I mentioned in my last blog that I had the passing thought about Muslims offering to help the Jews rebuild the Temple as a sign of peace. A friend of mine heard about my speculations and forwarded me an article about a Turkish Muslim leader, Adnan Oktar, and the Jewish sanhedrin meeting together to discuss building a house of prayer, a new Temple, on the Temple mount.
The Turkish leader apparently has enough money to make this happen and here's the interestingly deceptive part. They claim by building this house of prayer they will be fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah that says, "my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations." Their expectation is that Muslims, Jews and Christians will all then be able to pray in this common house of prayer. Then God will be the only One and His name the only One in the earth and therefore fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah also. It sounds like a wonderful coalition bringing everyone together in one happy family. To me it sounds deceptive enough to win many nominal Christians to this place of unity around a false understanding of God.
Interestingly enough, I then was able to talk to a Christian man who actually met with Oktar last June. We were able to spend about half an hour on the phone discussing eschatology. He knows from personal discussions that there is a desire on the part of these people to progress toward building a common Temple.
I don't know exactly how any of this will play out or if it even will, but if a "Temple" is built with Islamic help you will someday likely see someone seated in that temple of God displaying himself as being God. We live in a time when it is just good to know the scriptures. Though we may not be able to be say absolutely what lies ahead in every detail, we can certainly be aware of the spirit of what is happening and to keep our eyes open to various possibilities of how the scriptures may be fulfilled. Shalom!!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The Antichrist Kingdom
Over the years I have been told by prophecy teachers that the antichrist will come from the Roman empire, a religious, military and political leader. The Pope was often suggested as a possibility. We have presently the most antichrist and anti-semitic group of nations ever, rising out of the middle east with a ready made "anti" Christ religion (Allah had no son) with political influence and military power.
One of the main prophetic reasons for interpreting a Roman empire antichrist is Daniel 9:26, "...and the people of the prince to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary...." The Roman empire under the rule of Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. That would seem to settle the issue. However, a closer look into the historical record of those times indicates that the actual military troops that comprised the Roman legions that destroyed the Temple were Arab, Syrian and some Egyptian. This information is gleaned from the Histories of Tacitus and from the writings of Josephus. This might seem like a stretch in interpretation and maybe it is, but an antichrist from a country now under Islamic control or influence is more logical in world circumstances, but more importantly, more consistent with the rest of the Biblical record.
The prophecies about a war against Israel in Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe an invasion by a coalition of nations that can be traced to areas that are now under Islamic influence. When God intervenes to rescue Israel in Ezekiel the result will be that God's name will no longer be profaned and He will be sanctified before the nations. This sounds like what we have called Armegeddon because if it is not Armageddon the antichrist would come into power after this and would definitely profane the name of the Lord.
The identifiable territories described in the Biblical account of those who directly come against Israel include Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Iran, and Iraq. They are described in the Bible with such names as Persia, Assyria, Babylon and Cush. The areas that the Messiah will destroy when he returns such as Edom and Bozrah are located in modern Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The thematic conflict of the ages described in the Bible is between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael which makes the main theme of the Bible consistent with this end of the age clash.
In Micah 5 the Messiah who is born in Bethlehem will defeat the "Assyrian" who invades the land. Assyria takes in much of the modern Muslim world. This "Assyrian" is a definite possibility of the identity of the antichrist.
Events in the Middle East are rapidly leading toward the development of a renewed caliphate or ruling leader/city over the muslim world. This was abandoned in 1924 after a long rule in the area of the Ottoman empire.
In the description of the end-time kingdom that makes up the kingdom of the beast in Revelation 17:10 John writes that there are seven kings (Kingdoms/mountains) five have fallen those are historically identifiable, one is, that would be Rome (at the time of John's writing) and one is to come, and we know historically the Ottoman empire controlled this territory later. Then there will be an eighth which will be one of the seven that will rise as the beast. This could very well be the Islamic/Ottoman empire. That would make sense since Biblically when the Lord returns the nations that we know specifically that He will judge are present Islamic nations.
From the Ezekiel description of Gog of Magog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal and the Micah reference of the Assyrian it would seem reasonable to expect the beast kingdom to arise out of the middle east and it's ruler to be from one of these muslim nations. Something to think about. We could be very near to these events culminating. If so, expect a peace treaty to come between the Jews and the Muslim world. The territory of Turkey seems to be very significant in the prophetic writings. A ruler from Turkey would be a likely peace treaty initiator.
