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The Rest of the Story … Bibi’s Speech to the United Nations

24 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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The Rest of the Story … Bibi’s Speech to the United Nations

Good, bad, or indifferent, my age makes me a Baby Boomer. One characteristic of the Boomer generation and even more so our parent’s generation is that sometimes we wish for the good old days! (Minus the Great Depression and World War II, which was before my time!) Not that they were all that good, but they were certainly different in one respect than today’s world: More often than not we were given or took the initiative to get as many facts, as much evidence as we could to determine if a news headline or a caption was true. It seems that today’s Facebook, Twitter, Hashtag generation wants only rapid-fire headlines to tell them the complete story.

Something like: I don’t have time for, so don’t bother me with all the facts; this is all I need to know.

I realize that this is an over-simplified generalization; nevertheless, it is generally true. Plus, it is not meant to be a criticism of today’s generation (my kids and grandkids are part of this generation!). Rather, it is intended to be a matter-of-fact observation with a touch of warning mixed in. A caution that experientially stems from those in a past global generation who fell for the Big Lie of Hitler and his Third Reich.

An American icon named Paul Harvey apparently recognized this post-modern disconcerting trend to skim over details, to accept at face value what one read or heard without concern for all of the facts. Though he was first and foremost a journalistic artist—with his broadcasting program geared to both drama and humor—he was also an ardent student of history. It hasn’t been all that long since he passed away (February, 2009); thus, many of us remember his famous radio program that aired Monday through Friday for some three decades: The Rest of the Story. For a short time thereafter, Paul Harvey’s son, then former Arkansas Governor and current Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee replaced Paul Harvey.

The gist of his radio show was to take a (headline) story of the past and provide us with little known or forgotten facts of an event or person. But sometimes the completed report would clarify or correct misperceptions and even outright discrepancies of what actually happened. After dramatically filling in some of these blanks, he would end the program with, “And now you know the rest of the story.”

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Two weeks ago, the Eye of Prophecy article, Tell a Big Lie Long Enough, included excerpts from and commentary on the speech of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the United Nations. You may want to read that article to realize just how much historical and contemporary distortion of the Israeli, Palestinian conflict was being foisted on the entire world.

A misrepresentation so glaring that there’s no other way to classify it except as a Big Lie.

Since that article and last week’s companion article, several more Israelis have been killed or wounded by Palestinian lone wolf attacks with an unmistakable connection to President Abbas’s incitement of his people.

Moreover, to demonstrate just how much our United States leaders don’t want to be bothered with the actual facts, Secretary of State John Kerry attributed the attacks to ongoing Jewish settlements (implying unlawful construction) in East Jerusalem or the West Bank. On the spur of the moment he simply regurgitated old headline lies repeated by Abbas to the UN … that Israel has been guilty of occupation (settlements) and aggression.

Secretary Kerry made absolutely no reference to the obvious reason confirmed by the known facts, i.e. that the attacks are retaliation to Israel’s alleged decision to change the visitation status (Status Quo) of Temple Mount for both Jews and Arabs. No such thing was planned or has been carried out. But this is exactly what Mahmoud Abbas told the United Nations and what the Palestinians needed or wanted to hear. Which led directly to the current murderous rampage against innocent Israelis. Does our Presidential Staff really believe Mahmoud Abbas’ Big Lie? Do they bother with the facts? Do they care about the truth?

John Kerry tried to backtrack on his assertion about settlements, but not by correcting his misstatement of the facts and cause of the riots. Instead he said, “There is no justification for violence against Israelis.” At least he got that part right.

Then State Department spokesperson John Kirby turned right around and accused Israel of violating the status quo on the Temple Mount—which as we already know is a flat-out lie.

But the good news is that the very next day (10-1-15) after Abbas’s inflammatory speech to the UN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi as he is fondly known) was permitted to present, The Rest of the Story.

As with Abbas’s speech, time/space doesn’t permit but a few excerpts from and commentary on Netanyahu’s message, but it’s important to realize that the facts contained in this rebuttal are just that, facts. Evidence that can be fully documented through any objective reference source one cares to examine. Which is the first definition or characteristic of truth—that of factual (truthful) accuracy—as presented in last week’s Eye of Prophecy article, The Whole Truth.

With the second vital component of Truth: that of an objective, exclusive (divine) source and standard so clearly contained in the Bible. Backed up with hundreds of fulfilled prophecies and with miracles that only the one true and living God can do.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s Address to the United Nations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech is essentially in two parts. With the first and longer portion a solemn reminder of Iran’s hostility toward Israel and the United States and the P5 + 1 infamous nuclear deal with this deceitful, militant, rogue nation. For what I think are some insightful Eye of Prophecy articles on this subject, please refer to the following articles in particular: Let’s Make a Deal, posted 12-14-13. Divine Consequences of Iran’s Arrogance, Part I & II, posted 5-23-15 & 5-30-15. A Deal That Will Live in Infamy, published 8-1-15.

With the second part geared toward the Palestinians, including the lies being told by their leaders. But also to challenge the United Nations itself and its inexplicable animosity toward Israel. In fact, the speech commences with some chastisement of the UN.

The Speech Begins:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you greetings from Jerusalem. The city in which the Jewish People’s hopes and prayers for peace for all of humanity have echoed throughout the ages.

“Thirty-one years ago, as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, I stood at this podium for the first time. I spoke that day against a resolution by Iran to expel Israel from the United Nations. Then as now, the UN was obsessively hostile towards Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. Then as now, some sought to deny the one and only Jewish state a place among the nations. I ended that first speech by saying: ‘Gentlemen, check your fanaticism at the door.’

“More than three decades later, as the Prime Minister of Israel, I am again privileged to speak from this podium. And, for me, that privilege has always come with a moral responsibility to speak the truth. So after three days of listening to world leaders praise the nuclear deal with Iran, I begin my speech today by saying, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, check your enthusiasm at the door.’

“You see, this deal doesn’t make peace more likely. By fueling Iran’s aggressions with billions of dollars in sanctions relief, it makes war more likely. Just look at what Iran has done in the last six months alone, since the framework agreement was announced in Lausanne…”

Commentary:

Netanyahu proceeds to identify over ten specific actions conducted by Iran during this time-frame, such as setting up new terror cells in several countries and shipping missiles to Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, which borders northern Israel, as well as drones to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

He then summarizes this part of the message by saying, “In the wake of the nuclear deal, Iran is spending billions of dollars on weapons and satellites. You think Iran is doing that to advance peace? You think hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief and fat contracts will turn this rapacious tiger into a kitten? If so, you should think again … You know they say, actions speak louder than words. But in Iran’s case, the words speak as loud as the actions…”

He then cites a couple of quotes from Iranian leaders including Ayatollah Khamenei.

Although my previous two articles focused on the Palestinian, Israeli conflict, not Iran, the essence of those articles matched Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion, i.e. that actions speak loud, but so do words, especially lies. If actions speak louder, it’s only in hindsight … after the fact. Lies told ahead of time can disarm, mislead, and desensitize us to the facts of what can and usually does happen if we blindly believe what we are told or think is happening without finding out what really has occurred and why it is taking place.

His Speech Concerning Iran Continues:

“I’ve said that if Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, let it act like a normal country. But this deal … will treat Iran like a normal country even if it remains a dark theocracy that conquers its neighbors, sponsors terrorism worldwide and chants, ‘Death to Israel, Death to America.’

“So here’s a general rule that I’ve learned and you must have learned in your life time—When bad behavior is rewarded, it only gets worse … I have long said that the greatest danger facing our world is the coupling of militant Islam with nuclear weapons.”

Commentary:

I and many others who care about these things continue to be perplexed and perturbed at the precarious view held by most leaders of many Western Nations including the United States.

Which is: The apocalyptic actions and words of Iran are only bluff. That their bark is bigger than their bite. That they wouldn’t dare follow through on their stated intentions. The end result is that we still don’t take them seriously. Or, at the very minimum, we think we can entice them through negotiation and appeasement to act and react like a normal civilized nation. But this is exactly what happened just before it was too late to prevent World War II. What makes the United States and its allies think that Iran doesn’t mean business? By the time Iran is nuclear armed, it will be too late.

A Dramatic Pivotal Point in Netanyahu’s Message:

“Last month, Khamenei once again made his genocidal intentions clear before Iran’s top clerical body, the Assembly of Experts. He spoke about Israel, home to over six million Jews. He pledged, ‘there will be no Israel in 25 years.’ Seventy years after the murder of six million Jews, Iran’s rulers promise to destroy my country. Murder my people. And the response from this body, the response from nearly every one of the governments represented here has been absolutely nothing!

“Utter silence. Deafening silence.”

(At this point Benjamin Netanyahu remained silent for a little over 40 seconds to let what he had said soak in. Some have already dubbed his message, The Silent Speech. Although I have read the entire speech, I haven’t watched all of it; however, I did watch a few minutes of it including this powerful pregnant pause. It was electrifying).

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After a few more words, he said: “But throughout our history, the Jewish people have learned the heavy price of silence. And as the Prime Minister of the Jewish State, as someone who knows that history, I refuse to be silent. I’ll say it again: The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies—those days are over. Not being passive means speaking up about those dangers. We have. We are. We will. Not being passive also means defending ourselves against those dangers. We have. We are. And we will.”

Commentary:

He then goes on to explain the brutal treatment of the Jews by Babylon, Rome, the Inquisitions, the Pogroms, and most of all the Holocaust. Followed by another potent and penetrating observation that echoes loudly hundreds of Old Testament prophecies concerning the end time’s rebirth of Israel as a nation and restoration of the Jews as a people (Which I’ve also written about in many Eye of Prophecy articles and in two books).

Said Netanyahu: “Yet the empires of Babylon and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations. Neither is the Thousand Year Reich. Those seemingly invincible empires are long gone. But Israel lives. The people of Israel live.”

Later in his speech, Netanyahu boldly declares: “So here’s my message to the rulers of Iran: Your plan to destroy Israel will fail. Israel will not permit any force on earth to threaten its future….”

Good for you Benjamin! The true and living God of the Bible said that would happen: Peoples and empires who sought Israel’s destruction would themselves be destroyed. Yet, Israel and her people would return and remain forever. That is happening before our eyes in this generation.

Netanyahu’s words were not boastful. Instead, as a man and Prime Minister who studies Scripture, he is fully aware that the promises to protect and preserve Israel since her rebirth as a nation come directly from Almighty God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those are guarantees that will be kept because Scripture says that God never lies. That he is the Eternal Omnipotent God of truth and certainty. And that his Messiah IS TRUTH.

The Message Switches to the Palestinians

After discussing the strategically all-important alliance between Israel and the United States (with exception of disagreement over the Iran nuclear deal) and Israel’s amazing contributions to the world including innovations and advancements in agriculture, science, computer technology, medicine, and chemistry, the Prime Minister’s speech shifts to the Palestinians.

“Israel remains committed to achieving peace with the Palestinians as well. Israelis know the price of war. I know the price of war. I was nearly killed in battle. I lost many friends. I lost my beloved brother Yoni … I am prepared to immediately, immediately (he repeats for emphasis) resume direct peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, without any preconditions whatsoever. Unfortunately, President Abbas said yesterday that he is not prepared to do this. Well, I hope he changes his mind.”

Netanyahu continues: “… I remain committed to a vision of two states for two peoples, in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state. You know, the peace process began over two decades ago (he was referring to the Oslo Accord of 1993). Yet despite the best efforts of six Israeli prime ministers—Rabin, Peres, Barak, Sharon, Olmert, and myself—the Palestinians have consistently refused to end the conflict and make a final peace with Israel. And, unfortunately, you heard that rejectionism again only yesterday from President Abbas. How can Israel make peace with a Palestinian partner who refuses to even sit at the negotiating table?”

Commentary:

My article of two weeks ago only alluded to, but did not elaborate on Abbas’s implied appeal that the United Nations make a resolution to unilaterally (without any input from Israel whatsoever) approve a Palestinian State. One, I might add, that is militarized; a state that will only result in a civil war between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas as they vie for authority; and/or a state that will eventually become a proxy to Iran. In other words, a Palestinian State that will become a perfectly unwanted replica of Syria.

The Address Continues:

“The Palestinians should not walk away from peace … if we actually sit down and try to resolve this conflict between us, recognize each other, not use a Palestinian state as a stepping stone for another Islamist dictatorship in the Middle East, but something that will live at peace next to the Jewish State, if we actually do that, we can do remarkable things for our peoples.”

Again, Netanyahu directs his remarks to the United Nations Assembly by saying, “The UN won’t help peace … by trying to impose solutions or by encouraging Palestinian rejectionism, and the UN, distinguished delegates, should do one more thing. The UN should finally rid itself of the obsessive bashing of Israel.”

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UN Ambassadors before a Security Council Vote on Sanctions

He then uses the same example I used in the Eye of Prophecy article Tell a Big Lie Long Enough (which was written before I read Netanyahu’s address to the UN), i.e. the totally disproportional number of unjustified UN sanctions against Israel compared to the one sanction against Syria.

He continues:

“Talk about injustice. Talk about disproportionality … Well, frankly I am not surprised. To borrow a line from Yogi Berra, the late, great baseball player and part-time philosopher: When it comes to the annual bashing of Israel at the UN it’s, ‘déjà vu all over again.’

“President Abbas, here’s a good place to begin: Stop spreading lies about Israel’s alleged intentions on the Temple Mount. Israel is fully committed to maintaining the status quo there. What President Abbas should be speaking out against are the actions of militant Islamists who are smuggling explosives into the Al-Aqsa mosque and who are trying to prevent Jews and Christians from visiting the holy sites.

“…Far from endangering the holy sites, it is Israel that ensures their safety. Because unlike the powers who have ruled Jerusalem in the past, Israel respects the holy sites and freedom of all—Jews, Muslims, Christians, everyone. And that, ladies and gentlemen, will never change. Because Israel will always stay true to its values … This is the true face of Israel. These are the values of Israel.

*Note: See the Eye of Prophecy article, The Heart and Soul of Israel, posted 1-4-14.

Prime Minister Netanyahu concludes his speech with this straightforward probing challenge:

“So here’s a novel idea for the United Nations: Instead of continuing the shameful routine of bashing Israel, stand with Israel. Stand with Israel as we check the fanaticism at our door. Stand with Israel as we prevent that fanaticism from reaching our door. Ladies and Gentlemen, Stand with Israel because Israel is not just defending itself. More than ever, Israel is defending you.”

More Truth

“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’” (Psalms 2:1-3).

It’s inexplicably bewildering how so many people throughout the ages, including today’s cynical, me-generation, have believed the original Big Lie that comes from Satan, himself. The Lie believed by Adam and Eve.

Which is: Freedom or liberty or the pursuit of bliss (which is mostly personal pleasure and self-indulgence) is possible only when they break the restraints that they perceive God has placed on them. That God’s divine laws and standards deprive them of self-realization or self-fulfillment or so-called deeper knowledge of mystical things, which is nothing more than a desire to become their own god; thereby, creating and maintaining their own criteria for right and wrong, good and evil.

In short, to say: “No thanks, God; I’ll go my own way and do my own thing.” Or, “I’ll create my own religion or belief system and, if I do just enough good or get lucky, maybe you’ll accept me.”

In fact, it’s just the opposite. Listen to the words of Jesus concerning real truth and actual freedom when he speaks of the transforming reality of Biblical salvation, which includes so many wonderful benefits such as forgiveness, redemption, and everlasting life. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). People the world over know these words. Few know who said them … or what truth Jesus is talking about.

Then a few verses later Messiah explains what it is that actually enslaves the human race. “…I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever (referring to sons and daughters in the family of God). So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (Verses 34-36).

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It’s not so hard to figure out that global grief and turmoil is caused by oppression, ethnic and national disputes, deprivation, wars, crime, injustice … just to name a few of the world’s ills. There’s a whole dirty laundry load of reasons: Pride, greed, lust, hatred, lying, sexual immorality, sorceries, jealousy, and pursuit of pleasure no matter the cost. On and on we could go. These are the things that take away true mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual freedom.

Christ is telling us that doing anything and everything we please results in slavery, physically and spiritually. That is the truth of it. The only TRUTH that will set us free from the devastating consequences of slavery to sin is the liberating truth of God’s salvation.

King David knew of the coming Messiah as he wrote about God’s Royal Son in the passage cited above from Psalm Chapter 2; although he wasn’t privy to all of the details or sequence of events of Messiah’s arrival, some one thousand years later.

And David knew all about truth, as he writes about it frequently.

For example: “Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth” (Psalms 26:1-3)

He knew that real truth is God’s Truth.

Like all of us, David had sinned; but he knew the truth of redemption, long before his Redeemer came to the earth to retroactively purchase David’s salvation (proactively for all those who would choose Christ in the future). Thus, he was willing to be put on trial and cross-examined by God. Because he knew that if he trusted in and responded to God’s love and forgiveness, God’s promise of reconciliation and restoration was: The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The Truth Rejected

Referring to Messiah Yeshua, (Christ Jesus) the Apostle John writes: “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).

No, the Jews haven’t rejected God’s specific plan for them to possess the Promised Land of Israel forever (Abrahamic Covenant). Rather, most of them to this day have disbelieved the truth of God’s universal plan that salvation and eternal life would come through the New Covenant. The Covenant of Grace through God’s gift of his Son, Messiah Jesus to the whole world, Jew and Gentile alike.

But God knew this would happen and, just like with Joseph and his brothers, God made something wonderfully good (permanent redemption) come out of this horrible injustice … the crucifixion of Messiah. The just for the unjust.

As a result thousands of Jews in the first century believed and received Jesus as their Messiah, including the most devout of them all—a Pharisee who had staunchly defended the Law of Moses to the extent of imprisoning and killing Jews who had accepted Christ as their personal Savior. Only for Paul to have a life-changing encounter with the risen Messiah on the road to Damascus. Then to, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which had been given to indwell the hearts of Jew and Gentile believers alike, write most of the New Testament; including numerous quotes from the Old Testament to show that (as is said): The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.

That the New Testament contains the Rest of the Story.

Though God withdrew his protection from Israel a second time (the first time when Assyria then Babylon conquered Israel) when the Romans destroyed the second Temple resulting in the Great Diaspora of the Jews until 1948, he would not completely abandon or reject them.

Concerning the destiny of Israel which is unfolding before our very eyes, the Jews have returned and are still returning to their providential place and time in God’s historical, eternal plan. As exemplified by the actions and words of their Prime Minister, they are beginning to once again understand their role in proclaiming the truth and essence of who they are and what they were chosen to do: To bring light and salvation to the whole world. But a salvation that, in large numbers, they have not yet experienced themselves.

Many Jews now understand that God’s promise for them to return and possess the Holy Land of Israel and the Holy City of Jerusalem is being fulfilled in this generation. That is the physical, corporeal truth of who they really are and what must actually happen. But most haven’t yet grasped the truth of the spiritual component of their destiny. That the Jewish Messiah they long for has already arrived, some two thousand years ago. That his birth, life, death, and resurrection from the grave was the culmination of both the law and sacrificial system of atonement, which was only a shadow of what and who was to come. That Yeshua is the prophetically fulfilled real object (person) of redemption, accomplished through his once for all universal sacrifice to bring so great a salvation to the human race.

Which is why their spiritual reconciliation to the Lord lags behind their physical restoration to the Land. But this, too, will change … and soon.

Listen to what the Jewish Apostle Paul says:

“I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning…” (Romans 11:1-2).

To this day, many Jews including Rabbis concede the controversial point that God withdrew his protection of their people, which led to the greatest tragedy of all … the Holocaust. That part is true. As a result, many other Jews (and all too many Gentiles) believe that God did totally reject Israel. That part is not true.

Paul goes on to say: “Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it” (Romans 11:11-12).

And still later in the chapter: “…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….” (Verse 25-26).

I say with the Apostle Paul:

“…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).

ALL ISRAËL WILL BE SAVED

That time is near, so very near. Today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Whether you are a Gentile or Jew, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Things to Ponder

In some way, at some time or another have you thought about such things as: Who am I? Why am I (actually) here? How did I (really) get here? Where am I going? How will I get there? What will prevent me from getting there? Does anyone really care what happens to me? If so, what can they do about it?

Or: What is truth?

God puts those questions in our minds and hearts; because he loves us so much. He cares because he has the answers, some that we will understand in this lifetime, others we won’t truly grasp until we reach the other side. But there are two sides to the other side. One with answers. The other with perpetual doubt, confusion, and terror. Our choice in this lifetime will determine which side we will reach when we die.

He knows the heartaches that life brings our way, whether we cause them or whether they are beyond our control. The Bible says that if we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. First, to save us once and for all when we say, “Yes”, to Jesus. Then with the help of the Holy Spirit, to help us grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ until the day that we see him face to face.

It truly is a matter of eternal life and death. Choose Messiah Jesus (Son of God, Son of David, Son of Man) and live forever in heaven. Choose anything or anyone else and forever be separated from God and the host of heaven in a place too terrible for words.

“And this is what God has testified (sworn as truth): 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 John 5:11-12).

And now we know: The Rest of the Story.

History. His Story.

Please, take a few more minutes and listen to this beautiful song written by Graham Kendrick, performed by Robin Mark

The Whole Truth

17 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Palestinian riots

The Truth … Nothing but The Truth

“Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” Nearly everyone recognizes this oath and when it is required … either in a court of law or in a pre-trial deposition. It is a vow that was and still is used by United States Courts (and in some fashion or another by the courts of many nations) for centuries, although the words may have changed and the so help me God unfortunately has been dropped by many jurisdictions.

If you have participated in a trial—as a plaintiff, or defendant, or witness—then you can personally relate to the gravity of such a solemn pledge. At the very least you can picture a courtroom scene in some old movie. The witness takes the stand, raises his/her right hand and places their left hand on a Bible while taking this oath. However, the Bible is seldom used in today’s secular age.

Before anyone can testify by sworn deposition or in court, they must pledge to tell the whole truth the entire time they are testifying. But why swear to it? Isn’t it expected that we would tell the truth in a court of law? Ideally, yes; in reality, no—not everyone will tell the truth even when testifying in court. Which makes it a crime with a potentially severe penalty (including possible prison time) to lie at a trial. Someone’s economic, social, political, cultural future could be at stake … even their very life. In fact, it is the 9th of the Ten Commandments that contain some of the absolute universal truths God gave to the Hebrews and the entire world.

“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

Although this commandment focuses primarily on the official setting of a trial, it was obviously a general decree applicable to any and all situations in the course of human affairs; as are all of the Ten Commandments and other Biblical principles pertinent to man’s accountability to God and interaction with each other.

We’ve all lied, some more than others, but lying is wrong no matter how many times we tell a lie or the size of the lie. Normally, the bigger the lie the more serious the repercussions; but a lie is a lie, no matter how you slice the pie. We’ve all experienced adverse, even destructive consequences of lying, whether we lied or were lied to.

Veracidad

Especially if, for example, a leader like Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas—from the hallowed halls of the United Nations—accuses Israel of occupation and aggression, not much different than testifying in a court of law. But he wasn’t misleading Israelis, his avowed enemies, because they know better; he was deceiving both his people and the international community. Surely, he wouldn’t lie in front of such a revered international organization. But that’s exactly what he did, as covered in last week’s article that included excerpts from and commentary on Abbas’s speech to the UN.

In addition to all-encompassing fabrications about Jewish occupation (in the negative connotation of the word) of Israel, Abbas specifically pointed to alleged Israeli violation of Temple Mount regulations (the status quo). It is primarily this lie that has provoked the recent lone wolf attacks by Palestinians on Jews, which has intensified even more this past week. In fact, Hamas has declared that the 3rd Intifada (uprising) officially began this past Wednesday, October 14th. Other Palestinian leaders have mimicked President Abbas’ accusations. For the Arabs in Israel, whatever their Palestinian leaders say must be true.

Such as Abbas’ mendacious and belligerent embellishment about Temple Mount when he said: “Al-Aksa is ours and so is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. They (the Jews) have no right to desecrate them with their filthy feet. We won’t allow them to do so and we will do whatever we can to defend Jerusalem.”

Filthy feet? Do you see the senseless hatred in such malicious but childish rhetoric? Defend Jerusalem? From what? From Israelis reacting to and stopping the brutal unprovoked attacks by the Palestinians? Defend a city that doesn’t belong to the Arabs in the first place?

This atrocious rabble-rousing incitement from top Palestinian leaders has filtered down through the social media among Palestinians, e.g. Twitter and Facebook. In an article written just two days ago in USA Today, Shimrit Meir, founding editor of the Arabic news site Al-Monitor was quoted: “If you look at the Facebook pages of attackers, though, they don’t have a goal; they want revenge, they want blood.” The article goes on to say, “Twitter and Facebook are flooded with images of blood dripping off knives under hashtags such as #the knives…intifada and #Palestine…Intifada. Many of those knife-wielding Palestinians, shot by Israeli security forces, are described as killed ‘in cold blood.’”

