Apostolic End Time Truths

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Inching towards the end


Is the Middle East about to go apocalyptic? 


By Bill Salus 

www.raidersnewsnetwork.com


While world leaders met in Copenhagen for the United Nations 2009 Climate Change Conference, Damascus, Syria hosted a war tribunal with high level delegations from Iran and the Hezbollah. Concurrently, about five-hundred prophetically minded Christian’s fellowshipped at the annual 2009 Pre-Trib Rapture conference in Dallas, hosted by Dr. Tim Lahaye and Dr. Thomas Ice.

Among the eschatologists in attendance were, Dr. David Reagan, Dr. Mark Hitchcock, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Jimmy DeYoung, Jimmy DeYoung Jr., Dr. Chuck Missler, Bill Koenig, Pastor Chuck Smith, Dr. Ed Hindson, Dr. Randall Price, Mike Gendron, Dr. Thomas Horn, Al Gist, Don McGee, Terry James, Todd Strandberg, Gary Fisher, Phillip Goodman,Wilfred Hahn, Jerry Robinson, Nathan Jones, Don Perkins, Daymond Duck, Gordon Peterson, Don Mercer, Ray Gano, Mike Hile, yours truly and many more.

The revived Roman Empire, trend toward Globalism, coming Mideast War, absence of America in Bible prophecy, and soon return of Jesus Christ weighed heavy on our hearts and minds at the conference. Although not all Christians worldwide agree as to when or whether Jesus Christ comes to take millions of believers out of this world, many of them are troubled by the rapidly developing dangerous events in the Middle East.

On December 2, 2009 Iranian president Ahmadinejad declared “The Zionist regime (Israel) and its (western) backers cannot do a damn thing to stop Iran's nuclear work". Just a few days later according to Debkafile, Iran successfully simulated the detonation of a nuclear warhead in laboratory conditions. This is an alarming development because detonation is one of the most difficult challenges in the development of a nuclear weapon.

In addition to the above Debkafile issued an article on December 10, 2009 Damascus conference entitled “If attacked, Iran wants Syria to hit back at Israel. Damascus hedges.” The article suggested that the largest Iranian delegation ever witnessed in Syrian history recently arrived in Damascus to form a strategic partnership between Iran and Syria against Israel. According to the article, Iran expects an Israeli attack within one month and wants Syria to commit to joint military action against Israel. It appears they plan to pressure Syria into a YES WE WILL ENLIST answer! (Article postsript: Iran and Syria confirmed a military pact on 12/11/09. Click here to read article / video below.)

Iran's defense minister Ahmad Vahidi headed the Iranian delegation in Damascus and he stated, "The countdown for war is coming close to its end." "We must get our strategic partnership in shape ahead of time." He went on to pinpoint “chemical, microbiological and banned nuclear weapons" as strategic retaliatory Israeli targets. Syrian and Iranian military officials purportedly proposed that Hezbollah and the Palestinian terrorist organizations start heating up Israel's borders in the coming days to draw the attention from the world's focus on the Iranian and Syrian nuclear programs. (article postsript: Hamas vows to unite with Iran if Israel attacks. Click here to read article.)





Additionally, Hassan Nasrallah the Secretary General of Hezbollah, brought a delegation from Lebanon to participate in this important Damascus meeting. Hassan Nasrallah had previously advocated this type of antagonistic behavior toward Israel on September 18, 2009, when he declared Hezbollah can presently wipe out one-half of Israel’s army and that Israel should be wiped off of the map.

It appears as though things are about to go ballistic in the Middle East. Should a war break out between Israel and the parties listed above, it could segue into a sequence of events foretold in the Bible. Three Mideast centered prophecies are strongly bleeping on the prophetic radar presently. They are Isaiah 17:1, Psalm 83, and Ezekiel 38 & 39. These three major prophecies have a myriad of subset prophecies, like Ezekiel 25:14, 37:10, Obadiah 1:18, Jeremiah 49:1-27 and many more that seem interconnected. These three prophecies were alluded to frequently among the attendees at the Pre-Trib conference.

