Discerning the Times

With the US pulling its last combat troops out of Iraq this week and the last of the trainers next year, we are soon to see the rise of Babylon here in the immediate future. The end of the war for the US leaves Iraq to rise now to her place of preeminence in Biblical Prophecy.

This is found in Revelation chapters 17 and 18 as Babylon arises and takes its place on the world stage as the economic center of the world for the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period. The Antichrist will rule from here and control all economic and commercial activity from Satan’s power seat.

This city that has always been the center of false religion and opposition to all things God will met it’s ultimate destruction soon and once and for all time.

Now all that is needed is for a Strongman to raise his head. This is where the Hashemites may play a part. If you look back on the history of the Middle East, after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire in WW1, the modern countries of Iraq, Jordan and Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel were created. The Hashemites, who are direct descendants of Mohammed, were kings in Syria, Jordan and Iraq. In Syria and Iraq the regimes of these kings were overthrown, but they still have power in Jordan. The kingdom is alive and well and is headed by King Abdullah II of Jordan who is greatly respected by the West as well.

After the overthrow of Sadaam, King Abdullah offered the Iraqi people the possiblility of a constitutional monarchy. His offer was declined at the time and instead we ended up with the Maliki government and the potential Sunni-Shiite issues moving forward.

With Iran eyeing southern Iraqand the Kurds restless in the north, here is a possibility posed by LA Marzulli, www.lamarzulli.net, Iraq needs a strongman. It needs someone who will seize the day and make it clear who is in charge. Someone who will and can bring order to the country. King Abdullah could be that man. He holds incredible power in the Middle East because he is a Hashemite, is a king already, and is favored in the West. He holds great sway in the Muslim world.

Here is a frightening but possible scenario: the king could offer part of Jordan as a Palestinian homeland as almost 75% of the Jordanian population is Palestinian today. He would then create a new capital in Babylon and since he has the title of protector of the Islamic holy sites this would work.

He could then offer Israel the ability to rebuild their temple also. Remember that the person who can rebuild the temple and signs an agreement with Israel will be the Antichrist.

Some while we will see some immediate upheaval in Iraq between Kurds, and the Sunnis and Shiites, things will eventually settle down and Babylon will rise to power.

Keep looking up!

Just an interesting piece of information that has recently come my way. In a recent poll taken by PEW during the month of August, but before the recent NYC mosque controversy, more and more people in America are convinced that our President was not born in America and is in fact a Muslim. This is based on no birth certificate and also it is based on his favorable leanings towards Islam recently.

Well here is the interesting piece of information that has come my way. A Hadith prophecy sacred to Shiite Islam from the 17th century contains this prophecy from Aliibn Abi-Talib which predicts that just before the return of the Mahdi (the end-times redeemer of Islam), a tall black man will assume the reins of government in the West. This leader will command the strongest army on earthand will bear a clear sign from the third imam, Hussein. The prophecy concludes that Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us.

Is President Obama this promised warrior who comes to help the savior of Shiite Muslims conquer the world? Our President’s first two names – Barack Hussein- mean “the blessing of Hussein” in Arabic and Persian. While Obama in Persian means “he is with us”.

This could also explain the President’s meteoric rise out of no where as well. And the eerie way he mislead people into voting for them. People actually called the President a “Light-bringer”.

This is an interesting prophecy that we may in fact have witnessed.

Keep looking up!

North Korea’s military is threatening to launch the severest punishment yet against the US and South Korea over war games being held jointly with the US.

North Korea’s army will deal a merciless blow to the two allies is the threat being marshaled by North Korean army leaders.

The war games are to begin a 10 day computerised war game called Ulchi Freedom Guardian.

About 30,000 US soldiers and 56,000 South Korean soldiers are scheduled to take part.

China is also entering the warning mode as it warned the US last Friday about the US decision to use a nuclear powered aircraft carrier in the joint  drills with the South.

China also told the US it was inadvisable to push a country of 1.3 billion people. China is North Korea’s closest ally and trade partner.

The Pentagon is also issuing alarms concerning China and the recent military buildup. The Pentagon believes China is expanding its strategic military advantage over Taiwan. The Chinese are engaging in a missile buildup and a naval buildup over the last ten years.

We will keep our eyes on this tense situation.

Daniel 7: 25 tells us that the Antichrist will try to change the times and seasons and laws. Well here is another easy indicator that Islam is the key to understanding the Antichrist. More and more a Muslim Antichrist is coming into focus.

Islam is seeking to change Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or the time the entire world sets its clock to. Their solution is to put the world on Islamic Time. The Saudi Arabian government is building a huge clock tower in Mecca. They want the world to move away from Greenwich Mean Time and to Mecca Mean Time (MMT).

Islamic scholars are trying to make the argument from a scientific perspective that Mecca Mean Time is the true global meridian time. They argue that Mecca is center of the world. Christians and Jews believe that Jerusalem is the center of the world and the place that God placed His holy name.

