Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part II)

17 Saturday Dec 2016

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The Fires of Israel in Perspective

For the past eight years, Israel has endured uncommonly dry winters. Until December 1^st, not a drop of rain had fallen in Northern Israel for eight months. Although most of the 1,773 fires that ravaged Northern Israel in late November had already been extinguished by thousands of firefighters with logistical assistance from the IDF and Israeli police, the rains brought a soothing soaking that doused smoldering embers.

A few weeks before that, heavy rains fell in central and southern Israel, but not in the north. Which is another reminder that the true and living God (that Scripture also calls the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the God of Israel) ultimately determines when it rains, where it rains, and how much rain will fall.

Moreover, the Biblical paradigm of rainfall as a physical source and symbolic expression of God’s blessing is still applicable to Israel; a nation reborn from the floods of dispersion that began 2,000 years ago to and through the fires of Nazi death camps that, as horribly tragic as they were, signaled the end of God’s chastisement of Israel through Gentile nations. However, God’s withholding of rain can still be a means of getting Israel’s attention (indeed, the whole world) through the discipline of drought that may result in natural wildfires.

Whether the natural wildfires in northern Israel were directly from the Lord or not, one thing is excruciatingly evident: they were spitefully exacerbated by the intentional setting of dozens more fires by Palestinians and even Israeli Arabs who are citizens of Israel.

(One of Hundreds of Fires in Israel … This One Very Well Could Have Been Arson)

*Note: Later in today’s article, we’ll look at a something phenomenal that took place during these fires in Israel, under the heading of The Rest of the Story.

Here is quote from another chapter in the book of Deuteronomy (Chapter 11 was quoted in last week’s article):

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you up high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

“Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed … Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed” (Deuteronomy 28:1-6).

“The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do…” (Verses 11-12).

Conversely, if the people refused to listen to the Lord your God (verse 15), then, “The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron. The Lord will change the rain that falls on your land into powder… The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies… (Verses 23-25).

Are Nature’s Disasters Natural or Supernatural?

Here is an excerpt from last week’s Part I, Eye of Prophecy article:

One of the most perplexing dilemmas that people have encountered from time immemorial is whether or not natural disasters are just that, natural. Or are they supernatural in origin, i.e. the wrath of God?

Followed by a presupposition:

I believe the evidence in Scripture, both stated and implied (as experienced throughout history) is compellingly strong to propose this premise: The vast majority of disasters—hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, plagues of locusts, plagues of disease, floods, droughts, and wildfires—occur “naturally.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines naturally: “by nature; by natural character or ability; according to the usual course of things; as might be expected.”

I went on to say:

Which begs the question of whether or not God is directly involved in “natural disasters.” Putting it another way: Does he ever use the forces of nature to judge the ungodly and discipline his people? Does he occasionally cause or allow natural disasters to get our attention, to remind us that the Lord IS God. Or does he sometimes prevent natural catastrophes or limit the damage and casualties from them?

According to the Bible, the answer is a resounding, yes to all of these tough questions. But whatever reason applies to whatever calamity that occurs, the all-in-all answer is that God is ultimately sovereign over his creation. Because of the Lord’s grace, patience, and mercy, Scripture and practical experience show us that God only sparingly uses nature to get our attention. There are several examples, but only two will be cited. Both pertain to one of the main elements of God’s providential intrusion into the affairs of the human race. Which is: RAIN. Or the lack thereof.

First example: God’s stunning display of supernatural power by fire, followed immediately by rain that had not fallen at all for 3 ½ years in Israel. These exceptional events were accomplished through the prophet Elijah.

Second example: The Lord’s future withholding of rain on nations ( Zechariah 14) that refuse to attend the Festival of Shelters during the Millennial Reign Messiah Jesus, which begins after the Great Tribulation that follows the soon to come Rapture.

Also, a clarification mentioned last week:

Here we must characterize what is natural in terms and context of the how devastatingly significant man’s fall has had on nature. Since Adam and Eve’s fateful decision to disobey God followed by their expulsion from the perfect (natural) paradise of the Garden of Eden and especially since the Great Flood of Noah’s time, the earth has never been the same. This violent planet on which we live is under God’s curse, awaiting its final redemption (extreme makeover) along with the culmination of salvation for believers in Messiah Jesus … brand new eternal bodies.

Then toward the end of that article in the context of God getting Israel’s attention through natural disasters:

Am I saying that the tragic fires in Israel were directly from the Lord for that reason? No, I am not saying or even implying that. God is now protecting the Jews and Israel as never before, with allowance made that evil still exists and wicked people will do malicious things as graphically seen in the despicable acts of arson to make Israel burn even more.

Whether the Lord was in the fires or “not in the fires” by allowing nature to “run its course” is not necessarily ours to know. However, he certainly was not in or with the Palestinians to cause or condone their atrocious acts of arson.

What is of paramount importance is that Israel contemplates a possible correlation between the current drought and ensuing fires to realize that God does care about Israel and wants to, like never before, draw their attention to the coming Messiah. With an open-mind, open-heart realization that Messiah arrived two thousand years ago as the Lamb of God to give them God’s New Covenant of Grace through Jesus’s substitutionary death on the cross for sin. That his Second Coming will be that of the Lion from the Tribe of Judah to reign over and through Israel and the entire world from Jerusalem. That the earth will be purified by fire (II Peter 3).

The United States or any country would do well to take a hard look at natural disasters that strike areas of the country for possible correlation between recent or soon to be decisions of government, especially in the greater context of supporting Israel and the Jews or denigrating and delegitimizing them.

(Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Which Struck in Late August, 2005, During the Time That Nearly 10,000 Jews Were Evicted from the Gaza Strip at the Orders Of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Under Immense Pressure from the United States to Undertake the Eviction)

God’s Discipline of Israel

One more quote from last week’s article:

Through Biblical and post-Biblical times, God used Gentile nations to discipline his chosen people, the Jews and his special possession Israel even to the point of total conquest and exile, e.g. Assyria and Babylon, then the massive Diaspora at the hands of the Roman Empire after the Jews and Judaism had rejected their Messiah.

When that tragic destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and much of Israel took place in 70 A.D., the Jews were left without a country and without a national identity, although their racial and religious identity has miraculously survived against all odds. Yet one of the most heart-rending results of no Jewish homeland since Roman times is that six million Jews were mercilessly slaughtered by those who brazenly believed the Jews had no right to even exist on this earth. Because it was not yet time for God’s prophetic disciplinary affliction to run its full course, Jews (especially European Jews) were still under Gentile domination; and, for that reason, victimized like never before in their history.

Just three years later, Israel was triumphantly reborn as a sovereign nation, which signaled the beginning of the end of Gentile suppression of the Jews; culminating in the IDF’s resounding victory during the Six-Day War and recapture of their beloved city Jerusalem.

The tragedy of the second Temple’s destruction, followed by expulsion of the Jews from Israel (some six hundred years after their return from Babylonian exile) in 70 A.D. was prophesied by Messiah, Jesus himself … forty years before the Romans sacked Jerusalem.

“As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he responded, ‘Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another’” (Matthew 24:1-2).

Luke records the rest of this prophecy from Jesus: “Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation” (Luke 19:43-44, italics for emphasis).

I realize it’s a source of angst and controversy to correlate the Jewish Diaspora—that led to massive persecution of the Jews through the diabolically distorted “Christian” (not true Christianity, but in name only) Crusades, Inquisitions, Pogroms, and finally the devastating Holocaust of the 20^th century—to God’s withdrawal of protection from his people. Yet even many Rabbis have made that connection down through the years. The main difference of opinion is the cause. Whereas Jewish scholars and rabbis attribute Israel’s ruin in 70 A.D. to several factors, none of them acknowledge the Biblical fact that they rejected God’s New Covenant for them in general and the heart and soul of that Covenant of Grace, Jesus of Nazareth, specifically as their Messiah.

Read with me (aloud) this marvelous message about Messiah Jesus:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:1-5).

Then a few verses later:

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:10-13).

Listen to Jesus’s passionate love for Israel, an unrequited love that grieved him greatly. But because he is the Son of God and God the Son, his is an everlasting love; one that will express itself yet again toward Jews individually and Israel nationally when he returns to save them from annihilation during the Great Tribulation. Jesus spoke these poignant words just before his prophesy about the Temple’s destruction, and he alluded to the Diaspora that would follow.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your home is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Matthew 23:37-39, italics to reference the expulsion of Jews from Israel beginning in 70 AD).

The Lord’s Punishment of Peoples and Nations Hostile Toward Israel

God also punished peoples and nations who went way too far in their extreme brutality and excessive cruelty while carrying out God’s plan to correct his chosen people and special possession, Israel. Which is the main reason that the mighty Assyrian, Babylonian, and Roman Empires came crashing down.

So also with the nation of Moab beginning with King Balak paying the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, only for God to intervene and providentially cause Balaam to bless Israel and curse Moab and Edom. In doing so, Balaam—though he didn’t really understand what he was doing or saying or the repercussions of it—uttered an astonishing prophecy of the coming Messiah:

“I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the foreheads of Moab’ people … while Israel marches on in triumph” (Numbers 24:17-18).

The Bible is clear that the Lord has and will continue to harshly judge those nations that bash Israel physically and verbally, that celebrate her calamities even if they don’t directly participate in harmful exploits against Israel.

For example, the ancient nation of Edom whose people were descendants of Jacob’s twin brother Esau; a nation that was emblematic of all countries that seek Israel’s destruction.

“Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel, you will be filled with shame and destroyed forever. When they were invaded, you stood aloof, refusing to help them. Foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem, but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies. You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune. You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble” (Obadiah 1:10-12).

Then a message to all nations of the earth concerning Israel:

“The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history” (Obadiah 1:15-16).

Regarding the theme of last week’s and this week’s Eye of Prophecy articles, let’s read on in Obadiah:

“But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance. The people of Israel will be a raging fire, and Edom a field of dry stubble. The descendants of Joseph will be a flame roaring across the field, devouring everything…” (Verse 17-18).

Also:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My jealous anger burns against these nations, especially Edom, because they have shown utter contempt for me by gleefully taking my land for themselves as plunder” (Ezekiel 36:5).

In the context of the recent fires and their cause and effect, much more could be said about this divine principle of Gentile blessing and cursing Israel (as has been said in some previous Eye of Prophecy articles), but I’ll limit commentary to the following precautionary warning:

Beware you who would seek Israel’s demise by burning the very land on which the Lord has allowed you to live, through occupation of Judea and Samaria which are clearly part of the Promised Land (Israel) given by God’s divine title deed to his people. Think again before you vainly attempt to enforce your false god Allah’s commands to subjugate and kill the Jews. The (fire) pit you dig will be the pit in which you will fall. The flames of the fires you ignite to burn Jewish houses, businesses, orchards, farms, and fields (that otherwise would not have burned) will blow back to your dwellings. This divine principle is a matter of Biblical truth and historical reality evidenced time after time by the fall of peoples, nations, and empires who sought Israel’s annihilation and elimination of the Jewish people from the face of the earth.

You would do well not to defy the God of Israel, who is the Father of Messiah Yeshua; the one whose soon return will be to right all wrongs against his people. His people are the descendants of Abraham, and God’s covenant with Abraham will be honored and forever fulfilled (already in progress), which is: “For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land” (Ezekiel 36:24).

His people are also those who have been redeemed (Jew and Gentile alike) through the New Covenant of Grace.

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us … He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups” (Ephesians 2:14-15).

*Note: To reinforce the above three paragraphs, Psalm 2 will be quoted at the end of this article under the heading that concludes all Eye of Prophecy articles, Things to Ponder.

Rain and Fire

Here is one more excerpt from last week’s post that was under the caption of Rain is Life:

Lack of rain can lead to abnormally dry conditions or debilitating drought. Which can result in something even worse: famine. Drought can also contribute to massive wildfires.

Whether it’s through steady global warming or through natural earthly cycles, the tender-dry environment that exist on much of this globe—some temporary, others permanent or showing signs of perpetual parchedness—we need to keep one thing in mind. God universally judged mankind the first time by water. The second and final time will be through fire.

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, ‘What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.’

“They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed” (II Peter 3:5-7).

And, “…On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness” (Verses 12-13).

Does that mean that every wild fire—whether in Israel or the United States or elsewhere in the world—comes from the hand of God for the purpose of judgment or discipline? Of course not, for the reasons we’ve covered in these two articles. In fact, just the right amount of fire in a forest is a good thing … it purifies the land and makes the land more fertile for future growth.

The Rest of the Story

There is more to this sad story of the massive damage caused by the fires in Israel; made wretchedly worse by dozens of fires deliberately started by those who hate Jews and Israel so much they would even risk the flames spreading to their own homes and shops.

The rest of the story is both incredible and prophetic in its application to the imminent return of Messiah. I’m referring to the outpouring of both sentiment and assistance from many nations … that amazingly included those who have been enemies or critics of Israel.

As anticipated, the United States sent help in the form of a giant airplane specially designed with a huge tank for dumping water and fire retardants on fires. Also men and material were dispatched from other friendly countries (to Israel) such as: Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Greece, and the Ukraine.

But most unlikely of all: those who have been antagonistic toward Israel and Jews for decades including, but not limited to, support of United Nations sanctions against Israel. Yes, even the following nations sent personnel and/or equipment to Israel to combat the fires: Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Croatia, and Italy.

That’s not all. Are you sitting down, so as not to fall from shock and disbelief? Good, then I’ll tell you who else provided assistance to Israel.

The Palestinians through the Palestinian Authority as ordered by their President Mahmoud Abbas sent eight fire trucks and personnel alongside Jewish men, women, and equipment to fight the fires!

Why on earth would Abbas do such a thing? Before giving you the apparent motives on a cynical, but nevertheless historically accurate level, I would be the first to thank the Palestinians for doing something they’ve never done in the past nor probably ever will again this side of eternity.

I believe there were two reasons for this extraordinarily unexpected gesture: (1) The Palestinian Authority’s desire to placate international concern over arson used as a form of terrorism. The gruesome fact that fire knows no boundaries and doesn’t distinguish between its victims is something the whole world understands. (2) For the second part of reason number one, Mahmoud Abbas didn’t want the fires spreading into the West Bank. Given his persistent incitement of his own people to terrorize Israelis, I’m sure he would have preferred they continue with the knife, shooting, and car-ramming intifada tactics.

There’s already talk whether or not Abbas will extend his policy of monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian terrorists incarcerated in Israeli prisons, to Palestinians convicted of arson in these recent fires.

And what about nations such as Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan that are still, to a large extent in terms of their majority populace, hostile toward Jews in general and Israel in particular? At one time or another, these nations have directly caused or indirectly contributed (through funding terrorist groups or supporting nations that host terrorist cells) to the death and injury of Israelis particularly since Israel became a state again in 1948.

This fire-fighting aid to Israel is part of the broader context of what has recently taken place between Israel and a few nations of the world, including former adversaries like the nations listed and others like Saudi Arabia and several African nations. One glaring exception is, of course, Iran; whose hatred of Israel will never cease or change.

At face value, this recent restoration to some extent or another of diplomatic relations between Israel and nations normally antagonistic towards her doesn’t track with end time’s Biblical prophecy of the Gog/Magog assault against Israel, followed by the massive campaign of Antichrist Nero and his ten-nation confederation march on Israel. Nonetheless, many nations are beginning to recognize Israel’s ascendancy in the global arena of politics, industry, science, medicine, agriculture, and computer and cellular technology … but first and foremost, Israel’s military capability.

Then, when we remember the conditions that will be in place when these monstrous attacks on Israel take place, we can only marvel at the amazing accuracy of the Bible. For you see, before the Gog/Magog (involving principally Russia, Iran, and Turkey) invasion of Israel begins, there will be a (false) sense of peace and security in Israel. This is made possible primarily through the seven-year treaty that Antichrist Nero will orchestrate between Israel and mostly Arab nations. Preceded by the current conditions of the aforementioned nations cozying up to Israel, but with ulterior motives

See Eye of Prophecy article, The Peace Treaty That Will Guarantee War (Posted 9-3-16).

First Russia and her cohorts will seek to destroy Israel, only to be vanquished by God himself. Then Antichrist Nero will break the treaty after 3 ½ years; he, too, will launch a massive assault against other nations with his main objective of conquering Israel. That is when Messiah Jesus will return physically to earth and rescue Israel from obliteration. However, this time the Jews will fight alongside Messiah.

These campaigns will take place when Israel thinks she is the most secure, especially after God soundly defeats the Gog/Magog horde of nations. That attack will surprise the Jews, but not as much as Antichrist breaking the treaty and suddenly turning on Israel halfway through the Tribulation.

Here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article, The Gog Magog Countdown Has Begun! (Published 9-10-16); preceded by a detailed account of the remarkable diplomatic relations recently advanced between Russia and Iran, Russia and Turkey, Turkey and Iran, and most startling of all: Israel’s increasingly close ties with Russia and Turkey (in italics):

The remarkable reality that Israel has suddenly and dramatically improved her standing with a diverse array of nations, most of which were (and still are to varying degrees) staunch opponents to the existence of a Jewish State, fits precisely into our prophecy of the day … the Gog/Magog attack against Israel. These maneuvers for peace between Israel and adversarial Islamic nations will pave the way for The Treaty to End All Treaties!

That treaty effected by Antichrist Nero soon after the Rapture will not only bring together two ancient enemies (Jews and Arabs); it will also defuse hostilities of other nations toward Israel … even Iran.

But only for a short time!

Because at that time, which is just around the corner, Russia, Turkey, Iran and other lesser nations will, “swoop down on the land of Israel … You (Gog) and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” (Ezekiel 38:8-9).

This massive Gog/Magog invasion of Israel will be a direct “shock and awe” aftermath of: The Rapture disappearance of hundreds of millions from planet Earth (shock). Then the spectacular reappearance of Nero Caesar from the Abyss and his impressive treaty with Israel and the nations (awe).

World Opinion is Volatile

People all over the world, particularly those in “populist movements” (which is who and what got Donald Trump elected) are slowly but surely beginning to realize that Palestinian terrorism against Jews in Israel is born out of ancient hatred, not so-called Israeli occupation of or a few settlements in the West Bank. They are growing tired of the incessant Muslim rhetoric against Israel, especially the absurd Palestinian allegations that Temple Mount belongs to the Arabs with the equally inane assertion that the Jewish temples never existed on Temple Mount. Or that other Jewish sacred sites such as the Cave (Tomb) of the Patriarchs belong to Arabs. There is also rising international criticism against the pernicious BDS movement designed to disenfranchise and degrade Israel economically.

Make no mistake: the end time’s prophecies that many nations will march against Israel will certainly come to pass. Such as one of the most well-known Biblical passages tells us:

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: ‘This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves’” (Zechariah 12:1-3).

(The World’s Attention is On Israel … But They Don’t Know What To Do About Israel!)

But first there will be a semblance of peace in Israel and between Israel and several nations, even those that deplore the Jews. This treaty orchestrated by Antichrist Nero shortly after the Rapture will lead to the rebuilding of the Third Temple. It will cement cooperation between Israel and her enemies that has recently taken place through the remarkable diplomatic relations fostered between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, India, Greece, Cyprus, and several African nations.

The astonishingly unforeseen assistance given by these nations to fight the fires in Israel is another remarkable fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. For it is a prelude to the Gog Magog invasion of Israel that will occur in the first year or so of the seven-year treaty (The Tribulation period).

The enticement for Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other smaller nations to invade Israel—followed by the breaking of the treaty and even more massive assault against Israel led by the ten-nation coalition of Antichrist—will be conciliatory conditions created by this sudden reversal of animosity toward Israel to that of tolerance and even cooperation with Israel. This climate of collaboration has taken place recently and rapidly. As have many other developments that convincingly demonstrate we are so very close to the Day of the Lord.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence! I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’” (Ezekiel 38:10-12).

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself. You will come from your homeland in the distant north…” (Verses 14-15).

Things to Ponder

As indicated earlier in the context of people and rulers of nations who would defy God and seek to destroy the Jews through whom the Lord has brought salvation to the entire world, listen to these words of warning from King David:

“Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from slavery to God.’

“But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. For the Lord declares, ‘I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.’

“The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: The Lord said to me: ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.’

“Now then, you kings, acts wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 2:1-12).

Regarding God’s Royal Son:

“… Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

“Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!” (Revelation 1:5-7).

Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part I)

10 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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nutural disasters, Wrath of God

An Inferno in Israel

The soaking rain that fell on Israel last week was welcomed by Israelis perhaps like never before. For as long as Israel has been Israel—from her birth as a powerful country under King David over 3,000 years ago to her rebirth as a sovereign nation in 1948—the people depend upon the spring and fall rains to sustain them. This time the rain helped to bring desperate relief from the ferocious fires that engulfed much of northern Israel.

Desolation to the land and discouragement to the psyche of Israel caused by this conflagration was distressing. The statistics are saddening. The scope of damage unprecedented. But the soul of Israel and the spirit of her people is indomitable. They will recover and continue to prosper through the providential power and prevailing protection of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ashes will one day turn into beauty in this bewildering but wonderful land.

From November 18th through November 27^th, some 2,000 firefighters, 3,500 IDF soldiers, and 20,000 police officers battled 1,773 fires (39 of which were classified as major fires) or contributed to evacuation and rescue operations to remove Israelis from harm’s way.

Over 32,000 acres of urban terrain and rural forest were destroyed, 30% more than the huge 2010 fire that decimated some five million trees in the Carmel Mountains. Fortunately, if not miraculously, there were no fatalities. Still, some 180 people were injured or overcome by smoke inhalation, with the injuries spanning the scale of minor, moderate, and serious. According to some experts, it will take nearly 30 years for the damaged areas to fully recover.

One of the Israelis in charge of rescue operations in the community of Neve Tzuf commented:

“When we entered the town, it looked like a bomb had gone off … A two-story building was burning and the one behind it caught on fire in a domino effect. Gas tanks were blowing up and all you could see everywhere you looked was fire—giant balls of fire skipping from building to building, to the cars, eating up everything and destroying it…”

Large areas of Israel, including communities near Jerusalem were affected. In Haifa, Israel’s third largest city, over 500 homes and apartments were completely destroyed, more than 1,600 people left homeless, and 75,000 residents evacuated. To put the magnitude of this devastation in perspective: If the same proportion of acreage would have burned in the United States as that destroyed in Israel, it would have consumed the combined states of Vermont and New Jersey. The whole of Israel itself is roughly the size of New Jersey.

(The Land and the Sky Ablaze in Israel)

In large part, the fires were natural in origin, fueled by years of below average rainfall in Israel including several consecutive years of drought conditions. Because of Israel’s remarkable irrigation system and desalination of sea water into drinking water, the drought conditions have been moderated enough to alleviate undue hardship on the people. Yet only a sufficient amount of rain can prevent or at least reduce the threat of wildfires.

The unusually dry conditions throughout Israel combined with several days of high winds brought about this “perfect storm” of hundreds of fires, many of them converging with each other. But there was another factor that contributed to the conflagration: the unthinkable “arson intifada” waged by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. Not unlike the lone-wolf terrorist attacks over the past 15 months, that including knifing, shooting, and car-ramming injuries and deaths of innocent Israelis.

Divine Judgment?

Muslim news sources, Arab social media, and leaders of several Islamic nations have claimed that the fires in Israel were a direct result of Allah’s retribution against pending Israeli legislation called the “muezzin bill.” Muezzin is the repetitive Muslim call to worship funneled through loudspeakers that Israelis consider an irritating and disruptive source of noise pollution all over Israel. I’ve been to Israel and heard these high decibel blasts that can wake you out of a sound sleep early in the morning. It’s pervasively loud enough to sometimes stop you in the middle of a sentence. I fully agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who supports the muezzin bill; with his rationale that our modern age of alarm clocks and phone apps preclude any need for a Muslim to be reminded of their worship time of day.

In keeping with the commands of the Koran to help their god Allah force Islam on the unbelieving infidels and enforce the oppressive demands of Muslims, which includes removal of all Jews from Israel, Arab lone-wolf terrorists decided that Israel wasn’t burning fast enough. So they added fire to their list of terrorist tactics against Israelis. Thus far, some 24 Palestinian and Israeli Arabs have been arrested for arson.

Which proves once again that Palestinians couldn’t care less about the so-called “Israeli occupation” of the West Bank (to include what they call East Jerusalem). The existence of allegedly “illegal Jewish settlements” is only a pretense for Palestinian leaders to incite their people to carry out attacks on Jews. The real Palestinian agenda is elimination of all Jews in Israel, not just in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (where Jews were evicted in 2006); and the creation of a Palestinian State to replace the entire nation of Israel, not merely within Israel.

Although there were a few natural fires within the West Bank, all of the arson blazes were set in Israel itself (outside the Palestinian occupied territories). Which also proves the hatred that Palestinians harbor against Jews and the callous disregard they have for the land only because Jews live on that land. Apparently the Palestinians are willing to participate in a “scorched earth” policy, even if it means that part of the West Bank could burn.

Muslims the world over are elated to think that their god would inflict his wrath on the Jews. In fact, the hashtag used by Arab social media to express and spread their delight over the suffering and hardship these horrible fires inflicted on Israelis was under the label of Israel burns.

(One of Hundreds of Israel Homes Destroyed or Heavily Damaged)

Surprisingly, a few Jewish rabbis also believe the fires are a result of God’s judgment of Israel, but for a different reason; the pending eviction of over 40 Jewish families from the Amona district within the West Bank. This is a complicated legal issue and has resulted in a confrontational clash of authority between Israel’s Supreme Court and the Knesset.