While attending on December 8, 2009 I visited with Bill Koenig, (pictured together here) a respected eschatologist and white house correspondent. He said that Syria supposedly has the most advanced scuds in the world. Additionally, we discussed the possibility that Saddam Hussein may have smuggled many of his chemical warheads into Syria before the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq. I commented to Bill Koenig that; “Should any chemicals penetrate into Israeli soil, I suspect Israel might attack Damascus and ultimately bring about the fulfillment of Isaiah 17:1”. (Isaiah 17:1 alludes to the final destruction of Damascus)

Also we discussed the upcoming massive civilian defense drill potentially scheduled for the middle of January 2010 in Israel. Several people at the conference had heard about this drill, which is being performed in preparation for a potential multi-front war with Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas, and perhaps Iran. This exercise is intended to prepare Israelis for an attack of a chemical and biological nature. Also Koenig concurred that gas masks are going to be re-distributed on a wide scale in Israel in January 2010, seemingly for such a scenario.

Regarding chemical warfare, the Kuwaiti Daily reported in the summer of 2008 that chemical components enabling the production of mustard gas made their way through Iran and Syria into Hezbollah's hands. There is legitimate concern that deadly chemicals may already be mounted within many of Hezbollah’s rocket warheads. Koenig believes that there are presently 50,000 rockets in Hezbollah's arsenal. In the 34 day conflict between Hezbollah and Israel during the summer of 2006, Hezbollah launched approximately 4000 rockets into many parts of Northern Israel. This proved to be an embarrassing wakeup call to Israeli Defense Forces and their leadership.

Recently in a televised speech on Al Quds day this past September Hezbollah Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, discouraged all Arab allegiance with Israel and encouraged a multi-front war instead. He said "the next Mideast war will change the maps", inferring that in the aftermath new maps would be drawn without the nation of Israel upon them. Undoubtedly, Hezbollah defiance is due to their success in 2006 and their abundant arsenal amassed presently in 2009.

In my estimation this coming war will be unlike any other Mideast war throughout the entirety of history. I had dinner with Jimmy DeYoung, the widely respected end time’s expert, on December 7, 2009 and he, like most everyone else I spoke with at the conference about the subject, believes that Israel will pre-empt a strike against Iran's nuclear sites in the near future. "They have to", he said. The possible, albeit speculative, scenario I am suggesting to prepare for is as follows:

1. Israeli Pre-empted strike against Iran's nuclear sites.

2. Iran and / or proxies (Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas) retaliate.

3. Israel uses Scalar Technology against Damascus

4. Damascus ceases to be a city (Isaiah 17:1 fulfilled)

5. Arab League calls an emergency meeting intended to draw a line in the sand between Israel and the Arabs

6. Jordan and Egypt are pressured to break fragile peace treaties with Israel and confederate with other Arabs. (Jordan and Egypt are enlisted members of Psalm 83)

7. Saudi Arabia, also enlisted in Psalm 83, joins in for survival and economic, religious, and geo-political purposes

8. Psalm 83 commences...

On a side note; Arab Nationalism is at an all time high especially in light of the Iranian nuclear threat. Additionally the Palestinian Refugee Plight is climaxing presently and, if the scenario I'm suggesting occurs, it could come full front and center in the midst of this major conflict.

I believe these refugees are represented as the "tents of Edom" in Psalm 83:6.

9. Israel recognizes Arab military intentions and launches further preemptive strikes on its Arab neighbors and strikes religious sites in Saudi Arabia and overtakes the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. (Jimmy DeYoung informed me that the priestly garb is presently being prepared for about 28,000 Levites. DeYoung declared, They are saying in Israel today; "When the dome comes down, the priestly garments come out"! )

10. The Psalm 83 war ends, separation wall comes down, and construction of third Jewish temple begins.

11. The I.D.F. become and exceedingly great army in fulfillment of Ezekiel 37:10.

It may not happen exactly in this way; however, the above scenario is not that farfetched and I encourage people to prepare for the above or some varying scenario possibilities. The prophecies that are about to be fulfilled leading up to Ezekiel 38 are world changing and then the world will probably witness the Gog of Magog invasion. The sign posts are all up and pointing toward the nearby coming of the seven-year tribulation period ending with the campaign of Armageddon, shortly after the above type scenario occurs.