To demonstrate just how viciously degenerate these lies and the ensuing attacks have become, the Palestinian Bar Association presented a posthumous award to Muhanned Halabi, the 19-year old law student who stabbed two Israeli men to death and seriously injured three others, including the wife of one of the men and their daughter. I wrote about this in last week’s article: Tell a Big Lie Long Enough. According to the Bar Association, “The martyred hero Halabi was an outstanding student at the faculty of law.”

One can only wonder if his law professors taught that murdering Jews was both legal and necessary. Or if Arab law students must take an oath that says, “I swear to tell lies, more lies, and nothing but lies about the Jews.” Of course I’m being sarcastic, but only in response to such a depraved award bestowed upon this murderer.

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Photo of a 13-year old Palestinian boy who was wounded by Israeli security forces this past Monday after he and a 15-year old companion stabbed and critically wounded two Israelis in Jerusalem, one of whom was also 13 years old. PA President Abbas told the press that the Palestinian boy pictured above was killed in cold-blood by the Israelis. The boy is not only alive, he’s receiving care in an Israeli hospital! Apparently Abbas doesn’t care if hard evidence (photos) proves him wrong.

Later, in today’s article, we’ll examine Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin’s (truthful) rebuttal in his address to the UN General Assembly on October 1st, the day after Abbas’ speech. But first, let’s discuss Truth itself, at least enough to grasp the essence and dynamics of such a provocative subject.

“What is truth…?” (John 18:38).

During the utterly unlawful and unjustified trial of Jesus of Nazareth, in which he was falsely accused by “witnesses” who lied, this was the facetious relativistic question that the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate asked when Jesus said: “…Actually I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true” (John 18:37, italics for emphasis).

No less than four times in two short sentences, Jesus refers to truth. “Four?” you question. “I only see three.” Hey, I italicized the first word of Jesus’s reply just to give you a hint!

The word actually or actual (real, the genuine article) is a synonym of truly (truth); it is another way to express or explain that what we’re saying or describing (perhaps testifying) truly happened. In this case, the Lord said that the main purpose he came to this world was to (actually) testify to the truth. With the stunningly significant reality that had Jesus not been given to the human race, we would never know or experience the truth of God’s plan of salvation! Nor really know who God is and what he’s actually like.

I can confidently say that because of the many other (truthful) references to creation and redemption found in Scripture. Such as: “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… For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself” (Colossians 1:15-16, 20).

In his remarkably profound declaration to Pilate, Jesus was referring to the two basic components that define and describe truth, as applicable to Christ himself and the whole world.

Physical, Earthly Realm

First, truth applies to and actually is the reality of facts … what is said and done by God and by people. Those who testify must tell exactly what they saw and heard. To the best of their ability, nothing should be left out or embellished. Just the facts and nothing but the facts … the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Concerning Jesus, it was all the things he said and did publicly in front of all the people, including the Jewish religious leaders. Though he often spoke in parables, anyone who was sincerely seeking the truth would understand the parables. Those who had made up their minds to disbelieve and reject Jesus would not and could not comprehend, as they had already determined not to listen to what was true. They simply didn’t want to understand or agree.

But he also spoke plainly by directly and meaningfully declaring and defining the truth. With such startling statements as, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Or the equally astounding assertion that he was one with and equal to God the Father, when he told the Jewish religious leaders, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” (John 8:58).

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The next verse tells us that they immediately picked up stones to throw at Jesus. Why? Because Jesus referred to himself by the holy, awesome name of God … YHWH, or with vowels inserted, Yahweh. The very name that God gave to Moses when Moses asked who was sending him to his people and to Pharaoh.

Which leads us to the second crucial component of (real, objective) truth.

Spiritual, Universal Realm

In addition to truth equating to the factual reality of people, places, things, and events (what is said, what is done, when and where it happens), truth must also originate from a universal, independent, completely objective, and exclusive source. A Higher Court if you will. The only way truth can be exclusive and objective is that it must have a spiritually Divine source or reference point, because we are as much or more spiritual beings than we are physical.

Absent a Supreme, Sovereign source and standard (God), all human ideas, philosophies, religions, thinking, viewpoints, and creeds are invariably subjective … subject to individual or group preference, flawed suppositions, and skewed opinions. These subjective vantage points even include right and wrong, good and evil. We humans can define practically anything the way we choose, to include morality; then challenge those who disagree to prove we’re wrong.

If truth is not eternally exclusive and perpetually objective, then any and all beliefs can be true. Which they obviously are not. If for no other reason that each belief system claims that it possesses the only truth; or, at the very least, the main reservoir of truth.

And for those who throw up their hands in cynical frustration and end up believing that there are several paths which lead to God, immortality, or paradise, I must bluntly respond: that is fatalistic nonsense. Not only is it a cop-out, it’s also a belief system to believe that all beliefs will eventually find God or some kind of Nirvana.

If you say that fire will burn me if I touch it, and I say that it won’t; then one of us must be wrong. Of course you will be right, because you have an objectively true and verifiably consistent and constant reference point to confirm what happens when I put my hand in the fire. Both science and faith acknowledge these universal laws of physics, none of which are contradicted by Scripture. However, this same supernatural being (God) on occasion has set aside the laws of physics when and where he chooses. Which is why Daniel’s three friends survived a blazing furnace seven times hotter than normal, without so much as smelling of smoke! (Daniel 3).

But the God of the Bible never abrogates his spiritual laws. Repeating for emphasis: Never.

He stipulates that if we, for example, commit adultery, or steal, or lie, or put any other man-made gods or god-less systems in place of him, we’re also going to get burned … emotionally, physically, but most of all spiritually. Every wrong thing we do is sin, and Scripture tells us that the penalty of sin is both physical and spiritual death … eternal separation from God. Neither natural science nor religion agrees with this (Divine spiritual) truth, that all are born with a sin nature. Nor do they concur with another Spiritual Law that guarantees redemption from the penalty of sin including everlasting life to those who place their trust in Messiah Jesus. This legal promise doesn’t contradict the law of spiritual death for those who reject God’s Son as Savior. Rather, it simply transfers (exonerate) the person from one legal verdict of guilty (spiritual death) to another legal verdict of innocent by Divine pardon.

So, who’s right? Are there Spiritual Laws established by the One God, the only God in the universe or not?

If you say being a good person, doing good works, and keeping the demands of your religion is the only way to make it to heaven, and I counter with the Biblical claim that only faith in God’s grace (the gift of his son’s death on the cross for our sins) can save me, you, and the entire human race, then one of us must be wrong.

There is, however, one common denominator for all religions; although this commonality is expressed in a maze of divergent dogmas … not including Christianity which isn’t a religion by definition.

The common factor: All religions have a formal structure of self-worth, good works, and ritualistic performance of required duties in order for those who become members (usually through baptism or verbal vow of commitment to that religion) to be accepted by the hierarchy of that system or cult and/or by whatever god(s) they worship. Or in the case of Buddhism, the attainment of Nirvana.

The God of the Bible is God

The God of the Bible is radically different from all other (man-made) gods of all religions or cults. Scripture is crystal clear that trust in the Lord (plus nothing else) is what redeems us. Beginning with Abraham’s explicit trust in God to leave his home and travel to a land promised by God to him and his descendants … the everlasting possession of Israel.

God’s covenant with the Hebrews through Moses was a covenant of law and sacrifices to reveal in great detail the very existence, character, and plan of God for the Jews but also the entire human race. One in which the Jews were to be a source of light and salvation to the Gentiles. But this was a conditional covenant, and God’s chosen people could not, did not keep their end of the agreement. Although the Lord gave his people hundreds of years to try to keep his law, they could not, would not. Then and now, most Jews misunderstood the difference between (the purpose of) the law that told them what sin was and the sacrificial system that led to forgiveness of sin. Gradually, the sacrificial spilling of innocent (animal) blood for their sins became a ritualistic obligation in which they dismissed or overlooked its true significance, a shadow or picture of the great once for all sacrifice of Messiah, as stated in Isaiah Chapter 53 and other passages.

For this reason, God told his people through the prophet Jeremiah (and Isaiah), that he would strike up a new covenant, which was accomplished when Messiah Jesus died on the cross, but then rose from the dead to seal and validate this everlasting covenant!

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Sadly, most Jews today still refuse to recognize or accept that covenant, with the remarkable exception of hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jews the world over.

God’s plan of salvation and the eternal destiny of all who place their trust in the sacrificial death of Messiah Jesus as found in the Bible is TRUTH. His son, Jesus Christ testified to that truth. And what is (that) truth? The truth is that Messiah Jesus is the only WAY to God and the only source of LIFE everlasting. He is the very embodiment of eternal universal truth. Furthermore, he validated these claims with one incredible miracle after another, culminating in the greatest achievement of all … resurrection from the dead!

Not only miracles by Messiah Jesus but mighty miracles by God the Father as recorded in the Old Testament. Not only miracles, but the irrefutable historical evidence of fulfilled prophecies … hundreds of them. Time and time again, God challenges other religions, gods, prophets, and religious leaders to predict the future with 100% accuracy or perform the astounding miracles that only the true and living God can do. Down through the ages there has been no response from those so-called gods or prophets. They won’t respond, because they can’t make prophecies come true with 100% accuracy, not even 10%. So, they won’t predict the future, and they can’t perform miracles.

That, my friend, is TRUTH. Objectively and exclusively found in no one else except the God of the Bible, which is the very Word of God. Proven by the mighty miracles of our God, and the amazingly detailed fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, which are also miracles.

Summary

There is truth that applies to the physical world and truth that applies to the spiritual world.

And yet, God’s truth of forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life is offered to all who will believe and receive Jesus Christ as their personal savior … which makes God’s salvation inclusive for all peoples. Scripture is replete with this thematic truth, as summarized in the most quoted and well-known verse in the Bible:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16.

Exclusive truth with an inclusive invitation of salvation and everlasting life to all who will believe and receive Jesus as Savior. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Unless you prefer deceit, half-truths, or lies?

But I’m thinking that you want what the Lord says we all desperately need: To be made right with God by his righteousness freely given to us.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with underserved 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…” (Romans 3:23-25).

“Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law” (Verses 27-28)

Just ask Abraham, who was made right with God long before the law was given by God through Moses. “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6).

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Messiah Jesus sacrificial death on the cross retroactively applies to Abraham, to all peoples, Jew and Gentile alike, before and also after Messiah’s birth, life death, and resurrection.

That is the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, so help us God.

Things to Ponder

Listen to these amazing words from God recorded by the prophet Isaiah: “Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, through your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18, NASB).

This is God’s invitation to every man, woman, and child; not to check our brains at the door that leads to God’s plan of salvation. But to use our reason to comprehend that God and God alone can remove the stain and guilt of our sin(s). To instantly turn red into white the moment we agree through sound reasoning that he can and will save us. Then follow what we know in our heart to be true. This isn’t blind faith: it’s faith in what God through his Son has done what we could not do for ourselves.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:10-13).

I consider myself to be pretty much as logical, rationale, and reasonable as the average person who possesses all three of these traits. So, if a man performs multiple miracles including healing of diseases and deformities, feeds thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread, or walks on water (overcoming the laws of nature), I’m going to stand up and take notice. If this same man who claims to be God says both he and God are One; and they love me enough for this Son of Man to die on the cross in my place and promises me a complete pardon if I believe this; and then rises from the dead to prove that he is who is says he is, here’s what I’m going to do.

I’m going to believe him. I’m going to trust him with my destiny.

In fact, I’ve already have … many years ago.

I’ve chosen to believe and receive Messiah Jesus, who is THE TRUTH. Which is exactly what Christ Jesus said that he is. As well as the Way and the Life.

*A Personal Note: I’m guessing by now you’ve realized that we didn’t get to Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United Nations, as I said we would earlier in the article. Or if you didn’t catch it, then shame on you … because you weren’t paying attention. Just kidding!

And, yes, I could have (which I’ve done before) simply deleted that paragraph or restated it to indicate it would be the subject of next week’s article. But I’m doing it this way to share something I haven’t shared with readers before.

It has to do with why some Eye of Prophecy articles are in two or more parts, i.e. Part I, Part II; or the same topic continued in the next article under a different title.

As would be expected, sometimes I plan ahead for multiple part articles knowing the subject will be too long for just one article. But that occurs only about half the time involving multiple part articles. The other half of the time, I don’t realize how long the article might be until well into or almost done with it! That was the case this week. Consequently, next week’s article will primarily be about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s UN speech on October 1, 2015.

Don’t miss it!

Tell a Big Lie Long Enough….

10 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Tags

Mahmoud Abbas, propaganda, UN

If You Tell a Big Lie Long Enough….?

According to an intriguing report from the United States Office of Strategic Services during World War II: “…people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.”

This conclusion was based on a thorough study of German propaganda before and during the war, predicated primarily on Adolph Hitler’s venomous book of hatred against the Jews, Mein Kampf. Subsequently, the Big Lie paradigm was adapted as a political stratagem by Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels, who spared no expense and contemptuously crossed every line of decency, morality, and truth in order to denigrate and demonize the Jews.

Hitler wrongly accused the Jews of using this Big Lie tactic to undermine Germany; then he developed the same strategy to turn a long-standing Anti-Semitism into mass murder of the Jews through the sadistically perverted plan called the Final Solution. Although leaders of nations telling lies about their enemies has been an age-old practice, not until the Nazis came into power was this Big Lie scheme consolidated into a formal program of deliberate deception, mostly about the Jews; but also to democratic nations regarding Germany’s agenda of annexing land or seeking justice and restoration for their humiliating defeat in World War I.

At the time, most Germans and many Europeans who harbored even slight Anti-Semitic sentiments believed what they heard in speeches and on the radio, watched in movies, and read in the press. Then and especially now with post-War hindsight, most Americans and their World War II allies were and are historically aware of the Big Lie phenomenon perpetrated by the Nazis; accordingly, we consider the source and comprehend the deceptiveness.

But that is not the case regarding the constant Islamic distortion of history in today’s Middle East. Few know that the prophet Muhammad, himself, proclaimed that it was perfectly okay to lie to Christians, Jews, and even other Muslims in order to achieve Islamic subjugation of the infidel. Today, tell them that you mean them no harm, that you pursue only peace. Then one day, when the time seems right, launch an intifada and kill them to achieve both short and long-term goals.

Since the Palestinian Liberation Organization was formed in 1964 to “liberate Palestine” primarily through armed conflict, then later renamed the self-governing Palestinian Authority in 1993 at the Oslo Accords; Muslim Arab countries in particular and non-Arab Islamic nations in general have pursued a two-pronged program of violence and deception to accomplish their professed objective of a two-state solution in Israel. With their real goal to dismantle the State of Israel and eliminate the Jews entirely from that state.

The Muslims failed to destroy Israel through an Arab-Iraqi military coalition campaign in Israel’s War of Independence of 1948-49, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Thus, they resorted to suicide bombings, to mortar and missile attacks primarily from the Gaza Strip, to economic boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS), and recent lone wolf attacks on innocent Israelis (stabbings, shootings, stone throwing, vehicles). All the while utilizing persistent and progressively frequent propaganda that many European nations and all too many Americans are beginning to believe.

Deadly Duo of Deceit and Destruction

In the very recent past, there has been an alarming increase of individual Palestinian attacks against Israelis … on Temple Mount, in the streets, in vehicles, at bus stops, and even in Jewish synagogues—anywhere that a defenseless (soft-target) Jew or Jewish family can be found. Whenever these attacks occur, the Palestinians invoke the terrorist mentality that such actions are justified and necessary in their struggle against oppression, an oppression that doesn’t exist except in the incessant lies that stream from Muslim leaders. This has been going on for the past three decades or so. But in the last few days, the lies are getting bigger and the assaults bolder.

In a Breaking Israel News article by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, a frequent contributor to that website, we read: “In a shocking act of audacity, the Palestinian Authority has demanded the international community and UN intervene to prevent further Israeli violence, citing ‘the killing of two young men in occupied Jerusalem,’ while failing to mention the young men were killed while stabbing Israelis.”

One of the Palestinians was Muhammad Halabi, a nineteen year old law student from al-Bireh, near Ramallah. On Saturday night (October 3), in the old city of Jerusalem, he stabbed five Israelis, including a two-year old girl, killing two men. He grabbed a pistol from one of the men he had just killed and began shooting randomly at more Jews. During this rampage, he was shot and killed by Israeli security forces.

Palestinian Authority spokesman Ihab Bseiso, as publicized in the news site Wafa Palestinian, claimed that the Israelis were conducting a, “military offensive in multiple Palestinian cities.” Then the PA alleged that the Israeli escalation was an obstacle to ongoing peace efforts and the two-state solution. Also that the current situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem has become volatile exclusively because the Israelis have attempted to divide al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third holiest place, between Muslims and Jews.

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*Note: I have watched video footage of the recent confrontation between Israeli Police and Palestinians hurling Molotov cocktails and large rocks on the Temple Mount. It’s irrefutably clear who started the conflict, and it wasn’t the police. What’s apathetically apparent, however, is that most people won’t take the time to check out all the visual and written evidence. Instead, they accept outright what Arab news sources are propagating, or at the very minimum reach a conclusion that there must be some credibility to what Muslims are saying about the Israelis, because they say it so loud and so often.

But it’s not just the biased Palestinian Authority news accounts. Even the BBC in Great Britain distorted this and other Palestinian attacks on Israelis. With regard to the above cited incident, the BBC headlines stated, “Palestinian shot dead after Jerusalem attack kills two.”

Many people, including me on some occasions, only glance at certain headlines without reading much or any of the story. As stated in a United with Israel article published a few days later, “Almost every word in the headline is wrong or distorted. The main focus of the headline is the death of the Palestinian terrorist who was ‘shot dead’ portraying his death as an unrelated event, and branding him as a victim. There is no mention of his heinous actions.”

Said American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in a cynical response to this incredibly misleading headline: “To be fair, it takes a great deal of creativity to come up with headlines like this one.”

In a follow-up article the BBC changed its headline to read: “Jerusalem, Palestinian kills two Israelis in Old City.” But the BBC issued no apology, and by then the damage through distortion had been done.

Muslims in general, Palestinian Arabs in particular, and entirely too many nations and news sources have become increasingly confident of global impunity to and world-wide acceptance of what they say; to the extent that no matter how big the lie or omission, nations and peoples will now or one day soon believe them.

Moreover, it’s abundantly clear that the growing deadly attacks on Israeli civilians is a result of incitement directly from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas; who is himself becoming progressively and intensely bolder in his proliferation of big lies about Israel and the Jews. As epitomized in his recent speech of September 30th to the United Nations General Assembly, he is overtly implementing the Muslim strategy of distorting events and facts to the point of literally rewriting history. Middle East history as found in the Palestinian education system and textbooks and journalism and maps is markedly different from the real history of Israel’s existence, especially since 1948.

It’s no coincidence that the recent series of assaults came directly on the heels of Abbas’ speech to the United Nations.

Before we examine some of the astonishingly inaccurate statements Abbas made in his UN speech, we need to understand that many Western journalists who report on these Israeli, Palestinian incidents, are slowly but surely slanting their columns toward empathy with the Palestinians. At the very least, they sanitize the brutal unprovoked assaults against Israelis by omitting or watering down the fact that Palestinians were killed as direct result of their murderous rampages against Jews. Often reporters classify the Palestinian killers as militants, in the same way that they label, for example, ISIS or al-Qaeda killers as militants or terrorists.

Of course, they are terrorists, but what is frequently overlooked or brushed aside is that millions upon millions of Muslims approve what the militants among them do. Most Muslims would not kill Jews and Christians mainly because they don’t want to risk prison or death. However, the militants are simply mainstream Muslims who are acting out what the Koran and their prophet Muhammad commanded them to do … subjugate all infidels (Christians and Jews) through whatever means necessary, including murder.

The actual evidence is overwhelming: The majority of Palestinians in Israel and Muslims elsewhere condone the murder of Israelis. For example, after the recent attacks on Israeli civilians, there were videos of Palestinians rejoicing over the deaths of the Jews. They celebrated with fireworks, by waving Palestinian flags, and by handing out sweets to each other. Much like dancing in the streets when the twin towers fell on 9/11. But when Jews die, there is a deeper (depraved) satisfaction of one less Jew in the world.

In the stabbing attacks described earlier, three of the five Israeli victims were parents and their small child. The husband was killed, the daughter was severely injured, as was the wife/mother. In her hospital bed, the wife of her slain husband, Aaron Benita, gave an account of what happened during and after the attack. With the knife still embedded in her neck, she ran for help from her attacker. She said that nearby Arab bystanders, “had murder in their eyes. They laughed in my face.”

Due to the number of these recent attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned trip to Germany this past week.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Adelle Benita in hospital

Another horrific assault involved four Jewish children, ages four months to nine years in the rear seat of their parent’s car. When the father stopped the car at a red light, he and his wife were attacked and murdered while still in the car, right in front of their children.

Palestinian President Abbas’s Speech to the United Nations

You may want to watch or read a print-out of this speech delivered on September 30, 2015. It is replete with lies and innuendoes. Lies that deliberately falsify what actually has taken place in Israel since its’ foundation as a Sovereign State. Lies that are couched in dramatic words and emotional overtones that appeal to those who champion repressed people all over the world. A suppression that purportedly is solely the responsibility of the Israelis. But a fabricated oppression that has no basis in reality, whatsoever.

For sake of time/space in this article, I will cite only a couple of excerpts as representative examples of the Big Lie syndrome. Then, provide some historically factual commentary on what this leader of a nation that doesn’t exist would have us to believe.

The Speech Begins:

“Palestine comes today to the United Nations … at a time when it is still tending to its wounds and still burying its beloved martyrs of children, woman and men who have fallen victim to the latest Israeli aggression, still searching for remnants of life amid the ruins of homes destroyed by Israeli bombs on the Gaza Strip, wiping out entire families … murdered along with their dreams, their hopes, their future and their longing to live an ordinary life and to live in freedom and peace. Palestine comes today to the General Assembly because it believes in peace…”

Commentary:

Give me a break!

Neither the Palestinian Authority which governs the West Bank, nor Hamas in the Gaza Strip, nor the vast majority of Palestinians—even many who are Arab citizens of Israel—acknowledge Israel’s existence. That is why they rarely refer to Israel as Israel; rather it is still Palestine, which has NEVER been a country in the first place. Nor are the Palestinians a people of any such territory. They are Arabs, most of whom still have Jordanian passports. Before Israel was reborn as a nation, if anyone referred to the Palestinians, they were referring to the Jews. Not until the Palestine Liberation Organization came into existence in 1964 did Arabs began calling themselves Palestinians, this to give the counterfeit impression that the land formerly called Palestine belongs to them.

Just exactly who are the martyrs here? When someone murders another exclusively because of the victim’s religion or race, isn’t the victim the martyr? Since when do those who are killed or imprisoned because they murdered a completely innocent person become a martyr? Muslims not only rewrite history, they also redefine words and terms.

Muslims kill Jews just because they are Jews. Israelis swiftly retaliate by capturing or killing the killers not because the perpetrators are Muslims, but because they are murderers. Who, then, is the martyr?

Israeli Aggression? The facts are crystal clear. One only has to do a little research to fully realize that the Palestinians, either individually or collectively through Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist’s cells in Israel, are the ones who time and time again initiate the clashes. They are the aggressors by methods described earlier in this article, such as lobbing mortars into Israel. So, if Israel responds, then are they the aggressor? Muslims not only rewrite history, redefine meanings of words, they also reinvent and reverse logic and reason.

Agreed … the dreams, hopes, and future of Palestinians are gone when they are killed during wars and intifada that they initiate. Their dreams: That Israel will capitulate to their every demand, such as a militarized Palestinian State, a Jewish return to indefensible 1967 borders, Jerusalem as a Palestinian Capital, and return of hundreds of thousands of so-called refugees. Their hopes: That Israel will cease to exist as a nation. Their future: That there will be no more Jews anywhere in the land.

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Mahmoud Abbas United Nations Speech

The Speech Continues:

“The Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip has confirmed once again the urgent and pressing need to end the Israeli occupation and for our people to gain their freedom and independence. This aggression also confirms the Israeli Government’s adherence to the policy of occupation, brute force and war, which in turn obliges the international community to shoulder the responsibilities towards the Palestinian people and towards peace.”

