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| PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines |
HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY
- EU: Israeli-Palestinian peace deal a 'top priority'
- Trump's peace envoy meets Bennett, Livni in Washington
- PM at AIPAC: Israel 'committed' to working with Trump on peace process
- Full text of Netanyahu's AIPAC 2017 address
- At AIPAC, Paul Ryan talks tough on Iran, says US will no longer tolerate UN's anti-Israel bias
- At the UN, 'there's a new sheriff in town,' Nikki Haley tells AIPAC
- Netanyahu: Trump has already turned words of support for Israel into actions
- White House: Trump 'was right' to hedge on JCC bomb threats
- Friedman likely won't become ambassador to Israel until June
- Settler population leaped by 80,000 since 2012, leader says
- 22 ultra-Orthodox men arrested for sex assaults on women, minors
- US bipartisan bill would boost penalties for anti-Semitic bomb threats
- Pakistani convicted in Germany for staking out Israeli targets for Iran
- Israel cyber consortium lands multi-million dollar Latin America deal
- 'Birthright for moms' brings nearly 1,000 Jewish dads to Israel
- Netanyahu: If quiet is maintained until after Ramadan, MKs will be allowed on the Temple Mount
- After top operative's death, Hamas threatens 'assassination equation'
- Mashal on assassination: 'We are at open war' against Israel
- Israeli Air Force Holds Joint Exercise With United Arab Emirates, U.S. and Italy
- Israel issues travel warning for Turkey, Jordan and Egypt
- Galant to Hezbollah: 'We will push Lebanon back 100 years'
- The Arab League will seek to 'separate terrorism from resistance to the Israeli occupation'
- Israel's airstrike on Syria spooks Middle East
- Israelis warned of increased ISIS threat abroad ahead of Passover holiday
- Spanish court to investigate Syrian 'state terrorism' by Assad regime
- Mosul residents were told not to flee city before airstrikes that killed civilians
- US-backed fighters pause operations amid fears over Syria dam
- Iran says Russia can use military bases 'on case by case basis'
- Iran's president to meet with Putin; economic ties on agenda
- At least 11 dead in suicide bombing and gun attack in southern Yemen
- Child marriage soars in Yemen as famine looms
- Nigeria: Christians Denied Aid in Refugee Camps
- Suspect arrested, accused of throwing 'biblical text' into Colorado mosque
- UK: 'No evidence' London attacker linked to IS, al-Qaeda
- France's Le Pen says the EU 'will die', globalists to be defeated
- France's Hollande says fight against populism is final mission
- Merkel celebrates German election win, challenger deflated
- Jared Kushner to be grilled by Senate on talks with Russians
- 'Religious left' emerging as U.S. political force in Trump era
- More Democrats oppose Trump's U.S. Supreme Court pick
- Democrats Delay Vote on Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch
- Bitter GOP finger-pointing clouds path for Trump agenda
- 13 states urge appeals court to OK Trump travel ban
- AG Sessions says he'll punish sanctuaries, cities could lose billions of dollars
- Stock-market fear threatens a return, as Dow stares at longest losing streak in 6 years
- Dow futures slide 150 points as global markets fall on Trump's health-care failure
- Chile pensions protest draws tens of thousands
- Emaciated Venezuelan elephant becomes latest symbol of food crisis
- School budget cuts due to high white student percentage sparks outrage
- Amazon retail stores could use augmented reality to sell furniture, appliances
- Silicon Valley's Quest to Live Forever - Can billions of dollars' worth of high-tech research succeed in making death optional?
- Elon Musk Launches Neuralink to Connect Brains With Computers
- Uber's self-driving cars back on the road after Friday crash in Tempe
- Drone Without Human Pilot Given Permission To Hit Skies Of Israel In World First
- A Startup's Plan To Cut Air Freight Costs In Half With 777-Size Drones
- Italian Company Designs Passenger Drone Resembling UFO
- Russia and US race to develop 'swarmbot' drones
- North Korea conducts another missile engine test, US officials say
- US leads boycott of UN talks to ban nuclear weapons
- World nuclear ban 'not realistic', says US ambassador to UN
- Coming To An Inner-City Uprising Near You: The "Ultimate Riot Control Truck" Of The Future
- Green groups promise guerrilla warfare tactics to stop Keystone pipeline
- 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Attu Station, Alaska
- 5.6 magnitude earthquake hits near Kamiiso, Japan
- 5.1 magnitude earthquake hits near Padangsidempuan, Indonesia
- 5.0 magnitude earthquake hits the Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge
- Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 28,000ft
- Klyuchevskoy volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 23,000ft
- Kambalny volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 20,000ft
- Ruiz volcano in Colombia erupts to 20,000ft
- Sheveluch volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 18,000ft
- Sinabung volcano in Indonesia erupts to 12,000ft
- Cyclone Debbie: 'Monster' storm batters Australia
- Cyclone Debbie: Thousands evacuate in Queensland, Australia
- Peru: Torrential Rains Causing Devastating Floods; 78 People Dead
- India: Dangerous heat to intensify this week after arriving unusually early
- Trump set to undo Obama's action against global warming
- Environmentalists Vow To Fight Donald Trump's 'Dangerous,' 'Embarrassing' Climate Rollback
- 'Bathroom bill' to cost North Carolina $3.76B, report says
- Italy could be first Western country to offer paid menstrual leave
- Students Confess Their Sins At 'Masculinity Confession Booth'
- Maryland high school girl planned 'shooting event,' had bomb-making materials, police say
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"27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall makeit desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." (Daniel 9:27)
''And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.'' (Daniel 11:31)
There are those who say that prophecy has been fulfilled in the year 70AD and that we are doing nothing but waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. These folks are what are called Preterist and discount prophecy as not for our time, or that we are living in the ends of days.
But let us look at what even Jesus spoke of in the Gospels, 600 years after the Prophet Daniel spoke of the Abomination that causes desolation, as Jesus also made reference to both the Abomination and the Prophet who wrote about it.
"15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. (Daniel 24:15-18)
Since Daniel's prophecy is so astonishingly accurate in foretelling the rise and fall of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Alexander the Great's Greek Empire, the book of Daniel is scoffed at being a forgery that was written many years into the future and long after the prophet's death.
Opines the Encyclopedia Brittanica:
"Because its religious ideas do not belong to the 6th century BC, numerous scholars date Daniel in the first half of the 2nd century BC and relate the visions to the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164/163 BC). . . The unknown author may have drawn inspiration from Ugaritic and Phoenician sources that speak of a legendary figure notable for his righteousness and wisdom."
