Category Archive: Prophecy Studies

May 03

Signs in the Heavens

Categories:

Prophecy Studies, Signs

by

May 3, 2012

Read these two attached articles. There is a super moon this weekend. But also look what lies ahead in regard to blood moons and eclipses on Jewish feast days in 2014-2015. The Lord is returning really soon.

Keep looking up!

Supermoon alert: Biggest full moon of 2012 due Sat.

Published May 01, 2012

Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend.

The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And because this month’s full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year’s biggest.

The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon.

And not only does the moon’s perigee coincide with full moon this month, but this perigee will be the nearest to Earth of any this year, as the distance of the moon’s close approach varies by about 3 percent, according to meteorologist Joe Rao, SPACE.com’s skywatching columnist. This happens because the moon’s orbit is not perfectly circular.

This month’s full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average. In contrast, later this year on Nov. 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moon’s farthest approach, offering a particularly small and dim full moon.

Though the unusual appearance of this month’s full moon may be surprising to some, there’s no reason for alarm, scientists warn. The slight distance difference isn’t enough to cause any earthquakes or extreme tidal effects, experts say.

However, the normal tides around the world will be particularly high and low. At perigee, the moon will exert about 42 percent more tidal force than it will during its next apogee two weeks later, Rao said.

The last supermoon occurred in March 2011.

To view this weekend’s supermoon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon. There, you can catch a view of the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon seem even larger than it really is.

And there will be SIGNS in the Heavens”

 Blood Red Lunar Eclipses and Solar Eclipses on God’s Holy Days in 2014-2015 – What Does It all Mean?

 

                        Astonishing as it seems, four lunar eclipses will occur on

                        God’s annual Holy Days during Passover and Sukkot in the

years 2014 and 2015, and two solar eclipses on Nisan 1 and

the Feast of Trumpets!  These are exceedingly rare occurrences,

especially when they dovetail with God’s Holy Days!  What

does it all mean?  What is the prophetic significance?  It’s

time to wake up and take heed of these ominous, fateful

warnings from heaven!

 

William F. Dankenbring

 

            According to the Jewish calendar, the year 2008 is a Sabbatical year.  A new Sabbatical cycle will begin September 29, 2008.  2015 will also be a Sabbatical year.

 

            But most amazing of all, it has been discovered that in the years 2014 and 2015 there will be two solar eclipses and four lunar eclipses, all of them occurring on Jewish Holy Days!

 

            The Lunar eclipses break down as follows:

 

            Passover                                  April 15, 2014

            Feast of Tabernacles               October 8, 2014

            Passover                                  April 4, 2015

            Feast of Tabernacles               September 28, 2015

 

            The two Solar eclipses connected with God’s Holy Days in 2014-2015 occur:

 

            Adar 29/Nisan 1(new year)     March 20, 2015

            Feast of Trumpets                   September 13, 2015

 

            It was on Nisan 1 that the Hebrew new year’s day occurred, according to the Scriptures (Exo.12:1-2).  On the anniversary of this date, one year later, Moses raised up the Tabernacle of God, inaugurated it, and the glory of God descended from heaven  (Exodus 40:2, 17, 34).

 

            The real shocker is that this phenomenon is extremely rare, for this pattern of eclipses to fall on both Passover and Sukkot in two years in a row, and for a solar eclipse to occur on important Holy Days in the same year (2015). 

 

            This intriguing, incredible discovery comes from Mark Biltz, pastor of El Shaddai Ministries, in Bonner Lake, Washington. 

 

Biltz was intrigued with the statement in the Scriptures that connect the second coming of the Messiah with “signs in the heavens,” particularly the signs that “the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood” before the return of Christ.

 

He went on the internet, to the U.S. Government NASA website to see if there were any significant eclipses of the sun and moon during the next few years.  To his surprise, he discovered four lunar eclipses in the Sabbatical year 2014/2015, and was intrigued by the fact that they occurred on God’s annual Holy Days!

 

Writing about the amazing discovery in the May 2008 issue of Prophecy in the News, J. R. Church declares, “This is most unusual.  It is a rare occurrence for four lunar cycles on successive Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) observances.  It will not happen again for hundreds of years.”

 

            Says J. R. Church, in a letter accompanying the magazine issue, “Four lunar eclipses occurring on the Feast of Tabernacles and Passover in two successive years are phenomenal.  But add to them two solar eclipses on the two days that open the Jewish year – Adar 29/Nisan1, just two weeks before Passover, and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashannah) – is uncanny.  On each of these six Jewish Holy Days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light.  Will this happen again in the 21st century?  No.  Did it happen in the 20th century?  Yes, in 1949/1950, the year following Israel’s statehood, and 1967/1968, the year Jerusalem was liberated in the Six-Day War!  Before that, you have to go back to 1493 for four successive lunar eclipses on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles” (May 2008 letter).

 

            Is God Almighty telling us something?  Skeptics and scoffers will denounce the discovery as mere coincidence, but the prophet Daniel informs us, “Many shall be purified, made white, and refined.  But the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand” (Dan.12:10).

 

            Peter warned, “Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?  For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (II Pet.3:3-4).

 

            Another shocking discovery is that coming up this summer there will be three SOLAR eclipses in a row, in 2008, 2009, and 2010, all on the date of the first of Av, the fifth Hebrew month of the year. 

 

                        Av 1                August 1, 2008           partial solar eclipse

                        Av 1                July 22, 2009               partial solar eclipse

                        Av 1                July 11, 2010               partial solar eclipse

 

            The first day of Av is in the middle of the time period when the Jewish people mourn the destruction of the Temple of God.  Historically Moses descended from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, and found the people engaged in gross idolatry at the foot of the mountain.  That was on Tammuz 17.  Also, on Av 9, the Hebrew spies returned from spying out the land of Canaan and brought an evil report – and the people lost faith in God, and were condemned to wander 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:34).  Av 9 also commemorates the date of the destruction of the first Temple by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 B.C., and the second Temple by the Roman general Titus on the same date in 70 A.D.

 

These two dates are days of infamy in Israel.  The three week period between Tammuz 17 and Av 9 are called “between the straits” and are days of mourning, repentance, and lamentations. 

 

How interesting that a solar eclipse will fall on the date of Av 1, in the middle of mourning and lamentation, three years in a row!

 

Mark Blitz believes that these phenomenal solar eclipses on this date signify that God could begin judging the Gentile nations this summer, beginning Av 1.  Solar eclipses, he says, are designed for Gentile nations, whereas lunar eclipses are designed for Israel.  These eclipses, too, then could be a WARNING FROM GOD TO A WAYWARD WORLD!

 

The Second Coming

 

            Writes Joe Kovacs for WorldNetDaily,“Will Jesus Christ return to Earth in the year 2015?  And can studying NASA’s website ~ evidence for such a scenario?

“A minister who promotes the Old Testament roots of Christianity suggests a rare string of lunar and solar eclipses said to fall on God’s annual holy days seven years from

now could herald what’s come to be known as the ‘Second Coming’ of Jesus.

“ ‘God wants us to look at the biblical calendar,’ says Mark Biltz, pastor of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake, Wash.  ‘The reason we need to be watching is [because] He will signal His appearance. But we have to know what to be watching as well. So we need to be watching the biblical holidays.’” (“Blood Moon Eclipses:  2nd Coming in 2015?  Minister uses NASA forecasting to study signals of Jesus’ return,” WorldNetDaily, May 9, 2008).

In an interview with J. R. Church of “Prophecy in the News,” Biltz said he’s been “studying prophecies that focus on the sun and moon, even going back to the book of Genesis where it states the lights in the sky would be ‘be for signs, and for seasons.’

“ ‘It means a signal, kind of like ‘one if by land, two if by sea.’ It’s like

God wants to signal us,’ he said. ‘The Hebrew word implies . . . ‘not only is it a signal, but it’s a signal for coming or His appearing.’”

 

Biltz adds, “You have the religious year beginning with the total solar eclipse, two weeks later a total lunar eclipse on Passover, andthen the civil year beginning with the solar eclipse followed two weeks later by another total blood red moon on the Feast of Succoth all in 2015.”

 

Biltz focused on the precise times of solar and lunar eclipses, sometimes called “blood moons,” by logging onto NASA’s website on eclipses.  He noticed a rare phenomenon of four consecutive total lunar eclipses which are known as a “tetrad.”  During this century, tetrads occur at least six times, but the only string of four consecutive “blood moons” coincide with God’s Holy days of Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.  This occurs between the years 2014 and 2015 on today’s Gregorian calendar.

In the 20th century, he noticed that such successive blood moons coinciding with Passover and Tabernacles occurred only on 1967-68, the year the Jews liberated Jerusalem from the control of the Arabs.  He also noted that the only other such combination of eclipses in the 20th century took place in 1949-50, the year following the Jewish state’s hard-fought war of independence, when Israel became a nation.

Just how significant is this astounding information?  Is this another tell-tale clue pinpointing the period of the second coming of the Messiah?

 

“Signs” in the Heavens

 

                Why did God create the stars in the heavens in the first place?  We read one significant answer in Genesis, the first chapter. 

 

                Moses wrote:  “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as SIGNS to mark seasons and days and years” (Genesis 1:14, NIV).

 

                The word for “sign” here, in the Hebrew, is owth, and means “a signal, as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence,” etc.   The word for “seasons” is the Hebrew moadim and means “festivals, literally, appointed times.”

 

                Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon points out that this word means “a sign,” “a token” (Exo.12:13; Josh.2:12), “signs and times” (Gen.1:14), i.e., “signs of times.” It is used of a military ensign, a sign of something past, and a sign of something future, a portent, as well as a sign of anything which cannot be seen. 

 

                For “seasons”, Strong’s Concordance has “an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; spec. a festival.”  Gesenius has it, “(1) a set time, . . . (2) an assembly . . . (3) a place in which an assembly is held . . . (4) an appointed time, a signal.”

 

                Thus heavenly bodies, and the periodic return of comets, and celestial meteor showers, and eclipses, can be, in Biblical terms, a “heavenly sign”!  Yeshua spoke of such signs occurring before His return to planet Earth.  When such a sign occurs on a moad or moadim, or Festival of God, it is especially significant.