Commentary:

Although there are several other deceptions contained in Abbas’s address to the UN and through the daily rhetoric streaming from Muslim and Palestinian sources, the allegation of Israeli occupation is the Biggest Lie of all. I have written about this in some prior Eye of Prophecy articles, but it bears repeating. Since when are a people guilty of occupying a land that belongs to them in the first place? By default, ownership obtained through purchase of land parcels, through the United Nations Resolution of 1947, and most of all through an ancient title-deed given to them by God, himself, extend Jewish rights to occupy that land. But contemporary connotation suggests that occupation means unlawful trespassing or illegal possession and residency.

It’s one thing for the Palestinian people and their leaders to make these unsubstantiated claims, as it’s all too evident they will do anything to get want they want, even by lying to anyone and everyone who will listen. It’s quite another for entire peoples and nations to actually listen to them and believe much of what they say. But that’s exactly what the international community has done and is doing with frightening frequency. Which is why the United Nations has issued some 45 resolutions against Israel since 2013, and only one or two against Syria, where a quarter million (mostly innocent) people have been killed by warring factions in just the past three years.

Actually, the UN probably doesn’t know who to sanction in Syria these days! Would it be Assad? Or the rebel groups who oppose Assad? Or Iran for supporting Assad? Or the United States for supporting the opposition to Assad? Take your pick. No, it’s so much easier to bash Israel, the only free, democratic nation in the entire Middle East.

But then I seriously doubt that most of non-Muslim countries or even many Arabs and their representatives to the United Nations know much, if anything, about the true history of the Middle East. Those that do know better do everything they can to falsify the facts.

The United Nations in existence today has conveniently forgotten its own history; the irrefutable fact that it passed a resolution in 1947 which legally endorsed a Jewish State in Palestine, to later be called by its ancient heritage name of Israel. Which was a long overdue affirmation of the Palestine Mandate that followed the Balfour Declaration of 1917, i.e. some of what was then called Palestine belonged to the Jews. That part of the territory of Palestine would also be given to the Arabs alongside of the Jews. But the Arabs refused, and the very next day (May 15th, 1948) five Arab nations launched an all-out assault with a vastly superior military on the vastly outnumbered Jews … ending in a Jewish victory that was against all odds.

Both Biblical and secular history indisputably confirm that the Jews were in the land long before the Arabs. I repeat: A long time before … at least 2,000 years before. Furthermore, the Jews were driven out of Israel by the Romans, who did not take up residency in the land; which didn’t then or now follow the usual pattern of conquering nations inhabiting the land they conquer. Several centuries later, the Muslims drove out many remaining Jews, and some Arabs took up residency in Israel, whose named had been changed to Palestine by a Roman Emperor.

Only for the Arabs to be vanquished by the Ottoman Turks, who, like the Romans, did not actually occupy Palestine. Then the British conquered the Ottoman Turks in World War I and declared Palestine as a territory that could be equally occupied by both Jews and Arabs. At no time after World War I or World War II did the Arabs make any serious attempt to form an Arab State in Palestine, because surrounding Arab countries like Jordan would not allow them to do so. But primarily because the Arabs stubbornly refused to share the land alongside Jews.

Thus, the Arabs within the state of Israel never have had nor will ever have a legitimate right or even argument to ownership of the land. If the conditions of the argument hinge on who was there first, or who now has the greater number of people, or who was legally granted the right of statehood by international authority of the UN, or who has amazingly developed the land—economically, socially, politically, militarily—then Israel wins on all counts. The only portion of land taken by force occurred during the 1967 Six-Day War; in which the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and Jerusalem were captured by the IDF in a miraculous victory over an impressive Arab military coalition. However, Temple Mount was given back to Jordan and the Sinai to Egypt. Then in 2006, Israel forcibly removed all Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip, which prepared the way for Hamas take over. Israel kept the Golan Heights; to give it up would be national suicide for Israel.

Yet, Mahmoud Abbas has the audacity to assert: “Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip has confirmed once again the urgent and pressing need to end the Israeli occupation…”

The so-called aggression in the Gaza Strip referred to by Abbas was last year’s IDF Operation Protective Edge in which Israel retaliated for the brutal murder of three Jewish teenagers, but primarily to more missiles launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Moreover, the Arabs living in the Gaza Strip (and the West Bank) are as free as they can be considering the corruption of and deprivation caused by their leaders. There is no Israeli occupation in Gaza; there aren’t even any Israelis soldiers stationed or civilians living in Gaza.

In the erroneous negative sense of the word, Israeli occupation simply doesn’t exist in Israel. Neither did I see any evidence, whatsoever, of alleged apartheid when I drove a rental car through much of Israel in 2006.

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Photo of Israeli Checkpoint Near West Bank

There are strategic checkpoints surrounding the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and at Israel’s borders … no different than what we experience in the United States through our Border Patrol. But not the adverse connotation of occupation already discussed. Yet, people all over the world, even many Americans, are under the impression that the Jews are to some extent, in some fashion “occupying” land that doesn’t belong to them. They have heard about Israeli occupation enough to begin to believe it. It’s a lot easier to conclude that it must be true, if not only Palestinians but leaders of nations the world over say it’s true. It’s a lot easier to believe it than to spend a little time reading up on the real history of the Middle East applicable to Israel. Because the Jews have miraculously returned to their land with a supernatural revival of their ancient language; and quickly developed into a vibrant nation with a powerful military (for the small size of Israel), it’s all too easy to forget about the six million Jews murdered in Nazi death camps just one-two generations ago.

One More Quote from Abbas’s Misleading Speech:

“The Palestinian people, who miraculously recovered from the ashes of Al-Nakba of 1948, which was intended to extinguish their being and to expel them in order to uproot and erase their presence…. when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were torn from their homes and displaced within and outside of their homeland … to refugee camps in one of the most dreadful ethnic cleansing and dispossession in modern history…”

Overall, the fabrication of Israeli occupation is the biggest lie believed by many in today’s world, because it is the foundational false premise on which so much of the world’s misconception of historical Israel is built. However, the above quote from Abbas is undoubtedly the most blatant, belligerent, grossly fraudulent travesty of what actually happened in Israel’s 1948 War of Independence that I have ever heard.

It is shamefully and shockingly duplicitous. Duplicitous (two-faced) because in reality it actually describes and applies to what happened to the Jews during the horrendous years of the Holocaust … certainly not to the Palestinians in 1948.

Commentary. Here’s why:

PA President Abbas’ mention of Al-Nakba is a reference to Israel’s War of Independence in 1948 and the humiliating defeat—called the Day of Catastrophe (Al-Nakba)—of the Arabs, who were still decades away from being called Palestinians (those who reside in Israel).

When Israel became a sovereign state in 1948, she opened her doors to the Arabs to become citizens … to live side by side with the Israelis. Historical records clearly demonstrate that the Arabs rejected this generous offer. When five Arab nations attacked the fledgling state of Israel, there was absolutely no deliberate or even unintentional attempt by the Jews to (in Abbas’ words) “extinguish their being (Arabs) and to expel them in order to uproot and erase their (Arabs) presence…”

Instead, Arab leaders told their people to leave Israel until the Jews were annihilated; that an Arab victory would be swift and sound. The main reason was because the Arab military coalition needed the land space and facilities of Arab villages to conduct their operations against the Jews. Their own people were strategically in the way of these military objectives. As a result hundreds of thousands of Arabs fled Israel to neighboring Muslim countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. When the Israelis convincingly defeated the Arab confederation, most of the Arabs did not return, which has produced the “refugee camps” cited by Abbas. Those camps remain to this very day, only much larger.

There was no ethnic cleansing, no dispossession as Abbas so deceptively declares. All one has to do is to read the historical accounts of what actually transpired to know that the Palestinian Arabs (they weren’t even called Palestinians until the 1960’s) were in no way, shape, or form, “torn from their homes and displaced within and outside of their homeland” as Abbas so cleverly claims. Any displacement that took place was at the direct orders of the Arab military leaders to their own people and/or the natural desire for (especially the well-to-do) Arabs to get out of harm’s way during this very sudden war initiated by the Arabs.

There was, however, a forced mass exodus of Jews from surrounding nations, such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia because these countries wanted no Jews in their land after Israel became a state. In fact, many of the dramatic grievances against the Palestinians that Abbas alleges in his twisted historical account actually apply to the Jews during the horrible Holocaust atrocities perpetrated against them by the Nazis, followed by the post-World War II dispossession from their homes in nearby countries.

Abbas would have us believe a Big Lie; that his people were victims of a “dreadful ethnic cleansing” at the hands of the Jews and that the Jews now occupy a land that doesn’t belong to them. In fact, it was the Jews who lost six million of their own through ethnic cleansing in Europe.

Muslims everywhere appear irrationally intent on finishing what Hitler began … the genocidal elimination of the Jews from the earth. Which is why the Palestinians have rejected any and all land for peace offers made by Israel over the past several decades that would lead to a Palestinian State within the current boundaries of Israel. What Israel has asked in return is profoundly simple, but much too hard for the Arabs to accept; which is recognition of Israel as a sovereign state with Jerusalem as its undivided Capital. The Arabs want far more than East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights or all of the West Bank. They want all of Israel. No, they want more than that. They want Israel to cease to exist altogether.

That is why there will never be real peace in Israel until Messiah Jesus, the Prince of Peace returns.

That is why the newest and most often used tactic of the Palestinians in particular and Muslims in general is the Big Lie: That Israel is not Israel; it is Palestine. Therefore, the Jews are occupying a land that belongs to the Arabs.

Tell it loud enough and long enough and people will believe it.

It’s bad enough that the Palestinians teach their children these lies. It’s quite another for the PA President to stand before the United Nations General Assembly and revise history through pathetically fraudulent claims of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. What’s worse: People all over the world, including their leaders, believe these lies of Israeli occupation and aggression.

Things to Ponder

Do you see what Israel is up against? But on the authority of the Bible, I can tell you this: No matter how perilous Israel’s position, surrounded by deceitful enemies, what Israel is facing is nothing compared to what the Palestinians and all individuals and nations who harbor the idea that the Jews have no right to Israel or any rights at all. They are up against the true and living God … the God of Israel and his Messiah who happens to be a Jew who died for the sins of the whole world.

Our God is an awesome God. He is a God of love and grace and mercy.

“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:7). He loves everyone the same … all peoples of all languages and nations.

He is also a God of truth and justice and destiny.

Said the Jewish Apostle Paul: “God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago” (Ephesians 1:12-13).

For individuals the world over, God’s plan of salvation applies to everyone equally. But God has a second, concurrent plan for the nation and people of Israel. Listen to what The Lord told Moses as a reminder of what He first promised to Abraham:

“I am Yahweh—the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai—God Almighty—but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them. And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them” (Exodus 6:2-5).

Later, when Israel abandoned the Lord their God, they were disciplined by means of foreign nations conquering and exiling them, culminating in the Great Diaspora by the Romans. But Scripture is replete with prophecies that God would return the Jews to Israel and restore them physically and spiritually, which is taking place before our 20th and 21st century eyes.

In 1967 when the Jews reclaimed the Holy City Jerusalem of the Holy Land of Israel, God’s discipline of his people ended. From that time on, nations and individuals who seek to destroy the Jews will pay an extremely heavy price.

“O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God. Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? They devise crafty schemes (lies) against your people; they conspire against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence’” (Psalms 83:1-4).

Rest assured, God will no longer be silent when it comes to Israel. He hears and sees the arrogant taunts and loathsome lies of those who seek to erase Israel from the face of the earth. Soon, very soon, the Holy One of Israel will spring into action!

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)

03 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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New Bodies, The Rapture

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)

Everyone wants to live forever. Both rich and poor, famous and common seek immortality. However, many think, act, and live as though this earthly life is all there will ever be. They want to experience all the pleasure, achieve all the prestige, and acquire all the possessions possible during this life; then hope that they’ve been just good enough to merit God’s favor in the hereafter. Others blindly follow false gods and the false promises of the men who made those gods to a paradise that doesn’t exist for them.

Either way, they end up ignoring or rejecting the life-giving truth proclaimed by Jesus, himself. “…whosoever believes in him will not perish (spiritual death) but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

They disregard the profound warning that Jesus issued regarding the eternal life or death consequences that a person’s belief system and life’s pursuit would bring: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Mark 8:35-37).

What many don’t fully grasp is that immortality is a reality, but only on their Creator’s terms … according to God’s eternal plan for the human race. But this existence will either be Life or Death. Life in spiritual bodies equipped to live in heaven forever. Or, what Scripture calls the Second Death … eternal separation from God also in a body but one that is spiritually dead. One that is more like the Walking Dead depicted in the television program of the same name, but without the Hollywood imitative inaccuracies.

Resurrection to Life? Or, resurrection to Death? We have a choice.

In last week’s Part I article, we examined what it is that has compelled and persuaded millions of people since the first century AD to place their personal trust and destiny in Jesus Christ. Permit me to quote from that article (in italics).

We are compelled by the amazing love of God expressed in his Grace freely bestowed through the precious gift of his son, Messiah Jesus. It is the greatest gift ever given, purchased by the highest price ever paid (not our purchase with good works or self-worth, but God’s purchase), the very blood and life of Jesus Christ—the righteous for the unrighteous, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty.

We are persuaded by the very cornerstone of our belief and trust: the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Man reigns from heaven and will soon return to reign on this earth … in the same glorified, spiritual body that was his when he left the grave. All other religious founders or leaders are still in their graves. But not the Lord. Our Redeemer lives!

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Now let’s take an up-close and personal look at the who, what, how, and when of the mysterious, but nevertheless astounding actuality of the spiritual body. Because without this transformed body which is a new extreme make-over of our original earthly body, there’s no way that we will be equipped to live forever in heaven. Or be able to do extraordinary things on this earth during our rule and reign with the King of all kings … our Lord and Savior Messiah Jesus.

If you like, think Superman … without the kryptonite! But for a vastly superior purpose: To worship, praise, and serve the true and living God, undefiled. Without the earthly hang-ups and baggage that the very best of men and women bear daily on this weary, wicked world we live in. To fellowship and rejoice with the host of heaven in a paradise so wonderful that even the most vivid human imagination cannot envision or comprehend.

Who Will Live Forever with a Spiritual Body? (Who is Qualified?)

Scripture precisely and powerfully proclaims in dozens of passages that only those who personally believe in the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ will be saved from the penalty of their sins, which is eternal separation (death) from God. Instead, we have been freely given the awesome privilege of everlasting life with an immortal body that will surpass our highest expectations or attainable aspirations.

This Gospel is both simple and profound, easy to understand yet difficult for so many to believe; because they mistakenly think that they must do something to earn whatever kind of salvation they have imagined or have been taught by (their) religion. How much they must do or how much will be enough depends on the religion they follow.

As I have said several times in prior Eye of Prophecy articles: Christianity is not a religion. It is the only belief system which asserts that God did for the human race what it could not do for itself through good works, self-worth, or meritorious conduct. That is why it is called the Gospel, which means, Good News. Jesus Christ did it all! He perfectly fulfilled the Law of Moses, so that mankind can stop trying to earn salvation by keeping the law, which couldn’t be done in the first place. Moreover, the very essence and heart of the Christian faith is a personal relationship with God available to all those who have been restored and reconciled to God by simply believing and receiving Jesus Christ and what he accomplished on the Cross. Then confirmed by his mighty resurrection from the dead. That same resurrection will be graciously given to all who have placed their faith in Christ. The same spiritual body possessed by Messiah Jesus after he arose from the dead will be part of the believer’s eternal inheritance.

Let’s return to I Corinthians Chapter 15 and quote again Paul’s definitive summary of the Good News: “…Christ died for our sins … was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (Verses 3-4).

Yet even some believers in the Corinthian Church doubted whether there was or would be such a thing as a resurrection from the dead. Others believed in a resurrection, but only of the human spirit, not the body; in spite of the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was seen bodily, not merely as a spirit. Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after he arose. She touched him … the Bible intimates that she most likely hugged him! By very definition a spirit cannot be touched.

Jesus dispelled all doubt to his disciples (and hundreds of others) who at first couldn’t fathom that he had arisen and returned from the dead as a whole person. When Christ suddenly appeared to them behind locked doors, “…the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! ‘Why are you frightened?’ he asked. ‘Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do’” (Luke 24:37-39).

What an absolutely stunning reality this was to the disciples!

Then he actually ate some food to further prove that he was not merely spirit. Since when do ghosts eat food?!

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Thus, Paul challenges and even reprimands the Corinthians by asking: “But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either” (I Corinthians 15:12-13).

Paul continues: “And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam (born physically), everyone who belongs to Christ (born again spiritually) will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back” (I Corinthians 17-23).

Those who belong to Christ, by means of believing and receiving Him as Lord and Savior, will qualify to be part of the spectacular harvest of brand new spiritual bodies when the Lord takes his people to heaven at the Rapture.

What Is a Spiritual Body & How Is It Possible?

The Apostle Paul then goes on to pose a probing but perfunctory question; yet, it was not his own query. Instead of embarrassing the Corinthians by directly accusing them of asking such a question, Paul politely points to a hypothetical “someone.” With, however, the not so subtle inference that even some of the believers were harboring the same thoughts as non-believers, which is expressed by Paul as follows:

“But someone may ask, ‘How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?’ What a foolish question…!” (I Corinthians 15:35-36)

Let’s pause here for a moment and return to the word oxymoron, discussed in last week’s article. Which is a glaring contradiction of two terms or ideas. With the first part of the word referring to someone or something that is quite sharp … meaning (intellectually) perceptive or even brilliant. And the second part of the word denoting something or someone rather dull … more like foolish. In fact our English word moron is the second half of this word!

To some extent Paul is using such a strong word (foolish) to chide those who would pose these kind of questions, but that is not his primary purpose. Rather, he’s employing the word foolish in the oxymoronic sense. That the concept of resurrection from the dead is a profound spiritual and physical fact (as he had already demonstrated by reminding them that Christ arose from the dead); but also an obviously simple thing to grasp in case someone is not seeing the forest because of the trees.

How else will those in Christ be raised except bodily, as part of the great harvest of believers when Christ returned? What other kind of form would they have but one like the Lord’s? What was it that Christ arose from? Answer: The grave, the dead. Before he could arise, he had to die. Thus, Paul seizes the opportunity with an analogy to the most fundamental explanation of life:

“…When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish” (I Corinthians 15:36-39).

When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying clear instructions from God, death entered the world. From that point the cycle of life was only possible when the seed of all living things first died, thereby, producing life again. Until the biological seed of plants or the sperm and egg seed of animals and humans first dies, there’s no way that life can begin. And when it is born and does begin, it’s a whole new and different form of life from the original seed that died. Paul initially refers to the seed of plants because without plant life there could be no other life … birds, fish, animals, or humans.

Paul then amplifies this analogy with the example of heavenly bodies possessing their own glory, or distinct innate essence, each different from the other (Verses 40-41).

Then he drives the point home by completing the correlation.

“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 to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory (meaning a new and much better essence or being) … 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).

*Note: Jesus used a similar comparison when he said that all who wanted to live forever in the Kingdom of God must be spiritually reborn. Just like we are born physically with our earthly body, so can and must we be born-again spiritually if we are to live forever with the Lord in heaven. (John Chapter 3).

So, Paul is saying that it’s silly to think that there is no resurrection. Didn’t Christ, himself, rise from the dead? Or, once past that point of doubt, to think that we would be raised with the same earthly body in which we were born. As a result of sin, it was all too clear that our bodies grow old, deteriorate and eventually die. And why on earth would God raise us in spirit form only; when in fact he originally created us with a spirit and body to live forever. It’s foolish to think otherwise; meaning that our eternal existence in heaven will surpass the Garden of Eden paradise given to our original parents, Adam and Eve. Furthermore, this everlasting life will be lived in and with a superbly superior body … a spiritual body!

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Paul goes on to say: “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. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever” (I Corinthians 15:47-50).

When Will Those in Christ Receive Their Spiritual Bodies

We already know that our earthly bodies will be transfigured into everlasting heavenly spiritual bodies at the resurrection. But when will that take place? Most believers know the answer to that question, but not necessarily all the intricate details. Though no one knows the actual day and time when Christian believers are caught up to meet Messiah Jesus, commonly called the Rapture, we can otherwise know a great deal about this magnificent event. (Please refer to the first five articles posted on the Eye of Prophecy website in July, August of 2013, on the What, Why, When, Who, and How of the Rapture).

In the very next verse Paul discloses an astonishing revelation given to him directly from the Lord. One that he had already conveyed to the Thessalonian believers as found in I Thessalonians Chapter 4, but absent some of the details he imparts to the Corinthians.

“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).

Now, That’s Life!! Not the short time here on the planet then we’re gone without taking anything with us life—dramatically but deceptively summarized, for example, in Frank Sinatra’s song, That’s Life, or in the song written for him by Paul Anka, I Did It My Way.

You might want to check out the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, To Be or Not to Be … in Heaven. Posted 11-1-14.

Things to Ponder

By and large, Scripture doesn’t elaborate on the new glorified spiritual bodies that believers in Christ will possess when the dead in Christ are raised from the dead and those alive will also be transformed and immediately follow them. Suffice to say, our spiritual bodies will far exceed anything we could imagine. Neither, however, does the Bible leave us clueless.

There is a general overview and reliable supposition that we can make about our glorified bodies: They will be multi-dimensional. How many more dimensions than we currently have is unknown for now.

But here are a few of the distinguishing characteristics:

Physical Barriers Are No Problem

We’ve already touched on this earlier in the article … Luke Chapter 24. That account is also recorded in John’s Gospel. Even after they had been told that the Lord had arisen, his disciples were still in hiding from the Jewish leaders—meeting behind closed and locked doors.

“…Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side…” (John 20:19-20). Jesus didn’t knock or break down the door. He was just there! Picture entering the famous Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico without going through or down the entrance shaft.

Time and Space Are No Barriers

Remember Jesus walking with the two men on the road to Emmaus, after his resurrection. He verbally took them through all the prophetic Scriptures that spoke of him as the Messiah, then agreed to go to their home to eat dinner with them. Jesus, “…took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them … And at that moment he disappeared!” (Luke 24:30-31).

One minute he was there and the next second he was gone! Gone, as in abruptly vanishing. How long it took him to get to his next destination is not known. But a spiritual educated guess tells us it was fast, very fast. Perhaps we will be able to travel at the speed of sound, or light, or even thought.

Eating, Drinking (Presumably Sleeping) Will Still Be Possible, but Optional

Notice in the account we just looked at with the two followers of Jesus that Jesus chose not to eat. He blessed the bread, gave it to the two men, and disappeared. The very evident implication in this scene is that the seven-mile walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus followed by the time spent at the house preparing dinner and whatever else occurred would have taken several hours. The men were hungry and so could have been the Lord. But he chose not to eat most likely because he didn’t need to.

On the other hand, he ate with his disciples in the account later in Luke Chapter 24. Our spiritual bodies will be such that eating, drinking, and probably sleeping will be optional. With exception that we will periodically partake of the water of life and tree of life in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22). Thus, we will have the pleasure of eating … who doesn’t want or like to eat! On the other hand, there are times when we just don’t want to take the trouble to eat. We will eat when we want to; won’t eat when we don’t want to!

Gravity Does Not Affect the Spiritual Body, Either in a Positive or Negative Way

“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider (Jesus) was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses” (Revelation 19:11, 14).

During the final epic battle of Armageddon, believers will follow our Lord directly from heaven; with the obvious conclusion that it will be from the sky above to the earth below, all the while riding white horses. Included in all the glorious features our spiritual bodies will possess, gravity will have no power over us. Suspended animation? Any time or place we choose.

Flying fast or flying slow. Look out earth, away we go!

Please, take a few more minutes and listen to this beautiful and powerful song by Nicole Mullen.  My Redeemer Lives

http://www.godvine.com/Uplifting-Video-My-Redeemer-Lives-by-Nicole-C-Mullen-590.html

Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part I)

26 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Rapture

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Messiah Jesus, Resurrection

Spiritual Bodies, Mutually Exclusive Words?

What in the world is a spiritual body? Is there such a thing? At face value, these two words compared, contrasted, and simply put side by side are mutually exclusive. Absent a Biblical definition and explanation, they are a contradiction of terms. A human body plus a human spirit equal a human being. Right? Of course, right! But a body that is a spirit or a spirit that is a body (spiritual body) just doesn’t compute. Spiritual body is a striking example of that odd but also ordinary word, Oxymoron.

Webster’s dictionary tells us that oxymoron comes from two Greek words: Oxys, meaning sharp or keen. Plus, moros, which means foolish. The resulting definition from Webster’s Dictionary: “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness).”

In other words, what otherwise keenly intelligent person would foolishly identify someone as cruelly kind? But when it comes to things spiritual such as what God accomplished through his amazing grace and kindness when Jesus Christ willingly died on that cruel cross, Scripture tells us: “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18).