Here is something that came to my mind once, its not anywhere in the Bible that I know of, but wouldn't it be interesting if the Muslim world offered to help Israel rebuild "the Temple" as a term of peace. That treaty would definitely be broken and would likely lead to the Muslim leader seating himself in the temple of God declaring himself as being God (see II Thess. 2).
With most of the Church looking for an antichrist figure to arise from a revived Roman empire, most could be blindsided by the arising of an Islamic leader who definitely wants to capture Jerusalem and is set on the destruction of the Jewish people. I guess this sounds like Islamic hate speech, but it is not. God loves Muslims, but some vocal Islamic leaders are set on the desruction of Israel and I believe that is what the Bible says will be the heart of the conflict. In Ezekiel 39:25 it says the Lord will finally arise and defeat the enemies of Israel because of Jealousy for His holy Name. Zechariah 14 tells us when Israel is under a horrendous siege that the Lord Himself will set His foot on the Mt. of Olives and take over Jerusalem and rescue His people.
Who is more dead set against the Jews than Islamic jihadists? And this is not a new contention. Problems began between Isaac and Ishmael, Sarah and Hagar and have never been truly resolved. Should you see an Islamic kingdom arise again in the Middle East, remember these words and open your Bibles. If the common teaching about the antichrist kingdom is wrong and the common teaching about the pre-trib rapture is wrong, a lot of the Church could be set up for a great delusion, perhaps a great falling away! Just be alert. Watch and Pray!!!
One of the main prophetic reasons for interpreting a Roman empire antichrist is Daniel 9:26, "...and the people of the prince to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary...." The Roman empire under the rule of Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. That would seem to settle the issue. However, a closer look into the historical record of those times indicates that the actual military troops that comprised the Roman legions that destroyed the Temple were Arab, Syrian and some Egyptian. This information is gleaned from the Histories of Tacitus and from the writings of Josephus. This might seem like a stretch in interpretation and maybe it is, but an antichrist from a country now under Islamic control or influence is more logical in world circumstances, but more importantly, more consistent with the rest of the Biblical record.
The prophecies about a war against Israel in Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe an invasion by a coalition of nations that can be traced to areas that are now under Islamic influence. When God intervenes to rescue Israel in Ezekiel the result will be that God's name will no longer be profaned and He will be sanctified before the nations. This sounds like what we have called Armegeddon because if it is not Armageddon the antichrist would come into power after this and would definitely profane the name of the Lord.
The identifiable territories described in the Biblical account of those who directly come against Israel include Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Iran, and Iraq. They are described in the Bible with such names as Persia, Assyria, Babylon and Cush. The areas that the Messiah will destroy when he returns such as Edom and Bozrah are located in modern Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The thematic conflict of the ages described in the Bible is between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael which makes the main theme of the Bible consistent with this end of the age clash.
In Micah 5 the Messiah who is born in Bethlehem will defeat the "Assyrian" who invades the land. Assyria takes in much of the modern Muslim world. This "Assyrian" is a definite possibility of the identity of the antichrist.
Events in the Middle East are rapidly leading toward the development of a renewed caliphate or ruling leader/city over the muslim world. This was abandoned in 1924 after a long rule in the area of the Ottoman empire.
In the description of the end-time kingdom that makes up the kingdom of the beast in Revelation 17:10 John writes that there are seven kings (Kingdoms/mountains) five have fallen those are historically identifiable, one is, that would be Rome (at the time of John's writing) and one is to come, and we know historically the Ottoman empire controlled this territory later. Then there will be an eighth which will be one of the seven that will rise as the beast. This could very well be the Islamic/Ottoman empire. That would make sense since Biblically when the Lord returns the nations that we know specifically that He will judge are present Islamic nations.
From the Ezekiel description of Gog of Magog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal and the Micah reference of the Assyrian it would seem reasonable to expect the beast kingdom to arise out of the middle east and it's ruler to be from one of these muslim nations. Something to think about. We could be very near to these events culminating. If so, expect a peace treaty to come between the Jews and the Muslim world. The territory of Turkey seems to be very significant in the prophetic writings. A ruler from Turkey would be a likely peace treaty initiator.