 

Biblical Prophecies

 

                Jesus Christ Himself said, referring to the days before His second coming:  “And there will be fearful sights and GREAT SIGNS from heaven”  (Luke 21:11, KJV).  Christ went on, “And there will be SIGNS in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars . . .” (Luke 21: 25).

 

                Also speaking of His second coming, to rule this world, and to deliver mankind from its greatest crisis in all human history, Jesus foretold:  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars [meteors] will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken [an incredible cosmic quaking and shaking -- see Hebrews 12:25-28; Hag.2:21-23].  Then the SIGN of the Son of Man will APPEAR in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will SEE the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory” (Matt.24:29-31). 

 

                Such signs are also mentioned as occurring before the day of the Lord in the Tanakh — the Old Testament  Scriptures (Joel 2:30-31; Joel 2:10; Joel 3:14-16).

 

                Does God often send mysterious “signs” in the heavens before He performs mighty works in the earth?  What do the Scriptures say about this?

 

                The prophet Joel tells us, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD” (Joel 2:31).

 

                These awesome occurrences in the skies and heavens will stagger mankind, causing terrible fright and anxiety.  John in Revelation prophesied, that in the period just before the coming of the Messiah, and the “Day of the Lord,” that great signs would take place:  “I look when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood” (Rev.6:12). 

 

                “And the stars of heaven fell to the earth [meteor showers], as a fig tree droops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.  Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place” (Rev.6:13-14).  After this, then, comes the final “Day of the Lord” — the time when God Himself begins to punish the nations, and bring His divine judgments of wrath and fury.                          

 

Jesus’ Step-by-Step Prophecy

 

            Jesus’ disciples came to Him and asked Him privately, “When shall these things be?  And what shall be the SIGN of thy coming, and of the END of the world [Greek aion, “age”]?” (Matt.24:3).  Jesus warned them first of all to beware of false prophets and false religious teachers who proclaim heresy (Matt.24:4-5).  He then prophesied wars and rumors of wars, but said these did not signal the end (verse 6).  He even predicted wars, earthquakes, famines and plagues, but said these were but “the beginning of sorrows” (verses 7-8).

 

            Jesus then warned that persecution of true Christians would greatly increase (verses 9-20), and many false prophets and deceivers would rise up (verse 11).  This has begun to happen around the world — with Christians being persecuted vehemently in Turkey, Egypt, India, China, Moslem countries, and even in “secular” societies like the United States, and the western world!

 

            Jesus then announced, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (verse 12).  This has begun to happen!  The world has seen a sharp increase in violence, lawlessness, and general immorality and iniquity.  Riots, looting, arson, murder, pornography, violence in movies, profanity, and the breakdown of the home and family — all are contributing to a world gone berserk and gangs and rioters running amok!  Civil disorder and ethnic strife and hatred are rapidly increasing. 

 

            In the midst of this, Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in ALL THE WORLD for a WITNESS unto all nations; and THEN the END will come” (verse 14).  That also has begun to happen!  In the pages of Prophecy Flash, and via the internet and worldwide web around the world, this final message of the coming of God’s KINGDOM is being hurled around the globe!

 

            Jesus said that the next thing to look for is “the abomination of desolation” standing in the Temple of God in Jerusalem (Matt.24:15) – and when we see that happening, those in Jerusalem should FLEE to the hills and mountains for safety (verses 16-20).  That final invasion of Israel and Jerusalem in the Middle East will lead to a captivity and time of travail lasting 42 months (compare Matt.24:21-22 with Rev.13:4-6, 11:1-2, 12:6, 14). 

 

            Notice – Jesus gave us a specific TIME TABLE of many sequential prophecies, each to be fulfilled in their proper order, BEFORE and LEADING UP TO HIS SECOND COMING!  After this Great Tribulation, Jesus foretold great signs in the heavens, followed by the “Day of the Lord” – the time He will return in awesome glory and power (Matt.24:29-31).  This will occur at the seventh or “last” trumpet (I Cor.15:50-51; I Thess.4:14-17; Rev.11:15).

 

            Isn’t this plain?

            These are NOT mere “speculations”! The apostle Peter wrote in these terms: “We have also a MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a LIGHT that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

 

            “Knowing this first, that NO prophecy of the scripture is of any private  interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake  as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Pet.1:19-21).

 

            Prophecy is a vital and integral part of the Word of God!  It is not something which should be treated lightly, cavalierly, with disrespect and dishonor.  It is vital to our SALVATION!  If it were not so important, then God would not have inspired 2/3rds of His Word to deal with prophecy, and 90% of that to apply to the LAST DAYS, the generation alive just before the return of the Messiah in awesome power and glory to deliver His people and to save the earth from utter annihilation, destruction, and cosmocide!

 

            Paul wrote, even commanded, “Never disdain prophetic revelations” (I Thess.5:20, Moffatt), or, “Do not scoff at those who prophesy” (TLB).  Have you become a scoffer in these last days?

 

            What is the main lesson these vital End-Time SIGNS in the heavens show us? 

                                           

            OUR GENERATION — this present generation — will be the FINAL, LAST, END-TIME GENERATION that will see all these things come to pass, and that will WITNESS the awesome, spine-tingling return of JESUS CHRIST, THE MESSIAH in tremendous power and unimaginable GLORY!!!

 

            Jesus Himself said:  “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till ALL these things be fulfilled” (Matt.24:34).  You and I – those of us of THIS present generation of the Atomic Bomb, nuclear weapons, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction – WE are the ones living in the Biblical “time of the end” — the FINAL generation!   The time has come.  The Messiah’s footsteps are approaching.  His coming is near.  His heavenly stallion is getting nervous, chomping at the bit, getting ready for that great ride through the sky (Rev.19:11-14).  The heavenly army is growing tense with excitement and anticipation.  The time is near – the moment we are all breathlessly waiting for. 

 

            The “signs” are increasing, for those who have eyes to see and hearts to understand!  John declares:

 

                                                “The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the

                                                land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him

                                                who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the

                                                things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in

                                                it,  that there should be delay no longer.

 

                                                “But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel,

                                                when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be

                                                finished, as he declared to His servants the prophets”

                                                (Revelation 10:5-7, NKJV).

 

                Could the years 2014-2015 picture the final years of the countdown to the approaching footsteps of the Messiah? 

 

                Could the present “Sabbatical week” – 2008-2015 – be the beginning of the final week of “woes” — the final seven years of this age?

 

                Could this be the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week, which heralds in the “end of the age,” “to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy”? (Dan.9:24-27).

 

                Could this be the final “seven times” or “years” of Leviticus 26 – a time of plagues and punishments upon all Israel?  God says, “I will punish you seven times [“years”] more for your sins.  I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.  And your strength shall be spent in vain” (Lev.26:18—20).

 

                During this time, God says, “Your highways shall be desolate” (verse 22).  “I will bring a sword against you that will execute the vengeance of the covenant . . . I will send pestilence among you . . . I will lay your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries into desolation . . . I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste” (Lev.26:22-33).

 

                But this horrendous time of punishment will terminate with the COMING OF THE MESSIAH! 

 

                These heavenly signs are a WITNESS from God to underscore that fact that the end is drawing to a close very SOON!  These heavenly portents are very auspicious for true Christians and Messianic believers!   As Yeshua says:

 

                                “Now when these things BEGIN to happen, LOOK UP

                                and LIFT UP your heads, because your REDEMPTION

                                draws near” (Luke 21:28).

                   

            Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!  Baruch haba ha shem Adonai! 

 

            As God’s people, we urgently, breathlessly await that “Great Day of Jezreel” and the coming of our Lord!

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Apr 22

The Importance of Bible Prophecy

Categories:

Prophecy Studies

by

April 22, 2012

Here is a really important article from David Reagan concerning why the study of Bible Prophecy is extremely important to the Christian life and walk with God! Remeber the spirit of prophecy is Jesus!

The Importance of Bible Prophecy – by Dr. David R. Reagan – www.lamblion.com

 

Is it a playground for fanatics or green pastures for disciples?

 

Although prophecy constitutes almost one-third of the Bible, its importance is constantly downplayed by those who dismiss it as having no practical significance or by those who object to it on the grounds that it is a “fad” that takes people’s eyes off Jesus.

 

A good example of what I’m talking about can be found in the immensely popular best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.1 He mocks Bible prophecy when he writes, “If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy.” He then goes on to characterize prophecy as a “distraction” and says that anyone who lets himself get involved in distractions like studying prophecy “is not fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

Such cavalier dismissals of Bible prophecy fly in the face of scriptures like Revelation 19:10 which says that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Thus, if prophecy is properly taught, there is no reason for it to divert anyone’s attention away from Jesus. In fact, it should serve to emphasize the centrality of Jesus.

 

Is prophecy practical? Consider that all the New Testament writers testify to the fact that living with the anticipation of the Lord’s return will motivate holy living. What could be more practical than that? Here are some examples:

 

The Apostle Paul: “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” — Romans 13:12-14.

 

The Apostle Peter: “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God… so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” — 1 Peter 4:7-11.

 

The Apostle John: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” — 1 John 3:2-3.

 

 

Prophecy does not have to be either faddish, other-worldly, or impractical if taught properly. Nor does it have to be a playground for fanatics. It can and should be green pastures for disciples.

 

Reasons for Study

 

There are many reasons why all believers should be interested in studying Bible prophecy. Some of the more important ones are listed below:

 

1) The Quantity — One-fourth to one-third of the Bible is prophetic in nature. In the Old Testament, this includes the Psalms, the Major and Minor Prophets, and many passages in the historical books. In the New Testament, entire books like 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Revelation are devoted to prophecy, as are major passages like Matthew 24 and 1 Peter 3. To ignore Bible prophecy is to ignore a significant portion of God’s Word, and we are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” — and that certainly includes Bible prophecy.

