

Normally, a question is asked before it is answered---The last verse of Chapter Six reads, “For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Chapter Seven mentions the 144,000 who are sealed by God. They will be able to stand before the Lord (Rev. 14:1).

13) Chapter Seven is before Chapter Eight.

Noise---In Chapter Seven, the martyrs in heaven are speaking in a loud voice (Rev. 7:10); the angels and others are worshiping God and speaking (Rev. 7:11-12); one of the elders asks a question (Rev. 7:13); John answers the question (Rev. 7:14). There is noise in heaven.

The Seventh Seal will be followed by 30 minutes of silence and this will be before the Seven Trumpets---In Chapter Eight, the seventh seal is broken and there is silence in heaven for about 30 minutes (Rev. 8:1). After the 30 minutes of silence ends, seven angels will appear and they will be given trumpets (Rev. 8:2). The seventh seal is opened before the seven trumpets are blown. This reveals sequence.

14) The first four trumpets will be blown before the last three trumpets.

After the fourth angel blows the fourth trumpet an angel flies through heaven, “saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound” (Rev. 8:13)! The “other voices” of the trumpet refers to the three “Woes” which are the same as the last three trumpets. So the first four trumpets will be blown before the last three. This is sequence.

15) The last three trumpets will be blown in chronological order.

The Fifth Trumpet will Sound Before the Sixth and Seventh---The fifth angel will blow the fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:1-12). Demon possessed locusts will be released to torment people for five months. The Bible says, “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter” (Rev. 9:12). “Two woes more hereafter” means the fifth trumpet (first woe) will be over or past before the sixth and seventh trumpets sound (before the next two woes). This is sequence.

The Sixth Trumpet will Sound Before the Seventh Trumpet---The sixth angel will blow the sixth trumpet (Rev. 9:13-11:14). Multitudes will be killed, John will eat the little scroll, he will measure the Temple, the Two Witnesses will be killed, etc. The Bible says, “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly” (Rev. 11:14). “Cometh” means the third trumpet (third woe) is still future or later in the Tribulation Period.

This places the death of the Two Witnesses and their 3 ½ years of ministry before the seventh trumpet. This is sequence.

The Seventh Trumpet will Sound After the Seven Seals (see item #13 above) and after the First Six Trumpets---The seventh angel will blow the seventh trumpet (Rev. 11:15-14:20). There will be war in heaven and Satan will be kicked out (Rev. 12:7-9). A voice will say, “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Rev. 12:12). This is the third woe. Satan will be kicked out of heaven and he will come down to the earth after the fifth and sixth trumpets, after the Two Witnesses have ministered and been killed, etc. Satan will intensify the persecution when he is cast to the earth because he will know that his time is short. The intensification of the persecution is one reason (just one reason) why prophecy teachers call the second half of the Tribulation Period the Great Tribulation. This is sequence.

16) Some of the Jews (the Jews in Judea) will flee into the wilderness after the seventh angel blows the seventh trumpet.

The Seal and Trumpet Judgments will be in the First Half of the Tribulation Period---“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent” (Rev. 12:13-14).

Remember from #14 above that the first four trumpets will be blown before the last three trumpets (Rev. 8:13). Remember from #15 above that the last three trumpets will be blown in sequence. Remember from #15 above that Satan will be thrown to the earth when the seventh trumpet sounds. Satan will intensify his persecution of the Jews and some of those in Judea will flee into the wilderness 1260 days before the end of the Tribulation Period (Rev. 12:13-14). Since they flee into the wilderness 1260 days before the end of the Tribulation Period, this reveals that the seven seals and seven trumpets will be in the first half of the Tribulation Period. Since Satan will be cast to the earth before the woman (Israel) flees into the wilderness, this means Satan will be cast to the earth before the middle of the Tribulation Period. It also means that the seventh trumpet will sound before the middle of the Tribulation Period. This is sequence.

17) This is the middle of the Tribulation Period.

It has already been shown that the Antichrist will defile the Temple and some of the Jews will flee into the wilderness at the middle of the Tribulation Period (Dan. 9:27: Matt. 24:15-16; Rev. 12:14). When that happens, the Temple will be deserted and the animal sacrifices will cease.

18) The three wonders (signs).

John saw a great wonder in heaven---a woman clothed with the sun, etc. travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered (Rev. 12:1). John saw another wonder in heaven---a great red dragon (Rev. 12:3). John saw another sign in heaven---seven angels having the seven last plagues (Rev. 15:1).

19) The seven vials (or bowls) will be after the seven seal and seven trumpet judgments.

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God” (Rev. 15:1). “Last plagues” means there won’t be anymore plagues after these plagues. “Last plagues” also means that these plagues will be after the seal and trumpet judgments because the first vial is one of the seven last plagues. The numbers indicate chronology or sequence (See comments #10 and #15 on the 5th, 6th, and 7th trumpets above---the three woes). This is sequence.

20) The Second Coming will end the Tribulation Period.

It will be seven years after the Antichrist confirms the covenant (Dan. 9:27). It will end in the days of the ten kings (leaders, horns) because they will make war with the Lamb and He will overcome them (Rev. 17:14). On the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream it will be in the days of the feat of Iron and Clay (future) not in the legs of Iron (Past; not in 70 A.D.). (Dan. 2:1-44).

It will be after the Marriage of the Lamb and the Church and after the Church has appeared before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Rev. 19:7-10).

21) The Antichrist and False Prophet will be seized and thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20).

This will take place at the Battle of Armageddon and Second Coming. And this means it will before the Millennium (Rev. 19:11-21).

22) Satan will be bound and chained and kept in the Bottomless Pit for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:1-6).

This will be during the Millennium (see item #23 below).

23) When the 1,000 years are expired (more sequence), Satan will be released for a short time (Rev. 20:7).

“When the 1,000 years are expired” means Satan will be released after the Millennium.

24) After Satan’s short release, he will be seized and cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10).

25) The lost will be raised, brought before the Great White Throne, judged and cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15).

26) This heaven and earth will pass away and there will be a new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1).

Many passages indicate that there will be a new heaven and new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Psa. 102:25-26; Matt. 24:35; II Pet. 3:13; Rev. 20:11; 21-22).

27) New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven to the New Earth and the Lamb will dwell with His bride (Rev. 21 and 22).

New Jerusalem is not heaven. New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven.

The Events At The End Of The Age I

2014-12-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

(Written by Daymond Duck)
1) Jesus addressed the sequence of events in the Book of Revelation.

He divided the sequence of events into three parts when He said, “Write the things which thou hast seen (record past things), and the things which are (record present things), and the things which shall be hereafter” (record future things ) (Rev. 1:19).

Past Things---“The things which thou hast seen” are past things. John used past tense terminology about himself – I was, I heard (Rev. 1:10); I turned, I saw (Rev. 1:12); I saw, I fell (Rev. 1:17); (Chapter one records John’s past vision of the resurrected Jesus).

Present Things---“The things which are” refers to present things – These are things that existed in John’s day (Chapters Two and Three---The Church Age). The Church began and existed while John was alive. But, in addition to this, they seven Churches also represent seven periods during the Church Age because the things that are written in the Book of Revelation are words of prophecy including Chapters Two and Three (Rev. 1:3). God says the Book of Revelation is a book of prophecy five times (Rev. 1:3, 22:7, 10, 18, 19). So the Church began while John was alive, but it didn’t end when he died. It would continue on into the future.

Future Things---“The things which shall be hereafter” are future things. “Shall be” means in the future. “Hereafter” means after the present things. The “Hereafter” things start at Rev. 4:1. John said, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter” “The things which must be hereafter” refers to the things that shall be; the things that will happen after the present things or the things that will take place after the Church Age.

2) The Church Age will end with the Rapture and the future things will begin after the Rapture (The future things or the things that “must be hereafter” start at Rev. 4:1).

John said, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.”

The Sound of the Voice---After recording the seven letters to the seven Churches, John heard a voice “as it were of a trumpet.” Jesus has a voice “as of a trumpet” (Rev. 1:10). Jesus will “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (I Thess. 4:16). The dead will be raised “at the last trump” (I Cor. 15:52).

The Rapture of the Church---The voice will say, “Come up hither.” The Latin word “Rapere” is translated several ways in the New Testament: “take it by force,” “catcheth away,” “pluck them out,” “caught up” and “gather together.” Concerning Enoch, God “took him.” Elijah “went up.” Jesus was “taken up.” Paul was “caught up.” Paul said, the Church will be “caught up” to Jesus (I Thess. 4:17). Many, including this writer, believe the Rapture takes place at Rev. 4:1 in the Book of Revelation.

After the Rapture, the Future Things will start---The voice said, “I will show thee things which must be hereafter” (see Rev. 1:19). The future things must happen after the voice as it were of a trumpet says “Come up.” These future things will include the Tribulation Period, the Second Coming, the Millennium, the New Heaven and New Earth, the New Jerusalem, etc.

One Reason Some Believe the Church will go to Heaven at Rev. 4:1---After using the word “Church” at least twenty times in Revelation Chapters Two and Three, John suddenly stopped using it. He didn’t mention the Church again until Revelation Chapter nineteen. He mentioned the saints, a term that can also apply to Israel (Psa. 79:2). He mentioned the Twenty-four Elders, a term that many believe applies to the Church, but the Twenty-four Elders are in heaven. And some want to say the “elect” of Matthew 24:22, 24, 31 refer to the Church, but “elect” is a term that can also refer to Israel (Isa. 45:4).

Another Reason Some Believe the Church will go to Heaven at Rev. 4:1---After saying, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22) seven times in Revelation Chapters Two and Three, Jesus said, “If any man hath an ear, let him hear (Rev. 13:9). Jesus stopped saying, “what the Spirit saith unto the Churches” and started speaking to anyone with ears. This is one reason why some think the Church won’t be on earth between Rev. 4:1 and Rev. 19:10. (Note: My “36 Pre-Trib Rapture Texts” are posted on the raptureready.com website.)

3) The world will be divided into ten regions and the ten kings or ten leaders will appear before the Antichrist and Tribulation Period.

The Ten Horns, then the Antichrist, then the Covenant and Tribulation Period---The ten horns (kings, leaders) must appear before the eleventh horn (the little horn, the Antichrist) can appear (Dan. 7:8; Rev. 17:12). The Antichrist won’t be one of the ten he will be diverse or different from the ten (Dan. 7:24). This means the ten horns (kings, leaders) will appear before the Tribulation Period because the Tribulation Period won’t begin until the Antichrist confirms the seven-year covenant with many (Dan. 9:27). Also, the seven-year covenant will probably be drafted before the Tribulation Period because the Antichrist “confirms” it (he doesn’t originate it). When this eleventh or little horn confirms the covenant the Tribulation Period will begin. This is sequence.

4) Elijah (probably one of the Two Witnesses) will appear before the Tribulation Period begins.

Elijah, then the Tribulation Period---God said, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Mal. 4:5). This will probably be between the Rapture and the Antichrist’s confirmation of the seven-year covenant. This is sequence.

5) The Two Witnesses will appear during the first half of the Tribulation period (see point number 15 below).

The Two Witnesses and then the Covenant will be Signed---If one of the Two Witnesses is Elijah, his appearance will be before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5). God said, “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth” (Rev. 11:3). This is sequence.

The Two Witnesses will prophesy 1260 Days in The First Half of the Tribulation Period not the Last Half---The Two Witnesses can’t prophesy for 1260 days during the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period because they will be killed and their bodies will lie in the street for 3 ½ days after they stop prophesying (Rev. 11:9). Jesus will come back at the end of the Tribulation Period. It’s not likely that the bodies of the Two Witnesses will lie in the street and people will be celebrating their death 3 ½ days after the Second Coming of Jesus.

The Two Witnesses will Prophesy at the Temple Before the Jews Flee into the Wilderness---The Antichrist will defile the Temple and it will be made desolate at the middle of the Tribulation Period (Dan. 9:27). When that happens Jesus told the Jews in Judea to flee into the wilderness (Matt. 24:15-16). The Jews in Judea will flee into the wilderness 3 ½ years before the end of the Tribulation Period (Rev. 12:14).

