The Nature Of Prophecy - Blindfolding Our Prejudices

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The Nature Of Prophecy - Blindfolding Our Prejudices -
Need2Know Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:51 pm
The Nature Of Prophecy - Blindfolding Our Prejudices There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all agrument, and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation before investigation. --Edmund Spencer Last edited by Need2Know on Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:13 pm; edited 1 time in total		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:07 pm
What follows is an attempt to present a global prespective from a Biblical prophecy point of view. This will seem strange to many, and for good reason. Bible prophecy suffers as much from its enthusiasts as it does from it detractors. Too often, prophetic studies suffer from inadequate scholarship, fanciful conjectures and contrived conclusions. However, this particular review springs from two astonishing discoveries: 1. The collection of sixty-six books that we traditionally call the Bible, even though penned by more than forty authors over a period of several thousand years, is an integrated message system. More than just thematically, the various texts evidence a skillful craftsmanship, in which virtually every place, every name, every detail, even the hidden structures lying beneath the texts (the figures of speech, signs and sememes used by the different writers), bear testimony to an overriding systematic design; a design that vastly transcends the insights of the individual contributors. This integrity of design yields the second discovery. 2. The source of this message system had to originate from outside the domain of time itself. We find history written before it happens. Allusions throughout the texts reveal an anticipation of pivotal events long before they are realized. And the very presence of these passages raise profound insights about the reality we live in. Setting aside many controversial pointss of view, it appears that we are presently being plunged into a period of time that the Bible says more about than any other period of history--including the events of the New Testament. Scientists today acknowledge that our physical universe consists of more than four dimensions--three spatial dimensions and the dimension of time. Current estimates involve at least ten. And thanks to Dr. Einstein, we now recognize that time itself is a physical property and varies with mass, acceleration, and gravity. However, it is profoundly provacative that we are in possession of a comprehensive message system from outside our hyperspace--from outside of the time dimension itself. This outlandish proposition should prove demonstratable and certainly impacts our perceptions of virtually everything else. The principal challenge is to blinfold our prejudices and dismiss the baggage of our preconceptions and the masquerades of the past. Last edited by Need2Know on Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:35 pm; edited 1 time in total		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:26 pm
What is prophecy? More than simple curiosity lies behind man's attempt to perceive the future. Practical business requires forecasts, and an understanding of what Peter Drucker calls the "futurity of today's decisions". Forecasts underlie all decisions, whether they are market planning, inventory management, esablishing cash flow requirements, or staffing an enterprise. Managers solve problems; executives anticipate them. National security depends on threat assessments--strategic or tactical. Empires have been established--or destroyed--on the basis of anticipated implications or technology and other changes. Our personal decisions about education, careers, raising a family and buying a new home all rely on our perceptions--or more precisely, our presumptions--about the future. Banks dealing with loan decisions are, in effect, predicting both the anticipated experience for the lender's specific application and the anticipated credit climate that lies ahead. But one of the problems is that we all make linear assumptions in a nonlinear world. We tend to assume linearity; that tomorrow will be like yesterday; that next week will resemble last week; next year be like last year, and so on. Linear extrapolations, however, can be blinders. Natural nonlinearities can occur, such as an earthquake, a tornado, or a hurricane. Medical nonlinearities can include a stroke or a car accident. Financial nonlinearities can emerge from a bankruptcy, a lawsuit, or a wife visiting a shopping mall. Our most critical crises arise from nonlinearities. Sound management requires a broader, long-term perspective; an accurate assessment of the environment; and an awareness of the potential impact, and liklihoods, of nonlinearities. It is disturbing to the informed that most crises could have been anticipated through diligence. Those who anticipate the nonlinearities survive them. That's what the insurance industry does.		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:57 pm
Biblical prophecy is much, much more than crystal balls. Most don't take prophecy seriously because it is in the Bible. We take the Bible seriously because of the track record of its prophecies. The Bible lays out a detailed scenario of the final climax for mankind on Planet Earth. It also provides testable reference points to determine just where we are in that scenario. But there's far more than just a few historical episodes involved. The Bible has anticipated our most advanced discoveries on the very frontiers of our sciences. It is astonishing to many to discover the technological perspectives in the Bible. There are many technology statements in the Bible that the average reader takes for granted: the idea that the earth is round (Isaiah 40:22), the fact that the solar system migrates throughout the galaxy (Psalm 19:1-6), and the fact that space itself has properties that transcend our three-dimensional understanding of reality. The Bible anticipated many of the recent insights of modern medicine that are in stark contrast to the myths and superstitions of the ancient cultures of the past. Furthermore, Jesus warned of a day in which "unless those days be shortened, no flesh would be saved." A statement like that would seem fanciful if studied over a century ago. In the 1860's, we couldn't imagine the world wiping itself out with muskets and bayonets. But today the nuclear cloud hangs over every geopolitical decision on earth. Ezekiel speaks of a battle that will be resolved by hailstones of fire, and in which the leftover weapons provide all the energy needs of the nation of Israel for seven years (Ezekiel 38-39). Furthermore, he mentions that professionals will spend seven months clearing out the remains, burying them downwind. He even indicates that a traveler, passing through the battle zone, and finding something the professionals have missed, doesn't touch it. Rather, he marks the location and leaves it for the professionals to deal with. This is a suprisingly contemporary procedure characterstic of nuclear-biological-chemical warfare. Zechariah describes the unique effects of the neutron bomb (Zecharia 14:12). Jeremiah speaks of smart weapons; the intelligence and perception is in the arrow rather than the shooter--arrows that can't miss (Jeremiah 50:9). Perhaps most profound are the perceptions of the properties of the universe itself. Most of us assume that the vacuum of space is empty. It is surprising to discover that space itself has properties; zero point energy, permittivity, and impedance. It also has more dimensions than the three with which we are familiar. The Bible describes the "firmament"as a solid, which can be rolled up, stretched, and "torn". This is all quite contrast to the fanciful condectures of the ancients. What may be a surprise to many is that the more you know about the frontiers of modern science, quantum mechanics, and astrophysics, the more remarkable the creation account in Genesis appears. Bible prophecy is more than simply a glimpse of what may lie ahead; it is an overview of God's complete plan for mankind. Our exploration of Biblical prophecy will challenge our presumptions of the reality that surrounds us.		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:13 pm