 

2) The Uniqueness — No other book in the world contains fulfilled prophecies. This includes the sayings of Buddha and Confucius, the Koran, the Hindu Vedras, and the Book of Mormon. And it certainly includes the ridiculous nonsensical quatrains of Nostradamus.2 In contrast, the Bible contains hundreds of specific prophecies that have already been fulfilled — prophecies about towns, cities, nations, empires, and political leaders, as well as prophecies about the Messiah. Consider, for example, the prophecy in the book of Isaiah that a man named Cyrus would be the one who would release the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 44:28). And that is exactly what happened 142 years later (Ezra 1:1-3).

 

3) Validator of Scripture — Fulfilled prophecy is one of the best evidences I know of that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. As I stated above, the Bible contains hundreds of fulfilled secular prophecies pertaining to cities, nations, empires, and individuals. Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would fall to the Medes and Persians (Isaiah 13:17-20). Jeremiah predicted the Babylonian captivity of the Jews would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11-12). Daniel outlined in advance the precise order of four great Gentile empires (Daniel 2 and 7). The destruction of both Judah and Israel was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 28 and 29). In the New Testament, Jesus predicted the complete destruction of Jerusalem 40 years before it actually occurred (Luke 21:6).

 

4) Validator of Jesus — The prophetic scriptures validate Jesus as who He said He was — namely, God in the flesh. The Bible contains more than 300 prophecies about the First Coming of Jesus, but some of these are repetitive. There are actually 109 separate and distinct prophecies concerning the First Coming, and all of them were literally fulfilled.3 Every aspect of the life of Jesus was prophesied — the place of His birth, the nature of His birth, the quality of His ministry, the purpose of His life, and the agony of His death. Consider, for example, the prophecy in Psalm 22:16 that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced. That prophecy was written by David about a thousand years before the birth of Jesus. It was written 700 years before the invention of crucifixion as a form of execution. The literal fulfillment of so many prophecies in the life of one individual transcends any mere coincidence and serves to validate that Jesus was who He said He was — the divine Son of God.

 

5) Revealer of the Future — Prophecy serves to tell us some things that God wants us to know about the future (Deuteronomy 29:29 and Amos 3:7). God does not want us to know everything about the future, but there are some things we must know if we are to have a dynamic hope. Thus, prophecy assures us that Jesus is coming back, that He will resurrect us, and that He will take us to live forever with Him and God the Father. In this regard, Peter likens prophecy to “a lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). Paul makes the same point in 1 Corinthians, chapter 2. He begins by observing that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has the mind of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But in the next verse Paul says those things have been revealed to us by God through His Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

 

6) Tool of Evangelism — Prophecy can be used as a very effective tool of evangelism, as illustrated in the story of Philip and the Eunuch (Acts 8:26ff). Philip used Isaiah’s great suffering lamb passage (Isaiah 53) to teach that Jesus is the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world. Matthew and Peter both used fulfilled prophecy in the life of Jesus as one of their basic evangelistic tools. In fact, Peter referred to prophecy constantly in his first gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-39). He preached that Jesus had been crucified and resurrected in fulfillment of Hebrew prophecies. Later, Peter referred to fulfilled prophecy as one of the greatest evidences that Jesus was truly the Son of God (2 Peter 1:16-19).

 

7) Tool of Moral Teaching — People often overlook the fact that the Hebrew prophets were forthtellers as well as foretellers. In fact, the prophets spent most of their time using God’s Word to spotlight societal problems. They called their listeners to repentance, true worship, social justice, and personal holiness. One of the great recurring themes of the prophets is that “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22 and Hosea 6:6). That statement means that in God’s eyes, obedience to His commands is more important than outward religious practices such as offering sacrifices. Prophecy is thus a great repository of moral teaching, and those moral principles are still relevant today. (See Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:8; and Isaiah 58:3-9.)

 

8) Generator of Spiritual Growth — Prophetic knowledge encourages patient waiting (James 5:7-8); provokes earnest watching (Matthew 24:36,42); inspires dedicated work (2 Timothy 4:7-8); and enhances our hope (Titus 2:11-14). The result is holy living. Paul exhorts us to “behave properly as in the day,” because the time is at hand when the Lord will return (Romans 13:12-13). Likewise, Peter calls us to gird up our minds and be sober and holy as we look forward to the revelation of Jesus (1 Peter 1:13-15).

 

9) Understanding of Current Events — The Bible contains detailed prophecies about the end times we are living in, and there is just no way to fully understand much of what is happening today apart from those prophecies. Three characteristics of our day and time immediately come to mind: the intensifying decay of society, the growing apostasy in the Church, and the escalating crisis in the Middle East. All three of these situations are prophesied in detail in the Bible. We are told that society will become as violent and immoral as it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39); that the Church will be assaulted with “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1); and that all the nations of the world will come against Israel over the issue of who will control Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-3).

 

10) Signifier of the Season — One of the most exciting reasons for studying Bible prophecy is that it provides very definite signs that we are to watch for which will signify the season of the Lord’s return. It is true that we cannot know the date, but the Bible makes it clear that we can know the season if we are aware of the signs that we are to look for. The Apostle Paul made this point in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 when he wrote:

 

Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night… But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all ons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

According to this passage, Jesus is coming like “a thief in the night” for the world, but those of us who are “sons of light” — that is, those of us who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit — we should not be surprised when the Lord returns because God’s Word gives us signs to watch for.

 

Paul made the same point again in Hebrews 10:25 where he admonished believers to not forsake the assembling of the saints, especially “as you see the day drawing near.” What day? He defines it in verse 27 as the day of judgment. So, Paul is making the point here that there are signs we can watch for that will clearly identify the fact that we are living in the season of the Lord’s return.

 

Jesus made the same point in His Olivet Discourse as recorded in Matthew 24. After specifying many end time signs, He said, “when you see all these things, recognize that He [Jesus] is near, right at the door” (Matthew 24:33).

 

Advice & Counsel

 

I pointed out earlier that in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul writes that all of God’s Word is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” I want to emphasize again that this admonition includes God’s Prophetic Word. Also, in 1 Thessalonians 5:20 the apostle Paul pleads with us to treat prophecy with respect: “Do not despise prophetic utterances.”

 

Peter warns us in his second epistle, that one of the signs of the end times will be the appearance of “scoffers” who will cast scorn and ridicule on the promise of our Lord’s return (2 Peter 3:3ff). The great tragedy of our day is that many of the loudest scoffers are religious leaders who profess to follow Christ. Such leaders crucified Jesus the first time He came. They now scoff at His promise to return.

 

A good example of what I’m talking about is the “Jesus Seminar”4 that began meeting in 1985 and whose work culminated in 1993 with the publication of a book titled, The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say?5 The seminar was composed of forty New Testament “scholars” from a great variety of Christian seminaries in America. The seminar met every six months to vote on the sayings of Jesus as recorded in the four ospels. The goal was to produce a new version of the gospels in which the sayings of Jesus would be color coded: red, if He said it; pink, if He may have said it; grey, if He probably did not say it; and black, if He definitely did not say it.

 

They titled the evil fruit of their labors, The Five Gospels, because they concluded that the spurious Gnostic Gospel of Thomas6 was as valid as the four Gospels adopted by the early Church Fathers.

 

When they voted on the sayings of Jesus regarding His Second Coming, they voted that all the sayings were spurious and had probably been “made up” by His disciples. What apostasy!

 

Spiritual Food

 

God’s Prophetic Word is food for our spiritual growth. We need to take it off the shelf, open it up, and feast upon it — and we need to do so with believing hearts.

 

The book of Revelation promises blessings to those who read it (or hear it read) and who obey it (Revelation 1:3). It is the only book of the Bible to promise such a specific blessing, but all God’s Word is designed to bless us spiritually (Psalm 119), and that includes the Prophetic Word.

 

Bible prophecy, properly taught, can literally transform a person and a congregation. This will happen if the person or congregation can be convinced of two things regarding prophecy: 1) Jesus is returning, and 2) His return could occur any moment.

 

Regarding the first point, most Christians believe with their minds that Jesus is returning, but they do not believe with their hearts, and therefore their belief has no impact on their behavior. Regarding the second point, most Christians are unaware that the return of Jesus will be in two stages — first, the Rapture, and then the Second Coming. Because they know little or nothing about the Rapture, they have no understanding that the Lord could truly return at any moment. They believe that many prophecies — like the preaching of the Gospel to the whole world — must be fulfilled before the Lord can return, when the truth of the matter is that there is not one prophecy that must be fulfilled for the Rapture to occur.

 

Again, if a person or congregation can truly be convinced that Jesus is returning any moment, they will be transformed because they will be motivated to share the Gospel with others and to commit their lives to holiness. A commitment to evangelism and holiness! What more could a pastor hope for?

 

Bible prophecy does not just relate to the future. It has an important spiritual relevance to the way we live our lives in the present.

 

Key Scriptures about Prophecy

 

Let’s conclude with a reminder of what the Word of God itself says about the value of prophecy. In this way we can be assured that the effort we expend in looking at the prophetic scriptures will be time extremely well spent.

 

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our sons forever” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

 

“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

 

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done… I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it” (Isaiah 46:9-11).

 

“[Jesus said] ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill’” (Matthew 5:17).

 

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled’” (Luke 24:44).

 

“Of Him [Jesus] all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43).

 

“The prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Peter 1:10-11).

 

“…we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place… But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:19-21).

 

“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).

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Apr 17

Isaac Newton, Daniel’s 70 Weeks & the Six Day War

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Israel, Prophecy Studies

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April 17, 2012

 If you have ever spent any time studying Daniel’s seventy-weeks prophecy you might have been somewhat annoyed by the first seven weeks.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”(Da 9:25)

Frankly, it seems to just be dangling there without a purpose.  Most prophecy teachers simply add the two together to make sixty-nine weeks without saying much about why it is “seven and threescore and two (62).” Well, this bothered Newton too. He explained the odd seven weeks as referring to the second coming, after a future restoration of Israel which had not yet occurred! He explained the verse in this way:

Know also and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to cause to return and to build Jerusalem, unto the Anointed the Prince, shall be seven weeks.