Of course, the Jewish God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of the Old Testament who is also the Christian God of the Old and New Testament combined. But whether the true God or a false god, both Jew and Arab claim a divine connection between the fires and wrongs they perceive as perpetrated by the Israeli Government.

God’s Discipline of Israel

One of the most perplexing dilemmas that people have encountered from time immemorial is whether or not natural disasters are just that, natural. Or are they supernatural in origin, i.e. the wrath of God? An entire article or two could be written on that subject alone (make that three articles, as I would need to throw in the ludicrous theory of evolution!); for sake of time/space, I’ll limit my observations (opinion if you will, but based on Scripture) on that peripheral side note in the context of the main subject of this week’s and next week’s Eye of Prophecy article.

Webster’s Dictionary defines naturally: “by nature; by natural character or ability; according to the usual course of things; as might be expected.”

Here, we’ll look briefly at just one example of natural events. Later in the article, we’ll examine another incident involving the same prophet, Elijah, in which God directly and divinely intervenes with a supernatural (over and above nature) display of his power through the natural element of fire.

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain, the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper” (I Kings 19:11-12).

The Lord did not supernaturally bring the windstorm, earthquake, and fire just to get Elijah’s attention and certainly not to discipline him for running scared. Instead, the Lord spoke to Elijah through a “gentle whisper” then tenderly instructed Elijah to, “…go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram” (Verse 15).

With gentleness, but also in no uncertain terms, God told Elijah to get on with his life. Among other lessons, God was showing Elijah that natural calamities are part of life; after all, it is a fallen world we live in. As we will see shortly, Elijah had already witnessed firsthand a supernatural display of God’s power that the Lord sometimes uses to intervene in human affairs. But the Lord had more work for Elijah to do, despite windstorms, earthquakes, and firestorms, both real and figurative (storms of life).

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for the future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us” (Romans 8:18-23).

Do I hear an AMEN!

Although somewhat of an oversimplification, it nonetheless is a Biblically based precept to ultimately equate/define God’s blessings under the umbrella category of God’s protection. Conversely, whatever or whoever is under God’s curse, lacks God’s protection. In that regard and with that understanding, we realize that God allows nature (the natural order of things) to operate on its own most of the time; subject, in part, to man’s authority over and care of the earth. However, when Adam and Eve sinned, they/we lost much of that control which originated as follows:

“Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.’ Then, God said, ‘Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food’” (Genesis 1:28-29).

Which is why scientists, geologists, and physicists can with some degree of accuracy explain why there are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and so forth.

What they can’t explain with any degree of certainty is WHEN catastrophic events of nature will happen, how large they will be, how long they will last, or what extent of damage will ensue. Which begs the question of whether or not God is directly involved in “natural disasters.” Putting it another way: Does he ever use the forces of nature to judge the ungodly and discipline his people? Does he occasionally cause or allow natural disasters to get our attention, to remind us that the Lord IS God. Or does he sometimes prevent natural catastrophes or limit the damage and casualties from them?

Rain is Life

No rain; no water or replenishing of water. No water; no crops or fewer crops. No crops; no food for people and animals. No food for animals; no meat for people. Our life and existence on this planet depend on adequate rainfall. Just take a tour of the Sahara Desert or Death Valley, California if you think that planet earth could survive conditions like that on a regular or global basis.

As found especially in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Israel’s continued possession of and prosperity in the Promised Land were directly related to trust in God (for all things) and obedience to his laws—given for the welfare and security of his people. And, also the companion condition that Israel worship only the true and living God; not false, man-made gods that they or their pagan neighbors had fashioned. This was an overarching principle that applied to everyday life of the Jews.

With the Levitical sacrificial system, God’s forgiveness for sin was unconditionally given through atonement. Of course, there must be genuine remorse for wrong things said and done, but forgiveness was not based on good works or keeping of the Mosaic Law … whether moral, civil, or ceremonial. Redemptive righteousness (right standing with God) was based exclusively on faith in God’s Word (given to Moses and the people) that he would provide a covering for their sin through an outside source—the shedding of innocent animal blood. Then later the Lord gave them/us the New Covenant which was the once for all sacrificial substitutionary death of God’s son, Messiah Yeshua; followed by Messiah’s resurrection from the dead to ratify and seal this marvelous Covenant of Grace. This eternally solved man’s spiritual problem—separation from God because of sin. (See among other passages, the entire book of Hebrews).

Not so with respect to the issue of physical presence and prosperity in and permanent possession of the land. That was strictly conditional. Furthermore, the Lord specifically used rain or lack of it as the acid test repercussion of Israel’s trust and obedience. Read with me the Lord’s instructions as spoken by Moses to the people.

First the promises … the good news:

“Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey! For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came … Rather, the land … is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain—a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!

“If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat” (Deuteronomy 11:8-15).

Now for the warnings … the not so good news:

“But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the Lord’s anger will turn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you. So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your foreheads as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors” (Deuteronomy 11:16-21).

Moses goes on to say that God would give his people victory over and protection from their enemies. On somewhat of a side note in this chapter of Deuteronomy, we find the largest boundaries of the Promised Land of Israel—broader than ancient Israel of King David’s time and far broader than the borders of modern Israel, especially to the east of Israel.

“Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west” (Verse 24).

Then the Lord through Moses summarizes the details previously given of how continued possession, indeed, their very existence in the Promised Land, was contingent on their obedience to God.

“Look, today I am giving you the choice between blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him…” (Verses 26-27).

Toward the end of Deuteronomy—which is a summary of all that God told the people just before they entered the Promised Land, a message from Moses that took only a few days—we read:

“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster” (Deuteronomy 30:15).

Then again: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! … And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Verses 19-20).

In today’s vernacular we could summarize by saying:

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Conversely, “Reach out to the hand that feeds you.”

Two Examples of God Withholding Rain

Elijah:

The first is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible; that of Elijah’s astounding victory over the false prophets of Baal, hundreds of whom had been enlisted to serve the wicked King Ahab and his equally evil wife, Jezebel. Time doesn’t permit in this week’s article to elaborate on this astounding miracle involving natural fire from God’s supernatural source in heaven that humiliated the false prophets and their man-made god Baal. It proved to Israel who the true and living God was and forever will be.

Rather we will focus on the very first introduction to Elijah, beginning with his confrontational prophecy to Ahab, one that applied to the nation of Israel (the ten Northern tribes in particular):

“Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, ‘As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!’” (I Kings 17:1).

Not only no rain; not even any dew!

It wasn’t just Ahab and Jezebel, although they were Israel’s (loathsome) leaders and (bad) examples; all the northern tribes (called Israel, with the two southern tribes known as Judah) had begun to serve and worship Baal. Enough was enough. God would step in and do what was necessary to correct his people, to get them back on the right path, the path of life. This cycle of rebellion against the Lord, followed by God’s judgment through nature or by surrounding gentile nations, then Israel’s return (always temporary) to God is found throughout the Old Testament, beginning with the book of Judges.

Because it fits with today’s theme, I will take the time/space to quote the astonishing results of God “raining” fire down on Elijah’s sacrifice (a good thing). The fire consumed much more than just the sacrificed animal. Read with me:

“Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, ‘The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!’” (I Kings 18:38-39).

Elijah had first instructed the people to pour twelve large jars of water on the twelve-stone altar and in a trench surrounding it. In such a time of drought, using that much water to prove a point was risky business. But Elijah knew that God would listen to him and answer his prayer to validate God’s deity and power. Even the twelve stones and water from twelve large jars burned up!

So, we have no rain (whatsoever) for over three years leading to a second confrontation between Elijah and Ahab that would include one of the most spectacular miracles of the Old Testament (and there were many amazing miracles): fire flashing down from heaven to prove to the people who was God and who was not. Followed by the people’s sincere acknowledgment that the Lord was, indeed, God. With God’s forgiveness and grace subsequently poured out in the form of rain.

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming! So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees” (I Kings 18:41-42).

We know that Elijah had prayed for rain, because that’s exactly what happened next.

“And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm…” (Verse 45).

And that was the end of the 3 ½ year drought in Israel.

Zechariah:

This is another example of how God uses rain specifically and, by implication, nature in general, in response to the disobedience of people and nations when they blatantly defy and scorn the Lord God. However, this is a future illustration of the age-old Biblical principle and practice of our Great God. The setting here is the Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus.

“No rain,” means exactly that. Not just a reduction of annual rainfall; there will be no rain at all for that nation! Just across the borders of surrounding nations that show their gratitude and love for Christ Jesus, the King of kings, for all that he has done and will continue to do for them and the world, there will be abundant rain, crops, and prosperity.

Summary

No longer will the Lord discipline Israel through domination of Gentile nations. Such discipline has run its prophetic course. It ended with Israel’s phenomenal Six-Day War victory in June, 1967. See Eye of Prophecy articles, Seven Times Seven to the 4^th Power (I, II, & III, posted 1-25, 2-1, & 2-8-14)) which provide stunning details of one of the least known or understood prophecies in Scripture (Leviticus Chapter 26). Followed by the summary article entitled, The Omega Generation, published 2-15-14.

But God still uses nature to capture the attention of both Israel and the nations.

Whether the Lord was in the fires or “not in the fires” by allowing nature to “run its course” is not necessarily ours to know. However, he certainly was not in or with the Palestinians to cause or condone their atrocious acts of arson.

Yet whenever we hear or read about, are part of by direct experience, or perhaps even narrowly escape with our health and home from a “natural” disaster, we should pause and reflect.

You won’t want to miss Part II of next week’s Eye of Prophecy article that will continue our examination of the fires in Israel in the context of Biblical prophecy. We will take an up close and personal look at the Rest of the Story, something completely unexpected that occurred during these horrific fires in Israel. We will see the remarkable connection of this amazing event to Biblical prophecy that will be fulfilled in the very near future.

Things to Ponder

Then take the opportunity to examine our hearts and actions in the light of Biblical prophecy, precepts, and promises pertaining to Israel; and also our individual character and conduct concerning acknowledgment of God (or lack thereof) and at least a measure of respect for and cooperation with our chosen leaders.

“My child, fear the Lord and the king. Don’t associate with rebels, for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the Lord and the king?” (Proverbs 24:21-22).

Whether drought, famine, forest fires or other “natural” disasters, they are not necessarily used by the Lord as a means of discipline or judgment. For example, the seven-year famine throughout the Middle East in Joseph’s time was God’s way of reuniting Joseph with his father and brothers, all the while saving Israel, Egypt, and surrounding nations from drought induced starvation. But also to demonstrate to Pharaoh and Egypt that he, and he alone, is the true and living God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And we know now, also the God of all who are redeemed by receiving and believe in God’s Son, Messiah Jesus.

It was a reminder of who is ultimately in control.

Said Joseph to his brothers who had sold him into Egyptian slavery:

“…Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:19-20).

As Messiah Jesus hung on that cross suffering from excruciating pain and terrible thirst, he looked down on his accusers, captors, and executioners and uttered these amazing words:

“…Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

“For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).

Messiah’s Return & The Rapture (Same or Separate Events?)

03 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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The Second Coming

Faith, Love, and A Glorious Hope

The Bible is packed with powerful prophecies, profound principles, and precious promises. From beginning to end we marvel at the majestic Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as Creator and Redeemer of the human race. From Genesis through Revelation we are amazed at the absolute attributes of our Great God and Savior, including, but certainly not limited to, his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.

Through Scripture we learn the real meaning of such things as truth, righteousness, justice, unconditional love, and peace, because we see them from God’s viewpoint. More than that: with an open mind and heart we understand that God is Truth, Righteousness, Justice, Love, and Peace. These divine concepts are available and attainable to the human race only through God’s Son, Messiah Jesus, who is the perfect embodied expression of God.

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16).

Because God created us in his image, he has graciously given us the capacity for kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and consideration for others. God also gave us free will to choose right from wrong, good from evil. Because Adam and Eve chose wrongly, we now have a fallen twisted nature to be and do the exact opposite of what is good and right. Hence, the purest expression of these aforementioned positive qualities and others like them are possible only when Christ through the Holy Spirit is living in us and through us (Galatians 6 & Ephesians 5).

There are:

“Three things (that) will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13).

Love

“God is Love” (I John 4:8 & 16).

This love was expressed unconditionally through God’s grace, the greatest gift of all time: the sacrificial death of God’s Son on the cross for forgiveness of sin and pardon from the penalty of that sin—eternal separation from God. We are mercifully delivered from eternal judgment, and graciously given everlasting life (John 3:16).

Without God’s love and his initiative to express that love for us, there’s no way that any human being can possess and convey the same kind of unconditional agape love to others as described in the 13^th Chapter of I Corinthians. We love God and others, because he first loved us (I John 4).

Although salvation and eternal life is given to us for all time (never to be taken away) the moment we believe and receive Christ Jesus as personal Savior, it takes a lifetime of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ to better understand and express that kind of love to others. (II Peter 3:18).

Faith:

From the very beginning, all Adam and Eve had to do to live forever in paradise was to believe (have faith and trust in) what God had done for them and what he had said would come to pass if they didn’t obey him. Obedience to God is a direct result of trusting him and in him. Tragically (for our original parents and the human race), they failed this simple test of trust. Long before the Law of Moses was given, we find that trusting and obeying the Lord was all that was required of Abraham. This faith resulted in the most splendid thing that a human being could ever have or hope for: a right standing (righteousness) with God (Genesis 15:6).

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works…” (Ephesians 2:8-10, King James Version).

None of our works or deeds is really good in God’s eyes, until and unless we have been created (born-again) in Christ Jesus by placing our trust in God’s gift of grace—manifested through the death, burial, and resurrection of His matchless Son.

Hope

God’s Biblical plan of Salvation gives us something else that the Apostle Paul said would last forever: hope. This hope looks longingly for the culmination of so great a salvation—resurrection from the dead and transformation of those still alive when Christ returns, to a brand new body equipped to live forever in heaven. That is the main featured focus of today’s article; born-again believers enduring expectant hope for the Day of the Lord to begin.

Because of the remarkable 2,000-year influence of the Christian faith on this earth, many unbelievers have heard or know something about, The Second Coming. Virtually all true believers know of this phenomenal prophetic promise; however, even some Christians are confused about the Rapture and the Return of Messiah to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

Are they one and the same, or are they two distinct events? If they are separate events, will they happen at virtually the same time at the Second Coming of Christ Jesus?

There are two ways to approach this subject: (1) Provide Scriptural evidence first, then reach the conclusion based on that verification. (2) Answer the questions up-front, then examine the Biblical evidence to confirm the premise.

There would be more suspense in the buildup afforded by option one, but I will choose number two for the following reasons: (A) Although this is the first Eye of Prophecy article devoted entirely to the subject of contrasting or equating the Rapture to the Second Coming of Christ to the earth, several prior articles have made reference to the Rapture and the Return of Christ in the context of the main theme of those articles.

(B) Some Christians who have studied Biblical prophecy to some extent or another, understand these two events and know the correct answer to the questions, including at least a familiarity with the sequence of events that comprise what the Bible calls as a whole, The Day of the Lord.

Premise: The Rapture and the physical Return of Christ to the earth are, indeed, two distinct happenings that will take place at conspicuously separate times. Yet it’s also important to grasp the Biblical evidence to support that conclusion.

Different Degree of Emphasis in Scripture

Here, I’m referring to the sheer quantity of Biblical prophecies, both Old and New Testament, on the First and Second Coming of Messiah compared to the relatively few passages about the Rapture. That doesn’t mean that the Rapture is of less importance; only that the Rapture is just one part of what the Bible calls, The Day of the Lord, and what Bible scholars and teachers label, The Second Advent of Messiah.

To be as Biblically literate as possible concerning end-times prophecy, it’s of paramount importance to comprehend that the return of Christ encompasses a sequence of five events or phases. Beginning with the Rapture, then the Great Tribulation, then the Return of Messiah to the earth, then the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth to establish the Kingdom of God, and finally the perpetual existence of this Kingdom that includes among other amazing things: the New Jerusalem and a new heaven and earth (extreme makeover). Thus, when Jesus spoke of his return (as did the apostles Paul and Peter and John), we need to distinguish between references to the Rapture and the physical return of Messiah Jesus to the earth.

The Rapture

Found only in the New Testament, there are three definitive expositions of the Rapture: Matthew 24-25, I Thessalonians 4, and I Corinthians 15. There are also two Biblical incidents that provide prototype parallels of the Rapture in the form of a mysterious catching up of two men before disaster strikes the earth. One is Enoch in the Old Testament (Genesis 5:21-24) who was suddenly and mysteriously taken (alive) from the earth to be spared from God’s first world-wide judgment of mankind … the Great Flood. Then, the author of Revelation, John, was suddenly caught up to heaven to witness the second and final judgment of God on the earth … The Great Tribulation.

“Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this’” (Revelation 4:1).

Come up here. I’m convinced that these same words Jesus spoke to John will be the shout heard around the world along with a series of trumpet blasts to herald the Rapture.

As a reminder, the word Rapture is not found in Scripture. Nonetheless, it is an accurate term that vividly conveys and portrays what actually takes place. The Greek word used in the Rapture passage of I Thessalonians Chapter 4 is harpazo, which means to suddenly seize or catch up (to heaven). Please refer to the very first Eye of Prophecy article, What is the Rapture? (Posted 7-26-13). Followed by four more articles on the Why, When, Who, and How of the Rapture (8-3 through 8-24-13).

The Second Coming of Messiah

In the Old Testament the (second) coming of Messiah is referred to as the day of the Lord or the end times or the last days. However, there are other passages that don’t use a catchphrase, as such. Rather, they simply describe what takes place when God, through his Messiah, brings all things together to accomplish his purpose for mankind at the end of time. Meaning that time itself won’t end … only God’s specific plan for that particular time or times. Furthermore, both Messianic and non-Messianic references to the last days found in the Old Testament are specifically written about Israel—her physical and spiritual restoration. And, of course, there are many prophecies pertaining to Messiah’s first arrival to bring salvation to all—Jew and Gentile alike.

Different Purposes

Perhaps the biggest distinction between the Rapture and the Return of Messiah to the earth is found in the respective purpose they serve. Rapture is exclusively for the Church, the body of Christ, consisting of all Jews and Gentiles who have placed their faith in our Jewish Messiah, Jesus. The Second Coming of Christ to the earth is for the preliminary purpose of rescuing Israel from total destruction and the Jews from annihilation at the hands of the Antichrist. In doing so, Jesus will destroy the armies of Antichrist; thereby, completing the wrath of God on a very wicked world.

The Rapture of Believers

The primary purpose of the Rapture is to preemptively save believers from the Great Tribulation, with a secondary reason of dramatically and traumatically getting the attention of those left behind. To demonstrate that they have one last chance to receive God’s pardon through His chosen Messiah.

Messiah Jesus was the first to introduce the specific event of the Rapture, and he did so in the broader context of his astounding Mount of Olives message found in Matthew Chapters 24 and 25, with a more condensed account in Mark Chapter 13 and Luke Chapter 21. In those riveting portions of Scripture, Jesus covers the entire episode of his Second Coming—the Rapture, the Tribulation, and his glorious return to the earth—although not necessarily in sequence. Here is his dramatic descriptive allusion to the Rapture, which will trigger the ominous apocalyptic events of the Tribulation culminating in his actual return to the earth:

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So, you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:37-42).

Those “taken” in the Rapture are believers in Christ; just as Noah and his family were removed and relocated in the ark, and Lot and his family taken (literally grabbed by the angels) out of Sodom. Those who experienced God’s judgment were not taken out of harm’s way; they were the ones left behind to die on the earth. Likewise, those left behind at the Rapture are unbelievers who will go through the terrible Tribulation.

(Some Will Be Taken, Many Left Behind)

It’s important to grasp the fact that when Jesus spoke of his Second Coming, he incorporated the Rapture, Tribulation, and physical return to earth—as three phases of a continuous comprehensive series of events. He distinguishes between these three stages by explaining what will happen. It’s then up to us to separate and match his descriptions to these three phases of his Second Coming. We do that by comparing them with all other Biblical end times prophecies, or at least enough passages to know which one he is describing … Rapture (to include global birth pains leading up to the Rapture) Tribulation, or his Return.

The purpose of believers “taken” from the earth is presented by the Apostle Paul after he discloses the astonishing sequence of the Rapture itself in I Thessalonians 4:15-18.

“For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever” (I Thessalonians 5:9-10).

The very fact that we are spared from God’s anger (which isn’t released globally until the Great Tribulation) means that the Rapture must take place before the Tribulation which will last for seven years. Therefore, the Rapture is a uniquely different occurrence from the physical return of Messiah Jesus to the earth, near the end of the Tribulation.

When Paul uses the phrase, “when he returns” he, like Christ before him, is referring specifically to the first three of the five phases of the Day of the Lord, i.e. the Rapture, Tribulation, and Second Coming of Messiah Jesus. The remaining two phases are the Millennium and what some Bible scholars refer to simply as Eternity ushered in by the final defeat of Satan and those who subsequently oppose Messiah at the end of the Millennium. These final two epic ages are described in such passages as Revelation Chapters 20-22 and Isaiah Chapter 11.

In fact, before Paul illustrates the actual catching up of believers (Rapture), he cites the reason that the Lord Jesus so graciously and generously revealed this astonishing prophetic hope for believers. This is the part of the Rapture passage in I Thessalonians 4 that isn’t often quoted or is overlooked in favor of the more well-known portion of this passage.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord. We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died” (I Thessalonians 4:13-15).

First and foremost the Lord is telling us through Paul that the resurrection of dead believers in Christ will not only take place at the Rapture; it is the Rapture itself! So also will believers still alive when the Rapture occurs be given new resurrected bodies. In effect, this, too, is a resurrection from the dead … a deliverance from our decaying, dying bodies. This remarkable transformation is vividly portrayed in I Corinthians Chapter 15.

Return of Messiah to the Earth

We’re still in the category of Different Purposes between the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ to the earth, with the aforementioned purpose of the Rapture to spare believers from the wrath of God and the madness of Satan and Antichrist during the Great Tribulation.

There are several passages in both the Old Testament and New Testament that clearly convey the fact of and purpose for Messiah Jesus’s physical return to the earth. None more so than the following:

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war … and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty … On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords” (Revelation 19:11-16).

That is exactly what Paul said earlier in I Thessalonians: “…we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.” And, of course, believers who are still alive at the Rapture also will accompany Christ upon his glorious return to the earth.

But first, both the dead and living in Christ must be taken up to heaven in order for the, “armies of heaven dressed in … pure white linen to follow him on white horses.”

Different Time/Different Places

The Rapture

“We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:15-18).

At the Rapture, born-again Christians will “be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” We will go up. We will not meet him on the earth or descend with him back to earth at the Rapture; nor is there any mention of Messiah Jesus actually coming to or stepping foot on earth during this first phase of his return.

Moreover, the Rapture will occur over a short span of time to include “the blink of an eye” transfiguration of our bodies (both dead and living).

“But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (I Corinthians 15:51-53).

Please read Eye of Prophecy Article, How the Rapture (posted 8-24-13) showing that the entire progression of the Rapture (described in I Thessalonians 4) will take place in real time over several minutes, not in the blink of an eye. The only thing that takes place in a nanosecond (blink of an eye) is the actual transfiguration of our bodies, which is the last thing that happens during the Rapture sequence before believers are caught up to meet the Lord in the sky.

There will be no immediate warning that the Rapture is about happen. It is the Rapture phase of the Second Coming of Christ that will come abruptly as, “a thief in the night.” Which is why no one knows the day or hour when it will take place; and why it will stun an unsuspecting, unprepared, unbelieving world like nothing before in human history since the Great Flood.

Conversely, there will be many warning signs before Christ returns to the earth, including all of the Tribulation events. Plus, the fact that his physical return will take place seven years after the Tribulation begins—maybe to the day, or maybe a few days before the Tribulation ends. Many of the redeemed saints and even some die-hard unbelievers during the Tribulation will accurately predict the day of Jesus’s actual return to the earth.

The Return of Christ to the Earth

Here is Messiah Jesus’s description of his post-Tribulation return to earth:

“And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30, italics for emphasis).

Zechariah 14:3-4 tells us that Messiah will step foot on the Mount of Olives which is one of the most well-known Old Testament prophecies that Christ will actually descend (return) to the earth. This magnificent reappearance as the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, as King of all kings (contrasted to Messiah’s first appearance as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world) will begin when the Son of Man is seen coming “on the clouds.” From there, he will descend to the earth along with all of the (previously) raptured believers.

(Pictorial Depiction of Messiah’s Two Advents)

There is not only a grammatical difference between in the clouds/air and on the clouds (of heaven); there is also a positional and purposeful variation. On the clouds of heaven represents a position of authority and power with the originating purpose of dispensing justice on the earth. In the clouds of the air is where we will be gathered as brothers and sisters in Christ to first meet our wonderful Lord and Savior.

With regard to the timing of these spectacular first and third phases of the Lord’s return (Tribulation is the 2^nd phase) we have already established the fact that believers are not destined to experience the wrath of God (I Thessalonians 5). By default, then, the Rapture must take place before the seven-year Tribulation begins. Scripture is equally clear that Messiah Jesus will not return to the earth until the end of the Tribulation. Thus, the Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ to the earth itself cannot possibly be the same event. Nor, as two separate events, will they take place at the same time (back to back). The Rapture and the return of Messiah to the earth are separated by seven years of unprecedented terror on planet Earth.