Referring again to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul states: “It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (I Corinthians 1:22-24).

What exactly is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? And how does that relate to or explain whether there is or can be such a thing as a spiritual body? Not the human body that houses the human spirit, one in which the spirit is separated from the body at death; rather an indivisible union of spirit and body in which the two distinct entities are inseparably one essence. So much so that it takes two words to describe this phenomenon … spiritual body.

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Let’s continue in I Corinthians where we will find one of the most basic and precise descriptions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. The Apostle Paul writes:

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said” (I Corinthians 15:3-4).

First, a brief comment on, “just as the Scriptures said.” There are several things that distinguish the Bible and Christianity from man-made religions in the world, but three that irrefutably confirm that the Bible is the Word of the true and living God; therefore, that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation, i.e. being made right with God.

  • Hundreds of prophecies that have come to pass. No other religion or so-called sacred texts have such eschatological proof to back up their claims. In fact, they make few, if any, predictions about the future because they know their god or gods or prophets cannot make them come to pass.
  • Numerous supernatural miracles performed by God, Messiah Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles.
  • Above all, Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. “…and he was raised from the dead on the third day…”

Resurrection from the Grave … That’s What It Is All About!

Just a few days before he would lay down his life as a ransom for our sins, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Shortly before that he explained to his disciples, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity” (John 12:23-25).

The Apostle Paul used this same analogy of a seed dying only to produce new life. That this renewed life will, in turn, produce the oxymoron marvel of spiritual bodies.

Jesus declared to Martha (and the whole world): “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this, Martha?” (John 11:25-26).

Just minutes after Messiah Jesus made this remarkable claim about himself, he raised Martha and Mary’s brother, Lazarus, from the dead! But notice that Jesus asked Martha if she believed that he was (I AM) life itself—the author and essence of life and life everlasting—as well as the very source of (bodily) resurrection before he raised Lazarus from the grave. Would she, could she believe on the basis of what Jesus had said and done up to this point in time—his claims of being Messiah, Son of God, and his mighty miracles to demonstrate that he was who he said he was—that he could do something about the tragic untimely death of her brother? Both Martha and Mary firmly believed that Jesus could have healed Lazarus before he died. But the Lord didn’t and Lazarus died.

Even before that, Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” With Martha’s response conveying what some Jews believed, “Yes … he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day” (John 11:23-24). However, many Jews and most Gentiles, especially the Greeks and Jewish Sadducees, did not believe in a bodily resurrection; if there was a resurrection, it would only be the human spirit. This, despite the fact that Job long before had recognized this astonishing truth: “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives; and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God!” (Job 19:25-26).

Then Jesus raised Lazarus right then and there to prove two primary things to Mary, Martha, and the watching world: (1) I love you and Lazarus, and I’m bringing him back to you and to me. (2) I will prove to you and to everyone that I have the power over life and death.

Lazarus raised

This mighty and moving demonstration of resurrection by the Lord was a real-life application experience of the dramatic doctrinal truth of John 3:16. As a result, “Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen” (John 11:45).

Lazarus and the little girl raised by Jesus, as well as each boy raised by the prophets Elijah and Elisha, were prototypes, because each of those raised from the dead had to die again. They were primarily proof that there can be and will be a resurrection from the dead. When Jesus told Martha that he was the resurrection and the life, he was looking ahead to his own (special) resurrection; followed by a great resurrection harvest of all who believed in him. But Jesus was referring to the immortal, incorruptible spiritual body that the Apostle Paul would further explain to believers in I Corinthians Chapter 15.

Just a few days later Jesus proved beyond doubt that he was the Son of God and the reality of the eternal spiritual body resurrection by being the first to rise from the dead with a glorified body—the very body that he now has and forever will have. And though he was the first and the greatest to be given such a body, he has promised that all those who believe and receive him as personal Savior and Redeemer will also be given such a glorified spiritual body.

Not a body that contains a spirit, but a body that is spirit!

That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “…The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him” (John 13:31). Glory in Scripture means the very essence of whom or what is being described, i.e. the glory of God and a glorified body.

The Power of the Gospel

What is it that has compelled and persuaded me and millions of people down through the ages, including some who are reading this article, to believe and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Thereby, staking our eternal destiny on this faith and the object of our faith which convinces us that God can be trusted to save us from our sins and from the Tribulation to come, and give us eternal life through His Son.

We are compelled by the amazing love of God expressed in his Grace freely bestowed through the precious gift of his son, Messiah Jesus. It is the greatest gift ever given, purchased by the highest price ever paid (not our purchase with good works or self-worth, but God’s purchase), the very blood and life of Jesus Christ—the righteous for the unrighteous, the just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty.

We are persuaded by the very cornerstone of our belief and trust: the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Man reigns from heaven and will soon return to reign on this earth … in the same glorified, spiritual body that was his when he left the grave. All other religious founders or leaders are still in their graves. But not the Lord. Our Redeemer lives!

It is a historical fact that Jesus Christ arose from the dead. Returning to our passage in I Corinthians Chapter 15, immediately after Paul encapsulates the good news of salvation into the simple truth of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, he affirms: “He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time … Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him” (Verses 5-8).

It never ceases to amaze me that so many people for so long have denied the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or are essentially indifferent to it. Most of those who deny or seriously doubt it do so for two main reasons: (1) they don’t believe or don’t want to believe the authenticity of the Bible. (2) They simply don’t want to accept the clear evidence as it doesn’t fit with what they want out of life. Which was emphatically expressed by Jesus in a verse quoted earlier: Those who love their life in this world will lose it.

Time and space does not permit an in-depth validation of the reliability of the Bible in this article. Except to say that as important as the Bible is to eternal doctrinal truth of mankind’s lost and sinful condition and God’s majestic plan of salvation for the human race, these truths are interwoven into and throughout an incredibly meticulous historical account of individuals, nations, places, times, and events. Both religious and secular scholars who are truly objective consider the Bible to be even more historically reliable than many secular historians. There are thousands more complete or partial manuscripts of the books of the Bible than the closest number of manuscripts to it, which is Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, both of which are fiction.

In other words, if someone is going to deny or even seriously question the historical fact that Jesus arose from the grave, as confirmed by hundreds of witnesses who saw him sometime during the forty days after his resurrection (before his ascension back to heaven), then they should also reject any and all secular historical accounts of, for example, the life and times of Augustus Caesar. Once again: Although the Bible is indeed a book of faith, it is much more than that. It is a historically reliable account of people, places, and events that provide an authentic backdrop of God’s interaction with the human race from the first Adam to the last Adam and beyond.

Jesus-cross-grave

Then there are those who acknowledge the fact or at least the possibility that Christ arose from the dead but who are nonetheless indifferent to his resurrection. That is particularly true of 20th & 21st century folks. It’s like, “that’s nice, even pretty impressive, but what does it have to do with me?”

Well, if Jesus, himself, said it has everything to do with every person on this earth, might that not be a strong clue to listen up and take what he said and did to heart. As indicated earlier, when Jesus asked Martha, he asked everyone, “Do you believe this…” Believe what? Believe what Jesus had just told Martha and every person on this planet: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Don’t miss next week’s Part II article when we’ll do some in-depth examination of the Spiritual Body.

Things to Ponder

Shortly after Jesus had fed a multitude of thousands with just five barley loaves and two fish, some in the crowd said, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?” (John 6:28).

Jesus didn’t give them a long list of religious requirements or do-good philosophies, because he knew they couldn’t keep the Law of Moses, nor does the law or good works bring salvation in the first place. Thus, his answer was simple. Only one thing is required:

“This is the only work God wants from you. Believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29).

That’s it, that’s all, you might say.

Yes, that’s all.

The Philippian jailor pleaded with the Apostle Paul and Silas who had just prevented the jailor from committing suicide. The jailor asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…” Acts 16:30-31).

As the Apostle John said in one of his epistles, “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 John 5:11-12).

Do you believe this?

Two Thirds of the Jews Killed … Past or Future?

19 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by garybowers in Prophecy in General

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Holocaust, Six-Day War, Zechariah

Two Thirds of the Jews Killed … Past or Future?

When Israel reacted justifiably to the imminent threat of attack by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq with a preemptive military strike against those enemies on June 5th, 1967, I remember thinking that the Jews couldn’t possibly win another war against these formidable Islamic nations. That it would be a devastating defeat for the Jews absent any miracles that produced an Against All Odds victory in their 1948-1949 War of Independence.

I’m sure many others felt the same way, even though American military experts believed that Israel might accomplish their objectives in 7-10 days because the IDF seized the element of surprise by landing the first blow. It seemed that the whole world was watching what many thought would be a war that could conceivably spell the end of the only Jewish nation on earth, a country that hadn’t yet reached its 20th birthday.

As a 20-year old student working my way through college, I vividly recall the incessant news updates while trying to concentrate on my job in the downtown precinct of the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department (my employer at the time). What with my classes, homework, and sleeping, I had very little time off-duty to keep track of the media updates. There were no televisions in the police precincts, but there were radios. I worked the graveyard shift (11PM-7AM, which often included weekends).

Even during this shift the Precinct Captain and Desk Sergeant kept their radios tuned to the periodic reports of the astonishing rate and precision at which Israel was dismantling her foes. I suppose their interest in the outcome had much to do with observing a modern-day epic version of David and Goliath unfolding. Although my passion for end-times Biblical prophecy in general and Israel in particular wouldn’t deepen for another decade, I, too, was completely absorbed in the almost hourly media announcements pouring in from the Middle East.

One, two, three, four days went by. With each passing day, it was becoming more and more evident that the Israelis were routing the much larger Arab military force. It was phenomenal that Israel achieved air superiority after its first day assault on the Egyptian Air Force. It was Against All Odds all over again; but this time it became readily apparent that Israel’s very survival would not be in jeopardy. Within three or four days, the only question was just how soon and how soundly the Arabs would be defeated.

Then on June 10th the broadcast was heard all over the Police Station, indeed, the entire world: The Arabs had surrendered.

In just six days Israel had achieved a victory that would go down in the annals of warfare as one of the greatest (if not greatest) military feats of all time. She had defeated four Arab nations in a three-front battle … Syria to the north, Jordan and Iraq to the east, and Egypt to the south.

Absolutely amazing! Not just the unthinkable short duration of the war, but also the casualty count reflected the decisiveness of Israel’s victory. An estimated 20,000 Arab combatants were killed with less than 1,000 Israeli deaths.

Because of his contributions to the victory, IDF Chief of General Staff Yitzhak Rabin would be given the honor of naming the war. Such names as “War of Daring” and “War of Salvation” were suggested. But in deference to the six days of creation and the resounding rout of Israel’s enemies in the same number of days, he chose the less ostentatious designation of Six-Day War. Later Rabin would become Israel’s Prime Minister.

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Famous photo of IDF soldiers at the Western Wall in 1967

Just six years later, on October 6th, 1973 the Arabs would strike first on none other than Israel’s holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. That war lasted only three weeks, but it was much tougher for Israel to emerge victorious. In fact, there were some tenuous times when Israel could have lost that war, and Israeli casualties were much higher than in the Six-Day War. However, since then, no multi-national Arab coalition has dared launch a military campaign against Israel. Instead, they have resorted to terrorism, mortar launchings, propaganda, and BDS tactics.

World-Wide Focus on Israel

Both of these wars stirred my burgeoning interest in Israel and how she fit into end-times Biblical prophecy. To some extent or another, the entire world began to pay attention to the Middle East in general and Israel in particular. Yet it wasn’t until a decade later that my awareness of Israel’s dynamic entrance and progression on the world-stage and my focus on Biblical prophecy accelerated with a great deal of intensity. Permit me to quote the second paragraph of the first page in my book, Out of the Abyss, published in 2011.

Let’s begin with a television documentary—some thirty-five hour-long episodes—first aired in the late 1970s. At the time, I was in my early thirties. Historian Stephen Ambrose and Actor Sir Laurence Olivier narrated these programs under the title: The World at War. The programs included a ton of World War II film footage never shown before. The programs were well written, skillfully narrated, and exceptionally revealing. But it was the last six segments that captivated me … six hour-long programs with gut wrenching film of the round-up, internment, torture, and death of Jews in sadistic Nazi concentration camps. These images were powerfully and indelibly imprinted on my mind and heart.

Then a couple of pages later, I wrote:

Both astonished and distressed at the sheer magnitude of the Holocaust, I wondered how something like this could happen … I had to know. From that time forward I decided to learn more about Israel, the Jews, and prophecy … Something occurred to me that I’m sure others had already recognized; as horrible as the Holocaust had been, would Israel otherwise have been restored as a nation?

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Despite the horrendous loss of Jewish life in Nazi concentration camps and throughout Europe during World War II, it’s highly unlikely the Jewish people would have been revived as a nation without this colossal catastrophe. Most assuredly, not that quickly. In just three years after this incredibly devastating war, Israel was reborn as a sovereign nation on this earth.

Never again, said Jews all over the world. They must have their own sanctuary with definable defensible borders, with self-governing rights of citizenship and land ownership, with the inherent freedom and potential privileges of a democratic nation, and with the sovereign capacity to protect themselves. Though many peoples and nations still seek Israel’s destruction, never again will the Jews be indefensibly at the mercy of her enemies. And for once—through the United Nations—some of the world agreed with them. So much so that the UN Resolution in November, 1947 extended sovereign states’ rights to the Jews. Just seven months later, the world witnessed the rebirth of the State of Israel.

Then in the astonishing Six-Day War Israel reclaimed Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, West Bank of the Jordan River, Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula, all of which have totally or partially been given back to the Arabs, excepting the Golan Heights.

Dozens of Bible prophecies speak of the last day’s return of Jews to Israel from global exile, with the Divine guarantee that never again would Jews be stripped of or away from their Promised Land. Despite the perilous end-times turmoil that will engulf the entire earth during the Great Tribulation, including Israel—which is referred to as Jacob’s troubles—there is no indication in Scripture that the Jews will suffer the catastrophic casualties at the hands of Gentile nations that started with the Assyrian conquest of Israel in 722 BC and the Babylonian overthrow of Judah in 586 BC. Then the even more devastating defeat of Israel by the Romans in 70 AD and their ensuing global Diaspora, culminating in the unfathomable genocidal massacre of some six million Jews during the Holocaust.

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Except that is, for one passage. It is a portion of Scripture that has perplexed and troubled me for some time.

Bible prophecy, particularly those involving last day’s warnings, can be either terrifying or touching, horrifying or heartening; depending mostly on whether you are an unbeliever or believer, respectively. Even the believer can be alarmed at the enormity of, for example, death and destruction by the forces of evil in the end times but also by the wrath of God poured out on a very wicked world. As Christians, we need not be afraid of a world spinning out of control before the soon-to-come Rapture, then tilting on an apocalyptic axis and falling into the Abyss during the Tribulation. But we certainly should be motivationally moved by the apocalyptic anxiety that those left behind will experience, particularly by the tribulation saints and Jews; some of whom will be one and the same and both of whom will be relentlessly persecuted.

The Troubling Prophecy of One of My Favorite Prophets, Zechariah

The first part of the passage is one of those mind-numbing, gut-wrenching things to even think about, let alone fully grasp. I have mentally, emotionally, and spiritually agonized over the massive loss of life that this prophecy foretold for God’s chosen people. Here it is:

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs. Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die, says the Lord. But one-third will be left in the land. I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, These are my people, and they will say, The Lord is our God” (Zechariah 13:7-9).

Zechariah wrote Chapters 1-8 around 520 BC after a remnant of Jews had returned to Israel from Babylon and Persia, then Chapters 9-14 about 480 BC. With the first eight chapters written primarily about rebuilding the Temple, but still containing several prophetic visions; some of them futuristic and others applying to God’s sovereign interaction with Israel and Gentile nations throughout the course of history.

Chapters 9 through 14 pertain almost exclusively to the final restoration of Israel during the end-times … predictions still awaiting fulfillment. However, there are three exceptions which were prophetically future tense to Zechariah and the Jews of that time, but historically have already come to pass. Each of these exceptions pertain to Messiah, the Good Shepherd, who would be betrayed for the paltry sum of thirty pieces of silver—the cost of a slave—as portrayed in Zechariah 11:7-13. That is precisely what transpired when Judas betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders as recorded in the Gospels.

A second prophecy is the famous announcement that nearly every believer recognizes; the fulfillment of which occurred when thousands proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah upon his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey’s colt (Zechariah 9:9).

The third prophecy in these final chapters of Zechariah that has already come to pass is found in the passage we just read, beginning with, Strike down the shepherd (Zechariah 13:7b). This is an obvious reference to Messiah’s (Jesus) death on the cross. The verse goes on to say, “…and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.”

Jesus referred to the scattering of the sheep as what his disciples would do when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:31); but Zechariah’s prophecy was broader in scope than that. Why? Because Jesus also denoted the Jews as the (lost) sheep of Israel. Moreover, the next line in Zechariah 13:7 reads, “and I will turn against the lambs.” Although the Lord temporarily withdrew his protection from Israel, he never turned against his disciples or those who would become believers in Christ … Christians. Both sheep and lambs are frequently used as a metaphorical analogy to God’s chosen people, the Jews. This broader application of the sheep and lambs to Israel will be evident as we continue.

The scattering of the sheep also took place when the Romans conquered Israel and destroyed much of Jerusalem including complete demolition of the rebuilt Temple in 70 AD. The scattering and the turning against the lambs signified God’s withdrawal of his protection from his chosen people for rejecting their Messiah who established the New Covenant with the greatest price ever paid … his very blood, the life of the Son of God. The Great Diaspora ensued in which millions of Jews were exiled to many nations. With, however, the greater majority of the Jewish population settling in countries of today’s Europe over hundreds of years. Also, a sizeable number ended up in Russia. Not until the birth of the United States and later the horrendous Holocaust, would more Jews live in America than anywhere else in the world. Even that has now changed, with the greatest concentration of Jews in Israel, itself … 6.3 million.

destruction of Jerusalem

Depicts Roman Destruction of Jerusalem

According to reliable census, the historical world-wide population of Jews reached its peak in 1939, with a total of 16,728,000. Of that figure, approximately 8,800,000 million resided in European countries, a little over 50 per cent. Today’s Jewish global population is about 13,900,000.

Whether positive or negative or neutral, Scripture is absolutely amazing in its detail, both historically and prophetically … including people, genealogies, times, events, nations, and numbers. See, for example, the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, The Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation, posted 6-6-15.

In the passage quoted earlier from Zechariah 13:7-13, it is a number (fraction) that distressed me for many years. In the context of the horrible tragedy of the Holocaust in which six million Jews were murdered, I simply couldn’t come to terms with Zechariah 13:8, which reads: “Two thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die, says the Lord. But one-third will be left in the land.”

Each time I read this passage, the figures and the repercussions stunned me … during the last days Tribulation, two-thirds of Jews would be killed. On more than one occasion I recall shedding some tears. “Please, Lord,” I pleaded. “Is there any way that you would prevent this from happening?” And, yet, what God says will happen, happens. The Word that he gives to his prophets always comes to pass.

I had read volumes about the sickening Holocaust. I had seen countless hours of film footage depicting the shocking scenes of death by starving, shooting, hanging, and gassing European Jews. But I needed to know what had happened and why. As indicated earlier in this article, it was principally the Holocaust that expanded my interest in Biblical prophecy. And now, I simply couldn’t imagine that God’s chosen people must go through yet another catastrophic carnage that would kill two-thirds of them. Wasn’t the Holocaust enough?

“But Lord,” I said. “That’s too many. That would be four million dead in Israel alone. Please help me to understand why. Is there any other way to see this?” Yet I resigned to what Scripture was saying and accepted that one-third would surely survive.

And, then, recently it happened! The Lord took off the shades from my eye of prophecy (a self-directed pun), and made me see more clearly. There is another (accurate) explanation to these seven verses in Zechariah Chapter 13!

There are four basic mistakes that even the most ardent, well-meaning students of Scripture sometimes make, especially regarding prophecy. They fail to:

  • Thoroughly scrutinize the context of the passage.
  • Compare the passage to as many (if not all) other similar passages on that subject.
  • Evaluate and relate the passage to history or to contemporary times, when obviously necessary.
  • Fit the prophetic event into Scripture. Instead they squeeze a particular prophetic passage/subject of Scripture or a historical event into a presupposition or theory or premature conclusion.

The more difficult the passage, the more scrupulous we need to be in our examination and application of what the Bible is telling us. Sometimes that is equally, if not more, true when the verses seem to be so very evident to us.

Regarding this passage in question, I was guilty of some of these errors; as has been virtually every other Bible commentator I’ve read or heard. Which is especially ironic; because particularly for the past ten years or so, The Lord has impressed on me the need to meticulously study and apply Biblical prophecy by adhering to these Bible teaching principles. It goes with the gift of teaching graciously given to me by the Lord. The actual sharing with others verbally and/or in written form constitutes only about 50% of what a teacher does. Before that can successfully be done, there must be the capacity to make comparisons, contrasts, correlations, and connections that most people don’t make or don’t want to make, i.e. that’s what teachers are for! Really effective teachers (should) do more than just present facts. They should provide relevant and accurate commentary. In involves not just investigative reporting, but also editorial journalism.

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Sometimes, however, it’s more than just an interpretational mistake. It is the Holy Spirit’s illumination by showing us something we had missed or overlooked even after many readings of a specific passage. Or, the Lord will graciously clarify or correct an incorrect or incomplete understanding of a particular passage.

So What Happened? … The Accurate Application

Immediately after Zechariah 13:7 where we read that the Shepherd (Messiah) is killed and the sheep (Jews) are scattered, we read in verse eight: “Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die…” In the Complete Jewish Bible, the wording is, “In time, throughout that land, two-thirds of those in it will be destroyed.” This translation is effectively saying the same thing, but gives us a more definitive grasp of precisely what land Zechariah is referencing.

For years I assumed or presumed that the “land” was Israel, which is a fairly reasonable application or conclusion. Why? Because (nearly) all of the final six chapters of Zechariah refer to the restoration of the Jews to and in Israel. For example: “On that day the Lord their God will rescue his people, just as a shepherd rescues the sheep. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown” (Zechariah 9:16, italics for emphasis).

The above referenced italicized phrase on that day, is used many times in these final chapters … sixteen times from Zechariah Chapter 12 through 14 alone. That phrase is synonymous with The Day of the Lord employed by other Old Testament prophets. On that day refers to the end-times final restoration of Israel, which began when Israel was miraculously reborn as a nation in 1948; but which will exponentially intensify at the outset of the Millennium. As explained throughout other Eye of Prophecy articles, the Day of the Lord begins with the Rapture of the Church, followed very soon by the Seven-Year treaty between Antichrist and Israel, the triumphant return of Christ at the end of the Tribulation, then the Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus. In the specific passage we’re examining (Chapter 13), the phrase on that day is used twice in the opening verses one through six.

But at verse seven the scene abruptly shifts to another prophecy that, as we’ve already seen, applies to the death of Messiah and scattering exile of God’s chosen people to the land or throughout that land. Just like the interlude or parenthetical scene of Messiah being sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11) or majestic entrance into Jerusalem (Chapter 9), these prophecies have already been fulfilled. They are separate and distinct from the remaining passages that apply exclusively to the last days. Which is another feature that I missed until recently. Actually, I hadn’t missed the fact of the Shepherd being betrayed and that same Shepherd (Messiah Jesus) being killed and the sheep being scattered clearly had already taken place.

What I missed was the fact that the passage of Zechariah 13:7-9 is distinctly separate from verses one through six of Chapter 13 and all of the other (on that day) end-times content of Chapters 9-14, except for Messiah’s procession into Jerusalem and his subsequent betrayal. However, Verses 7, 8, & 9 of Chapter 13 cannot be separated, one from the other. They are all an integral part of a succession of three events: Messiah’s death, the sheep scattered, and two-thirds of them killed … all of which have already taken place!

Here’s how and why:

To where were the sheep scattered and from where would two-thirds of them be cut off and die? Answer: They were scattered to the land or that land. Historically what is that land? Answer: First and foremost and predominately to the European Continent.

Not to or in Israel? They were exiled from Israel in 70 AD not to Israel. And the two-thirds who would be killed would die in the lands to which they were exiled. Not in Israel.

Do you see where we’re heading with this? Yes? No? Either way, let’s continue with more proof, scripturally, historically, and deductively to demonstrate that ALL of the events of Zechariah 13:7-9 have already taken place. Or with regard to Verse 9, has begun and will peak during the Day of the Lord.

