Posted on 06/12/2010 7:47:19 AM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta
Over the last few weeks and months I have found myself truly astonished at the speed of which Bible prophecy appears to be unfolding on the world scene. If one looks back towards the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama, one will notice that around the same time things started to change for Israel and the Middle East in general. With the inauguration of President Obama looming in early 2009, Israel was pressured into ending the war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas during Operation Cast Lead. This pressure resulted in Israel not finishing their objective of wiping out Hamas and their military infrastructure. Instead, Israel prematurely ended the war in order to appease the incoming U.S. administration who did not want to enter office with the Middle East in outright war mode. This turned out to be a huge mistake for Israel and has set in motion the current situation where Israel finds itself in an even worse situation than before and after Operation Cast Lead. Not only have the terrorist organizations on the borders with Israel gotten stronger, they have also gotten the bigger players in the region such as Iran, Turkey, Russia and Syria to increase and amplify their anti-semitic propaganda and threats.
Looking around the news scene today I was astonished to see the names of Turkey, Russia, and Iran dominating the headlines. As students of Bible prophecy we know that these countries will make up three of the major players in the coming Gog and Magog war spoken about in Ezekiel 38-39. Let's look at today's news and take a look at the rumblings coming from the Middle East and from the "Unholy Trinity" of Ezekiel 38-39. The New York Times is reporting:
"Leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran convened at a security summit meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday in a display of regional power that appeared to be calculated to test the United States just one day before a scheduled American-backed debate in the United Nations Security Council on imposing tighter sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program."
"In remarks at the gathering of regional leaders, the third of its kind dedicated to increasing cooperation and security in Asia, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said a nuclear agreement brokered by Turkey and Brazil last month was a one-time opportunity and other countries had called to express their support for it."
“We’ve seen a lot of support from the international arena,” he said, according to the Turkey’s official Anatolian News Agency. “This is the voice of everyone’s heart.” Mr. Ahmadinejad also maintained a defiant posture toward the United States."
I find it very interesting that the NY Times article mentions the meeting between Iran, Turkey, and Russia as a "test" of the United States. The reason I find this interesting is that in Ezekiel 38-39 the prophet mentions that the far away countries simply throw a "mild protest" as the future Gog and Magog allies head down towards Israel for their ill-fated date with destiny in the mountains of Israel. With U.S. President Obama at the helm of the U.S. military, it would appear to me that the Gog and Magog allies are "licking at the chops" at the possibility of making a move on Israel given the recent outbreak of violence over the Gaza flotilla crisis. Even if the recent Gaza flotilla crisis hadn't occurred, it appears that the world has sensed a radical change in U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration. Gone are the tough and determined ways of the George Bush era, in is the Islamic appeasing ways of the current administration. For me, this just seems to have emboldened our enemies and given them more motivation and determination to try to wrestle world control away from the West and more towards the East. As a result, the door has swung wide open for the arrival of the "Unholy Trinity" of Ezekiel 38-39. Eventually the leader of this conflict, Gog, will devise an evil thought and try to make a move on Israel in another effort to destroy the Jewish state. Only through the supernatural intervention of God does this plan fail and Israel is spared.
Another article that got my attention was one coming from Israel National News where it was being reported that Iran's offer to send two military ships to escort Gaza blockade ships was rebuffed, not only by Israel but Hamas as well. The INN article reports:
"The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it would send two warships to the Mediterranean to escort ships headed for Gaza in defiance of Israel’s blockade. Israel, as expected, warned against the move, and even Hamas turned down the offer. “We do not want any military intervention,” Hamas senior figure Jamal Al-Hadri told the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat. Israel said it would not allow Iranian warships to approach Israel or Gaza, just as it did 18 months ago by blocking access to Gaza. "The Iranian regime has called for Israel to be wiped off the map," an Israeli official has been quoted as saying, "and has a proven track record of supplying dangerous weapons to Hamas and Hizbullah... We cannot take a chance that there is weaponry on the ships… If we didn’t let an Irish ship reach Gaza, we are certainly not going to let Iranian ships pass.”
On the surface it would appear that Hamas would want to welcome Iran's intervention in the Gaza flotilla situation but, strangely enough, that doesn't appear to be the case according to the report. I would suspect that Hamas is very wary about an increased Iranian presence in the Gaza enclave should they send naval ships to Gaza. This sort of situation could erode Hamas' power in the strip and increase the influence of Iran. And Hamas certainly doesn't want that to happen. Despite Hamas being funded in a large part by Iran, the leaders of Hamas know that it is best to keep the Iranians at arms length and for good reason.