But that leads these "so-called scholars" into a problem with this argument, since the Gospel specifically identify Daniel as a prophet. If Daniel was not a prophet and did not write the book bearing his name, then it follows that Jesus Christ quoted Daniel in error, and could not be the Son of God.
JESUS IS GOD OR HE IS NOT...
Logically speaking, it is impossible for Jesus to be Whom He said He was and not know whether Daniel was a Divinely inspired prophet, or whether Daniel was just some sort of ascribed work of later forgery.
But if Jesus IS the Son of God, (WHICH HE IS) then is also the One Who makes an appearance in Daniel's narrative. We know the story if King Nebuchadnezzar making a golden idol that he demanded all to worship when musical instruments started to play. In other words, the King demanded that he be worshipped as a god, and the idol was his symbol.
Three Hebrew captives (and companions to Daniel), Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused. And after being given another chance and rebuffed by these three men, the King has them all bound and thrown into a flaming, fiery furnace stoked 7 times hotter than usual, that killed even the soldiers who threw them in. Later, as the King of Babylon looked into the mouth of the furnace, he was confused and asked his counsellors this question.
"24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste,and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." (Daniel 3:24-25)
King Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed that the fourth figure was in the image of the Son of God, so he identified this mystery fourth figure, when only three had been cast alive into the flames...What did the King see? And why was he sure that the figure was like the Son of God? I can only imagine.
Jesus identified Daniel as a prophet and quoted from the Book of Daniel in His sermon. If Daniel is a forgery, then Jesus could not be anything more than a fraud.
If Jesus is a fraud and Daniel is a forgery, then the Bible isn't worth studying. If it isn't worth studying, then what does that make these 'scholars'? I believe Psalms identifies who these scholars are and their unbelief.
1"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
2God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
3Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy;there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Psalm 53:1-3
But Jesus trusted Daniel enough to quote him in a sermon. I trust my Lord Jesus for my eternal salvation, so logically, I also trust the book of Daniel as a Divinely inspired work of God.
THE ABOMINATION THAT CAUSETH DESOLATION
Now that we got that out of the way, what is this "abomination of desolation" to which Jesus refers? There are two possible answers. One from a historical account, and one coming from prophecy. So who was the first one. As we have discussed in the past, a king arose out of Syria after the fall of and split of Alexander the Greats Empire that was split between his four generals....the Selucid portion of the Empire was created by one of the generals, Seleucus, and in the progression of kings, the eighth king was Antiochus, called Epiphanes. This Syrian King had two passions. One was his hatred of the Jews and his fancying himself a conqueror in the mold of his father, Antiochus III Magnus ("the Great").
History tells us that the man entered the Jewish Temple in Jerusalam in 167 BC, and desecrated the Holy of Holies by sacrificing a pig on the altar of God. Of a most important point for prophecy students is that Antiochus did not destroy any part of the temple.
The crazy Syrian king did build extra structures, including pagan enhancements to the altar of sacrifice. How ever, none of this can be considered "Throwing down" the foundation of the sanctuary.
Jesus referred to a coming event that would mirror what Antiochus did, and it would be a sign of His imminent return to rule the earth of 1000 years.
Jesus was not referring to an historical event as the fulfillment of His prophecy, but was providing from history an examples of what such an event would mean. .
It has never happened since Antiochus Epiphanes did his abomination that causeth desolation, which by the way led to the Maccabean Wars and the expelling of invaders of the nation of Israel. But Jesus was talking of a future event that has not happened YET! It will involve the desecration of the Holy of Holies of the newly rebuilt Temple during the coming Tribulation.
Jesus was describing events that would happen during the coming Tribulation period and he was just as clearly addressing Jews in the last day, and not the Church. He speaks directly to the those Jews living on the West Bank during that time
"15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Matthew 24:15-21)
Some argue that Jesus is addressing the signs of His return in the last days to the Church, in an effort to support their argument that the Church will be present during the tribulation.
A Jew is not permitted to undertake a journey exceeding 1000 steps on the Sabbath. The Church isn't bound by Sabbath day restrictions.
So why would Jesus warn the Church to 'pray' that the time for flight does not occur on the Sabbath? Applying Jesus' warning to the Church doesn't make sense.
But to a religious Jew, it makes perfect sense.
JESUS TALKS OF THE COMING TRIBULATION
Jesus divides the Tribulation into two parts, splitting it at the point in which the antichrist replicates the abomination committed by Antiochus Epiphanes.
The Apostle Paul reveals that the antichrist will, in the last days,
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:" (2nd Thessalonians 2:3-7)
Many critics of the Pre-Tribulation removal of the church call the Third Temple built by the Jews, as the "Anti-Christ temple", but Paul describes the Temple in the last days, as the "Temple of God".
The Tribulation is the 70th Week of Daniel. Jeremiah refers to it as the Time of Jacob's Trouble.
5For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
6Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
7Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." (Jeremiah 30:5-7)
Jesus warns of persecution that will come on Sabbath-keeping Jews.
Where is the Church? What is the role of the Church during the Tribulation?
To answer that question, we need look at the role of the Church in the Church Age.
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)
But notice the great Commission given to the Church has been given to others, not the church....it is given to 144, 000 Jewish Evangelist, the Two Witnesses that prophecy at the Temple of 3.5 years and finally by an angel who is appointed to the task by God...It was was our commission, but since the Church is not here, God uses others, even an angel to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
6"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7)
If the indwelt Church is present during the Tribulation, why did the Great Commission get passed from the Church to Jewish evangelist, the two witnesses, and finally to an angel? Again, what is the Church's role during the Tribulation?
Those who argue against a pre-Trib Rapture claim the role of the Church in the last days is to be massacred. To what purpose? To bring the Church to Christ? Clearly not, since by definition, the Church is already Christ's. The theory smacks of Catholci purgatory, which defines that Jesus sacrifice on the cross was just not good enough. We must be refined right along with Israel who has been in unbelief for the last 2000 years.
33"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
The Lord emphasizes that fact in the Apostle John when he wrote:
3 "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
5They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (1st John 4:3-6)
Also Jesus tells Peter that He will build His church on a Rock, which is Himself
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)
That leads some to confusion, when there show be NO confusion, because we read in Revelation chapter 13, a different outcome of a people who are following God, when we read:
5"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty andtwo months.
6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9If any man have an ear, let him hear." (Revelation 13:5-9)
WE SHALL OVERCOME!!
Which is it? Do we prevail, or does the antichrist? Apart from Dispensationalism, the two statements contradict.
But if the Church Age is over and the Tribulation period is the time of 'Jacob's Trouble' and judgment against 'them that dwell upon the earth' rather than for the Church, then Scriptural harmony is restored.
