Posted on 10/20/2002 7:49:28 PM PDT by truthandlife
This week certainly appears to have been a prophetically significant week with the Bush - Sharon meeting at the White House.
With this in mind, below is a potential scenario that could lead up to the Daniel 9:27 covenant. Many pieces of the puzzle are in place; however, we certainly don’t know the exact timing.
Moreover, there are many variables and possibilities, which could greatly impact the course of events. Remember the impact of Ariel Sharon’s September 28, 2000, visit to the Temple Mount and the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States.
A potential scenario:
The United States begins their war with Iraq, which could expand to the other nations in the Middle East, with the possibility of Isaiah 13, 17, and 19 being fulfilled (other scriptures could be fulfilled, too). The United States and Israel become the main players.
In Isaiah 13:4-6 it discusses the kingdoms of heaven that destroy Babylon [Iraq] (this could likely be the US and some others); it says the destruction of Babylon will be a sign the Day of the Lord is at hand (the final seven years).
After the war, and before the world conference in the fall of 2003, a man (anti-Christ) comes on the world stage with the peace solution that evolves into the Daniel 9:27 covenant.
Israel meets with the world community in the fall of 2003 to discuss a phased-in peace deal, in line with the Bush peace plan. (On October 16, Bush and Sharon probably agreed to the key points for the Fall 2003 world peace meeting, in keeping with UN Resolutions 242 and 338, a conditional Palestinian state, and other land concessions. Sharon has been favorable to this in the past, and it would satisfy his unity government.)
The world community confirms (with many) a peace covenant between Israel and their Arab counterparts (the Palestinians, Syrians and/or others). The final seven-year begins with the approval of the peace deal (the Daniel 9:27 covenant).
The phased-in plan within the covenant, which made the covenant possible, eventually is not enough to satisfy the peace participants. It fails and leads into the Great Tribulation in the second three and a half years. This is total speculation at this point; however, recent activities and the ensuing war with Iraq and others could make this plausible.
Whatever is true, we are moving into an exciting and suspenseful period of Biblical history in Israel, the Middle East, and the world.
The United States is actively preparing to overthrow Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Unless he agrees to give up his weapons of mass destruction (which is very unlikely), the US will go forward. The US is also asking the world community to join them in the battle.
During the 1991 Desert Storm the United States had a large ally base. This time the US has maybe Britain, Australia, plus possibly a few others who will join the battle.
The ensuing battle and the increase in terror could have a major impact on world financial markets.
Does the United States Take Part in the Destruction of Babylon?
Could the Babylon-destroying army that comes from the far away country, from the end of heaven just before the “day of the Lord” (Isaiah 13:4-6) be the United States?
Isaiah 13: 4-6 (KJV) The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
Isaiah 13:6 says when the whole land is destroyed the Day of the Lord will be at hand. Many Bible scholars believe the Day of the Lord is the final seven-year tribulation period.
(We will have more on this in the next week. John McTernan, Yacov Rambsel, and myself have some interesting research and thoughts to share on this.)
The Enemy of Jews and Christians Wants to Destroy Israel and America
Radical Islam wants to destroy Israel, America, and others, physically and economically. Consequently, the US really doesn’t have any other choice but to deal with Iraq, Iran, or any other country that wants to harm our nation. The events of 9-11 have awakened the world to the realities and extent radical Islam will go to harm their enemies.
In the last ten days we have seen an increase in horrific terror events from radical Islam. There were the terror bombings in Bali, three terror events in the Philippines, the one involving a French oil tanker and maybe the sniper in the Washington D.C. area.
When (and if) the US goes into overthrow the regime in Iraq, there will be an increase in terror events throughout the world. We have already seen many such events and heard of other terror warnings.
Bush and Sharon Meeting
This week President Bush and his top staff had very encouraging meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon left the US very pleased with his meetings pertaining to Iraq, his nation’s security, and Bush’s Middle East Peace time line (the world peace conference of Fall 2003 is probably designed to be after the war.)
The future discussions are based on a six-page document, "Performance-Based Road Map to a Permanent Two-State Solution," which is similar to a Quartet plan drafted in New York in September. A senior Arab official in the region said all sides hoped to have one final plan completed by the end of the month.
I believe that President Bush cut a deal with his good friend. He said, Ariel, we will stand by your side in our war with Iraq, and we will stand with you against anyone who comes against you. In return we are going to propose a world peace conference in the Fall of 2003, and we want you to agree to a Palestinian state, the UN Resolutions 242 and 338 (which Sharon has already agreed to to a certain extent) and some other concessions. We will help insure the “peace and security” you are after for Israel, and the world community will deliver it to you through the peace covenant.
On the surface, this helps Israel with her security concerns, and it helps Bush get his Middle East peace deal. Radical Islam is standing in the way of this happening.
The peace conference tentatively planned for Fall 2003 would happen after the US (maybe Israel) has destroyed much of the terror networks in Iraq and likely the rest of the Middle East. It would be much easier cutting a peace deal if radical Islam had been neutralized and/or destroyed in the region.
God’s Covenant Land
The sacrificial item in all of this is God’s covenant land.
As a reminder, President Bush is very committed to a Palestinian State, to the UN Resolutions 242 and 338, and to having new Palestinian leaders who will lead their new democratic nation. So, the possibility of his changing courses on God’s covenant land is negligible at best.
The US’s biggest vulnerability and accountability is in regard to our covenant land position, and we have the military muscle to have Israel agree with our position. The leaders of Israel themselves don’t see the importance of the covenant land. A high-ranking Israeli Embassy official told me in June Israel is looking for a practical solution, not a Biblical one. This is a scary statement. Our US leaders are doing the same.