The Bible, incidentally, is unique in that it presents a universe of more than three dimensions -Ephesians 3:18--ten is a current estimate--and it reveals a Creator that is transcendent over His creation. It is the only "holy book" that posseses these contemporary insights. But it also speaks to the primary object of our inquiry--the nature of the time dimension itself, which is one of the major boundaries of our reality as we perceive it. One of the most significant dimensions bounding our present reality is that of time. The nature of the time dimension has challenged the imaginations of writers and speculators throughout the history of literature. Among the most contemporary probing of our virtual reality was the movie "The Thirteenth Floor", based on a science fiction novel, "Simulchron-3", in which the participants create a virtual reality, only to discover that they, too, are but virutal elements within a even larger reality. Attacking the ostensible paradox of altering previously recorded historical events, Robert Heinlein's short story "All You Zombies" remains the ultimate, absurdly extreme, example for most devotees of this genre. Traversing the dimensions of time remains the ever-popular realm of fiction writers--and apparently, a few strange experiments of the particle physicists. The only actual cases of time travel in history occurred when the Creator Himself entered His creation to enable subtituting Himself as a ransom for mankind and when the apostle John was propelled into a view of the end-time, which resulted in the book of Revelation. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. While philosophers have debated almost every idea under the sun since the world began, the one thing that they all have presumed--from the beginning--is that time is linear and absolute. Most of us assume that a minute a thousand years ago is the same as a minute of today. We believe we live in a dimension in which time inexorably rolls onward yet is totally instractable to any attempt to glimpse ahead. We move forward and can look back, but we can't move back nor can we look ahead. This linear view of time is exemplified by our frequent resort to time lines. When we were in school, our teachers often drew a line on the board. The left end of the line might represent the beginning of something and the right end of the line would demark the termination of that subject--the death of a person or the ending of an era. Therefore, when we encounter the concept of eternity, we tend to view it as a line of infinite length--from "infinity" on the left and continuing toward "infinity" on the right. When we think of God, we simply presume that He is someone with unlimited amounts of time. This conception is embraced in colorful peotry and hymns, but this linear view suffers from the misconception carried over from an obsolete physics. It was the recogniton of the presence of an additonal dimension that led Dr. Albert Einstein to his famous theory of relativity. In considering the nature of our physical universe, he recognized that we live in more than just three dimensions, and that time itself is a fourth physical dimension. We now realize that we live in at least four dimensions--not just in three spatial dimensions of lenght, width, and height, but also within an additional physical property. We have learned that time varies with mass, acceleration, and gravity. Is God subject to gravity? Is He subject to constraints of mass or acceleration? Hardly. God is not someone "who had lots of time"; He is outside the domain of time altogether. That is what Isaiah means when he says it is He who "inhabits eternity". Since God has technology to create us in the first place, He certainly has the technology to get a message to us. But how does He authenticate His message? How does He assure us that the message is really from Him and not some kind of a fraud or a contrivance? One way to authenticate the message is to take advantage of an attribute that is unique to Him; by demonstrating that the source of His messge is from outside our time domain. God declares, "I alone know the end from the beginning". His message includes history written in advance. We call this prophecy. It is the realization that time is a physical property and that only God Himself is beyond the restrictions of the dimensions of time that gives prophecy its authentication value. But we must be cautious; God is jealous of His unique prerogatives. His purpose is authentication, not for us to indulge in divination. Sir Isaac Newton, widely acclaimed as the greatest scientist who ever lived--having virtually invented the entire sciences of mechanics, optics and calculus--also considered his daily study of the Bible as part of his expertise. He wrote more than a million words of commentary on it. He believed the books of prophecy were provided so that, as they were historically fulfilled, they would provoke a continuing testimony to the fact that the world is governed by the providence of God. He objected to the use of prophecy in attempts to predict the future.		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:42 pm
As we consider instances of fulfilled prophecy, there is no more crucial example than the prophecies of the life of Jesus Christ. A central theme of the entire Biblical panorama is the actual presentation of the Coming One, the central person of all history whom the Hebrews call the Messiah: "in the volume of the book it is written of me" (Psalm 40:7, also quoted in Hebrews 10:7); "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). His story is a love story written in blood on a wooden cross that was erected in Judea about two thousand years ago. His crucifixion wasn't a tragedy; it was an achievement. Announced in advance in the Garden of Eden at the dawn of history, He made His human debut in a manger in Bethlehem, paid a cosmic price on our behalf at the Cross, and now appears ready to finalize His climax of all human history on our near horizon. In the Biblical record, every detail, every place, name, every number, has been skillfully tailored by deliberate design. And they all point to Him. He is on every page, intricately hidden in every detail of the text. Deciphering the "codes" is our ultimate challenge. Jesus confounded the religious leaders of His day when they could not break the code of the Old Testament text. While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them Saying, "What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?" The say unto Him, "the Son of David." He saith unto them, "How then doth David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? (Jesus is quoating Psalm 110:1.) If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions (Matthew 22:41-46). They couldn't break the code. The couldn't understand that He, Jesus Christ, was the embodiment of prophecies from the Old Testament. It is essential for each of us to make sure we don't fall into the same quandary by failing to see Christ for who He was prophesied to be. It is interesting that Jesus chose to open His ministry at the synagogue of Nazareth by reading from the prophet Isaiah. Furthermore, it is interesting to compare His reading with the complete passage in Isaiah. It is significant that Jesus stopped at what is a comma in our text. He deliberately omitted the additional phrase, "and the day of vengeance of our God." Because of details like this, I continue to embrace a very literal view of Biblical text and have learned to respect its precision. Jesus intentionally limited His reading to the mission of His first coming: "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." The "day of vengeance" has been deferred until His second coming. The "pause" of the comma in Isiah 61 has lasted almost two thousand years, and it appears that it is about to be concluded. But by quoting the Old Testament, a prophesy all of His listeners were familiar with, He wanted to state clearly He was the Messiah, the long-awaited One. And again, at one of His first appearances after His resurrection on that Sunday afternoon walk to Emmaus, Jesus spole of Himself in the context of Old Testament history: "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concering himself" (Luke 24:27). Jesus led them in a Bible study entirely from the Old Testament, highlighting the very things that had so shaken them dring the previous days. He reinforced His Father's sovereignty by speaking of a plan that had been unfolding for centuries, a plan that involved the salvation of mankind. Some deny that He claimed to be God. But anyone who is unaware of His claims hasn't read the Bible. His claim to be God was the very reason that they crucified Him. The issue is, were His claims valid? Our individual destinies will hinge on that issue. Last edited by Need2Know on Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:06 am; edited 1 time in total		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:22 pm