The respective timing of the Rapture and Jesus’s physical return to the earth is further reinforced by the marvelous wedding feast of the Lamb that raptured born again believers in Christ will celebrate as the “bride of Christ” with the bridegroom. Some say this will last for the entire duration of the seven-year Tribulation. Because it is not mentioned until the Tribulation is about over, I personally believe it will take place over a period of several days. Most likely seven days, as this was the traditional duration of Jewish wedding celebrations in Israel.

Listen to the stirring words of John recording another marvelous vision late in the book of Revelation after all of the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments of God have taken place.

“Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: ‘Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear. For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people” (Revelation 19:6-8).

This is the same “white linen” worn while we descend with our Great God and Savior, Messiah Jesus as he “strikes down the nations” (Revelation 19:15).

The Rapture and the Return of Messiah Are not “Yo-Yo” Events

Although the Biblical evidence is conclusive, we can also rely on the common sense of it all. Or in reverse, the nonsensical notion of being caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds/air, only to immediately go back down to the earth with the Lord to dispense the final wrath of the Lamb at the final battle of Armageddon.

All phases of the Second Coming of Christ will take place in real time and space (place), not virtual time or reality. Among other things, how is it possible for the wedding feast with our Savior to take place before we return with Christ at the final battle of Armageddon, if we’re caught up to heaven at the same time Christ is coming down to the earth? Revelation is crystal clear that believers will celebrate the wedding feast with Messiah BEFORE Jesus returns to do battle at Armageddon.

Believers will not meet Christ going (up) and coming (down) all at once. That makes no sense at all. That would be like an elevator full of employees going up to meet their boss with the unmistakable understanding that he is waiting for them in the Penthouse Suite having prepared a great Christmas party for them. Only for the boss to change his mind after they arrive, and then take the elevator back down with all of the guests to first “take care of business” below.

Praise and thanks to God … born again believers will sit out the tribulation! There will be seven years between our elevator rides!

Different Meaning/Different Results

In this category of explaining the differences between the Rapture and Messiah’s physical return to earth, we can actually combine the two events; but only with regard to and in the context of the different meaning and results between believers and unbelievers.

Believers

Neither believers nor unbelievers can know the day or hour of the Rapture. However, for the believer, the Rapture that initiates the sequence of events that we lump together with the phrase Second Coming of Messiah or Day of the Lord (synonymous in terms of meaning and results) is a source of great hope for the born-again Christian. That’s why Paul instructed the believers at the end of his first disclosure of the Rapture, “to encourage each other with these words.”

Giving and receiving encouragement is tantamount to maintaining consistent and persistent hope for the resurrection of the dead in Christ and those alive to be transfigured to our new heavenly bodies. It’s what keeps us going in and giving to the unsaved world the wonderful truth of so great a salvation granted to us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus—to all who believe and receive him as personal Savior.

It’s what motivates fellow believers in the Lord to, “…live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds” (Titus 2:12-14).

That wonderful day that Paul alludes to is none other than The Day of the Lord. Thus, for the believer, the Rapture then the physical return of Christ to conquer the forces of evil on this planet are equally wonderful. In that regard, they have the same meaning and results. The Rapture will spare us from the most terrible time and horrible happenings that ever has or ever will be experience by mankind. (See Eye of Prophecy article, Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation, posted 6-6-15).

And we will return with our Messiah to watch his stunning victory over, “the dragon (Satan), the beast (Nero), and the false prophet … all the rulers of the world … and their armies gathered for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty … to a place with the Hebrew name, Armageddon” (Revelation 16:13-16, my parenthesis, italics already in the text).

To that end, all believers will be prepared for the Rapture, preempted from the Tribulation, and participate in the glorious return of our Savior to set all things right in this wicked world we live in. We are prepared because we are IN CHRIST, now and forever.

For those saved by the atoning blood of Messiah Jesus, the Day of the Lord will be one of unspeakable joy … a great and glorious day. With the Rapture being, the first day of the rest of our lives.

It is everlasting life in a beautiful heaven with the angels, fellow believers, and most of all with our awesome God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Unbelievers

Not so for those who have chosen not to accept what Jesus has done for them, who have rejected the Way, Truth, and Life and the fact that everyone must come to God through Christ Jesus (John 14:6).

For them the Day of the Lord will mean going through the carnage of the Great Tribulation.

It will be:

“…the day when destruction comes from the Almighty. How terrible that day will be!” (Joel 1:15).

It will be a time of great dread, distress, debauchery, destruction, and death.

“For see, the day of the Lord is coming—the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it. The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light. I, the Lord, will punish the world for evil and the wicked for their sin. I will crush the arrogance of the proud and humble the might of the mighty … For I will shake the heavens. The earth will move from its place when the Lord of Heaven’s Armies displays his wrath in the day of his fierce anger” (Isaiah 13:9-13).

Things to Ponder

Neither the first nor the second coming of Messiah to the earth has been a mystery. Hundreds of Old Testament prophecies tell of his first arrival … hundreds more of his return. But the Rapture of the Church (Messiah’s bride and body) was a mystery, not revealed until our Lord himself said some would be taken, others left (behind).

I can’t think of any greater hope for people all over the world than that of global peace and security, both individually and nationally. And I would dare say that the vast majority of people on this planet would, if seriously speaking their mind and sincerely sharing their heart, agree that the best (if not only) way to achieve peace is through one Man who can set aside all the cultural, racial, religious, national, and international differences that divide the human race.

That day will come and soon. When Messiah Jesus returns as the Prince of Peace, all religions will be eliminated (the Christian faith is not a religion, it is a relationship with a Person who is Truth and Life itself … the only redemptive way to a right standing with God our Creator); all earthly rulers and nations will acknowledge him as Lord; there will be peace on earth, good will toward all people.

“And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshipped” (Zechariah 14:9).

If you are alive when the Rapture occurs, but have not yet accepted Christ as your personal Savior, you will be given a second chance for as long as you stay alive during the Great Tribulation. But as God is my witness, you don’t want to wait until after the Rapture.

Although the decision of which messiah to follow will be the clearest choice ever made, it will be agonizingly difficult to choose the true Messiah Jesus over the false messiah (Nero). Most will opt for temporary security on earth over eternal life in heaven, because to choose everlasting life through Christ will mean instant poverty, persecution, and peril at the hands of Antichrist.

On the other hand, that would be the most short-sighted decision of all time, even as it is now before the Rapture will take place. For to reject the only hope of salvation and eternal life through the Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Man is to sentence one’s self to eternal separation from God.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

“Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).

Aftermath of America’s Amazing Election

26 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Election results, Electoral College

Such a Campaign and Election!

It was one of, if not the most poignant, passionate, and polarized United States presidential campaigns ever. Followed by one of the most astonishing elections in our country’s history. That’s what bewildered journalists, editors, political pundits, and millions of dazed citizens across this nation are saying. Many are still reeling from the results, especially the pollsters!

It was a stunning turn of events; an upset to rival the embarrassing reversal of newspaper headlines when the media and political experts prematurely claimed that Thomas Dewey had defeated Harry Truman in 1948.

Did you, along with millions of Americans, vote against one of the candidates instead of voting for the other candidate? Or did you “vote your conscience.” Or was your conscience too numb to vote at all? Whether you voted for Clinton or Trump or were too upset with both candidates to even vote at all, quite likely you were as shocked as I was with the election results.

Other than disbelief, what has been your reaction? Have you given up on American politics? Or have you celebrated what appears to be a victory over what many believe to be establishment “politics as usual?” Have you protested in the streets and sworn that Donald Trump is not your President, now or ever? Conversely, if Hilary Clinton had won the election, would you also challenge the results … claiming that the election was rigged?

Scripture is abundantly clear that the true and living God of the Bible is sovereign over all things, including governments, their leaders, and the rise and fall of nations. Yet, the Bible is truthfully transparent that God has given mankind free will to choose right from wrong, eternal life over death, and good leaders instead of bad ones. Eventually and inevitably, God’s majestic plan for the human race will be accomplished. Our Great God and Savior will triumph over evil … including the greed, injustice, corruption, and indifference that tarnishes even the best of human governments and taints the integrity of even the noblest of leaders.

In the meantime, God allows men and woman the world over to try to prove to themselves that they can govern and achieve peace between peoples and nations without first seeking peace with God through redemption purchased by Messiah Jesus. Or at least acknowledging the Lord in all the “affairs of state.”

One day (soon):

“The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations … Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord” (Psalm 22:27-30).

These two verses are near the end of Psalm 22, which is the most recognized Messianic Chapter of the Old Testament, along with Isaiah 53. In those passages, several prophecies of the coming Messiah were subsequently fulfilled by Jesus, mostly those that took place while he suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the whole world.

Whether a nation is governed by a monarch, a constitutional parliament, an oligarchy, a pure democracy, or a republic, down through the ages revolt against elected or appointed (including self-appointed) officials often has proved disastrous. I’m not talking about revolutions that led to the formation of a new nation, not the least of which was our own American Revolution against Great Britain. Or even the greater majority of people who attempted to overthrow repressive regimes controlled by a ruthless dictator. However, even then, that nation was seldom better off than before. Either a new dictator would emerge or a coalition type government would unravel.

Rather, I’m referring to situations like what happened in Israel some 3,000 years ago when ten of the formerly united twelve tribes in Israel rebelled against King Rehoboam, the rightful heir to King Solomon. (See I Kings Chapter 12). Though the leaders of those tribes believed their cause was right, defiance of the newly appointed king was because they had decided, he was not their king.

Civil war followed that continued periodically (and contributed to) until the ten northern kingdoms (Israel) were conquered and deported by Assyria a little over 200 years later. Then the two southern tribes (Judah) were destroyed and exiled by the Babylonia Empire some 150 years afterward. Israel would never be the same again until her miraculous rebirth as the State of Israel in 1948; made possible because that was and is God’s supreme and sovereign plan for the Jews and for the land promised to them, Israel.

One of the most tragic examples of a nation literally splitting in two with unparalleled devastation and loss of life was our own American Civil War. Though the root cause was the issue of slavery, eleven southern states succeeded from the Union, with the mindset that Abraham Lincoln was not their President. In fact, they formed a Confederate Union and elected their own president … Jefferson Davis. Currently, there are residents of California who want to succeed from the United States of America and make that state a separate nation. Some call it the Calexit movement. Likewise, some people in Oregon have called for that state to leave the Union and form the “People’s Democratic Republic of Oregon.”

God often allows us to do and have what we want, even if it’s not close to being what is best for us, and ends in failure. In fact, depending on our response, failure often brings us back to God … with whom we should have stayed in the first place.

Dow Hits Record High

Were you among those who invested more or for the very first time in the stock market in the past few days? Causing headlines posted this past Tuesday such as, “Dow Hits Record High … Stocks Soar.” If you voted Republican, are you sure that your president-elect and the republican led Senate and House can and will implement domestic and foreign policies that will “make America great again.” If you voted Democrat, are you at least hoping these polices will do something good for this country whether you like Trump and his cabinet appointees or not?

If you’re one of the tens of millions of Christians (truly born again or just Christian in name only) what has been your response? Anger? Euphoria? Angst? Hope? Dismay? Delight? Or perhaps indifference and resignation?

Have you infrequently or never prayed for your city, county, state, and federal officials … not even for the President of the United States? If not, is it because you don’t think your prayers will make that much difference, like many think their one vote doesn’t matter much or at all?

Perhaps you’ve forgotten or don’t really believe what God has said through his Word, the Bible:

“…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield it crops” (James 5:16-18).

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us:

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (I Timothy 2:1-6).

One of the most powerful petitions any Christian can present to God our Father and to Messiah Jesus our Savior is that our President and other leaders will treat Israel with respect and dignity. To honor her as God’s special possession and Jews the world over as God’s chosen people through whom God’s Messiah came to the world 2000 years ago. Ultimately, our success and security as a nation is in direct proportion to our support of Israel and favorable treatment of Jews (Genesis 12:1-3).

Our President-Elect and Israel

In Eye of Prophecy articles, I write sparingly about politics. When I do the articles are in the broader context of Biblical prophecy and principles on such things as the rise and fall of governments, rulers, and nations that are directly related to their behavior toward Israel and recognition that God is the source and sustainer of peoples and nations.

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good” (Psalm 127:1).

On the other hand, this is the first United States Presidential election since the Eye of Prophecy website began nearly 3 ½ years ago, So, I’m compelled to offer commentary on this election in general and the more unlikely of the two candidates who won, in particular.

We are living in the last days of the end times. Like never before, how individuals and nations regard the Jews and Israel will determine their fate before and after the Rapture, especially when Messiah Jesus returns to this earth. Although God will judge the nations during the Great Tribulation and pour out his wrath on the ungodly who have chosen to follow and serve the Anti-Christ and also those who will oppose this man of lawlessness but still refuse to acknowledge the true and living God and his Messiah, Jesus, I fear that the Lord will not reserve all of his fury just for the Tribulation.

If the United States of America continues on the course charted by our current administration that often includes denunciation of Israel for such things as building houses and apartments on land that belongs to them in the first place; or for promoting a Palestinian State without secure defensible borders for Israel, then this country will literally have “hell to pay.”

There’s not much I could say that hasn’t already been said or seen regarding the enigma that is Donald Trump. This past election may just be the most definitive example in all of America’s political history of a love/hate relationship with a President, who isn’t even officially President yet. There are still many Democrats who are passionately trying to persuade several Electoral College officials to change their electoral vote on December 19^th from Trump to Clinton. With their main rationale that Clinton leads Trump with the popular (majority) vote, nationwide.

(Republican-Red; Democrat-Blue; Results of Electoral Votes, with Hilary Clinton garnering 48.03% and Donald Trump 47.01% of popular vote)

Much has already been written about his pre-office domestic plans and foreign policies, and much more will be published after Donald Trump is sworn in as President on January 20^th, 2017. Today’s article will be confined to potential (hopeful) keeping of promises already made (or at least proposed) by President-elect Trump concerning Israel.

We, who have been redeemed by our great God and Savior, Messiah Jesus, need to plead with the Lord that our President and his staff will support Israel in word and deed.

Some of what we know about Donald Trump’s regard for Israel is as follows:

Financial Support for Israel

Donald Trump has provided generous monetary aid to Israel on more than one occasion; such as giving millions of dollars to help resettle Jews who had been evicted from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Though I love God’s special possession Israel and God’s chosen people the Jews—with great admiration and respect for current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—like leaders of many nations, a few former Israeli Prime Ministers have made costly mistakes. In this case, now deceased Prime Minister Ariel Sharon forcibly removed all Jews from the Gaza Strip with the apparently good intention (at the time) of Israel better able to protect those Israelis if they were no longer living in the Gaza Strip. Instead, the terrorist organization Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, and launched mortar and missile attacks into Israel.

Likewise, Donald Trump’s father had donated millions of dollars to worthy Jewish causes in the United States and Israel.

United States Embassy in Israel

In the Eye of Prophecy article, Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country? (Posted 6-13-15), I wrote extensively on the incredible irony that Jerusalem is not accepted by virtually every nation on earth as the undivided, exclusive capital of Israel. This despite Biblical and historical evidence and validation that this holy city is the very heart and soul of Israel and the Jewish people. In italics, here are the first two paragraphs of that article which follow the title and heading, Jerusalem … A Capital without a Country:

Or is it: Israel … A Country without a Capital? It’s a shame that either of these two concepts should even be in the form of a question. But they are, and they must be faced head-on and answered. Any response depends entirely on whether a sovereign nation possesses the inherent right to choose its own capital; which is a reasonable presumption, or it should be. So we’ll begin with both barrels blazing and boldly assert: Of course, a sovereign state has that right! For Israeli Jews, the answer is as obvious as it would be to an American citizen who would never question whether Washington D.C. is the Capital of the United States of America … Jerusalem is the (eternal) capital of Israel.

Yet, the United States and virtually every nation on earth does NOT recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Instead, they have placed embassies in Tel Aviv; thereby, telling Israel that Tel Aviv is its seat of government, not Jerusalem. So drop the capital and the issue actually becomes: Jerusalem, a City without a Country? That is precisely how the US President and his staff, as well as most governments, classify Jerusalem—which reduces it to the same status as the Vatican … a city-state inside a country but without a country.

On more than one occasion, President-elect Donald Trump has said that he would do whatever necessary to move the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Which is what three Presidents have not done since the United States Senate voted in 1995 to move the embassy to Jerusalem. With each of these Presidents, to some extent or another, reluctant to implement the Senate ruling over fear of irritating Muslim nations in general and the Palestinians in particular.

(U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv / I’ve Been There!)

Just this week, Donald Trump announced that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley had accepted his appointment of her as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Governor Haley was the first governor in the US to pass legislation against the insidious BDS movement designed to cripple Israel’s economy, with the more sinister agenda to delegitimize and demonize Israel.

One of the many posts and positions that Donald Trump is considering for his Presidential staff is Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor (twice a Republican candidate for President), as the US Ambassador to Israel. As many know, Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel. Mostly because he is a born-again Christian who loves Israel, and who recognizes that God has not forgotten either of the two sweeping plans proclaimed throughout the Bible. One of which is the restoration of Israel as a nation that will be the center of the Kingdom of God in Jerusalem (government of Messiah … see Ezekiel 37 and many other passages) and final redemption of the Jews.

God’s other plan of the ages is that of completing the New Covenant salvation for Jew and Gentile alike (one in Messiah) through the astounding resurrection of the dead in Christ and transfiguration of those alive (at the Rapture) to our eternal heavenly bodies. Included with that marvelous promise is to rule and reign with Messiah Jesus during his magnificent Millennial kingdom on earth.

The Kingdom of God on earth will be headquartered in Jerusalem. God will see to it. But why not seek God’s pre-millennial blessings now by recognizing and honoring Jerusalem as the Holy Capital of the Holy Land of Israel. Enough with the politically correct excuses to leave the embassy in Tel Aviv. Pray that soon-to-be President Trump will get that embassy of ours moved to Jerusalem where it belongs!

“On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you!” (Psalm 87:1-3).

The following prophetic promise began its fulfillment when Israel was reborn as a sovereign state in 1948:

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: ‘You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west. I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God’” (Zachariah 8:7-8).

Let’s read what will take place after the Lord delivers the Jews and Israel from imminent annihilation by the armies of the world led by Antichrist Nero at the end of the Tribulation. In fact, the first part of this passage is already underway.

“…People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing … In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you’” (Zechariah 8:20-23).

Iran Nuclear Deal

Nearly everyone that has kept current with the election campaign and post-election news, understands Trump stated intentions to revoke what is arguably the worst deal that the United States has ever made with another country, let alone a nation whose avowed goal is the destruction of the United States and Israel. Certainly, President-elect Trump’s main concern is an Iranian nuclear threat to America. If, however, he can persuade the other P5 + 1 nations who co-signed this pact with Iran to uncompromisingly enforce it; or if he will simply circumvent the deal by reinstating US sanctions against Iran, this would be of tremendous long-term benefit to Israel’s security.

Palestinian Two-State Solution

Preliminary evidence shows that Donald Trump does support the general idea of a Palestinian State in Israel (who doesn’t among world leaders, despite the fact that this is absolutely contrary to God’s purpose and plan for Israel, i.e. that the Promised Land is not to be divided). However, at least Trump prefers that Israel and the Palestinians decide this and other issues through direct negotiations. Not through a United States led or approved UN Security Council resolution that would unilaterally (without participation by or the voice of Israel heard) partition Israel into two states … especially with pre-1967 borders that would render Israel virtually indefensible from its enemies.

(Map of Israel: According to the Palestinians, Israel is Still Palestine. They want all of Israel for a State, not just the West Bank and Gaza)

Whether a Palestinian State is created or not and whether President-elect Trump follows through with his positive promises toward Israel remains to be seen. But it’s evident at this time that he does place Israel’s interest at a high level of importance. This includes a warm relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a reciprocal approval from many Israelis of America’s choice for President. They see Donald Trump’s presidency as one that will reignite the flickering flame that has become a mere pilot light barely illuminating the dark tension between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu that has adversely affected relations between America and Israel over the past several years.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said that Donald Trump is, “a devoted supporter of Israel,” and eagerly anticipates that Trump will follow through on his campaign promise to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. He extended a warm greeting to Trump, saying, “I am full of hope for your support for our activities for building in and developing Jerusalem for all her residents, and I invite you to visit the capital of Israel.”

The United States, Israel, and Russia

Many Israelis also have welcomed the thawing of once frozen foreign relations between Israel and Russia. This includes an unprecedented number of visits between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the last eighteen months or so. However, this unexpected, even stunning (to some), easing of tensions between Russia and Israel is substantially one of political and economic expediency, if not tolerance, for both countries.

Several factors have led to this most unusual cooperation, but time/space in this article permits identification of only one.

Which is: Russia’s obvious interest in establishing a foothold in the Middle East primarily through and in Syria. With its ultimate agenda that of gaining control of Israeli natural gas fields off the coast of Israel, and eventually Israel itself. Moreover, Benjamin Netanyahu knows this or at least suspects that Putin’s motive is not pure, nor Russia’s intentions so altruistic. Thus, his tactical response is to demonstrate to Putin that Israel will not be bullied by any nation that has been or still is a threat to her survival. And if your enemy (Russia) is led by someone (Putin) who recognizes and respects a people and nation (Israel) that has both the determination and the military and economic resources to defend itself even against powerful nations, then why not seek some degree of dialogue and some extent of cooperation that might benefit both sides. Yet this tenuous political, economic, and cultural “truce” between Russia and Israel is not necessarily based on anything approaching a high level of mutual admiration between Putin and Netanyahu. As alluded, it’s predicated primarily on pragmatism.

Not so, with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Just how serious and genuine it is now or will be after Donald Trump takes office in January, would be anybody’s guess. However, Trump and Putin have begun what appears to be a mutual admiration society between the two of them, even before Trump won the election. Moreover, a recent post-election survey of Russians yielded some remarkable facts: (1) Only four percent of Russians would have voted for Hilary Clinton; (2) Over one-third of Russians believe Donald Trump will be America’s best president ever.

Ordinarily, this would be a paradox if not an obstacle to any restoration of head of state interaction between the United States and Israel; were it not for the equally strange behavior of Vladimir Putin in his courting of Israel.

(Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu)

The Two Tribulation Attacks Against Israel

Several Eye of Prophecy articles have been written about the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel, which I firmly believe will occur within the first year or so of the seven-year Tribulation. In this week’s post, we’ll examine just one feature of that massive coalition against Israel: how the United States and our President will react … what they will do or can do, and not do.

In proportion to our population, the United States undoubtedly has as many or more Christian believers than any other nation on earth. Thus, America will be affected by the Rapture (loss of people) more than any other country. Our armed forces will still be formidable. But only because of our vast technological military that requires less personnel (soldiers and civilians), relying significantly on heavy armaments—such as missiles, ships, tanks, drones, bombers, fighter jets—rather than troops on the ground. Yet the fact remains: America’s military capacity and infrastructure will be weakened by sheer loss of people when the Rapture takes place.

Equally evident is that the three main countries making up the Gog/Magog confederacy (Russia, Iran, and Turkey) will lose very few people at the Rapture. By default, Russia will catch up overnight to the United States in military might, and probably exceed it. Even a President like Donald Trump won’t be able to stand up to this massive alliance, nor want to. His response will fall under the proverbial perception that, “discretion is the better part of valor.”

For one thing, the revived Roman Emperor, Nero (Antichrist) will be in the process of persuading, then forcing three nations to join the seven who have already yielded their governments and military to him (Daniel 7). Please refer to the Eye of Prophecy article, One Ring to Rule Them All article (posted 11-21-15), for the most likely line up of the ten nation coalition controlled by Antichrist Nero. The seven kingdoms that will immediately join Nero are projected to be: Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and a Persian Gulf State Arabic coalition.

The three nations that will reluctantly join forces with Nero’s coalition will quite likely be: United States, Canada, and Australia. Here is an excerpt from One Ring to Rule Them All, explaining why these three countries will be part of the Antichrist’s ten-kingdom empire (in italics):

First and foremost, each of these countries is fiercely democratic and independent. They will not readily join forces with what they undoubtedly will perceive as totalitarian, nor a tyrant no matter how enthusiastically he will be welcomed by a world in chaos and confusion. However, the United States, and to a lesser degree Canada and Australia, will experience a substantial loss of population when millions are taken in the glorious Rapture.

Which is the primary reason that the United States will not be able to economically or militarily do anything about the Russian-led (Gog/Magog) invasion of Israel soon after the Rapture. Nor will America, Canada, or Australia pose any obstacle to the enormous bloc of eastern nations. And certainly not to Nero’s agenda of establishing a powerful dictatorial ten-kingdom federation to include these three countries that, though considerably weakened, will still exert an impressive influence on this global scene of temporary anarchy. The natural resources and technology of these three countries would be enticement enough for Nero.

As independently self-sufficient as these three nations are and still will be (to a lesser extent), they also will not want to lose their standard of living and Western way of life … all of which will have been shaken to the very core by global upheaval caused by the sudden disappearance of hundreds of millions the world over.

Consequently, America, Canada, and Australia will inevitably yield their political, economic, and military allegiance to Nero and the other seven nations. They will succumb to what will probably be extensive economic sanctions and daunting military threats against them. Their capitulation to Nero’s invitational-style demand (please join us … or else) to enter his coalition will be reluctant at first; but then they will participate enthusiastically when they see the astounding accomplishments of Nero’s early program to pacify Europe during the first year or so of the Tribulation.

Gog/Magog Invasion of Israel & the Response of Nations, Including America

Over 2,500 years ago, God through the prophet Ezekiel prophesied against Gog/Magog:

“A long time from now, you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” (Ezekiel 38:8-9).