More Evidence and Evaluation

For sure, I had previously considered that the two-thirds of Jews killed in this passage were those who died during the Holocaust. In fact, as terrible as the Holocaust was, I had hoped that the passage was referring to that tragic event. Meaning that Israel wouldn’t have to go through another massive bloodbath during the Tribulation. But, in addition to the mistaken notion that the land is Israel instead of the (now) obvious correlation that the land is where the Jews were scattered, my calculations based on the Holocaust were also wrong.

In trying to somehow apply the passage to what had already taken place during World War II, I used the correct figure of six million Jews killed during the Holocaust; however, I inaccurately applied that figure to the total number of Jews in the world just before World War II began. When that’s done, we get the figure of 35% of Jews killed during the Holocaust. Which is mathematically correct, but it is not anywhere close to the two-thirds killed as predicted by Zechariah. Actually, it’s closer to the one-third remnant who would survive.

BUT, let’s see what happens when we apply the two-thirds killed to the existing Jewish population in Europe just before Hitler and the Third Reich began their Final Solution of the Jews.

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When we divide the 6 million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany by the 8.8 million European Jews of that time, we get the astounding figure of 68%. Almost exactly TWO-THIRDS! Not only is that far beyond mere coincidence, it is a correlative confirmation of the two-thirds prophesied in Zechariah.

Now then, if someone wants to take issue with the fact that Jews were scattered to nations other than European, particularly Russia; thereby, concluding that the number killed would be logically less than the two-thirds foretold by Zechariah, my response would be, that’s fine.

However, I would also counter that the two-thirds could or should then be expanded to not just the European Holocaust (six million), but to all Jews killed through Russian pogroms, by the Spanish Inquisition, through the Crusades, and other less notable, but nonetheless Anti-Semitic campaigns against the Jews up to the time of Israel’s rebirth as a nation. Obviously it would take a lot of research, if it could actually be done, to establish and compare the approximate number killed to the total number of Jews born during that time frame. Yet, I would still propose a premise or make a prediction that the number killed would be two-thirds of the total Jewish population during those times. Either way, I now see that the accurate application of Zechariah’s two-thirds prophecy has already taken place.

The overwhelmingly clear evidence of the Bible is that once the Jews returned from exile, they would never again be driven from the land. Their time of physical and spiritual restoration would begin. Though they will undoubtedly suffer many more casualties during the Antichrist’s assault against Israel leading to Armageddon, it will not be anything like the appalling losses suffered during World War II or before.

Which is another reason why I was in denial over what I thought the Bible was clearly stating, i.e. two-thirds of Jews would be killed during the last days (on that day or the Day of the Lord) during the Great Tribulation. I couldn’t bring myself to the point of matching this kind of devastation and death to the fact that the time of Gentile domination over Israel ended in 1967 (Six-Day War), with the beginning of that end of domination taking place when Israel was declared a sovereign state by the United Nations in 1948. A two-thirds loss of life seemed to be an incomprehensible contradiction to the wonderful blessings God would begin to bestow on Israel beginning with the regathering of the Jews from world-wide exile and the rebirth of the Jewish nation.

For example: In the titanic assault of the Gog/Magog nations against Israel as found in Ezekiel 38 & 39 (of which I’ve written about in several Eye of Prophecy articles), God providentially and divinely defeats this Russian and Iranian led coalition with virtually no fighting on the part of Israel. With the obvious inference that Israel will suffer very few casualties during this massive campaign against them.

For sure there will be perilous times for the Jews (for everyone) during the last half of the Tribulation. In fact, the very next (last) chapter in Zechariah tells us what will take place. Note that the passage begins with, “the day of the Lord” which clearly brings the reader back to the last days (Tribulation) period of time.

“Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the woman raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city. Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past” (Zechariah 14:1-3).

Notice, however, that only Jerusalem is mentioned here, not all of Israel. No time/space in this article to elaborate on that, but when this passage is compared to Zechariah 12:4-9, we see that this is when Messiah will gloriously appear and immediately begin fighting with and for Israel, beginning with the rest of Israel first, then focusing on Jerusalem. Moreover, Zechariah 14 tells us that half of the people will be taken captive and the other half remain in Jerusalem. Certainly some will be killed, but the logical and reasonable conclusion is that most of Jerusalem’s population will survive.

In fact, Zechariah 14:4 continues to prophecy that when Christ returns, he will first set foot on the Mount of Olives (right next to Jerusalem), which will cause the mountain to split in half. Many Jews will escape through the valley caused by this amazing split of the mountain.

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Photo shows Mount of Olives

All this combined with Revelation 12:13-14, which tells us that Israel (many Jews, but certainly not all) will be protected by the Lord during part of the Tribulation, puts the finishing touches on this correct application of Zechariah’s two-thirds loss of Jewish life prophecy.

Also, expanding on this by looking at it in still another way: The Holocaust was, in fact, predicted in the Bible.

Things to Ponder

I am so grateful to the Lord!

Would you come along side me with the following prayer of thanksgiving highlighted in italics.

Thank you, Lord!

Thank you that your people will never again suffer the loss of life so brutally inflicted on them by the evil Third Reich, or even by the ancient Romans. Thank you for correct understanding and application of the two-thirds in Zechariah Chapter 13. That nowhere near that number will perish again.

Of course, it was there all along. You are immutable, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Like you, your word does not change. Rather, it changes us. By the power and under the influence of the Holy Spirit, your Word counsels, clarifies, comforts, and corrects.

Thank you for concluding the two-thirds prophecy with the following promise that began to unfold soon after World War II and continues to this day, and will be complete upon your majestic return to the earth:

“I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’” (Zechariah 13:9).

Thousands of Messianic Jews in today’s world will attest to the beginning of this wonderful promise; this good thing that you, O Lord, have brought out of the terrible slaughter of the sheep during World War II. Those left of this one-third remnant, their children and grandchildren are being refined by the turmoil of today’s world in chaos, and will be thoroughly purified during the final times of Jacob’s troubles during the Great Tribulation.

At that time your chosen people, your special possession will hear and listen, look and see, know and recognize their Messiah, none other than the one whom they pierced. And they will say, ‘Baruch haba, beshem Adonai.’ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

And then, all of Israel will be saved!

Amen!

Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ … Part II

12 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Antichrist

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Pope's Address to Congress, Roman Catholic Church

The Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ … Part II

During the Great Tribulation, the unholy alliance between the beast-king who reappears from the Abyss and the Vicar of Christ will come to an abrupt end. This will take place when Antichrist (Roman Emperor Nero) vanquishes the Vatican that would dare assert supremacy over the superior authority of a “divine” ruler straight from the ancient Roman Empire who will proclaim himself as God and Messiah. Though they both will claim right to rule, the city of Rome (indeed all of Europe and the Middle East) will not be big enough for both of them. One of them has to go.

The woman sitting on the scarlet beast depicted in Revelation signifies the city of Rome during the apex of the ancient Roman Empire and subsequently the Roman Catholic Church that replaced the glory of Rome with a “Holy Roman Empire.”

“And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world” (Revelation 17:18). And she rules over, “…masses of people of every nation and language” (Verse 15).

However, the angel earlier told John that the beast is one of the seven kings (Roman emperors) who ruled Rome when the vision was given to John (Revelation 17:9-11). That the eighth king, who is from and one of the seven, is the actual beast who had died but would reappear (at the outset of the Tribulation) from the Abyss. Although Chapter 17, like most of the book of Revelation, is principally portraying the future Tribulation, it is also providing a brief history of the origin of the Antichrist beast … from ancient Rome.

Thus, we need to understand: Although the woman is Rome, once the Roman Empire ceased to exist, it was replaced by the Roman Catholic Church—the Holy See that was and still is the driving force behind the Holy Roman Empire—which represents the woman during the times leading up to and including the Great Tribulation. Essentially then, it is the modern-day woman characterized by the Holy See who will become a rival to the Antichrist beast who once ruled supreme over the Roman Empire through that same woman … the City of Rome, but in a political and military domain.

The Graphic Annihilation of the Tribulation Woman

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

What an astonishingly vivid and dramatic description! It doesn’t get much more explicit than that.

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Most of the time especially in passages of last days prophecies, Scripture’s symbolism is more than just analogous imagery. Sometimes, the object being compared to the prophetic metaphorical subject is or could be literally applicable to past and/or future events. When applied to people, nations, and religions that defy God by distorting or rejecting God’s Word and deceiving multitudes of people, often the imagery is ironical; as is the case in the verse we just read. Let’s see how this works:

*They will strip her naked:

One of several correlative clues to identifying the woman of Revelation 17 (then later in Chapter 18) as the Roman Catholic Church is found in Verse 4: “The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls.”

One of the distinguishing features of the Roman Catholic Church is the attire of its clergy and the symbolism expressed through nearly everything worn or displayed by the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Holy See; including but not limited to the Coat of Arms. This is covered in more detail in the six-part Eye of Prophecy series entitled, The Woman and the Beast, published 10-12-13 through 11-16-13, specifically Part VI.

It’s beyond mere coincidence that the primary dress color of Catholic Cardinals is scarlet, of Bishops … purple, of the Roman Curia … also purple, and of the Pope … white and scarlet. Roman Catholic apparel is a symbol of eminence and a source of esteem. Although the predominately black worn by catholic priests is designed for more modesty, as a whole clerical clothing sets them apart from the laity.

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How exceptionally satirical it is that the beast and his coalition of ten kings/nations will, “strip her naked.” Both figuratively and literally, Nero will defrock the Holy See of its preeminence and position. However this occurs or exactly what happens, there will be far fewer (if any) catholic robes worn because there will be many less cardinals, bishops, and priests to wear them. I do not say this to be vindictive or cruel in any way, shape, or form; as the totality of the death and destruction during the Tribulation will be terribly tragic. Such is the way of evil. Such is the way of God’s justice against and final triumph over evil. The Bible bluntly tells it like it is.

**They … will eat her flesh:

I believe this is a credible, if not convincing, correlation with the flawed non-Biblical Catholic sacrament of Transubstantiation; in which Catholicism contends that the very body and blood of Christ is in the Eucharistic wafer and wine elements of catholic communion.

Conversely, Scripture is clear that Messiah’s body was broken and his blood shed only once, that his atoning death was a one-time all-effective sacrifice. It is totally unnecessary for his body and blood to continually transubstantiate through the sacrament of Mass. It’s more than unnecessary; it’s an affront to God. “…By rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame” (Hebrews 6:6).

Rejecting the Son of God first and foremost is a denial that his once for all sacrifice is sufficient to forgive our sins and save us from the penalty of those sins when we simply believe and receive Christ Jesus as our personal Savior.

Our Lord made it unambiguously clear that communion for believers is to remember him and what he did for us on the Cross. It certainly isn’t intended to put him back on that Cross with the misleading (repulsive) practice of actually consuming his blood and body during the sacrament of Mass. Speaking of Christ, the writer of Hebrews tells us: “Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins” (Hebrews 7:27).

Although most of Scripture is literal, there are some things in the Bible that are exclusively and plainly symbolic.

For example: Jesus used the imagery that he was the bread of life, and said, “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you” (John 6:53). But it was all too evident that he used this graphic comparison solely as a metaphor. It defies all logic, both divine and human, for Christ to suggest that his body and blood could be consumed literally. Moreover, the fact that this was a spiritual comparison is distinctly developed in so many other passages of the Bible.

The very means to salvation is believing and receiving Jesus Christ as our Savior, with our mind and heart … an entirely mental and spiritual action. For sure the wonderful expression of God’s grace to the human race was a gift given through the bodily death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah Jesus. But we certainly don’t apprehend that grace by or through the Catholic Mass or by any other means other than simple trust in so great a sacrifice, so great a salvation purchased by the death of Christ on the cross and sealed by his resurrection.

Tridentine Latin mass at Saint Mary's Church in Washington, DC.

Thus, the striking language that the beast and his coalition will eat the flesh of the woman explicitly exposes and metaphorically matches (with a literal connotation) the absurd, but also devious doctrine of Transubstantiation promoted by the Roman Catholic Church.

***And burn her remains with fire:

Here we see another emblematic but also historically literal connection to both ancient Rome and the subsequent (partial) duplication of the Roman Empire by the Holy See.

There were three primary forms of execution in the ancient Roman Empire … beheading, crucifixion, and by fire. Historians say more Christians were burned at the stake than murdered on crosses or by the sword. A common form of death was to strip Christians naked, put a tunic on them covered with wax or pitch, and light a torch to them. One of the more monstrous things that Nero, himself, ordered was to hang hundreds of Christians on poles, smear them with tar, and ignite them so they would illuminate his royal gardens for all to see. As the Christians agonizingly burned to death, Nero mocked them by sarcastically quoting Jesus, “(Now) you are the light of the world.” Even Romans were appalled at this sadistic barbarity.

*Note: More of these atrocities can be expected upon Nero’s return as the Antichrist, to both unbelievers and tribulation believers.

The Roman Emperor Constantine, who declared Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire and who was the forerunner of the Catholic hierarchy, ironically declared that killing dissidents by fire was to be a form of capital punishment for certain offenses. This set the precedent for the Roman Catholic Church to employ burning at the stake as the principle method of execution for those they deemed heretics. Joan of Arc was only one of thousands burned at the stake.

Thus, Nero will begin by stripping the Holy See naked … removing her leaders from their positions of power and influence. Then he will eat her flesh, by devouring the infrastructure which will include execution of Roman Catholic clerics. Finally, he will burn her remains with fire … literally by burning down the Vatican and many Catholic edifices the world over. All with the final goal of eliminating competition from what he will consider an imposter imitation of the Roman Empire.

When that happens, people will kiss the signet ring of Nero Caesar, not of the Pope. And, shouts of Hail Caesar will trump cries of Hail Mary.

That is not to say Nero will be successful in actually reviving or reestablishing another Roman Empire. He will try, but will fall short of this diabolical goal. There will not be a One-World Government; nor a World Religion. Several other nations, most particularly the Oriental countries, will oppose him until the very end. At which time Satan, Nero, and the False Prophet will entice even their enemies to join them in a totally vain and senseless effort to fight against Messiah Jesus, the King of all kings. They will, “…gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty” (Revelation 16:14).

I trust that this has helped you see the providential parallel between what the Catholic Church has done and what will be done to her by the Antichrist. But also TO Antichrist and to the great city from which both have ruled and will rule for a time during the Tribulation. It will be a punishment that fits the crime, but multiplied by two. How do we know that?

“For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds. Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her … She boasted in her heart, ‘I am queen on my throne…’ She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty” (Revelation 18:5-8).

In the interim, the Pope and the Vatican continue to dominate world headlines like never before. Therefore, let’s continue last week’s article with more examples of Pope Francis’ recent activities which demonstrate that the Papacy is reasserting itself in global affairs. The Vatican will be ready and willing to step into the apocalyptic vacuum created by the soon to come Rapture of hundreds of millions all over the earth.

Pope Francis to Allow Priests to Forgive Abortion

This was the headline in USA Today’s article of September 2, 2015. With a commentary that the, “pontiff is saying that there is no sin that can’t be forgiven.” What the Pope had just done was to extend the authority of priests to directly forgive the sin of abortion, without first getting permission from a bishop. Most other sins could be forgiven by a parish priest.

At least Pope Francis was right about that part … there is no sin that can’t be forgiven. Except that is, ignoring or denying the power of the Holy Spirit when he convicts a person over the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ as the only one who can pardon all of our sins.

I did not reference this media headline on the Pope to discuss abortion, though it is tragically wrong to terminate a baby’s life while still in the womb. No different than murdering a child after birth. Rather, the emphasis is on the Catholic priesthood itself. The very existence of a priestly system was done away with when the Lord gave us his New Covenant.

Symbolized by the cup of wine (which is not the actual blood of Christ), Jesus said: “…This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:20).

All those who accept Jesus as personal Savior are granted the awesome privilege of being declared children of the living God. Moreover, this New Covenant replaces the Mosaic Covenant of the Law including the Levitical sacrificial system and priestly order. No longer are priests needed as a go-between God and man. In fact, the Apostle Peter (ironically, who Roman Catholicism claims was the first Pope) writes to Christian believers who individually make up the true church. He tells them and believers today:

“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 2:5).

That is a precise, powerful, and poignant description of the true Church. It is one believer after another (living stones) that individually make up the true temple of the Lord. Not a centralized religious seat of government or an ecclesiastical hierarchy contained in and represented by the Vatican or any other religious organization. The real church is the Holy Spirit indwelling the temple of each believer’s heart; thereby, making every believer a priest. Each and every believer can personally come directly to God for salvation; and to then confess sins that interrupt our fellowship with God as we live out our Christian lives awaiting eternal life in heaven.

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Writing to individual believers—not to priests ordained by the Catholic Church, because there was no Roman Catholic Church at the time—the Apostle John states: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (I John 1:9).

The Church has only one Mediator between God and man. The Apostle Paul emphatically confirms this by saying, “For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).

The entire book of Hebrews vividly explains the difference between the Old and New Covenants. That Jesus Christ is our High Priest. That (ordained) priests are no longer needed because no more sacramental sacrifices are needed for atonement of sin; that we now confess our sins directly to the Lord. Based on God’s direct authority and inspiration, the writer of Hebrews confidently tells us that individual believers can do the same thing that the Levitical priests did and that the Roman Catholic priesthood maintains only it can do:

“So, then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:14-16, italics for emphasis).

Can this passage be any plainer? Not only can each believer in Christ go directly to God for confession (to receive mercy and forgiveness), but it is actually an insult to God for a religious system to take away this privilege by requiring intermediary priestly intervention, or bishop, or cardinal, or pope, or Mary.

The New Covenant is just that: NEW! To continue under the Old Covenant is to deny the efficacy of so great a salvation purchased by the once and for all sacrifice of our High Priest, of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ…” (II Corinthians 5:17-18). Among so many other wonderful changes, our new (right) standing with the Lord allows us to enter directly into his presence which includes confession of sin.

I’m sorry, but the truth must be told … the eternal truth of God’s love and holiness, of God’s Word and of his ONLY plan of salvation for the human race, including every Roman Catholic. The entire religious system of the Roman Catholic Church is misleading, deceitful, and in direct conflict with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is diametrically opposed to God’s way of salvation to every man, woman, and child … with the corresponding assurance of eternal life given to anyone who simply believes and receives Messiah Jesus as Lord and Savior.

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. No baptismal membership into a church. No keeping of sacraments to merit or earn God’s grace. No measuring of good works hoping they outweigh the bad to gain access to heaven. No cursory confession to a priest or perfunctory pleading to Mary for grace. All of that is anathema to God.

All good works are a result of Biblical salvation, not a means to earn salvation.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

There have been other recent events triggered by the Pope, but explaining them in any detail would make this article too long. Thus, before concluding with explanation of a planned activity of Pope Francis that will take place later this month, I’ll just list some of the recent media headlines to demonstrate the Pope’s frequent involvement in world affairs, specifically. And, the Vatican’s increasing influence both religiously and politically on governments and heads of state, in general.

Vatican Signs First Official Treaty with “State of Palestine”

Palestinians Angered by Sanhedrin Decision to Put Pope Francis on Trial

(Israeli) President Rivlan Travels to Rome, Meets Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Pope Francis

Pope Calls on Catholics to Shelter Europe’s Migrants

Pope’s Annulment Changes Could Have Big Impact in U.S.

The Pope’s Pending Address to Congress

Pope Francis has been invited to give the first-ever papal address to the United States Congress. It is understandably unprecedented because ostensibly the Pope is the ecclesiastical head of the largest religious entity in the world. Which begs the question: Since when does a religious leader address Congress?

*Note: There are more Muslims in the world; however, Islam does not have a centralized or organized seat of authority as does the Vatican. In fact, the Vatican is recognized as a State within a state (Italy). Which is pretty much how the Holy See has functioned since its inception … it sends and receives emissaries much like any national government would do. Also, nearly one-third of the Senate and House of Representatives are Catholic.

In that respect, the Pope (as have many popes in the past) is acting in a similar capacity that a head of State would assume. To me, the Pope’s address to the most powerful legislative body on earth is another remarkable sign that we are living in the end times.

Francis is the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He will arrive in the United States on September 23rd, the 266th day of the year, and speak to Congress the following day. No time/space in today’s article to elaborate, but September 23rd is cited as a pivotal date in Isaac Newton’s eschatological calculations. It is also a date that keeps surfacing in movies, concerts, and statements of politicians. This year Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, also falls on September 23rd. But there are other days this month that could bear significance. Such as: September 14th as the beginning of a Jubilee Year. And September 28th as the fourth and final blood moon tetrad.

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When Israel was reborn as a nation (1948) and later when Jerusalem was once again the sovereign capital of Israel (1967), the interest in and enthusiasm for Biblical last days prophecy exploded with kaleidoscope intensity.

But one prominent thing was missing. For decades before and a few years after these milestone events that have included two world wars in the 20th century, the Roman Catholic Church’s global position, prestige, and power had declined. No longer is that the case. Once again, the Vatican and very popular popes (not the least of which is Pope Francis) have risen to prominence. To the extent that the most powerful nation of the 20th & 21st centuries believes that the Pope can and will contribute to such things as universal, “compassion, principles, and values.” Which will be the theme of his message according to a quote from Enrique Pumar, Chairman of the sociology department at the Catholic University of America.

According to Mr. Pumar when speaking of Pope Francis, “People really like him, even if they’re not Catholic. They like his charisma, his humility.” Apparently, one of the subjects Pope Francis will talk about is immigration. But according to John Carr of Georgetown University, the Pope will not make a legislative proposal on immigration, rather he will emphasize the need to treat immigrants with dignity.

Nothing wrong with that you might say. And I agree. But it’s not what Pope Francis will say or will not say that will be historical in nature. It’s the very fact that he will be speaking to the US Congress in the official status of a World leader.

Unfortunately, that leadership is in the same mold of the religious elite of Jesus’ time. It is, as Christ said, the blind leading the blind. One day (soon) peoples all over the earth, especially those who have given their allegiance to the woman who wears purple and scarlet clothing and those who have grown rich because of her desires for extravagant luxury, will mourn greatly when they hear the words of the angel:

“Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons … The kings of the world have committed adultery with her” (Revelation 18:2-3).

“How terrible, how terrible for that great city! … In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” (Revelation 18:16-17).

“Then I heard another voice calling from heaven, ‘Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her’” (Revelation 18:4).

Things to Ponder

In one of the recent articles on Pope Francis, he was referred to as Holy Father. As used in Scripture, the word holy means two things: (1) applied to Old Testament Jews and Israel and also New Testament believers (Jew and Gentile alike), its primary meaning is that of being set apart for a special purpose.

(2) When applied to God, indeed the Trinity, Holy means pure—encompassing all the attributes of a Holy God.

Yet, Pope Francis and previous popes have been given the faulty designation and false distinction of being called Holy Father, with the clear connotation that some measure of divinity is afforded to the Pope. This is further emphasized by considering the Pope to be the infallible Vicar (representative) of Christ on earth.

Both appellations, Holy and Father (upper case) are completely inappropriate for anyone except the Trinity.

Listen to what Jesus said about and to the Jewish religious leaders: “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father” (Matthew 23:8-9).

I’m sure Christ was also thinking ahead to what would happen when the Catholic Church rose to power. Even priests are called, Father. But worse, the Pope is considered to be the Holy Father. If he were addressed as holy father (lower case) at least the comparison to God and divinity would be eliminated. In fact, I didn’t realize it until I typed holy father, that spell check requires that both words be capitalized! That’s the kind of influence wielded by the Holy See!

The Bible is overwhelmingly and adamantly clear that only God should be called Father. But Jesus also said that he and the Father were one and that no one could come to the Father except through him (John 14:6).

“…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” (Revelation 1:5-6).

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Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ … Part I

05 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by garybowers in The Antichrist

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Papacy, Virgin Mary

Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ … Part I

Will the Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ be one and the same? Down through the ages, some scholars and students of prophecy believed that the Roman Catholic Pope of their time was the Antichrist. When the Pope died and the Rapture didn’t occur in their generation, they realized how wrong they were. Subsequently, they stopped pointing their antichrist finger at a specific pope, and proposed that whichever pope was alive at the time of the Rapture would be or would become the Antichrist.

Based on extensive evidence found both in Scripture and history, I have provided the Biblically accurate identification of the woman on the beast depicted in Revelation Chapter 17, as the great city Rome of the Roman Empire; subsequently replaced by the Roman Catholic Church … the Holy See headquartered in the Vatican. “And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the world” (Revelation 17:18). Please refer to the Eye of Prophecy series of articles entitled, The Woman and the Beast, Parts I through VI, published 10-12-13 through 11-16-13.

The Beast, of course, is the Antichrist. Certainly, I’m not the first scholar to match the Holy See papacy with the woman on the beast; however, the above referenced articles provide detailed documentation and compelling correlations to further demonstrate that the Antichrist Beast and the Roman Catholic Church, specifically the Pope, are not one and the same; nor will they be during the seven-year tribulation.