It’s not likely that the Two Witnesses will disobey Jesus and stay in Judea when the other Jews flee into the wilderness.

The Two Witnesses will Prophesy 1260 Days before the Antichrist can Harm Them---The Antichrist will be given power to make war with the saints and overcome them during the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation Period (Rev. 13:5-8; Dan. 7:25). The Two Witnesses and the 144,000 have to prophesy before the Antichrist is given the power to harm the saints. If they don’t, they are not numbered among the saints.

6) The Chapter Five events will happen before the Chapter Six events.

In Chapter Five, Jesus is holding the seven sealed scroll in His hand and the seals are unbroken or unopened (Rev. 5:1-5). In Chapter Six, Jesus opens the first six seals. This is sequence.

7) The Antichrist will start his rise to power when the First Seal is broken.

The rise of the Antichrist to power is associated with the breaking of the first seal (Rev. 6:1-2). This will be after the restrainer (Church and Holy Spirit) are removed (II Thess. 2:6-10). This is another reason to believe the Rapture is at Rev. 4:1. The Antichrist will sign the covenant as a prince not as a king; as a little horn not as the biggest or greatest horn. This will be early in his career when he is a prince rising to power in Europe. Later, probably after he declares that he is God, he will establish his palace on the holy mountain, also called the Temple Mount (Dan. 11:45).

Also, there may be chronology here because the Antichrist will go forth conquering and to conquer when the first seal is broken. This may well lead to the second seal which is the removal of peace from the earth. And this may lead to the third, forth and fifth seals which result in the death of many. At this time (beginning of the Tribulation Period), the Antichrist will go forth to conquer. Later (in the second half of the Tribulation Period), people will ask who can make war with him, he will have power over the whole earth, and all the lost on earth will worship him (Rev. 13:4-8).

8) The 144,000 will appear near the beginning of the Tribulation Period (not necessarily between the first and second seal, but before the fifth seal and before any of the Trumpet Judgments; see #13 below).

The 144,000 will appear, then the Fifth Seal Martyrs will be killed, and this will precede the Trumpet Judgments---The 144,000 will be Jews from the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:4-8). God will use Jews because the Church won’t be here. The Church will be in heaven. The 144,000 will be the firstfruits unto God or the first to be saved after the Rapture (Rev. 14:4). The 144,000 must be sealed before the martyrs in the fifth seal are saved or the martyrs would be the firstfruits not the 144,000 (Rev. 14:4). The 144,000 must be saved before the martyrs in the fifth seal are saved in order to evangelize the martyrs. The 144,000 must be sealed before the trumpet judgments begin because the sealing must happen before the earth, trees and seas are hurt (Rev. 7:1-3), but the earth, trees and seas will be hurt by the first three trumpet judgments (Rev. 8:1-11). This is sequence.

9) Construction will start on the Temple near the beginning of the Tribulation Period.

The Temple must be Rebuilt Before the Middle of the Tribulation Period---The Temple has to be in place (except for the outer court) before the middle of the Tribulation Period because the Antichrist will stop the sacrifice and oblation at the middle of the Tribulation Period and the Temple will be desolate (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 11:2). Some Jews believe the Messiah will give them permission to rebuild Temple, but some Christians believe that it will be the Antichrist. Some Christians also speculate that permission to rebuild the Temple will be included in the seven-year covenant (Jn. 5:43). The Temple has to be in place (except for the outer court) before the middle of the Tribulation Period because that’s when the Antichrist will stand in the Holy Place and some of the Jews will flee into the wilderness (Matt. 24:15; Rev. 11:2). The High Priest will sprinkle the blood of sacrificed animals in the Holy of Holies before the middle of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will stand in the Holy of Holies at the middle of the Tribulation Period and the Holy of Holies will be desolate during the last 3 ½ years (1260 days). This is sequence.

10) Seals 2 through 6 will take place in sequence.

The Numbers Indicate Chronology or Sequence (See comments on the 5th, 6th, and 7th trumpets below which are the same as the 3 woes)---Chapter 6 indicates that Jesus will break the seals in sequence not all at the same time. War (seal 2) leads to food shortages and famine (seal 3). Food shortages and famine (seal 3) lead to hunger, malnutrition, disease and death (seal 4). Each seal appears to trigger the next seal.

The Sequence in Matthew Chapter 24 and Revelation Chapter 6 is the Same---Some writers equate seals 2 through 6 in the Book of Revelation to what Jesus said about the end of the age and His Second Coming in the Olivet Discourse: false Christs in Matt. 24:5 compares to the first seal in Rev. 6:1-2 (the Antichrist); war in Matt. 24:6-7 compares to the second seal in Rev. 6:3-4 (the removal of peace); famine in Matt. 24:7 compares to the third seal in Rev. 6:5-6 (famine and economic collapse); Pestilences in Matt. 24:7 compares to the fourth seal in Rev. 6:7-8 (plagues); and earthquakes in Matt. 24:7 compares to the sixth seal in Rev. 6:12-13 (great earthquake). If these writers are right, it’s important to remember that Jesus said the “end is not yet” (Matt. 24:6) and He called these events the “beginning of sorrows (Matt. 24:8). The end will come 3 ½ years after the Jews flee into the wilderness (Matt. 24:14-16; Rev. 12:14).

Behold the Black Horse

2014-11-12T05:30:00.000-08:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)
When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!” (Rev. 6:5-6)

In answer to a recent question, I made the comment that early signs of the coming Seal Judgments are beginning to appear. This does not mean I believe we're in the beginning of Daniel's 70th week. It means I can see signs that it's not far off, which means the rapture of the Church is even closer.

Although I believe the Seal judgments will be sequential, I don't think the signs of their coming will necessarily be in order. Some have different run-up periods than others. For example, we know the first seal says that a man will suddenly appear on the world scene. He'll seem to be a peace maker but his real agenda will be to conquer the world. He's the rider on the white horse. After him a rider on a red horse will appear, and war will soon follow as the true intent of the man on the white horse is revealed. These two judgments indicate that a man appears and quickly leads the world from a perception of peace to the reality of war. His rise to power has certainly been underway for some time even though no one knows who he is yet. But once his time comes, he'll quickly have the whole world behind him. The point is, for the most part the run up to the first two seals is invisible.

The third seal judgment, also known as the Black Horse, is different in that the run-up is visible and can be tracked. The rider on the black horse holds a pair of scales with which to measure the comparative value of money and food. Changes in the relationship between the two can be tracked, allowing us to make a good guess as to how close we're getting. This relationship is the topic of our study today.

Food Inflation
Recently financial experts have warned about the likelihood of runaway inflation as a result of the of the US government's increasing debt. This will make the dollar worth less and less which means the things people buy will cost more and more by comparison. The most noticeable early signs are in commodities such as food, partly because the effects of inflation have been compounded by shortages.

The World Bank says, "World food price volatility remains significant and in some countries, the volatility is adding to already higher local food prices." As examples, world wheat and corn prices have risen 57%, rice 45% and sugar 55% over the last six months and soybeans are at their highest price for 16 months. Some experts are saying we're only one crop failure away from having out of control shortages in many parts of the world. The World Bank concluded it's report by saying the world should expect this kind of volatility in food prices for the next 5 years.

The National Inflation Association, or NIA, (www.inflation.us) tracks real world changes in inflation. They say the government's Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures would have you believe that food inflation is at the slowest pace on record. But every food shopper knows this is not true. The NIA claims that when calculating food inflation, the government uses something called geometric weighting, which gives a lower weighting to goods that are rising in price and a higher weighting to goods that are falling in price. If the price of steak is rising while the price of hamburgers is falling, the CPI will give a lower weighting to steak and a higher weighting to hamburgers. The government justifies this by saying that rising steak prices mean Americans are more likely to eat hamburgers. As a result of this weighting, the CPI no longer measures what it would cost to maintain the same standard of living as in the past. It's now based on the realization that America's standard of living has been in decline and the expectation that it will continue to decline in the future.

Dollar Inflation
The NIA also says there's a misconception in America that wages have risen at the same rate as price inflation, when this is simply not the case. The median household income in the U.S. was $11,800 in 1975 and today is $49,777. If you go by the government's CPI, $11,800 in 1975 dollars equals $47,208 in today's dollars. That would seem to indicate that Americans are earning slightly higher real incomes today than 35 years ago. However, the truth is, once you discount the effects of geometric weighting, the median household income in 1975 of $11,800 actually equals $154,000 in today's dollars. This explains how in 1975, a father was able to support a family on just one income and college students were able to afford their own tuition with just a summer job. Today, in many cases both parents need to work to support their family, and students need to go deeply into debt to fund their education.

As for the elderly, NIA calculates that because of the way the CPI has understated the real rate of price inflation, Americans on Social Security should be receiving payments that are more than double what they receive today. Unfortunately, the government just announced last month that Americans on Social Security will receive no payment increase in 2011, despite the fact that food inflation will likely become the biggest crisis of the year, much larger than the mortgage crisis we have today.

On a related note, analysts have said it's no longer a question of if but when and how much money the Fed will pump into the system in an effort to stabilize the economy. Some say as much as $2 trillion will eventually be needed. There are no assets backing this money. It will come straight out of thin air. As you read this, the Fed has begun an initial purchase of government debt totaling $600 billion. We'll be able to track the effects on the value of the dollar by measuring rising prices.

Food Riots And Tax Rebellions
Back in the fall of 2008, I posted a summary of comments by Gerald Celente, CEO of Trends Research Institute. He's renowned the world over for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events. He accurately predicted the 1987 stock market crash, the fall of the Soviet Union, the 1997 Asian currency collapse, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and one year before the fact predicted what he said would become known as the Panic of 2008, saying that giants would tumble to their deaths, which is what we've just seen in the fall of several of our oldest and biggest financial firms, and with the big three auto makers teetering on the brink. (You can check his track record for yourself at www.trendsresearch.com.

At that time Celente was forecasting food riots and tax rebellions in America - all within four years, cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.

"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas. We're going to see a fundamental shift take place. Putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".

"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," he said at the time, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession in 2008 highlighted how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.

While they were pretty astonishing at the time, two years later it seems much more likely that they'll turn out to be true.
I'm not saying that Celente is a prophet, or even that his predictions confirm what the Bible says. But current conditions point to continuing increases in food prices and because of our government's economic strategy some experts say the possibility of run away inflation can not be ignored.

The conditions described in Rev. 6:5-6 are infinitely worse than anything we've ever seen, and even worse than Celente's predictions. It will take all of an average worker's pay for one day's work to buy enough food just for the day. Conditions are no where near that bad now. But unless some drastic changes take place, that's where we're heading and getting there by 2012 is well within the realm of possibility.

In Summary
My purpose in offering this commentary is not to provide a comprehensive treatment of Rev. 6:1-8, also known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but to use current money and food conditions to demonstrate how the Black Horse judgment will materialize.

And remember, the Black Horse is the third in the series and follows the outbreak of war over 25% of the world (Rev. 6:8). War is known to disrupt food supplies in affected regions. Add this disruption to world wide food supplies that are already strained and a monetary system that's been robbed of its value and you can see how it would take everything a person earns just to feed himself.

The fact that this judgment follows the rapture does not mean we can relax and pretend nothing's wrong. Even if this new congress follows through on its promises, it will take several years just to stabilize America's debt problem and in the mean time the government will need to borrow even more just to meet the commitments it has already made. This is bad news for the whole world, and it's not at all certain that the problem can ever be solved. America may already have done to itself what no outside enemy could accomplish and brought about its own defeat.

I believe the rapture of the Church is very near and could literally happen any day. But each day the Lord tarries will be a day of increasing uncertainty, especially for the unemployed and under employed. This is not a time for hoarding or investing in the future. We who have excess should be more diligent than ever in seeking out and helping those who are unable to help themselves.

And above all, we must have hope, for the Lord has promised to come for us. It was He who said, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:10-11, 28). You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

The Antichrist: Who Is He?