The former part of the Prophecy related to the first coming of Christ, being dated to his coming as a Prophet; this being dated to his coming to be Prince or King, seems to relate to his second coming. There, the Prophet was consummate, and the most holy anointed: here, he that was anointed comes to be Prince and to reign. For Daniel’s Prophecies reach to the end of the world; and there is scarce a Prophecy in the Old Testament concerning Christ, which doth not in something or other relate to his second coming. If divers of the antients, as Irenæus, Julius Africanus, Hippolytus the martyr, and Apollinaris Bishop of Laodicea, applied the half week to the times of Antichrist; why may not we, by the same liberty of interpretation, apply the seven weeks to the time when Antichrist shall be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming?[i]

He puts the first seven in the future after the second rebuilding of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was reclaimed by Israel during the Six Days War in June of 1967. Recall that in the seventy-weeks paradigm, the “seven” is seven weeks of years which is (7 x 7) forty-nine years. T. W. Tramm explains a remarkable concurrence:

June 7, 1967 falls in the Hebrew year 5727, adding forty-nine prophetic years to this date we arrive in the Hebrew year 5776, which is 2015 on the Gregorian calendar. Interestingly, if one counts exactly forty-nine (360 day) prophetic years (17,640 days) from the June 7, 1967 date of Jerusalem’s recapture, we arrive at September 23, 2015—the Day of Atonement! Coincidence?[ii]

We verified this remarkable match but we also noted that if one counts 49 x 365 days for solar years, one lands in 2016 which corresponds nicely with historical approach of AD 756 the acceding of temporal power to the pope plus 1260 derived from Revelation 11:3. Although no man knows the day or hour, it is hard to ignore the remarkable preponderance of prophecy pointing to the period we have entered.

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Mar 01

Why is Bible prophecy important?

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Prophecy Studies, The Church

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March 1, 2012

Read the attached article from Dr. David Reagan of Lamb and Lion Ministries on why Bible prophecy is so important to usas believes! Keep looking up!

 

Why is Bible prophecy important?
By Dr. David R. Reagan
Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries
Although prophecy constitutes almost one-third of the Bible, its importance is constantly downplayed by those who dismiss it as having no practical significance or by those who object to it on the grounds that it is a “fad” that takes people’s eyes off Jesus.

A good example of what I’m talking about can be found in the immensely popular best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.1 He mocks Bible prophecy when he writes, “If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy.” He then goes on to characterize prophecy as a “distraction” and says that anyone who lets himself get involved in distractions like studying prophecy “is not fit for the kingdom of God.”

Such cavalier dismissals of Bible prophecy fly in the face of scriptures like Revelation 19:10 which says that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Thus, if prophecy is properly taught, there is no reason for it to divert anyone’s attention away from Jesus. In fact, it should serve to emphasize the centrality of Jesus.

Is prophecy practical? Consider that all the New Testament writers testify to the fact that living with the anticipation of the Lord’s return will motivate holy living. What could be more practical than that? Here are some examples:

The Apostle Paul: “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” — Romans 13:12-14.

The Apostle Peter: “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God… so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” — 1 Peter 4:7-11.

The Apostle John: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” — 1 John 3:2-3.

Prophecy does not have to be either faddish, other-worldly, or impractical if taught properly. Nor does it have to be a playground for fanatics. It can and should be green pastures for disciples.

There are many reasons why all believers should be interested in studying Bible prophecy. Some of the more important ones are listed below:

1) The Quantity
One-fourth to one-third of the Bible is prophetic in nature. In the Old Testament, this includes the Psalms, the Major and Minor Prophets, and many passages in the historical books. In the New Testament, entire books like 1 & 2 Thessalonians and Revelation are devoted to prophecy, as are major passages like Matthew 24 and 1 Peter 3. To ignore Bible prophecy is to ignore a significant portion of God’s Word, and we are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” — and that certainly includes Bible prophecy.

2) The Uniqueness
No other book in the world contains fulfilled prophecies. This includes the sayings of Buddha and Confucius, the Koran, the Hindu Vedras, and the Book of Mormon. And it certainly includes the ridiculous nonsensical quatrains of Nostradamus.2 In contrast, the Bible contains hundreds of specific prophecies that have already been fulfilled — prophecies about towns, cities, nations, empires, and political leaders, as well as prophecies about the Messiah. Consider, for example, the prophecy in the book of Isaiah that a man named Cyrus would be the one who would release the children of Israel from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 44:28). And that is exactly what happened 142 years later (Ezra 1:1-3).

3) Validator of Scripture
Fulfilled prophecy is one of the best evidences I know of that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. As I stated above, the Bible contains hundreds of fulfilled secular prophecies pertaining to cities, nations, empires, and individuals. Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would fall to the Medes and Persians (Isaiah 13:17-20). Jeremiah predicted the Babylonian captivity of the Jews would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11-12). Daniel outlined in advance the precise order of four great Gentile empires (Daniel 2 and 7). The destruction of both Judah and Israel was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 28 and 29). In the New Testament, Jesus predicted the complete destruction of Jerusalem 40 years before it actually occurred (Luke 21:6).

4) Validator of Jesus
The prophetic scriptures validate Jesus as who He said He was — namely, God in the flesh. The Bible contains more than 300 prophecies about the First Coming of Jesus, but some of these are repetitive. There are actually 109 separate and distinct prophecies concerning the First Coming, and all of them were literally fulfilled.3 Every aspect of the life of Jesus was prophesied — the place of His birth, the nature of His birth, the quality of His ministry, the purpose of His life, and the agony of His death. Consider, for example, the prophecy in Psalm 22:16 that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced. That prophecy was written by David about a thousand years before the birth of Jesus. It was written 700 years before the invention of crucifixion as a form of execution. The literal fulfillment of so many prophecies in the life of one individual transcends any mere coincidence and serves to validate that Jesus was who He said He was — the divine Son of God.

5) Revealer of the Future
Prophecy serves to tell us some things that God wants us to know about the future (Deuteronomy 29:29 and Amos 3:7). God does not want us to know everything about the future, but there are some things we must know if we are to have a dynamic hope. Thus, prophecy assures us that Jesus is coming back, that He will resurrect us, and that He will take us to live forever with Him and God the Father. In this regard, Peter likens prophecy to “a lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). Paul makes the same point in 1 Corinthians, chapter 2. He begins by observing that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has the mind of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But in the next verse Paul says those things have been revealed to us by God through His Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

6) Tool of Evangelism
Prophecy can be used as a very effective tool of evangelism, as illustrated in the story of Philip and the Eunuch (Acts 8:26ff). Philip used Isaiah’s great suffering lamb passage (Isaiah 53) to teach that Jesus is the Lamb who was slain for the sins of the world. Matthew and Peter both used fulfilled prophecy in the life of Jesus as one of their basic evangelistic tools. In fact, Peter referred to prophecy constantly in his first gospel sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14-39). He preached that Jesus had been crucified and resurrected in fulfillment of Hebrew prophecies. Later, Peter referred to fulfilled prophecy as one of the greatest evidences that Jesus was truly the Son of God (2 Peter 1:16-19).

7) Tool of Moral Teaching
People often overlook the fact that the Hebrew prophets were forthtellers as well as foretellers. In fact, the prophets spent most of their time using God’s Word to spotlight societal problems. They called their listeners to repentance, true worship, social justice, and personal holiness. One of the great recurring themes of the prophets is that “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22 and Hosea 6:6). That statement means that in God’s eyes, obedience to His commands is more important than outward religious practices such as offering sacrifices. Prophecy is thus a great repository of moral teaching, and those moral principles are still relevant today. (See Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:8; and Isaiah 58:3-9.)

8) Generator of Spiritual Growth
Prophetic knowledge encourages patient waiting (James 5:7-8); provokes earnest watching (Matthew 24:36,42); inspires dedicated work (2 Timothy 4:7-8); and enhances our hope (Titus 2:11-14). The result is holy living. Paul exhorts us to “behave properly as in the day,” because the time is at hand when the Lord will return (Romans 13:12-13). Likewise, Peter calls us to gird up our minds and be sober and holy as we look forward to the revelation of Jesus (1 Peter 1:13-15).

9) Understanding of Current Events
The Bible contains detailed prophecies about the end times we are living in, and there is just no way to fully understand much of what is happening today apart from those prophecies. Three characteristics of our day and time immediately come to mind: the intensifying decay of society, the growing apostasy in the Church, and the escalating crisis in the Middle East. All three of these situations are prophesied in detail in the Bible. We are told that society will become as violent and immoral as it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39); that the Church will be assaulted with “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1); and that all the nations of the world will come against Israel over the issue of who will control Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2-3).

10) Signifier of the Season
One of the most exciting reasons for studying Bible prophecy is that it provides very definite signs that we are to watch for which will signify the season of the Lord’s return. It is true that we cannot know the date of the Lord’s return, but the Bible makes it clear that we can know the season if we are aware of the signs that we are to look for.

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Feb 20

Where is Magog, Meshech and Tubal?

Categories:

Gog-Ezekiel 38 & 39, Prophecy Studies

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February 20, 2012

I am attaching a great study and resource for your use from Joel Richardson. This shows a growing belief that Russia may not be involved in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 and the War of Gog- Magog.

Keep looking up!

Where is Magog

 

 

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Feb 04

THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL: Lessons from Daniel chapter 5

Categories:

America, Prophecy Studies

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February 4, 2012

Great study from Joel Rosenberg from Daniel chapter 5 on fate of America and the coming war in the Middle East. Pray that you are found worthy of protection by our Lord in these times of trouble. Keep looking up!

“Is America in a ‘Nebuchadnezzar moment’ (where we still have an opportunity to repent and be restored), or a ‘Belshazzar moment’ (where God removes His favor from us and turns out the lights)?”

Joel C. Rosenberg, Jacksonville Pastors Conference, January 29, 2012 

 “The Pastor and the Future” — that’s what I’ve been asked to speak about tonight, and I cannot think of a more important subject to close this conference. You and I are living in one of the most dangerous moments in the history of the United States….in the history of Israel and the Middle East….in the history of the Church. Yet at this very moment when so many people are so anxious about the future, too many pastors are shying away from teaching Bible prophecy.