Based, then, on the Biblically and historically accurate premise that the Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ (Pope) are not the same person, might we conclude from Scripture that they are, for example, two peas in a pod? Answer: Sort of, but not quite. Before elaborating on that response, I need to up front (once again) disclose the identity of the Antichrist: none other than Nero Caesar, who will return from the Abyss. (Please refer to other Eye of Prophecy articles in the category of Antichrist, but primarily to my book, Out of the Abyss). Soon after the Rapture, both the Pope and Nero, as collaborative but contentious partners, will pursue the same seemingly noble objective of trying to achieve a Pax Romana peace (utopia on earth) that the ancient Roman Empire never quite achieved.

The problem with this two peas in a pod paradigm is that the Pope will reassert himself like never before as the infallible substitutionary representative of Jesus Christ … The Vicar of Christ. That he and the Roman Catholic Church alone can successfully establish the Kingdom of God on the earth; thereby, rescuing the world from the chaos, confusion, and calamity caused by the sudden disappearance of hundreds of millions of people. That conclusion is supported by the image of the woman sitting on the beast (Revelation 17:3); with the symbolic implication that the Roman Catholic Church will seek some form of support from but also dominance over the beast. This has been pretty much the pattern since the Roman Church came into existence, i.e. popes claiming superiority over heads of state.

Whore-beast

However, as a result of the amazing reaction of billions of people to the seemingly miraculous return of a Roman Emperor, the Pope will also be compelled to acknowledge Nero’s claim to divinity. Whether the Pope stops short of acclaiming Nero as God or Messiah, remains to be seen.

A Roman Coin

The better analogy is that Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ are two sides of the same coin. But even that will last for only a short time … most likely about half way through the tribulation. Nero will proclaim himself as God or as Messiah … the man/God. He will soon be worshipped by people all over the world as divine for one reason only: his astounding revival and return some two thousand years after he had died. With that kind of veneration, Nero will become the head of the coin; dragging the tail of the coin (the Pope) behind him. In fact, this coinage will soon become a coin with two heads, both of them Nero’s.

But before that happens, there will be a titanic clash of two men vying for the personal loyalty of billions of people while trying to (unsuccessfully working together) accomplish their agenda each through their own vile systems. One is boldly and blatantly unholy. The other is hypocritically holy. Both will claim to be God and Christ on the earth.

Through the centuries, popes and kings have clashed; sometimes the pope prevailed, sometimes the king triumphed. This time the “divine monarch” and his ten-nation coalition with crush the ecclesiastical head of state who would dare assume political power as well as religious (Revelation 17:16).

In like manner, many Jews will at first acknowledge Nero as a messiah-type, or at least as a sovereign who God allowed to return to save the world. Thus, they will gladly enter into a seven-year treaty with Nero, who will facilitate the building of the third Temple and allow Jews to restore their sacrificial system of atonement.

Likewise with hundreds of millions of Muslims. Who can possibly argue with or fight against someone who bodily returns from the dead? They will conclude that it had to be Allah who performed such a miracle. They will concede Nero as their Mahdi (messiah).

By default, people from nations and religions the world over will give their allegiance to Nero immediately after he reappears from the Abyss. (See Revelation 13). So, too, will a good many of their political and religious leaders. But above all Nero will initially establish a liaison with the Vatican. After all: The Vatican is the embodiment of the Holy Roman Empire, the reincarnation of the once great Roman Empire which for fourteen years was ruled by none other than a man who had returned from the dead. Both dynasties were headquartered in Rome. Both empires purported to be the universal kingdom on earth; the first one politically and militarily, ruled by a supreme and divine emperor. The second through a religion that claims to be the universal church, headed by the infallible representative of Christ, himself. Both will seek to restore the glory that once was Rome’s.

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Above painting depicts the Holy Roman Empire, where Popes appointed kings

Thus, at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, all eyes will be on Rome. Those eyes will see an amazing spectacle, a beast who is none other than a mighty Roman Emperor who has returned from the grave. Sitting on this beast will be the most influential religious leader on the earth, with the symbolic implication that each will use the other to accomplish their diabolically driven agenda of world domination. Both will fail miserably, but the first to go will be the so-called Holy succession of the early Roman Empire.

Although I’m certainly not saying that the current Pope is that pope, it is evident recently that:

Pope Francis Has Been Busy

Approximately one of every seven people on this planet belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Accordingly, their highest ecclesiastical leader, the Pope, captures a good deal of the global media headlines. But it seems that Pope Francis has been in the spotlight as much or more than his predecessors, including the very popular John II, the Pope from 1978 to 2005. Though it may be somewhat of an oversimplification, since Pope Francis was elected as Supreme Pontiff on 3-13-13, his focus has been on two main objectives: (1) to shift attention and emphasis on the Catholic clergy and all the political intrigue that surrounds the Vatican to the welfare of the non-clergy masses and membership of the Catholic Church.

(2) To restore and underscore the doctrinal tenets of Roman Catholicism, especially to and for the common Catholic. To, as is often said, “Get back to the basics.”

Those basics are found in the Catholic sacraments and catechism; however, they are not true to Scripture, particularly salvation and justification itself. This has been the case from the very inception of the Roman Catholic Church, which began after Constantine’s reign as the Roman Emperor in the 4th century AD. The Roman Catholic Church is not the original (true) church which is clearly defined in the Bible as those who have placed their individual trust in the sacrificial death (once and for all) of Christ Jesus. Not those who are members of the Catholic Church (or any organizational church system) beginning with baptism and continuing with observance of the required sacraments. With the degree of keeping those demands determining how much grace might be bestowed on the individual; that, in turn, determines whether that person might make it to heaven or not.

Down through the ages, individual born-again believers have challenged the non-Biblical creeds of the Catholic Church, including, but not limited to the examples that follow in this and next week’s article. Both before and after Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century, the Catholic Church periodically reasserted its right to political supremacy and religious dominance over kings and kingdoms and the masses.

Which is why the Papal Bull entitled, Unam Sanctam was issued in 1302 by Pope Boniface which made it crystal clear that the Catholic Church and the Pope are supreme on earth, and salvation can only be found within the hierarchical confines of the Roman Catholic Church. That idea persists to this very day, and is once again being promoted aggressively by Pope Francis … all the while courting the Jews (Judaism), the non-terrorists Muslims (Islam), the Protestants (mainline denominations), and Evangelicals.

The Unam Sanctam begins with this authoritative declaration: “Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins.”

There can be no ambiguity whatsoever as to what this edict states, which is: Ultimately, one’s salvation is determined exclusively by the Catholic Church, which includes compliance with whatever non-Biblical doctrines are developed or decrees declared by the Pope.

As claimed by Pope Benedict: First and foremost, one must believe in the Catholic Church.

Permit me to make this personal by saying unequivocally: I do not believe in the Catholic Church, Roman or otherwise. What I believe in is what God said he did for me and what would happen if I believed what he said. This is what Jesus said and what I did:

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Am I not and are you not part of the world? Are we not every (one)?

“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).

The church does not consist of stones that built the Vatican or the Church of Rome or any parish church anywhere in the world. Rather, it is made of living stones, which are individual believers all over the world.

To be sure Catholicism claims that Christ is the head of the Church, but only the spiritual head who lives in Heaven. The corporeal head of the Catholic Church on earth is the Pope; and the Pope has supreme power to make edicts and doctrinal statements, even if they conflict with the Bible. When all is said and done, the powerfully practical result is that salvation ultimately comes by membership in the Catholic Church through baptism (even for infants) and adherence to seven primary sacraments and a host of other regulations. These things will determine one’s eternal destiny. Which is an outright contradiction of God’s clearly defined and explained means of salvation.

Although there are more, for sake of time/space in today’s article I will list just one of these examples of Pope Francis frequent attempts to once again promote and publicize the powerful position of the Catholic Church on the world stage. Next week’s article will provide two, possibly three more examples.

The Feast of Immaculate Conception

This past December, Roman Catholics around the world celebrated this annual event, led by Pope Francis. It is a commemoration of the divine status given to Mary; that she was born without sin. With the all too clear inference that she was sinless throughout her life. Listen to the words of Pope Francis which were (undoubtedly) carefully chosen to accentuate one of the foundational creeds of the Catholic Church.

“Oh Mary, our mother, today the people of God in celebration venerates you, the immaculate, preserved from the contagion of sin from the beginning. Accept the gift I offer on behalf of the church in Rome and throughout the world … The power of God’s love, which has preserved you from original sin, freed all of humanity through your intercession from every spiritual and material slavery and made the designs of God’s salvation victorious within hearts and events.”

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He went on to say that in Mary, “…there was no room for sin…” Because, “God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus.” Which preserved her from, “original sin.”

There is absolutely no vagueness or room for ambivalence over what Pope Francis is claiming about Mary. He is reinforcing to the Roman Catholic constituency and to the whole world that Mary is immaculate (without sin). That the gift of praise and veneration is to be given to her. That all humanity is freed from spiritual (and material) slavery to what is clearly meant as slavery from sin. That the victorious plan of God’s salvation in hearts and (world) events is possible through her direct intercession.

Of course, Mary was the mother of Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that she had to be sinless for God to choose her for this wonderful privilege. It is more than enough that Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin by the direct power of the Holy Spirit.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness (grace), 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…” (Romans 3:23-25).

Where does Mary fit into those verses? Or several other passages like it in the Bible? There’s only one place where she fits in … the same place that we all fit. It is at the beginning of the passage when God’s Word says, everyone has sinned. Is not Mary every (one)? Where in Scripture does it say that Mary was an exception to everyone (all)? Strong clue to the answer: you won’t find it in Scripture. Repeating for emphasis: There is absolutely no direct or indirect, no stated or implied evidence in Scripture whatsoever that Mary was born without sin and continued that way through her life.

Only one person has never sinned. “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (II Corinthians 5:21).

Hail Mary Full of Grace is a flagrant denial of and challenge to the fact that God alone is the source of grace (underserved kindness), and he alone declares us righteous. That grace and righteousness comes from and through Christ Jesus, and no one else. That salvation, which includes freedom from the penalty of sin is possible only through Messiah Jesus. We are made right with God when we, “believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.”

Mary, herself, said: “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:47). The angel told Mary’s husband, Joseph, to name the child Jesus; for Jesus means Savior, and only Messiah Jesus could save us from our sins.

Mary was no exception, and to consider her practically equal with Christ is the kind of heretical blasphemy that the Roman Catholic Church has accused true Christians of down through the ages … those born-again believers who have a personal relationship with Christ by believing and receiving him as their personal Savior. Certainly not by going through Mary.

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The above painting is entitled, the Coronation of the Virgin

Contrast this with Catholic Church catechism that teaches Mary was not only sinless but that she is the Heavenly Queen mother and that her prayers, “…will deliver our souls from death.” That all who seek Mary’s protection will be saved for all eternity.

Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, italics for emphasis). How much clearer can anything be? At no time did Christ ever say that his mother, Mary, was a co-equal way to God. Or that she was even an alternative way. If ever there was a time that Jesus might have clarified that Mary was also a divine intermediary means of approaching the Father, he surely would have said so when he spoke these words.

I’m sure Mary is appalled at the divine status afforded her by many on this earth. I’m equally certain that the Lord has told her something to the effect, “It’s okay Mary; it’s not your fault.”

Things to Ponder

Neither I nor others who proclaim the truth of God’s Word (which is the foundation and authority for what we say) are judging individuals, whether Roman Catholic or those of other beliefs, including atheists.

In fact, a couple of my friends and a few acquaintances have been or are Roman Catholics, including a major league baseball player who unfortunately died a few months ago. I had shared with him God’s plan of salvation straight from the Bible. I can only hope that he accepted Jesus as his personal Savior before he died.

Judgment belongs to God and him alone. But sharing God’s truth, his marvelous plan of salvation purchased with the highest price ever paid—the death of his totally innocent Son to pay for and pardon us from our sins—by inherent meaning and definition is to expose fraudulent gospels and deceitful systems that would falsify the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, the Bible is very clear that God’s harshest judgment is against rulers and leaders, both political and religious. For it is the clergy and the elite rulers of nations that exert a great deal of influence and power over their followers. When they steal the truth of God’s Word from the people and replace it with half-truths by subtracting from it or by adding man-made dogmas to it, there is a heavy price to pay.

On the other hand, we all must make a decision. We must all answer the question that Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?”

Is he the Christ? Is he truth and life? Is he the only way to God? Is he God? Will he alone have the right to rule all nations of the world, as Scripture says that he does? Will you choose him over religious and political systems and people who claim they can lead you and the world to Utopia?

If you are reading this article after the incredible disappearance of millions of born-again believers all over the earth, then even on the pain of death at the hand of Antichrist and all those who follow him, please choose Messiah Jesus.

Because: “…Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” (Jesus) (Revelation 7:10).

Amazing Anticipation for Messiah

29 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Aliyah, Gematria, Shemitah

Amazing Anticipation for Messiah Continues

Recently, Natan Sharansky, Chairman for The Jewish Agency met and welcomed nearly thirty families including seventy-five children at Ben Gurion International Airport between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Although the event was exciting, it was not all that unusual; as hundreds of thousands of Jews all over the world have made Israel their home over the last seven decades or so, through what the Jews call, Aliyah … the “going-up” ingathering of their people.

What made this group of immigrants exceptional is that they all had left their homes in North America to take up residence in Israel; the Promised Land given to them by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To be sure, thousands of Jews have immigrated from Canada and the United States to Israel. Yet, considering that people from all over the world would do just about anything to move to the United States (and Canada), it is quite remarkable that even a handful of people would want to do just the opposite … move from the prosperity and security of America and Canada to the uncertainty and turmoil faced by this tiny democratic Israeli nation surrounded by enemies who seek their destruction.

Said Natan Sharansky to the new arrivals: “Only think for a moment about your fathers, your grandfathers, your great grandfathers, all those generations of your families who were dreaming and praying next year in Jerusalem and you did it.”

*Note: Next Year in Jerusalem is a saying repeated by Jewish families for hundreds of years to this very day, especially during the Passover celebration.

One of the elated immigrants was Max Kresch, age 19, from Detroit; one of several who moved to Israel for the express purpose of serving as a “lone soldier” in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Previously, he had been granted a visa to attend a yeshiva (Torah seminary) in Israel. This time he came to stay and to serve proudly with one of the greatest militaries in the entire world … in a nation with only slightly over six million Jews. He told CBN News, “…living in Israel made me realize how much I really loved being there.”

The families included David and Lisa Parshan and their two younger children. Said Lisa Parshan, “It was very nice to watch people just like us coming off … all jet lagged but with a smile on their face. It was really a very exciting experience.” The Parshan family had made Aliyah to Israel primarily because their oldest daughter, Shira, had paved the way by moving to Israel two years earlier!

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As I have said in one way or another in two books and in past Eye of Prophecy articles, and as other students of prophecy have articulated in similar fashion, “Watching Jews return to Israel in such great numbers is watching Biblical prophecy unfold before our very eyes.” As significant as Aliyah is (I would place it alongside of Israel’s rebirth in 1948 as the two greatest signs of the end times), it is only one of twelve modern-day milestones of our generation that tells us we are so very close to Messiah’s return. If you haven’t already, please read two recently posted Eye of Prophecy articles, entitled, Look Up, Redemption is Near, Part I & II, published 7-11 & 7-18-15.

Referenced earlier in today’s article was The Jewish Agency, which actually came into existence during the 1929 Palestinian Mandate, conceived in 1917 as part of the Balfour Declaration … subsequently recognized by the now defunct League of Nations. But it wasn’t until Israel’s rebirth in 1948 that The Jewish Agency began its remarkable journey which led to what is now the largest nonprofit Jewish organization in the world. This agency has brought over three million Jews to Israel, providing relocation assistance throughout the land.

Their stated mission is to: Inspire Jews throughout the world to connect with their people, heritage, and land, and empower them to build a thriving Jewish future and a strong Israel.

Why the Jews Returned to Israel in the Early Years

Soon after the 1948 rebirth of Israel as (once again) a sovereign nation, most of the Jews who moved to Israel were from European countries and cities ravaged by World War II. Six million Jews had been slaughtered by the Nazi Third Reich. Many of the surviving three million Jews had been stripped of their property, their jobs, their businesses, and their homes. They had hardly anywhere to turn, except Israel. And turn they did.

In even greater numbers they later left Russia, where they were still under persecution by the Communist regime and by people who simply didn’t like (many hated) Jews. To this very day, most European, Russian, or South American Jews making Aliyah to Israel do so to get away from a menacing modern-day rise of anti-Semitism. For example, many Jews from France have recently moved to Israel, in direct response to the alarming increase in France’s Islamic population and Muslim terrorist’s acts.

From wherever they came, the underlying motivation behind their (leave it all behind) bold move to Israel was that of pressure … to escape the horrors of anti-Semitism. To live in and do their part to help restore Israel as their homeland; a place where they could confidently trust what they were telling themselves and their children: Never again. This must never happen again.

Thus, began fulfillment of spectacular prophecies announced by many Old Testament prophets even before the first captivity of the Jews in Babylon, let alone the subsequent complete and seemingly never-ending exile at the hands of the Romans in 70 AD. It was unthinkable that after nearly 2000 years, a people no longer a people, a nation no longer a nation, a language no longer a language could possibly and virtually overnight be restored as a people, reborn as a nation, and revived as a language. It was unprecedented, but it happened, nevertheless! The following passage is one of hundreds that virtually no one, not even the most observant Jews, really believed would ever take place.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west. I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth” (Isaiah 43:5-6).

Then the Lord through Isaiah prophesied to the Gentile nations: “Gather the nations together! Assemble the peoples of the world! Which of their idols has ever foretold such things? Which can predict what will happen tomorrow? Where are the witnesses of such predictions? Who can verify that they spoke the truth?” (Verse 9).

*Note: The formation of the United Nations is a direct result of “gathering the nations together;” of “assembling the peoples of the world.” But as the Lord also said: none of the idols or so-called gods, or psychics, or fortune-tellers, or sorcerers, or pretend prophets of these nations could possibly predict such a phenomenal event as the rebirth of Israel and return of Jewish exiles from all over the earth.

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It was absolutely no coincidence that the United Nations was established in October, 1945, just 2 ½ years before Israel’s proclamation of Statehood in May, 1948. Furthermore, it was the United Nations which passed the November, 1947 resolution granting Israel the right to become a member of the family nations of the earth, of which there were fifty-one when the UN was formed. Now there are 193 nations.

More Contemporary Reason for Jews Returning to Israel

Returning briefly to the previously mentioned Parshan family and their oldest daughter whose example her parents followed by moving to Israel.

Here is what Shira Parshan told CBN News: “You know Mashiach is coming. I know that Israel is the place to be and I made Aliyah when I was 17 years old.”

Astonishing! Not only to leave her family and move to Israel at the age of seventeen; but to boldly and unashamed tell reporters that her burning passion to be in Israel was fueled by her desire to be there when Messiah comes. With the all too clear inference that she was expressing the shared enthusiasm of hundreds of thousands of Jews, both Sabras (native-born Israelis) and immigrants: Messiah’s appearance is so very near!

Although there are subsidiary reasons why the substantial return of Jews to Israel continues to amaze me and others who are genuinely interested in contemporary parallels between what is happening in and to Israel and fulfillment of last day’s prophecies, the appearance of Messiah is undoubtedly the most compelling correlation. With no better representation or convincing testimony than that expressed by Shira Parshan.

The Jewish Agency is, by far, the largest organization that facilitates the transition of Jews to Israel, but not the only one. Another agency, Nefesh B’Nefesh is one that works closely with the Israeli government and specifically with the American, Canadian, and British governments to bring Jews to Israel. Since its inception in 2002, this organization has been responsible for bringing some 45,000 Jewish immigrants from these three countries to Israel. In fact, this is the agency that coordinated the Aliyah of the group mentioned in this article.

Said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, cofounder of Nefesh B’Nefesh to the group and to reporters: “We don’t want the immigration from America to be an Aliyah of necessity, of running away from something, of distress, duress, persecution. You don’t want that. The beauty of North American immigration is that people are choosing to come.”

This statement is a precise, poignant, and powerful explanation of another, even more pressing, motive for Jews (especially those who have left a comfortable lifestyle) to move to Israel: Because they want to. And, as indicated, one of the overwhelming reasons that they want to is because—no matter whether they are religious or secular—they passionately believe that Messiah will soon appear and MAKE ALL THINGS RIGHT!

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They know he will arrive (Messianic Jews agree with Christians, it will be Messiah’s return or second appearance) in Jerusalem. They want to be in Israel when that happens!

More Amazing Correlations and Discoveries to Indicate Messiah’s Imminent Arrival

Just two weeks ago, the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, Great Expectations for Messiah was published. In general it was a sequel to the two-part series of Look Up, Redemption is Near. More specifically, it was written to demonstrate that the very same level of high expectations for Messiah’s appearance expressed by Jews in the first century BC is taking place in our generation, particularly in the past decade or so. The Great Expectation article began with:

“What does Aliyah, the blood moon tetrad, the Shemitah, hidden Bible codes, the third Jewish Temple, a red heifer, and Jonathan Pollard’s release from prison have in common, one with the other? If you desire a short easy-to-remember response to that question, then the answer is: Israel’s Redemption Is Very Near. If you prefer a one-word explanation for the common-ground connection between these seemingly diverse subjects and events, we can do that too: MESSIAH!”

I went on to explain each of these events in more detail; however, that article also made it clear that these occurrences individually—remarkable as they are—do not necessarily reflect specific Biblical prophecy as such … with the exception of Aliyah that is clearly predicted in Scripture. Rather, as indicated, the purpose for tying these subjects together was to show that many Jews today collectively correlate signs of Messiah’s coming to events that are happening with increasing frequency.

I also said in that post that many more things would undoubtedly be seen in the very near future as evidence that Messiah’s glorious appearance is right at the door. Accordingly, it was not my intention to write another article on these type of parallels for at least several weeks or months.

Yet, that’s what this article is mostly about. In light of what I’ve read and seen in just the past couple of weeks, I couldn’t resist sharing these stories, most of which come from the Internet site of Breaking Israel News, which is a companion offshoot of Israel 365. Certainly these are not the only websites that focus on current world events, most of which pertain directly to Israel, as seen in the light of Old Testament Biblical prophecy. (Israel 365 and BIN are not Messianic sites). However, these two internet sites place a great deal of emphasis on Israel’s ultimate redemption particularly in the light of how Messiah will bring about that final restoration.

So what else has transpired and what other observations have been made? Let’s take a look at three—no, let’s make that four—notable connections as proposed by some Jewish rabbis or Jewish prophecy enthusiasts. (Italics for emphasis because it’s an expression from Proverbs Chapter 30 used as a summary to last week’s post, Four Locust Kingdoms … which I’m bringing up only in case you haven’t read that article yet!)

Hebrew Gematria Pointing to Messiah in the Pending Jewish Year 5776:

To expand further on one of the seven indicators cited in the Great Expectations for Messiah article, I will quote directly from an August 20th, 2015 article written by Rivkah Lambert Adler in Breaking Israel News:

“In an interview with Christian filmmaker Richard Shaw, director of the film Torah Codes: End to Darkness, prolific author and Bible Codes expert Rabbi Mattiyahu Glazerson demonstrates how multiple Hebrew phrases hint that the Hebrew year 5776 (2015-2016) will be a significant year for the appearance of the Messiah. Hebrew years are counted from Creation and begin on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana, which always falls in September or October in the Gregorian calendar. As of sundown on September 13, 2015, the new Hebrew year will be 5776.”

Ms. Adler then explains that it’s necessary to at least partially understand the significance of numbers through the system of gematria; that each letter or word or phrase of the Hebrew language bears a numerical value. She goes on to say:

“In the video with Rabbi Glazerson, he translates eight Hebrew phrases and sentences which all have the numerical value of 776. The English translation of the eight Hebrew phrases that Glazerson mentions are:

“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob = 776

The kingdom of David will be eternal = 776 (The Messiah will be a descent of King David.)

Come back to Me and I will come back to you = 776

God says, “I will do for Myself. For Myself I will do.” = 776

Come back to Me like naughty children = 776

Your kingdom will be forever = 776

The last kingdom = 776

The final one is the most fascinating. The coming of Messiah = 776.”

Gematria

Ms. Adler concludes by saying: “When questioned by Shaw, Glazerson explains why the numerical value of all these phrases is 776 and not 5776, which is the full number of the upcoming Hebrew year. ‘Because you see, according to our (Jewish) tradition, Messiah will come in the millennium—in the sixth one. This is why the numbers don’t have the 5 here, because it’s self-understood that when you speak about Messiah, you relate to 5,000, the sixth millennia.’”