2014-11-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

(Written by Britt Gillette)
The Bible tells us that in the last days one man will rule the world. He will rule over the entire human race politically, economically, and religiously, speaking great blasphemies against God and setting himself up in the Temple as God himself. But this man will not be God. He will be the very antithesis. He will even lead a rebellion against God, but he will be destroyed by the King of kings. History has deemed him the Antichrist, but he is known by other names as well, each being fully indicative of his character:
The Little Horn – Daniel 7:8 (NLT)
The Fierce King, a Master of Intrigue – Daniel 8:23 (NLT)
The Prince Who is to Come – Daniel 9:26 (NLT)
The Worthless Shepherd – Zechariah 11:17 (NLT))
The Man of Lawlessness – 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (NLT)
The One Who Brings Destruction – 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (NLT)
The Beast – Revelation 13:11 (NLT)

Through careful study of the Scriptures, we can learn much about the origins, disposition, and career of the one human being who will be the literal embodiment of Satan himself.

His Nationality
The Bible provides us with some detail regarding the nationalistic origins of the Antichrist. Although much debate surrounds his national identity, the Book of Daniel clearly states that he will come from the people whose armies destroy the Temple.
“A ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple.” Daniel 9:26 (NLT)

The City and the Temple were destroyed in A.D. 70 by Titus and the Roman legions, but Titus was not the ruler referenced in this verse. For Daniel 9:27 describes the ruler as one who will make a seven-year treaty with Israel, put an end to the sacrifices and offerings, and set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration. These are events that will be fulfilled in the life of the Antichrist. According to Daniel, the Antichrist will come from among the people who destroyed the Temple. Therefore, we can be certain the Antichrist is of Roman descent.

However, being of Roman descent does not automatically mean that the Antichrist will be Italian. It simply means he must come from among those people who were part of the Roman Empire of that time.

Daniel Chapter 8 provides us with further insight. In it, the angel Gabriel explains Daniel’s vision of a Ram and Goat as events relating to the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great. In a claim verified by history, he states that following the death of Alexander, the empire will be divided into four parts. From one of those four parts, the Antichrist will arise:
“The shaggy male goat represents the king of the Greek Empire. The four prominent horns that replaced the one large horn show that the Greek Empire will break into four sections with four kings, none of them as great as the first. At the end of their rule, when their sin is at its height, a fierce king, a master of intrigue, will rise to power. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people.” Daniel 8:21-24 (NLT)

Daniel Chapter 11 provides an in-depth examination of the history of the breakup Alexander’s empire, describing historical events relating to the King of the North and the King of the South. The latter part of the chapter describes the Antichrist, identifying him with other historical figures who have held the title “King of the North.” This, along with the passage cited above, clearly links the Antichrist to the Northern Kingdom of the divided Greek Empire. This kingdom was ruled by one of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus, who ruled the areas of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume the Antichrist will also be linked to these geographic areas.

Is the Antichrist Jewish? Although there is no definitive answer, two Bible verses provide us with reason to believe that he will be. The first appears in the Book of Genesis when God prophesies the coming of Israel’s Messiah and Satan’s Antichrist.

“From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15 (NLT)

Later on, when Jacob is blessing his sons, he makes this prophecy about Dan:
“Dan will govern his people like any other tribe in Israel. He will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so the rider is thrown off.” Genesis 49:16-17 (NLT)

This reference to a serpent striking a heel may indicate that the Antichrist will be a Jew from the tribe of Dan, but many reasonable people are divided on this issue.

So how do we rectify these seemingly contradictory prophecies concerning the Antichrist’s nationality? Is he Roman? Italian? Jewish? Assyrian? Greek? He doesn’t necessarily have to be exclusively one or another. He could be an Assyrian Jew born and raised in Italy, or any number of possible combinations. We don’t know for certain, but history indicates that each of these prophecies will be harmonized when the Antichrist appear.

Two thousand years ago, the seemingly contradictory prophecies of the first coming of the Messiah were all harmonized in the life of Jesus Christ who was a Nazarene born in Bethlehem who came out of Egypt. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see how this was possible, but for the Jewish scholars who lived before the time of Jesus, these prophecies were the topic of much debate.

That debate continues today in regard to prophecies of the Antichrist. But in reality, we won’t know the absolute truth until he appears. As such, it is wise to study these prophecies and teach them to others, so that the people of the Antichrist’s generation will be able to positively identify him based on sound Scriptural evidence.

His Personality
Throughout the Bible, we are granted insight into the personality and disposition of the Antichrist. We are told how he will act, what he will do, and where he will get his power. Although far from exhaustive, the Scriptures provide us with many clues.

Arrogance
The Antichrist will be arrogant:
“This little horn had eyes like human eyes and a mouth that was boasting arrogantly.” Daniel 7:8 (NLT)
“The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god there is, even blaspheming the God of gods.” Daniel 11:36 (NLT)

The Antichrist will be so filled with self-love and arrogance that he will launch a rebellion against God Almighty. He will place himself above all others, and even set himself up in the Jewish Temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Satan’s Power
The Antichrist will be empowered by Satan:
“He will become very strong, but not by his own power.” Daniel 8:24 (NLT)
“This evil man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 (NLT)

“And the dragon gave him his own power and throne and great authority.” Revelation 13:2 (NLT)

The Bible clearly states that the Antichrist will derive his power from Satan. In fact, following the Devil’s banishment from heaven (Revelation 12:9), he will indwell the Antichrist, making this man of lawlessness the literal embodiment of Satan.

Beholden to Power
The Antichrist will be consumed with power, and power alone will he worship:
“He will have no regard for the god of his ancestors, or for the god beloved of women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses – a god his ancestors never knew – and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and costly gifts.” Daniel 11:37-38 (NLT)
“They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they worshiped the beast. ‘Is there anyone as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’” Revelation 13:4 (NLT)

The Antichrist will only acknowledge one power, a military power he possesses. His power will be so great, the people of the world will marvel in wonder and worship it, asking the rhetorical question of who among them is able to fight against his mighty kingdom.

His Life
In addition to various aspects of his character, the Bible provides us with numerous details concerning the life events and career of this man of lawlessness, beginning with his meteoric rise to fame from among ten kings.

Rises From Among 10 Kings
“It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns. As I was looking at the horns, suddenly another small horn appeared among them.” Daniel 7:7-8 (NLT)

“His ten horns are ten kings who have not yet risen to power; they will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment to reign with the beast. They will all agree to give their power and authority to him.” Revelation 17:12-13 (NLT)

Ten kings will give their power and national sovereignty to the revived Roman Empire. From among them, the Antichrist will appear, and he will become the preeminent ruler among them.

Subdues 3 of the 10 Kings
“Three of the first horns were wrenched out, roots and all, to make room for it.” Daniel 7:8 (NLT)

Apparently, three of the ten kings will oppose the Antichrist and his brazen grab for power. In the struggle that ensues, he will defeat them, and his control over the new Rome will become absolute.

7 Year Treaty with Israel
“He will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven” Daniel 9:27 (NLT)

The Antichrist will make a treaty with the people of Israel for a period of seven years. The details and nature of this treaty are yet unknown, but many have speculated that in a bid for Middle Eastern peace, Israel will agree to rely on the Antichrist for its national defense.

He Will Conquer Many
Revelation Chapter 6 describes the Antichrist as a great conqueror riding on a white horse. He goes out to conquer many, and he wields a great sword. In his conquest, he will kill a sizeable portion of the world’s population.

Will Rule Politically, Religiously, and Economically
“He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and those who belong to this world to worship the first beast, whose death-wound had been healed.” Revelation 13:12 (NLT)

The Antichrist will exercise all the authority of the first beast, which is the revived Roman Empire. He will require the world to worship and give allegiance to this empire, which will be resurrected from the dustbin of history.

“And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation.” Revelation 13:7 (NLT)

Not one person will escape the reach of the Antichrist and his governmental dominion.
“He required everyone – great and small, rich and poor, slave and free – to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name.” Revelation 13:16-17 (NLT)

The Antichrist will have unprecedented control over the world’s financial transactions. He will have so much power that he will be able to determine on a case-by-case basis which individuals will be allowed to buy or sell anything.

Unprecedented Destruction
In his insatiable quest for personal glory, the Antichrist will cause an unprecedented amount of destruction.
“He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause a shocking amount of destruction and succeed in everything he does.” Daniel 8:24 (NLT)

Abomination of Desolation
Jesus prophesied of a time of great tribulation, such as the world had never seen, nor ever will see again. He said this time period will begin with the desecration of the Jewish Temple:
“The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” Matthew 24:16 (NLT)

The Antichrist will fulfill this prophesy by standing in the Jewish Temple and proclaiming himself to be God. He will set up an image in the Holy Place and demand the world worship it.

“He will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Then as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the end that has been decreed is poured out on this defiler.” Daniel 9:27 (NLT)

“He will exalt himself and defy every god there is and tear down every object of adoration and worship. He will position himself in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (NLT)

Destroys All Religion But His Own
The Book of Revelation describes the revived Roman Empire as being dominated by a prostitute. This prostitute symbolizes idolatrous religion, and although Satan loves idolatry, in the end time he will only tolerate worship of himself. As a result, it will become state policy of the revived Roman Empire to destroy all religion with the exception of worship of the dragon.

“The scarlet beast and his ten horns – which represent ten kings who will reign with him – all hate the prostitute. They will strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her remains with fire.” Revelation 17:16 (NLT)

Wages War Against the Saints
As part of his campaign to create universal worship of himself, the Antichrist will set out to destroy those who are faithful to God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
“And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and overcome them.” Revelation 13:7 (NLT)

“He will destroy powerful leaders and devastate the holy people. He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off guard. Without warning he will destroy them. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power.” Daniel 8:24-25 (NLT)

Kills Two-Thirds of the Jewish People
In his rage against the Jewish people, the Antichrist will manage to kill two-thirds of the Jewish race.
“Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die, says the Lord. But a third will be left in the land.” Zechariah 13:8-9 (NLT)

Wages War Against Jesus Christ
In his arrogance, the Antichrist will lead a rebellion against Jesus Christ, and gather the world’s armies to wage battle against the Lord and his heavenly armies.
“He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle.” Daniel 8:25 (NLT)

“And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. These miracle-working demons caused all the rulers of the world to gather for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:13-14 (NLT)

His Ultimate Destruction
Despite his worldly success, the reign of the Antichrist will be relatively brief – no more than seven years. Ultimately, he will be held accountable for his actions, and he will face the wrath of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Camps at Armageddon
While gathering the armies of the world to Jerusalem to wage battle against the Lord, the Antichrist will set up his camp and gather his armies in a place called Armageddon, the modern day city of Megiddo, Israel.
“He will halt between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents there, but while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him.” Daniel 11:45 (NLT)

“And they gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place called Armageddon in Hebrew.” Revelation 16:16 (NLT)

Destroyed Forever
Despite his arrogant belief that he can defeat God, the ultimate fate of the Antichrist was determined long ago. He will be completely destroyed in a rout of epic proportions.
“But then the court will pass judgment, and all his power will be taken away and completely destroyed.” Daniel 7:26 (NLT)

Lake of Fire
As a result of his defeat, the Antichrist will be cast into the lake of fire (traditionally known as “Hell”) where he will be tormented day and night for all of eternity. His kingdom will meet the same fate, and be replaced by the Lord’s Millennial Kingdom which will bring long-sought peace on earth.
“Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.” Revelation 19:20 (NLT)

Jesus offered the world by Satan…
In studying the prophecies of the Antichrist, we would be wise to refer to the Book of Matthew, where Jesus is tempted in the desert prior to his ministry. Here, we get a firsthand view of the deal brokered between the Antichrist and Satan:
“Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will only kneel down and worship me.’ ‘Get out of here, Satan,’ Jesus told him. ‘For the scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.’ Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.” Matthew 4:8-11 (NLT)

Because He is faithful and true, Jesus turned down the Devil’s offer to rule the kingdoms of the world. However, at some point in the future, a man will arise who will accept this deal with the Devil. He will sell his soul for a brief and destructive career as the most powerful dictator in human history. He will hold absolute power, and he will be the personification of all evil. But his destruction is certain. He challenges the Prince of Peace, and Jesus wins.

A Thief in the Night

2014-11-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

(Written by Terry James, Rapture Ready.com)
No scriptural proof-text in God’s Word more clearly points to the first of the two phases of Jesus Christ’s second coming than does the following: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2).