There is only one explanation, that the Pre-Tribulation removal of God's Church precedes the Tribulation by a number of years...Bill Salus had an interesting observation, when he proposed that there is a "gap" between the beginning of Chapter 4 of Revelation and the beginning of Chapter 6 of the same book of Revelation when the Church is found in heaven before the Throne of God and the unsealing of the scroll, by Jesus that unleashes the plagues and the wrath of God. How many years? It would be conjecture on anybody's part...could be days, could be years...but there "may" be this Gap period that Bill Salus speaks of in His new book, "Apocalypse Road". One must conclude upon examination of God's Word, that the Pre-Tribulation removal of God's Church, some call the "rapture" is the most harmonious with the flow of God's Word, particularly when the added dimensions of actually watching the preparations unfold right before our eyes that began with the restoration of Israel as a nation again, after 2700 years of conquest by other nations and then finally their dispersion into the annals of time, only to be a nation again in May, 1948.
But our faith in not WHEN Christ comes, but in the fact that He is coming soon. And the debate over that fact is one more piece of evidence of that fact.
Notice that the debate is not over whether the Lord will come in this generation. For most that is not even an issue. But we look fervently for His appearing and the sound of a trumpet, knowing that when Israel was again a nation, that countdown clock of His return began again.
32" Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:32-35)
A century ago, they were debating if the Lord was even coming at all. Today we're debating over His coming within a seven-year time frame.
Regardless of what you believe of the soon coming of our Lord Jesus or not, the point is proved by that fact that such a debate exist at all. And not what you believe on it's timing and no matter what turns out to be right in the end, the important point to remember is WHAT we are debating.
The evidence and logic tells us that we are living in the last days of the rule of mankind on this earth...you feel it, I feel it, and the whole world feels it, but they don't understand what they sense, or their inability to define it.
It is important to know, that those who are reading these words right now, are who will never, ever die in the traditional sense, but will be caught up alive to meet the Lord in the air.
16 "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
If that event is to take place at some point after all the Christians are massacred by the antichrist, then Paul's next words of that same passage, make very little sense:
"Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-18)
In any case, are you ready...is your treasure laid up in heaven and not on this earth that is passing away? I implore you to make your "calling and election sure"...because our Lord Jesus is on the cusp of the greatest event, second only to His crucifixion and resurrection....the Coming of our Lord Jesus in the clouds to bring His true church to be with him forever.
15 "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1st Thessalonians 4:15-17)
I implore you, don't be left to face the Tribulation when the free gift of salvation is a prayer away.
8 "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:8-10)
16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 God sent not His Son to condemn the world, but that the world through Him, might be saved." (John 3:16-17)
TILL WE MEET AT JESUS FEET
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Academic research has explored in depth the factors leading to the wars that broke out between nations in previous centuries, both in order to understand why wars take place and to develop ways of predicting nascent wars by "connecting the dots" between the signs signaling an approaching conflagration. Since the signals are clearly directly connected to the relations between the countries involved in a war, the literature points out the connection between internal problems affecting a state and the desire of its leaders to initiate a war with other countries. The literature also lists war-delaying factors, foremost of which is the high price of military and civilian fatalities and the damage to the country's infrastructure.
Syria is no exception to the rule in terms of academic theory, since the reasons the regime was pressured into past wars were always a mixture of internal and external factors. The external cause for the ongoing state of war with Israel was the very fact of Israel's existence, never recognized by the Syrian regime. The encouragement to attack Israel came from the USSR while Israel was supported by the West. Add to that the desire to be granted a position of power in pan-Arab leadership and the need to erase the humiliating Syrian defeats in 1948,1967, 1973 and 1982 at the hands of the Zionists.
Syrian media have always played a part in the country's war effort, adding the battle for the army's morale and that of the general population to the one waged with conventional weaponry, so that the people remain willing to suffer the sights of war and continue fighting despite injuries suffered by soldiers and citizens. Syria's media are controlled by the regime, which gives them the messages they are expected to deliver to the public. This fact allows the researcher to know what the feelings of the groups leading the country are at any given time.
The factors that prevented war from breaking out in the past were mainly the damage to the army and the country's infrastructure, but also the possibility that another defeat by Israel would bring more humiliation to the regime. Today, when social networks allow everyone to express his opinion freely, Syria's leadership knows that the battle for the hearts of the population will not be won through the Syrian media, because every Arab - in Syria and outside of it - knows that its reliability is limited and that its journalists cannot express themselves freely.
In the past, one of the main internal reasons that pushed the Assads, father and son, to declare war on Israel was their desire to create an external threat that would cause the Syrians - especially the opposition - to put their differences aside and join Assad's fight against the "Zionist enemhy threatening all of us." Today, with Syria torn between the rebel regime and the areas still under ISIS control, it is far from certain that a war with Israel would bring the rebels and ISIS to stop attacking Assad, and definitely not to the point where instead of attacking Assad, they join him in a war against Israel,
Despite the losses and damage sustained by the opposition to Assad since Russia entered the fray, and despite the fact that they too are light years away from recognizing Israel's right to exist, they will not desist from fighting Assad. In fact, over the last few days, the rebels have intensified their battle for Damascus because of their defeats in other arenas, mainly in Aleppo and Homs. A war between Assad and Israel might cause the rebels to take advantage of the regular army's preoccupation with fighting Israel to score some victories. After suffering close to half a million fatalities in six years of fighting, some of the rebels might even prefer that Israel finish off Assad, not for love of Israel but due to their hatred of the despotic dictator. In sum, a war with Israel will not weaken the desire of Assad's enemies to be rid of him.
Once, the external reason for war to break out was pressure exerted by the USSR in its desire to defeat the USA and Europe on a Middle Eastern battlefield. Today, it is far from certain that Russia wants a war between Syria and Israel, partly because of the minor role the West plays in today's Middle Eastern politics and partly because Putin does not want to force Trump to have to show active and obvious support for Israel, Putin is aware that the US sent fighters - "boots on the ground" - to the war being waged against ISIS. He realizes that Obama's non-interventionist policies are over and he has no wish to find himself opposite the USA in a war between Syria and Israel in which he will be forced to support Syria and oppose Israel.
How great Putin's fears of Israeli military technology are is not clear to me, but the downing of a Russian SA-5 missile last week by an Israeli "arrow" missile is enough to give the Russian army pause and raise doubts about the feasibility of war between Russian and Israeli weapons. It looks as though the Russian army, which found it very difficult to overcome the light weapons in the hands of the Syrian rebels, is not overjoyed at the thought of a direct confrontation with Israeli military technology.