Before we continue with three more examples, it’s imperative we realize that these things are not specific Bible prophecies. However, I personally afford a great deal of significance to Hebrew gematria, if for no other reason than it is a vital tool in the decoding of the identity of Antichrist found in Revelation Chapter 13. As those know who have read my book, Out of the Abyss … can the number of the beast be solved, 666, the challenge issued by the author of Revelation for believers to ascertain the identity of the beast can be accomplished through gematria … by figuring out his number, six hundred and sixty-six. Several other passages of Scripture also clearly point to Nero as this man (the Antichrist beast), but Revelation 13:18 does so by the use of gematria.

Quite likely then, the impact of Hebrew gematria can also be related to the true Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The Shemitah Cycle as Related to the United States:

Once again we’ll refer to an article in Breaking Israel News by Rivkah Lambert Adler, posted on August 24th. Citing other Jewish rabbis and a previous article in BIN, Ms. Adler writes: “Taken together, four recent and upcoming events make a compelling case for imminent and dramatic messianic advancement. The four events are the end of the Shmittah year on September 13, the shaking of the world economies last week, numerical hints that abound in the Bible Codes, and the final Blood Moon of the current tetrad on September 28.”

[For those interested, two other meaningful things will happen in September: (1) Pope Francis address to the United States Congress (a first). (2) The US Congress vote on the Iran deal.]

She goes on to say, “…there is a well-established pattern of connection between the end of a Shmittah cycle and a downturn in the US economy. This has happened at or near the end of the last seven Shmittah cycles.” (Note: Ms. Adler and a handful of others spell this Hebrew word as Shmittah; however, this article will use the more common and accepted spelling of SHEMITAH, when not directly quoting her articles).

Continuing with the thematic purpose of this week’s article which is the extraordinary emphasis being placed by Jewish Rabbis and a good deal of the Jewish population on the imminent appearance of the Messiah, let’s continue with Ms. Adler’s article. She then quotes end-times author Rabbi Pinchas Winston who said:

“Why should the end of a Shmittah cycle affect the economies of the world? Even today, when the keeping of Shmittah is rabbinical in nature, it still transmits a Torah message, and that is that God runs the world and provides everything in Creation with its livelihood. The fact that billions of people do not believe this or think about it does not change the fact … It has occurred over the millennia with uncanny consistency, and one need look back only a few decades to see how true this is, and to know that bracing oneself for financial upheaval this September is a word to the wise and financially prudent.”

What was expected in September AFTER the shemitah has actually begun in this month of August, although there has been a very recent resurgence of the stock market just before today’s article was published.

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Ms. Adler defers to whom she terms, End of Days blogger Tomer Devorah, who also used Hebrew gematria to provide a possible, perhaps plausible explanation to the recent Stock Market Crash. Quoting Ms. Adler’s article, she writes:

“…The Dow fell more than 1,000 points. Some say it’s just a normal market correction. End of Days blogger Tomer Devorah has a different way of understanding the numbers. In the system of gematria … the numerical value of the word Mashiach (Messiah) is 358. On Thursday, August 20, the US stock market fell 358 points. The next day, Friday, August 21, the US stock market fell another 530 points. Together, 530 and 358 equals 888.

“This is significant because the number 8 represents God, who is above nature. As Tomer Devorah writes, ‘The number 8 is also connected to the revelation of Mashiach (Messiah).’ She (Tomer) explains that the number 7 is associated with completeness in nature—the seven days of Creation, the seven days of the week, the seven colors of the rainbow, etc. The number 8 is above nature. The Messianic era is also represented by the number 8 because, during that time, our souls will transcend nature and will experience a higher level of understanding God.”

Once again a disclaimer for clarification: Although there is some accuracy in what they say, I am not categorically endorsing Ms. Adler’s or Ms. Devorah’s summary conclusion as to the correlation of these numbers to such things as, our souls transcending nature. Biblical numbers are extremely significant as is, to a lesser degree, Hebrew gematria; but both must be examined as an integral part of the entirety of Biblical prophecy. As reflected in the Eye of Prophecy articles, I prefer to rely heavily on Scripture itself, including what the Bible says will happen just before, during, and after Messiah’s appearance.

Purported Correlation between Syria’s Demise and the End-Times Messiah & Antichrist:

Actually this connection goes all the way back to a 2nd century Jewish Rabbi, Shimon Bar Yochai whose writings are part of the Midrash. While hiding in a cave, Rabbi Bar Yochai allegedly heard from an angel who told him: “And it is a sign for you, when you see that an Eastern Nero has fallen, that in Damascus has fallen the Bnei Mizrach kingdom, then will sprout the salvation of Israel, and Mashiach ben David comes and will ascend to Jerusalem.”

It was the aforementioned blogger, Tomer Devorah who thinks that this end-times Nero of the East is or could be Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad; that his shaky hold of the Syrian government could collapse any day now.

Most likely, Rabbi Bar Yochai made the connection that the destruction of Damascus is one of the end-times prophecies that will dovetail with Messiah’s arrival. This one is directly from Isaiah. “This message came to me concerning Damascus: Look, the city of Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins” (Isaiah 17:1).

There are three applications that can be made to any given prophecy. (1) The prophecy has already been fulfilled in Biblical times; (2) the prophecy will come to pass during the last days; (3) the prophecy was fulfilled then and will be fulfilled again during the end-times. Regarding Isaiah’s prediction, I believe it was fulfilled when Assyria conquered Damascus in 732 BC; because a few verses later Isaiah also said: “The fortified towns of Israel will also be destroyed, and the royal power of Damascus will end. All that remains of Syria will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory, declares the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (Verse 3).

Just ten years later, Assyria conquered the ten northern tribes know as Israel … Syria will share the fate of Israel’s departed glory.

The glory of Israel began to be restored in 1948 and is in high gear in the 21st century. It’s a much better fit to conclude that the destruction of Damascus predicted by Isaiah occurred when the northern kingdom of Israel was also destroyed within a span of ten years.

The word “disappear” used in the New Living Translation is translated, “removed from being a city,” in the NASB. These and other translations essentially mean that Damascus would no longer function as a viable city, let alone the capital of Syria.

However, it’s certainly possible that Syria and Damascus will once again be vanquished. As will many nations and cities during the Great Tribulation. If so, we don’t know if the ruin of Damascus will occur before the Rapture or after the Rapture. Moreover, it would only be one of dozens of other end-times prophecies that will take place during the soon-to-come Day of the Lord.

What does grab my attention is this second century Rabbi’s reference to the Eastern Nero which can also read, Nero of the East. Why would he even mention Nero or equate the proposed end-times Syrian ruler with this malevolent Roman Emperor? Those of you who have read my book, Out of the Abyss and/or several Eye of Prophecy articles on the Antichrist, know that a ton of Biblical and historical evidence leads to (what I think is overwhelming evidence) the conclusion that the Antichrist is none other than the return of the Roman Emperor Nero. Furthermore, that Nero’s revival was a widely held belief by secular Romans, by early Christians, and I’m sure by many Jews during the first four centuries or so. It was even given a name: Nero Redivivus Legend.

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(Read all about this in the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, The Legendary Return of Nero, published 4-4-15. It was a sequel summary to the series of articles named, “A Beast by Any Other Name … Part I, II, III, published 3-14, 3-21, & 3-28-15).

Thus, it’s evident that Rabbi Bar Yochai combined the Old Testament prophecy of the fall of Damascus with the end-times appearance of Messiah, then connected both of those events to the Syrian monarch who would be a representation or counterpart of the wicked ruler Nero.

Little did he know that there would be no counterparts of or to Nero? Rather, it will be Nero himself who will appear from the Abyss and boast that he is the risen Messiah and the only God to be worshipped.

Interesting! No? Yes?

Israeli Mystical Rabbi Warns of Imminent Attack on Israel:

This fourth and final example of the extraordinary emphasis and enthusiasm over current events as precursor evidence of Messiah’s soon appearance is ominous, to say the least.

Recently, Rabbi Amram Vaknin, who allegedly receives periodic revelations from heaven—sometimes from the prophet Elijah—announced that: “The Muslims are going to contaminate the water, the fruits and vegetables. They are going to damage the electricity. And there are going to be people dying in the streets, thousands of people all over Israel.”

He specified further than this attack was being planned by current Arab Knesset Member, Hanin Zoabi (who is a known adversary of Israel even though she is member of the Knesset) as a spy for ISIS and Hamas. According to Rabbi Vaknin, God will permit this atrocious attack unless Israel does teshuva … which means to repent. Gil Nachman, a student of Rabbi Vaknin, said that this repentance must be for individual inner sins and dishonoring of parents, of not always telling the truth (lying), and about not being your real self (hypocrisy).

Comment: I’m certainly not endorsing or agreeing with this Rabbi’s predictions for several reasons … too many to list and elaborate on in this article. Nor is there time/space to challenge what Israelis individually and Israel nationally should repent of. Except to say that under the New Covenant, the fundamental repentance (change of mind) necessary is to allow God to change one’s heart (Jew and Gentile alike) through the awesome redemption purchased for us by Messiah Jesus. Essentially, it is to repent of unbelief in the final atoning sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross. Simply put, it’s saying, “Yes,” to God by believing and receiving God’s gracious gift of his Son.

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Repentance from what is an incredibly important question. Whether Messiah’s appearance (return) is predicated on Israel’s teshuva is a monumentally significant issue and dilemma to the Jewish people, especially the Orthodox among them. The answer is found in the difference between the Old Covenant through Moses and the New Covenant through Messiah Jesus. It’s also found in the prophecies of Old Testament prophets, the words of Jesus while on the Mount of Olives, the book of Revelation, and the Apostle Paul writings on the Rapture and the Antichrist.

The primary purpose for including this questionable yet startling and gloomy prediction is in keeping with the main theme of this article. Which is the amazing frequency of rabbinical predictions of and correlation with what is happening in the Middle East, especially Israel, to the passionate and persistent anticipation for Messiah. It is nothing short of incredible. Though many of these associations may not be accurate, the sheer number of them create a modern-day sensation that is unrivaled since the time of Christ … his first coming to the earth.

Things to Ponder

The whole world is watching, wondering, and wavering whether the apocalyptic beginning of the end has begun. Who is Messiah? When and where will he arrive? What exactly will he do? Except for the exact time of Messiah’s glorious appearance, many passages in the Bible have answered these questions.

Listen to the word of the Lord through the Prophet Micah:

“Yes, says the Lord, I will do mighty miracles for you, like those I did when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt. All the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the Lord will do for you. They will be embarrassed at their feeble power. They will cover their mouths in silent awe … they will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence. Where is there another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago” (Micah 7:15-20).

Based on Scripture and unfolding events in today’s world, I can say with utmost confidence: God’s discipline of Israel through Gentile nations ended in 1967. His compassion for his special possession Israel has returned in active form. He will forgive their sins and pardon the guilt of the remnant. That remnant began in 1948 at the magnificent rebirth of Israel as a nation, of the Jews as a people. It will be refined even more … down to those who will gladly recognize and receive Messiah Yeshua as their God and Savior.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!

Four Locust Kingdoms!

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by garybowers in Prophecy in General

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Babylon, Rome, The Number Four, Visions of Daniel

Locusts, Gentile Kingdoms, and Israel

Several numbers in the Bible bear a great deal of meaning. Although it may seem so at first, this article is not mainly about the fascinating subject and study of numbers in Scripture. However, we are going to see how the number four relates to and explains a huge portion of Israel’s history; in the context of God’s providential direction for the Jews and their interaction with mighty Gentile nations.

The number four derives its significance from God’s creative work especially pertaining to the earth, including God’s dealings with and disposition (rise and fall destiny) of nations. It is the number of wholeness, totality, entirety, and summation. It is a number concept that would be completely incomplete if we eliminated just one of the component parts of any given foursome.

If we want to move from one place to another, we must go forward, backward, left or right. Up or down doesn’t count; if we go beneath or above the earth, we must then travel in one of four directions. For example, try to imagine if there was no direction of west on the compass. I would need to travel east from my home city of Phoenix, Arizona to get to Los Angeles, California! I suppose I’d get there eventually, but….

Yes, there are four seasons, four primary lunar phases, and four sides to what is probably the most perfect geometric object we can think of … a square. And many more fours:

  • On the fourth day God created the material universe—the sun, moon, planets, and stars. To give us light, to distinguish day from night, and enabling us to tell time.
  • Each day has four component parts: Seconds, minutes, hours, and day. One day is cyclical … it begins, ends, and starts all over again. Weeks, months, and years are linear, continuous.
  • Four basic elements comprise material creation: Earth, fire, air, and water.
  • In the Ten Commandments, the fourth is to keep God’s Sabbath day of rest, which is an integral part of the creation week.
  • Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—each emphasizing a distinct characteristic of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Jewish Messiah—Son of David; God’s suffering servant; Perfect Son of Man—to both Gentile and Jew; and Son of God, respectively.
  • Messiah Jesus is a direct descendant from the fourth tribe, Judah, (son) of Jacob.
  • There were four rivers flowing from the Garden of Eden.
  • Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelation Chapter 6).
  • Four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds (Revelation 7:1).
  • Four angels released at the Great Euphrates River (for that hour, day, month, and year) who will lead a demonic army that will kill one-third of the earth’s inhabitants (Revelation 9:13-16).
  • The angels for the fourth trumpet and the fourth bowl judgements change the physical laws of heavenly bodies, including the sun—all part of the fourth day of creation (Revelation 8:12 & Revelation 16:8).
  • Four mighty cherubim, each with four faces and four wings (Ezekiel Chapters 1 & 10, Revelation Chapter 4).
  • Four major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
  • Fourth Book of the Bible is (none other than) the Book of Numbers!

Lions, Bears, Leopards, Terrifying Iron-Tooth Beast (and Locusts) … Oh My!

Alright, I agree … not the best takeoff of the Wizard of Oz. But the story did have four main characters: Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. Let’s shift to the Bible and continue with two more sets of four; with the first four creatures listed above most likely tweaking your memory. Or if you know nothing about them, sparking your interest in the four amazing beasts seen by Daniel in his incredible vision recorded in Daniel Chapter 7; and earlier depicted as four parts of a magnificent statue seen by King Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in Daniel Chapter 2.

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But what about the locusts? It’s like, what do locusts have to do with the number four and with four mighty Gentile nations that shaped the course of Israel’s destiny and world history. From a divine perspective, these (grasshopper) nations rose and fell according to God’s providential plan and purpose for Israel; specifically through divine discipline that would lead to purification and restoration of God’s chosen people, the Jews. Which also exerted a direct impact on the rest of the world … past, present, and future.

Prosperity & Punishment for Israel

First, let’s begin with a Biblical statement of fact, one that will clarify and correct a common misunderstanding of a good many Bible scholars: In Scripture there are four and only FOUR Gentile kingdoms that are identified; attached and relating to Israel’s prophetic destiny, beginning with Babylon. Not seven, as the seven kings of Revelation 17 are just that … kings, not kingdoms. They are not to be equated to any of the four kingdoms listed in Daniel. Please read my book, Out of the Abyss, for complete clarification.

To be sure, there are other Gentile nations prophetically referenced directly or indirectly in Scripture, such as Russia, Iran, and Turkey in the Gog/Magog attack on Israel. But all of these countries are mentioned in the context of Israel’s final time (last days) of turmoil just before Messiah returns. They are nations bent on Israel’s destruction AFTER the Jews fulfill God’s providential plan for their return to Israel, which is underway as we speak.

God explicitly and exclusively used these four Gentile empires to execute his warnings to Israel first given through Moses before the Hebrews even entered and possessed the Promised Land. Whereas, The Lord promised bountiful blessings to his people if they would keep the Covenant he made with them (Mosaic Law), he also gave them powerful warnings of punishment should they break the covenant by worshipping false gods (idols); by deliberately and continually turning from and abandoning the Lord their God. You can find a detailed description of the distressing consequences in Leviticus Chapter 26 and a recap review by Moses in Deuteronomy Chapter 28. But, in summary, the ultimate and, by far, most devastating penalty is expressed in the following passage:

“If in spite of all this you still refuse to listen and still remain hostile toward me, then I will give full vent to my hostility. I myself will punish you seven times over for your sins” (Leviticus 26:27-28, italics for emphasis).

This was the fourth (there’s that number again) set of seven times over consecutive and uninterrupted periods of punishment Israel would undergo, with the fourth and final set culminating in something the Jews couldn’t possibly imagine would happen. Even though the Lord God told them: “I will scatter you among the nations … Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins. Then at last the land will enjoy its neglected Sabbath years as it lies desolate while you are in exile in the land of your enemies…” (Leviticus 26:33-34).

Defeat in battle by siege and by the sword is one thing. To be torn from their land and carted off to a foreign country was the ultimate disgrace and desolation for Israel.

I say periods of punishment in the literal application of actual time or years of Israel’s history. Because that’s exactly how the Lord applied this discipline … initially through the Babylonian destruction of Israel and Solomon’s Temple followed by a seventy-year exile in Babylon. Although the Jews partially returned to Israel, they never really returned to God. We know beyond any doubt that the four consecutive sets of seven times over (meaning years) resumed after the Babylonian captivity, as the Jews were once again conquered, this time by the Romans … with that Diaspora exile lasting an agonizing 19 centuries.

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*Note: If you want to see some amazing details of this prophecy, please read the Eye of Prophecy articles entitled, Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power), Parts I, II, & III. Published 1-25-14 through 2-8-14, respectively. Then the summary article, The Omega Generation, published 2-15-14. There you will find that seven times over (7 x 7 x 7 x 7) translated to years (which was the basis for God’s measuring out of his discipline) lasted exactly until 1967; the remarkable year when Israelis once again assumed control of the Holy City of the Holy Land in the Six-Day War of 1967. Thus, ending Gentile domination of Israel, referred to as The Times of the Gentiles.

Covenants, Conditional and Unconditional

Scripture is exceedingly explicit that God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants (the Jews) was unconditional. It was God’s eternal promise to the Jews, one that would ultimately result in perpetual possession and occupation (in the positive connotation of the word) of Israel. However, God’s covenant with Israel through Moses was conditional; obedience to and exclusive worship of God was necessary for the Jews to remain in the Promised Land—until God’s final plan for all mankind was fulfilled. It was from Israel that the Jews were to be a blessing and a light to the Gentile nations by teaching them the Word and Attributes of the true and living God.

In our day, in this generation, the Abrahamic Covenant is finally being fulfilled, by the commencement and ongoing return of Jews to Israel from nations the world over. And the covenant with King David will be fully accomplished when Messiah (King of all kings) returns to the Mount of Olives and rescues the Jews from the onslaught of the ten-king federation led by the Antichrist.

But there is another Covenant that God struck with Israel and also the Gentile nations … the New Covenant announced by the prophet Jeremiah (Chapter 31). A covenant that most Jews refused to recognize as it was accomplished by Jesus Christ. Only Messianic Jews embrace Jesus as Messiah; however, there are tens of thousands of those Jews the world over.

It’s of vital importance to understand that when it comes to salvation for all peoples, as specifically purchased by God’s Son, Christ Jesus, as well as selecting Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants (the chosen people) specifically through King David to bring us Messiah, it is God who took the initiative. It’s very evident in Scripture that God loves Israel, those whom he calls his special possession. It’s equally clear that his sovereign choice had nothing to do with any self-worth or intrinsic value that the Jews may have otherwise possessed.

In fact, just before the Hebrews entered the Promised Land, Moses told them: “After the Lord your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, ‘The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people! No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way. It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land…’” (Deuteronomy 9:4-5)

Through Abraham, God began a certain race of people to one day give birth to Messiah, the Son of Man and the Son of God. Which is why the Virgin Birth of Christ was both natural and supernatural. He did this because he knew (and so do we) that not a single person on earth ever has or ever will be without sin; thus qualified to live forever with a loving but Holy God. Only God’s Messiah could and would do this, which is so poignantly described in the song; which, in turn, is a superb summary of so many passages in the Bible.

“Amazing love how can it be, that you my God should die for me.”

Yet, before the first advent of Jesus Christ, there were long periods in which God was either silent or, because of Israel’s disobedience, issued stern warnings of punishment unless they listened to and obeyed him. What parent would not first warn his or her child of the consequences of disobedience, and give that child reasonable time to respond favorably? With God, we’re talking about hundreds of years of patience.

Four Hundred Years

Here again we see the number four, multiplied to the sum of four hundred (years).

Four Hundred Years in Egypt: Through Joseph, the son whom Jacob’s other sons had sold into slavery, God rescued Jacob and his family from a great famine in Israel. Most of us know this incredible account in Scripture. But it was not God’s intention that the Jews remain in Egypt. They could and should have returned to Israel, especially after Joseph died. Their choice to remain in Egypt resulted in both physical and spiritual servitude.

We most often think in terms of their physical bondage, but that came many years later. During their four-hundred years of what turned into captivity and slavery, they also began to worship some of the false, man-made Egyptian gods. They forgot about and abandoned the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moreover, there is no indication, whatsoever, that they would have voluntarily made any effort to once again seek their true and living God. Thus, the Lord took the initiative to deliver them; not just from bondage to Pharaoh, but from spiritual slavery to false gods.

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Four Hundred Years of Forewarnings: From the time that King David’s reign of glory ended and about half way through Solomon’s reign (the latter part of his kingship resulted in Solomon, himself, and Israel beginning to turn away from God) to the time of the Babylonian captivity was about four hundred years. To be sure the ten northern tribes were conquered and exiled to Assyria after only 250 years; however, the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin (the heart and soul of Israel if for no other reason than Jerusalem as their Holy capital) were spared from God’s punishment for nearly four hundred years—right up to Babylon’s final conquest of Judah.

Once again, God took the initiative to return his people to Israel by providentially causing Babylon to fall to the Persians; with none other than Cyrus, the King of Persia, issuing an edict that the Jews could return to Israel. Still, many Jews refused to make the journey. Although some who did return under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah were those who rebuilt the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem, by and large, they continued to time and time again depart from the Lord.

Four Hundred Silent Years: Therefore, in less than one generation (using 70 years as a generational measurement) God suddenly stopped all communication with his people for four hundred years. With the same sovereign purpose: to get the attention of his people, this time through silence, so that they would earnestly and enthusiastically seek and love the Lord their God. But they didn’t.

*Note: One of my favorite verses is Amos 3:7, which says, “Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.” Which means that anything pertaining to God’s plan for Israel and Gentile nations as they interface with Israel has been proclaimed by his prophets! Did you know that God announced this period of silence with Israel ahead of time? I certainly didn’t until just recently, when I read again and this time realized the following passage says exactly that. And from the same prophet no less!

“The time is surely coming, says the Sovereign Lord, when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread or water but of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from border to border searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it” (Amos 8:11-12).

Messiah!

When God ended his silence, he did so in an astounding way that would forever change the course of not only Jewish history, but the history of the entire world. Messiah Jesus came to earth. He was the express image of God, the Father. The Jews needed to search no more for the word of the Lord. Jesus of Nazareth was the living Word of God!

Speaking of Messiah Jesus: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

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But sadly, ever so tragically, the religious leaders of Israel and most of the people rejected Jesus as Messiah. The disastrous result of this denial was that the seven times over discipline of Israel would continue and even intensify in duration and magnitude; beginning in 70 AD with the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and near complete exile of Jews to what would be virtually every nation on earth. Although the Gentile domination of the Jews ended in 1967, the Aliyah ingathering of the Jews is still in progress, and the Temple has yet to be rebuilt.

But that will all change and soon! It will all come to a magnificent climax when Christ Jesus appears to totally redeem the remnant of Israel … all those who will believe and receive him as Savior and Lord.

The Four Gentile Kingdoms

Now let’s examine the four kingdoms that God specifically utilized to accomplish a good part of his plan for Israel and for all peoples. These nations were identified through a spectacular vision that the prophet Daniel experienced when he was well into his 60’s. The four nations were metaphorically portrayed in the form of beasts. The first three beasts were personified by an animal, with each animal the (historical) symbol of that nation. By referring to other passages in Daniel and as easily confirmed by world history, the four nations were:

Babylon: “The first beast was like a lion with eagles’ wings…” (Daniel 7:4).

Mede-Persia: “Then I saw a second beast, and it looked like a bear…” (Verse 5).

Greece: “Then the third of these strange beasts appeared, and it looked like a leopard…” (Verse 6).

Rome: “…I saw a fourth beast—terrifying, dreadful, and very strong. It devoured and crushed its victims with huge iron teeth and trampled their remains beneath its feet. It was different from any of the other beasts, and it had ten horns” (Verse 7).