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ The second coming of Christ is mentioned eight times more frequently in the Old Testaments than His first coming. In fact, Christ's second coming is evidently the second-most important doctrine in the entire New Testament, for the only teaching mentioned more frequently is the subject of salvation! His coming is mentioned 318 tiems in the New Testament alone, and that is more often than there are chapters from Matthew to Revelation (216). What's more, all nine authors of the New Testament mentioned it. Christ's second coming is clearly mentioned or alluded to in 23 of the 27 New Testament books, and of the four books that make no clear mention of it, three of these (Philemon, 2 John, and 3 John) are short, one-chapter personal letters. Only one doctrinal book makes no specific mention of the subject (Galatians), although an implied reference to the event appears in 1:4. The Battle of Armegeddon A. Revelation 16:16 Located close to the center of the land of Israel in the north. It is about 20 miles south-southeast of Haifa. 1. Armageddon means "the mountain of Megiddo." This battle will occur in the Plain of Esdraelon, around the hill of Megiddo. It overlooks the Valley of Jezreel. 2. Napolean Bonaparte is said to have stated with deep emotion, "this is the ideal battleground for all the armies of the world." 3. Other battles have occurred here: Barak vs. the Canaanites (Judges 4:15); Gideon vs. the Midianites (Judges 7); Saul and Josiah both died there. The armies of the world will gather in the Valley of Megiddo before marching on Jerusalem. It will be what England was to the Normandy invasion. (Zechariah 12:1-3; Joel 3:14). This will be a four power conflict. (Daniel 11:40-45) 1. The king of the South 2. The king of the North 3. The king of the East 4. The European Union The kings of the earth will gather together to fight against God. (Psalm 2:1-3). B. Zechariah 14:1-15; Joel 3:9-16 The Eight Stages of Armageddon 1. The Antichrist will gather his armies. (Psalm 2:1-6) 2. Babylon will be destroyed. (Isiah 13-13: Jeremiah 50-51; Zechariah 5:5-11; Revelation 17-18 3. The fall of Jerusalem. (Micah 4:11-5:1; Zechariah 12:1-3; Zechariah 13:8-9; Zechariah 14:1-2) 4. The armies of the Antichrist at Bozrah. (Jeremiah 49:13-14) 5. National Iseral will be regenerated. (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25-27) 6. The second coming of CHRIST. (Isaiah 34:1-7; Isaiah 63:1-3; Habakkuk 3:3) 7. The battle from Bozrah to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. (Jeremiah 49:20-22; Joel 3:12-13; Zechariah 14:12-15) 8. JESUS' victory descent UPON the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:3-5; Joel 3:14-17; Acts 1:9-11; Matthew 24:29-31; Revelation 16:17-21; Revelation 19:11-21)		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:32 pm
Isaac Newton The mathematical and scientific discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) are astronomical. Some of the most notable of his achievements include the invention of calculus, the discovery of the laws of motion and the law of gravitation, and the construction of the first reflecting telescope. He also was a man known for his Christian faith. He spent a great portion of his time studying the Bible with a special interest in prophecy. Following are some of his quotations. On the Bible: "I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily." On atheism: "Atheism is so senseless. When I look at the solar system. I see the earth at the right distance from the sun to receive the proper amounts of heat and light. This did not happen by chance." At the time of his death, he left more than a million words of notes on the Bible. Six years after his death, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John was published. Not only was Isaac a great scientist but also a dedicated student of the Bible.		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:10 pm
The Old Testament Book of Ezekiel Chapters 38 and 39 describe the occasion in which God Himself intervenes to quell the ill-fated invasion of Israel by Magog and its allies (Persia, Cush, Phut, Libya, Gomer, Togarmah, Meshech, and Tubal). This passage also appears to anticipate the use of nuclear weapons. Why does the Bible use such strange names? It has to - we keep changing the names of things: Petrograd = St. Petersburg = Leningrad = St. Petersburg again. (My friends in Russia remind me that ''in Russia, even the past is uncertain!'') Byzantium = Constantinople = Istanbul. Cape Canaveral = Cape Kennedy, etc. But we don’t change the names of our ancestors! The Magog Identity Hesiod, ''the father of Greek didactic poetry,'' identified Magog with the Scythians and southern Russia in the 7th century B.C. (Hesiod’s writings precede the Book of Ezekiel.) Herodotus of Harlicarnassus, known as the ''Father of History,'' wrote extensively about the descendants of Magog by their Greek name, the Scythians, in the 5th century B.C. Flavius Josephus records that Magogians were called ''Scythians'' by the Greeks. Philo, in the 1st century, identifies Magog with southern Russia. Defense in Depth One reason Herodotus gave so much detailed information about the Scythians was that he wanted to describe the people who had succeeded in defeating the Persian king, Darius. Darius I crossed the Bosporus and invaded Scythia. The Scythians, however, had devised an unusual tactic for conducting warfare. The Persians expected to crush the Scythians in a decisive engagement, but the Scythians avoided such a battle. They retreated deep into their own territory, laying to waste the region and wearing down the enemy by means of small raids. In pursuing the Scythians, Darius soon came to appreciate the cunning of these ''partisan'' tactics: Reaching the Volga, Darius, acknowledging defeat, had to retreat from Scythia in shame. In 1812, when Napoleon entered Russia, Field Marshall Kutuzov’s similar strategy - including the sacrifice of Moscow itself - resulted in reducing Napoleon’s Grande Armée from 453,000 to less than 10,000 and yielded the infamous defeat now commemorated in Tchaikovsky’s Overture of 1812. In 1941, Hitler suffered a similar defeat from the same Scythian strategy: pressing a quick advance deep into the Russian interior only to have his Wehrmacht swallowed up in the harsh Russian winter. Turkey All the allies of Magog are in position, except one (watch Turkey!). Af-ter nearly two decades of waiting, Turkey has finally begun official negotiations for admittance into the European Union. The two largest impediments to Turkey’s EU membership are its predominantly Muslim population and its refusal to recognize the island nation of Cyprus (an EU member). This could push a wounded Turkey back into the arms of the nationalists and hard-line Islamic fundamentalists. Russia Today Modern Russian history dates from before the fall of the USSR - beginning with Yuri Andropov’s rise to power in November 1982. As someone who was in charge of the KGB, in a state where information was tightly compartmentalized, Andropov came into office knowing something that would not become apparent to the rest of the world for years: Not only was the Soviet Union losing the Cold War, but it was dangerously close to economic collapse. The Andropov Doctrine The West had long since surpassed the Soviets in every measure that mattered: from economic output, to worker productivity, to military reach. Andropov was convinced that, in time, Moscow would fall…barring a massive change in course. Andropov’s plan was to secure money, managerial skills and non-military technologies from the West in order to refashion a more functional Soviet Union. But the Soviets had nothing significant to trade: they did not have the cash, they lacked goods that the West wanted, and Andropov had no intention of trading away Soviet military technology (which, even 15 years after the Cold War ended, still gives its U.S. counterpart a good run for its money). In the end, Andropov knew that the Soviet Union had only one thing the West wanted: geopolitical space. So space was what he gave. This continued the traditional Scythian ''defense in depth'' strategy! Subsequent leaders - Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin after them - continued this as well. The one common thread uniting Russian leaders over the past quarter-century has been the belief that without a fundamental remake, Russia would not survive, and the only way to gain the tools necessary for that remake was to give up influence. Consequently, everything - from Cuba to Poland to Afghanistan to Vietnam - was surrendered, set free or otherwise abandoned. This was the strategy for nearly 25 years, until the loss of the Ukraine raised the specter of Russian dissolution. The Russians have now stepped away from the Andropov Doctrine, abandoned the implicit bargain within it, reformed the government under the leadership of pragmatists loyal to Putin, and have begun pushing back against American and Western pressure. Demographically, the country is in terrible shape: their population is growing simultaneously older, smaller and sicklier. The number of Muslims is growing, while the number of ethnic Russians is declining. Nearly all of the economic growth that has occurred since the 1998 financial crisis has stemmed from either an artificially weak currency or rising energy prices, and there are echoes of Soviet financial overextension as occurred after the 1973 and 1981 oil