We who hold to the pre-tribulation rapture viewpoint are often accused of being deceivers. We are condemned by our detractors as leading astray Christians alive now–if they live to see it-- who will be required to endure the tribulation, thus to wash their robes clean in preparation for inheriting God’s Kingdom. We are castigated for foisting upon innocent, gullible believers a “secret rapture” that will somehow lead these Christians to take the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16-18).

I’m not precisely sure of their “reasoning,” but I think they claim this because they are convinced that the ones who fall for the rapture viewpoint won’t be able to recognize Antichrist when he comes to power. We, who teach the pre-tribulation rapture, so the accusation goes, would have falsely led these people to think the Church would not be here when Antichrist is on the world scene.

Almost all who are antagonistic to the pre-tribulation rapture doctrine teach that the “elect” will have to endure part or all of the seven-year tribulation era. Those who hold to a post-tribulation rapture, or a no-rapture position, believe that Christ will come back at the end of the tribulation, at Armageddon. They hold to the notion that that is His only return in the second coming. There are other views of the second coming that have Christ returning when the earth is perfected and made ready, but we won’t go there in this essay.

Let us look at only the pre-tribulation rapture and the post-tribulation rapture positions for the purpose of exploring what is meant by the “thief in the night” references in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10.

These two viewpoints–the pre-tribulation, and the post-tribulation--offer the greatest contrast to examine in consideration of the second advent of Jesus Christ, within the overall belief that rapture will, according to Bible prophecy, happen before Christ’s foot actually touches down on Planet Earth.

The pre-tribulation view of rapture says that Christ’s second coming is in two phases, separated by at least seven years. The post-tribulation rapture view says that the rapture and Christ’s coming back to the Mount of Olives will occur almost simultaneously–certainly with no more than a matter of days separating the two events. The post-tribulation position says there is no “secret” rapture. Christ’s coming again will be fully seen in the heavens by all, including Christians who will be watching for Him to break through the darkness of that hour.

We agree that the rapture of the Church (all born-again believers in Jesus Christ for salvation since the Church Age began at Pentecost will be anything but a “secret”. The world will instantly go into cataclysmic chaos at the moment that stunning event takes place. The imagination is hard-pressed to fathom the ramifications of what will happen when millions suddenly vanish. Every child below the age of accountability will be gone in that mind-boggling instant of time. All babies (including those in the wombs of their mothers) will be instantly in the presence of Christ in the clouds of glory. Every corpse of every dead Christian will be raised to join with his or her soul to meet Christ in the air in that twinkle of time.

The rapture will be mystifying, and to some an inexplicable phenomenon, but it will not be a secret. It will happen before the eyes of a stupefied planet of left-behind earth-dwellers. This declaration that Jesus will call His Church to be with Him seems audacious to many. But, it didn’t seem so to the Apostle Paul. He was quite confident–even adamant—in his prophecy concerning the “mystery” he had been given by the Holy Spirit to instruct all believers down through the Age of Grace (Church Age).

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52).

He explains what will take place next, in that stupendous fraction of a second: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15-17).

Jesus himself told of this “mystery” Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15:51. The Lord explains what happens after believers –both the bodies of the dead and those who are living-- are caught up in the air to be with Him: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (Jn. 14:1-3).

So, the rapture will take place. Believers and the bodies of those who died during the Church Age will be “caught up” in one single moment of time. “ALL,” not “some,” will go instantly to be with Jesus, who will then take them into heaven, where He has been preparing their dwelling places since He ascended from the Mount of Olives.

Again, the pre-tribulation position on this joyous event is that it is imminent (could happen at any moment), and will happen before the tribulation period begins. The post-tribulation position says that it happens at the end of the most terrible time in human history, just as Jesus Christ is returning from heaven at Armageddon.

The pre-tribulation view holds that it will occur at an unknown time. It will be a stunning, sudden, and unannounced-to-the-world-at-large break-in upon business as usual on Planet Earth. The post-tribulation proclaims that it will occur following all of the horrors of the judgments outlined in Revelation.

The pre-tribulation view says that the world at large (left-behind earth-dwellers) won’t see it coming. The rapture will cause all left on earth to wonder what has happened. The post-tribulation view says that all eyes will behold Christ’s coming again to a hellish planet and the living and dead saints will then be gathered to Christ.

The defining thing to consider in thinking on the two diametrically different views of the rapture and second coming is wrapped up in the term “thief in the night”. The Apostle Peter again uses this mysterious term, first used by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:2: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10).

Peter is saying here that the day of the Lord–that time when God and His Christ, His Son, takes over this fallen planet—will begin like a thief in the night. It will be a sudden, catastrophic break-in upon a world doing business as usual. (Read Luke 17:26-29 to understand how things will be going along as usual when Christ comes back.)

This description hardly fits the post-tribulation view, or any other view that says Christ will rapture His Church during a time of unprecedented trouble (Jer. 30:7; Matt. 24:21). This indicates that it will be a total surprise, because a thief in the night doesn’t announce his coming with great, cataclysmic fanfare. The break-in is swift, stealthy–a totally unexpected event.

Peter foretells in these passages that the “day of the Lord” will then run its course, until the remaking of the heavens and the earth. The rapture will begin this “day of the Lord,” which will then run at least 1,007 years.

This is the first phase of Christ’s second coming. The rapture occurs like a “thief in the night”. The Second Advent when Jesus’ foot touches down on the Mount of Olives is the second phase of His second coming.

There are those who say with vehemence that it is blasphemous to equate Christ’s coming again as being like the break-in of a thief in the night. How dare we liken their Lord to a “thief”!
Really? Here’s what Jesus, the Creator of all things, said about this matter:

“But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:43-44).

Looks like a pretty good case for the Lord’s sudden intervention into the nefarious affairs of this increasingly wicked world, does it not? That thief-in-the-night moment could happen, literally, at any moment. Certainly, signals of the tribulation are beginning to come to pass.

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Lk. 21:28).

God's Purpose for Israel

2014-10-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

(Written by Dr. Thomas Ice)
Purging Out the Rebel
One of the major divine purposes for the Tribulation in relation to Israel is the conversion of the Jewish remnant to faith in Jesus as their Messiah. This will take place throughout the Tribulation, but by the end of the seven-year period the entire number of the elect remnant will become converted to Jesus. That number is likely a third of the Jewish people as noted in Zechariah 13:9:

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
As part of the process of bringing the Jewish remnant to faith, Zechariah 13:8 speaks of a purging out of the non-elect Jewish element from the nation: “‘And it will come about in all the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘that two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it.’” The Old Testament prophets speak frequently of the purging out of the Jewish non-elect during the Tribulation.

Ezekiel 20:33-38 is a major passage that speaks of a Jewish regathering to their ancient land, which must take place before the Tribulation, in preparation for the purging of the non-elect Israelites called in this passage “the rebels” (Ezekiel 20:38).
“‘As I live,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face. As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,’ declares the Lord GOD. ‘And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant; and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me’” (Ezekiel 20:33-38a).
The phrase “to pass under the rod” is one of evaluation and separation. The purging process will result in removal of the rebel, leaving the believing remnant, who will then be brought “into the bond of the covenant” (Ezekiel 20:37).

In a similar vein, two chapters later, Ezekiel receives another revelation about a future regathering of national Israel (Ezekiel 22:17-22). This time, the Lord is “going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 22:19). Like the metallurgist, the Lord will use the fire of the Tribulation to purge out the unfaithful. The Lord is going to “gather you [Israel] and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it” (Ezekiel 22:21). In this passage, “My wrath” depicts the time of the Tribulation. It also follows here that the nation must be regathered before that event can take place. The outcome of this event will be that the nation “will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath on you” (Ezekiel 22:22). Israel is back in the land, awaiting the purging fire of the Tribulation that will remove the non-elect and reveal the remnant.

Again we read of “the time of Jacob’s trouble” in Jeremiah 30:7. It is said to compare to the sorrows that one faces in childbirth (Jeremiah 30:6), “but he will be saved from it” (Jeremiah 30:7, 11). The remnant will be saved through this time of trouble, which is clearly the Tribulation. The Lord will chasten the nation of Israel during this time: “Only I will not destroy you completely.
But I will chasten you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished”. (Jeremiah 30:11) This chastisement will result in Israel’s conversion: “And you shall be My people, And I will be your God” (Jeremiah 30:22). Jeremiah says that these things will occur “in the latter days” (Jeremiah 30:24)

The prophecies of Daniel 12 are set within the time frame of the Tribulation (Daniel 12:1). “Many will be purged, purified and refined; but the wicked will act wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand” (Daniel 12:10). We see in this passage the continued theme of purging out the non-elect Jews during the Tribulation but we also see the rescue or salvation of the elect. These events are said to occur during “the end time” (Daniel 12:9).
A number of other passages speak of the need to refine the Jewish people, often in association with the city of Jerusalem (Isaiah 1:22, 25; 48:10; Jeremiah 6:27-30; 9:7; Malachi 3:2-3). Arnold Fruchtenbaum tells us, “As a purified, believing nation, they will then turn to the Lord. Here again he speaks of worldwide regathering in unbelief in preparation for a specific future judgment, but the purpose of the judgment is to bring them to national repentance.”

The Condition for the Second Coming
Many Christians are surprised to learn that the Second Coming will be a rescue event. Jesus will return to planet Earth in order to rescue the believing Jewish remnant that is on the verge of being destroyed during the Campaign of Armageddon. I think this is what Paul speaks of in Romans 10 when he tell us, “‘Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:13-14). In other words, the Jewish people are going to have to be believers in Jesus as their Messiah in order to be rescued by Him at the Second Advent. This is exactly what will happen.

The Old and New Testaments teach that before Christ can return to earth for His millennial kingdom, the nation of Israel must be converted to Jesus as Messiah and call on Him to save them. This is taught throughout the Bible (Leviticus 26:40-42; Jeremiah 3:11-18; Hosea 5:15; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 23:37-39; Acts 3:19-21).

Hosea 5:15 tells us, “I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.” “Until” tells us that the nation will one day turn to the Lord, as does the following context. Jesus Himself spoke an important “until” to the nation in Matthew 23:39 when He said, “For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” The Apostle Peter tells the Jewish nation that it will not see Jesus again until its people: “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time” (Acts 3:19- 21).

The National Conversion of Israel
The Bible teaches that one day the nation of Israel will return to the Lord their God. This will occur by the end of the Tribulation and is the purpose for the time of Jacob’s trouble. Many passages teach the future conversion of the Jews to Jesus as their Messiah (Psalm 79:1-13; 80:1-19; Isaiah 53:1-9; 59:20-21; 61:8-9; 64:1-12; Jeremiah 30:3-24; 31:31-40; 32:37-40; 50:4-5; Ezekiel 11:19-20; 16:60-63; 34:25-26; 36:24-32; 37:21-28; Hosea 6:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Zechariah 9:11; 12:10-13:9; Romans 11:25-27). Hosea 6:1-2 is one of the most interesting passages on the future conversion of the nation of Israel: “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will rise us up on the third day that we may live before Him.”

Is it time for the Third Temple?

2014-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

(Written by Thomas Ice)
The current situation in Israel is one of constant tension and turmoil. Yet in the midst of Arab aggression and opposition, it appears that Jewish interest in rebuilding their Temple continues to grow. In the last few months there have been a number of events that have taken place, lifting up the interest level of the Temple movement in Israel among Jews. One of the more interesting developments has been the reestablishment of the Sanhedrin after 1600 years of absence.

The Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was a council of 71 rabbis that governed Israel under Roman rule during the time of Christ near the Temple and continued to function outside of Jerusalem (primarily in Tiberias) until around A.D. 400. The reinstitution of the Sanhedrin is seen as a harbinger for the rebuilding of the Temple and the coming of Messiah. Orthodox Jews believe that a body like the Sanhedrin is needed today to oversee the rebuilding of the Temple and to identify Messiah should he appear on the scene.