As alluded earlier, there is a distinct reason why there are only four kingdoms revealed by God to Daniel: because each of these nations were used by God to accomplish his prophetic purpose for Israel. Directly, this plan involved God’s discipline of Israel in order to return them to himself. Indirectly, but nonetheless dramatically and effectively, to fulfill God’s plan for all peoples. Not the least of which was Messiah’s death on the (four-pointed) cross during the ascendancy of the Roman Empire, to redeem every person who would accept him as their personal Savior.

God withdrew his protection and blessings from Israel enough to allow Israel’s enemies to conquer and/or control them. But he never completely abandoned them during their long period(s) of oppression while in their land or during their exile in other lands. There was a mixture of retribution and rescue; of reprisal and redemption. As follows:

Babylon: It was the first kingdom to conquer the remaining tribes of Israel. Assyria’s deportation of the northern tribes was intended to be mostly a serious wake-up call to God’s chosen people. Had the southern tribes heeded the example of the ten northern tribes and warnings that the same thing would happen to them, they would not have been exiled to Babylon. But God was merciful in his discipline of Judah, by allowing his people to return to Israel after seventy years. During the relatively short exile in Babylon (in comparison to the lengthy period of captivity under the subsequent three nation beasts), the Lord graciously caused King Nebuchadnezzar to show periodic favor on his Jewish captives, as epitomized by his treatment of Daniel. Also, God took this opportunity to demonstrate to mighty Babylon that he was the one and only powerful God of the universe, through up close and personal encounters with King Nebuchadnezzar. But overall, this captivity invoked times of great hardship and misery and sporadic episodes of hostility such as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace.

Persia: God caused this nation to rise in power in order to end Israel’s exile in Babylon, by crushing the once mighty Babylonian empire. Once again there were good times and bad times for the Jews under Persian domination. Extremely good, when God caused Cyrus to permit all Jews to return to Israel. And a really bad time: So much so, that were it not for God’s direct intervention through Queen Esther, the Persian King’s edict falsely procured by the lies of the wicked official Haman would have resulted in genocide of the Jewish people. Which is why the Jews to this day celebrate the Feast of Purim.

Greece: Israel’s discipline continued through the world-wide conquest of Alexander the Great and subsequent division of his kingdom into four world empires. Although Alexander, himself, was mostly kind to and considerate of the Jews, his successors were not. Particularly the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes IV. By God’s miraculous intervention through the Maccabees, Israel was rescued from what would have been even more massive destruction and death at the hands of this evil ruler, one who is identified as the prototype of Antichrist in Daniel Chapter 11. To this day, the Jews celebrate Hanukkah.

Rome: Here the metaphorical comparison of the first three kingdoms changes from an animal to just that of a Beast. But with obvious implication that this beast was greater and more terrifying that the three predecessors. However, this time there would be no physical rescue, either natural or supernatural, of the Jews from their captors. From God’s perspective, that’s one of the reasons why the Roman beast was different from the previous kingdoms.

Instead, God would for the second time take the initiative by ending his four hundred year silence. This time to spiritually deliver his people from their sins, through the incredible birth, life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of the long-awaited Messiah. But not just the Jews. This time God’s salvation was for Gentiles, too. Which had also been promised by the Jewish prophets long before. The New Covenant had arrived!

The New Covenant fulfilled and replaced the Mosaic Covenant. Because for hundreds of years—before, during, and after their Babylonian exile—God’s people time and time again demonstrated that they could not and would not keep their part of the Covenant. They were continually disobedient to God and deceitful with each other, especially the religious leaders toward the common people.

But sadly, God’s people rejected their very Messiah, who was the Mediator, Author and Finisher of the New Covenant. Which led to their near annihilation by the Romans and second exile, this time much more severe and longer in duration. Which is why the Jews to this day mourn during the 9th of Av, the same Jewish calendar date when Solomon’s Temple, then Herod’s Temple were destroyed by Babylon and Rome, respectively.

The Four Locusts

Did you think I had forgotten about the grasshoppers?! Not hardly. So we’ll wrap this week’s article up with a hidden gem of prophecy that is a short, veiled counterpart to Daniel’s vision of the four beasts. In fact, the actions of the four locusts strikingly represent the characteristics of the four world kingdoms. Let’s look at the (locust) passage from one of the so-called Minor Prophets (all of them are major to me!):

“The Lord gave this message to Joel son of Pethuel. ‘Hear this, you leaders of the people. Listen, all who live in the land. In all your history, has anything like this happened before? Tell your children about it in the years to come, and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation. After the cutting locusts finished eating the crops, the swarming locusts took what was left! After them came the hopping locusts, and then the stripping locusts, too!’”(Joel 1:1-4).

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This is as abrupt an event (which is also a prophetic image) that you’ll find anywhere in the Bible. Only four lines telling the Israelites about four kinds of locusts that have (will) devastated the land. After this vivid description of locusts demolishing the land, Joel immediately begins to warn Judah that the Day of the Lord will come upon them.

Joel is writing exclusively to the southern kingdom of Judah. Consequently, the severe attack of the locusts does not include or involve Assyria as the instrument nation God used to punish the ten northern tribes.

Many prophets combine current events in Israel when they were written with future (prophetic) events. Isaiah often does this. Not only end-times events, but things that took place dozens or hundreds of years later; that are, nevertheless, historical to us. The destruction of Tyre comes to mind: begun by Nebuchadnezzar and completed by Alexander the Great. Thus, the locust plague could very well be a metaphorical analogy that can be applied or equated to actual armies of nations that would subsequently conquer and control Israel. The imagery of fire, flood, and locusts are used in Scripture to represent great armies of nations pouring through the peoples they defeated.

The dramatic and traumatic magnitude of this locust onslaught strongly indicates that the locusts are much more than just insects that may have ravaged the land in a one-time plague. Such as, “in all your history, has anything like this happened before?”

Therefore, even if Joel is referring to a serious plague of locusts that actually took place in his time, the ultimate long-term reference is the incredible (historical) things that would happen to Israel and the nations in the future, including mighty armies that would overwhelm Israel.

I have read the book of Joel several times, indeed, all of Scripture. I do this in my personal time of Bible study with the Lord. But also in the writing of two books and (now) over a hundred Eye of Prophecy articles, I’ve had need to read and study hundreds, if not thousands, of Bible passages. In all my readings of the book of Joel, I couldn’t figure out why the Lord would tell Joel to write about four different types of locusts to describe what every other Bible passage that refers to locusts does so as just a one-time (whole) swarm of locusts. That is until now! It hit me that the four locusts are one and the same as the four beasts of Daniel Chapter 7 (which are the same four nations of Daniel Chapter 2).

In other Bible translations you’ll find different adjectives to describe each kind of locust, but they all are very similar. But when I learned the Hebrew meaning for each kind of locust listed, I was even more convinced that Joel’s prophecy is a precursor allusion to and confirmation of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel’s four world empires vision.

Here are the Hebrew definitions.

Cutting locust: It means “shearer.” (Think of shearing wool from a sheep).

Swarming locust: It means just that, “swarming.” Or covering densely.

Hopping locust: It means “lapper.” (Or leaps and bounds … think of a gazelle or frog).

Stripping locust: It means “devourer.”

Although I don’t believe we absolutely need to know the Hebrew amplified meaning of each type of locust, the meanings do help us understand how each of the four Gentile kingdoms dealt with Israel.

Babylon: They summarily cut the people and property from the land, shearing (cutting down) the Temple and removing all instruments from Temple Mount.

Persia: No cutting or removal here. Instead they swarmed over the empire of Babylon; thereby, enveloping all of the Jews held captive in those lands. The Mede-Persians were noted for their massive armies. They would send wave after wave of soldiers that would “swarm” over their enemies.

Greece: Alexander the Great’s amazing four-year campaign that conquered much of the civilized and uncivilized world was accomplished in blitzkrieg fashion, i.e. by hopping and lapping and skimming rapidly over and through other peoples and nations, including Israel.

Rome: The Roman Empire stripped Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple like never before. Rome’s destruction of Israel and the Jews was even greater than Babylon’s. Itdevoured everyone and everything that resisted its relentless conquest for world dominion. In fact, the same word devour is used by Daniel to describe the fourth beast (Rome), when he says, “…It devoured and crushed its victims…”

Rest assured, the story didn’t end there.

“The Lord says, ‘I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts … and you will praise the Lord your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people be disgraced. Then you will know that I am among my people Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other. Never again will my people be disgraced'” (Joel 2:25-27).

As we watch with eager expectation, this powerful promise of God is taking place in our generation. Soon, very soon, Israel’s physical and spiritual restoration will be complete. Never again will the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be cut away from or stripped of their God-given inheritance … the glorious land of Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem.

Soon, even sooner, the Lord will rapture born-again believers, Jew and Gentile alike, from an earth that is lapped by terror and covered with evil.

Things to Ponder

“There are three things that amaze me—no, four things that I don’t understand: how an eagle glides through the sky, how a snake slithers on a rock, how a ship navigates the ocean, how a man loves a woman” (Proverbs 30:18-19).

There are several verses in Proverbs 30 that begin with the observation, there are three things—no, four….

It’s a poetic way to highlight the number four, but also to suggest that there are even more than four things that amaze … or whatever.

And so I will close by saying: There are three things about The Lord that are precious to me—no, four:

His Protection.

His Promises.

His Patience.

His Presence.

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  • “One Ring To Rule Them All….”
  • A Beast by Any Other Name … Part I
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  • A Palestinian State? (No, say many Arabs!)
  • A Religion of Peace? (Part I)
  • A Religion of Peace? (Part II)
  • A Revived Roman Empire … Or Not?
  • A Sleeping Giant
  • A Tale of Two (Arab) Cousins
  • A Third Jewish Temple (Part II)
  • A Third Jewish Temple?
  • A Trilogy of Terror
  • Aftermath of America’s Amazing Election
  • Age of Grace (Part I)
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  • Alliances against Israel
  • Amazing Anticipation for Messiah
  • Ambassador Nikki Haley & The Truth About Israel
  • America the Beautiful Is Getting Ugly
  • An Incredible Time-Lapse Prophecy
  • An Islamic United Nations?
  • An Unprecedented Palestinian Attack in Jerusalem
  • And Justice For All
  • Antichrist / A “Back To The Future” Prophecy
  • Antichrist … Is He Alive Today?
  • Antichrist and Anzio … What Do They Have in Common?
  • Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ … Part I
  • Antichrist and the Vicar of Christ … Part II
  • Antichrist’s Dreaded Arrival / First or Second Appearance?
  • Armageddon & Messiah’s Return … An Amazing Sequence of Events
  • Beginning of the End
  • Beware of the Bear!
  • Biblical Terms Not in the Bible … Are They Biblical?
  • Blood Moons
  • Blow the Trumpets … Messiah Will Come!
  • Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (of Israel)
  • BREXIT … What’s It All About?
  • Bring Back Our Boys
  • Build The Temple! Will Messiah Come?
  • Can A Murderer Be A Martyr?
  • Christ or Antichrist … who will it be?
  • Comparing A Phenomenal Prophecy in Leviticus With One in Zechariah
  • Conspiracy Theories … A New World Order
  • Countdown to Armageddon … End of the Fourth 400-Year Era
  • COVID-19 / Just Another Plague?
  • COVID-19 / Just Another Plague? (Part II)
  • Cunning Makeover of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Daniel’s 70 Prophetic Weeks & The Number Seventy!
  • Day of Infamy
  • Did God Really Appear to People? When & How?
  • Diplomacy With Israel Despite Anti-Semitism / A Puzzling Paradox
  • Divine Consequences of Iran’s Arrogance (Part I)
  • Divine Consequences of Iran’s Arrogance (Part II)
  • Does Christmas Really Need Christ?
  • Does God Really Have a Son? … Part I
  • Does God Really Have a Son? … Part II
  • Does Israel Belong To The State of Israel?
  • Does The Holy Spirit Restrain (the Man of) Lawlessness?
  • Don’t Seal The Book of Revelation!
  • Double Israel’s Trouble & Double Her Blessings!
  • End of the World Events … In Chronological Order!
  • Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda
  • Exposing Antichrist’s Identity … More Compelling Evidence (Part I)
  • Exposing Antichrist’s Identity … More Compelling Evidence (Part II)
  • Extraordinary Biblical Prophecies w/Predicted Times of Fulfillment (Part I)
  • Extraordinary Biblical Prophecies w/Predicted Times of Fulfillment (Part II)
  • Festival of Tabernacles … Part I
  • First Century Existence of Christ and Antichrist & Their 21st Century Return
  • Five Life-Changing Meals in the Bible
  • For or Against Israel?
  • For Such A Time As This
  • Fountain of Youth & Fountain of Life … Is There a Difference?
  • Four Locust Kingdoms!
  • Freedom … What Does It Really Mean?
  • Fulfilled Prophecy Proves We Can Trust The Bible
  • Gateway to the World
  • Giving Thanks … What is it all about
  • Global Obsession with Jerusalem … In Biblical Proportions!
  • Globalism or Populism … Which Will Antichrist Prefer?
  • God Is Great & Yet He’s So Good!
  • God Is in Control
  • God’s New Covenant with Israel … Minus the Temple (Part I)
  • God’s New Covenant with Israel … Minus the Temple (Part II)
  • Gog, Magog and Leviathan
  • Gog/Magog’s Prophetic Clock Is Ticking, Ticking….
  • Grace and Law … A Biblical Balance
  • Great Expectations for Messiah
  • Hamas Horrifying Attack on Israel … A Preview of Two Coming Invasions
  • Hamas’ Horrifying Attack on Israel … A Broader Perspective
  • Hanukkah & Christmas / Do They Have Anything in Common?
  • Hanukkah … The Festival Born of a Prophecy!
  • Happy New Year … Jerusalem Style!
  • Has Antichrist Already Died … How, When & Why
  • How and When Does The World End?
  • How the Rapture
  • Humiliating End of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Hurricane Harvey & A Year of Prophetic Milestones (2017)
  • Intriguing Comparisons Between Antiochus IV & Antichrist (Nero)
  • Is President Trump Wavering On “The Waiver”?
  • ISIS, Nero, and Rome
  • Israel Is Again The Head, Not the Tail (The Deal of the Century)
  • Israel Is Here To Stay … Forever!
  • Israel’s Annexation of Occupied Territory? We Must Define The Terms
  • Israel’s Controversial Nation-State Law
  • Israel’s Government in Limbo … Unprecedented!
  • Israeli Occupation … Fact or Myth?
  • Israel & The United Arab Emirates / A Diplomatic Marvel
  • Italy’s New Government / A Thorn in the EU’s Side
  • Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country?
  • Jerusalem … City of Peace?
  • Jerusalem / City Above All Cities
  • Jerusalem’s Mysterious Eastern Gate … Making Headlines
  • Jesus’s Stunning Statements While on the Cross… A Summary of Salvation!
  • Jesus Is The Very Essence of Prophecy
  • Jewish Christian / Christian Jew … An Oxymoron?
  • Jewish Settlements in Judea/Samaria … Are They Illegal?
  • Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part I)
  • Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount (Part II)
  • Jubilee and Messiah … They Go Together!
  • Judea/Samaria & Gaza Strip / Who Has Sovereignty?
  • Just How Imminent is Messiah’s Imminent Return?
  • King David’s Tomb
  • Kingdom of God
  • Las Vegas Massacre … A Broader Perspective
  • Lazarus and Lazarus & The Sign of Jonah
  • Let’s Celebrate … Forever!
  • Let’s Make a Deal
  • Light of The World (Sequel To: The Incomparable Power & Authority of Jesus Christ)
  • Look Up, Redemption Is Near … Part I
  • Look Up, Redemption Is Near … Part II
  • Major Earthquake in Israel … When & Where It Will Strike
  • Melchizedek … A Man of Mystery!
  • Merry Christmas … What’s It All About?
  • Messiah and the Jewish Festivals … An Extraordinary Connection!
  • Messiah’s Amazing Appearances Before He Was Born
  • Messiah’s Arrival … On Whose Authority?
  • Messiah’s Ascension & Coronation … Seen Long Before It Happened!
  • Messiah’s Millennial Reign … Incredible Changes on Earth
  • Messiah’s Number & Its Prophetic Value
  • Messiah’s Return & The Rapture (Same or Separate Events?)
  • Messianic Jews … Who Are They?
  • Modern Day Antichrist?
  • Moral Equivalency
  • More Palestinian Lies
  • More Than One Messiah?
  • Moses & Elijah vs. Antichrist & The False Prophet
  • Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem … A Broken Promise?
  • NERO & The Remarkable Revival of His Name
  • O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!
  • Old & New Testament Saints … Is There a Difference?
  • One Global Language … Coming Soon! (Part I)
  • One Global Language … Coming Soon! (Part II)
  • One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part I
  • One Hundred Forty-Four Thousand Messianic Jews … Part II
  • One Nation Under (the wrath of) God
  • One World Government?
  • One World Religion?
  • Palestine or Israel? Which Is It? / Your Answer May Be In Jeopardy!
  • Palestinian Propaganda Is Pure Poison
  • Palestinian Refugees… Are They Really Refugees?
  • Palestinian Terrorism & UN Resolutions … Neither Will Defeat Israel
  • Palestinian Terror Tunnels & Poetic Justice
  • Passover & Messiah Are Inseparable!
  • Passover … an Enduring Legacy
  • Peace Between Israel and Judah … Then World Peace!
  • Peace on Earth … Is It Really Possible?
  • Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be?
  • Powerful Proof of Messiah’s Identity & Arrival in The First Century!
  • Preach the Gospel … But Not to the Jews!
  • Prince of Peace
  • Prophecy & A Jewish Holiday
  • Prophetic Fate of Israel’s Friends and Foes
  • Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part I)
  • Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part II)
  • Proportional Warfare
  • Reappearance of Satan, a Roman Emperor & Two Ancient Prophets … Bodily!
  • Reappearance of the Beast (Antichrist)
  • Reexamination of Messiah’s Imminent Return & The Omega Generation
  • Remember December (Kislev) … A Hidden Gem of Prophecy!
  • Removing Christ From Christmas … What Are The Consequences?
  • Replacement Theology (Part I)
  • Replacement Theology (Part II)
  • Resurrections / How Many Will There Be? One, Two, Or Could There Be Three?
  • Rome and Jerusalem … friends or foes?
  • Russia & Iran versus Israel
  • Russia’s Shocking Invasion of Ukraine … A Preview of Gog/Magog’s Attack on Israel?
  • Salvation … “To The Jew First!”
  • Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part I)
  • Satan in Bodily Form … When & Why (Part II)
  • Scripture Says Everyone Will Die / But What About the Rapture?
  • Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part I)
  • Separation of Church and State … For or Against? (Part II)
  • Sequel to Stunning Catastrophes & Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation
  • Seven Essentials of The Rapture (Part I)
  • Seven Essentials of the Rapture (Part II)
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part I
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part II
  • Seven Times Seven (to the 4th power)! Part III
  • Seven Wonders of The Millennium
  • Seven Wonders of The Millennium (Part II)
  • Shameful Saga of the Great City (Revelation 17)
  • Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation
  • Significant Sets of Twos in the Bible
  • Six Million Reasons … To Trust the Bible
  • Soon Comes the Antichrist … Straight From the Abyss (Part I)
  • Soon Comes the Antichrist … Straight From the Abyss (Part II)
  • Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part I)
  • Spiritual Bodies … A Contradiction of Terms? (Part II)
  • Stand Still & Watch God Fight for Israel!
  • Stunning Catastrophes of the Tribulation / Their Timing & Purpose
  • Sudden Appearance of Antichrist … Why So Different?
  • Sukkot … The Forever Festival!
  • Superhuman Bodies for Believers / How & Why?
  • Tell a Big Lie Long Enough….
  • Terror, Terror, Terror (Part II)
  • Terror, Terror, Terror! (Part I)
  • The “Right of Return” … For Palestinians or Jews?
  • The Ark of the Covenant … Part I
  • The Ark of the Covenant … Part II
  • The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation (Part I)
  • The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation (Part II)
  • The Beast and His Name
  • The Birth of a Nation
  • The Child of Promise (Part I)
  • The Child of Promise (Part II)
  • The Cross and the Torn Curtain (Part I)
  • The Cross and the Torn Curtain (Part II)
  • The End of the Age … how close are we?
  • The False Prophet (Part I)
  • The False Prophet (Part II)
  • The Final Treaty of Rome … Part I
  • The Final Treaty of Rome … Part II
  • The Gog/Magog Countdown Has Begun!
  • The Heart & Soul of Israel
  • The Incomparable Power and Authority of Jesus Christ
  • The Jewish Dichotomy In & Outside Israel
  • The Legacy of Temple Mount
  • The Legendary Return of Nero
  • The Liberation of Jerusalem
  • The Magnificent Millennial Reign of Believers with Messiah
  • The Most Panoramic Prophecy in the Bible (Part I)
  • The Most Panoramic Prophecy in the Bible (Part II)
  • The Most Significant End-Times Sign Of All
  • The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque
  • The Number of the Beast
  • The Omega Generation
  • The Peace Treaty That Will Guarantee War
  • The Phenomenal Thousand Years/One Day Parallel
  • The Prince and the People That Destroyed the Jewish Temple / Who Were They?
  • The Prophetic Endgame of Gog/Magog
  • The Rapture / Before or After The Great Tribulation?
  • The Real Reason for Palestinian Terrorism
  • The Reign of Terror
  • The Remarkable Rebirth of a Nation
  • The Remarkable Rebirth, Redemption, & Restoration of Israel
  • The Rest of the Story … Bibi’s Speech to the United Nations
  • The Right to Life?
  • The Russians Are Coming!
  • The Seal of Approval
  • The Second Exodus
  • The Seven Year Treaty
  • The Shout Heard Around the World
  • The Shroud of Turin … Real or Fake? / A Decisive Answer
  • The Shroud of Turin … Real or Fake? / A Decisive Answer (Part II)
  • The Terrible Trio of Gog and Magog
  • The Three Greatest Trials of All Time
  • The Tremendous Transfiguration of Believers!
  • The Two Witnesses (Part I)
  • The Two Witnesses (Part II)
  • The Two Witnesses (Part III)
  • The Vatican and Islam … A Perfect Match for Antichrist
  • The Virgin Birth of Messiah … How and Why?
  • The Whole Truth
  • The Woman and the Beast
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part II)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part III)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part IV)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part V)
  • The Woman and the Beast (Part VI)
  • The Wonder Of It All … Birth of the Child!
  • The World Wants a Messiah … But It Needs (The) Messiah
  • There’s No Place Like Homs
  • There’s Resurrection; And There’s Resurrection!
  • Three … A Divine Number of God!
  • Times of & Fullness of the Gentiles … What Do They Mean?
  • To Be or Not To Be … in Heaven?
  • To Be Or Not To Be … In Heaven? (A Revisit)
  • Trump, Cyrus, and the Jewish Temple
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part I … Turmoil)
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part II … Tragedy)
  • Turmoil, Tragedy, & Terror in Israel (Part III … Terror)
  • Two-State Solution & The Seven-Year Treaty … Impossible?
  • Two Thirds of the Jews Killed … Past or Future?
  • Under the Radar
  • UNESCO / “Theatre of the Absurd” Against Israel
  • United Nations Downsizing of Israel (Resolution 2334)
  • Universal Preoccupation with Israel
  • U.S. President Agrees with God … Jerusalem Is Israel’s Capital!
  • Value of Prophecy
  • West Bank or Judea/Samaria? What’s In A Name?
  • What Is A Saint?
  • What Is Done To Israel Will Be Done In Return / The Iran Nuclear Deal
  • What Is Done to Israel Will Be Done in Return / Dangers of a Divided Jerusalem
  • What is Palestine & Who Is A Palestinian?
  • What is the Rapture?
  • What Is The Unpardonable Sin?
  • When the Rapture?
  • Where is Messiah … Is He Already Here?
  • Where Is The Temple? Part I
  • Where Is The Temple? Part II
  • Where is the Temple? Part III
  • Who is Messiah?
  • Who Is the Antichrist & How Will He Appear (Part I)
  • Who Is The Antichrist & How Will He Appear? (Part II)
  • Who the Rapture?
  • Whom Do You Most Want To See In Heaven?
  • Why the Rapture?
  • Why the Rapture? (A Revisit)
  • Why The World Idolizes Antichrist & How It Reacts To The Tribulation
  • Wiles of the Woman
  • Will All Children Be Taken in The Rapture?
  • Will Believers Go Through the Great Tribulation? (Part I)
  • Will Believers Go Through The Great Tribulation? (Part II)
  • Will There Still Be Unbelievers Throughout Eternity?
  • Yom Kippur / With Or Without Atonement?
  • Zechariah’s Dramatic Description of Antichrist’s Fatal Wounds

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