Therefore, Christians worldwide should look up for our redemption draws extremely near.










Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Christmas Mystery


Mysteries of the Star of Bethlehem

What was it? Comet? Supernova? Alignment of Planets?






"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.'" (Matthew 2:1-2)

The star of Bethlehem has always intrigued people. What was it? Could it have been a comet or a meteor or a super-nova? What about a special alignment of planets?


Various Theories

The longevity of the star rules out a comet or a meteor. The star had to appear each night for several months in order to lead the magi all the way from Persia in the Far East. The possibility of a super-nova or a planetary alignment is ruled out by the fact that the star constantly moved, leading the magi first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem where the star hovered over the house where Mary and Joseph had moved to with the Christ Child (Matthew 2:9-11).


A Supernatural Alternative

The renowned Messianic Jewish scholar, Alfred Edersheim, has proposed another solution to the mystery. He points out that the Greek word translated "star" really means "radiance." The "star" could therefore have been what the Jews called the "Shekinah" — that is, a physical manifestation of the glory of God in the form of a supernatural radiance.

The Jews experienced such a phenomenon in the wilderness of Sinai when for 40 years they were led about by a pillar of cloud in the day that became a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). When the radiant cloud moved, they moved. When the cloud hovered, they pitched their tents and settled down (Numbers 9:15-23).

This Shekinah later resided in the Holy of Holies after the Temple of Solomon was built (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). Ezekiel describes how the Shekinah departed from the Temple in stages before God allowed the Temple to be destroyed by the Babylonians. First, the Shekinah moved from the Holy of Holies to the threshold of the Temple (Ezekiel 9:3). Then "the glory of the Lord" moved from the threshold to the Eastern Gate (Ezekiel 10:18-19). Finally, the Lord's presence moved to the Mount of Olives where it "stood over the mountain" before departing the city (Ezekiel 11:23).





The Shekinah is mentioned in the New Testament as being present at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9), at His transfiguration (Matthew 17:5), and at His ascension (Acts 1:9).

Considering the radiant and maneuverable qualities of the Shekinah that are demonstrated in these scriptures, I think it is very likely that the "star" which led the magi was really the Shekinah glory of God.


The Attraction of the Star

Another mystery associated with the Bible's account of the magi is why did these men "from the east" follow the heavenly radiance?

Their very title gives us a clue. Magi is a Persian term for a priestly caste of wise men who specialized in astrology, medicine, and natural science. The ancient historian Herodotus says they interpreted dreams and omens and claimed to have the gift of prophecy. Such men would naturally have been interested in an unusual heavenly radiance.

It is also very likely that they would have been familiar with the writings of Daniel who gained great renown as a wise man and interpreter of dreams in the Persian court of Nebuchadnezzar. If so, they would have known his prophecy of "the seventy weeks of years" which is recorded in Daniel 9:24-27.

This remarkable prophecy established the general time period of the Messiah's coming by indicating it would be 483 years after a Persian ruler issued an edict to rebuild Jerusalem. The magi had probably been counting down the years since the Jews had been sent back from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem, and they thus knew the general time period when the Messiah would be born.

Because of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, the magi would also have had access to the writings of Moses (the Torah), and from those writings, they may have come across the Messianic prophecy of Balaam that "a star shall come forth from Jacob" (Numbers 24:17).


The Inclusion of the Gentiles

The final mystery is why God would open the eyes of a group of Gentile mystics and draw them to the Christ Child.

Undoubtedly it was for the purpose of symbolizing the universal importance of the birth, to emphasize that although salvation comes from the Jews (John 4:22), it is intended for all peoples.

That was certainly the message of the angels who proclaimed to the Bethlehem shepherds that their good news of the birth of a Savior was for "all the people" (Luke 2:10-11).