The body met for the first time in October 2004 in Tiberias (the place where they last gathered) but now meet monthly in Jerusalem in order to issue rulings on matters related to Israeli Judaism. Their goal is to eventually become the governing body for the modern nation of Israel, which would replace their current social democracy. Orthodox sects are known for following their specific leaders as opposed to valuing unity between themselves. This is why the founding of the Sanhedrin is viewed by many within the Orthodox community as miraculous that causes them to believe that great things are on the horizon for the Jewish people of Israel.

It is important to note that as a result of the June 2005 meeting of the Sanhedrin, they have issued a call for specific plans to rebuild the Temple. "The Israeli rabbinical council involved with re-establishing the Sanhedrin, is calling upon all groups involved in Temple Mount research to prepare detailed architectural plans for the reconstruction of the Jewish Holy Temple." This demonstrates that increasingly the new Sanhedrin believes that it is taking steps to prepare the modern state of Israel for a new Temple and the coming of Messiah. These stage-setting steps are things that are in concert with the end time events that will take place during a future era known as the tribulation.

In order to specifically carry out the Sanhedrin's call to prepare architectural plans for rebuilding the Temple, "the group will establish a forum of architects and engineers to begin plans for rebuilding the Temple- a move fraught with religious and political volatility." The Sanhedrin is also " calling on the Jewish people to contribute toward the acquisition of materials for the purpose of rebuilding the Temple- including the gathering and preparation of prefabricated, disassembled portions to be stored and ready for rapid assembly, ' in the manner of King David.' ".

Ready to Rebuild
In 1992 Randall Price and I wrote a book about current efforts in Israel to rebuild Israel's Third Temple called Ready to Rebuild. Frankly, this book was the first in the American Evangelical world to introduce many to the growing Temple movement in Israel. Now, 13 years later, there are even more organizations and Israeli Jews working toward this goal. I recall during a trip to Israel a few years ago our visit to the Temple Institute in West Jerusalem. (This is the group of orthodox Jews who have already reconstructed all of the implements that will be needed for the Third Temple.) The young lady who led our tour of their Institute was questioned by our group as to whether they really believed that a new Temple would actually be built upon the Temple Mount where the Arab Dome of the Rock now stands. She stated very clearly and repeatedly that they were 100% sure that a Jewish Temple would one day be reconstructed upon that Mount. When ask how she thought this would happen, she said that she had no idea but knew that the Lord would bring it to pass in order for the end of days to unfold.

The main problem facing those who would rebuild the Temple is political in nature. Israel recaptured the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in the Six-Day War (1967) and then Moshe Diane returned day-to-day control of the Temple Mount to the Muslims. Until Israel comes to the point where they are willing to exercise political control over the Temple Mount, they will not be able to restore the Temple. Increasingly, there are new organizations that arise among the orthodox Jews seeking to regain hegemony over their most holy place.

The point that needs to be made is that Israeli Jews are increasingly interested in rebuilding their Temple. It appears that the more the Islamic militants increase their terrorist pressure upon the Jewish nation, the more religious Jews step up their efforts to focus upon rebuilding the Third Temple. In fact, on June 6, 2005, when Israel was celebrating the 38th anniversary of Jerusalem' s liberation a number of Jews were allowed to go upon the Temple Mount. This resulted in about 300 Palestinians throwing stones at the Jews. "They came from Al Aqsa, took off their belts, and ran through the Jewish Israeli group to evict them while trying to throw stones," noted a Jewish police spokesman.

Conclusion
In spite of contemporary turmoil, Israel' s Third Temple will one day be rebuild as Dr. Price and I demonstrated in Ready To Rebuild from Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 11:1-2; 13:14- 15. Few observers of world events ever thought Israel would become a nation again, but it did occur in 1948. Yet, there will be a rebuilt temple by the middle of the seven-year tribulation in order to facilitate the fulfilment of Bible prophecy.

I have often taught that the long-awaited permission for the Jews to rebuild their Temple will likely be part of the covenant between Antichrist and Israel that starts the seven-year tribulation after the rapture. It appears to me that the Temple will be rebuilt and supervised supernaturally by the two witnesses during the first half of the tribulation. Since one of the two witnesses will most likely be Elijah, this would mean that the ministry of Elijah should tell us more about the ministry of the two witnesses. Malachi 4:4-5 says, "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse." Perhaps the ministry of Elijah, where he will help the Jewish people "get right with God," before the return of the Lord will involve their Third Temple, until commandeered by Antichrist.

Regardless of how the Lord works out the details, His plan will be brought to pass. In the meantime, many of the current events now taking place in and around Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are setting the stage for what will be a string of events that will usher in the second coming of Christ. Meanwhile, the church is looking for the rapture, where Christ will take us in an instance to be with Himself for all eternity.

The Wars of the End Times (Part 2)

2014-09-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

(Written by Dr. David R. Reagan)
6. The War against the Jews and the Saints - Revelation 12

Satan hates the Jews with a passion for several reasons:
1. They are the Chosen People of God.
2. God used them to provide the Scriptures to the world.
3. It was through them that the Messiah came.
4. God has promised that He will bring a great remnant of them to faith in His Son at the end of the Tribulation.
There is going to be another holocaust during the latter half of the Tribulation. When Satan is cast down to earth, he will possess the Antichrist (Revelation 13:2) and inspire him to annihilate all the Jews. This is the reason that Jesus referred to the last half of the Tribulation as "the great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21) - not because this half will be worse than the first half, but because the wrath of Satan will be focused on the Jews.

Some of the Jews of Israel will flee to a place in the "wilderness" where they will be supernaturally protected by God (Revelation 12:13-14). Many believe this hiding place will be the ancient city of Petra, located inside a box canyon in modern Jordan. There is good reason for this assumption because Daniel 11:41 says the Antichrist will be prevented from conquering Jordan when it is part of an end time rebellion.

But Zechariah 13:8 indicates that two-thirds of the Jewish people will be killed by the Antichrist during this time, and Revelation 12:17 says the Antichrist will also war against the "offspring" of Israel - namely, those "who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." I believe this is a reference to all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour during the Tribulation, both Jews and Gentiles.

It is no wonder that Revelation 7:9-14 pictures a great multitude of martyrs in Heaven, so great that it cannot be counted. They are identified as "the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14).

So the Antichrist will be very successful in his war against the Jews and the Saints, but he will fail in his ultimate goal of annihilating all the Jews. For we are told repeatedly throughout the Scriptures that a great remnant of the Jews will live to the end of the Tribulation at which time they will receive Yeshua as their Messiah. (See: Isaiah 10:20-23; Zechariah 12:10; Romans 9:27-28; and Romans 11:25-26.)

7. The Middle East Campaign of the Antichrist - Daniel 11
Daniel 11:40-45 describes a military campaign of the Antichrist in the Middle East that occurs at the end of the Tribulation.

These verses and related verses in Revelation could very well indicate that when the Antichrist becomes insanely obsessed with destroying the Jews and the Saints, the nations of the world will see an opportunity to rebel against him. The nations in the Middle East will be led by the "king of the North" (most likely Syria) and the "king of the South" (Egypt). The Antichrist responds by invading "the Beautiful Land" and subduing all the area except Jordan.

But just as he seems to be completely victorious, he hears "rumours from the East and from the North" that deeply disturb him. He retreats with his armies to the area "between the seas" where "he will come to his end." The geographical description here of a location between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee corresponds to the Valley of Armageddon.

I believe the rumours that frighten him are, in part, the news that "the kings from the East" (Revelation 16:12) who are bringing huge armies from Asia have arrived at the Euphrates River and are ready to cross into Israel to challenge him. The rumours from the North could relate to a reconstituted rebellious army from China/Russia.

8. The Battle of Armageddon - Joel 3, Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19

It appears that just as the armies from the East and the North start arriving in the Valley of Armageddon to challenge the Antichrist, the Lord breaks from the heavens, returns to the Mount of Olives, speaks a supernatural word, and all the armies are instantly destroyed.

In other words, there really is no such thing as the "Battle of Armageddon." The armies are assembled to do battle, but the Lord annihilates all of them in a microsecond "with the breath of His mouth" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

Joel 3:16 says the Lord will "roar from Zion" and "utter His voice from Jerusalem." Isaiah 10:16 says the result will be "a wasting disease." Zechariah 14:12 says it will be a plague that will cause the flesh of the soldiers "to rot while they stand on their feet." Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. It will be like the explosion of a neutron bomb.

9. The Second Battle of Gog & Magog - Revelation 20
Mercifully and joyfully, the "battle" of Armageddon will be followed by one thousand years of peace as the reign of Jesus from Jerusalem results in the world being filled with righteousness and justice (Isaiah 11:4-5,9). Swords will be beat into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks, and "nation will not lift up sword against nation..." (Isaiah 2:4). All the money that is spent today on armaments will be spent on agricultural implements. The world will be flooded with agricultural abundance (Amos 9:13). There will be no homeless or hungry people. Every man will have his own vineyard and orchard (Micah 4:4).

Satan will be bound (Revelation 20:1-3). Sin and crime will be greatly reduced. But there will be seething rebellion in the hearts of many, if not most, that are born during that time.

This is hard for most people to understand. Why would there be resentment in the hearts of people in the midst of such a perfect reign of Jesus?

The initial population of the Millennium will be all those, both Jew and Gentile, who live to the end of the Tribulation and who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. All others will be consigned to death when the Lord returns. So, the Millennium will begin with only believers. But they will begin to propagate, and since death will be curtailed and life spans will be greatly extended (Isaiah 65:20), the population of the world will grow exponentially.

Those born during this time will still have the old sin nature. They will desire all the things of the flesh - booze, drugs, gambling, and promiscuous sex. But they will see that any violation of the Law of God results in swift and certain justice. Immediate arrest will be followed by an immediate trial and an immediate judgment. There will be no appeal, for all judges will be Saints in glorified bodies who will make perfect decisions. So, the average person in the flesh will say, "I love you Jesus!" but he or she will do so with clinched teeth.

The Bible states repeatedly that Jesus will rule with "a rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9 and Revelation 2:26-27). And despite the fact that His reign will produce righteousness, fairness, and perfect justice (Isaiah 11:4-5), most of those living in the flesh will deeply resent the fact that they cannot freely pursue their worldly lusts.

It is no wonder that when Satan is released at the end of the Lord's millennial reign (Revelation 20:7), the majority of those in the flesh will unite in one last rebellion against God that is pictured in Revelation 20:7-9. Led once again by Gog & Magog, this war is often confused with the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39. But the two are very different. The Ezekiel war pictures Russia coming against the nation of Israel with certain specified allies. In Revelation 20 Russia is portrayed as leading all the nations of the world against Jesus Christ.

History is going to end as it began. It started out with two people living in a perfect society, but deciding to rebel against their Creator. It ends with all of humanity living in a perfect society, and the majority making the same decision to rebel against God.

One of the many purposes of the Millennium is for God to prove that Mankind's inherent sin defect can be remedied only by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

The religion of Satan has always been Humanism - the belief in Man. This philosophy teaches that Man is inherently good and is capable of perfection through education and social justice. Humanists therefore believe that if society can be perfected by supplying each person with a guaranteed job and income, Mankind will be transformed.

But the Bible teaches that Mankind is fatally flawed with a sin nature that makes people naturally evil (Jeremiah 17:9). And the Bible teaches that the only solution to the problem is the transformation of the Holy Spirit that begins when a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.

God will prove this beyond doubt when He puts all of Mankind into a perfect society for one thousand years and Mankind responds in rebellion.

The Abolition of War
The Second War of Gog & Magog will be the final war of history. Following it, God will take the Redeemed off the earth and place them in the New Jerusalem He is now preparing. He will then consume the earth with fire to burn away the pollution of Satan's last revolt. Out of that fiery inferno will come new heavens and a new earth - this earth redeemed and perfected (2 Peter 3:10-13). He will then lower the Redeemed down to this earth inside the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-7), and He will come to earth to live in their presence eternally (Revelation 22:1-4).

Eternal peace is coming. War is going to be gone forever. This hope of Mankind will not be achieved by diplomats. It will be a gift of God through Jesus Christ who died to redeem Mankind and all the Cosmos.