There is also an economic situation behind the scenes, the possibility that Israel wil be marketing gas to Europe on a massive scale in the near future, causing Russia significant economic difficulty, as Europe may decide to do without Russian gas. To sum up the Russian issue, it does not seem to be in Russia's best interests to bring about a struggle between Syria and Israel, because that would only complicate Syria's internal problems even more and cause Russia's attempts to have the two sides reach some kind of agreement, to fail. Thursday, March 23, is when the two sides were to begin their fifth round of talks.
There are other powers functioning in Syria. The list includes Iran, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias, as well as Afghans. They have their own interests, far removed from those of Russia and Assad. In my estimation, Iran and Hezbollah want to involve Israel in the war in Syria so as to show their people, that is, the Iranians and Lebanese, many of whom are against their country's involvement in Syria, that there is no choice, despite the high price in casualties and equipment, They could then claim that this is not only a war against the rebels and ISIS, it is a campaign against the "threatening Zionist entity,"
Iran wants to drag Syria into a war with Israel which would be in essence a war against Trump, whose mettle the Iranians would like to test, along with his loyalty to Israel and his hostility towards Iran. They expect Russia to join the war while the US remains outside it, so as to avoid getting embroiled in a regional war and in addition, to avoid a confrontation that would damage the relations between Trump and Putin.
Hezbollah is also interested in a war with Israel in order to prove to its detractors in Lebanon and the Arab-Islamic world that its weapons, especially its rocket arsenal, are meant to fight Israel and not "our Syrian brothers." In order to prove to itself, its fighters and its Iranian supporters that despite the loss of manpower Hezbollah suffered in Syria, the army is as strong as ever and that the northern Shiite alliance that has coalesced from iran to Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, is continuing to advance towards Israel in order to surround Saudi Arabia with a southern Shiite flank in Yemen.
The problem with Iran and Hezbollah's presence in Syria is that both could instigate a war against Israel from Syrian territory, with or without the involvement or agreement of Assad's forces and despite Russian opposition. An Iranian move of this nature would be aimed at pushing Russia into a war where the Kremlin must choose a side, and it is highly unlikely that Russia would support Israel against Iran, after years of cooperation between the two countries, mainly in keeping Assad on as head of the regime. The scenario of a war against Israel waged by Iran and Hezbollah coming from Syria seems far-fetched, but this is, after all, the Middle East.
To sum up the situation, one can say that deterioration leading to a war between Israel and the international mess called Syria could occur, especially if Israel continues to attack Hezbollah positions, the Iranians and the Assad regime there. Another factor may be that Assad feels he has nothing to lose since his country has been destroyed already along with much of its infrastructure, so that Israel will not find that many targets to attack and destroy.
Israel must guard its security interests very carefully, sending all its enemies - large and small, both nations and organizations (let us not forget Hamas in Gaza) - a razor sharp message that is as clear as a noonday sun in the summer, that it will not stand for any compromise of its security. It will act forcefully and with no restraints against anyone who tries to attack it. Only a believable threat of an all out attack can deter the sides fighting in Syria who have shown the world for six years that nothing stops them, not human suffering, not the destruction of infrastructure, and not agreements and understandings. Israel cannot rely on understandings reached with both sides two years ago, one year ago and even a month ago. In Hell, political positions are open to change every given minute.
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While Hezbollah has similar rockets, this is the first time that Hamas has developed such a weapon, Army Radio reports.
Hamas has recently developed a new high-powered rocket of which it has already produced several dozen, Army Radio reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the rocket is short-range and can carry a relatively heavy explosive load. In the event of a future conflict between Israel and Hamas, the new rocket would have the most effect on the Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip.
The report described the rocket as "completely different than any weaponry we know from the direction of the Strip - as concerns the weight of the explosive carried in the head of the rocket."
While Hezbollah has similar rockets, this is the first time that Hamas has developed such a weapon, the report added.
Weapons smuggling into the Hamas-run enclave from the Sinai Peninsula has decreased due to the group's efforts to improve ties with Egypt, leading Hamas to invest in producing their own locally-made rockets. Hamas has boasted of its growing arsenal, testing its stockpile on an almost regular basis since the conclusion of 2014's Operation Protective Edge.
During the war, a total of 4,594 rockets were fired from the Strip toward Israel and near the end of the conflict, Hamas focused on short-range mortar fire, with deadly results, killing both soldiers and civilians who had little or no warning of incoming projectiles.
While smuggling through the Egyptian border has gone down, Israeli authorities continue to intercept illicit goods heading for Hamas on a regular basis at crossings from Israel into the Strip.
Last year, the Defense Ministry's Crossings Authority and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) discovered a shipment of hundreds of metal pipes with a diameter of four inches, special screw holes used to manufacture mortars and rockets, and dozens of electric engines for tunnel digging at the Tarkumiya checkpoint near Hebron.
The IDF has warned that the terror group has restored its military capabilities to its pre-2014 strength, expecting that in the next war the southern communities bordering the Stip would be incessantly pounded with rockets and mortar attacks.
In the event of a future war in the area, the IDF's Home Front Command has a contingency plan to evacuate residents who live in those border communities, in response to the report, Ashkelon Coast Regional Council head Yair Farjoun told Army Radio
"We are prepared for every scenario and if we need to evacuate, we will evacuate. Civilians do not need to be on the front lines."
While during Operation Protective Edge Israel relied on the Iron Dome system to intercept rockets, the addition of the David's Sling missile defense system will see Israel have a comprehensive protective umbrella able to counter threats posed by both short and mid-range missiles used by terror groups in Gaza.
Tuesday's report came as tensions have been high on the Gaza border in recent days after Hamas accused Israel of being behind the assassination of one of its senior operatives, Mazen Fuqaha, in Gaza on Friday.
Addressing the assassination in a speech in Qatar on Monday, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal warned that following Fuqaha's assassination the group was in "an open war against the criminal enemy."
"By killing Faqha, the enemy told us: 'I've scored a point against you and I can take away one of your heroes even in the heart of Gaza," Mashaal said via video link, adding that "it's a new blood debt that adds itself to all those before."
Mashaal warned that "the conflict with the occupier is still ongoing and we, the leaders of the organization, accept the challenge. If the enemy changes the equation, we accept it and bear the responsibility to protect our sons and daughters. We adhere to the struggle to free our prisoners, to liberate Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa. Our willpower is stronger than their weapons, and in the end, we will triumph."
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Where Will World War 3 Begin?
In 2017, the marching sound of boots on the ground is already echoing throughout Eastern Europe. The South and East China Seas have become a prime destination for military ships and U.S. diplomatic tensions are at a level of intensity not felt since the coldest days of the Cold War. It would be foolish, therefore, to dismiss warnings or fears of World War 3 in the next few years.
Any major conflict that breaks out now could escalate to a World War 3 scenario. These are hardly the musings of a few conspiracy theorists or eccentrics. The present geopolitical and economic background is weak, there's a tremendous potential for unforeseen events (black swans) to trigger a calamity as WW3.