Then we see the reaction of some nations (to certainly include the United States and the other countries that will comprise the ten-nation empire of Antichrist Nero), which in Ezekiel Chapter 39 are identified as the “allies who live safely on the coasts.” Leaders from virtually all nations will sit back and watch and only some will voice criticism or condemnation of the Russian, Iranian, Turkish (and other smaller nations) onslaught against Israel. They will say:

“…Do you really think the armies you have gathered can rob them of silver and gold? Do you think you can drive away their livestock and seize their goods and carry off plunder?” (Ezekiel 38:13).

This will be armchair boasting and bravado at its hypocritical best (worst).

Once again the Lord says about Gog and many nations who will do nothing to help Israel:

“…At that time in the distant future, I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you, Gog. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord” (Verse 16, italics for emphasis).

God knows that the United States and all other nations will stand down indifferently, ineptly, or even expectantly to what the world will consider an imminent end to the State of Israel. Thus, God will supernaturally intervene and divinely destroy this awesome, but arrogant, Gog/Magog confederacy. Read Ezekiel 39 for the spectacular severity and finality of Gog/Magog’s destruction and demise. As for Israel: she too will only watch as God fights for her. This will be the first of two massive campaigns against Israel during the Tribulation. The other will be led by Antichrist and his ten-kingdom empire in the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation.

No matter what we think of Donald Trump, some of his traits that have emerged during the election campaign would indicate that he is: independent, determined, assertive, and tough. I’m sure you can come up with other adjectives (positive or negative) to describe this most intriguing and perplexing man who, against all odds, has been voted in as the 45^th President of the United States of America.

(U.S. President-elect Donald Trump)

Hopefully, he will follow through on his preliminary support of Israel in general, and his commitments to Israel in particular. Whether he is the United States President after the Rapture and at the outset of the Gog/Magog assault against Israel remains to be seen. Right now, however, Donald Trump fits hand in glove with Scripture’s description of what the “coastal” nations, of which America is one, will do (not do) when Russia and her allies march against Israel. At the very most these nations will give only lip service to whatever previous promises they had made to support and even defend Israel in time of peril.

Then there’s the added factor to the equation—which is Donald Trump’s affinity toward Vladimir Putin who, if still President of Russia when the armies of Magog attack Israel, would be none other than Gog of Magog.

How will President Trump balance Russia and Israel?

Scripture is clear on that matter. Those opposed to the Gog march on Israel will do so by rhetoric only, not by actions. It is God who will take action, with devastating results for Russia, Iran, Turkey, and their smaller allies … a massive defeat that will be unrivaled in the annals of warfare. God, himself will supernaturally defend Israel.

Given the sure word of Biblical prophecy coming to pass (in this case the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel), what then can Christians do?

Answer: Stand up for Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That the Lord will protect and prosper Israel NOW, not just in the future. And with widespread prayer and support for Israel, the Lord will also bless and protect this country; and maybe (his will be done) “make America great again” … at least for a while longer.

Things to Ponder

While we watch and wait for God’s prophetic promises to be completely fulfilled, we can at this Thanksgiving time of the year be thankful for what he have … partial peace in much of the world.

And we can be even more grateful for what we don’t yet have but will, beyond all doubt, soon realize: true global peace for every person in every nation, through one man—The Prince of Peace—predicted by the prophet Isaiah long ago.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part II)

19 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Antichrist

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The Dragon, the Tribulation

Living In The Omega Generation

“Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty…” (Psalm 90:10).

Less than two months ago, I reached my 70^th birthday, with 70 years as one of the two time spans that fits the Biblical definition of a generation; the other … 100 years (see Genesis 15:12-16). If you think about it, those segments of time accurately define the longevity of most people on this planet; unless a person succumbs to an untimely or premature death from illness, through war, or by an accident. A few live to be one-hundred, or even longer.

Currently, the oldest person in the world is an Italian woman, Emma Marano, at 116 years of age. On November 29^th, she will turn 117, the only person alive to have been born in the 1800s (1899)!

Jesus assigned the term generation to narrow down the time frame beginning with the “signs of the times.” He cited the “birth pains” leading to the Rapture of all believers followed by the seven-year Tribulation, culminating in his glorious return to bring justice and peace to this wicked, weary world in which we live.

In Eye of Prophecy articles, Look Up, Redemption is Near Part I & II (posted 7-11 & 7-18-15), I’ve listed and summarized twelve significant events or ongoing developments in the last one hundred years (especially in the past seventy years) that are fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. Such as:

World Wars, Rebirth of Israel, Recapture of Jerusalem, Exponential Increase in Natural Disasters, False Messiahs, Unequaled Increase in Quantity and Speed of Transportation and Information, and others.

There’s another phenomenon that has taken place in this 70-year and 100-year generational period of time. It is global preoccupation with the supernatural, the paranormal, the occult, and the mystical—anything and everything that the mind and heart of man can imagine, fantasize, or conjure. Virtually nothing is off limits.

Books on the supernatural have been around for centuries, but nowhere near the number published in the past few decades. Then came horror movies in the 1930s and 1940s depicting otherworldly creatures such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf Man. They were scary at the time. But compared to subsequent films that have paraded the grotesque, the gory, the gruesome, and the ghastly—tormenting, terrifying, and also slaughtering unsuspecting victims by human and inhuman monsters of all types—the original horror movies were no more frightening than Alice in Wonderland. Off with her head!

Beginning primarily in the 1950s, extraterrestrials, both bad and good, came to visit us. As if planet earth didn’t have enough problems, we also had to do battle with oversized mutated reptiles, insects, and birds! Currently, films with an apocalyptic end-of-the-world plot are plentiful. Fortunately, planet earth is saved again and again by genius scientists, brave warriors, and one coalition after another of superheroes!

On the more serious side, in the past fifty years or so, a new genre of horror films and television productions have flooded the big screen and little screen with the speed of light … the light of cameras, film, and projectors. The emphasis was more on satanic or demonic beings that either possess humans or take on some type of macabre physical form to intimidate, violate, and kill innocent people.

In what was one of the earliest and definitive prototype movies of its kind, an embodied Satan spawns a child by raping a woman. I’m referring to the film released in 1967, Rosemary’s Baby; with Mia Farrow (as the violated woman), John Cassavetes, Ralph Bellamy, and Ruth Gordon—who won a best supporting actress for her performance. In 2014, this movie was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Reasons given for this honor: the film’s, “culturally, historically or aesthetically significance.”

This movie generated other less well-known films that focused almost exclusively on Satan and Satan worship, such as, The Brotherhood of Satan.

Later, came The Exorcist in 1973.

Then another box-office smash, The Omen; this time concentrating on the Antichrist and his infamous number, 666. Released in 1976 it featured Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, whose adopted child, Damien, wasn’t just bred by Satan. He was actually the Antichrist. Three more Omen movies followed the original.

Several TV shows are currently carrying this ghoulish torch of the paranormal, such as The Walking Dead and Salem.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of novels, films, and television shows and documentaries about Satan, demons, and the powers of darkness have been released during the last 70 years. Across the board, they are Biblically inaccurate and scripturally illiterate. Nevertheless, Rosemary’s Baby is somewhat on point concerning the ancient cohabitation of fallen angels with women on the earth before Noah’s Flood. In part, this was covered in last week’s article. As indicated, this unholy, depraved breeding was abruptly halted when the fallen angels were imprisoned in the Abyss.

No matter the degree of fantasy found in Hollywood or televised productions, the intriguing fact remains that the 20^th & 21^st centuries have seen an unprecedented rise in the portrayal of the supernatural, made progressively more fantastic through special effects. This includes many depictions of demons and Satan, himself, in a material visible body.

Writers, producers, directors, and actors are inadvertently grooming hundreds of millions left behind at the Rapture to view the paranormal as normal, the supernatural as natural, and the spiritual as physical. And also to prepare unbelievers to accept what so many the world over sadly don’t believe now: Resurrection from the Dead. (Not reincarnation … there is no such thing. Rather, resurrection/transformation of the same body).

Instead of believing and, thereby, giving their loyalty and life to the true risen Messiah, Jesus; they will embrace a Roman Emperor (Nero) in what they perceive is his miraculous return from the grave. They will ignore or reject the real evidence prophesied 2000 years ago by John that their “superman” actually returns from the Abyss; having been struck down in his (perverted) prime of life by Christ. Then revived by the Lord and confined to the Abyss awaiting the time God when would release him. At about this same time, Satan will be permanently thrown down to earth in his real and tangible body, and will immediately extend his power and authority to Nero.

(Bust of Nero)

Restating the Premise

Let’s continue our study by restating a startling premise from last week’s Part I article; one that a hundred years ago or even seventy years past would have been considered incredible. In fact, the Biblical evidence to support this premise is still misunderstood, minimized, or not known even by many Christians. Here is the premise (quote) from last week’s Eye of Prophecy article:

In addition to the amazing (in the eyes of unbelievers) return of Nero in his original body, both angels and demons will be seen in their actual bodies by the entire Tribulation world. And not only angels and demons; Satan, himself, will appear on the earth in bodily form. Hundreds of million the world over will be stunned by these “signs and miracles” They will worship what they see … the Beast (Nero), a statue of him that actually speaks, and the embodied Satan.

Last week we focused on the Antichrist beast (Nero), fallen angels (demons) and good angels. We also examined Biblical passages that dealt with this most evil of all beings as Lucifer, the original name given to him. After expulsion from his heavenly residence and lofty position as one of the highest ranking angels created by God, he is called Satan, the Devil, and in Revelation, the Dragon.

It’s the appellation of “dragon” that will demonstrate and confirm the above stated premise: During the Great Tribulation, Satan will be confined to and observed in his corrupted, distorted, altered physical form of what was long ago, “full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12).

Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, and the Dragon

Before we get to Lucifer as the dragon, let’s look at his other names … Satan and the devil.

Satan:

“One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. ‘Where have you come from?’ the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, ‘I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on’” (Job 1:6-7).

The first two chapters of Job, indeed, these two verses tell us volumes about Satan—his sphere of influence, meaning of his name, and what God allows him to do or not to do.

The Accuser:

His very name, Satan, means accuser. In fact, he is the Accuser or the Satan. He accuses anyone and everyone who truly searches after the true and living God, especially believers in Messiah Jesus.

Beginning with Adam and Eve, Satan’s personal and primary purpose concerning the human race is to tempt us to disobey God, do our own thing, and go our own way … arrogantly or apathetically independent of our Creator and Savior. He even tempted Messiah Jesus to prove to Satan and the whole world that Jesus was the Son of God. But in order to do so (at that time), Jesus had to submit to Satan, agree to his demands, and even worship him. Our Lord would have none of that.

Here is an excerpt from my book, Out of the Abyss (in italics):

Yet, it was the temptation scene that dealt the first Messianic blow to Satan’s plans, because that was the devil’s first opportunity to create an antichrist right then and there; to, in one fell swoop, twist and turn the true Messiah into Satan’s messiah.

Eternal praise to our God and his Messiah that this did not happen! All glory to Yeshua who did not send a legion of angels to annihilate those who had arrested him in the garden! Everlasting gratitude to our Lord for not saying I’ve had enough, and stepping down from the cross. All power and dominion to the Son of Man for arising from the grave and conquering death once and for all! (Page 219).

The prophet Zechariah records another incident in which Satan attempts to discredit the Jewish high priest (following the return of Jewish exiles from Babylon) as God’s choice to restore the sacrificial system of the rebuilt Temple. In this spectacular scene, we see a Pre-Incarnate appearance of Messiah Jesus and Jeshua, a type of all believers who would become priests (see I Peter 2) under the amazing New Covenant that would begin with Jesus some four hundred years later. Satan is also with them, and (true to form) claims that Jeshua is sinful; thus, unworthy of God’s favor (grace), let alone Jeshua’s right standing with God.

Unlike Job, whom God allowed Satan to test and torment—as all believers are to some extent or another—this time the Lord flatly rejects Satan’s indictments against a man whose sins would be forgiven (right in front of Satan). This is an extraordinary example of all who would be clothed with God’s righteousness when they believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas the Lord allows Satan to accuse believers after they are “born again,” he does not permit Satan to disqualify anyone from receiving their new birth in Messiah Jesus. No matter how sinfully bad anyone has been, there is no one beyond the Lord’s reach when it comes to redemption and the gift of eternal life. All anyone need do is to believe and receive Jesus as their personal Savior.

“Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘I, the Lord, reject your accusation, Satan’ … Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. So the angel said to the others standing there, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And turning to Jeshua he said, ‘See, I have taken away your sins, and now I’m giving you these fine new clothes’” (Zechariah 3:1-4).

Satan’s Dwelling Place in the Universe:

Improbable as it may seem, God allows Satan access to heavenly places, including high level counsels called by the Lord himself. Here is another except from Out of the Abyss:

From the account in Job, it’s evident that Satan only appears personally before God periodically, with the clear implication that God chooses when to allow Satan to stand before him. Satan can only be in one place at a time, therefore, he isn’t in God’s face every time he accuses believers in Christ. Note that God ask Satan where he came from to attend this high level conference. Satan replied, “I’ve been patrolling the earth…”

We know that God knew this. What we have here is a rhetorical question tantamount to a divine jab at Satan. God simply reminded Satan that God had foreclosed on Satan’s dwelling place in heaven. But when God asks a question, even Lucifer is obligated to answer. I’m thinking that Satan cringed when he was forced to reply. He probably thought, okay, you don’t have to rub it in … I know my place in the universe.

But Satan has enough pride to fill all the oceans; thus, I’m equally certain that Satan boasted when he said that he had been patrolling the earth, watching everything that goes on. This was nothing more than a mockery of God, who, as Scripture tells us, also watches everything that happens on the earth. It’s another example of Satan imitating God, which demonstrated Satan’s distorted unattainable goal: to be like the Most High God (Page 221).

(Depiction of Job and His Friends)

The Devil:

In the New Testament Satan is also called the devil. There are at least two reasons for this: (1) what the term devil means as we will shortly see. (2) Satan (the devil) and his demons became vastly more active during Jesus’s time on earth since Noah’s Flood, or will again until the Great Tribulation.

His infamous title of devil is more of a generic term relating to the meaning of the word, originally from the Greek, diabolos. Which, according to Webster’s Dictionary means: “slanderer … often used as an interjection, an intensive, or a generalized term of abuse.” That is the definition of devil in the generalized, lower case. Whereas, The Devil is a characterization of Satan as, “…the personal supreme spirit of evil … the leader of all apostate angels ….”

More than anything else, devil depicts and defines Satan’s character … deceiver, liar, murderer, and hater (of all that is right and good); and any number of other appalling traits that a being who is pure evil can and will display.

Referring to Satan as the devil, Jesus said: “…He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Paul writes to the Ephesian believers reminding them that before God adopted them into his family and gave them an everlasting spiritual (salvation) and physical (literally in heaven) inheritance through Christ Jesus:

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loves us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1-6, parenthesis in the text itself).

The Dragon:

As proposed in last week’s Eye of Prophecy article: Just as the Antichrist is also called the man of lawlessness and the beast, so is it important to recognize that the various names of Satan throughout Scripture are given for a reason. With both Antichrist and Satan, their different titles tell us what they have done, when, and why. And also when they will continue to do what they do best (worst) during the last days that will lead to their final destruction.

As most people know, the Bible’s first introduction to Lucifer (his designated name before he rebelled against God and was evicted from his heavenly dwelling) was that of “serpent.” But don’t think of a snake. A snake is what the serpent would become after God cursed it … a lowly loathsome creature reduced to crawling on its belly; far removed from, “…the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made…” (Genesis 3:1).

Undoubtedly, the Garden of Eden serpent was as or more beautiful than all of the animals. Not only that, the serpent could talk! Moreover, neither Eve nor Adam were at all shocked or even surprised that the serpent could speak. Most likely that’s why Satan chose the serpent to appear before Eve and to (successfully) persuade her to disobey God.

God cursed the serpent first … then Eve, then Adam. God’s judgment was not only against the physical body/form of the serpent, but also included the Lord’s magnificent plan of the ages for mankind and inevitable destruction of Satan and his wicked forces of fallen angels. Right there in the Garden of Eden, the Lord announced his plan of redemption to Adam and Eve that would include Messiah’s ultimate triumph over Satan, even though the serpent would strike first.

“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

Soon, we will learn the identity of the woman, who/which is much more than just a reference to Eve, the woman (mother) of all human beings thereafter.

The expose of Satan as the dragon in the book of Revelation is probably the greatest irony of all time. It will give a whole new meaning to, “justice is served.”

To restate the earlier mentioned premise, based on what I see as crystal clear evidence in Scripture: During the Tribulation, Satan will appear in bodily form.

He will most likely often stay in the background out of sight, probably due to his shocking appearance; while granting power and authority to his Anti- Christ, the revived Roman Emperor Nero. The very fact of Satan’s visible presence will be a shocking experience for people the world over. Shocking could, but not necessarily, mean appalling. It could also relate to a synonym of shocking … that of stunning or spectacular.

Before we examine the Bible passages to confirm Satan’s total banishment to earth as “the dragon,” let’s state in summary fashion what this justifiable irony is and how it will come full circle to haunt Satan forever.

As alluded, God allowed Satan to appear to Eve as the serpent. This most clever of all animals was likely the most alluring and striking in appearance. However, the very fact that Satan did not appear in his originally created dazzling form as a “model of perfection” is because he couldn’t appear like that. Reason: Either God forbade it or Lucifer had lost (been stripped of) his “exquisite beauty” in which he was created. (Ezekiel 28).

Either way, Satan chose the serpent through which to deceive Eve and Adam; thereby, infecting the entire human race with the ugliness of sin and the sure penalty thereof … death, both physical and spiritual.

For emphasis, I will italicize the following conclusion:

Satan as the serpent signaled the end of the beginning for this once mighty cherub.

God will allow Satan one last chance to prove that he is greater than God; that Satan’s anti-Messiah is superior to the true Messiah. And God will provide like never before, one last chance for people the world over to choose everlasting life over perpetual death (separation from God).

But the last day’s scenario will be different in two ways: (1) this will be God’s final direct and massive intervention (judgment) in the affairs of the human race. (2) Accordingly, he will restrict Satan and his man of sin to a limited time (7 years total, 3 ½ years of concentrated mayhem) to wreak havoc on the earth. Also, Satan will have no choice but to appear and function in his fallen form. He will, in fact, be forced to arrive on earth in his actual spiritual body. Furthermore, we’re told what his form will be. It will be like that of a dragon, commensurate with his initial appearance to mankind as the serpent.

With equal emphasis: As the dragon it will be the beginning of the end for Satan.

It will be full circle from his initial appearance to the human race in bodily form as the serpent to his final manifestation as the dragon.

*Note: Time/space doesn’t permit elaboration on the details of Satan’s dragon-like appearance during the tribulation; plus it would be too much speculation. Except to say that we probably shouldn’t visualize dragons depicted in literature, paintings, and film. I’m referring to fire-breathing creatures with horns, scales, tails, and the like. A dragon is the best imagery that John of Revelation could convey, given his (all of us) limited language and imagination. Exactly what Satan’s dragon-like features will be … well, the post-Rapture world will find out soon enough.

(Fairly Typical Depiction of Satan as a Dragon, But with More Human Features)

With some spiritual speculation, in general terms I personally envision “the dragon” as a blemished, adulterated, scarred (from evil), and darkened, more “shocking” version of his original angelic splendor. In that regard, John’s use of the term dragon is that of illustrative imagery. It conveys a correlation between Satan’s initial arrival on the earth as the serpent and a dragon-like creature portrayed by writers and artists and tellers of tales for thousands of years as man’s worst nightmare.

Satan Embodied in the Descriptive Form of a Dragon

Most of the book of Revelation is obviously about the future, i.e. amazing descriptions of the Great Tribulation, Millennial reign of Christ, and eternity. But it is not entirely future tense. Chapters 1-3 are exclusively present and past tense, as is the first part of Chapter 4 which is a preview of the Rapture when John is caught up to heaven. The first part of Chapter 12 and Chapter 17:7-11 describe past events; with the passage in Chapter 17 disclosing the astonishing fact that the Antichrist beast had already lived and died, but would return from the Abyss (at the outset of the Tribulation period).

In Revelation Chapters 2 & 3, Jesus refers to Satan four times in his messages to the seven churches in existence during the first century. Thereafter in Revelation, Satan is identified as a dragon and even “the dragon.” When the term Satan is used in Chapters 12 and 20, it is to make sure the reader identifies the dragon as Satan, the Devil. We’ll get to that shortly.

Up to that point in the Bible, Satan had never been called a dragon. Why, then, is Satan referred to as a dragon in Revelation Chapters 12, 13, 16, and 20?

Answer: To convey, clarify, and confirm to the reader that Satan (like all “spiritual” beings) has a body, and that he will be visibly seen in that (now distorted) figure by many during the Tribulation. This is equivalent to the Antichrist described as a beast in Revelation; the beast represents a man (Nero) returning from the grave in his original body.

Revelation Chapters 4 through 11 are pretty much chronological, including the seven seal and trumpet judgments. Whereas, Chapter 12 is what we call a parenthetical chapter—set aside as an interlude to relay both past and future contextually connected information to the reader.

“Then I witnessed in heaven an event of great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she cried out because of her labor pains and the agony of giving birth” (Revelation 12:1-2).

Many Bible scholars, including me, agree that the woman is Israel, giving birth to the Messiah. This is the same woman mentioned in Genesis 3 whose offspring would crush Satan and his kingdom. None other than Messiah Jesus, from the tribe of Judah and from the lineage of King David.

Next comes John’s first vision of Satan as the dragon.

“Then I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born” (Verses 3-4).

Satan had long ago been evicted from his heavenly dwelling and took one-third of the angels with him. This occurred even before Adam and Eve were created.

Continuing in Verse 5: “She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne.”

Again, this had already taken place when Jesus was born, lived, died, rose again from the dead, then ascended to heaven prior to John’s vision as recorded in Revelation.

The scene then fast forwards to the Tribulation days. “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days” (Verse 6).

Next is the stunning event seen by John that would also take place in the future Tribulation.

“Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, ‘It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night’” (Revelation 12:7-10, italics for emphasis).

(Depiction of Michael and Satan at War)

Note that John makes sure the reader understands that the “great dragon” is the ancient serpent of Genesis … “called the devil, or Satan…” Serpent and dragon are who and what he is: an angelic turned demonic (spirit) being unseen during his heyday as prince of the power of the air. Yet he will be permanently thrown down to the earth in our earthly space and time dimension as a corporal, tangible, visible being.

Putting it another way: If the dragon wasn’t a real embodied being, then there’s no reason whatsoever for John to see and use the term dragon. He would have exclusively employed the name, Satan or the devil.

Satan Confined to the Earth

When does this “war in heaven” take place? When are Satan and his fallen angels “thrown down to earth?”

I firmly believe this will take place just before the stupendous Rapture of believers.

Why?

Because believers in Christ will be taken to heaven at the Rapture with our new resurrected (the dead in Christ) and transfigured (those in Christ alive on the earth) everlasting bodies. Satan will no longer be allowed in heaven to accuse believers, certainly not face to face which would be the case if his access to heaven continued after the Rapture. The timing of this war in heaven and Satan’s total banishment to the earth is confirmed by the verse following his irrevocable expulsion from heaven.

“It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God” (Verse 10). This is a sweeping pronouncement encompassing the Day of the Lord, applicable to the entire span of the Tribulation period and beyond.

“When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child” (Revelation 12:13).

Satan’s realization is much more than knowing he’s now on planet earth. That will be obvious to him. What Scripture is telling us here is that Satan will fully comprehend that not only has he been permanently confined to the earth (no more access to heavenly places), but that he also is irreversibly restricted to earthbound space and time in bodily form (the dragon).

That will make the dragon furious, and he will unleash his fury against Israel and the Tribulation saints.

“And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus” (Revelation 12:17).

Well, we know who wins, don’t we!

At the final battle of Armageddon, the Antichrist Beast and the False Prophet are captured and thrown alive into the Lake of Fire. Their armies are completely destroyed by Messiah Jesus.

Let’s see what happens to Satan (the dragon).

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while” (Revelation 20:1-3).

(Depiction of the Real Angel Who Will Bind Satan With a Real Chain)

For emphatic corroboration, this is the second time John is telling us that Satan (as the dragon) will be seen and dealt with in bodily form. There is nothing metaphorical going on in Revelation Chapter 20. Contrary to what most people think: relative to the amount of content and length of the book, there is not that much nonliteral imagery in Revelation.

The thousand years is a thousand years.

An angel “seizes” the dragon. As in a literal capturing, grabbing, holding, and clutching the dragon.

The bottomless pit is a real place, under lock and key.

The chains that will bind the dragon are “heavy.” There is absolutely no literary need to describe an allegorical chain as heavy. If it’s symbolic, it doesn’t matter whether the chain is heavy or light.

To be in heaven you need a “heavenly body.” (See I Corinthians 15). That includes the good angels; Jesus, himself, because he returned to heaven in a glorified body, but a human body nevertheless; and all believers in Christ in our transformed bodies.

So, too, with the fallen angels, including Satan their chief. When Satan is thrown down to the earth (for all time), he will no longer have the capability to roam the “unseen world” or heavenly places. He will be limited to time/space on earth in what will be an earthly body … subject to earthly dimensions.

But, then, isn’t that how Satan first introduced himself to mankind? Such divine irony don’t you think? After the Tribulation he will be kept in the Abyss under the earth in solitary confinement. The only one he will be able to tempt is himself. Perhaps he will tempt himself to repent and acknowledge God as God, his Creator?