The Wars of the End Times (Part 1)

2014-09-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

(Written by Dr David R Reagan)
How many and when will they happen?
Every time a war breaks out in the Middle East, I receive a flurry of phone calls and email messages asking if it could be the War of Armageddon. This question is prompted by the fact that most people are familiar with only one end time war - the one that has been popularized in movies and novels as the "Battle of Armageddon."

The concept comes from the book of Revelation where it says that armies will gather in the end times at a place "which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon" (Revelation 16:16). This term literally means the Mount of Megiddo and refers to the ancient fortress of Megiddo that controlled the Valley of Jezreel. In English the word was transliterated as Armageddon, and the term came to be applied to the Valley of Jezreel which lies in front of Har-Magedon, running diagonally across Israel from Haifa to the Jordan River.

Most people are surprised to discover that there is no reference in the book of Revelation, or any other place in the Bible to the "Valley of Armageddon," nor is there any reference to the "Battle of Armageddon" - but more about that later. People are even more surprised to learn that Bible prophecy reveals nine wars in the end times and that Armageddon relates to only one of these.

The Next Prophetic War
Most prophetic scholars have long believed that the next great end time war will be the War of Gog & Magog that is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. This, for example is the stated position of Joel Rosenberg in his popular book, Epicentre. This war will start when Russia invades Israel with certain specified allies, all of whom are Muslim nations today.

But I seriously doubt that the conflict described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the next war of end time Bible prophecy. There are two reasons why I feel this way.

First, there is a condition for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that has not been met. Three times in Ezekiel 38 - in verses 8, 11, and 14 - it states that the war described in that chapter will not occur until the people of Israel are living "securely" in "un-walled villages."

Israel is not living in security today. It is bombarded daily by missiles from Gaza, and it is constantly under the threat of missile attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon. There is also the ever present threat of terrorist attacks, a threat that has forced Israel to construct a 400 mile long wall down the centre of the country. In short, it is laughable today to even think of the Jewish people of Israel as living "securely" in "un-walled villages."

The second reason I doubt that the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the next end time war of Bible prophecy is because the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5-6 as the allies of Russia do not include a single Arab state with a border adjacent to Israel. The nations identified are Persia (Iran), Cush (most likely modern day Sudan), Put (Libya and possibly Algeria and Tunisia), and two regions that lie within modern day Turkey (Gomer and Bethtogarmah). There is no mention of the nations that share a common border with Israel - namely, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Gaza.

Why are the nations located next to Israel not mentioned as allies of Russia? I believe the best explanation of this mystery is the one supplied by Bill Salus in his book, Isralestine. He proposes that the next end time prophetic war will be the one described in Psalm 83, a war between Israel and its neighbours. He believes this war will produce the conditions that are necessary for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39, and I agree with that conclusion.

With that point clarified, let's now take an overview of the end time prophetic wars in their likely chronological sequence.

1. The War of Extermination - Psalm 83
The psalm states that the immediate neighbours of Israel will launch a war for the purpose of "wiping out Israel as a nation" (verse 4). The nations described as being a part of this nefarious effort are those with a common border with Israel today (verses 6-8). The rest of the psalm is a prayer for the victory of Israel (verses 9-18).

The outcome of the war is not stated, but we know from other scriptures that Israel will be victorious. For example, in Zechariah 12:6 we are told that in the end times Israel will be like "a fire pot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples..." Also, in Amos 9:15 we are told that once the Jews are re-established in their land, "they will not again be rooted out from their land."

Bill Salus believes this war will result in an overwhelming victory for Israel, resulting in great territorial expansion and enhanced national resources. It will also produce the security spoken of in Ezekiel 38.

2. The First War of Gog & Magog - Ezekiel 38 and 39
But the security provided by the Psalm 83 war will not last long. The Arab nations will turn to their natural ally, Russia, and cry out for help.

And the Russians will be very happy to respond, for they have always dreamed of taking the oil fields of the Middle East. They will, therefore, launch an invasion for the stated purpose of helping the Muslims destroy Israel, but their unstated agenda will be to use the Arab invitation as an excuse to expand their sovereignty over all the Middle East. This ulterior motive is described in Ezekiel 38:12 where it says the Russians will come "to capture spoil and to seize plunder."

The invading armies will be supernaturally destroyed by God "on the mountains of Israel" (Ezekiel 39:4). The Lord will accomplish this destruction through earthquakes, pestilence, hail storms, fire, brimstone, and battlefield confusion (Ezekiel 38:19- 22). Even the Jewish people will recognize that the victory belongs to the Lord, and many will open their hearts to the Lord (Ezekiel 38:23). In fact, this event could mark the occasion when the 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7:1-8 accept Yeshua as their Messiah and are sealed by the Lord for special service throughout the seven year period of the Tribulation.

The greatest mystery concerning this war is its timing. Most have placed it at the beginning of the Tribulation. Others delay its start to the middle of the Tribulation. Increasingly in recent years, the tendency has been to place it before the beginning of the Tribulation.

The best discussion of timing that has yet been written can be found in Ron Rhodes' book, Northern Storm Rising. He concludes that it is most likely to occur 3 1/2 years prior to the Tribulation. One of his most important reasons for this conclusion is that Ezekiel 39:9 says the Jews will spend seven years burning the weapons captured in the war, and the book of Revelation says they will be run out of the land in the middle of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:13-17). Since the middle of the Tribulation will occur 3 1/2 years into that seven year period, that means the only way the Jews could spend seven years burning the weapons is for the war to start at least 3 1/2 years before the Tribulation begins. (Note: The "burning of weapons" could refer to captured nuclear fuel.)

Does this mean the wars of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 must occur before the Rapture? Not at all. The Rapture could occur anytime before, during, or after these wars. Keep in mind that the Rapture is not what marks the beginning of the Tribulation. The Tribulation will begin when the Antichrist signs a security treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27). There could be a period of several years between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation.

3. The Conventional War of the Tribulation - Revelation 6
The book of Revelation states that a major world war will break out soon after the Tribulation begins. This war is described in Revelation 6.

Although the Antichrist will rise to world power in Europe through cunning, deception, and intrigue (Daniel 8:23), he will have to resort to military power to conquer the world. Asia, Africa, and South America have spent too long casting off the shackles of European colonialism for them to suddenly surrender their sovereignty peacefully to a new European dictator - regardless of how brilliant and charismatic he may be.

We are told in Revelation 13:7 that the Antichrist will ultimately achieve "authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation." This authority will be achieved through war. Revelation 6 records the outbreak of this world war. It results in the death of one-fourth of humanity, or 1.5 billion in today's terms (Revelation 6:8).

The War of Psalm 83 results in the destruction of the inner ring of Muslim states around Israel. The War of Ezekiel 38 and 39 produces the defeat of the immediate outer ring of Muslim states.

But the vast majority of all Muslims live outside the Middle East, the largest Muslim nations being Indonesia (201 million), India (144 million), Pakistan (140 million), and Bangladesh (115 million). These nations are the ones who are most likely to produce the strongest resistance to a Western dictator, and they will be destroyed either in this war or the one that follows it.
In other words, I believe God is going to use the Antichrist as His hammer of wrath to destroy Islam.
But many other nations in the world will also have to be subdued, and that leads us to the next war of the end times.

4. The Nuclear War of the Tribulation - Revelation 8 and 9
At some point, the book of Revelation indicates that the conventional war will morph into a nuclear holocaust, resulting in the deaths of another one-third of Mankind, or another 1.5 billion people (Revelation 9:15). This means that in the first two wars of the Tribulation, more than one half of humanity will die.

A hint that the conventional war will become a nuclear one is found in Revelation 8:7 where it states that the escalation of the war will result in one-third of the earth being burned up. Another hint is found in Revelation 16:2 - 11 where we are told that "loathsome and malignant" sores will afflict people at the end of the Tribulation, something that would be a natural consequence of radiation from the use of nuclear weapons.

It could very well be that this nuclear holocaust could be what Jesus had in mind when He stated that in the end times men will faint from fear over the expectation of the things coming upon the world, "for the powers of the heavens will be shaken" (Luke 21:26).
This war is portrayed in the book of Revelation in chapters 8 - 9 as a series of "Trumpet Judgments."

5. The War in the Heavens - Revelation 12
The next end time war is totally different in nature from all the rest. It is a supernatural one that will occur in the heavens in the middle of the Tribulation. It is most likely prompted by an attempt of Satan to once again take the throne of God.

Satan and his angels are opposed in this war by Michael and his angels. Michael is an archangel who is pictured in the Hebrew Scriptures as the commander-in-chief of the armies of God (Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1). Michael and his angels prevail in this war, and Satan is cast down to earth. His access to God's throne is cut off (Revelation 12:9-10).

When this happens, Satan realizes that his time is short because he knows Bible prophecy (Revelation 12:12). In his rage, Satan decides to destroy the Jewish people, and this decision leads to the next war. We will look at these events in the second part of WARS AT THE END TIMES.

Will God's Judgment come upon the USA?

2014-04-06T05:57:00.001-07:00

A possible Yellowstone volcano eruption in 2014 has some people pointing to how animals have been spotted fleeing the national park in recent days.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, it’s claimed that the recent Yellowstone earthquakes won’t trigger a volcano, but scientists have acknowledged that if a Yellowstone volcano were to erupt the resulting super-volcano could kill everyone in the United States:

“The Yellowstone volcano erupting could release enough magma and ash to bury whole cities underneath kilometres of destruction. The good news is that the super-volcano at Yellowstone isn’t in danger of exploding any time soon. The last time it occurred was before the dawn of civilization. While it’s believed stopping an eruption is impossible, researchers say they should be able to predict an eruption by monitoring the pressure of underground magma.”

The recent earthquakes only just made the news but the entire area has been rumbling for over a week. Charts from the USGS show that earthquakes higher than 3.0 magnitude have been occurring off and on for multiple days and all of them have been coming from the region of the Yellowstone magma chamber, which, according to ground-penetrating radar, extends as far west as the Oregon state line.

One website is even trying to make Yellowstone earthquake predictions, claiming they will increase in number and magnitude:

“The heavy earthquake activity along the West Coast of the United States, over the past few weeks, has now translated in the craton displacement that we were expecting. The earthquakes inside the magma chamber at Yellowstone, and the earthquakes now occurring at dormant volcanic chains along South / Central California, mean we can expect further activity in the near term to INCREASE. The increase in activity along the edge of the craton will continue into the near term future due to the overall Pacific displacement occurring internationally.”

In general, most academics agree that predicting earthquakes is difficult to impossible, although it’s possible to analyse areas of the world to determine where the most damage might occur some time down the road. Aftershocks can also be somewhat predicted by considering basic plate tectonics.

The good news is that scientists are monitoring the Yellowstone magma chamber and, last we checked, no one was overly concerned about the possibility of a Yellowstone volcano eruption. The bad news is that they admit that “once you get enough melt, you can start an eruption just like that.” What do you think about the conspiracy theories suggesting the USGS is trying to hide the bad news about the Yellowstone earthquakes?

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

2013-09-14T19:49:00.001-07:00

(Written by Pete Garcia)

As ominous as they are, mysterious, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse stand at our horizon as a foreboding reminder that Man’s time here on planet Earth has a shelf-life. To the skeptic, these riders are nothing more than symbolic sound bites. To your average unstudied Christian, these four riders represent a mysterious symbolism that can’t be known. The Preterist and Amillennialist see them as either historic or figurative leaders who have long since come and gone. But to those who hold to a Pre-Tribulation Rapture view, we recognize these riders as those who will be unleashed after the church have been caught up to heaven during the 70^th Week of Daniel.

Some believe these to be the same colored horses as those who appear in Zechariah’s vision. I believe Jack Kelley in GracethruFaith gives an excellent response to the one posed to him concerning this, so I won’t rehash it. I will say that if one places the Four Horsemen as outside the 70^th week of Daniel, then this chapter becomes extremely subjective to the audience who is reading it. The Revelation was given to John in signs and symbols, largely pulling from the Old Testament. There is a reason for this, particularly from chapters four onward.

The Seal Judgments make up the first series of judgments that God unleashes upon the earth during the seven-year period of time known as Daniel’s 70^th Week, or the time of Jacob’s Troubles. The Seal Judgments are not, man’s wrath as the Pre-Wrathers would have you believe. Let us let Scripture be the judge:

“And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it” (Revelation 5:1-3).