price booms. The START Treaty The treaty, which took force in 1991, obliges the United States and Russia to maintain no more than 6,000 nuclear warheads apiece. It expires in 2009, and the United States is not anxious to renew it. Among American defense planners, there is a belief that the vast majority of weapons in the Russian nuclear program is nearing the end of its reliable life-cycle, and that replacing it would be well beyond Russia’s financial capacity. From the U.S. point of view, there is no reason to subject itself to a new treaty that would limit U.S. options, particularly when the Russia of today is far less able to support an arms race than the Soviet Union of yesteryear. The weapons that will be used in the Magog Invasion, or the Battle of Armageddon, may already be in inventory today. Russia-Israeli Relations During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Russia helped Israel obtain arms to fight the contingent of hostile countries that included Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan. However, after this initial cooperation, relations between the two countries quickly soured with Russia threatening to attack Israel during both the 1956 Sinai Campaign and the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Russia severed diplomatic relations with Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War, then aligned itself with Arab nationalist regimes and gave support to Palestinian militants. Russia also strongly opposed the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Even today, Russia remains allied with Israel’s enemies. Vladimir Putin Since Putin took power in 1999, he has established unrivaled dominance of both houses of parliament; reasserted control over the country’s huge energy industry; forced the closure of the last independent national television network; strengthened Russia’s ties to its former communist allies; and, employed what he calls ''managed democracy.'' Putin has manipulated elections, silenced critics, and gradually tight-ened his grip on the nation. He is a former KGB officer and reports estimate that one in every four of Putin’s government has a background in the military or security services. In recent months, Putin has faced growing criticism for restricting democratic freedoms and concentrating his presidential powers. Once thought to be a growing capitalist ally, Russia is now returning to its Soviet roots. Putin has called on Israel to withdraw ''from all the occupied Arab lands back to the June 1967 border'' and stressed the necessity of a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights. Growing Anti-Semitism in Russia During the Soviet era, more than a million Jews fled Russia to escape state-sponsored anti-Semitism, and in recent years there has been a dramatic resurgence of anti-Jewish sentiment. In 2005, following a string of racially motivated attacks on Jews, a letter with several hundred signatures, including those of 19 members of the Duma (the Russian parlia-ment), was sent to Russia’s prosecutor-general. The letter claimed that the Jews themselves were responsible for inciting anti-Semitic violence and accused them of vandalizing and burning down synagogues to garner sympathy. It also called for Jewish organizations in Russia to be investigated and banned. The Palestinians Russia has further earned Israel’s ire by announcing plans to provide the Palestinian security forces with two reconnaissance helicopters and 50 armored vehicles. Russia has also sent its military experts and security personnel to Gaza to help train Palestinian security forces. After Palestinian terrorists fired rockets from Gaza into southern Israel recently, the Israelis found missile fragments belonging to a Russian designed BM-21 rocket. For the last four years, Palestinians had been using homemade Kassam rockets. This was the first time a factory-made rocket had been fired into Israel by the Palestinians. Allies in the Middle East After losing the Mid-East foothold provided by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, the Russians have been building a new axis of power based on ties with Turkey, Iran and Syria. Russia is now Turkey’s second-largest trading partner, with a volume of $10 billion in trade per year; Russia strengthened ties with Iran by supplying it with nuclear-related technologies; and, Russia and Syria have made plans to increase diplomatic and military cooperation. Syria Russia has since written-off nearly 75% - approximately $10 billion - of Syria’s Soviet-era debt. Russia also intends to proceed with plans to sell SS-26 and SS-18 missiles to Syria, despite U.S. and Israeli opposition. The SS-26 is a highly mobile missile that uses satellite guidance systems to attain maximum accuracy. With a range of 180 miles, it can carry a 1,000-pound warhead to most targets inside Israel; the SA-18 missiles are some of the most sophisticated shoulder-held anti-aircraft missiles on the market and Israel is concerned the weapons may fall into the hands of Palestinian terrorists. The SA-18 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile uses its enhanced seeker to hit aerial targets, such as jet fighters, head-on. They have a relatively short range of 5.2 km and a maximum altitude of 3.5 km, but they can be used to destroy planes, helicopters and low-flying unmanned planes. Syria is on the U.S. State Department’s list of countries that sponsor terrorism. It gives ''substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, ex-plosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid'' to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas and other radical Islamic and Palestinian organizations, many of which are headquartered in Damascus. Many experts believe that a large-scale confrontation between Syria and Israel could be on the near horizon, which makes Syria’s growing relationship with nations such as Iran and Russia even more concerning. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Russia may be planning to move its Black Sea Fleet to the Syrian port of Tartus. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet currently uses a range of naval facilities in the Ukrainian region of Crimea under a 1997 agreement that allowed Russia to continue its presence in its neighboring former Soviet republic for rent of $93 million per year. The fleet is not scheduled to withdraw until 2017, but the Ukraine has demanded that a new agreement be signed and negotiations between Russia and the Ukraine have stalled. Russia has started dredging at the Syrian port of Tartus, where it maintains a logistical supply point with a possible eye to turning it into a full-fledged naval base. Russia has also launched a modernization project at the port of Latakia, 90 km to the north of Tartus. An anonymous source at the Defense Ministry indicated that Moscow was planning to form a squadron led by the Moskva, the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship missile cruiser, within the next three years. The squadron would operate in the Mediterranean Sea on a permanent basis. Iran Russia intends to sell Iran up to 30 Tor M-1 surface-to-air missiles, worth $700 million. Russia has been the beneficiary of multiple lucrative contracts to help Iran develop nuclear energy and has also been helping Iran build its nuclear reactor at Bushehr. Russia, which has veto power on the UN Security Council, has also threatened to block any attempt by the U.S. to impose UN sanctions on Iran.		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:18 pm
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. . .And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horse-men, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: - Ezekiel 38:1-4 So begins this classic passage in which Gog and Magog, with their allies, are drawn into an invasion of Israel only to have the God of Israel use the occasion to show Himself strong by intervening on behalf of His people and destroying the invading forces. The apparent use of nuclear weapons has made this passage appear timely and perhaps on our near horizon. To understand this passage, it is essential to first determine who the players are. Despite the many controversies, these participants are surprisingly well identified. Just who are the people represented here by these ancient tribal names? Why Such Weird Names? Have you ever wondered why the Biblical prophets always seem to refer to various peoples by such strange names? It's actually our fault! We keep changing the names of things. There once was a city known as Petrograd. For many years it was known as St. Petersburg. Then it was changed to Leningrad. Now it's St. Petersburg again. What will it be named a few years from now? (My friends in Russia say that in Russia, even the past is uncertain!) The capital of the old world, Byzantium, was renamed Constantinople. Now that city is known as Istanbul. This occurs even in our own country. How many