Nah! That’s not going to happen! See Revelation 20:7-10 for the rest of the story.

Things to Ponder

“Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion. I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name … And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

‘Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name! For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed’” (Revelation 15:1-4).

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!

Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part I)

12 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Antichrist

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demons, Lucifer

Living in the Last Days

More Biblical prophecies have come to pass or have partially unfolded in the 20^th century and 21^st century than in all the centuries since the wonderful arrival of Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, on this earth, and time itself was changed from B.C. to A.D. Beginning with the trailblazing Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the miraculous birth of the nation of Israel in 1947-48, special events have taken place within the two Biblical definitions of a generation … 100 years (Genesis 15) and 70 years (Psalm 90). Which makes Jesus’s promise remarkably relevant to our times:

“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:32-34).

Our Lord is referring to the signs he gave to his disciples in answer to their question: “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3).

In the context of this week’s article, I will quote only one of Jesus’s warnings:

“For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones” (Matthew 24:24, italics for emphasis).

In Eye of Prophecy articles, Look Up, Redemption is Near, Part I & II (posted 7-11 & 7-18-15) you’ll find a list of the twelve “flash point” Biblical prophecies that have taken place—fully or partially in the past 100 years, most of them in the last 70 years. The first six pertain primarily to Israel (Part I), with the remaining six applying to the rest of the world. Number 10 on the list is: False Messiahs and Prophets.

Here is an excerpt from Look up, Redemption is Near (Part II):

Christ is (mostly) referring to messiahs and prophets who will surface in the last days from religious sources, such as the many cults and false religions in today’s world. For example, Muslim leaders in several nations (especially Iran) have been telling the world that the 12^th Imam is about ready to leap onto the stage of history. In fact, that’s why Islam is in the midst of launching a world-wide Intifada; as they believe their messiah won’t appear until such an uprising begins.

But I believe that Jesus is not referring only to religious leaders who claim to be a messiah or that their messiah will soon appear. The great signs and wonders and deceit of these Messiah imposters can and does also apply to world leaders of the 20^th & 21^st centuries, who arose to power on the premise that they would rescue or save or liberate or enhance the lives of their people. In ancient times both good and bad monarchs didn’t rise to prominence on a platform of saving their people from this or that. They were simply part of an ascension to power that represented and reflected the emergence of an empire, such as Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, Ottomans, Holy Roman Empire, British, and others.

Not so in the last one hundred years. For example, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao Tse-tung (China) soared to power largely through grandiose promises to save their nations from economic, political, and military ruin. They were messiahs to their people, particularly Adolph Hitler, who even mislead thousands upon thousands of Christians. The same is true of several contemporary African and Arab rulers, whether Muslim or not. Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is seen in a messianic light by tens of millions of Russians. With the preliminary prototype exception of Napoleon, we had not seen such a rise of messiah figures until the 20^th and 21^st centuries.

The underlying motive and method of all of these false prophets and made-up messiahs is that of deceit. None more so than the final and most obvious would-be messiah of all time, the Antichrist.

Because all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, by default Jesus also included all Biblical end times prophecies, both Old and New Testament … along with the specific signs he disclosed to his disciples.

For example: the Apostle Paul’s definitive expose of the secret lawlessness underway that would (just 3-4 years later) give rise to the Man of Lawlessness, who would later be called Antichrist by the Apostle John and also “the Beast” by the author of Revelation. Thoroughly explained through Biblical and historical documentation in my book, Out of the Abyss, and in several Eye of Prophecy articles found in the category of Antichrist, this man of lawlessness is none other than the Roman Emperor Nero.

What’s In a Name?

Although the Lord had revealed details of the Rapture to Paul and of the (initial revealing … Nero’s unlawful ascension to the throne) man of lawlessness, he had not divulged to Paul specifics of the Tribulation or particulars of the reappearance of this evil man later called Antichrist and Beast. Those labels for the man of lawlessness came subsequently with the Apostle John in his first epistle and the author of Revelation, respectively.

As with everything in Scripture, there is a reason for this: Found in II Thessalonians 2:8 (the Man of Lawlessness chapter) that tells us Jesus, himself, will kill this despicable man and then later (after Nero is allowed to return from the Abyss … Revelation 17:8) will bring about his final destruction in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20).

My book, Out of the Abyss, explains why these three different designations are assigned to this lawless tyrant, instead of just the one term that most people use and recognize in today’s post-modern world … Antichrist.

Out of the Abyss discusses at length the oft overlooked verse of the otherwise pivotal passage in II Thessalonians 2, where the apostle Paul reminds believers that this man of lawlessness was already (present tense) being held in check until he would be revealed through an unlawful ascension to the throne. Paul would not actually identify this man (Nero) by name, as that would have meant a fairly swift death for him and many Christians. Paul did eventually die at the hands of Nero, but not until his mission for Jesus on earth was complete.

Here is the verse that most teachers and commentators seem to skim over, especially the part stating that the man of lawlessness is actually killed by (orders of … providentially) Jesus, himself.

“Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming” (II Thessalonians 2:8).

Now the excerpts from Out of the Abyss (in italics):

Remember it is the apostle Paul and only Paul, who specifically tells us that the Lord Jesus will strike down this man … Who does Jesus kill? Answer: The man of lawlessness. When is the lawless one killed and why? Let’s examine the evidence.

I’m convinced that the three designations given to his man are for a reason. Otherwise, why wasn’t the same name employed by the Holy Spirit when giving these revelations? At face value, it would have been a little easier, had the Holy Spirit employed just one of these descriptive labels in Daniel, II Thessalonians, I John, and Revelation.

(A reminder. The three New Testament terms are: Man of Lawlessness, Antichrist, and Beast).

Paul’s description as the man of lawlessness points to the soul or persona of the man. Simply put: the man is unruly, anarchistic, uncontrolled, ungovernable … in short, outside the God-given laws of morality and nature. After Daniel’s positional or title reference to this man as king or ruler or little horn, and our Lord’s reference to false messiahs, Paul was the first to introduce this man.

The term antichrist refers directly to the spirit of this depraved man; in fact, the apostle John equates the Antichrist to the spirit of antichrist. Then John defines what this spirit represents or does: it denies God the Father, and God the Son as Messiah.

It is the spirit of a human being that is regenerated or made alive, when that person accepts Christ as Savior. Then the Holy Spirit bears witness with the redeemed spirit that we are the children of God….

The bestial image of Revelation vividly depicts the physical nature (body) and corporeal deeds of this man, and all that entails. We still use beast in modern language to expound the exploits of an individual. We might say, “He fought like a beast!” Or we might reduce the beast-like qualities to a specific animal and say, “She had the strength of a lion!” The soul and spirit of a person expresses all that is evil or good through the flesh or bodily presence of the individual.

Even if you don’t necessarily see this body, soul, and spirit connection between the three names of Antichrist, the fact remains that, when Jesus kills this man, the man is referred to as the man of lawlessness….

When Jesus, with his divine rightful authority, killed Nero, he eliminated the very soul of this wicked man from the face of the earth, at that specific point in time (68 AD), for a very explicit purpose, with a unique twist to a twisted man. Jesus would preserve Nero’s body for the precise plan of sealing the final destruction of Antichrist and the beast bodily in the lake of fire. Yes, I did say, “preserve!” Stay with me, and I will show you how this was done, as supported by the Bible….

Expressing it another way: Jesus did not kill the beast; he killed the man of lawlessness. Although the man of lawlessness and the beast are one and the same (Nero), this is not a contradiction. Why … because the Holy Spirit, through Paul, is telling us when the beast would be killed. The beast would be killed by Christ while the beast was the man of lawlessness, before he reappeared as the beast! As the beast, Nero will be cast into the Lake of Fire, alive (pages 204-206).

We know the man of lawlessness died before John saw him as the beast. Listen to the words of the angel explaining the astonishing vision John had just witnessed:

“The beast you saw was once alive but isn’t now. And yet he will soon (meaning abruptly at any time) come up out of the bottomless pit (Abyss) and go to eternal destruction … And the people … will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died” (Revelation 17:8).

(Beast Arises From the Sea Out of the Abyss, Which is Below the Seas (Revelation 13&17)

This refresher course reminds us that the Antichrist is a man; that this man (Nero) had already died before John observed and described him in the physical image of a beast. That Nero would reappear in the same body in which he died (and was revived) is important to grasp in the context of this week’s and next week’s article.

Beginning with a startling premise: In addition to the amazing (in the eyes of unbelievers) return of Nero in his original body, both angels and demons will be seen in their actual bodies by the entire Tribulation world. And not only angels and demons; Satan, himself, will appear on the earth in bodily form. Hundreds of million the world over will be stunned by these “signs and miracles” They will worship what they see … the Beast (Nero), a statue of him that actually speaks, and the embodied Satan.

Satan and Nero … A Perverted Pair

The apostle Paul writes about Nero and Satan:

“This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:9-12).

As indicated in Out of the Abyss and several Eye of Prophecy articles, the one thing that will compel many unbelievers left behind after the Rapture to immediately give their undivided loyalty to both the beast and Satan is this perceived miracle of resurrection.

Here is what John, the author of Revelation, tells us after he saw a vision of the Beast for the first time:

“I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery—but the fatal wound was healed! The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast. They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. ‘Who is as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’ Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:3-5).

What is it that separates the Tribulation coalition of Antichrist Nero from previous evil despots?

Answer: (1) Nero’s incredible return from the grave (from the Abyss, but the world won’t know the difference).

(2) Followed by Antichrist’s abominable assistant, the False Prophet, who will perform, “…astounding miracles, even making fire flash down to earth from the sky while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast (Antichrist), he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life” (Revelation 13:13-14).

Although this will be a demonstration of, “counterfeit power and signs and miracles” (II Thessalonians 2), it, nevertheless, will captivate many left behind. Counterfeit in the sense that they will appear to be divine signs and wonders to, in the eyes of the world, rival or exceed those normally attributed to God himself. Which is why Satan (the dragon) and Antichrist Nero (the first beast) will be worshipped as God and Messiah.

Counterfeit is defined as: “to imitate or copy closely with intent to deceive; made in imitation of something else; forged; marked by false pretense; something likely to be mistaken for something of higher value” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary).

During the seven-year Tribulation, the supernatural will become natural; the paranormal will seem normal; spirit beings will be visible in earthly space/time dimension of sight, sound, and touch. This mystical metamorphosis will both amaze and frightened people into radical submission to the Antichrist, to the False Prophet, and also to Satan.

Yet, these occult phenomena will pale in comparison to the mighty and miraculous things that the true and living God will do in the heavens and on the earth.

The worst of God’s wrath will be displayed directly against Antichrist and his followers, as found, for example, in the first five bowl judgments (See Revelation Chapter 16). A reminder that in chronological order there are three sets of seven judgments: Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls. Early on, by the time of the sixth seal judgment, unbelievers the world over will have recognized the source of these cataclysmic events.

“Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive’” (Revelation 6:15-17).

However, this reaction will be that of dismay, not of repentance. Later, after the sixth trumpet judgment, we read:

“But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons … And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21).

Lucifer’s Legacy

Let’s examine what will be one of the more mind-boggling events that will take place after the Rapture … during the Great Tribulation.

It is the fact that Satan will be confined to the earth and will be so as an embodied being!

That’s not nearly as farfetched as it sounds. First, this most evil of beings will have no choice. He will be banished from heavenly places that he has been allowed to roam.

Second, this confinement to earth and the materialization of his angelic (demonic) body to our earthly dimension of sight and sound will infuriate him. To the point of unleashing all of his wicked forces through Antichrist Nero and the False Prophet with the malicious motive of terrorizing and annihilating Jews and Gentiles who have chosen the true Messiah … Jesus.

When Lucifer (his name when first created by God as an angel) defied God and brought evil into the world, he was evicted from his heavenly residence and stripped of his lofty position. See Isaiah Chapter 14 for the reasons why Lucifer rebelled against his Creator. However, then (long ago) and now he was not restricted to the earth; he still has access to heavenly places … visiting rights as it were (see Job Chapters 1 & 2).

We later learn through the prophet Ezekiel more about Lucifer’s original station and splendor before great pride caused him to try to be equal to God. Said the Lord God about Lucifer:

“…You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone … all beautifully crafted for you and set in finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained you and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian (cherub). You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you … and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire” (Ezekiel 28:12-16).

Then in one of the most intriguing chapters in all of the book of Revelation, with every chapter in Revelation replete with spectacular disclosures (both past and future) we get a brief but sweeping review of Lucifer’s expulsion from his heavenly home, taking one-third of the angels who supported his rebellion with him. Then Israel giving birth to the Messiah (Jesus), then Jesus’s ascension to heaven. From there, Revelation Chapter 12 fast forwards to the end times of the Great Tribulation. More on this compelling chapter in next week’s article, including Satan’s final and permanent banishment from heaven and when that takes place.

Before we take an up close and personal look at Satan’s time on earth in bodily form during the Great Tribulation, let’s look at precedent examples in Scripture to confirm that the spiritual realm of the unseen world will become corporal, i.e. both angels and demons will literally be visible to the entire world. Unlike several instances found in the Gospels of men and women inhabited by demons (cast out by Jesus), there’s no indication during the Tribulation that there will be actual demon possession. Instead, both fallen and good angels will appear just as they are.

Scripture is clear that all created beings have a body.

“…For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies” (I Corinthians 15:44).

It’s just that angels and demons are normally limited to another (unseen) dimension.

In fact, during the preparation of today’s and next week’s two-part series, my previous thoughts that Antichrist Nero might actually be possessed by Satan has changed … up-dated. A devil-possessed Antichrist has also been the view of most Bible scholars. However, there’s no indication in Scripture that this will take place. It is speculation, based on the supposition that no man, even the powerful beast of Revelation, could do the things he’ll do unless he is possessed.

What Scripture says specifically is that God will allow Satan to grant authority and power to the Antichrist, not actually inhabit or possess him. Even then, it’s the False Prophet who, “…exercised all the authority of the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. He did astounding miracles…” (Revelation 13:12-13).

Prior to the False Prophet performing wonders on behalf of the first beast, the most spectacular miracle (in the eyes of the world) accomplished by Antichrist Nero will be his return from the grave (Abyss). From all other Biblical references about the Antichrist, it’s quite evident that this despicable man doesn’t need the possession type influence of Satan. Nero displayed all the brutality and evil that a human being is capable of during his 1^st century rule as Caesar; and will do so again during his Tribulation reign of terror … to an even greater extent. But he will not be possessed by Satan.

Instead, Satan will be bodily present during Nero’s time of terror and destruction on the earth. We’ll see how that works in next week’s article.

Fallen Angels … Demons

Before and After the Great Flood

Let’s look at an astonishing disclosure in the one-chapter book of Jude, which makes reference to the Nephilites on the earth before all people (except Noah and his family) were destroyed because of their wickedness and depravity and violence (See Genesis 6:1-8).

“And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment” (Jude 6).

Before the Great Flood of Noah’s time, some of the fallen angels took on human form and cohabited with women on earth. Time/space does not permit extensive elaboration, except to say that God permitted Satan and his fallen angels to exercise their free will—just as man and woman were given the authority and freedom to choose. But when certain divine red lines are crossed, the Lord steps in and implements his justice and judgment on the spot. In this case, those fallen angels who took on human form were banished to the Abyss where they will remain until the Tribulation.

(Depiction of Nephilim)

From the time they were incarcerated in prisons of darkness (Abyss), there is no Biblical record of fallen angels (demons) taking on human form. Nor is there any evidence whatsoever (except in Hollywood movies, television, and the like!) of Satan, himself, becoming a man. Why? Because fallen angels learned their lesson quite well. They do not want to be banished to the Abyss (see Luke 8:26-33)! I wrote about this in Out of the Abyss, and also have touched on it in a couple of Eye of Prophecy articles.

No longer can fallen angels, “…not keep their own domain” or “abandon their proper abode…” (Jude 6 … NASB translation). Currently, the nature and extent of their “domain” and “abode” is that of occasionally assuming varying degrees of control over the mind and spirit of some human beings, i.e. demon possession.

*Note: Based on several passages of Scripture, it’s equally certain that demons CAN NOT possess a believer in Christ. There are several reasons, the most obvious of which: A person who has been redeemed by believing and receiving Jesus as personal Savior is immediately indwelt by the mighty Holy Spirit of the Triune God. There’s no way under heaven or on earth that a demonic spirit can dwell alongside the Holy Spirit.

The other fallen angels who were not as audacious as their excessively evil counterparts (those under lock and key in the Abyss) have been confined to their original angelic (turned demonic) “spiritual bodies.” They can possess human beings but cannot take on human form to deceive people in that manner. Spearheaded by Satan, these are the real enemies behind flesh and blood kingdoms, tyrants, and ungodly people. They are the, “evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world … mighty powers in this dark world … evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

It Will Be Different During the Great Tribulation

Fallen angels will be allowed to appear in physical form during God’s second and final world-wide judgment (by fire) that will take place during the Great Tribulation. Not as human beings, but in their own corrupt, warped, diabolically twisted (spirit) body.

They will be seen in real time and space as they wreak havoc on the earth, especially and ironically against those who take the mark of the Antichrist beast (Nero). Beginning with the exceptionally evil angels who have been confined to the Abyss all this time. They will be released during the fifth trumpet judgment which is the first of three Terrors (including the sixth and seventh trumpets) directed at unbelievers on Planet Earth. (See Eye of Prophecy articles Terror, Terror, Terror Part I & II, published 12-12 & 12-19-15. Followed by A Trilogy of Terror, posted 12-26-15).

When the fifth trumpet is blown, out of the Abyss:

“…locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions. They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads” (Revelation 9:3-4).

Verses 7-10 provide a chilling description of these devilish beings, including, “…their faces looked like human faces.”

(Depiction of Demonic Angels of Revelation 9)

Then the sixth trumpet releases 200 million demons (or a combination of demons and humans) that end up killing one-third of those on earth who haven’t already died.

Please understand: Although John in these portions of Revelation is using some metaphorical imagery, it is only because he’s trying to describe what (who) he saw in the best words available to him. The fact remains: he actually saw these demonic creatures. As will the entire world in the not so distant future. That is part and parcel of the end time’s tribulation in which beings of the otherwise unseen spiritual world will become visible in our physical dimensions of sight, sound, and touch. It’s going to be unbelievably painful when unbelievers are stung by these demons, so much so that: “…They will long to die, but death will flee from them!” (Revelation 9:6).

Good Angels

Throughout Scripture, some of the two-thirds of angels who remained loyal and faithful to God—their (and our) Creator—occasionally appeared to men and woman, but did so in the form of men; not as or in their angelic bodies. Such as the “two white-robed men” who suddenly appeared while Jesus was ascending to heaven in front of his disciples (Acts 1:9-11).

Or the “two men … clothed in dazzling robes” who said to the women at Jesus’s empty tomb, what I consider to be the greatest announcement ever uttered by angel or man: “…Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Luke 24:5-6).

These “men” were obviously angels; in fact that is the term used by John in describing the resurrection scene. These manifestations and nearly all of the others in both the Old and New Testament indicate that the angels took on human form; although the attributes of their human appearance clearly indicated that they were angels.

There are rare exceptions, such as when man’s fellowship with God was broken and Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, never to be allowed to return.

“After sending them out, the Lord God stationed a mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden…” (Genesis 3:24).

Or when Ezekiel saw the four “living beings” (cherubim) accompanied by an appearance of the Pre-Incarnate Christ (Ezekiel Chapter 1).

(Depiction of the Four Living Beings and the Throne of the Lord)

And again, on the day when Messiah Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary for the express purpose of reconciling us back to God through his supreme sacrificial death and his powerful resurrection from the grave. “An angel of the Lord” appeared to the shepherds to announce that the long-awaited Messiah had arrived. The angel proclaimed: “…I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” (Luke 2:9-11).

Then this angel, “…was joined by a vast host of others … praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.’ When the angels had returned to heaven…” (Verses 13-15).

Long before that, we find angels descending and ascending from/to heaven with the Pre-Incarnate Christ at the top of a heavenly stairway. However, this was a dream that Jacob had, not a direct encounter with angels. (Genesis Chapter 28).

The Biblical isolated exceptions of angels seen in their actual state of existence will become the norm during the Tribulation, including the same four living beings seen by Ezekiel. In fact, nowhere in Revelation do we see angels appearing as men; but as themselves … angels of God, in their splendid angelic bodies.

Such as:

“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, surrounded by a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face shone like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire … He stood with his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. And he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion…” (Revelation 10:1-3).

“And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to the world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. ‘Fear God … Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water’” (Revelation 14:6-7).

Yes, angels have wings. They can fly!

Don’t miss next week’s article, to see how this precedent and pattern of spiritual beings visibly seen by the Tribulation population will also apply to our greatest enemy … Satan.

Things to Ponder

Above all, the world will see our great God and Savior Messiah Jesus in all the glory of his incomparable resurrected eternal body. Just as John saw him before all the other revelations given to John, Christ will first be seen by those of us whom he has redeemed, as Savior and Lord.

“…He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze … his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves … and his face was like the sun in all its brilliance” (Revelation 1:13-16).

“Those who belong to this world” … the ungodly, unrepentant, lovers of the lie foisted on them by their false messiah and false god, will at the end of the Great Tribulation see the majestic “…Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

But for them, it will be too late. They will meet him as their judge dispensing truth and justice; the Alpha and Omega who, “…judges fairly and wages a righteous war” (Revelation 19:11).

They will see and know beyond their deliberate doubt and disbelief that Christ Jesus is, indeed, King of all kings, Lord of all lords.

They will grudgingly admit that when Messiah Jesus first “…appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Consequently, they will acknowledge: “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names…” (Verse 9).

And then: “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God and to the Lion from the tribe of Judah!

Why the Rapture? (A Revisit)

05 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Foreword to This Week’s Article

Though I hoped it never would, I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.

After 171 consecutive weekly Eye of Prophecy articles, some three years and three months after this labor of love began in late July of 2013, the inevitable took place “later.” Later is usually better, for which I thank the Lord—from whom, through whom, and for whom this Website exists in the first place.

You’re probably wondering: “What’s he talking about? What happened?”

My laptop had to undergo a heart transplant. The hard drive died a fairly swift death; presumably, suffering little pain! At least not as much anguish as I experienced earlier this week, when I realized that replacement of the hard drive, restoration of files and programs, and the need to reestablish all the valve connections to the heart of this machine would take too long to complete the new Eye of Prophecy article for this week.

Fortunately, the computer surgeons successfully completed the operation(s), and here we are again. However, this week’s planned article will need to wait until next week for posting.

But I do not like the idea of leaving you without any article at all. So, there are two options:

Select a previous Eye of Prophecy article you haven’t read. For example, you might want to consider reading, To Be or Not to Be … In Heaven, posted 11-1-14. Not only does the date (two years ago) corresponded with today’s date (11-5-16), but I consider it as one of the author’s five favorite articles. Yes, some authors (like me) have their favorites!
Read today’s re-posted article, entitled, Why the Rapture? It’s fairly short and is the second article ever posted on this website (8-3-13); but one that fits somewhat with next week’s article (in progress) especially when talking about “spiritual bodies.” In that regard, you might also want to take a look at, Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms, Part I & II, posted on 9-26-15 and 10-3-15.

So, thank you for your patience and your visit to Eye of Prophecy. It is my joy to write for the Lord and for you.

*Here is the re-posted article (slight changes made, including paragraph separations and photos not in the original article):

Rapture! (What, Why, When, Who, & How)

“Why in the world did this happen?” laments the woman who just lost her job of twenty years, and has no clue what to do next. “Why her, why not me?” exclaims the husband, moments after his wife disappears in the early morning hours from their bed; later confirmed by media sources the world over that hundreds of millions were taken from the earth. My guess is that most people prefer to know why things happen, although I suppose there are exceptions to that rule. Meaning that some would say, “I’m ready to go. As long as the Rapture is true and will take place, that’s good enough for me … I don’t need to know any more details than that.”

Even if you’re not that concerned about the reasons that Christ will return for his own, I’m thinking that if someone asked you (anyone who was genuinely and sincerely interested), wouldn’t you want to, at least, explain the basics. Why? Because the Rapture IS the resurrection of deceased believers from the dead; AND, the rapture is the transportation of all believers to heaven. The Rapture signals the FINISH LINE of our race here on earth, but the STARTING LINE of eternity in heaven for those who have been redeemed by the death and resurrection of our Messiah. That is why Jesus is referred to as Alpha & Omega–beginning and end, first and last, author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Careful study of Scripture shows us two primary purposes for the Rapture … why this stunning event must and will take place.

TO BE LIKE CHRIST

In order for us to live forever, we must have the same incorruptible, indestructible, resurrected body that Jesus had (still has and will have forever more) when he arose from the dead. His triumphant resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, and has been historically documented, based on hundreds of eye-witnesses. It is the heartbeat of Christianity, which is a term that, surprisingly enough, I prefer not to use; as Christianity sounds like a religion, alongside of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other world religions, including some “Christian” cults that have corrupted the true Gospel of Christ.

But, I suppose that we must give our faith a name, a label, an identity; in order to distinguish it from non-Christian world views. But oh, what a distinction! Christ, our ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King has risen from the dead. He has risen indeed! There is an empty tomb in Jerusalem to prove that. All other prophets or so-called holy men of other religions are still in their graves. Personally, I choose to stake my eternal destiny on the One who arose from the dead!