Where could it happen? Whereas World War 1 could not have started but in Europe, given that the world's international powers were there, World War 3 could start anywhere. The United States remains the dominant power today. Whether we have a WW3 in 2017 or a WW3 in 2018 is anyone's guess. But the conditions exist for a World War 3 in 2017.
In 1914, when WW1 started, the U.S. was powerful, but also isolationist and less influential than the United Kingdom or even France. Just consider that the international language was French and not English in 1914!
WW3 Could Start Anywhere from Russia to China and Syria. Here's Why
Today, any number of settings could set off the deadly spark of conflict. Russia-Ukraine and the Syrian War lend themselves to WW3 predictions. Everything in the world is unfolding as if the world is already preparing for war, worries none other than former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Gorbachev managed what could have turned into WW3 with Russia into one of the most peaceful periods in recent history. That period was the early 1990s and at least insofar as Eurasia and the Americas are concerned, the world felt safe. Now that China has entered the arms race, a China WW3 scenario cannot be excluded.
There was palpable hopefulness about the future, even if the real economy had already started to give way to the predatory and unproductive financial games that would lead to financial crashes and economic collapse rivaling 1929 in negative intensity. Such was the optimism of those years between 1990 and 1996 that, never before or again, were the Palestinians and Israelis so close to reaching a permanent peace.
The 1990s began with the fall of the Berlin Wall, opening up the Eastern Bloc, and breaking up the Soviet Union. That process faced and passed a major test in 1990/1991. Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Kuwait in August of 1990.
By January of 1991, the United States had assembled a major international coalition. It even included Soviet-protected states like Syria in the coalition. Had the United States responded to a similar invasion while the Cold War was in full swing, it could have resulted in WW3, triggering a Russian response.
But, as the 1990s progressed, the integration of Russia in the western system did not proceed well. Under Boris Yeltsin, who led the Russian Federation after Gorbachev allowed the Soviet Union to break up, Russia saw a "wild west" rapacious form of capitalism. A handful of people with government connections became fabulously wealthy taking over former state productive assets for kopeks on the ruble.
But, there was a plan from the West to encroach on Russia, weakening its influence. The wars of the former Yugoslavia provided a perfect opportunity to divide and conquer. After the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, and Montenegro, NATO used Kosovo as a trigger to complete the task. They weakened Serbia and humiliated Russia.
Yeltsin could do little but watch. In 2000, Vladimir Putin took over the presidency and changed the submissive tune of the 1990s. He restored Russian nationalism and pride. The West has tested Russia on several occasions, finding out that Putin won't budge. The latest and biggest of these tests has been Syria.
Now, the spark for WW3 in Syria has become a credible proposition. Likewise, nobody can dismiss the possibility of a spark for WW3 in China or in North Korea. Clearly, the U.S. government and many of its allies and rivals worry about it. If they didn't, world leaders would be less keen to spend taxpayers' money on heavy armaments.
In 2017, Europe will celebrate 60 years of unprecedented peace. The event that symbolizes the start of that peace is the Treaty of Rome of March 25, 1957. It was the foundation for the European Union. Yet the EU faces internal and external threats now. The celebrations of politicians aside, it has raised the alarm that there's high risk of global conflagration again.
WW3 Predictions
Europe might not last another five years, let alone another 60. An increasingly uncertain world, the physical and political barriers set up after World War 2 are eroding at a fast pace. The leading powers of the Cold War, while building their armies and nuclear stockpiles, tried to avoid bellicose rhetoric. This was especially the case after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Now, many people, whether or not in positions of power, are worrying about a major world war again: WW3. A recent report on what the world might be like in 2035, published by the National Intelligence Council, offers few reassurances and many concerns. (Source: "The National Intelligence Council: The Upcoming Global Trends 2035 Report," Small Wars Journal, May 30, 2016.)
The report, loaded with WW3 predictions, speaks of economic and environmental calamities, which create the very kinds of conditions that lead to wars. The question is, however, will the world as we know it even make it as far as 2035? The intelligence agencies discuss what they call the paradoxes of progress.
Despite the economic and technological opportunities, our societies have never been threatened by so many dangers. Thus, they present a number of scenarios that could spark a major global war, or WW3, over the next 20 years. History has taught us not to trust peace agreements. David Fromkin wrote one of the best books ever on the topic of WW1.
What Is WW3? A Look Back to WW1 for an Explanation
The title of the book does not mince words or intentions: A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. In it, Fromkin discusses the events and developments leading up to the First World War. In particular, he breaks down the flawed formation of the current Middle East, highlighting its potential to serve as a trigger for many wars to come.
That's one of the reasons that Islamic State, or ISIS, has raised such concerns. It has literally leveraged its power on the back of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles that Fromkin identified as a weak link in 1989. At the Paris Conference in 1919, then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill drew the map of the modern Middle East after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.
George W. Bush and his advisors made a huge mistake, ignoring Fromkin's analysis. Fromkin notes that Iraq in particular, created by assembling three Ottoman provinces together (Shiites in South, Sunnis in the middle, and Kurds in the north), was a time bomb that could go off anytime. Syria, meanwhile, was subdivided into small rival regions.
That left them prone to fighting among themselves. Indeed, as David Fromkin put it, it was a truly the "peace" that would end any hope of peace. Not surprisingly, to date, most Arab states have only known the rule of the iron fist. That's because it's been the only way to keep those countries united and somewhat stable.
When one of these dictators falls, as in 2003 in Iraq or in 2011 in Libya, the state edifice collapses. President al-Asad in Syria has not fallen only because the West miscalculated Russia's resolve to maintain Syria in one piece. While the war with ISIS and the other Islamist rebels appears to be ending, groups like ISIS can spring up anytime.
The potential for a WW3 beginning in Syria exists now. President Trump might scrap the Iran nuclear deal. He has said that clearly. Scrapping the deal means the U.S. or Israel will launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. At that point, Iran, a Russian ally, would enter a state of war with the United States, dragging in key elements of the Middle Eastern chessboard.
Had the U.S. pursued Iran or Syria in the 1990s, when Russia was dealing with the aftermath of the USSR's collapse, there would have been little risk of repercussion. Moscow was still trying to make sense of the Afghanistan disaster to become involved in a Middle Eastern war. But, Putin has put Russia on the nationalist march again. He will react.
As the world stands now, a black swan event could spark a Syrian war that could pit the U.S. against Russia. Thus, the impact of the First World War continues to affect the future and where the triggers of the next war shall emerge. The problem is that NATO has been pushing its borders to the threshold of the Russian Federation after the Cold War.