Another article from the Jerusalem Post shows that Turkey and Russia are making threats that they will not provide natural gas exports to Israel as a result of recent hostilities in the Middle East. The Jerusalem Post article reports:
"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that they don’t plan to export natural gas to Israel via a new pipeline to Turkey. “There is no such thing on our agenda,” Erdogan said at a news conference with Putin in Istanbul when asked about the gas. Russia has held talks on shipping fuel to Israel from a pipeline under the Black Sea. OAO Gazprom, Russia’s natural-gas export monopoly, is negotiating supplying the fuel, Gazprom chairman Viktor Zubkov said on March 22."
This increased rhetoric aimed at Israel is just more of the same anti-semitic propganda that regularly makes its way to the airwaves. Despite the joint Turkish and Russian announcement, the article noted that due to Israel's recent natural gas find they may not need the Turkish or Russian gas anyway. The Jerusalem Post article went on to further state:
"Israel may not need the extra gas, which could be transported to Syria or Lebanon instead via the planned Blue Stream-2 pipe, Putin said. “The Blue Stream gas may not go to Israel because of economic considerations,” Putin said. “I don’t think Israel needs the gas because they found a reserve recently.” Turkey has said it’s considering paring economic and military ties with Israel and has recalled its ambassador to the country after nine Turks were killed on an aid flotilla headed for Gaza and intercepted by Israeli commandos last week."
What's interesting to me is that Turkey has been very "two-faced" lately towards Israel. One day you will find them on their soapbox making all sorts of demands and threats towards Israel and the next day you will find them trying to wedge themselves into the Middle East peace process as a "mediator". This ridiculous behavior shows that the Turks simply can't be trusted and should be removed from any serious Middle East peacemaking efforts. The truth is the Turks are sounding more and more like the Iranians with each passing day and this does not bode well for Israel as it is just a further sign that the conflict foretold in Ezekiel 38-39 is getting closer and closer with each passing day. While the actual conflict may be a little way off (Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 may need to occur first), we can certainly see that the "Unholy Trinity" of Ezekiel 38-39 is definitely making moves on the world stage and heading towards their prophetic destiny. As we see this "Unholy Trinity" making their moves, we students of Bible prophecy need to be looking up, for the Bible tells us that when we see the signs of the end times around us, our redemption is drawing nigh!
God bless.
The bible CLEARLY states NO ONE knows when.....not even His own Son.
They just told us what to watch for before the second coming of Christ.
Creepy.
The destruction of Jerusalem, like our Lord's death, burial, resurrection, and enthronement (Pentecost), was a part of His saving work. Jesus, using the standard prophetic vocabulary of the Bible (which we can understand, if we read the whole Bible), predicted the time and the events with great clarity. He even gave a fairly precise time frame -- "this generation." Any honest reading of the Bible will reveal that the "this generation" Jesus spoke TO was the "this generation" Jesus spoke OF.
Those who heard and heeded our Lord's prophetic message took note when one of the three sects ravaging doomed Jerusalem brought Idumeans into the temple. Then, when the Roman armies briefly withdrew, the faithful and obedient believers beat feet into the hills, and escaped with their lives.
IOW, the Great Tribulation is something we can look back upon with relief, rather than forward to with apprehension. Apostate Israel was evicted from the center stage of history, so that God's new nation, a new Israel that combined Jew and Greek into One New Man, could flourish. Now, "it's all over but the shouting." He is reigning, defeating His enemies, and will continue doing so until only one foe remains to mar our happiness, death. THEN (not before) comes the end, the Day (singular) of judgement, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, Amen.
Strange -- when people spiral into the toilet of apocalyptic hysteria, they ALWAYS assume that much of the Bible was written directly to THEM -- to THEIR generation, rather than to all of God's people through all of history. After all, how could the Second Coming happen at any time OTHER than when someone as important as ME is strutting around?
Gee, I must have been asleep for the past few decades. I had NO idea He is reigning and defeating His enemies. I thought society was getting worse.....not better.
If He is here now defeating His enemies, why have His enemies taken hold of so many people......and continue doing so at an alarming rate?
Thank you in return...I do believe there is comfortable balance one can have in looking at end times events...there are extreme opinions and hypes on both sides...the danger is when we begin to live our life according to either of those positions...our calling is to “watch”.... but never at the cost to the job at hand....Jesus said to “occupy” til He comes...and HE gave us life to do that...but it is very interesting to watch the events on the world stage...you never can tell maybe today we will look up and this will be THAT day....”What a day of rejoicing that will be”...as the old hymn says.
Trust but verify...as it is said...and that goes for even the best of teachings and Pastors who might teach...or literature we might read. God reveals in His own good time...and some things we will never know this side of heaven...better it is to apply what we do know and understand as we walk with Him thru this world.
It's nice to have confirmation. Thanks for being so agreeable!
We no longer live under the credible threat of global nuclear annihilation -- but it's more fun crying the blues than glorifying God for His great mercies.
The Chinese church has grown from 20,000 to more than 100 million -- but it's more fun crying the blues than glorifying God for His great mercies.