Here is something that came to my mind once, its not anywhere in the Bible that I know of, but wouldn't it be interesting if the Muslim world offered to help Israel rebuild "the Temple" as a term of peace. That treaty would definitely be broken and would likely lead to the Muslim leader seating himself in the temple of God declaring himself as being God (see II Thess. 2).
With most of the Church looking for an antichrist figure to arise from a revived Roman empire, most could be blindsided by the arising of an Islamic leader who definitely wants to capture Jerusalem and is set on the destruction of the Jewish people. I guess this sounds like Islamic hate speech, but it is not. God loves Muslims, but some vocal Islamic leaders are set on the desruction of Israel and I believe that is what the Bible says will be the heart of the conflict. In Ezekiel 39:25 it says the Lord will finally arise and defeat the enemies of Israel because of Jealousy for His holy Name. Zechariah 14 tells us when Israel is under a horrendous siege that the Lord Himself will set His foot on the Mt. of Olives and take over Jerusalem and rescue His people.
Who is more dead set against the Jews than Islamic jihadists? And this is not a new contention. Problems began between Isaac and Ishmael, Sarah and Hagar and have never been truly resolved. Should you see an Islamic kingdom arise again in the Middle East, remember these words and open your Bibles. If the common teaching about the antichrist kingdom is wrong and the common teaching about the pre-trib rapture is wrong, a lot of the Church could be set up for a great delusion, perhaps a great falling away! Just be alert. Watch and Pray!!!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Astounding Logic of Our Day
I heard John Stossel make an argument lately that was heralded by Jocelyn Elders (Surgeon General under Clinton) years ago. He was saying we need to legalize more things so we would have less crime.
Example, if prostitution is made legal we can monitor it and keep it safe while reducing our crime rates because there is one less crime. This fails to address what prostitution does to the soul of the woman participating in it. She takes that which is beautiful and precious and turns it into business. In the mean time she is made less than human or at least relegated to rental property and dignity is banished.
This logic was espoused by Dr. Elders in the area of drugs. If we make drugs legal we will have less crime. Some people just cannot overcome drugs or prostitution so it is unfair to them to keep the practice illegal.
Well, as I look at the world, some people just don't seem to be able to overcome child abuse or wife battering. Some just can't stop stealing and a few like to kill people. Isn't it unfair to judge these people and single out their behaviors as illegal? With the logic of Stossel and Elders we could just make everything legal and then we would have no crime. If we had no crime we would be living in a paradise on earth, right?
Abortion has been legal in this country since 1973 and that has not changed the brutality of the act on the baby being cut into pieces. If there is no moral basis to determine right and wrong (as in the Bible) decisions of morality become arbitrary. Whoever is in power decides. The lack of sanity in the logic of the day is frightening.
I look forward to the day when the earth is ruled by a righteous King from the lineage of David who will institute true justice. Prepare the way! Have a say! Speak up for the truths of the Bible even if they sound absurd to the wise of this world!
Example, if prostitution is made legal we can monitor it and keep it safe while reducing our crime rates because there is one less crime. This fails to address what prostitution does to the soul of the woman participating in it. She takes that which is beautiful and precious and turns it into business. In the mean time she is made less than human or at least relegated to rental property and dignity is banished.
This logic was espoused by Dr. Elders in the area of drugs. If we make drugs legal we will have less crime. Some people just cannot overcome drugs or prostitution so it is unfair to them to keep the practice illegal.
Well, as I look at the world, some people just don't seem to be able to overcome child abuse or wife battering. Some just can't stop stealing and a few like to kill people. Isn't it unfair to judge these people and single out their behaviors as illegal? With the logic of Stossel and Elders we could just make everything legal and then we would have no crime. If we had no crime we would be living in a paradise on earth, right?
Abortion has been legal in this country since 1973 and that has not changed the brutality of the act on the baby being cut into pieces. If there is no moral basis to determine right and wrong (as in the Bible) decisions of morality become arbitrary. Whoever is in power decides. The lack of sanity in the logic of the day is frightening.
I look forward to the day when the earth is ruled by a righteous King from the lineage of David who will institute true justice. Prepare the way! Have a say! Speak up for the truths of the Bible even if they sound absurd to the wise of this world!
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