The reason that Christianity is not a religion is because it doesn’t fit at all with the basic thread or common denominator of all world religions, i.e. what mankind must do (normally a sufficient number of good works or elevation of oneself to a higher plateau of morality or spirituality) to gain salvation from or favor with whatever god that a particular religion promotes or spiritual level that is required (like Nirvana).

Conversely, the Christian faith/belief is that Christ did for us what we could not possibly do for ourselves: pay with his death on the cross the penalty for your sins and my sins; thereby, restoring a relationship to God, which is the very reason that God created us in the first place … to relate to him and He to us. A spiritual fellowship and intimacy that exceeds all other relationships known to man. To be allowed access to the very presence of God anytime, anywhere, which otherwise is impossible unless and until God has covered us with the righteousness of his Son, and pardoned us (forever) from all the wrong things we have done.

God is absolute Love, with unconditional love for you and me beyond human understanding; but he is equally holy. A Holy God cannot tolerate the presence or existence of unforgiven sin, either now or for all eternity. And sin cannot be forgiven unless we believe who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

Why?

Because Christ paid for our sins on the Cross. And this sacrifice was fully accepted by God as a substitutionary payment (the highest price ever paid … the blood and life of God’s Son) that legally purchased a pardon for the penalty of our sins. So, it’s a done deal! All we need do is to believe, and say, “Yes, I agree!” It’s that amazing, and yet that simple. Thus, it’s not a matter of religious requirements or duties or memberships; rather it’s a relationship with the true and living God and His Messiah.

If Jesus had not arisen from the dead, there would be no credibility to his or the Bible’s claims that redemption comes exclusively by God’s grace (unmerited favor). But Christ did arise, so all the Biblical truth and promises about salvation in Christ are true, such as Romans 3:24-25, “Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…”

In other words, Jesus didn’t die for no reason! (Double negative for emphasis).

Another Spectacular Passage on the Rapture

In the previous article (What is the Rapture?) we looked at the fascinating and perhaps most well-known Bible verses about the Rapture, found in I Thessalonians Chapter 4. Today, let’s examine another pivotal passage found in I Corinthians 15. If you feel really ambitious, I encourage you to read I Corinthians 15: 35-58. Or, even better, the entire chapter! This text gives us a remarkable description of the different types of “bodies” that exist in the universe. Perhaps the most absorbing is the Apostle Paul’s introductory use of the term, “spiritual bodies.” Think about it: Aren’t these two words mutually exclusive? How can there be any such thing as a “spiritual body.” Our earthly bodies are flesh and bone; they house our soul and spirit, which are anything but physical. Has anyone ever seen the spirit of another human being? Have you ever seen your own soul?

But for Paul, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, a spiritual body is a perfectly “natural” fact that will one day be physically experienced by all who have been raptured … not virtual, computer-generated, or cybernetic reality, but actual reality. Just how real is the new resurrected body? Jesus, himself, showed us how awesomely real it is: After he arose from the dead, he walked, he talked, he ate with his disciples, and he could be touched! How real is that?

Listen to what Paul says, “It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised in glory … They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies” (I Corinthians 15: 42-44). Then later in this same text, “What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man” (verses 46-49).

To be sure, this phenomenon can only be accomplished through a supernatural change, but then our God specializes in the supernatural. As the Bible says, “Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). If Christ can rise from the dead, he certainly can and will transform our earthly bodies into a heavenly body (think body, not just spirit) like his.

I see this spectacular change taking place in the same light (pun intended) of what happened to Jesus during his transfiguration on the mountain, when Elijah and Moses appeared with him (Matthew 17: 1-7). In fact, I believe the term transfiguration is the best way to describe what will take place at the Rapture.

Why transfiguration? Webster’s Dictionary defines transfiguration as, “a change in form or appearance….” That is exactly what Paul is telling us in I Corinthians 15; that is, we will be glorified just as Christ was glorified. Glory means or conveys the idea of the sheer essence of someone or something, including the expression of that essence.

“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (I John 3: 2-3).

The “friends” that John addresses are believers in Christ, which qualifies them to be God’s children. So, then: We may not know all the details, but we do know it’s going to happen and why it’s going to happen. We need to be, and are going to be like our Savior. In fact, we must be like him and possess the same kind of body; otherwise, there’s no way we can live forever.

To live on this earth requires a special kind of body that God so wonderfully, uniquely, and masterfully created: one that can breathe life-giving air; drink life-sustaining water; eat life-growing food; feel life-producing pleasure and life-warning pain; see and hear life-enabling sights and sounds; produce life-perpetuating children; and know life-changing truths. However, the bodies we currently possess are not in any way, shape, or form adequate enough to live forever in the new earth and the new heavens that the book of Revelation so majestically portrays.

But not to worry; God has promised and will give us a brand new “heavenly body.” One that far surpasses the limitations of our earthly space suit. One immune to pain, sorrow, suffering, sin, disease and most of all, death itself. (See Revelation 21:4). One that can “leap tall buildings with a single bound and is faster than a speeding bullet!” Okay, a little facetious here; but isn’t that the underlying idea of Superman? Christ is the only “Super Man” who ever lived, and he will give us a heavenly body like his, to enable us to do extraordinary things, above and beyond our wildest expectations. I, for one, want to fly! And I’m not talking about jumbo jets.

I don’t know about you, but for me, I can’t think of anything more super than to worship, undefiled, my Lord and my God with the host of Heaven … forever. And to serve Him when, where, and how he wants me to during the Millennium and for all eternity. All the while resting like never before from all the hard work, terrible trials and tragedies, and ever-present grief that seems to grab us, even during the “good-times” on this earth.

Great is our God, and greatly to be praised!!

TO SPARE BELIEVERS FROM THE GREAT TRIBULATION

We touched on this in the first blog article (What is the Rapture): The second reason (why) for the Rapture relates to God’s merciful rescue of believers, so we won’t have to experience that “Great and terrible Day of the Lord.” There are dozens of Biblical references to the Day of the Lord, which primarily includes and defines the tribulation period. For example, the prophet Zephaniah describes this horrific time as follows: “For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them. All the earth will be devoured by the fire of my jealousy” (Zephaniah 3:8).

If you want to see first-hand just how horrendous (but nevertheless necessary and just) God’s judgments will be, then read about the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls in the book of Revelation. Compared to the Great Tribulation, Pharaoh and Egypt never had it so good.

Time/space does not permit reference to several Biblical passages that clearly demonstrate a pre-Tribulation rapture of the true Church, to spare those who have placed their personal trust and hope in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, I will cite only one passage, which, not coincidentally, is also found in I Thessalonians, our main text from last week. In fact, this verse is a continuation of the Chapter 4 monumental disclosure of the catching away of believers.

“For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us” (I Thessalonians 5:9). By virtue of this verse’s proximity to the Rapture verses in Chapter 4, it clearly puts it in the context of the soon-to-follow Great Tribulation; with both direct and indirect affirmation that believers will be spared from God’s final dispensing of justice on the wickedness of a world gone mad.

Thus, when Christians use the term, “saved,” we are not only referring to being saved from the justly deserved penalty of our sins which is eternal separation from God; but also for the generation alive at the time of the Rapture being “saved” or rescued from the unimaginable deceit, violence, death, and horror perpetrated by the Antichrist, followed rapidly by God’s justice directed to a very depraved, and rebellious world.

It will be the second, and final, time in history that God will effectively say, “Enough is enough.” After thousands of years in which God has exercised great patience, it will be time for God to finally pour out his wrath on a corrupt world that has twisted the truth of the Gospel, has blatantly rejected Jesus as Savior and Messiah, has thumbed their noses at their Creator–the true and living God–and has yielded all their loyalty and worship to the Antichrist.

(The Time Is Short)

But thanks be to the love, grace, and mercy of God, he has chosen to spare the bride of Christ (believers) from this dreadful apocalypse, so shockingly devastating that approximately ½ of the world’s population will perish.

Things to Ponder

What are some things that we won’t need in Heaven? Electricians and all things electrical come to mind. Why? The Bible tells us that the glory of God will illuminate everything, literally. In fact, we won’t even need the sun or moon. (Revelation 21:23)
Can you think of other, secondary reasons WHY the Rapture will occur? Examples found directly in Scripture or through logical reasoning
Would you rather be taken in the Rapture or remain behind on the earth? Before you say, “That’s a silly (even stupid) question,” keep in mind that even after some of God’s Tribulation judgments, many people on earth will still refuse to “repent” (which means to change their minds about the whole thing, and realize that the only escape is to call on the name of the Lord for salvation). There are those who just don’t want to give up what they consider too valuable on this earth … pleasure, power, pride, profit, prestige, and popularity (See Revelation 9:20-21)

UNESCO / “Theatre of the Absurd” Against Israel

29 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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UN Resolutions

More Sanctions On Israel

Earlier this week, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); labeling it as, “A Theatre of the Absurd.”

As did Israel’s delegate to UNESCO, Carmel Shama Hacohen, but using only the word, “absurd.” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon called the most recent UNESCO resolution against Israel, “total madness.”

Benjamin Netanyahu went on to say: “The forces of radical Islam are destroying mosques, churches, and antiquities, with Israel being the only country in the region that protects such places and allows freedom of worship for all religions. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee should be condemned, not Israel.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s reference to the World Heritage Committee (WHC) was intentional because this was the SECOND resolution endorsed by UNESCO in less than two weeks. With the first resolution passed on October 13^th (ratified on October 18^th) by the entire body of UNESCO composed of 52 nations. Whereas, the WHC consists of only 21 countries.

Oh, but there’s more! It was the third such resolution passed this year, the first taking place in April.

A resolution is a resolution is a resolution. But when all three say and do virtually the same thing, it becomes the height of redundancy, the pinnacle of repetition … the “theatre of the absurd.”

All three resolutions were fabricated through a pathetic perversion of historical facts; from the Islamic religion that came on the scene 2,500 years after Judaism, and 600 years after Christianity. Furthermore, the sheer recurrence has made these resolutions absurdly childish, much like a child on a long trip (or even a short one) saying over and over, “Are we there yet?”

However, the sinister motive is crystal clear: Tell a big lie often enough, and many will believe it. And in the case of UNESCO as a supposed stately and reputable component of the United Nations, pass enough resolutions and maybe the whole world will think the lies about Israel are true.

UNESCO’s First Resolution … What Was It?

I wrote about the first ruling in the Eye of Prophecy article, An Islamic United Nations? Posted 5-7-16. Here is an excerpt from that post:

In light of yet another anti-Israel resolution by the United Nations, this week’s Eye of Prophecy article could have been entitled, Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be? Or: More Palestinian Lies. Or: The Legacy of Temple Mount. Or: The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque. But it can’t because those are titles of articles already written.

Maybe each Saturday’s article should be posted late in the day instead of first thing in the morning. But that wouldn’t work either. Although Eye of Prophecy articles are published weekly and many of them are in the category of Current Events, they cannot keep up with the almost daily barrage of media reports on the Middle East in general and Israel in particular.

Just hours after I posted The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque article on April 16^th, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a resolution “officially” (for the UN, not for Israel or anyone who knows the true history of Temple Mount) classifying Temple Mount by its Arabic name, Al-Haram Al Sharif; which in English is translated to Noble Sanctuary. But disregard the English translation. Even though English is recognized as the main international language, only the Arabic name is to be used.

Among non-Muslim nations voting in favor of this contemptible resolution, France was the most conspicuous with (dis)honorable recognition for Sweden and Spain.

What will these Western nations do when Muslims change the identity of revered religious, national, cultural, or political sites in European countries, exclusively to Islamic names, with demands that only the Muslim designations be recognized? And if city or national governments do not comply, then they, too, are guilty of Islamophobia or religious and cultural intolerance or being PI (politically incorrect).

Stop shaking your head! It could come to that, just like Sharia Law could be implemented in some jurisdictions.

I wonder what the Muslim name for the Statue of Liberty will be. Perhaps, Mohammed’s Torch of Freedom?

*Note: Later in this week’s article, we’ll see the irony of France’s vote in favor of this April resolution, in the context of UNESCO’s origin, headquarters, and “The Theatre of the Absurd.”

Let’s return to additional excerpts from the article, An Islamic United Nations?

This latest resolution to denigrate and discredit Israel by renaming Temple Mount and insisting that all nations use the Arabic term for Temple Mount is yet another pitiful attempt to deny any association whatsoever of the Jewish people to their most holy site in their most holy city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, the resolution was on the very day of Passover, which has been an integral part of the Jewish tradition in Israel for nearly 3,500 years. With Jerusalem and the Temple (Temple Mount) established 3,000 years ago by King David and King Solomon.

Yet UNESCO is doing nothing more than the United Nations, as a whole, has done for nearly 70 years: Castigate Israel fanatically and frequently. Whereas most of the anti-Israel sanctions are initiated by Islamic countries, other nations often vote in favor of these reprehensible resolutions which number far more than those against truly rogue and dangerous nations such as Iran and North Korea.

Will this resolution have any real impact on the world at large? Absolutely it will. The idea is really quite simple: If national leaders and government officials begin to use the label of Al-Haram Al Sharif in reference to Temple Mount, they will soon (if they haven’t already) consider Temple Mount as belonging—historically, religiously, and culturally—to Islam and to Arabs.

The Second Such Resolution

As suspected, this resolution was initiated by and for the Palestinians in Israel. Once again, in direct contradiction of historical facts as found in the Bible and also secular history, UNESCO passed its resolution entitled “Occupied Palestine” identifying all of Judaism’s holiest sites as exclusively Islamic, while accusing Israel as the source of violence in the region. Moreover the resolution was passed on October 13^th the day after Yom Kippur; then ratified on October 18^th, during the week-long celebration of Sukkot.

Wouldn’t surprise me at all that UNESCO originally planned to pass this bill on Yom Kippur itself, just to rub it in against Israel. Could be that too many of the nation’s representatives who would obviously vote in favor may have overslept that day!

(Jewish Sukkot Celebration at the Western Wall)

The semantics and intent of this (second) resolution generically regurgitated the one passed in April. Which was to call for international recognition that Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock must be referred to exclusively as, “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al-Sharif.” Only Arabic/Muslim names are to be used for this site (Temple Mount) and other sites in Hebron and Bethlehem because they are, as alleged in the resolution, “a Muslim holy site(s) of worship and an integral part of a world cultural heritage site.”

Integral part of a world cultural heritage site? What in the world could that mean in the context that Temple Mount and the other holy Jewish sites in the Jewish nation of Israel have been around thousands of years longer than any Muslim holy site? Or that Israel has been recognized as a sovereign state in the world’s family of nations since 1947, and through a United Nations resolution at that. Not to mention (but I will anyway) that Al-Aqsa Mosque is only the third holiest site in Islam and this mosque is not even the actual site identified as, “the farthest mosque” in Islamic tradition. (Please see Eye of Prophecy article, The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque, posted 4-16-16).

Naturally, the resolution targets Israel and all things Jewish; by default it also eliminates any reference and credibility to the sites holy to Christians.

Some of the pernicious and provocative points listed in this resolution are as follows:

Condemning Israel for restricting freedom of worship on the Temple Mount. The resolution doesn’t use the term Temple Mount. God forbid that anyone would call it by its name, Temple Mount, even to replace that historical name with another! In fact, the only mention of anything Jewish was to eliminate the, “new Jewish prayer platform south of the Mughrabi Ascent in Al-Buraq Plaza, ‘Western Wall Plaza.’” You read that right: even the Western Wall (Kotel in Hebrew) must now bear an Arabic name! The facts are absolutely irrefutable. It is the Jordanians in principle, as they have been given jurisdiction over Temple Mount, and the Palestinians in practice who have verbally and physically abused non-Muslims; and otherwise have tried to prevent them from so much as whispering a prayer on Temple Mount. Anyone with minimum knowledge about what goes on at Temple Mount knows the Palestinians are the aggressors. There are eye-witness accounts and actual film footage to show who does what to whom.
Nations that voted in favor of this repulsive resolution agreed with another deceptive point. Which is: Israelis “storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif by Israeli right-wing extremists and uniformed forces.” (See first point for the absurdity of this statement). Incidentally, isn’t it much easier to say, “Temple Mount,” than “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al Sharif?” I would have voted against the resolution for that reason alone!
Same thing with changing Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem to Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron to Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi. Actually this otherwise low-key name change (in comparison to the other blatantly false points of the resolution) is equally absurd … theatrically so. Why? The Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and Jacob’s wife, Rachel were OBVIOUSLY Jews, whose lives and history are recorded where…? Of course you know. The book of Genesis in the Bible. Written by Moses some 2,000 years before the Johnny-come-lately religion of Islam made its debut, then the error-filled and subsequently often-changed and “corrected” Koran came along.
In a similar mendacious twisting of facts, the resolution claims that the source of all the violence comes from, “the constant aggressions by the Israeli settlers and other extremist groups against Palestinian residents.” This denies and defies the obvious evidence of the callous “lone-wolf” attacks by Palestinians that number in the hundreds since this intifada began a little over one year ago; with dozens of Israelis murdered and dozens more injured. It is so patently brazen as to even ignore the fact that the actual extremist groups are Hamas in the Gaza and other terrorist cells under the purview of Fatah in the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank. All of whom constantly suppress, oppress, arrest, imprison, torture, and kill each other over power struggles and ideological differences.
There are other reasons, but this in-fighting among the Palestinians is the main factor why a Palestinian State is simply not feasible. Civil War would follow.

(Even if Hamas and the Palestinian Authority agree on one Palestinian State, they would insist on a corridor of land connecting the two areas. This would cut Israel in half)

Nations Involved in the Vote on October 13, 2016

I’m doing my best to reduce the reader’s confusion over the number of and number for the resolutions. Actually, I’m having a bit of a problem with the numbers myself! Because the latest resolution of October 26^th is referred to by journalists, op-ed writers, and the media in general as the Second Resolution, the first having taken place on October 13^th. To clarify, we need to remember that the first resolution took place earlier this year in April. Which means the next resolution was not the first, it was the second. With the second one being the third.

I guess that wasn’t so hard after all!

Seriously, and as expected, the second resolution that we just covered (October 13^thand 18^th) was drafted and submitted by countries that are entirely or partially Muslim. They are:

Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.

In addition to these seven sponsor nations of the resolution, seventeen other UNESCO nations voted approval. In alphabetical order:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Iran, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, and Vietnam.

A total of 26 countries abstained from the vote, which can be interpreted as silently supporting the resolution without overtly doing so. Or, in quiet opposition to the resolution. Either one depending on your point of view. The nations that did not vote were:

Albania, Argentina, Cameroon, El Salvador, France, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and Nevis, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, and Ukraine.

Two countries were completely absent during the vote: Serbia and Turkmenistan.

Now for the drum roll announcing the nations that supported Israel by voting against this repugnant resolution. Let’s make it a really big drum roll, despite the sad fact that there were only six such nations. But six is better than five, and so on. They are:

Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and (hurrah) the United States.

Israeli and International Reaction to This Second Resolution

In addition to the Israeli Prime Minister’s strong reaction to the latest (third) resolution of 10-26-16, cited earlier in today’s article, read with me his response to the second resolution passed on 10-13-16 (ratified on 10-18-16) in which he also cited, “the theatre of the absurd:”

“The theater of the absurd continues with UNESCO, and today the organization has made its most bizarre decision by saying the people of Israel have no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.”

Although all three resolutions are attempting to dispossess the Jews and their heritage from Israel itself, the language of the second resolution is stronger (than the one in April). It stipulates directly and indirectly that the two Temples (Temple Mount) and other Jewish holy sites either never existed as Jewish or existed at all. That they are Muslim holy sites, exclusively. The resolution in April was geared more to identification of these sites by use of Arabic names only.

Benjamin went on to say:

“Obviously they have never read the Bible, but I would advise UNESCO to visit the Arch of Titus in Rome, where they can see what the Romans brought to Rome after they destroyed and looted the Temple Mount two thousand years ago. One can see engraved on the arch the seven-branched menorah, which is the symbol of the Jewish people as well as the symbol of the Jewish State today.”

(Arch of Titus in Rome)

(Another view of Arch of Titus … Can you see the Menorah carried by victorious Roman soldiers in the lower right portion of the photograph?)

Just a brief pause to comment on Netanyahu’s reference to the Bible, which is ultimately the very heart of the matter. As some Bible scholars and teachers have written, including me in several Eye of Prophecy articles: The real Arab agenda and Muslim (Palestinian) animosity toward the Jews is an ancient one, as found in Scripture. From the very onset of the Islamic religion (all religions … with as I’ve often said … the Christian faith is not a religion, but a relationship with a Person, Messiah Jesus) the crucial question to answer: who is the true and living God? Is it Allah—the moon-god selected by Mohammed from one of several Arabic gods at the time? Or is the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac (the promised child instead of Ishmael), and Jacob the one and only God? In this article, time/space permits only one distinction, but it is a monumentally significant one: Only the God of the Bible has made hundreds of prophecies that have come to pass; and more that will surely be fulfilled … and soon.

The Bible is the most historical book ever written because it contains God’s interaction with all of mankind (Jews and Gentiles alike) through the ages. Scripture contains an astounding amount of facts and an astonishing number of people, places, dates, events, genealogies. As well as a vast volume of spiritual truth of the Old Covenant of the Mosaic Law and the New Covenant of salvation through faith in God’s grace—gift of His Son, Messiah Jesus to die for our sins. Then the eternal destiny of every man and woman who has ever lived … based on their relationship or lack thereof with God and His Son.

Actually, the Bible consists of 66 books written over a period of some 1,500 years by 40 authors, all of whom are “on the same page.” How could that be possible? Easy answer: God inspired each author, either by directly speaking to him (such as the prophets); or the spoken words of Jesus and hundreds of other people in Scripture; or eyewitness accounts of events; or through inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write exactly what the Lord wanted to be written, with regard to Biblical truths and precepts.

Speaking of the Roman General Titus, who led the legions that finally conquered Israel and Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the prophet Daniel predicted that event about 600 years before it happened (see Daniel Chapter 9). I’ve also written much about that spectacular prophecy, as it involves the Roman Emperor, Nero; who is and will be the Antichrist beast of the book of Revelation, when he returns from the Abyss. See any number of Eye of Prophecy articles in the category of Antichrist. Better yet, read the book, Out of the Abyss … can the number of the beast be solved?

(Depicts Roman Legions Destruction of 2nd Temple)

Benjamin Netanyahu could also have cited more secular history that indisputably documents the existence of a Jewish Temple (on Temple Mount), not the least of which was Josephus’ account of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans.

Here is a another quote from Prime Minister Netanyahu in response to the October 13^th UNESCO resolution.

“Surely UNESCO will say that Emperor Titus was a part of Zionist propaganda. To say that Israel has no connections to the Temple Mount and Western Wall is like saying China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or Egypt has no connection to the pyramids. With this absurd decision, UNESCO has lost what little legitimacy it once had. However, I believe the historical truth will prevail.”

Amen to that! The historical and Biblical truth will prevail powerfully. These truths will triumph when Messiah Jesus returns to set all things right in this hypocritical politically correct, upside down, inside out, good is evil and evil is good, morally relative, tolerance obsessed, pluralistically mad, and fanatically inclusive world in which we live. That is: tolerant and pluralistic and inclusive of everyone except Christians and Jews.

Then, one more quote from Prime Minister Netanyahu on October 18^th, following the final UNESCO executive approval of the October 13^th resolution; which, as a reminder, is still pertaining to the second resolution, not the third one passed the following week. Here he unloads with a satirical analogy, one that in my opinion fits the preposterous UNESCO resolution:

“What’s next? A UNESCO decision denying the connection between peanut butter and jelly? Batman and Robin? Rock and roll?”

Here is a quote from Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who told Prime Minister Netanyahu in a personal meeting between the two leaders: “To say that the Jewish people have no connection to Jerusalem is like saying the sun creates darkness.”

He also expressed regret that Italy abstained from the vote rather than voting against the resolution, with the not-so-valid reason that it was understood before the actual vote that no European country would vote in favor of the resolution. Instead, EU nations who were members of UNESCO would abstain.

My opinion: The nations that abstained didn’t want to be accused by other member nations of Islamophobia had they voted against the resolution.

Two countries that voted in favor of this revolting resolution later expressed regret, and said they would abstain from similar votes in the future. They were Mexico and Brazil. Unfortunately they were correct. Undoubtedly, there will be “similar votes in the future.”

The Third Resolution—That Began Today’s Article

However, the second resolution (the first of the most recent ones) wasn’t enough, even though it came through the United Nations entire administrative body of UNESCO. The World Heritage Committee within the organization of UNESCO decided to reinforce the October 13^th & 18^th passage by rubbing the proverbial salt into Israel’s wound … to pound more nails into the coffin that they so arrogantly think will bury Israel.

There was as much reaction from high ranking Israelis and Jews the world over, as well as from some leaders of prominent nations, as there has ever been to a United Nations sponsored sanction against Israel. As already indicated, this had much to do with the abjectly “absurd” allegations of UNESCO’s decision. These assertions were truly over the top.

All of things and people, even UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova issued a statement strongly denouncing the resolutions, calling the Temple Mount’s Western Wall, “the holiest site in Judaism.” She also promised to combat anti-Semitism. We’ll see?

One such reaction from Jerusalem’s Mayor Nir Barkat echoed both the serious and justifiably sarcastic imagery comparisons voiced by Benjamin Netanyahu. Said Mayor Barkat:

“I was outraged to hear of UNESCO’s vote today which denies thousands of years of Jewish connection to Jerusalem’s Western Wall. Would UNESCO vote to deny the Christian connection to the Vatican? Or the Muslim connection to Mecca?”