Phased-in Covenant
Daniel 9:27 (KJV) And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
A phased-in, performance-based covenant makes sense in the environment in Israel. This might satisfy the Arabs after their losses in the Middle East wars, and the timetable makes it more workable. We saw what Arafat did in Camp David in the summer of 2000. You can’t negotiate it all now, because there are issues that are too sensitive. This might also help explain why the second half of the covenant is a time of great sorrow and wrath.
1 Thessalonians 5: 3 (KJV) -- For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Here are highlights of the Bush plan (provided by Ha’aretz):
The three-stage diplomatic "road map," drawn up by the United States and presented to Israeli officials accompanying Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his Washington trip, includes the convening of an international conference in the fall of 2003, at which negotiations on establishing a temporary Palestinian state will begin. These talks are to be completed in 2004.
The plan, which was presented Wednesday by Assistant Secretary of State William Burns to Sharon's bureau chief, Dov Weisglass, focuses on how to ease tensions with the Palestinians and eventually restart diplomatic talks.
The first stage involves reform of the Palestinian Authority, culminating in elections aimed at moving Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat into a purely symbolic role. The reform process will be accompanied by Israeli measures to ease the Palestinians' humanitarian distress.
After that, the international conference will be convened. The final stage will be talks on a permanent-status agreement, which will be concluded in 2005-2006.
Could the plan fail in the middle of the seven years? Could Jerusalem be the in the final status talks in 2005 –2006? Could the failure of the final status talks produce the Great Tribulation in the final three and a half years?
Ezekiel
I have always been curious in Ezekiel where it talks of a time when Israel dwells without walls (Ezek: 38:11) or dwells safely (Ezek. 38:14) prior to the Gog and Magog invasion (Ezek. 38:15-16).
I have wondered if this is after radical Islam has been dealt with decisively in the Middle East and the Daniel 9:27 covenant has been confirmed.
Ezekiel 38:11 (KJV) -- And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
Ezekiel 38: 14 (KJV) -- Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
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Meetings to Watch
U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns is in the Middle East region on a trip aimed at implementing Bush's "road map" for Middle East peace, which includes the creation of a Palestinian state with provisional borders by 2004.
Factors that could impact the beginning of the war with Iraq:
US Elections are on Tuesday, November 5.
Depending upon the date of the new moon, Ramadan, 2002, will begin on November 6 and end on December 6, or begin on November 7 and end on December 7.
UN Security Council meetings on Iraq.
2 Kings 14:25
He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, in accordance with the word of the LORD , the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.
Restored borders, 1967...
by Edward McBride
No one really knows what ancient Babylon looked like--but Saddam Hussein thinks he does. For 2,500 years, the only visible traces of one of the world's grandest cities were a few mounds of mud bricks baking under the sun some 50 miles south of Baghdad. Archaeologists have scoured the site for the past century, carting artifacts off to Europe and arguing about what sort of city Babylon might have been. But when Saddam's Ba'ath party took power in 1968, he stifled this academic debate as surely as he did political dissent, for he wanted to rebuild the imperial capital as a prelude to rebuilding the ancient empire. And Babylon--or Babel, as it is known in both the Bible and in Arabic--had to be as grandiose and intimidating as Saddam's own ambitions.
The reconstruction project continues to this day. Inhumanly tall, bare walls with fierce crenellated teeth have sprung up alongside the unexcavated tumuli. Two or three feet off the ground, a historic tidemark shows the limit of the original remains; on top of them, a somewhat fanciful reconstruction rises. A government guide points out original bricks with inscriptions praising Nebuchadnezzar for his role in constructing the palace. Next to them, the restorers have placed replicas detailing how the structure is being restored to its former glory "in the age of Saddam Hussein." Every year, the guide explains, "Mr. Hussein" presides over plays staged in an adjacent theater built by Alexander the Great. One of Saddam's many homes crowns a hill overlooking the site, which suggests that the wonders of ancient Babylon--theater, hanging garden, and all--are simply follies on the grounds of his estate. The guide sneaks a timid peek at the palace, and then ducks back inside the ruins, as if Saddam himself might be gazing down with a critical eye.
This cavalier reengineering of Babel is not unique in Saddam Hussein's Iraq; nor is the guide's reaction. Like a monomaniacal Mesopotamian Mitterrand, Saddam has tried to establish his place in Iraqi history not just through a 30-year domination of his country's politics, but also through the bricks and mortar of a series of grands projets. In the process, he has created a new architectural idiom, one that reflects his overwhelming, unchallengeable grip on Iraq.
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G'night. Finish reading this in the a.m.
Yet, Iraq is not now the economic powerhouse that's destroyed in Revletion 18, so I don't believe the destruction of Babylon is at hand. Rather, after losing the war, Iraq/Babylon will be rebuilt by a well-meaning America and grow into that powerhouse, to face her utter destruction sometime in the future.
That's my take, anyway.
I don't know, but I don't think Sharon is going to allow land concessions. I think he would rather negotiate with the administration than have them betray him by inviting PLO to sit in on land for peace meetings like Senior Bush and James Baker did, so Sharon is saying, land concessions IF Arafat is replaced and AS LONG AS Jerusalem remains UNdivided (and the world-against-Israel will never go for that.) I believe when Sharon mentioned in his recent speech about "the painful concessions" Israelis may have to make, he is referring to a probable war. I can't believe Sharon has turned into a traitor.
or or how they would behave the day the Music dies.
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