Millions of American children no longer participate in the cult of Caesar -- but it's more fun crying the blues than glorifying God for His great mercies.
What would it take to get you to glorify God for His great kindness to us? Isn't anything He does good enough to meet your standards, and give you hope?
Your doctrine teaches that Christ returned in the clouds in AD 70, and that we are now living in the Millennium. Being how the book Revelation was written in about 95 AD and not before 70 AD, I don't how the prophecy Revelation could of already happened before it was even written. Preterism is a teaching that is filled with doctrinal error.
There is strong INTERNAL evidence that Revelation was written before AD 63. See Kenneth Gentry's books, for example. Granted, there are "fool" preterists who deny "the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, Amen." David Chilton adopted that position after quadruple bypass surgery. But there are many orthodox preterists who insist on Christian orthodoxy, who anticipate a literal bodily return of Jesus, and bodily resurrection.
Is sure is, since we are making it better every day, with every act of faith and obedience. Our lives matter. The small contributions we place in the Lord's hands, when He blesses them, have a disproportionate effect.
Which brings me to a question that is urgently relevant to this conversation:
Do you have children?
OTOH, according to the most recent surveys, evangelical kids raised to regard secular humanism as a legitimate faith[1] walk away from God. Perhaps as many as 95% of them.
I'm just wondering -- do those who "write off" the future also "write off" kids?
Well, I don’t usually reveal if I do or not have children in cyberspace and I would suggest most people wouldn’t....especially to inquiring minds of people who want to know who are unknown.
Futher these questions appear to be canned from a script and very much insulting at that. The Holy Spirit does not operate in my life this way.....Additionally, the arrogance presented here flies in the face of many churches across the Christian community who are effectively spreading the Gospel and understand fully that calling, regardless of which line of endtimes they adhear to.
I can understand now why some might find certain posters offensive ...there are scriptures which encourage us to test the spirits to see if they are of God....some fail that test.
In light of this finding I will move onto other topics here on FR where dialogue is less insulting and without script.
HAve a good day.
That when Jesus said “You standing here will see ... “ actually meant those standing there, that Jesus did not mean “See ya in 2 or 3,000 years”.
Many of today's Fortune Tellers have been wrong in predicting the Rapture. How many times can a “Prophet” get it wrong before he is a False Prophet? Is there a three strike rule or something?
So please do me a favor and refrain from attacking those who are pointing out what is actually written.
Thank you.
Where do you get this stuff?
We(which by the way is the majority of Christians spanning many denominations) look forward to Christ Second coming have not “written off the future”. We are not doom and gloomers. On the contrary, we eagerly wait for his return, and the fulfillments of the millenia and the New Heaven and the New Earth, and the final punishment for Satan and his demons. And most of us feel that the time is drawing near and there may be anxiety because of the job we have to do to get ready. Reaching out to the lost, renouncing sin in our own lives, remaining steadfast. If we are afraid of anything it may because we fear there is not enough time to complete that job.
The message coming out of the pulpt in OUR chuurches is not one of dispair like you seem to think it is. We are to Be encouraged! Be anticipating! We are secure; we belong to Christ. And as the old gospel song says, “Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!”
JAMES 5:7 7-9
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
WAIT A MINUTE! THAT'S NOT WHAT GOD'S WORD SAYS
"IF YE THEN BE RISEN WITH CHRIST, SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE, WHERE CHRIST SITTETH ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE, NOT ON THINGS ON THE EARTH." (Colossians 3: 1,2).
If they already occurred, where are the history books that detail all of the following happening in 70AD:
I could go on, but you're going to have enough problems enough finding evidence for your claim that all of that has already occurred without me adding more.
Many of today's Fortune Tellers have been wrong in predicting the Rapture. How many times can a “Prophet” get it wrong before he is a False Prophet? Is there a three strike rule or something?
Because there have been foolish people down through the years who disobeyed God by attempting to predict when the Rapture would occur does not negate the absolute truth of the God-written prophetic Scriptures.
Nor does the fact that we have arrogant, foolish people today who deny those prophetic Scriptures and, when denying the prophetic Scriptures doesn't make them go away, and when the denying doesn't stop the ongoing, daily fulfillment of those prophetic Scriptures in our day, then the name-calling starts.
It's all the Bible-deniers have since God's Own words nuke their stupid, man-created belief systems.
So please do me a favor and refrain from attacking those who are pointing out what is actually written.
Do me a favor and spend some time trying to come up with anything that would prove your assertion that God is either lying or He screwed up when He didn't tell us that His prophecies for Christ's return already happened in the ancient past.
Do me a favor and try to find anything in Scripture that would support your claims.
And when you can't come up with that proof, scroll past threads which involve discussion of end-time prophecies that are being fulfilled on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Like I said before, the prophecy train left the station a long time ago. Don't let too many people know that you missed it.
Good post.
YEP !!
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