  • Some, because prophecy has been sensationalized in the past and they rightly resist such cheapening of God’s Holy Word.
  • Some, because they’ve never really carefully studied Bible prophecy and feel unprepared to teach it to their congregations.
  • Some, because they’ve lost sight of the power of prophecy – prophecy is an intercept from the mind of the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful God….prophecies are storm warnings from the future….not to frighten us but to motivate us – to get us ready for what is coming, and to help get others ready…..prophecy is given to encourage and exhort the Church to repentance….to holiness and purity….to prayer and fasting….to sharing the Gospel and making disciples….to pastor training and church planting….prophecy tells us we are going to be shaken….why?….to wake up the Church….to wake up the nations….to wake up Israel….because the Day of the Lord is coming, and surely it is near….and God love us and He wants us to be ready.

In Luke 12:54-56, Jesus rebuked His disciples for not understanding the Word of God and not analyzing the times in which they lived….which is why it is so important that we close this conference by considering “The Pastor and the Future.” So, turn with me, if you would, to Daniel chapter 5. [Read the entire chapter]

What do we see in Daniel chapter 5?

5:1-2 – A pagan nation at the height of its power, and corruption.

5:3-4 – A pagan government and high society drunk with power and consumed with seeking pleasure of all kinds….worshipping the gods of gold and silver and all things material….what do we see in the king’s court?

  • Sexual immorality.
  • Drunkness.
  • Greed and materialism.
  • Idolatry
  • Blasphemy.
  • No care or concern for their history of sin and God’s judgment.
  • No remembrance of God’s grace and mercy for those who repent.

King Belshazzar doesn’t seem to remember or care about the testimony of his forefather, Nebuchadnezzar. Once an evil and terrible king, one of the worst in the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar had then faced the judgment of God. He’d been driven out of the king’s palace, into the wilderness, driven mad and eating grass like a beast. Yet after a time, God relented. The Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar a second chance, and Nebuchadnezzar repented of his horrific sins and gave his life to the One True God. What’s more, Nebuchadnezzar praised the Lord before the entire nation ofBabylon.

Nebuchadnezzar testified before his people: “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” (Daniel 4:36-37).

5:5-6 – So God begins to shake them.

5:7-9 – A mysterious hand appears out of nowhere in the king’s court….mysterious fingers begin supernaturally writing on the wall of the king’s palace….everyone in that room could see the handwriting on the wall….they could all see the hand of God at work…..it terrified them, but it certainly got their attention…..they knew it was important, but they had no idea what is said, or what it meant….so because they were pagans they turned to the so-called “wise men” of the age, but the wise men had no answers.

  • 5:7 – King Belshazzar has two reactions:
    • A physical reaction – he gets physically ill.
    • An emotion reaction – he becomes desperate….he suddenly becomes willing to give massive wealth and power to whoever can help him understand the handwriting on the wall.

5:10-12 – Frightened, desperate, and having run out of all other options, Belshazzar turns to a man with a reputation for being completely different than they….a man described as having an “extraordinary spirit”….a man described as having “knowledge and insight”…a man “in whom is a spirit of the holy gods”…..the man, of course, was Daniel….he hadn’t been invited to the party, mind you…he wasn’t part of their culture….he wasn’t part of their religion….he wasn’t a member of the “in crowd”….and that was the point….in their fear and trembling, they were looking for someone completely different….someone who had a completely different perspective and just might be able to help them.

5:13-16 – Enter Daniel….he is brought into the upper echelons of power and wealth and offered a great reward if he can solve the mystery.

5:17-28 – Daniel doesn’t ignore or resist the king’s request….he doesn’t claim separation of Church and State….he doesn’t self-righteously declare he won’t “dirty his hands” by speaking to government leaders….but Daniel makes clear that he’s not interested in money, power or prestige….he’s not trying to be in their club….he certainly doesn’t want to be part of their pagan culture or corruption….rather, he knows he holds citizenship in another kingdom, yet he also knows that he is God’s ambassador….so he agrees to explain the hand of God to the king and his court….giving all glory and honor to the Lord, Daniel fearlessly makes known the word of the Lord, even at great risk to his own life.

Many in ministry look at Daniel with admiration and want to be like him:

  • He’s handsome (Daniel 1:4)
  • Brilliant (Daniel 1:4)
  • Wise (Daniel 1:4)
  • Sterling reputation (Daniel chapters 1 through 5)
  • Invited into the highest courts of power (the entire book of Daniel)
  • Given great accolades, wealth and authority (Daniel 2:46-49 and 5:29)

Yet let’s be clear: Daniel didn’t seek any of these things….moreover, he knew he could take no credit for these things.

That said, let’s take another look….are you really willing to be a Daniel? Consider the high price of his service to the Lord:

  • He was taken captive from his homeland (Daniel chapter 1)
  • Forcibly given a new home, new name, new diet, new education, new job in a brutal pagan empire (Daniel chapter 1)
  • Arrested, convicted, imprisoned, sentenced to death (Daniel chapter 6)
  • Yet he never faltered….he never wavered….he clung to the Lord….he knew His God….he listened to His God….he was a man of prayer….he understand the Word….he studied God’s Word diligently and carefully (chapter 9 he’s studying Jeremiah!)…..and when God told him to speak, he spoke boldly and without reservation…..he didn’t pull any punches….he did so at great risk, but with great faith and courage.
  • In Matthew 24:15, Jesus calls Daniel “the prophet”….for that is what he was.

How about you?….are you clinging to Christ?….are you on you knees repeatedly throughout the day in prayer?….are you fasting?…..are you listening carefully to the voice of God?…..are you willing to teach God’s Word – all of it, including the prophecies of a future that is coming fast upon us?…..are you ready to stripped of all our worldly possessions…stripped of our identity….arrested…. convicted….imprisoned…. sentenced to death….all for being men faithful to pray and faithful to speak the Word of God in our pagan, corrupt culture? Let us not answer too quickly – let us consider the gravity of this calling in this moment…for these tests may be coming soon.

Now, what was the Lord’s message to Belshazzar via Daniel?

  • 5:18-21 — Belshazzar should have known better…he had seen the sins of his father, and God’s judgment
  • 5:22 – “Yet you…have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,” Daniel says to the king. “You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven.”
  • 5:26 – Mene, “God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.”
  • 5:27 – Tekel, “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.”
  • 5:28 – Peres, “Your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
  • Why was God judging Belshazzar? Because of Belshazzar’s pride…his vanity….his insolence….his hubris….Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Yes, the God of the Bible is a God of grace and mercy and forgiveness. He gives us one opportunity after another in life here on earth to say “Yes” to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life by putting our faith in Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. But eventually there is a point of no return. There is a point in which you defy God too long….go too far….cross a line….and at that point you no longer have the opportunity to repent and receive God’s mercy. At that point, when you least expect it, you have sealed your own fate by rejecting the Most High God…by exalting yourself against the Lord, and you will stand condemned to the fires of hell for all of eternity with no way of escape.

Thus, the Scriptures are clear: Say “Yes” to Jesus Christ now, before it is too late.

  • “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (I John 5:11-12)
  • “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (die and go to hell forever and ever), but shall have eternal life….he who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16,18)
  • Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell….Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:28,32-33)
  • Don’t do what Belshazzar did. Don’t keep defying the Most High God. Don’t wait too long to repent and give your life to the Lord. Otherwise there will come a point of no return. You will be weighed in God’s balances and found deficient, and theKingdomofGodwill be ripped away from you and you won’t have another opportunity to be saved. The Apostle Paul put it clearly: “Now is the acceptable time [to get right with God],” he wrote. “Behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)

5:29-31 – For some unknown reason Belshazzar kept his word to Daniel and rewarded him for his insight….and God kept His word and before the night was finished, Belshazzar was dead.

Question: Why did God write on the wall?

It was too late for that king — and that kingdom — to repent. Why, then, did God sent the message? To warn to those Babylonians who were in the room with Belshazzar, and to warn the entire nation of Babylon….and to warn us down through the centuries: Listen to the voice of God….read the Word of God….don’t harden your heart….understand the “handwriting on the wall”….understand that God is trying to wake you up….get your attention….draw you to Him….motivate you to serve Him….don’t wait too long….repent of your sins and receive Christ as your Savior while there is still time.

Today, we can see the handwriting on the wall once again….in Israel and the Middle East….and here in the United States….God is trying to get our attention….will we listen, or harden our hearts?

The Future of Israel and the Middle East

As followers of Jesus Christ, we can see the handwriting on the wall in theMiddle East. We know what it says, and we know what it means: a terrible war is coming to the epicenter. God is going to shake the people of theMiddle East. He wants them to wake up and realize their real and desperate and urgent need to receive Jesus as their Messiah, Savior and Lord. Jesus doesn’t want anyone in the epicenter to perish and go to hell. He wants them to all to be saved. 

The Good News is that more Muslims and more Jews are coming to faith in Jesus than ever before in history. But it’s not enough for the Lord. Too many people are still resisting Him. So in His mercy He will continue shaking them in hopes that they will listen and repent like Nebuchadnezzar, not rejecting Him to the very end like Belshazzar.

Will the coming war be a prophetic war (like Ezekiel 38-39, the “War of God and Magog”), or just a really terrible geopolitical war? Of that we cannot yet be certain. But clearly the most dangerous corridor in the world is between Tel Aviv and Tehran. The leaders of the free world say Iran could have the Bomb by the end of 2012. Yet the nations of the world refuse to take decisive action to neutralize the Iranian threat. But make no mistake: if Iran’s mullahs get the Bomb, they could do in six minutes what it took Adolf Hitler six years to do – kill six million Jews. Today’s Sunday New York Times magazine story suggests Israel and Iran may very well go to war in 2012.

The handwriting on the wall is clear – the question is: What will we as believers do about it?

  • Will the Church demonstrate the love and courage necessary to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the Middle East with clarity and compassion before it’s too late? If we really love the people of the epicenter, that’s exactly what we should do.
  • Will the Church do everything possible to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in theMiddle East– to pray for them, to visit them, to equip them, to assist them, to stand with them, come what may? Will we help the persecuted believers in the region? Will we train the pastors and help them plant new churches? Or will we ignore them, abandon them, refuse them in their hour of need? Again, if we love them, we will serve them.
  • Time is short, and the handwriting on the wall is clear.