of you remember when "Cape Canaveral" was renamed "Cape Kennedy"? Ten years later it became "Cape Canaveral" again. But we do not change the names of our ancestors! So, if you were the prophet Isaiah and were called upon to speak of the Persians over a century before they emerged as an empire, how could you refer to them? You would speak of them as the descendants of Elam, the forebears of the Persians. The Table of Nations Did you realize that you and I are related? All of us are descendants, not only from Adam, but from Noah. Noah and his three sons repopulated the entire Earth after the flood. Thus, we are all descendants of Noah's three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. We are all relatives. (Perhaps that's why we don't get along any better!) The genealogical records of Noah and his three sons are listed in Genesis 10, and the 70 original tribal groups described there are often called by Biblical scholars, The Table of Nations. Specifically, to understand the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 - 39, we need some background on Magog and his allies. Magog was one of the sons of Japheth and his descendants are often referred to by their Greek name, the Scythians. One of the earliest references to Magog was by Hesiod, "the father of Greek didactic poetry," who identified Magog with the Scythians and southern Russia in the 7th century B.C. Hesiod was, in effect, almost a contemporary of Ezekiel. Another of the major sources on the ancient history of the Middle East is, of course, Josephus Flavius, who clearly identified Magog: Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him, but who were by the Greeks called Scythians . Another first century writer was Philo, who also identified Magog with southern Russia. But most of our information comes to us from Herodotus, who wrote extensively in the 5th century B.C. The "Father of History" Herodotus of Halicarnassus is known as the "Father of History." He wrote the earliest important historical narrative, in which he described the background and the course of the great war between the Greeks and the Persians in the 5th century B.C. Numerous archeological discoveries have clearly confirmed Herodotus' reports in general, and his Scythian accounts in particular. The tortuous path from the horseback archery of the early Scyths to the nuclear missiles of the Russian Federation includes many centuries of turbulent history. The various descendants of Magog terrorized the southern steppes of Russia from the Ukraine to the Great Wall of China. The "Steppes of History" The earliest origins of the area settled by the descendants of Magog, the extreme north and east, are clouded by the passage of time and war. Only faint traces remain, but enough to establish the critical identities. Our indebtedness extends from writers predating Ezekiel to the energies of the Russian archaeologists in more recent years. In the 9th century B.C. a number of nomadic tribes created a new state in the region of Lake Van in present-day Turkey, which immediately became a competitor of Assyria. The Assyrians called this state Urartu. The Urartean state quickly became powerful, and in the first half of the 8th century B.C. extended its rule over a wide area. Assyria could not stand by indifferently as Urartu expanded and grew more powerful. During the reign of Argishti's son, Sarduri II (764-735 B.C.), the Assyrians undertook two campaigns against Urartu, in 743 and 735 B.C. In the second, they reached and besieged the Urartean capital of Tushpa. Two groups are frequently referred to in Urartean and Assyrian texts: the Cimmerians and the Scythians. Both will figure prominently in subsequent identifications. The Cimmerians The Cimmerians are the oldest of the European tribes living north of the Black Sea and Danube, and whom we know by the name they used for themselves. The Cimmerian period in the history of southern Ukraine began in the late 11th century B.C. The Cimmerians were the first specialized horse-nomads to make their name in history. The earliest osteological evidence of the domestication of the horse occurs south of Kiev about 2500 B.C. Their nomadic lifestyle, including mounted warriors, fully developed between the 10th and 8th centuries. They are first mentioned in secular literature in The Odyssey and The Iliad of Homer (8th century B.C.), and in Assyrian cuneiform texts from the 8th century B.C. (before Ezekiel), and of course, in Herodotus (5th century B.C.). Herodotus indicates that the whole North Pontic steppe region, occupied in his time by the Scythians, belonged earlier to the Cimmerians. Homer associated the Cimmerians with a fog-bound land, perhaps the Crimean peninsula on the north shore of the Black Sea. Some scholars derive the name of "Crimea" from the Cimmerians. The Cimmerians surged into Asia Minor in the late 7th century B.C. They annihilated the Phrygian kingdom after destroying and looting its capital, Gordium. In 652 B.C. they captured Sardis and plundered the Greek cities of the Aegean coast and Asia Minor. In the early 7th century, Cimmerian forces were checked and routed by the Assyrians who came to the aid of the Scythians. By the 6th century B.C. the name of the Cimmerians disappeared from the historical scene. In the 5th century B.C., Herodotus related that the Cimmerians were driven south over the Caucasus, probably through the central Dariel Pass, by the Scythians in a domino-like effect as the Scythians themselves were pushed westward by other tribes. This can be correlated with Chinese records. The numerous references in the Talmud has left little doubt that these descendants of Gomer then moved northward and established themselves in the Rhine and Danube valleys. The Scythians We know the descendants of Magog by their Greek designation as the Scythians (depicted in their legends as descending from Scythes , the youngest of the three sons of Heracles, from sleeping with a half viper and half woman). The name Scythian designates a number of nomadic tribes from the Russian steppes, one group of which invaded the Near East in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. After being repulsed from Media, many of the later Scyths settled in the fertile area of the Ukraine north of the Black Sea. Other related tribes occupied the area to the east of the Caspian Sea. Herodotus describes them living in Scythia (i.e., the territory north of the Black Sea). He describes Scythia as a square, 20 days journey (360 miles) on a side. It encompassed the lower reaches of the Dniester, Bug, Dnieper, and Don Rivers where they flow into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Scythian language belonged to the Iranian family of the Indo-European languages. The Ossetian dialect of central Caucasus appears to be a survivor. The original area in which Iranian was spoken extended from the mid-Volga and the Don regions to the northern Urals and beyond. From here, Iranian-speaking tribes colonized Media, Parthia, Persia, Central Asia, and as far as the Chinese border. In the 7th century B.C. the Scythians swept across the area, displacing the Cimmerians from the steppes of the Ukraine east of Dnieper River, who fled from them across the Caucasus. It is provocative that even the name "Caucasus" appears to have been derived from Gog-hasan, or "Gog's Fort." The hippomolgoi ("mare-milkers") mentioned in Homer's Iliad were equestrian nomads of the northern steppes and several authorities also identified these with the Scythians. [One of the delicacies I was presented with when I was being hosted by the Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Union was fermented horse milk! These traditions may have a deep history, indeed.] Tombs That Tell Tales The fact that the Scythian culture extended more than 2,000 miles east from the Ukraine was demonstrated by the sensational discovery of tombs in the Chilikta Valley of East Kazakhstan, published in Russian in 1965: ...prove that Scythian material culture had spread to the Mongolian border as early as the 6th century B.C. Countless Scythian burials, ranging from the 6th - 2nd century B.C., have been uncovered in the areas to the north and east of the Black Sea, in many cases beyond the limits of what Herodotus demarcated in his day as "Scythia" proper. Soviet scholars have, of course, worked broadly in this region. More than 1,200 graves were investigated by A. Leskov in the Crimean area between 1961 and 1972. Aerial surveys also have been employed. Hundreds of Scythian graves from the 4th and 3rd centuries have been discovered since the 1930s by B. Grakow, A. Trenoschkin, and E. Tschernenko, in the Ukraine. One of the many implications of the Soviet finds is the authentication of the reliability of Herodotus as a source of knowledge of the Scythians. The leading authorities on the Scythians, T. Rice, T. Sulimirski, and others, all regard Herodotus as thoroughly vindicated. Remarkable circumstances