That means Russia would come under pressure from Europe as well, even the spark for war came from the Middle East. The Russia-Ukraine tensions remain. All it would take to intensify the level of mistrust is NATO extending membership, even a partial one, to Ukraine.
The military West, NATO, and the U.S. have exploited Russia's period of weakness to expand their influence eastward. Sabotaging relations between Russia and its European neighbors was one of the keys to achieve this effort. But Russia has not been weakened; the Syrian war has shown it has sophisticated weapons that are a match for whatever the Americans can throw at them.
From the intensification of the fighting in Ukraine to the revival of tensions in the South China Sea the world is dancing on the edge of a volcano to an eerie tune. Another global conflict is possible. It will be the Third World War, involving the United States of America and its allies in the West against Russia with its allies in the East.
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A Chance to Win an iMac,
and Support Prophecy Update
Recently, this ministry was blessed with an awesome gift! A donor who wishes to remain anonymous, has blessed this ministry with a 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display. This is a powerful computer, fully loaded: 3.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz, Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200, 16GB 1867MHz LPDDR3, 1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm, Wired Apple Mouse, Final Cut Pro X, LOGIC PRO 065-C172 NONE, Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad & User's Guide. (Valued at $1499) While we can't say the computer is brand new, it might as well be, because it only has been used less than one hour, we just don't have a fit for it in our operations. All our other computers, video editing equipment, and software, are all Microsoft Windows related. The donor said we could do anything we wanted to do with it, even sell it!
Donation-Drawing
In 2012, we had a supporter donate a baseball autographed and signed by "Mickey Mantle," and we held a donation-drawing for it. Last year we had a donation-drawing for a donated John MacArthur 33 volume New Testament Commentary, and the Warren Wiersbe 6 volume Bible Exposition Commentary. So this year, we are holding a donation-drawing for this awesome 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display! All the money earned, will be go into our Video Production Fund.
Video Fund
We have set up a special fund for this donation-drawing on our donations page. For each donation of just $25, your name will be entered into our drawing for the iMac one-time. For each additional $25 increment, you will receive additional entries into the drawing. If you donate $100 dollars for example, your name will be entered four times into the drawing, you can enter as many times as you like! The offer starts today and the drawing will be held and announced on 4/15/17.
For a little as $25, you might win this awesome IMac, but most importantly, you will be helping to support this ministry! We have set up a special section on our donations page to enter this donation-drawing, please use the link below:
You can also mail in your donation-drawing entry to:
Prophecy Update, PO Box 40516, Bakersfield, CA 93384, please mark your entry for iMac Drawing, thanks!
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Apocalypse Road now #1 in several categories on Amazon Kindle
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Apocalypse Road is a story about a family living in the final generation. Without warning, they are forced to face a series of powerful episodes that are guaranteed to change their lives forever. All Lisa Thompson wanted was to get back on track with her life in Israel after her husband and son vanished with the millions of Christians, but a Middle East war of epic biblical proportion postponed her plans indefinitely.
Now Lisa and her daughter Jami must prepare for the coming apocalypse. They have been thrust into the treacherous Post-Rapture / Pre-Tribulation time-period.
This vastly unexplored gap of time follows the Rapture of the Christian Church, but precedes the coming seven-year Tribulational Period. It spans an unspecified length of time that will likely last for several years.
MORE THAN A NOVEL - IT'S THREE BOOKS FORMATTED INTO ONE!
Although Apocalypse Road begins as a novel, it concludes with a customized thesis and a non-fiction commentary section. The thesis and "Companion's Commentary" provides "biblical believability" to the adventurous scenarios depicted inside this novel.
This dual approach enables the readers to engage intimately with the novel. They can compose their own scripts inside the story line, as it progresses. This is possible because the characters are easy to relate to, and the prophetic scenarios depicted could occur during the reading of the book.
For instance, one episode describes a massive Middle East invasion of Israel that is spearheaded by a Russian led coalition. Many Israelis and some international tourists inevitably find themselves stranded in the Holy Land because the invasion restricts their ability to flee. About three million tourist travel to Israel each year, which averages out to be approximately eight-thousand on any given day.
However, the average length of time a tourist stays in Israel is around eight days, which means when this predicted event happens over sixty-thousand travelers could be trapped in Israel for the duration of this war.
The above scene is more than a mere author creation. The threat of Middle East war is a realistic scenario that residents inside Israel grapple with almost daily. National defense drills are conducted frequently to prepare Israelis for a potential multi-front war. If a would-be traveler gets caught in this crossfire, while reading that chapter, they inescapably would become part of the story, and automatically become cast among the characters.
The dissertation is an integral part of this book. Together, the book and this treatise attempt to accomplish the following;
List and chronologically order the potential prophecies that fit into the Post-Rapture / Pre-Trib gap period, which is also referred to in this book and thesis as the "gap period."
Determine how long the gap period could be from the clues provided in the prophecies that find fulfillment within this vastly overlooked period.
Set the world stage as it transitions from the Church age, which concludes with the Rapture, into the gap period that follows.
Explore the details, timing and purpose of the Gog of Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39, in addition to;
Discover the location of the Valley of Hamon Gog as the burial grounds of the hordes of Gog, (Ezek. 39:11-16),
Reveal the potential connection between the Marian apparitions and Ezekiel 38.
Explain why the first five seals of Revelation 6:1-11 probably start during the gap period, but conclude during the Trib-period. This includes;
Introduce the Antichrist as the white horseman of the Apocalypse, (Rev. 6:1-2),
Examine the wars that plague the planet through the fiery red horseman of the Apocalypse, (Rev. 6:3-4),
Warn about the wide scale famines, pestilences, and economic upheavals that occur during the ride of the black horseman of the Apocalypse, (Rev. 6:5-6),
Put a face on the fourth horsemen of Death and Hades of the Apocalypse, (Rev. 6:7-8),
Reveal the identities of the three primary groups of martyred believers after the Rapture, which are the fifth seal saints, their fellow servants and their brethren, (Rev. 6:11).
Determine who the two parties are to the seven-year covenant that starts the Trib-period.
Define the true content on what is commonly called the false covenant of Daniel 9:27, as it pertains to the "overflowing scourge," of Isaiah 28:15 and 18.
Reveal the Lord's hidden message to the 144,000 Witnesses in Revelation 7:1-8.
Identify the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:3-13, and demonstrate how they serve as God's rebuttal to the false covenant.
This work has been specifically designed to stimulate the mind and pulsate the heart of believers, and to invigorate their love for the lost.
Careful consideration in that regard has gone into the overall content of this entire composition. If you are concerned about the eternal destiny of an unsaved loved one, then consider Apocalypse Road as your invaluable guidebook for these last days.