The Future of America

The handwriting on the wall is also clear here in theUnited States. We as followers of Jesus Christ know full well thatAmericais in grave danger — not just at risk of decline but of outright collapse.

  • We now have more than $15 trillion in debt….100% of our GDP….but we are facing $65 trillion in unfunded liabilities…..we are on the Titanic, heading for the icebergs, and too many inWashington are saying, “Speed up!” not, “Turn around!”
  • The Bible warns us not to go into debt, yet we continue to defy Him.
  • We are defying God in other areas, too.
  • 53 million abortions
  • Legalized homosexual marriage
  • A pornography industry that makes more than ABC, CBS and NBC combined.

How much longer will the Lord wait before He lets us reap what we’ve sown? Is God going to give us another chance, or is He finished with us? Is America in a “Nebuchadnezzar moment” (where we still have an opportunity to repent and be restored), or a “Belshazzar moment” (where God removes His favor from us and turns out the lights)? Honestly, I’m not certain.

The good news is that God moved powerfully in this land in the early 1700s with the first “Great Awakening,” a series of amazing spiritual revivals that woke up the Church and rescuedAmerica. God moved powerfully again in the early 1800s with the “Second Great Awakening” that was even more transformative.

The question now is: Will God give us a Third Great Awakening? I don’t know, but I hope so. That’s why I’ve written the book, Implosion. But I can’t wait until June when it releases. I feel compelled to start talking about these issues now because they are so important. We need to be on our knees praying and fasting and pleading with God to have mercy on us. Yes, Washington and Wall Street and Hollywood bear much blame for the mess we’re in. But so does the Church.

There are 340,000 churches in the United States. They are all supposed to be shining cities on a hill. They are supposed to be lights in the darkness. But in too many American churches, the light is growing dim. In some churches, there is no light at all. We desperately need a revival of the Church to save this country. Nothing less will do.

Even if we elect godly, principled, wise and courageous leaders to the presidency, the Senate and the House in 2012, this won’t be enough to keep us from implosion. It’s still important, don’t get me wrong. But won’t be enough. We need a supernatural movement of God to rescue us, or this nation will collapse economically, morally and culturally. 

On Saturday, June 16th, we will host the national “Implosion” simulcast….a three-hour program for churches all across the country….I’ll teach for about an hour on these issues, and then take 2 hours of questions in a live format…we’ll talk about how much trouble we’re in, and we’ll talk more about the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening and see if there are lessons we can learn and apply to our own time….I hope you and your churches will consider joining us for this.

Conclusion

The world is fearful and confused. Millions across the globe can see the handwriting on the wall. They know something is terribly wrong. They sense something terrible is coming. But they cannot read the handwriting or understand what it means. That’s your job. That the mission of the pastor, the man of God who knows the Word of God and is charged with teaching the Word of God. It is your job to analyze these present times in the light of God’s Word, in the light of Bible prophecy, and help the Church and the pagan world understand what God is saying….before it’s too late.

Too many pastors, however, are asleep to the trend lines. They are unable – or unwilling – to see how much danger the people of the Middle East are in, and how much danger the people of the United States are in. But now is precisely the time to call the Church, and the nations, and Israel, back to the God of the Bible…..now, while we still can.

 

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Jan 31

DOES PSALM 83 DESCRIBE NEXT MIDEAST WAR?

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Prophecy Studies

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January 31, 2012

Does Psalm 83 describe next Mideast war?

Exclusive: Joel Richardson identifies line of prophecy thinking that’s ‘a total fantasy’

Published: 3 days ago

By Joel Richardson

Throughout the Christian church, an idea that has gained much traction in recent years holds that the next major Middle Eastern war is described in Psalm 83. According to this view, a contingent of Arab nations that immediately surround Israel will soon make an attempt to invade her, only to be utterly defeated by the Israeli Defense Forces. Many even believe that as a result of this great victory over her neighbors, Israel will literally come to occupy the nations of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. This growing view also holds that after this period of victory and peace, another massive war, this time described in Ezekiel 38 and 39, will follow. If one peruses several of the larger online Bible prophecy discussion forums, it will quickly become apparent just how widespread this view truly is among prophecy students.

But few of these students of prophecy are aware of the many problems with this view. For the past few years, I’ve been highlighting several of these problems, but recently, both Dr. Thomas Ice, the executive director of the Pre-Trib Research Center, and Pastor Mark Hitchcock, another very well-accomplished prophecy teacher and author, have also articulated several of the problems with the popular interpretation of Psalm 83.

The first problem is that most scholars reject the idea that Psalm 83 is even an actual prophecy, but is simply, “a national prayer of lament.” Such a Psalm would not be considered a prophecy in the sense of that which was uttered by the biblical prophets.

Second, even if one does consider Psalm 83 to be a prophecy in the proper sense, the primary reason many have come to accept this two-war scenario is because of the differences between the nations listed in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39. While Psalm 83 lists what are often referred to as the “inner circle” of nations that immediately border Israel, Ezekiel 38 and 39 lists a series of nations that form a larger “outer ring” around Israel including Turkey, Iran, Sudan, Libya and, many argue, Russia. But a closer examination of both texts reveals that it is far more likely that these two passages speak of the same war.

If one examines the list of nations in Psalm 83, few analysts include the nation of Turkey. Yet Asaph, the writer of this Psalm, mentions that “Assyria” (v.8) will join this coalition. When this Psalm was written during the reign of King David, the Kingdom of Assyria included portions of modern-day Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Analysts of Psalm 83 have included both Iraq and Syria in their coming invasion scenario, but never Turkey. Yet the reality is that the Assyrian Kingdom during the time the Psalm was written included quite a bit more of modern Turkey than Syria. This is significant, of course, because Turkey features so prominently in the Ezekiel 38 & 39 prophecy.

 

The Assyrian Empire (c. 950 B.C. during the reign of King David.

Another name mentioned in Psalm 83 are the Ishmaelites. Many analysts of Psalm 83 use this name to point exclusively to the nation of Saudi Arabia. However, many Arabs today trace their lineage back to Ishmael. Muhammad himself, the founder of Islam, believed himself to be a direct descendant of Ishmael. Depending on how one interprets the term “Ishmaelites,” then, the inclusion of this term could point us to much of the Islamic Middle East and North Africa, including Libya and Sudan. These nations also feature prominently in the Ezekiel 38 and 39 prophecy.

Another problem with looking to seeming surface differences between these two texts is that many scholars and prophecy analysts believe that Ezekiel 38 and 39′s list of nations is anything but comprehensive. In fact, as Mark Hitchcock points out, the prophet concludes his list of nations by adding the phrase, “and many nations with you.” In other words, Ezekiel only listed one major modern nation from each of the four corners of the compass so as to highlight the massive scale of this coming regional invasion. The following map represents the nations specified by Ezekiel revealing the likelihood of this interpretation.

 

The invading nations of the Ezekiel 38 and 39 Prophecy. Turkey: north, Iran: east, Sudan: south, and Libya: West.

In the end, if one understands Ezekiel 38 and 39 more accurately, it would seem to be pointing to a massive regional war against Israel including “many nations” not necessarily specified or mentioned within the text. And if we consider the nations mentioned in Psalm 83, if it is an actual prophecy, then it is also far more likely to be speaking of a much larger invasion than most students of prophecy have understood it.

Beyond this, Mark Hitchcock also lists several more similarities between these two texts, further suggesting that they are ultimately pointing to a singular war:

Both texts speak of a plan coming into the minds of the participants or the leader to invade Israel (Psalm 83:4,5; Ezekiel 38:10).

Both texts speak of the purpose of the invasion to wipe Israel out as a nation (Psalm 83:4; Ezekiel 38:9).

Both texts speak of the armies actually turning on each other and attacking one another while in the land (Psalm 83:9; Judges 7; Ezekiel 38:21).

Both texts speak of the judgment of God on the armies through fire (Psalm 83:14; Ezekiel 38:22).

Both texts speak of the result of these wars being that the invaders come to know the Lord in their defeat (Psalm 83:18; Ezekiel 39:7).

In the end, it is clear that tensions in the Middle East are very high. War could be just around the corner. We must pray that this is averted! The day will surely come when all of the prophecies of the Bible will be completely fulfilled. But for now, I am of the opinion that the scenario many students of prophecy are looking for, namely the soon victory of Israel over her neighbors and the subsequent occupation of those lands is a total fantasy. When Jesus returns, only then will genuine justice fill the region. But until then, we are to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

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Jan 20

The Powerful Delusion

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Antichrist, Prophecy Studies

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January 20, 2012

Great article from Jack Kelley of Grace Thru Faith. Enjoy!

The Powerful Delusion

 

 

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thes. 2:9-12)

 

It’s no secret that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  is preoccupied with the coming of a Shiite Islamic messiah figure, al Mahdi.  This continues to raise concern that a nuclear-armed Iran would create the kind of global chaos he believes will be necessary to set the stage for the Mahdi’s return.  Recent events  seem to confirm this.  For example, after years of promising that their nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful, Iran just announced their intention to test a 1 kiloton nuclear warhead this year. Iran’s Supreme Leader is thought to favor announcing Iran’s nuclear capability as an accomplished fact as soon as possible.

Iran  has also made repeated threats to close the Straights of Hormuz, blocking over 35% of the world’s ship borne oil supply, and they’ve warned the US not to send it’s recently departed aircraft carrier back into the Persian Gulf. The US has responded by reversing the carrier’s departure course and ordering an additional carrier into the vicinity, which entered the Persian Gulf  this week.  In addition to the thousands of  troops the US recently stationed in Israel and Jordan in case of trouble in Syria,  15,000 more have now been stationed  in Kuwait in case of trouble in Iran.  It’s widely assumed that some kind of military showdown between the US and Iran is imminent.

Al Mahdi, which means the guided one,  is said to have gone into “occlusion” (disappeared) in the year 941 AD, at the age of five.  Shiite Moslems believe he will reappear at the end of the Age. They say his reappearance will be preceded by chaos, war and bloodshed. When he comes he’ll establish a world wide Islamic caliphate, and following a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness that lasts 7 years, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace.