This point was affirmed and emphasized forty days later when Mary and Joseph took their son to the Temple "to present Him to the Lord" (Luke 2:22). As they entered the Temple, a prophet of God by the name of Simeon took the Christ Child into his arms, blessed God, and then announced:

My eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared in the
presence of all peoples,
A light of salvation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.
(Luke 2:30-32)

During the Christmas season as you think about the star of Bethlehem that pointed Mankind to the First Coming of the Messiah, keep in mind that Jesus will soon return as "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16).















A Sure Sign of the End Times



Temple Altar Construction Begins on Day of Destruction 

by Yehudah Lev Kay 


(IsraelNN.com) The Temple Institute began work on the sacrificial altar Thursday, Tisha B’av, the day the Second Temple was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago.

The Temple Institute has already built several of the Temple vessels such as the Ark and the menorah, and has now embarked on an ambitious project to build the altar, which will ultimately measure 3 meters wide by 3 meters long and 2 meters tall.

During Thursday’s ceremony, which took place in Mitzpe Yericho just east of Jerusalem, the Temple Institute laid the cornerstone for the altar and demonstrated how tar will be used to cement the stones together. The Institute plans on bringing the altar to its proper place on the Temple Mount when the Temple is rebuilt.

“Today, Tisha B’av, is not just a time to mourn the destruction of the Temple,” said Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the head of the Temple Institute. “It is also a time to build.”

Rabbi Ariel thanked the more than 100 people who came to the event despite their fasting for Tisha B’Av, and despite the hot weather. The main force behind the construction of the altar, Yonaton Tzadok, was also on hand to explain why its stones were taken straight from the Dead Sea.

“The altar is supposed to represent going back to our roots, to the time of creation when everything was pure,” he said. “We took rocks from the Dead Sea, where it is likely that they were never touched by human hands.”

During the ceremony, many people who came to watch were surprised when they were invited to take part and pour tar onto the cornerstones. Rabbi Ariel first asked if there were any Kohanim (priests) in the crowd, and asked them start. When a woman requested to join in, Rabbi Ariel said "of course" and emphasized that women are commanded to build the Temple as well.

With the sun setting, Tzadok asked for volunteers to come back another day to help build the altar. “Carrying rocks and pouring tar is a lot of work,” he said. “We could use a few hundred people to help.” 

More information on the Temple Institute is available at http://www.templeinstitute.org/main.htm .


Original Source: www.israelnationalnews.com













Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Israel, Who owns it?



Who Owns the Land of Israel Today?

By Arno Froese


The answer to this question is fiercely debated between the Jews and Arabs who live in Israel and their surrounding neighbor states. It seems as though the entire world gets involved when it comes to the ownership of the land of Israel. It is rather significant that not a single country sides with the territorial boundaries God ordained and preserved in His Word. The deed to the land of Israel clearly states that the Jews are the original and only legitimate owners defined by geographical references. Genesis 15:18 says:

“In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”

Notice that this resolution is written in the past tense,

“...have I given this land....”

Of course, the world disregards what the Bible says about this land and its people, so let's look at it from a political perspective. Israel fought five major wars against its Arab neighbors and was victorious each time. But something strange happened; Israel was not allowed to keep the territory it had conquered. Why not? The nations of the world, particularly the United States, have pressured Israel into surrendering areas of the Promised Land to the Arabs, from whom the Jews conquered the land. This is unusual because every country was established by the force of weapons. For example, Germany lost the war against communism and the rest of the world. As a result, its victors took possession of almost one-third of the country. East Prussia, the part of Germany in which I was born, and where my family's roots date back over 800 years, was divided into Lithuania, Russia and Poland. Why? Because Germany lost the war.

Our own country was established on the basis of force. The Indians lost the battle against the Americans, which settled the land conflict.

All other nations have been able to enjoy the spoils of their victory, but Israel has been denied this right. All of the nations that have conquered territory by force to establish their borders now condemn Israel for taking possession of their own territory. From such a perspective, we can understand God's wrath upon the nations as documented in Joel 3:2, which ends with three accusatory words to the nations: parted my land.