led to the preservation of otherwise perishable materials. The frozen conditions marvelously preserved textiles, remains of horses, human skin and hair, entrails, undigested food, etc., for more than 2,300 years! In July 1995, Russian archaeologists found a 2,500 year old Scythian horseman under more than seven feet of ice in Siberia near the Chinese and Mongolian borders. More than 6,500 feet above sea level, the Ukok Plateau is blanketed by a thick layer of rocks that keeps the ground frozen year round. The horseman had been given his ceremonial burial in his fur coat and high leather boots, alongside his horse in a log-lined chamber in the Altai Mountains. He also had his ax, quiver, and dagger. According to Herodotus and archaeological evidence, the Scythians occupied territory from the Danube to the Don. The northern boundary extended beyond the latitude of Kiev. Near Olbia lived the Callipidae and Graeco-Scythians, and farther north, the Alazones. Defense in Depth One reason Herodotus gave so much detailed information about the Scythians was that he wanted to describe the people who had succeeded in defeating the Persian king, Darius. This was a most important element in the history of Scythians, and the memory of it remained with them for many years. In resisting the Persians, a provocative strategic tradition was born: Defense in Depth. This unique strategy also would characterize these descendants of Magog in more recent times against both Napoleon and Hitler. Darius I crossed the Bosphorus and invaded Scythia. The Scythians, however, had devised an unusual tactic for conducting warfare. The Persians expected to crush the Scythians in a decisive engagement, but the Scythians avoided such a battle. They retreated deep into their own territory, laying waste the region and wearing down the enemy by means of small raids. In pursuing the Scythians, Darius soon came to appreciate the cunning of these "partisan" tactics. Reaching the Volga, Darius, acknowledging defeat, had to retreat from Scythia in shame. As every student of military history knows, Napoleon and Hitler, each, in more modern times, encountered the same tactics from the Scythian descendants and yielding similar results. When Napoleon entered Russia in 1812, Field Marshall Kutuzov's similar strategy, including the sacrifice of Moscow itself, resulted in reducing Napoleon's Grande Armée from 453,000 to less than 10,000, and yielding the ignomious defeat now commemorated in Tchaikovsky's Overture of 1812. In 1941, Hitler suffered a similar defeat from the same Scythian strategy: allowing a quick advance deep into the Russian interior only to have his Wehrmacht swallowed up in the harsh winter. Decline Greater Scythia disintegrated in the late 3rd century B.C., and the territory extended only from the Lower Dnieper to the Crimea. There were several causes; the main one was apparently ecological. Evidently the natural and climatic conditions of life on the steppe were changing. According to some experts there was a "desertification" of the steppe. The population moved to more favorable areas, in particular southwards to the southern Dnieper. The Scythians finally succumbed to attacks from the Goths. Scythians in the New Testament The word Scythian occurs once in the New Testament. Paul stresses the fact that people from the most diverse backgrounds can be one in Christ: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. - Colossians 3:11 These unsavory associations mean nothing to readers today but would have aroused a strong emotional response from Paul's audience. According to this passage, not only were all classes of society, civilized and uncivilized, one in Christ, but even those cruel, barbaric Scythians - the epitome of savagery in the ancient world - were eligible for redemption through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Even as you and I are. No matter how barbaric or cruel our own history is, His redemption is available for the asking.]		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:44 pm
Ezekiel 38 and 39 in its entirety - a prophecy of the coming Third World War, more than likely with the use of nuclear weapons and having God Himself coming to the rescue of Israel and destroying the armies of the nations who have attacked her. It is evident from this prophesy that everything that occurs during this battle will be visible to "every person in every nation", due to our current instantaneous news service from any place in the world. Ezekiel 38 Eze 38:1 The word of the LORD came to me: Eze 38:2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of[fn1] Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him Eze 38:3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of[fn2] Meshech and Tubal. Eze 38:4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Eze 38:5 Persia, Cush[fn3] and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets, Eze 38:6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you. Eze 38:7 ” ‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. Eze 38:8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. Eze 38:9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. Eze 38:10 ” ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. Eze 38:11 You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. Eze 38:12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the center of the land.” Eze 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages[fn4] will say to you, “Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?” ’ Eze 38:14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? Eze 38:15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. Eze 38:16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. Eze 38:17 ” ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them. Eze 38:18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. Eze 38:19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. Eze 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground. Eze 38:21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. Eze 38:22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. Eze 38:23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ Footnotes: 38:2 Or the prince of Rosh, 38:3 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, 38:5 That is, the upper Nile region 38:13 Or her strong lions		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:45 pm
Ezekiel 39 Eze 39:1 “Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of[fn1]Meshech and Tubal. Eze 39:2 I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Eze 39:3 Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. Eze 39:4 On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. Eze 39:5 You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. Eze 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD. Eze 39:7 ” ‘I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel. Eze 39:8 It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of. Eze 39:9 ” ‘Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. Eze 39:10 They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD. Eze 39:11 ” ‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east toward[fn2] the Sea.[fn3] It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.[fn4] Eze 39:12 ” ‘For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. Eze 39:13 All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I am glorified will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign LORD. Eze 39:14 ” ‘Men will be regularly employed to cleanse the land. Some will go throughout the land and, in addition to them, others will bury those that remain on the ground. At the end of the seven months they will begin their search. Eze 39:15 As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. Eze 39:16 (Also a town called Hamonah[fn5] will be there.) And so they will cleanse the land.’ Eze 39:17 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. Eze 39:18 You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan. Eze 39:19 At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. Eze 39:20 At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,’ declares the Sovereign LORD. Eze 39:21 “I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. Eze 39:22 From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. Eze 39:23 And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. Eze 39:24 I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them. Eze 39:25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity[fn6] and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. Eze 39:26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. Eze 39:27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. Eze 39:28 Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. Eze 39:29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.” Footnotes: 39:1 Or Gog, prince of Rosh, 39:11 Or of 39:11 That is, the Dead Sea 39:11 Hamon Gog means hordes of Gog. 39:16 Hamonah means horde. 39:25 Or now restore the fortunes of Jacob		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:36 am