The Biblically supported scenarios within this book will embolden you to share the good news about Jesus Christ with the ones you love.
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Jesus sat with His immediate disciples upon the Mount of Olives just before His crucifixion. He answered the question that most troubled them, following His declaration that the Jewish temple would be completely destroyed, with not a stone left standing.
Their question-offered in wide-eyed amazement, no doubt-was: "When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3).
Jesus then said that there would first come deceivers and great deception, even people declaring themselves to be Christ. Another thing that would signal the end of the world (the age) would, He said, be wars and rumors of war.
So, rumors of war is a major signal, given by God, Himself, that the end of human history is on the verge of reaching its conclusion. We do note that the Lord next said: "See that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."
The disciples surrounding Him at the moment of His prophecy about the wrap-up of human history were to understand that the "end" was still future, and we know that the future in this instance has extended nearly 2000 years to this point. The end, as we know, is not yet...
But there is now, in these portentous times, more than enough rumblings upon the volatile geopolitical horizon to cause the diplomats of the world to be "troubled." Nuclear weaponry and its imposition into the present-day mix of the possibility of war-making is something of which the disciples could know nothing.
Diplomats, and the rest of us as well, however, have seen what such weaponry can wreak, since "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" did their war-concluding work on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945.
Possibility of war is much more than mere "rumors" these days. We have the historical experience, prophesied by Christ many centuries ago, to confirm that in this present hour upon planet earth there is reason to "be troubled."
Wars down through the last two millennia have run their courses, with hundreds of millions dead in their aftermaths. Nuclear war will, if initiated, make all the conflicts of the past pale by comparison. Thus, it is incumbent upon the so-called "peacemakers" to put a bridle on the vicious jaws of tyrants who seek nuclear weapons in order to rein in their megalomania.
We have for years heard about Iran seeking such weapons. Attempts to rein in the Ayatollahs' nuclear weapons ambitions have been tepid. Iran has basically been given a practically unencumbered pathway to developing not only nuclear bombs, but the means to deliver them anywhere in the world.
Russia has been complicit in helping Iran get its way, with little resistance from the Obama administration or anyone else So, the rumors of a future war loom mightily, if the new president doesn't deal effectively in the matter.
Now we are facing another building crisis involving a major rumor of future nuclear war. Our other chief antagonist, China, is acting in much the same way in dealing with their proxy state, the North Koreans, as the Russians are in dealing with the Iranians. These matters constitute rumors of war of infinite magnitude. It has been left by previous administrations-particularly the most recent previous-for the new president to deal with these potentially deadly situations.
American Secretary of State Rex Tillerson a week or so ago, while visiting South Korea, refused to rule out a preemptive strike against North Korea's nuclear facilities. The ongoing fallout has China pushing back against such an eventuality, making veiled and not-so-veiled threats. It is not a lovely picture of international, diplomatic tranquility we see developing, to say the least.
Yet, there is comfort in all of this rumors of war business, I can happily report, based not upon my word, but upon the Word of God. Jesus' words "but the end is not yet," still apply to our time upon this much-bedeviled sphere.
As a matter of fact, Jesus said life would be pretty much as usual right up until the time He next catastrophically intervenes into the affairs of mankind. It is God, Himself, who is holding back all the evil of the world (read 2 Thessalonians 2) until that moment of intervention Jesus spoke of as recorded in Matthew 24:36-42 and Luke 17:26-30.
When the Church (all born-again believers, according to Romans 10:9-10) goes to be with Christ when He calls us to "come up hither" (Revelation 4:1-2) as detailed by Paul the apostle in 1 Corinthians 4:51-55 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, then the red horse of war, according to Revelation 6, will gallop forth.
That's a long, rambling sentence, I realize, but well worth your taking apart and analyzing from the pages of your Bible. It is a matter of great comfort to read and study such promises. Such comfort-to those who know Christ for salvation-more than neutralizes the troubling, even terrifying rumors of war we now face.
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But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.1 Cor 15:20
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the LORD a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil-an offering made to the LORD by fire, a pleasing aroma and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. (Lev. 23:9-14)
Three Spring Feasts
Often overlooked because Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread overshadow and surround it, I think the Feast of First Fruits is the most important Feast of them all-at least from a Christian point of view. It's easy to miss its importance, since the Gospel accounts don't even mention First Fruits and also seem to use Passover and Unleavened Bread interchangeably. Because of this, it can be hard to tell there were actually three feasts being celebrated at once.
Although it's not obvious from the passage above, the Lord was referring to the Sabbath that comes after the Passover. While the Passover can fall on any day of the week which also happens to be the 14th day of the first month, the Feast of First Fruits is always the following Sunday, the day after the Sabbath after Passover. Unleavened Bread begins on Passover and lasts seven days, so First Fruits comes before Unleavened Bread ends.
The year the Lord was crucified, Passover fell on a Thursday. Three days and three nights later it was Sunday morning, the Feast of First Fruits. And for several hundred years afterward, the Sunday morning after Passover was known to Christians as Resurrection Morning.
What Day Is It?
But at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, Eastern and Western bishops of the Church disagreed over the official date for the Church's most important Holy Day. Eastern bishops favored staying with the calculation involving Passover as Leviticus describes, since many of them were of Jewish origin, and since the Gospels had placed Resurrection Morning just after Passover.
Western bishops, being mostly Gentile, favored a date closer to the beginning of spring because there were already a number of pagan festivals held during that time and a religious holiday would fit right in. Perhaps this is when the Western church began referring to Resurrection Morning as Easter Sunday, after the Babylonian fertility goddess Ishtar. The Feast of Ishtar was always celebrated at the beginning of spring and involved eggs and rabbits and other signs of fertility. Even today, you can see how elements of the two have been merged together.
Eventually, (due in part to their view that since the Jews had rejected Christ Jewish traditions shouldn't be used in selecting the date for Easter), the Western Church settled on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Soon Easter Sunday became disconnected from Passover by as much as several weeks.
The adoption of the Gregorian calendar (the one we use in the west today) in 1752 did nothing to correct this disconnect, and since the Eastern or Orthodox Church stuck with the earlier Julian calendar, we now have two dates for Easter in most years. (In 2004, the Feast of First Fruits, and Orthodox and Western Easter all came on the same day, a rare occasion.)
The Common Practice
But back to the Feast of First Fruits. Grains were planted in the fall in Israel. They germinated in the ground through the winter, shot up as soon as the weather got warm, and ripened in the spring, barley first and then wheat. The stalks were cut and stacked in sheaves for the harvesters to collect for thrashing. But harvesting or eating any of the grain was not permitted until a sample sheaf was brought to the Temple at sunrise on the first day after the Sabbath following Passover. This day was called the Feast of First Fruits. A similar ceremony for the wheat harvest took place on Pentecost, also a Sunday, seven weeks later.