*Note: I don’t support the idea that the true Biblical Christianity has a connection to the Vatican, but that’s beside Mayor Barkat’s point of comparison.

He goes on to say:

“The UNESCO vote claims there is no connection between the Jewish people and the Western Wall. In fact, it is the UNESCO vote that has no connection to reality.”

UNESCO as a whole and this sub-division entity called the World Heritage Committee were apparently oblivious to world reaction, presumptuously thinking they would further influence world opinion against Israel. But it’s also evident that the Palestinians were more than a little concerned how global response might affect the subsequent vote of the WHC.

One main reason for this concern was the part of the prior resolution that also included the Western Wall bearing no connection to Israel or Judaism. This was the first time that the Western Wall had been included with all of the other Jewish holy sites in Israel. That crossed a huge red line with Israelis, with Jews world-wide, and with some leaders from non-Muslim nations.

I’ve been to Jerusalem and the Western Wall, also to Temple Mount. I can guarantee you that there were no Muslims at the Kotel when I was there; because all men (Jew and Gentile) including tourists must wear a kippah or other acceptable head-cover while at the Wall. No Muslim in his right (or wrong) mind would do such a thing. Also, it’s highly unlikely for any Muslim to have been at the Western Wall since June, 1967 when Israel recaptured all of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Golan Heights, and Gaza, and most of all Temple Mount and the Western Wall from the Jordanians, Syrians, Egyptians, and Palestinians. Only to relinquish Temple Mount jurisdiction back to Jordan, West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinians, and later the Sinai back to Egypt in capitulation to pressure from many other nations.

(All men wear a Skullcap, Orthodox Jewish hat, or Tallit–prayer shawl at the Western Wall … Even President Obama who was undoubtedly making a token appearance!)

Well, UNESCO, I’ve got news for you. Go ahead and try to enforce your resolutions. But make sure your enforcers wear a kippah while approaching the Western Wall, if they even make it that far!

“Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls”

That was the title of this third resolution passed on October 26^th. Much of the language was the same as the previous resolution ratified on October 18^th, but even harsher in that it contained not one reference to Jewish or Christian affiliations with Israel’s holy sites.

However, something interesting happened on the way to the World Heritage Committee forum.

This sub-division body of 21 nations (nearly all of them different from the 52 countries that currently comprise UNESCO itself) didn’t do what the Palestinians told them to do. The Palestinian Authority wanted this newest resolution to pass by consent of all 21 nations. Evidently, most WHC decisions are unanimous from the beginning, without the need to vote. If the entire WHC didn’t agree up front to comply with what was tantamount to a rigged election vote, then Jordanians and Palestinians who drafted the resolution would alter it to be even more anti-Israel than the previous resolution passed by UNESCO itself (the main body).

On occasion WHC apparently votes by secret ballot, rather than an open assembly session. The Palestinian Authority (which has observer status at the UN) and the Muslim nations belonging to WHC were certain there would be a consensus; thus, no need for individual votes from each of the 21 countries.

Wrong!

Although the resolution passed (technically) with the harsher measures, the vote tally was much less than unanimous. Nations in favor of the resolution: 10. Nations opposed: 2. Countries that abstained: 8. One country, Jamaica, was absent (didn’t participate). The two nations that voted against the resolution were, Tanzania and Croatia.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu saw the glass as half full. He considered the abstaining nations as those not supporting this follow-up resolution, one that was totally unnecessary. One, however, that the Muslim nations and Palestinians believed would bolster world opinion against Israel. It backfired on them. Reason: Because there was no consensus, UNESCO’s Secretary-General said the WHC resolution won’t be implemented. I don’t fully understand that or how it would have been “implemented,” but that’s neither here nor there. Fact is: On this rare occasion a United Nations organization (WHC) didn’t even exceed 50% agreement on an anti-Israel resolution!

The WHC membership is composed of the following nations:

Angola, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

UNESCO & the Theatre of the Absurd

Whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew there was a tangible connection between UNESCO and the “Theatre of the Absurd” is unknown. He probably does know. Either way, his characterization of UNESCO’s absurd play on the world stage is right on. Let’s see why.

From one of the UNESCO websites (http://en.unesco.org/) the following excerpt is quoted:

“In 1945 UNESCO was created in order to respond to the firm belief of nations, forged by two world wars in less than a generation, that political and economic agreements are not enough to build a lasting peace. Peace must be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity.

Three power points follow; I will quote just one: “Building intercultural understanding: through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity. UNESCO created the idea of World Heritage to protect sites of outstanding universal value.”

Then from the last paragraph of this website: “UNESCO is known as the ‘intellectual” agency of the United Nations. At a time when the world is looking for new ways to build peace and sustainable development, people must rely on the power of intelligence to innovate, expand their horizons and sustain the hope of a new humanism….”

Much could be said regarding UNESCO’s ultimate goal of creating a “new humanism” (one that has no room for the God of the Bible or for the “the people of the book”, both Jews and Christians). For purpose of today’s article, only the following will be said:

Though a glaring unintellectual grasp of even the basics of Israel’s history (the Jews were in Israel long before the Arabs … the Jews ARE Israel), UNESCO isn’t even close to accomplishing the, “protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity.”

Instead they have made a mockery of their own stated objectives by protecting the site of Temple Mount, the Western Wall, and other Jewish Holy Sites in Israel exclusively for the Palestinians and Muslims … at the total expense of the Jews and in the face of the obvious cultural and historical (both Biblical and secular) evidence. This is the height of hypocrisy. It is not diversity; it is divisiveness. It is not moral; it is amoral. It is not intelligent; it is stupid.

(UNESCO’S Main Assembly Hall)

Question: Where is UNESCO headquartered?

Answer: Paris, France.

Theatre of the Absurd

First, the definition of Absurd: “Ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, or incongruous … meaningless … lacking order or value” (Webster’s Dictionary).

From Wikipedia on the Theatre of the Absurd: “(French: theatre de l’absurde) is a post-World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s… Their work focused largely on the idea of existentialism and expressed what happens when human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down, in fact alerting their audiences to pursue the opposite. Logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion, silence.”

My observation: Fits UNESCO to a tee. They and their incessant anti-Israeli resolutions serve no purpose, have no meaning, and are irrational and illogical. Thus, they should be SILENT.

Three of the most notable “absurdist” playwrights were born in France: Jean Genet, Jean Tardieu, and Boris Vian. Many others moved to France during the heyday of the “theatre of the absurd.”

Paris was considered the home of this bizarre literary and stage experience.

Such a coincidence, don’t you think?

I’m certainly not berating or blaming France for this ironic connection between UNESCO and the Theatre of the Absurd. However, France’s (more recent) record regarding their treatment of French Jews (mostly at the hands of Muslims living in France) has been dismal. Which is one reason why more Jews are making Aliyah to Israel from France than any other European country in recent years.

Things to Ponder

There is absolutely no absurdity found in the Bible, other than found in some of the people and nations—their apathetic actions or defiant disregard for God and his magnificent plan for the human race and destiny for his special possession, Israel. On the contrary, the Word of God is replete with life’s value, meaning, purpose, and everlasting promises for those who have believed and received God’s gracious gift of His Son, Messiah Jesus, for redemption.

King David knew this and trusted the Lord God implicitly, when David said:

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

Jesus himself promised: “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:9-10, NASB).

There are several events in Scripture, where it’s quite evident God has a sense of humor. After all, he created us in his image … with a remarkable array of characteristics, including humor. Who doesn’t like to laugh?!

So, let’s close with some Jewish humor as found in the Levitt Letter (Zola Levitt Ministries), October, 2016 edition. As follows in italics:

The rabbi was an avid golfer and played at every opportunity. One Yom Kippur, the rabbi thought to himself, “What’s it going to hurt if I go out during the break and play a few rounds? Nobody will be the wiser, and I’ll be back in time for services.”

Sure enough at the conclusion of the morning service, the rabbi snuck out of the synagogue and headed straight for the golf course.

Looking down on the scene, Moses complained to God, “Look how terrible—a Jew on Yom Kippur—and a rabbi at that!”

God wryly replied, “Watch, I’m going to teach him a lesson.”

Out on the course, the rabbi stepped up to the first tee. When he hit the ball, it careened off a tree, struck a rock, skipped across a pond, and landed in the hole for a hole in one! Seeing this, Moses protested: “God, this is how you’re teaching him a lesson? He got a hole in one!”

“Sure,” agreed God. “But who’s he going to tell?”

To be sure, God has taught his chosen people a lesson down through the centuries. One that required serious discipline for some 2,500 years. But that’s over. He is restoring his people to the Promised Land in great numbers. He is fulfilling his original promise to Abraham.

“I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).

This blessing began through Isaac, the child promised to Abraham. But ultimately through Isaac’s descendant, Messiah (Jesus). The CHOSEN ONE. (See Isaiah 9:6-7).

Blessing in the fullest sense of the word. Summed up in the Hebrew word: Shalom … Peace.

Not just absence of war. Also wholeness, security, serenity, fullness of joy… Go ahead and fill in some more blessings.

And ultimately, spiritual salvation and physical restoration of all Israel. With untold blessings to the Gentile nations during the glorious reign of Messiah Jesus on earth.

UNESCO, the United Nations, indeed all peoples of the earth would do well to heed the promises but also the warnings issued by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

One day (soon), there will be Arabs at the Western Wall. From the Kotel and from Temple Mount, they will be welcomed by Jews who have, themselves, recognized Yeshua as THE MESSIAH. And Jesus, himself, will embrace both Jew and Gentile for choosing Him as their Savior and Lord.

Only Almighty God and his majestic Son, Messiah Jesus, can make the impossible, possible!

Sukkot … The Forever Festival!

22 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by garybowers in Prophecy in General

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Final Harvest of Souls, Immanuel

We Finally Made It!

It took five Eye of Prophecy articles instead of the intended two, but here we are at the seventh and final one: the Festival of Shelters—known in Hebrew as Sukkot. And just in time, because today’s article falls on the 6^th day of this delightful celebration, which began this past Monday.

It’s no coincidence that this God-ordained observance is number seven on the list. Seven, the Divine number of finality, wholeness, and consummation of the Lord’s purpose and plan for Israel and for the entire human race.

If you haven’t already, you might want to consider reading one or more (perhaps all four!) of the preceding Eye of Prophecy articles that discuss—from a Biblical, historical, and prophetic viewpoint, each of the first six Festivals—why they are observed and when. All seven feasts were instituted as commemorative examples, representative shadows, and prophetic types of the real object and purpose for each. With the first four completed and perfected by Messiah Jesus upon his first arrival, and the last three to be fulfilled upon his glorious return to Jerusalem to establish the incomparable Kingdom of God on earth.

In review the Festivals are: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and today’s subject, Festival of Shelters or Booths.

I’m sure the Lord loves to see the Jews celebrate Purim and Hanukkah, both of which memorialize deliverance of the Jews from those who sought to destroy them (the wicked Persian official Haman in the 5^th century B.C. and the vile Greek/Syrian despot Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the 2^nd century B.C). Yet, each of these holidays was established by the Jews long after the time of Moses; not directly by God himself.

Certainly, God miraculously delivered the Jews through Queen Esther and the Jewish leader Mordecai from genocide at the hands of the Persian Empire. Through the Maccabees, the Lord providentially rescued the Jews from a great slaughter initiated by Antiochus IV, and spared the second Temple from further desecration. But unlike the Seven Festivals of the Torah, there is no direct prophetic preview correlation between those two historic Jewish milestones and Messiah.

There is, however, a pattern precursor connection between ancient Persia and modern-day Iran, as Iran is one of the prominent nations that will participate in the massive but ill-fated Gog/Magog invasion of Israel, with the contemptible intent to utterly destroy the Jews and the State of Israel (Ezekiel 38 & 39). Moreover, Antiochus IV was a megalomaniac model of the even more evil and tyrannical ruler (Antichrist Nero) who will seek to crush Israel during the last days of the end times that are nearly upon us (Daniel 11).

(Coin of Antiochus IV Epiphanes … He Even Looked Like Nero)

The Festival of Shelters

As done with the first six Festivals, let’s examine the Biblical record of God’s instructions to Moses and the people. Sukkot is the only one of the individual seven festivals (although Passover and Day of Atonement are explained earlier in the Books of Exodus and Leviticus, respectively, before all seven are listed in Leviticus Chapter 23) for which the Lord reminds his people to keep. Aside from that, there is a collective reminder to keep all seven.

The initial directives began as follows:

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Begin celebrating the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the appointed month (seventh month)—five days after the Day of Atonement. This festival to the Lord will last for seven days. On the first day of the festival you must proclaim an official day for holy assembly, when you do no ordinary work. For seven days you must present special gifts to the Lord. The eighth day is another holy day on which you present your special gifts to the Lord. This will be a solemn occasion, and no ordinary work may be done that day” (Leviticus 23:33-36).

That eighth Holy Day is an extra day (called Simchat Torah by the Jews … rejoicing in God’s Law, the Torah) of enthusiastic emphasis on the entire week of Shelters.

Verses 37 and 38 are parenthetically noted in Scripture. With the Lord’s command that all seven festivals must be kept throughout the year at the appointed times in addition to the regular weekly Sabbath days.

Next, is the Lord’s special reminder to keep this Festival … including additional instructions to the people.

“Remember that this seven-day festival to the Lord—the Festival of Shelters—begins on the fifteenth day of the appointed (seventh) month after you have harvested all the produce of the land. The first day and the eighth day of the festival will be days of complete rest. On the first day gather branches from magnificent trees—palm fronds, boughs from leafy trees, and willows that grow by the streams. Then celebrate with joy before the Lord your God for seven days … This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed in the appointed month from generation to generation. For seven days you must live outside in little shelters. All native-born Israelites must live in shelters. This will remind each new generation of Israelites that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I rescued them from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 23:39-43).

The little shelter is called a sukkah in Hebrew, which means a makeshift hut. In English, we might also use the word shack. Sukkot is the plural … shelters.

Until the recent series of Eye of Prophecy articles on the Festivals, I had not written about them exclusively, with one exception … The Festival of Shelters (Tabernacles or Booths).

(Festival of Booths … A Modern-Day Sukkah)

An entire Eye of Prophecy article was devoted to this one Festival; entitled, Festival of Tabernacles … Part I, published 10-18-14. Followed by a sequel mostly on that subject, Let’s Celebrate … Forever! Posted 10-25-14. *Note: There was a reason I chose not to entitle the sequel as Part II. I just can’t remember what it was!

Since it’s been almost two years to the day when Festival of Tabernacles was posted and readership of Eye of Prophecy posts has increased considerably in the last 1 ½ years or so with most visitors to the website reading more recent articles (logically), I’d like to quote in some length from that older article.

As follows, in italics:

Jews all over Israel and in many countries of the world construct their own version of a temporary sukkot booth or hut in their backyard or on balconies or in open fields. There, for a week, they eat (mostly evening) meals, relax, sing songs, and entertain family and friends; some go so far as to actually sleep in the makeshift shelter at night. Included in their ceremonies are times of prayers and waving a bouquet—a collection of mostly leafy branches from the etrog (citrus type tree), palm and willow branches, and myrtle (boughs of thicker branched trees).

In addition to the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—before and during the great trek through the wilderness—the Psalms and many other Old Testament books frequently refer to the miraculous delivery of the Hebrews from Egypt after the fact. And there are several review type references in the New Testament. Through all of these passages we can vividly see two distinct reasons why God wanted his people to keep this Festival for all time: To remember God’s faithful Protection of and Provisions for his people.

Through a warm-hearted invitation from Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, children throughout Israel helped him furnish his own sukkah. The youngsters hung decorations, all the while singing holiday songs. Although the Israeli office of President is mostly ceremonial (the Prime Minister is the actual head of government), this presidential interaction with Israeli children and citizens was truly remarkable.

I suppose it would be equivalent to the US President inviting a sampling of children in America to decorate his Christmas tree; to truly remember that Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus Christ, the divine light that shines brilliantly in a dark world. Do you suppose our President would ever do such a thing!? Or for the President to summon a cross-section of America to wave sparklers and flags at an Independence Day festival in front of the White House, in remembrance of our deliverance from a tyrannical English king? Personally, I think it would be a great tradition for the next President to institute.

Listen to the words of President Rivlin: “Dear children, you are fulfilling an important task by decorating our sukkah. It’s important that everyone who comes to the president’s sukkah feels he is at home, a home which is a symbol. We have disagreements, but we are one nation and celebrate the holidays together.” Then he continued, “The sukkah symbolizes what we were before we became a nation. We are now celebrating to remember our exodus from Egypt; that we were slaves but now we have a country of our own, and that we must not treat others like we were treated in Egypt.”

Then later in that article (3rd paragraph below), the two primary purposes for Sukkot are reiterated (did you catch them in one of the above paragraphs?), which will be placed in bold font for purpose of today’s article.

Because the adults who were delivered from Egypt disobeyed God and refused out of doubt, fear, and lack of trust to enter Canaan, only those less than twenty years began the 40-year passage. When they finally arrived at the threshold of Canaan, here is what Moses reminded them, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

The Bible’s inherent definition and meaning of fear of the Lord is not running scared or being frightened. Rather it means reverent respect and deep awe that leads to worship. It also implies complete trust in the Lord … that he is who he says he is and does what he says he will do.

Included in the Lord’s commands would be, of course, to celebrate the Festival of Shelters—which above all the other festivals depicted the awesome protection and provision God lavished on his people, even though they didn’t deserve it and certainly didn’t earn it. The Feast of Tabernacles would remind them of God’s faithfulness to protect and provide; that he could and should be trusted at all times, for all things, no matter what.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

The all-inclusive lesson(s) to be learned by the ancient Israelites regarding the unnecessary generation they spent in the wilderness and how this is part and parcel of the need to always remember what happened, and this remembrance should be summoned at least once a year by observing the Feast of Tabernacles, is powerfully expressed in Psalms Chapter 78.

“Yet they kept on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved. They even spoke against God himself, saying, ‘God can’t give us food in the wilderness. Yes, he can strike a rock so water gushes out, but he can’t give his people bread and meat.’ When the Lord heard them, he was furious. The fire of his wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, his anger rose against Israel” (Psalms 78: 17-21).

And what exactly was it that made God angry, the opposite of which is the very thing that pleases God? The very next verse in this chapter answers that question and provides a succinct summary of just how the Lord places all of the things we do or don’t do in a box (so to speak). And this box has a label with but two words: Trust Me.

The Lord’s anger rose against Israel because, “…they did not believe God or trust him to care for them” (Psalms 78:22).

Sukkot Will Be Mandatory in the Kingdom of God

The final Old Testament reference to the Festival of Shelters tells us in commanding and convincing fashion that it will be celebrated forever in the final Kingdom of God on earth … the only Festival that the Lord requires to be observed by all nations.

“In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain. If the people of Egypt refuse to attend the festival, the Lord will punish them with the same plague that he sends on the other nations who refuse to go. Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they don’t go to celebrate the Festival of Shelters” (Zechariah 14:16-19).

Later, we’ll learn more as to why Sukkot is the only Festival mandated by the Lord to be celebrated perpetually. Although some of the other six festivals were to be kept as “a permanent law … observed from generation to generation” (see Leviticus 23:21 as an example), this commandment from the Lord applied only while the Mosaic Covenant was still in effect. When the New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant, keeping of the Jewish Festivals became optional. But as stressed in last week’s article and several others, the very essence of not just Passover and the Day of Atonement, but all festivals, was the sacrificial offering of innocent animals. However, the entire Levitical Sacrificial System ended with the destruction of the 2^nd Temple.

The Majestic Kingdom of God

Let’s examine one of many passages in the Old Testament that dramatically describes both the glorious Kingdom of God and extraordinary events leading to and taking place in the Millennium (1000 year reign of Messiah). Nearly all of these passages speak of Israel in fulfillment of her destiny to be the very center of the Lord’s government on earth. It will be a Divine Monarchy, with Messiah Jesus as King of all kings, and Lord of all lords. We’ll also see why a (truly) divine monarchy is, by far, the best form of government.

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance. Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home. Your eyes will shine, and your heart will thrill with joy, for merchants from around the world will come to you. They will bring you the wealth of many lands” (Isaiah 60:1-5).

Continuing in Isaiah Chapter 60 including a phenomenal prophetic description of airplanes some 2,600 years before they were invented, we read:

“And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel, like doves to their nests? They are ships from the ends of the earth, from lands that trust in me … They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away, carrying their silver and gold. They will honor the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has filled you with splendor. Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns, and their kings will serve you … The kings of the world will be led as captives in a victory procession. For the nations that refuse to serve you will be destroyed” (Isaiah 60:8-12).

Later in this chapter:

“Though you were once despised and hated, with no one traveling through you, I will make you beautiful forever, a joy to all generations. Powerful kings and mighty nations will satisfy your every need, as though you were a child nursing at the breast of a queen. You will know at last that I, the Lord, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel … I will make peace your leader and righteousness your ruler. Violence will disappear from your land; the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there” (Verses 15-18).

Here is an excerpt from the Eye of Prophecy article, Kingdom of God (posted 1-17-15) to illustrate that God and His Messiah’s Divine Monarchy surpasses all forms of human government:

Paul proceeds to tell us more about God’s splendid plan for the human race. In fact he calls it a mystery, because at the time that God gave it to him even the new Christians didn’t completely understand the eternal implications of what Christ would achieve at his first coming and would continue at his second coming. Listen to these extraordinary words:

“God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

That plan is none other than: THE KINGDOM OF GOD (on earth). Revealed by Messiah Jesus himself as recorded in the Gospels; and consolidated into the everlasting tenets of the Christian faith by the authors of the epistles and Revelation.

Jesus spoke often of the Kingdom of God; for example, comparing it to a mustard seed … the smallest of seeds that when planted grows into an enormous tree. Which is exactly what has happened to the body of Christ; an exponential growth down through the ages, to now consist of believers from virtually every nation and language on earth. It is the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts and minds of those who have been redeemed by the shed blood of Christ. Next, will come the final physical Kingdom of God on this earth; at which time all people, all governments, all nations will be brought under the authority of God’s magnificent Son. He will rule the nations with firmness, but fairness.

Isn’t that what most people want? They want: law, order, equality, safety, peace. And they want someone who has the kind of authority to realize those dreams, but also someone who is kind and considerate with that authority. One who truly cares about people and what’s best for them; who can rule and judge with impartiality and kindness. A truly wise and benevolent King whose attributes perfectly reflect who and what he is: Love, Truth, Justice, Mercy.

Speaking of kingdoms and kings, listen to this powerful prophecy of Daniel who refers to the four mighty empires of the past (Daniel’s future) and the coalition of nations currently being assembled in our generation in preparation for the Day of the Lord:

“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever” (Daniel 2:44).

A Person Is the Final Purpose for Celebrating the Festival of Booths

More than any other festival, the Festival of Shelters was a joyful reminder of God’s protection, provisions, and also presence (Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle). Israel’s triumphant entrance into the Promised Land of Israel in Moses time; the resolute return of God’s people and remarkable restoration of the Promised Land in our time; and the regal reign of Messiah from this same Promised Land in the near future has as much or more meaning through Sukkot than any other festival.

Although all the festivals were types and shadows of the Pre-Incarnate and then Incarnate Messiah, none more so that Sukkot. For unless the Lord God had been with them through the ages (even during the Lord’s severe discipline of his people) and had given the remnant among them shelter from their enemies and from the storms of life, they would never have made it to the Promised Land. Not the first time with Moses and Joshua, nor the second time with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Ezra, and Nehemiah; nor the third time led by the likes of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Theodore Herzl, and David Ben-Gurion—each of whom burned with passion to restore the Hebrew language, revive Zionism, and reinstate the sovereign State of Israel (respectively).

They and others longing for Israel’s final renewal believed their Scriptures when God said to his chosen people: “…For though I have destroyed you in my anger, I will now have mercy on you through my grace” (Isaiah 60:10).

Tabernacles was the last of the seven festivals for a reason. To be observed after the FINAL harvest of the year in the land promised to their patriarchal fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and to remember their arduous journey through the wilderness while sheltered by the Lord, literally and figuratively … physically and spiritually.

Sukkot has been described by the Jews as “The Season of Our Joy” (Zeman Simchatenu). It is the most joyful time of celebration in Israel. During this time more than any other, Jews would search the heavens for signs of Messiah’s coming. Alas, if they had only believed their Scriptures, especially Daniel’s astonishing prophecy that Messiah would come before the second Temple would be destroyed. Then there’s the Star of Bethlehem that only Gentile (perhaps one or two were Jews) wise men from the east believed would lead them to the Christ-child … the Savior (then) and King (soon to come) of Israel and the whole world.

The final harvest commemorated by the Festival of Shelters will be accomplished by Messiah Yeshua’s glorious return. Jesus referred to this final harvest of souls redeemed by his New Covenant substitutionary sacrifice as the Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Man (Matthew 13:39). And the conclusive ingathering of all his chosen ones (Jew and Gentile alike) who turn to him during the great Tribulation (Matthew 24:31).

Thus, Sukkot will be celebrated by both Jew and Gentile throughout eternity. Here again is the ultimate reason that all nations (perhaps delegations from those countries) will to travel to Jerusalem after the Kingdom of God is established:

“…to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters” (Zechariah 14:16).

The following is an excerpt from the aforementioned Eye of Prophecy article, Let’s Celebrate … Forever!