The Royal Clock is sitting atop the central tower in the Abraj Al-Bait Project, 50 meters opposite the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The clock will be visible from 10 miles away at night to 6 miles during the day. This clock is 6 times larger than Big Ben in London. It will be launched the first week of Ramadan.

The observatory which is part of the Tower project also will be used to sight the moon during the holy months of Islam.

The name of Allah is inscribed on all four sides of the clock face.

We need to really open our spiritual eyes and see that the Lord is showing us what is coming on the earth. Time is really short. Put all the pieces together and you can come to no other conclusion. The times and seasons and signs are all set!

Keep looking up!

When the New York Times and CNN are finally admitting that the US faces not only a double dip recession but potentially a new great depression, any alarm bells that may not have been going of for you had better be now.

The Fed’s announcement yesterday that it would be buying Treasury debt is a “crossing the Rubicon” moment and could lead the country to the brink of collapse.

Crossing the 90% debt/GDP threshold is the equivalent of reaching the point of no return. With 41 million Americans on food stamps and 45% of the unemployed having been seeking employment for 27 weeks or more we need to start to wonder if we can recover at all.

We are being run into the ground by this President. And we are being pushed towards a world government quickly. Watch for a global war soon also.

Friends we are truly the last generation who will see the return of the Lord in the air! Get out and spread the word that Jesus is coming and that people need to know Him!

Remember on 9/11 as the first tower came crashing down? How did you feel? When the second tower came crashing down how shocked you were that America could be this vulnerable to attack? Do you remember the death and carnage that was done to us? Who did this to our great country? Islam!

All the lost lives! All the lost potential! If you are a Christian and follower of Jesus you had to feel like this was a defining moment in the history of the US. You had to know that the acceleration factor was moving quicker.

Now let us fast forward to present day. I believe along with many others that a new God moment is coming upon the US. A moment that could be punctuated with the handwriting on the wall and begin the final sequence of human history.

With the decision last week of the NY landmarks Preservation Committee and a 9-0 vote that some buildings at 45 Park Place, a few blocks from where the Towers stood before the 9/11 attacks, will not receive historic status.

This ruling now opens the way for the construction of a large mosque and Islamic complex on the site. It should be unfathomable that a super mosque is being erected right across from the place where thousands were murdered by those who claim Allah as their deity.

The even more supernatural moment beyond anything I have said so far is that the mosque builders are as of this moment claiming it will begin construction of the mosque itself on September 11, 2011.  Now this is audacity at its finest!

For example could you imagine back in 1950 if there had been an effort by Japanese-Americans to build a Shinto honoring the emperor just two blocks from Pearl Harbor? And the building planned to open on December 7, 1951 just in time to celebrate the 10th anniversary today.

America and the world at large have long been holding a debauched banquet to which the God of Heaven was not invited. America booted Him in 1963 with the doing away of prayer and Bible reading in the public schools.

Now with this most recent event with Islam mocking us and paying tribute to its conquest of America; could the finger of God be writing upon the wall that America has erected to separate the nation form Him?

This message tragically might not be unlike the message that Babylon received when God wrote on the wall and God judged the land of Babylon. Time could be very short to accomplish what the Lord wants us to do. We need to be about the King’s business.

an interesting factoid to add to this discussion is that in 20 years with the rate of birth population, we will be overtaken by Islam and their eventual goal to get people in to Congress and the Supreme Court will come true. They want to see Sharia law implemented as the law of the land. Islam is not only a religion but is also a political movement as it is a theocracy.

This is one issue we need our leaders to have wisdom on and quickly.

Keep looking up.

Nothing in the world projects US global air and sea power more vividly than super-carriers. This is how America has long enforced its dominance on the high seas. However, China may soon put an end to that. US naval planners are scrambling to deal with a new game changing missile from China that is a carrier killing weapon.

It is called the Dong Feng 21D that can be launched from land with enough accuruacy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of over 900 missiles.

This weapon could shift the balance of power in the Pacific and seriously weaken America’s ability to intervene in any conflict involving North Korea or Taiwan. It could also deny safe ship access to international waters near China’s 11,200 mile coastline.

This weapon and the increase in China’s military budget recently is funded by double digit growth in China’s economy and thus increases in their military budget. China’s navy has now become the largest navy in Asia.

China has also become increasingly vocal in its demands for the US to stay away from large swaths of ocean like the Yellow, East and South China seas.

This could usher in a new international order in which China emerges to displace the US in the Pacific.

We do know from Scripture that there will be a power bloc called the kings of the east. This power bloc can filed a 200 million man army. Right now today China on its own has the ability to field a 200 million man army.

As things continue to progress on this front you can really see how this power bloc with China at the head is gaining momentum and the time of the end is fast approaching. I will keep you updated on any new developments in this area.

Keep looking up!

A Federal court in California ruled that California’s Proposition 8 in unconstitutional. This ruling flies in the face of the Constitution and the people’s will on the matter of gay marriage.

Most Americans believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Since the people in California have been heard it is not up to the court to change the decision. However, the federal court’s view their mission as making laws of the land like Congress does, not interpreting the laws like the Constitution says.