As you know, the Lord required the first fruits of all their harvest be given to Him, whether plant or animal. (In the case of animals, only the very first offspring of each animal was required, not the first of each season. For humanity, a small ransom was paid at the Temple to redeem the firstborn son. (The Lord expressly forbade any form of child sacrifice.)
The priest took the sheaf of grain and waved it before the altar of the Lord as a sample of the harvest. This was called the wave offering. To be sure it was acceptable to the Lord, a year old lamb was also offered, along with about 4 quarts of flour and oil mixture and a quart of wine. The mixing fragrances of the roasting lamb, the baking bread dough, and the steam from the wine made a pleasant aroma for the Lord, and the offering was accepted. The Lord having received His required first portion, the harvest could proceed, and the grain could be ground into flour for their daily bread.
The Prophetic Fulfillment
At sunrise on the morning of the Feast of First Fruits in 32 AD, as the priests were waving the sheaf of grain before the altar, the women arrived at the Lord's tomb to prepare His body for permanent burial. Remember, there wasn't enough time before sunset on the day He was crucified and the following two days were both Sabbaths, so no work was permitted. (Interestingly, work was allowed on the Feast of First Fruits, although not on Pentecost.)
But the tomb was empty. He had risen, the First Fruits of them that slept. (1 Cor. 15:20) Later that day many Holy people from Israel's past were seen in the city of Jerusalem, also having risen from their tombs. (Matt. 27:53) This was the Lord's wave offering, a sample of His harvest of souls. I think the aroma of the Temple offering was especially pleasing to the Lord that morning. The days of substitutes were over; the real thing had come. (Hebr. 10:1)
The Ultimate Triple Play
For Christ, our Passover Lamb had been sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7), and on the very day, fulfilling the Passover Prophecy. For seven days beginning on Passover, the Israelites ate bread without yeast in celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in fact went to great lengths to rid their homes of any trace of leaven. This Feast symbolized a promise that the sin of man, represented by the leaven, would be completely taken away. The Lord's death fulfilled this one as well, for He's the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) And take it away He did, as far as the East is from the West. (Psalm 103:12)
And right on schedule, the Lord rose from the grave, fulfilling the Feast of First Fruits. He is the First Fruits of them that slept, and His resurrection confirmed His victory over sin and death. And ours too, for if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9) Selah
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Since the previous Administration placed Iran on the fast track to have nuclear weapons, a curious, possibly prophetic, development has occurred between Turkey and Iran-two nations that figure prominently in the end of days, and one must come into submission to the other for prophecy to be fulfilled. Turkey's "president" Tayyip Erdogan has been threatening to unleash a flood of immigrants from Turkey into Europe. He has tried to leverage the threat to persuade European governments to allow Turks living in Europe to vote in Turkey's elections. Apparently, this vast immigration from Turkey will actually come from Iran, which Turkey says is aiding and abetting illegal migration into Turkey.
Tensions between the two nations have been increasing as both countries vie for dominance in the region. The Islamic Sunni Turkey, under Erdogan, has become increasingly totalitarian and Shiite Iran is a formidable terrorist sponsoring state working on a very real nuclear program. Turkey has been supporting the terrorist Islamic State, while publicly denying that support, in an effort to block Iran from gaining a stronger foothold in the Middle East. It's a complicated mix of treacherous foreign policy involving Syria, Iran, Turkey, Israel and several outside forces, including Russia, Europe, and the US. Russia is simply supplying weapons and skills to Iran and its vassal state Syria against the Islamic State.
The US position has been far more confusing. The US says it is fighting against the Islamic State, yet under the ex-"president," was supporting Islamic State efforts in Syria against Russia and Iran. At the same time, the US signed a deal that put Iran on even a faster track developing nuclear weapons capability. The US also has been supportive of Turkey as an ally in the Sunni balance of power in the region. Enter President Donald Trump, who says the US will defeat the Islamic State. This most certainly, if prosecuted with true vigor, will upset the convoluted labyrinth foreign policy design of Trump's predecessor, essentially playing both sides against the middle-the middle being Israel.
Ezekiel 38:2 says, "...set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against them." Magog, Meshech, Tubal are all located in what is now modern Turkey. Verse 5 says, "Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them..." Persia is modern day Iran. Turkey and Iran are rivals as they are positioning for control of the Middle East. We know, however, that Magog (Turkey) eventually leads and Persia follows. These players represent both Shiite and Sunni Muslims who unite against Israel in the "acharit-hayamim," meaning the end of days. God will destroy them with earthquakes, fire and brimstone. Ezekiel 38: 21 says, "...every man's sword shall be against his brother." We know what the Bible says is going to happen. We are watching how it comes together. Keep and eye on Turkey and Iran.
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Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." -John 14:6
Once when I was traveling, I caught a cab to the airport for my flight home. The cab driver's name was Tom. We were cruising along, just chatting away, when we passed a "ghost bike."
Do you know what a ghost bike is? It is a bike that has been painted white and placed on the roadside to commemorate someone who was killed there in a biking accident.
I said aloud, "That is so sad." Tom said, "Yeah. I had a friend who was killed on this highway. A lot of people have died riding road bikes on this highway." Then I asked, "Tom, what do you think happens after we die?"
Tom told me that he believes in reincarnation and that we will come back as another lifeform. He went on explaining that for little bit. I didn't interrupt him. I didn't contradict him. I just listened. Then, when he was done, he said to me, "Well, what do you think happens after we die?" Don't ever ask a preacher a question like that unless you want a sermon!
Well, Tom did get a little mini-sermon. I said, "Tom, I believe that if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you will go to Heaven. And one day I believe that Heaven will come back to earth and we will be with Christ for all eternity."
Tom said, "Man, I like your version of the afterlife better than mine." I said, "That is not my version, Tom. That is the Bible's version. That is what Jesus said."
Tom then said, "You know, it is funny-my wife always calls me a doubting Thomas." So I told him the story of Thomas in the Bible. You remember that it was to Thomas Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
It was a good conversation.
To say that Jesus is the only way to Heaven is not a very popular thing in today's society. But listen, do you think if all roads led to the same destination, and living a good life could get you to Heaven, that God would have poured His judgment on His own beloved Son? Of course not. There was no other way to satisfy His righteous demands-not good works, not reincarnation, not karma or positive thinking or anything else. Only the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus died in our place, and He rose again from the dead on that first Easter morning. Now we have the hope of life beyond the grave.
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Maranatha! (Lord Come Quickly)
"On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All other ground is sinking sand."
"Let Us make the short time we have left count for all eternity!"
YBIC-Randy |
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