This is obviously similar to Christian eschatology of the anti-Christ. Indeed, the Hidden Imam, as he’s also called, is expected to return in the company of Jesus.  Iran’s “Twelver” sect of Islam  believes the Mahdi is Mohammed ibn Hasan, regarded as the 12th Imam, or righteous descendant, of the Prophet Mohammad. Both the Ayatollah Khamanei and Pres. Ahmadinejad claim to have communicated with him.

As he has has publicly explained, Ahmadinejad believes he’s been called to “pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance.” To some, this means creating the chaos necessary to bring al Mahdi back.

He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.(Daniel 9:27)

 

The Prophet Daniel spoke of a seven-year rule by one who brings about Earth’s final judgment over 1000 years before Mohammed fashioned the religion we know as Islam. And as is the case with Shiite beliefs, Daniel’s ruler will rise to power on the heels of a great battle between the forces of good and evil as well. How else would he be able to use the promise of peace to deceive the world? (Daniel 8:25)

According to Revelation 13, this ruler and his false prophet will force the world into a common religion, killing all who resist. Shiites agree.  They insist the religion will be Islam, and that in the process all the Jews and Romans (Christians) who don’t convert will be put to death.

Good News And Bad News

Please understand, I’m not trying to give these Islamic beliefs about al Mahdi any legitimacy.  I’m only trying to show how similar they are to Biblical prophecies of the anti-Christ.  In fact the only discernible difference lies in one fact. Whereas Daniel and other Biblical figures who prophesied of this coming ruler viewed him as the ultimate expression of evil, eventually indwelt by Satan himself, Shiites see him as a force for good, ushering in a glorious age of worldwide Islamic rule. The two perceptions couldn’t be more opposite.

I think this difference is the sprouting seed of the powerful delusion Paul spoke of in 2 Thes. 2:11. During the Great Tribulation the world will experience a total reversal of perception from that of its Judeo-Christian past. Consider these two passages from the Revelation as confirmation.

Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?”(Rev. 13:4) The dragon is Satan and the beast is the anti-Christ.

Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. (Rev 16:10-11)

As they clearly show, the End Times world will worship Satan and curse God.

Amazingly, this reversal of perception is also the basis of a New Age heresy called the Luciferian Doctrine. Simply put it holds that Lucifer, the angel of light (in Latin, Lucifer means light bearer) is desperately trying to bring mankind through the final, spiritual phase of human evolution, into the Utopian world man longs for.   But Lucifer is being thwarted in his efforts by the evil Adonay (from the Hebrew Adonai, which means Lord) who wants to destroy man. As you can see, it’s also the opposite of the truth, just like Paul warned (2 Thes. 2:9-12), and just like prophecies of al Mahdi appear to be.

By whatever name, this doctrine will permeate the One World religion of Daniel’s 70th Week. Because of the dramatic manifestations of supernatural signs and wonders during that time, the last vestiges of the godless secular humanism will finally die. Satan, who during our age has been content with giving anyone but God credit for the Creation of Earth and Man, will begin demanding credit for himself. And having refused to love the truth, man, who needs to believe in someone greater than himself, will be fair game for this lie.

The Luciferian Doctrine explains the difference between the Shiite view and Bible Prophecy and could be the powerful delusion Paul spoke of.  The god of Islam is not the God of the Bible, after all, and besides man there’s only one other created being who aspires to be God.

“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.” (Amos 8:11)

 

The man who doesn’t stand for something will fall for anything, the saying goes, so after the church disappears and the famine of God’s word prophesied by Amos takes hold, there will be a real longing for something to believe in on Earth. The Luciferian Doctrine will fit the bill nicely, especially when its two leading proponents, the anti-Christ and the False Prophet, will seem to have such supernatural power.

Mahmoud The Zealot

The introduction of religious zeal, counterfeit though it may be, into world events is the most dramatic proof since 1948 of the nearness of the end. In the final days of Communism, when some folks thought Gorbachev was the anti-Christ, they overlooked the absence of this critical component. Coming from the perspective of the Modern Rationalism of the 50′s, when God wasn’t thought to be real anymore, the godless Soviet enemy seemed sufficient to fulfill end times prophecy. And yet, the Bible speaks of powerful spiritual contention at the end of the age. After all the final battle is fought and won in the spiritual realm. It just takes place on Earth. It’s clear that events at the end of the age will include powerful, opposing, spiritual forces.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a religious zealot of the first magnitude. By his statements, it’s clear that he believes his Mahdi is coming soon, and that he has been chosen to have his country ready to receive him. An old Islamic saying goes, “When the students are ready, the teacher will come.” And he himself has declared, “We don’t shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world.” A man with that kind of zeal, given the kind of power he has, will not hesitate to plunge the world into chaos to hasten the day of his lord.

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way (2 Thes 2:7).  But remember this, my friends. Before the powerful delusion can truly take hold, the truth has to disappear. The repository for truth in this age is the church, so when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).  If you listen closely, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

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Jan 15

Hybrids

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Prophecy Studies, Signs

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January 15, 2012

Christ Himself tells us in Matthew 24 that the days before His return will be like the days of Noah. So we need to ask ourselves what was that world like and why did the flood come? Read Genesis chapter 6 for your answer. There were giants and mighty men of reknown walking the earth. The perversion attempt by Satan to stop Mewssiah from coming. The fallen angels. Read the attached for an interesting perspective.

Hybrids – Ron Graham – twotug@embarqmail.com

 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. Humanity is moving through a period of increasingly deteriorating moral behavior. Today wickedness among earth’s inhabitants has grown to a fever pitch. When we study our Bibles what becomes evident is the fact that between the antediluvian world, known as the days of Noah, and our present world there is a shocking similarity unfolding before us.

 The news of late has been replete with unimaginable stories of brutality. Most people are mystified, even horrified, at the extremity and the frequency of the cold hearted and brutal acts of senseless aggression, perpetrated mostly on the aged, in various sectors around America. What is it that we are witnessing? This seemingly new form of insanity invading America is actuality a worldwide phenomenon, and it’s burgeoning.

 A new breed of criminal has emerged on the scene – younger, stronger, completely lacking remorse. Oh, and cold hearted would be a gross understatement. Nothing witnessed by generations upon generations can prepare humanity for this emerging wickedness. They are many, their numbers are growing, and they all seem to have one thing in common, they lack any semblance of a human soul. Their purpose seems to be that of mayhem, confusion, and to inflict as much pain as possible, even to the point of death of the victim. They’re being manipulated to perform like robots, and to attack like well trained attack dogs. Their trainer, who we should all recognize as a manipulator, yes, he’s Satan and he has only wickedness on his mind.

 Who are they? Where have they come from? Are these marauding bands of seemingly soulless bodies even human? Has there been some tampering going on with the DNA of a segment of earthlings creating beings void of human emotion? What would need to be done to a person to negate the traits that provide us with feeling love, kindness, and even remorse? Is it possible to change the genome through DNA manipulation to void a person’s soul? The manipulation of human and animal DNA being performed in medical labs today is astounding. Most of society today hasn’t a clue about what’s being created in these labs. Genetic engineering is in well advanced stages in what can now be seen as man taking over for God; man has now become the manipulator/creator of new forms of life. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4. Can there be any doubt in the minds of those who take God’s word seriously that knowledge has increased exponentially and that we are now at the end?

 On the horizon are DNA microchips able to analyze more than a thousand traits at once, those linked not just to a child’s health but to enhancements – genes that influence height, intelligence, hair, skin and eye colour and athletic ability. Source – The Globe and Mail 

 I am getting to a point here with all these questions. I believe the Bible has the answer. We’re informed, by Jesus Christ Himself, in Matthew 24 that there would be some distinguishing factors associated with the last days on planet earth that would set those particular days significantly apart from all other periods of time in human history, save one. Jesus tells us what time period in man’s past best fits as a comparison of what will be witnessed in the last days just prior to His return. He was enlightening us while attempting to elevate our sense of perception at the same time. Jesus is telling us what’s coming and He’s not being elusive. Jesus’ warning had to allude to something completely different than what humanity would consider normal.

 “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark” Matthew 24:37-38. Obviously those of Noah’s day were eating and drinking to sustain themselves, although we’re not told what they were eating and drinking. Some in-depth study I’ve done shows a corruption even in their diet. But my question here is – why would Jesus speak of marriage or giving in marriage during those days? To the casual reader marrying and giving in marriage is seen here as simply going about business as usual, they see nothing out of the ordinary about this verse. But to the studied reader what Jesus is alluding to is that just prior to His return to earth the world will be experiencing an all consuming evil corruption of the genes of humans through the cohabitation of fallen angels and human women just like the people of Noah’s day were, which was the reason God destroyed the antediluvians with a worldwide flood. Think about it this way, who in their right mind will be thinking about their white wedding dress or their black tuxedo at a time when the world will be crumbling around them? The world, just prior to His return, will be filled with the violence, wickedness, and mayhem that Noah witnessed in his day. Jesus lays out precisely for His disciples the full picture of those last days. Jesus wasn’t referring to normal marriage plans, but to very abnormal and abominable copulations between two distinct groups of beings. If we misinterpret the verses in Genesis 6 most of the rest of the Bible will never make sense.

 Keep in mind that Jesus was referring to similarities between the antediluvian era and the last days before His return. Remember, the reason God (Jesus) sent the deluge was because of all the abominable unions (marriages) between fallen angels and human women, and the progeny these unions brought forth. Evil was spread over the antediluvian world exactly the way it’s overtaking ours today. Jesus referred to marriage in those days before the flood because that’s exactly what we read in the Genesis 6 account. “That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” Genesis 6:2 (emphases mine). Jesus isn’t being coy; He’s laying out the future. One that involves the worst possible scenario, the re-incursion of fallen angels into our space/time continuum for one purpose, the corruption/destruction of the human race – just as they did in the days of Noah.