Congress needs to act quickly and decisively to reaffirm marriage as a union of one man and one woman as our national policy.

This is a temporary victory for the Gay and Lesbian movement, but it is not the end of the fight though as it will be surely appealed.

Interestingly, the federal judge in the case is himself a gay man. Eventually the Supreme Court may have to take up this case.

If the Supreme Court upholds the decision, saying in effect there is nothing in the Constitution that bans gay marriage, then this is where it will probably end.

We as Christians do not need to worry though. Even though it will probably become the law of the land, we know who is in charge. We are not citizens of this world, we are citizens of heaven. This is a repeat of Romans chapter one where God is turning man over to all the evils of his imagination. They will earn the just rewards of their own wishes and desires.

If you look at history this was bound to happen to America. Just prior to the fall of some of the world’s greatest empires, a general degeneracy and a focus on sex was the final phase prior to the civilization ending. We are seeing this happen again right here in America.

This decision does not mean that I will change my views on the subject as I believe that Scripture clearly shows us that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God. This is wrong behavior and I will not stop saying that also. It will eventually become a crime to say it and will be viewed as hate speech.

The fact that I believe this way does not mean that I do not love the person who is homosexual even though they are living a sinful lifestyle. It means I hate the sin and love the sinner. Just like I was a sinner before Christ saved me.

These are indeed interesting times to live in. God is at work right now. He is being rejected by a large amount of people in order for the path of Antichrist to be made ready. The time is coming quickly. God’s plan must be seen through. His wrath has been stored up for a long time.

Multitudes of people will be saved here in the last days if Revelation is to be believed. Satan is about to unleash his final assault. Once the restrainer is removed the very gates of hell will open up.

We need to remember we are sojourners here on earth. We are citizens of the Kingdom and children of the living God. We are here to win the lost and worship the King not change the laws of the land.

We should voice our opinions loudly but at the end of the day if those in power do not listen then we need to remember this is meant to happen to bring Christ ultimate glory as it leads to His return!

Keep looking up!

I believe we here in the US and maybe most of the civilized world are entering into a third depression and one that the world has never seen before. I am not the only predicting this. List to all the latest good news some time by watching CNBC or even the NY Times who are saying the same thing. Not exactly bastions of conservative views FYI.

This depression will be severe, even more severe than the Great Depression. This depression will emerge as a result of the failure of government economic policy. Millions of lives will be effected by this and our government and governments around the globe will be powerless to stop it.

The key is the absence of jobs. Real jobs. Governments met last week in Toronto, Canada at the G-20 meetings to discuss the global economy and they are talking about inflation when the real issue is deflation. There is inadequate spending going on in the world by consumers because of the fear of the unknown.

We are now hearing reports yesterday of the economy slowing again, new home sales declining again, unemployment rising again etc.

The world is being led to accept a one world government and one global leader. All buying and selling is about to be controlled.

Scripture is not silent on this topic. There will be a one world government, one global leader. One world economy will exist and all buying and selling will be controlled. Famine and pestilence will increase. But there is an answer to all this, place your trust in Jesus. You will not have to fear what is about to come on the whole earth. He will protect you and provide for you.

Keep looking up!

One of the great mysteries of Scripture is the identity of the woman who rides the beast who has the name Mystery Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots. She is portrayed as riding a seven headed beast, but later this same beast turns on her and devours her with fire.

The larger story actually begins a few chapters earlier in the book of Revelation. A very different type of woman is described by John in chapter 12. This woman is about to give birth to a man child, but positioned in front of the woman is a seven headed dragon that seeks to devour the child. Bible scholars are in almost perfect unity on the identity of the woman being Israel who would give birth to the Messiah, Jesus. The dragon is of course Satan.

As the story unfolds, the seven headed beast is introduced. This is a being representing the seven world empires of world history that have sought to destroy Israel. It began in Egypt. Egypt was followed by Assyria, Babylon, Meda- Persia, Greece, Rome and the Ottoman Empire which is the one that is wounded in the head but is revived.

So then we finally introduced the great harlot. Who is this woman riding the beast? Believe it or not this is where an interesting possibility will be brought out. The prototype of the ultimate last days Babylon would be Babylon. We know this is true. There are alot of believers who believe that the actual Babylon will have a prominent place in last days. Alot of believers also believe this identity to be Rome. But what is the most anti-Christ regime in the world? or religion? Why it is Islam. And who is the protector of Mecca and Medina today? Why it is none other than Saudi Arabia.

The financial and economic capital of the Islamic world is also Saudi Arabia. It is the spiritual capital of the Islamic world also. This could fit as the identity of this woman from Revelation chapters 17 and 18. Saudi Arabia also exports Islam more than all the other Islamic countries combined.

So the fact that the Saudi’s could be currently collaborating with the Israeli’s against Iran this could get real interesting in regard to sentiment in the Arab and Islamic world.

Let us keep looking up and see if the great harlot is who we think she is!