What makes this celebration so different from all other holidays, both Jewish and Gentile, different even from the contemporary observance of Tabernacles? The Answer: Messiah Jesus, himself, will be there! It’s all about Jesus! As well it should be. For he is our Way, our Truth, and our Life. (John 14:6). Once again, the purpose for keeping the Feast of Shelters by traveling directly to Jerusalem during the Millennium is to, Worship the King.

The Festival of Shelters will be celebrated not just in remembrance of the past, but also in reverence of the present and in anticipation of the ongoing glorious future of God’s people. And what does that future presence hold? Just like the small shelters (sukkah) constructed for the Feast of Shelters symbolize God’s sovereign protection and provisions, the Cloud by Day, Pillar of Fire by night, the Tabernacle, and later the Temple contained the very divine presence and glory of God … the Shekinah glory.

This same glory—the very essence of God—visited the human race through … a Child born to us and a Son given to us (Isaiah 9:6) prophesied by Isaiah; fulfilled when the angel confidently announced to Joseph: “…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God is with us.” (Matthew 1:20-23).

Upon his glorious reappearance, Jesus of Nazareth will once again be among us on earth and then in the New Jerusalem forever and ever. IMMANUEL! God with us!

Yes, one day soon will see the once-for-all permanent fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy, God with us, take place when Christ returns to Israel. The nations will travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles and to worship the King who first came as a child to Bethlehem to tabernacle (live) among us. But his sojourn was all too brief … only thirty-three years. But, oh what a visit! When he ascended to heaven after he arose from the grave, he left God’s mighty plan of salvation on the earth, available to all who call upon the name of the Lord.

Yes, Messiah will return for all time as Immanuel. This is why so many will gladly make this wonderful pilgrimage to Jerusalem: to show their eternal gratitude that God is with us.

“I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever’” (Revelation 21:3-4).

“And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city” (Revelation 21:26).

Things to Ponder

Hallelujah! Messiah is soon to come!

Jewish rabbis, observant Jews, and even the secular among them long for and are convinced of that Biblical fact … Messiah will arrive any day. And so are Messianic Jews and we Gentile Christians brimming with anticipation over his arrival. In fact, the New Testament is where you’ll find the concept of Messiah’s imminent return … meaning any day after he ascended back to heaven.

Yet, based on Scripture, as explained in a few prior Eye of Prophecy articles, particularly Where is Messiah … Is He Already Here (posted 6-25-16), their climatic last day’s repentance will be that of only one thing: Severe sorrow that they could not and would not see Yeshua as Messiah. Not just when he came to Israel 2,000 years ago, but deep regret of rebuffing him to the very moment when he delivers them from destruction by their enemies.

Yet, their intense bereavement will turn into great rejoicing when they realize that (most of all) Messiah Yeshua will bring final deliverance from themselves … from their transgressions.

Says the Messiah:

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died … All Israel will mourn, each clan by itself, and with the husbands separate from their wives…” (Zechariah 12:10-12).

Their remorse will be so soul-searchingly strong, that wives and husbands won’t be able to bear grieving together. They’ll have to grieve alone. This anguish will not just come from deep distress over their past denial that Jesus is Messiah, but also fear over what Messiah might do to them.

However, those who embrace Yeshua as Messiah—to realize that he returned because of his and his Father’s great love for them—will be saved from their sins and from their enemies.

“On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity” (Zechariah 13:1).

“And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, ‘The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins’” (Romans 11:26, quoting the New Covenant announcement in Jeremiah 31:31-34).

“And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day, there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshipped” (Zechariah 14:9).

Through the 3^rd Person of the Triune God—the Holy Spirit poured out on them—they will honor and praise God the Father and His magnificent Son Messiah Jesus.

From that time on God’s people, indeed, all peoples, will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

They will come to: Worship the King!

Yom Kippur / With Or Without Atonement?

15 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by garybowers in Prophecy in General

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Days of Awe, The New Covenant

Such a World We Live In

Do you sense that something big is about to happen? I mean really enormous … earth-shaking and apocalyptic in scope. At the very least are you uneasy over the upheaval taking place in the Middle East? What with the Arab Spring revolutions having turned into Arab Winters in Muslim nations. Including an entire country, Syria, suffering devastating destruction and on the brink of complete collapse—politically, economically, and socially.

What is your level of insecurity over menacing events conjectured by some geopolitical and socioeconomic experts? Such as: the dysfunctional disintegration of the European Union that could cause a chain reaction melt-down of the entire European economy; collapse of the financial system in the United States linked to or independent of Europe’s demise; Iran launching a first nuclear strike to make good on its threat to wipe Israel from the face of the earth and the United States along with it; North Korea doing the same thing; Russia’s ominous intrusion into the Middle East, potentially taking on the United States should we do anything to oppose Russia’s real agenda for being there; an all-out conventional attack by a powerful Islamic coalition of nations against Israel; and other harbingers of man-made catastrophes and natural disasters.

Today’s article is not about these fateful global signs, as many Eye of Prophecy posts have thematically focused on these and other things like: Israel’s rebirth as a nation; return of millions of Jews to their Promised Land; the Rapture; the Gog/Magog campaign against Israel; Antichrist and his ten-nation coalition that will also march against Israel; Messiah’s glorious return at the end of the seven-year Great Tribulation; and much more.

Rather, they are noted to once again convey this fact: The vast majority of Biblical prophecies and their fulfillment are centered on and around two crucial components of God’s magnificent plan for the human race. (1) The State of Israel. (2) The Messiah.

Specifically, that Israel and the Jews were chosen by God to be a conduit of the redemptive light to the Gentile nations. And Messiah Jesus would be salvation’s light to, “…the Jew first and also the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).

Without Israel, there would be no Messiah. Without Messiah there would be no Israel. Without either, there will be no final Day of Atonement.

Though the Jews rejected their Messiah, one day soon they will embrace him individually and nationally.

“For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12, quoting Psalm 118:22).

There are many indicators of the end of this age, which have taken place or are currently unfolding in breath-taking stages in the 20^th and 21^st centuries; none more so than Scripture’s repeated emphasis that the entire world will be focused on Israel in the last days of the end times. That many nations will seek in some fashion to eliminate the State of Israel or at the very least “solve the Jewish problem.” Then, the Bible is conclusively clear what God will do to these nations and people who seek to harm Israel.

In fact, the Lord himself will orchestrate this prophetic alignment of peoples against Israel that will lead to his final judgment of the nations.

For example: “I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves” (Zechariah 12:2-3).

It is distressingly evident that many nations are already intoxicated. We only need to look at their unreasonable unruly behavior over anything Jewish, their arbitrary attitude toward and callous contempt of Israel, and their irrational hatred of the Jews. You would think that the gruesome genocidal attempt of Hitler and his Third Reich to kill all European Jews would have made the entire world stand up and lastingly take notice of the senseless wicked barbarity that anti-Semitism produces. Yet, this absurdly unjustified animosity toward Jews in particular and Israel in general is every bit as rampant in today’s world as was found in Germany during World War II (and before).

Our own United States Executive Staff and many European Union leaders are displaying the demeanor of someone staggering under the influence of too many anti-Israel cocktails (one is too many). Never mind that hundreds of thousands have been killed in Syria and millions of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and other Arab countries have fled their homes … mostly to Turkey, Jordan, and now in great numbers to Europe and the United States. Disregard the imminent possibility (some say probability) that Russia and/or Iran will establish a permanent presence in Syria, right next door to Israel.

What we hear from Western leaders much more often is the “unacceptable” building of a few Jewish housing units in Judea/Samaria (so-called West Bank). Even more ridiculous is the uninformed misguided notion that the creation of a Palestinian State (that even many Arabs don’t want) will solve all of the real or perceived problems not only in Israel but the entire Middle East.

Israel’s Ardent Anticipation for Messiah and Final Redemption

It’s been over 2,000 years since the Jews have so passionately looked for (collectively) the coming of Messiah. In the first century the Jews longed for Messiah’s arrival to rescue them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. Sadly, despite the unmistakable evidence found in their own Scriptures, they did not see that Messiah must first liberate them from their sins, individually and nationally. (Among other passages, see Isaiah Chapter 53).

Nor could they accept a humble carpenter from Nazareth—though he was born in Bethlehem as prophesied by Micah—as their long-awaited Messiah. Thus, they chose to ignore the mighty miracles and unparalleled divine teaching of Jesus. Even his resurrection from the dead was not enough to convince and change the minds and hearts of many, especially the religious leaders.

Permit me to quote from an Eye of Prophecy article written not that long ago, but one that has already received the fifth most reader visits of all 169 weekly articles to date. That article tracks with today’s focus on the Jewish Observance of Yom Kippur … Day of Atonement.

From: Where is Messiah … Is He Already Here? Posted 6-25-16. (Excerpts in italics)

Globally, especially in Israel, both religious and secular Jews are longing for redemption.

Yet, they do not all agree on the scope of this redemption. Will it be individual, national, or both? Will it be physical, spiritual, or both? Orthodox Jews, particularly Rabbis, contend that penitence is a prerequisite to their redemption. But they differ on what constitutes repentance … to what degree or for what exactly should they repent. Most Jews simply don’t know what’s expected of them, if anything.

Tens of thousands of Messianic Jews have embraced Jesus as Messiah; they have accepted Scripture’s claim that only he can redeem individuals and nations. They believe (along with their Gentile believer counterparts) that redemption is precisely what the Bible and Jewish tradition says it is: a purchase or buy back from slavery. Which is, Biblically, first and foremost an enslavement to sin and its consequences—eternal separation from God.

It is what Webster’s Dictionary defines as: “to free from captivity by payment of ransom.”

The Bible says: “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins, says the Lord” (Isaiah 59:20).

The major premise of this article is compressed in the verse just quoted: Isaiah is referring to the initial appearance of Messiah for individual salvation; but also his return to accomplish Israel’s national redemption.

Contrasting the Old Covenant of the Law to the New Covenant of Grace, we read:

“…For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established. So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of the created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever” (Hebrews 9:9-12).

Many Jews see redemption almost entirely from a more secular meaning of the concept:

“To free from what distresses or harms; to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental; to change for the better; to get or win back.” (Webster’s Dictionary).

Thus, redemption to them means freedom from the constant distress and brutal harm from Palestinian terrorist attacks. They long for peace to overcome and replace the incessant detrimental threats of entire Muslim nations seeking Israel’s annihilation. They seek to exchange the relentless BDS actions against them for a better life of personal and national well-being and security. Some want to get back all of the land that has been given to them by God, himself, some 4000 years ago—the entire Promised Land of Israel, including but not limited to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).

There is one common dream, one prevailing hope, one unified passion: Messiah will ultimately redeem Israel and Jews the world over. And the time is near … so very near.

The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur in Hebrew), the Sixth Jewish Festival

Yom Kippur took place this past Wednesday and Thursday (sundown to sundown, October 12^th and 13^th). Though it may not be the most often observed of the Jewish festivals, it certainly is the High Holy Day most solemnly reflected on by those Jews who keep it.

If you haven’t you may want/need to read the previous three Eye of Prophecy articles, concerning the first five Jewish Festivals. As indicated, all of the Seven Festivals are patterns and types that point to the Messiah. In astounding fashion, Jesus fulfilled the first four and will complete the last three upon his return … Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

Let’s read some of God’s instructions to Moses and the people concerning the Day of Atonement from the chapter that lists all seven festivals.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves, and present special gifts to the Lord. Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with the Lord your God’” (Leviticus 23:26-28).

Of paramount importance is that offerings (sacrificial slaying of innocent animals) must be made for the purpose of making the people right with the Lord your God. It’s abundantly evident that these offerings were a source of on-going redemption for God’s people UNTIL the New Covenant would be initiated by God with the Jews that, unlike the Old Covenant, would also extend (universally, not just in Israel) to the Gentiles. Although the New Covenant wouldn’t be specifically mentioned for several generations—through Isaiah and Jeremiah directly and many other prophets indirectly—the Lord told Moses that the building of the tabernacle, all the furniture and instruments therein, and the entire Levitical System of Atonement were to be patterned precisely after God’s (heavenly) model.

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you” (Exodus 25:8-9).

If there had been no higher Prototype (purpose), there would have been no reason for the Lord to even mention this to Moses.

During the rebuilding of the second Temple under the supervision of the new Governor, Zerubbabel, the encouragement of the post-exile prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and the spiritual leadership of the High Priest, Jeshua, the Lord said:

“Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch … and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day” (Zechariah 3:8-9).

Generations earlier, both Isaiah and Jeremiah had prophesied about “the Branch,” who was none other than the coming Messiah. In fact, after introducing the New Covenant that God would make with his people (to replace the Old Covenant that the people couldn’t and wouldn’t keep) in Jeremiah Chapter 31, Jeremiah provided more details on The Branch:

“When those days come, at that time, I will cause to spring up for David a Branch of Righteousness. He will do what is just and right in the land. When those days come, Y’hudah will be saved, Yerushalayim will live if safety, and the name given to her will be Adonai Tzidkenu [Adonai our Righteousness] (Jeremiah 33:15-16, Complete Jewish Bible).

The Branch and the Temple

The coming Messiah would do something unheard of … in fact, prohibited by God until Messiah arrived: The Branch would be both King and High Priest of Israel and the whole world!

“…This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord. Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles” (Zechariah 6:12-13).

Notice that Zechariah doesn’t say rebuild the Temple, which could also apply prophetically to the Third Temple (literally) as prophesied by Ezekiel. Since the second Temple was already under construction and considering the fact that the preliminary and primary purpose of the Branch (Messiah) was to first save his people from their sins, the Temple mentioned by Zechariah is the spiritual Temple of the Lord, composed of all believers in Messiah (Jesus) both Jew and Gentile. This is the heavenly model, the real thing that would be the new and permanent promise and reality that members (believers) of this heavenly Temple can directly enter the Holy of Holies and meet with God personally.

This application to a spiritual Temple is reinforced by the words, “he will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord.” Which also indicates that the Temple (body of Christ or the true Church) isn’t confined to one place, but will branch out; later confirmed by Messiah Jesus’s words to his disciples (all believers) shortly before he ascended back to heaven:

“…And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Written to all believers in Yeshua, the Apostle Peter said:

“You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God” (I Peter 2:4-5).

Then again from the book of Hebrews that provides a marvelous consummate contrast between the Old and New Covenants, not the least of which is the completion and replacement of the Levitical Sacrificial System by the once for all supreme sacrifice of God’s anointed High Priest (chosen after the higher order of the eternal King/Priest Melchizedek) … His very son, Messiah Jesus. (See Hebrews 7 and Psalm 110:4).

“Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands” (Hebrews 8:1-2).

Then commenting on the many Levitical priests of the Old Covenant, the author of Hebrews states:

“They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: ‘Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.’ But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises” (Hebrews 8:5-6).

More Details on Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement

The very core of the Day of Atonement constituted the Lord’s annual forgiveness of the sins of Israel as a whole … as a nation. With emphasis placed on those sins that the people had not confessed throughout the year. Kippur comes from the Hebrew word, kapara, which means atonement. Yom means day in Hebrew.

Most Jews, many Christians, and even some Gentile unbelievers know or have heard about the Scapegoat sacrifice that took place on the Day of Atonement. Or at least they know what a “scapegoat” is. The term scapegoat is commonly used even in modern vernacular, enough so that the word made it to Webster’s dictionary.

Scapegoat: “1: A goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony of Yom Kippur. 2: a person or thing bearing the blame for others.”

A detailed description of the Day of Atonement can be found in Leviticus Chapter 16, with the much shorter summary reminder in Leviticus Chapter 23. I would encourage you to read the entire 16^th chapter.

In summary, there was one ram and two goats sacrificed during this annual Holy Day. It was the one day of the year that (only) the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies. The ram sacrificed would purify the High Priest (forgiveness of sins) himself. The blood from one of the two goats, along with the ram’s sacrifice, would purify the Inner Sanctuary (Most Holy Place) and would also forgive/purify the people of Israel.

The second goat was not killed; instead it was released into the wilderness to symbolize complete removal of the people’s sin, guilt, and shame. It was a culmination of the total cleansing of Israel’s sins for that year. The scapegoat was a sign that Israel’s rebellion through their sins had been transferred out of their lives … banished as it were from the congregation of the people. The slain goat was one of forgiveness. The scapegoat was one of removal (carrying away).

This was heartbreakingly, but beautifully completed and perfected by Messiah’s sacrifice that purchased the once for all forgiveness of our sins through his death. Then removal of the guilt and penalty for sin through his astounding resurrection.

And to this day: Our Redeemer Lives! In heaven, not in the wilderness!

However, as we know, Yom Kippur had to be repeated under the Mosaic Covenant, for purification of the people, individually and nationally, “…making them right with the Lord each year…” (Leviticus 16:34).

As tragic as it was to the Jews when their temple was destroyed yet a second time and they had to compensate with extra-Biblical Jewish traditions to somehow keep and explain the purpose for Yom Kippur (and other Jewish Festivals) minus the God-required sacrificial offerings, all this was foreseen by and part of God’s majestic plan to give his people a much better and longer lasting (as in permanent) New Covenant.

It was a covenant that would enduringly perfect and forever fulfill the temporary purpose of the Old Covenant, both the Law of Moses and the sacrificial system that commenced with Aaron.

I’ve quoted it before, but it bears any amount of repetition necessary to get the attention of Judaism, of all religions of the world … anyone who questions whether their sins can be forgiven and removed forever by the Lord God. Did I say forgiven and removed? How remiss of me to forget to say that the Lord will also FORGET our sins forever.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people … And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).

God forget? Yes, that’s exactly what he said he would do! Can you and I forget the wrong things that we’ve done and have been done to us? Forgive, yes … we should. But forget…?

Forgetting is equivalent to an eternal pardon of sin and guilt. Under the Old Covenant, God forgave and removed but did not forget. Thus, Atonement was an ongoing process. Not so under the New Covenant. Forgive, remove, and above all … Forget! As in, ONCE FOR ALL TIME.

Paul quotes the New Covenant promise in Jeremiah, preceded by: “…Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say…” (Romans 11:25-26). Then Paul quotes from Jeremiah 31.

Yom Kippur in Today’s Judaism

Regarding observance of Yom Kippur, there is a vast difference between keeping this God-ordained Holy Day since the second Temple was destroyed, many Jews killed with the survivors exiled by the Romans from Israel, and the Levitical sacrificial system brought to a crushing end; compared to the original instructions given by the Lord outlining the meticulous requirements on the Day of Atonement.

Since then, Judaism has been in denial that it can continue to function without the compulsory sacrificial system mandated by God, himself. Please see the Eye of Prophecy trilogy of articles entitled: Where is the Temple, Part I, II, & III? (Posted 11-29, 12-6, and 12-13-14). Here is an excerpt from the basic premise of those articles that encapsulates the essence of the problem.

No Temple, no sacrificial offerings. No sacrifices, no atonement forgiveness of sins. No forgiveness, no redemption. No redemption, no right standing with God.

The period of time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called the Ten Days of Awe or Days of Repentance. Many Israelis, even the secular among them, visit the Jewish Quarter of Old Jerusalem and the Western Wall as much or more during this time of the year. Many thousands attend the Selichot (penitential) prayer service presided over by Israel’s Chief Rabbis.

For sake of time/space, we’ll condense the present day keeping and emphasis of Yom Kippur to the following three power points:

Reflection, Repentance, and Renewal (in the “Book of Life”). Yet this renewal can only be questionably hoped for, as Jews don’t know for sure if their standing in the Book of Life will be initiated, then renewed each year during the Day of Atonement.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said to his staff after a press conference that lamented the recent death of two more Israelis at the hand of a Palestinian lone-wolf assassin:

“May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.” This saying is prevalent among Jews during Yom Kippur.

Messiah and Yom Kippur … They Go Together!

There is a Book of Life, as mentioned in Revelation Chapter 20. But it’s all too evident throughout the New Testament (Covenant) writings that only those who have been redeemed on their day of atonement (whatever day they accept Messiah Jesus as personal Savior) will be found in this book.

Of our High Priest and King Christ Jesus, the Bible states:

“He is … the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made as a Kingdom of priests for our God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6).

Indeed, repentance is a key ingredient in Yom Kippur, but in and of itself it is not enough. It is good to reflect, repent, and renew. But none of these will result in atonement without the shedding of innocent blood to make the people “right with God” which was the very heart of Yom Kippur. Not enough, that is, until the final once for all supreme sacrifice of God’s own Son to complete and perfect; and to, therefore, replace the ongoing animal sacrifices that were intended only to be a shadow of the Ultimate Sacrifice to come.

“Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be made whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him (Messiah) the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Then, “When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins” (Verse 11, italics for emphasis).

ALL their sins. Not just the ones from the past year.

As the devout Jewish Pharisee Saul (later called Paul)—who had an attitude-altering encounter with the risen Messiah Jesus—said about his brothers in the flesh (Jews):

“Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God” (Romans 10:1-4).

Paul’s passion is also mine. That is why I write so much about my love for Israel and her people, both Israelis and Jews the world over. Yet it must be tough love, to help shake them out of their denial over the loss of the sacrificial offerings—thinking they can still be made right with God through good works and keeping the Mosaic Law. The Lord himself said they couldn’t and wouldn’t keep it; therefore, he gave them the New Covenant of Grace, which is God’s gift of the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son for their (our) sins.

That is how we are made right with God. Thus, the only repentance God requires of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (indeed, of the whole world) is to change our mind about the life-giving, life-changing, destiny-altering final sacrifice of Messiah Jesus for the human race. To turn from unbelief, and believe that Jesus is Messiah … to open our hearts to him.

“Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent’” (John 6:29).

We can reflect all we want to on whatever we think needs reflected on; we can express sorrow for (repent) every sin we can think of; we can renew our thoughts, promises, and charitable acts hoping that the Lord will somehow accept that our good deeds will outweigh the bad and grant us status in the “Book of Life” for the time being. But none of that will assure us of God’s ultimate pardon for our sins and the penalty of those sins—eternal separation from the Lord.

Only one thing will seal the deal. Only One Person can guarantee our eternal salvation, our permanent record in the Book of Life. And it’s not just a matter of wishing. It is a matter of fact … of knowing. Listen to the assurance given to all who believe and receive Messiah Jesus as Savior:

“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31, NASB).

Again John the Jewish disciple writes: “And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (I John 5:11-13, italics for emphasis).

Not thinking, or wishing, or wondering, or even hoping for the best.

We can KNOW our sins are forgiven, removed, and forgotten by the Lord; that we have absolute assurance of eternal life in Christ Jesus. God himself has testified to this, as we just read. Moreover, this testimony was confirmed beyond any doubt, whatsoever, when Messiah Jesus arose from the dead.

Summary

Yom Kippur was originally designed by the Lord to be an example, a forerunner, and a temporary model of what would be the final Day of Atonement. This ultimate Day of Atonement, exclusively through faith in God’s gracious gift of his son for redemption, began when Messiah Jesus came to earth the first time.

The prophet Daniel gave us a spectacular prophecy concerning the triumphant culmination of so great a salvation when he says about Israel:

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place” (Daniel 9:24).

He goes on to announce the coming of Messiah that would take place BEFORE the destruction of the second Temple (which hadn’t yet been rebuilt in Daniel’s time!), the killing of Messiah, and the destruction of the Temple by the armies of the ruler who would come … the Roman Emperor, Nero. And this same ruler would make a seven-year treaty with Israel, which meant (as explained in great detail in my book, Out of the Abyss and several Eye of Prophecy articles) that Nero must return from the Abyss (Revelation 17:8).

Well, I’ve done it again. Plain and simple … not enough time and space to do justice to the seventh and final Jewish Festival, Sukkot—The Feast of Tabernacles. No other choice but to make it the topic of next week’s Eye of Prophecy article.

Things to Ponder

We who love Israel will continue to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalms 122:6). Praying for peace is the same as praying that all Israel will someday soon be saved (Romans 10:1).

For until and unless Israel comes to a saving knowledge of Messiah Jesus and is made right with God by believing and accepting him as God’s only remedy for sin, individually and as a nation, there will be no peace with God. Unless there is Shalom with God, there cannot be real peace between peoples.

When all of Israel is saved by changing their minds and hearts about Messiah (who he is and what he has done and will do for them), then the Jews will have accomplished the very purpose for God choosing them as his special possession. Which is to be a source of light to the Gentiles: through the Promised Messiah from the tribe of Judah and the genealogy of King David—descended from Isaac, the promised son of Abraham.

Says the Lord about his Messiah: “…You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).

While in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus said: “…I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12).

For a brief, shining moment, Christ Jesus while on this earth brought back the Shekinah glory of God to the Temple. And he will do so again upon his imminent arrival to this war-torn, wicked, and weary world.

Yes, Israel, your Messiah has already come. And he will return soon in great glory and power (Matthew 24:30).

If only you could see that. If only you could somehow realize that the horrible things that men have done to you were not Christian (Christ ones) at all—who misused and abused and distorted the true Christian faith. Also, there are some Christians who have misapplied the Scriptures; who have erred grievously in thinking that the true Church (body of Messiah) has replaced Israel. We have not. Rather, we are a product of and a partner in the fulfillment of Israel’s destiny. We have seen the light that God has shone through the Jewish Messiah.

To believe in Yeshua as your Messiah is the most Jewish thing you could ever do or be.

We, who have truly been born again by the precious blood of Messiah Jesus, love you and long for your Day of Atonement.

But most of all, Hashem, the Lord your God loves you. So much so that he sent his beloved Son, to die for you. (Isaiah 53 & John 3).

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Author Archives: garybowers

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