Seemingly, no one is able to initiate these judgments from even commencing. This means that man can in no way, initiate these judgments from beginning.

“So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and readthe scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to looseits seven seals” (Revelation 5:4-5).

Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the Root of David who is God come to earth in the flesh, prevailed (the triumph at the cross) to become eligible to open the Seals, initiating the final seven years of man’s time on the planet. Jesus was worthy because He was both man, and God. He was able to keep the righteousness of God, as a man and in so doing, qualified as our Kinsman Redeemer” (Leviticus 25:47-50; Ruth 4:1-20).

Rider on the White Horse (leukos-white)

“Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.”And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (Revelation 6:1-2).

Although we don’t know his name, we know that he will come from somewhere out of the revived Roman Empire…otherwise known today as the European Union. We know that at first he goes out to conquer, and does so with a bow that has no arrows. The rider on the white horse is often confused with that of Christ who also returns on a white horse…but Christ has a sword that proceeds out of His mouth (Revelation 19:11-16, Hebrews 4:12-13), not a bow.

Christ also wears many crowns (diadema), as the rider on the white horse wears the ‘stephanos’ crown. If the sword is representative of Christ’s merely speaking and reigning down destruction on His enemies, then what is the bow representative of? Daniel 7:8 and 11:36-39 speaks of this same man who “speaks pompous and blasphemous words.”

Daniel 8:25 states:

“Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means.”

Some try to align the rider on the white horse with “false religious leaders” but we’ve always had those who since the 1^st century, have come pretending to be “the Christ.” There were false prophets and false messiah’s even before John received the Revelation in 95AD, so to claim this as “false religious leaders” makes the timing of the Seal judgments both vague and unknowable.

The Rider on the Red Horse (pyrros-red)

“When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.”Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword” (Revelation 6:3-4).

The 20^th century has been the bloodiest on record, swallowing up more human life than the previous twenty centuries combined. As of today, there are 41 active conflicts currently ongoing. After the church is removed, and the Holy Spirit’s ministry of restraint is also removed (2 Thessalonians 2:7), the world will explode in a period of violence and chaos as nations deal with millions of people who have disappeared. Rioting, looting, and civil unrest will spark the need for governments to clamp down authoritatively.

The “great sword” could speak of Islam sweeping through the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, but will have limited impacts in Europe and America where resistance would be the greatest. In the West, the chaos generated by the Rapture will result in an “every man for himself” type of attitude, prompting people to kill to protect what is theirs on a grand scale.

Again, war has been ever-present with Man before and after Christ first coming to earth. What is referenced here is specific period that great violence would come upon the earth. And if the 20^th century (which has been the bloodiest to date) did not initiate it, then no other past period of time did either.

The Rider on the Black Horse (melas-black)

“He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine” (Revelation 6:5-6).

“And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:7-8).

The economies of the world are shuttering due to mismanagement and corruption from the previous century. Marxist-Socialist ideations in many parts of the world resulted in tens of millions of people dying due to starvation. Capitalist governments turned to fiat currencies and ran up huge debts by borrowing money they can’t pay back, loaning money they don’t have, and printing money out of thin air.

The first trembler we felt was back in September 2001, but the attacks of 9/11 masked the true cause of our economic woes. Since then, 2008 was the death rattle that scared investors, bankers, and everyone else alike as we began to realize how fragile our economy really is. The financial ramifications of the Rapture of the church on the world left behind will be disastrous. The Rapture will impact some countries more than others, but will affect every other nation financially since most are dependent on the US dollar in some form or fashion. This will cause the world to clamor for a solution to the economic crisis the world finds itself in. The Antichrist will use this as a way to cement total control over the entire planet.

The Rider on the Pale Horse (chloros- green)

“When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth” (Revelation 6:7-8).

Pandemics have risen, along with the population of the planet, in this past century. Many diseases once thought extinct are coming back with a vengeance.

New ones like the variations of the Pig and Bird flu’s are morphing from spreading by touch, to airborne transmission. The Corona virus (MERS) is one the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are particularly worried about. Not to mention the golden oldies of AIDS, Hemorrhagic Fever, Bubonic Plague, West Nile, and SARS. And thanks in part to a half century of using antibiotics, disinfectants, etc., we have managed to create super-strains of previously less serious viruses. And as the world is becoming more urban, population centers are becoming more densely populated, increasing the likelihood of future pandemics that will make the 1918 Spanish Flu seem like a measles outbreak.

Assessment

The Parliament of the EU currently seats 766 Members of European Parliament (MEP) from each of the 28 nations who either have member status or observer status. I think at a certain point, Turkey could be allowed into the EU, whether as just on observer status, or as a full member. It was only just recently that Israel and Turkey parted ways diplomatically and militarily due to Tayyip Erdogan’s radicalized ideas of moving the country from a secular Muslim government to something more akin to the Muslim Brotherhood. Remember, Turkey was part of the eastern leg of the Roman Empire (Byzantine) for almost a thousand years. With the other Middle East heavy weights bogged down with their own issues; Egypt and Iraq on the cusp of a civil war, Syria in tatters awaiting impending destruction, and Iran awaiting its rendezvous with Israel, Turkey could be the bridge that the EU uses to mend the Mediterranean Union. The prophetic wars of Psalm 83, Isaiah 17 & 19, Ezekiel 38-39, and Revelation 19 still remain on the horizon. With the exception of Armageddon, it is unclear when the rest of these events take place. Something we may often overlook as a lesson in the obvious is that all these wars are in the Middle East. The Revived Roman Empire encompasses not just Europe, but the Mediterranean, which borders the Middle East. Rome, Babylon, Jerusalem, and the cities mentioned are either in the Mediterranean or the Middle East. Where is the world’s perspective almost increasingly being focused on these days thanks to the war on terror, oil, Israel/Palestinian conflict, Iran, and Al Qaeda?

This may have absolutely nothing to do with the context of the Seal Judgments, but considering the Mediterranean Union, the Middle East, and the central focus on that part of the world, and considering the colors of the horses that these riders sweep across the planet with, do you notice anything familiar?

Does A Pale Horse Ride In Egypt?

2013-07-09T22:42:00.001-07:00

(Written by Mike Taylor)
Prophecies concerning Egypt in these last days right out of our headlines: “The burden against Egypt. Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt; the idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. "I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; everyone will fight against his brother, and everyone against his neighbour, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, and they will consult the idols and the charmers, the mediums and the sorcerers. And the Egyptians I will give into the hand of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," says the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
Isaiah 19:1-2.

We see calamity and death arising out of

Egypt

, playing on our news broadcast every night. The scenes are most troubling, as civil unrest is developing between groups loyal to the President of

Egypt

(or Pharaoh) Hosni Mubarak. And it is spreading. How will this play out? People are beginning to notice a similarity between what is happening and this prophecy that Isaiah spoke of in his days in chapter 19. As God brought judgment on Egypt for their idolatry in ancient times, Isaiah speaks of another time when judgment will be brought down on

Egypt

In ancient times, there was no land known to man, that was

Egypt

in their idolatry and filthy practices. They revered and worshiped everything that was a creature instead of the creator. They worshiped cats, dogs, crocodiles, apes, frogs, and celestial objects, such as the moon and the sun. Everything abominable was venerated by them. They were so idolatrous in their lifestyle that God brought them to their knees, as a nation.

The Lord moved in a swift cloud to humble one of the greatest powers in ancient times that lay to the south of

Israel

. Israel had different phases of relationships with

Egypt

. In one way, they were an aggressor nation, as many wars were fought against invaders from

Egypt

. In many instances, Egypt had been the enemy of Israel, and at times Egypt had been a refuge for Israel during the time of their brother Joseph that called his family of Jacob his father, to live in

Egypt

and escape the famine that came upon all the land. Sometimes Egypt offered a tempting but ungodly alliance to

Israel

. In this chapter, the LORD presents both a prophecy against

Egypt

. I did a search online of the plagues of

Egypt

that were brought up the people because of their idolatry. The story has a definite lesson as God passed judgment on the people and their worship of false gods that were not gods.

“During the time of the Exodus, when God brought the Israelites out of

Egypt

, God brought down all their idols that they worshiped as is mentioned in the opening verses of this chapter. At the time of the Exodus, when the Pharaoh of Egypt would not release the children of Israel from their captivity, the LORD also made the idols of

Egypt

to totter at His presence. He directed each of the plagues against a particular idol of

Egypt

. He knocked over the god Khnum, the guardian of the Nile, the god Hapi, the spirit of the Nile, and the god Osiris (who had the Nile as his bloodstream), when the waters were turned to blood. He knocked over the goddess Heqt, the frog-goddess of fertility, with the plague of frogs. He knocked over the goddess Hathor, a cow-like mother goddess, with the plague on livestock. He knocked over the god Imhotep, the god of medicine, with the plague of boils. He knocked over the god Nut, the sky goddess, with the plague of hail. He knocked over the whole system of Egyptian worship of their gods with loathsome lice and swarms of insects. He knocked over the god Seth, thought to be the protector of crops, with the plague of locusts. He knocked over the god Ra, thought to be the sun god, with the plague of darkness. He knocked over Osiris, the Egyptian god thought to be the giver of life, and the supposed deity of Pharaoh himself, with the plague against the firstborn. God made all the idols of

Egypt

to totter at His presence before, and Isaiah tells us He will do it again!” (David Guzik's Commentaries on the Bible).

Verse two speaks of a time of civil war coming upon the land of Egypt. You read this passage and it jumps out at you like the headlines of our newspapers.

Egypt

is in the midst of being torn apart. Brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor is being fought in the streets because of frustration over the political climate that prevails in

Egypt

. Looking at scripture, this is an indirect result prepared by God for a godless society that is overcome with a religion of false gods, and praying to the moon god, Allah. Their gods will be brought low, as it was in ancient times, so it will be done today in the last gasps of mankind’s rule on this earth.

19:3 of Isaiah, “And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.”

Egypt

was known for their wise men and their counsels as was noted in 1 Kings 4:30, but they were not able to cope with the coming judgment of the Lord.

Egypt

was devastated with plague after plague that destroyed their economy and their way of life.

We see what is going on right now in

Egypt

. They look for counsel from the United Nations, the

United States

, and from factions within their godless regime. Still unrest and bloodshed continues to mount and it may only get worse, before it gets any better. Tourism was a bulk of their economy. Their ancient treasures that included King Tut’s treasures and other Egyptian pharaohs were what drew many tourists to the country and spend money in their local economy. Now their museums have been ransacked, set on fire, or destroyed. Tourism has all but ceased in the land of the Pharaohs and any foreigner is fleeing for their lives and their heads.

19:4 of Isaiah “And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.”

Who shall eventually win to rule over the land? Who or what will fill the void left by the departing president of

Egypt

? President Mubarak was no saint when it came to ruling his people he reigned over, but he may turn out to be the lesser of two evils when this finally shakes out. The Muslin Brotherhood is a terrorist group that has been banned from politics for decades in Egypt, now it is reported that they are fomenting the unrest and violence, along with Hamas from Gaza to topple the government and shape it into their vision of a land ruled by Shariah Law. By giving the people over to an oppressive regime change, this will be God’s hand in judgment against these people.

Isaiah 19:5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

19:6 And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.

19:7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.

19:8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish.

We are reminded of the modern technology that brought wealth into their land, and to the world….The Suez Canal. If that lane of maritime traffic is destroyed, or blocked, then their economy and that of the rest of the world will take a terrible economic blow and its dependence on one commodity…OIL!! How will the Nile be affected? God only knows; as we watch the events unfold. Will it be cursed, as it was in the days of Moses and the Exodus? Industries in

Egypt

will be struck if it is so:

19:9 Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

19:10 And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

This is judgment on the source of their sustaining life, the river Nile. Agriculture, fishing, and industrial factories that require water will be affected along the banks of the Nile. Let’s not fail to mention the interruption of raw materials for any type of production if the Suez Canal is blocked, or destroyed. The affliction of the Nile and the Suez Canal would affect every portion of their lives, as it was in the ancient days, so it would be in these modern times. We will keep watch as this story unfolds concerning this part of scripture.