Iraq will play a significant role in End Times prophecy and there are two Babylons forecasted in Scripture. One is the religious or spiritual Babylon-- the apostate church, which most scholars believe will be headed by the Romish Church, found in Revelation 17; and the other is the commercial Babylon, that will be literally rebuilt in the land currently known today as Iraq and will become the world capital of the final world empire, headed by the Antichrist. Revelation 17 = Ecclesiastical Babylon - destroyed by the 10 kings Revelation 18 = Commercial Babylon - destroyed by fire from Heaven Concerning Revelation 17:3, "The woman is a city, and the city is Rome, the religious capital of the world. She is religious Rome, which at that time will have inherited all the religions of the world... Commercial Babylon [in Rev.18] is ancient Babylon, rebuilt as the commercial capital of the world. This city is the final capital of the political power of the Beast." Contrasting the two Babylons, "The commercial center is loved by the kings of the earth; and the apostate church is hated by the kings of the earth." Babylon is mentioned 297 times in the Bible-- more than any other city except Jerusalem. Babylon is the theme of six long chapters in the Bible: Jeremiah 50-51; Isaiah 13-14 and Revelation 17-18. BABYLON THE GREAT Rev 18:1-3 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. Notice Revelation 18 begins with, "AFTER these things"-- (after the destruction of the harlot in Revelation 17) and "another angel," who shouts "Fallen! Fallen..." Ancient Babylon existed in the area known as Iraq today. Many Bible scholars have said that Babylon, used in Revelation 18, is just symbolic and only used allegorically to signify Rome. Though we strongly believe that Rome will play a leading role in the apostasy in uniting all the world religions, found in Revelation 17, we also strongly believe that the geographical region known as Iraq today will play a role in heading the FINAL world government. Shinar has always been located in the Middle East. Shinar is not Rome. Dr. Ford C. Ottman wrote in 1905, "A literal Babylon...opens the way for a consistent and harmonious interpretation of the text throughout." Isaiah prophesied the destruction of Babylon and likened it as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. Some scholars have said that this prophecy already was fulfilled when the Medo-Persian Empire overtook the city of Babylon. But we must remember that GOD rained fire down from Heaven when He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and He will do the same to Babylon, as prophesied in Revelation 18-- "she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her..." Isaiah 13:19-20: And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. Ford C. Ottman wrote, "It is to be noted that this judgment is absolutely of God, whereas the judgment of the Mystery Babylon is instrumentally by men." [Though God will put it into their hearts to destroy the Whore.] This will happen in the future. We know that the city of Babylon was inhabited, even during the time of Jesus Christ and afterward. (See 1Peter 5:13) The destruction foretold in Isaiah has yet to happen-- it is FUTURE. To a degree, Babylon was overthrown but not destroyed like "Sodom and Gomorrah." The Fall of Babylon in history is separate from the Destruction of Babylon, as prophesied in the Bible. "Babylon must be restored in order that she may fall in a manner to fulfill to the last letter the predictions concerning her." -- Ford C. Ottman Jeremiah 51:25-26 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD. "Babylon the Great" will be in Iraq. It will not be in Europe, not in Rome but in Shinar. That is what the Bible precisely says. Why would God call Rome "Shinar" in Zechariah? Why would God call Rome, "beauty of the Chaldees"? Such thinking truly underestimates the influence of Nimrod's Babel across the globe. (The Catholic Church has not influenced every religion of the world.) In order to see where the pagan religions began, we must go back to Genesis. When the languages were confounded at the Tower of Babel, the religion they practiced went with them throughout the whole world and was practiced by all ancient peoples, except for the Jews. One of the best expositors we have found, who ties it all in, is Dr. Henry M. Morris in his book, "The Revelation Record." Truth is, no one can know with absolute certainty exactly how the Tribulation events will exactly unfold until the prophecies take place and true Believers, in Christ Jesus, will not be on earth when the Tribulation takes place. Just because "tradition" has upheld certain interpretation does not necessarily mean that it is what shall take place in the future. Man is limited because man does not have the capacity to jump into the future to see the actual events. So the Bible gives us the future prewritten... but the Bible must be taken literally where applicable and where there is imagery, that too must be held within context. We cannot rewrite God's Word in places to fit what we think will happen. There are countless commentaries out there on the Book of Revelation and each expositor will have something slightly different to say, although most share similar views and interpretations, because they were all trained by the same few teachers of their day. John F. Walvoord, speaking of Revelation 18, wrote "...the approach taken here is to anticipate Babylon as a city that will be rebuilt as the capital of the final world empire and will be destroyed physically as well as politically at the time of the Second Coming. This conclusion is based on studies in the Old Testament concerning the prophecies there of the destruction of Babylon ... These prophecies anticipating the sudden destruction of Babylon were not fulfilled in history."		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 8:42 pm
Forgiveness is Available God wants us to look to him in the midst of our despair. You may be in such bad shape that you feel as though you're sinking in quicksand. You admit that you've done shameful things. And you think, Oh, God, could I ever be forgiven? I have good news for you. You can be forgiven, for we have a merciful God. And when he forgives, he cleanses all unrighteousness and removes our sin from us as far as the east is from the west (1 John 1:9; Ps. 103:12 ) . In fact, he remembers our sin no more (Isa. 43:25) . Recall the story of David and Bathsheba. David committed a series of gross sins, but when Nathan confronted him with his guilt, he immediately confessed his evil and repented of it. The beauty of David's story is this: as God looked back over the king's life - all eighty years of it, not just his "pre-Bathsheba" days - he didn't even see the sin. David rejoiced in this, so much so that in his last words he declared: Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will he not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire? (2 Sam. 23:5 NIV ) It's as if David's sin had been thrown down a ravine. If you were standing with God and looking at David's life, you'd see right over the chasm to the "good stuff" on the other side. And you'd see that David was still a man after God's own heart. The skeptic might say, "How could God see someone that despicable and still say he was a man after God's own heart? He could say it because once we confess our sin to God and turn from it, God so completely removes it from us that he no longer even sees it. As God looked back over David's life, all he saw was the "green" part of his life, the part dedicated to him. I urge you, don't be like the American satirist and cartoonist Jules Feiffer, who once said, "Christ died for our sins. Dare we make his martyrdom meaningless by not committing them?" And don't be like the ancient Israelites, either, who so provoked God that in 587 B.C. he sent the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem, the temple, and the whole Hebrew way of life. Some of the saddest words in the bible appear near the end of 2 Chronicles. The author looked back over his people's history and wrote: The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. (2 Chron. 36:15-16 NIV) Thank God, there is yet a remedy for us. Make sure you don't despise it. The coming of Christ will bring an era of blessing, a peerless time of hope for the believer. But for the nonbeliever, it will be a time of disaster. For the believer, this world is as bad as it gets. For the nonbeliever, this world is as good as it gets. The day is soon coming when the Lord will return to rectify all things. And at the moment, it will be too late to make a decision about God. As Paul wrote, "behold, now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). If you have not done so already, make today the best day of your life (so far) by personally inviting Jesus Christ into your life. And discover for yourself what God's favor feels like.		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 7:58 am