 “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men:” Daniel 2:43. Daniel is revealing a message given in a dream to king Nebuchadnezzar by God. But we see something very strange in this verse. “…they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men”. Again, for the casual reader there is nothing out of the ordinary in this verse, but for those of us who study prophecy with a desire to fully understand what God has in store for His creation there’s something in that verse that should give us reason to pause and delve deeper. Who are “they”? Whoever “they” are they’re mingling themselves with the seed (offspring) of men (daughters). This is a prophecy of the last days. There was a corruption of the genome in Noah’s day perpetrated by fallen angels. We’re told by God Himself that there will be a resurgence of this same corruption in the days just prior to Christ’s return. Here in Daniel chapter 2 we’re given confirmation that in the last days “they”, fallen angels, will again procreate with human women to produce offspring (hybrids/Nephilim). The question is – are these hybrids already dwelling among us?

 The birth pangs that Jesus refers to in His “Olivet Discourse” lesson are upon us – only the foolish will deny it. “…all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6b. Jesus is about to call His disciple’s attention to numerous birth pangs which will begin just a few years before His return. It is significant that the verse above mentions that all these things must come to pass. Everything Jesus lays out will happen – some of them are happening now. Jesus continues describing just what these things entail. Although Jesus is speaking to the Nation of Israel, of those folks who will still be alive at the end of the “Great Tribulation” just prior to His return, I believe the birth pangs He speaks about are a warning sign for all who will believe and trust Him. In the next verse you will see why I believe the birth pangs have begun.

 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matthew 24:12. If I were to restate his verse so that the meaning would be even clearer than how it’s written above, I would state it thusly: “When lawlessness thrives and is coupled with extreme wickedness, and as this scenario becomes more and more pervasive on the world scene, then what humanity has enjoyed in the past in regards to kindness, affection, benevolence, charity, and brotherly love will be nonexistent. Then the new breed of human (the hybrid) filled with hate, malice, wickedness, and cruelty takes over” (please understand that these are my words, I’m not attempting to put my words in the Bible – only to provide a more clear understanding). If we look into the original Greek words my explanation above would be pretty close to what Jesus was telling His disciples. The period of time Jesus refers to will be extremely frightening, and there is every indication that that period of time has arrived.

 The closer we get to the time of Christ’s return the more improbable will be the sights that we see and even sounds that we hear. Improbable in that they will consist of what we’ve always been taught as being that of the realm of myth (supernatural). My wife and I heard a sound the other day that was completely abnormal. It was a noise that seemed to come out of nowhere and grew louder and louder, similar to an approaching train. We had walked down the rural road we live on to our mailbox, about an eighth of a mile. As we were just about to the mailbox, the sound started. There was a slight breeze but not really enough of a wind that would create a loud howling noise. No planes in the air above us, and no approaching automobiles on the main road. We were perplexed to say the least. What was it? I have no idea, it simply stopped. But the dimension of the malevolent supernatural is invading our world and they are becoming more and more brazen with their antics, allowing many people to see things they don’t want to see, or hear things no human can explain.

 UFO’s are reported every ten minutes somewhere on planet earth. That’s a lot of sightings by many people, people from every walk of life. The beings that operate these craft are, at times, allowing themselves to be seen, and for the most part they are described as creatures with no resemblance to human beings. The investigative data that I’ve studied points to these beings as inter-dimensional not extraterrestrial. They’re not traveling from distant galaxies to interact benevolently with earthlings. They are appearing and disappearing as though popping in and out of other dimensions. Why are they coming? I believe it is to create an atmosphere of fear and confusion. The beings that traverse dimensions can be benevolent or malevolent and we should be keenly aware of the current incursion by many malevolent beings in these last days. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37.    

 I believe Satan’s goal is to build an army that he can fully control, thus command to fight at the last war which the Bible refers to as Armageddon. He’s not just content with readying this horde for battle with the Lord, but while the Lord tarries, Satan will be focused on inflicting a world of hurt on humanity in ways we would never have conceived, all to create an atmosphere of fear and confusion. He’s done it before, and he’s prophesied to do it again in the last days. The stories of these marauding bands of soulless misfits exploding on the scene today are from various news releases I’ve read over the past few months. I’m sure most of you have been privy to these same articles but perhaps had not connected the dots. 

 I mentioned birth pangs earlier and I was alluding to a gradual but burgeoning set of conditions. As the birth pangs Jesus speaks of run the gamut from minute to extreme, the church can be seen at the beginning of those birth pangs. But as they become more and more severe, without warning, in the twinkling of an eye, the church disappears and the only people remaining to experience all the mayhem and misery created by these fallen angels and their soulless hybrids are the Christ rejecters. If you’ve never said yes to Jesus Christ, and you remain in that state of mind, then those extremely harsh birth pangs are going to be yours to experience.

 I’ve done my own research and am convinced humanity is in its last stage. I would hope that everyone who reads this commentary will be motivated to explore the plethora of research data on the subject of a post-human world, the world of the genetically modified human. God will not allow this corruption of His creation to go much further. As I’ve stated, the research has progressed to the stage that scientists are convinced that it’s time to alter the genome of humans. We are in the last days, and Jesus is on His way.

 

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Jan 10

Gog’s Evil Thought

Categories:

Gog-Ezekiel 38 & 39, Prophecy Studies

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January 10, 2012

Interesting article from Terry James of Rapture Ready.com. Enjoy!

Gog’s “Evil Thought”

By Terry James
One can sense the dark, coalescing thoughts that are going on within the 2012 presidential election cabals. No, I’m not talking about the U.S. presidential election smoke-filled, back-room wheeling and dealing. Rather, I refer to the intrigues that are no doubt presently taking place in the political chambers of Moscow. A very interesting Russian politician we all know about sits snugly ensconced within the seat of power at the Kremlin, despite the façade he and his fellows present that he is candidate for the Russian presidency. Mysterious doings revolve around this self-promoting, sixty-year-old former KGB officer with his ongoing macho performances, both actual and of questionable credibility.

We remember his photo ops on the shores of the Black Sea and other places where he proudly displayed his six-pack abs. Then, there is the story where he single-handedly dove into the depths of some body of water, then came up with hands full of treasure—treasure that no one, not even professional marine salvage crews were previously able to find.

Vladimir Putin, although officially in a secondary position within the Russian governmental system because of constitutional restrictions regarding succession, nonetheless moves ahead paying scant attention to the fact that he has not yet been elected once again to the nation’s top post. There is little observable opposition to his power-brokering and manipulations, either officially or unofficially. It is as if his is a predestined leadership imperative for his most prophetically significant nation.

One billionaire Russian accuses Putin of trying to reprise a system at least somewhat similar to the Soviet Union, and is opposing Putin’s campaign for the Russian presidency, but isn’t making much headway. One wonders just how long such opposition will be allowed, when considering the recent track records of those who opposed ol’ Vlad. Many of these are in gulag—or are no longer among the living.

A couple of recent news items piqued my interest regarding this man who so dominates the news coming out of the country that many of us who observe prophetic movement believe will be the nation that will lead the Gog-Magog attack of Ezekiel 38-39. Putin’s thinking about Russia’s future differs from the Soviet model in some significant ways, according to one of those articles. At the same time, I find Putin’s emphasis on economy particularly fascinating. His thought is not necessarily on taking over nations surrounding Russia, but in sucking those nations into an inescapable fiscal orbit. The news story explains:

Vladimir Putin has a vision for a Soviet Union-lite he hopes will become a new Moscow-led global powerhouse. But, his planned Eurasian Union won’t be grounded in ideology: This time it’s about trade.

The concept of regional economic integration may be losing some of its allure in Europe, where a debt crisis is threatening the existence of the eurozone. But some countries across the former Soviet Union, still struggling economically 20 years after becoming independent, are embracing Putin’s grand ambition…

In anticipation of a new six-year term as president, Putin has made forming a Eurasian Union by 2015 a foreign policy priority. He is promoting the union as necessary for Russia and its neighbors to compete in the modern global economy. His broader goal is to restore some of Moscow’s economic and political clout across former Soviet space and thus strengthen Russia’s position in the world… (Peter Leonard, Associated Press, ” Russia’s Putin Dreams of Sweeping Eurasian Union,” 1/3/12)

Mr. Putin’s thought, obviously, is to convince those he hopes to lure within his orbit that great economic gain is a possibility in such a coalition as he will put together once he is president of Russia. This kind of thinking, of course, might just be the nucleus around which could be built a much more ambitious and volatile plan of action. Might that plan include a future invasion to the south as outlined in the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecy?

Certainly, that prophecy indicates an ambitious and volatile plan of action following the Magog coalition leader’s “evil thought” of Ezekiel 38:10-12. Until relatively recently, Israel has had little prospect for great wealth of the sort indicated in this prophecy that would entice such a thought or action by enemies to the north. Oh, there has long been talk of great mineral wealth in the Dead Sea, which is within the territory of the tiny nation of Israel today. But there seems to be little interest of Israel’s enemies in those very uncertain riches. But, such wealth as would be sufficiently enticing to provoke that future “Gog” to think to attack Israel has appeared on the prophetic horizon—in my view, at least.

The second news item that caught my attention explains further:

As the liquid oil supply curve continues to drop on an international level, oil prices will only rise dramatically, necessitating the development of unconventional oil productions, IEI CEO Relik Shafir told The Jerusalem Post at a meeting in Tel Aviv on Monday. Creating oil from shale—a dark sedimentary rock containing hydrocarbons—is one such unconventional method, and resources are particularly robust in Israel, Jordan, North America, Russia, Mongolia, China and Australia, according to Shafir…

“Our vision is to allow Israel energy independence,” Shafir said. “This is the vision that brought Harold Vinegar to Israel to make aliya, and the vision of the company.”

In Israel’s case, the largest source of shale is in the Shfela basin region outside Jerusalem, where the hydrocarbons are located between 200 and 400 meters below the surface, beneath an impermeable layer of rock… (Sharon Udasin, “Shale: A Sound Way to Achieve Energy Independence,” Jerusalem Post, 1/3/12)

While the tables of world oil reserves continue to drop dramatically, will the genius that God has placed within the progeny of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob leap to the forefront of petroleum technology and produce the “spoil” that will provoke Gog to bring his coalition down over the mountains of Israel? This is a developing story to which every watchmen of Bible prophecy should pay attention.

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