19:11 Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

19:12 Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the LORD of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

Here, the LORD reminds us of what true wisdom is. It is knowing what the LORD of hosts has purposed. True wisdom isn't knowing all kind of facts and plans and strategies. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10).

19:13 The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.

19:14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

Egypt in its vain glory will consult with fools of the political arena, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, anti-Mubarak forces, and international bodies such as the United Nations and their proxies, even the

United States

. Instead of seeking the wisdom of the Lord, they seek after their own wisdom, to their own destruction. They seek Allah, and Allah will be silent. This false god will be silent, as he does not speak, hear or see and will be proven to be false. I believe this is just the beginning of the unrest that will envelop the entire Middle East. We have seen it in Tunisia, spreading now to Egypt, then onto Jordan, Syria, even into Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. Israel is understandably worried, as the treaties that have been honored that has kept the peace between the Arab leader, Egypt and

Israel

is in jeopardy of being voided. The smell of war is in the nostrils of the Arabs that hate

Israel

and its being orchestrated by an unseen Divine Hand that is bringing followers of Allah ripe to righteous judgment.

We have had lessons concerning the coming war prophesied in Psalm 83. This may well be the shaping of that coalition that surrounds the tiny state of Israel that will embolden this Arab confederacy to strike once again this hated half brother and cousin of theirs, of the land of their forefathers,

Israel

. They will attempt to wipe Israel off the map, at the prodding of the most evil empire in the Middle East, Iran or ancient

Persia

19:16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it’.

People send me emails of the video taken of the mobs that are tearing

Egypt

apart and shows a very interesting vision of a greenish looking rider on a pale horse. Is it a reflection of the camera off of the fire in the background? Did the camera man inadvertently capture a spirit of death that is in the midst of the people of

Egypt

? Undeniably, there is death and suffering being brought to bear on the mobs and protestors that have taken to the streets of this Arab nation. Is it a spiritual being, or an illusion? I’ll not predict or say for sure what the image is, but I know some people’s minds are on what is coming at lightening speed upon the face of the earth. I do know, that death and suffering is visiting once again, a nation filled with paganism and idolatry. Is judgment coming and beginning in

Egypt

19:17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

With one wave of His mighty right arm, God will instill fear and trembling in the people for their sins. We get a hint of what is coming on Egypt and the rest of the Middle East when we read verse 17 above. Egypt will be in terror of

Judah

. Now that’s a switch. Egypt has fought two wars in modern times of 1967, and 1973 and was soundly defeated by

Israel

and God being with them and fighting for them. Since then, there has been an uneasy peace treaty, but that may be coming to a swift end. When Psalm 83 unfolds, the hand of the Lord will wave over the land of Egypt and strike fear and terror into the hearts of the people who dare come against His chosen people, and His land. Israel is prophesied to destroy this confederation and take their land, even unto

Egypt

The LORD prophesies a day when Judah will be mightier than Egypt, and the land of Judah will be a terror to

Egypt

. As we all know, Israel has vast superior military to that of Egypt, as it’s nuclear arsenal may be it’s only option in that coming war. It’s referred to as the Samson option. What is the Sampson option? When you are surrounded and outnumbered, you take steps that you would not ordinarily take in any other situation but due to the imminence of your sudden destruction. I can see

Israel

taking out all the stops and unleashing a devastating response to insurmountable odds that could spell their extinction if this action were not taken. Two swift nuclear strikes would bring the Middle East to its knees. One is prophesied to be on Damascus, and laying it waste and it never being inhabited again. Could another one be on Cairo or Heliopolis? Or pick any city in the greater Middle East, but a logical one, would be the strongest nation of the Arab world,

Egypt

The last verses of this chapter speak of a coming day, when

Egypt

will turn to the Lord in repentance.

Isaiah 18-20, ‘In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction. In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. Then the LORD will be known to

Egypt

, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. And the LORD will strike

Egypt

, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal them.”

A better translation of the phrase City of Destruction may be, City of the Sun, which was a well known Egyptian city known as previously mentioned, Heliopolis. It is where the President of Egypt has his palace and quarters. History shows that after the Maccabean revolt, that "In the time of the Maccabees, the high priest Onias IV was forced to flee to Egypt, and there he built a temple that was similar to the one in Jerusalem. Some commentators relate the 'altar' of verse 19 to this structure." (Wolf) This may relate to the City of the Sun prophecy, because the temple Onias IV built was in the province of Heliopolis.

19:21 And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it.

19:22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

19:23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

19:24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

19:25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria: God promises the day will come when there will be peace between Israel, Egypt, and Assyria. There will be trade and travel between the three nations (a highway from Egypt to Assyria). In that day, the LORD will bless all three nations. But that is for a future time, in the Kingdom of God and His 1000 year reign.

“The altar and sacrifice described most likely are fulfilled during the Millennium, when sacrifice will be allowed as a memorial of Jesus' great work, but never as atonement.”For just as restored Israel will bring blood sacrifices unto the Lord to keep in remembrance of the all-sufficient blood sacrifice of Christ, so this may also take place in Egypt on that memorable day." (Bultema)”

“But transpiring before the return of the Lord, five cities in Egypt will be more known as being linked to the Lord than to Egypt after the war victory is won by Jehovah for Israel in Ezekiel 38 and 39, but because of their coming oppression, the people will cry out to the Lord because of them and God will send them a Savior. These five cities will be inhabited by more Jewish people that will flow into Egypt and live there and set up a Temple worship and build an altar unto the Lord besides the Temple in Jerusalem as they did prior in history, but during this time of great oppression, it speaks of the coming Tribulation as Israel and it’s people will be tried as silver refined, as though by fire. It speaks of a time when our Savior and Lord will come again to set up His millennial Kingdom and rule for a 1000 years and

Israel

will be fully restored to its position of being an example unto all the nations as a priestly nation.

This time in

Egypt

is possibly the preface to the coming war of Psalm 83. It will unite the Arabs in a coalition with one theme, to destroy

Israel

. If this sets the ball rolling, we are entering into prophecy that leads to Ezekiel’s war in chapter 38 and 39 of his prophetic book. As we all know and have studied, when this war starts, the church is not to be found, as it has been divinely removed from our place on earth and the Tribulation is but a heartbeat away from being upon the remnant of mankind. As a witness to these events and the knowledge that our time here on earth is drawing down to a soon departure of this ship called “The Church”…a convicted and receptive mind and heart will respond to the invitation of the Holy Spirit to get your ticket for passage and get on board, as this ship is about to leave port. Belief on Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of God is that ticket.

The battle of Ezekiel 38-39 (Part Four)

2013-06-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)
From our studies you can see that for the past 20 years or more the battle of Ezekiel 38-39 has been on hold just on the verge of fulfilment. There have always been the same few preceding conditions left to be met. For the most part they’ve been Turkey switching sides, the US being taken out of the picture, and Israel living in an assumed state of peace with its neighbours.
Within the past year or so we’ve seen Turkey do a major about face, aligning itself with the Moslem world and taking an ever more public stand against Israel. We know this is due to Turkish President Erdogan’s vision of leading the Moslem world by restoring the Ottoman Empire to its former glory.

Now there’s the way the US has gone all wishy-washy where Israel is concerned, saying the absence of peace in the Middle East is costing both blood and treasure and is against the national interest. This is a reference to the Obama administration’s view that if we could achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would quickly wind down, Iran would become more reasonable, and even al Qaeda would relax a little. Therefore they’ve have pretty much said it’s up to Israel to either make the Peace Program happen by the end of the year or face an imposed settlement.
That leaves the biggest one, Israel becoming a peaceful and unsuspecting nation. Could an imposed settlement somehow make that happen? Time will tell.

In the sixty years of Israel’s modern existence, there really hasn’t been a day when this condition has been met, although enemy sneak attacks in 1967 and especially 1973 did take the country by surprise as to timing. The simultaneous invasion by Egypt and Syria on Yom Kippur 1973 brought Israel perilously close to defeat. Historians report that due to “a rare moment of flabbiness in Israeli intelligence and in the government, Israel did not expect any attacks from its neighbours just at this point in time.”
(Both the Jewish Yom Kippur and Moslem Ramadan Holy Days forbid waging war during their observance, and in October 1973 as the attack began these two observances overlapped.)
It took a week for Israel’s forces to recover and go on the offence. Two weeks after that the war was over, cease-fire arrangements having been negotiated by the UN. In the ensuing agreements Egypt regained control of the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula lost in 1967 and Syria got back a small portion of the Golan Heights, although had the UN not stepped in, Israeli forces would have soon entered both Cairo and Damascus.

Those Who Don’t Learn From History …
Not since then has there been such a relaxed state of preparedness by Israel and indeed it’s hard to see how one could happen in the future. In fact the Bible mentions only two possibilities for a time of peace in the End Times, and neither fits the bill. The first occurs at the outset of Daniel’s seventieth week when the anti-Christ makes his initial appearance. By means of peace he will deceive many, Daniel 8:25 (KJV) tells us.

The other time is the 1000 years of peace known as the Millennium or Kingdom Age. Let’s rule that one out right away. First of all it’s an unparalleled time of peace personally administered by the Prince of Peace. No enemy of Israel’s will dare attempt a sneak attack until right at the end when Satan is freed from his 1000 years of captivity to lead them.

And second, the end time prophecies in Ezekiel are sequential, first the latter days re-gathering of the Jews to Israel in chapters 36-37, then the battle of Ezekiel 38-39, then from chapter 40 on it’s their Kingdom Age, the Millennium. The Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 has to follow the modern re-gathering but precede the Millennium. It can’t happen at the Millennium’s end.

So let’s go back to the first possibility, the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week. Daniel 9:27 reveals that the anti-Christ will begin his reign by enforcing a seven-year covenant with Israel that includes permission to build a Temple. (This seven year period is called Daniel’s 70th week.) But because of the controversy it would stir up, the Jewish leadership today doesn’t want a Temple and won’t want one till the Creator of the Universe dramatically reveals Himself to them. According to Ezekiel 29:22 He does so in this battle, and after that they’ll be clamouring for a Temple, regardless of the consequences. Old Covenant observance requires it. So it appears Ezekiel’s battle has to precede Daniel’s 70th week.

Also, the fact that the anti-Christ emerges as a peacemaker implies that some parts of the world will have recently been at war. Perhaps even a war involving a nuclear exchange, which will have left the world in shock, desperate for a plan that would prevent that ever happening again. Satan’s “man of peace” with his seven year covenant will have just the thing to put the world at ease and allow him to begin his meteoric rise to world dominance.

Have You Reached A Verdict?
As we see, circumstantial evidence weighs heavily in favour of the anti-Christ revealing himself on the heels of the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 to kick off Daniel’s 70th week. And so neither of the Bible’s identified possibilities for peace will take place in time for this battle. That means that some dramatic chain of events, similar to those that led to the “sudden” fall of the Soviet Union, will have to occur soon to place Israel in the vulnerable state necessary for Ezekiel’s prophecy to be fulfilled. It’s still too early to see if the US can really impose a peace treaty that will lull them into a false sense of security. More likely, fulfilling the prophecies from Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 will create the circumstances.

So what’s the Point?
Now why is all this so important to us? Well, we’ve already made a case for the anti-Christ to appear right after the battle of Ezekiel 38 and we know from the passage itself that the Lord uses it to reveal Himself to Israel and draw them back to Him.

We’ve also seen that for the final seven years of the dispensation of Law to be completed the Dispensation of Grace, which interrupted it, has to first come to an end. That means the Church has to disappear before Daniel’s 70th Week can begin. This is what Paul meant by saying Israel had been hardened in part until the full number of Gentiles has come in (Romans 11:25). This same idea was first put forth by James at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:14-18) when he said that before returning to rebuild David’s fallen tabernacle the Lord would first take from among the Gentiles a people for Himself. Both passages speak of the Lord taking His Church away before turning His attention to Israel again.

So if the Church has to disappear before the Lord turns again to Israel, and if this is the outcome of the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39, you can see why it’s so important to us. The Rapture has to precede Ezekiel’s battle. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.