Jesus is coming again! That's the hope we have in this life - so long as we know him personally. Everywhere that the Gospels talk about the coming of Christ, knowing him is always the condition for blessing. That's the secret! If you call on the name of the Lord, you will be saved (Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13) - not only from eternal condemnation, but also from the horrors of the tribulation. Once we call on him, we can "serve the living and true God, and... wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess. 1:9-10). Are you going to the Fathers house? Have you made your reservations in advance? Have you called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, you needn't fear, "even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though it's waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with it's swelling" (Ps. 46:2-3). Why not? Because "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). No matter what happens in the world, Jesus says we can keep fear at bay. Bible prophecy can give us the confidence we need to live courageously, regardless of world events. So the apostle Peter said, "we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you would do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet. 1:19). That star rises as a person studies bible prophecy and begins to see it, feel it, and know that Jesus is coming back and has a plan for him or her. Lest anyone think such an idea absurd, remember that the morning star rose in the heart of Simeon and Anna as they studied the prophecies of the Word of God -Luke 2:25-38-. For his efforts, Simeon was privileged to hold the Christ child, pray over him, and dedicate him to God. What an honor! The morning star dawned in the heart of Simeon for Jesus' first coming. In this same way, if we study the prophets, the morning star could dawn in our hearts regarding the second coming of Christ. Although no one knows the day or the hour of Jesus' return, I recommend that you ask, every morning when you first awake, "could this be the day?" One of these days, it will be the day. That's why we should live every moment in preparation for his coming. The Coming of the Lord But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ESV) The Coming of the Son of Man "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31 ESV) And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:9-10 ESV)		N2K Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840



Need2Know Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 1:44 pm
Jesus Explains the Tribulation In Luke 21 Jesus preaches a sermon about the End of the World. The end of the world is easier to comprehend when we can compare it to the world around us. That is what Jesus does. He points to things they knew and said amplify that, multiply that-exponentially, then you will understand what is coming. Basically Jesus describes a Global Final Holocaust-not merely of Jews and Christians-but of humans! Within that message is what amounts to a survival guide to believers who have to exist during the Final Holocaust. Although the believers He is addressing are Tribulation saints, Jewish believers, and those saved through the ministry of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and the Two Witnesses-the lessons have deep implications for us living in the days just prior to those events. For us today, Christ's words are a call for us to be ready for the onset of the worst time in history. It will begin after the Church is raptured, but the climate of the Tribulation is already here. Are you prepared to survive the storms before the final storm? Several years ago across the world, dignitaries marked the 60th Anniversary of the liberation of the grisly death camp complex called Auschwitz. Hitler's Holocaust, horrible as it was murdering over six million Jews alone—pales when compared to the Final Holocaust. Briefly, here are the facts: About 1.5 million people died at Auschwitz, of whom about 1.2 million were Jewish. That means that 1/5th of the six million Jews exterminated by Hitler died in this complex. Other groups of people who died included Polish political prisoners, Soviet prisoners of war, Gypsies, people with disabilities and prisoners of conscience or religious faith. The complex contained three camps and at least 36 sub-camps which were built outside the town of Oswiecim, on an isolated 40 sq km site, between 1940 and 1942. There is an incredible comparison that can be drawn from Auschwitz and the Great Tribulation. • Most scholars see the first half of the seven year final period of the earth's history to be relatively normal. It is the second half that seems to have the incredible destruction, demon armies and death. So in Bible terms, the Great Tribulation lasts 3 ½ years or 42 months. • Auschwitz opened its doors to death by gas chamber on September 3rd 1941. The advance of the Soviet Army closed down the camp on January 27th 1945. The death camp of the Holocaust was operating for 3 ½ years or 42 months. • So the death camp at Auschwitz and the Great Tribulation last almost exactly the same length of time. That is where the comparison stops. The Final Holocaust is so terrifying, so deadly, so inescapable that God personally steps in to stop it lest not one human be left alive! In the Great Tribulation 2 ½ million die every day for 42 months. In Auschwitz less than a thousand died each day. That means 2500x as many people die every day. Or to put it in Auschwitz terms—the number of people that died every day at Auschwitz will die every 30 seconds in the Great Tribulation! Or in other terms living on earth will be like living in an Auschwitz death camp—and in death toll there will be the equivalent of an Auschwitz Holocaust twice a day for 42 months! A brief look through the pages of Revelation chapters six, eight, nine, and sixteen--describe the living hell you can avoid if you are saved this morning. Here are only a few of the dreadful disasters that take place during the Tribulation: • One out of every two people will die (see Rev. 6:8 and onward), some through the ravages of war, others by starvation, and amazingly many others by the 'beasts of the earth'. So, whether by death that comes instantly and thus less dreaded or a slow and painful death that is lingering and agonizing-50 percent of all people will die. The world's population was 6,415,574,176 yesterday, so that means at least 3,207,500,000 will die. That amounts to just about eleven times the current population of the United States-can you imagine that? And remember that the population of the world is doubling every 39.5 years. So every day the number of people who will die becomes larger and larger. • One third of all vegetation will be burned up. All grass, every tree, everything green will be destroyed (see Rev. 8:7). • The sun and the moon will be darkened as nature goes into revolt (see Rev. 8:12). • The gates of hell will open and hordes of locusts, the size of horses, will come upon the earth. Those locusts will be allowed to sting men like scorpions and the pain will last for five months. The Bible says men will beg God to let them die but they will not die (see Rev. 9:3-6). • There will be worldwide famine unlike anything the world has ever seen -see Rev. 18:8-. • There will be a world war so bloody that the blood of those killed in battle will flow for two hundred miles up to the bridle of a horse in the valley of Jezreel. This will be the Battle of Armageddon (see Rev. 14:20). • All told, during the Great Tribulation, as many as half of all the people on the earth will be killed. Now do you see why God refers to the Rapture as a 'blessed hope'? Because the Tribulation to come is so horrible! But that means we are gone and will escape everything, right? Yes, exactly, we will miss every part of the TRIBULATION, but we will probably go through some of the worst days we have ever seen before it starts. And that is what Jesus is pointing out to us in Luke 21 where we open in God's Word today. In Luke 21 we see the end of everyone’s life as it was. Time stops. Life ends. Nothing is the same again. Christ's Coming simply reveals what people have been all the time. Paul tells us later that "each man's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it" (1 Corinthians 3:13). Remember what we have already learned from Luke 21:36. 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." We can learn from Christ's description of the Age (Luke 21:8–19) The dangers Jesus warned of are what His church has faced from the beginning. There have always been deceiving teachers, persecution, and disasters. But what He says is that each of these areas will increase and intensify as Christ's Coming draws near. There will be religious deception -Luke 21:8-. "Be not deceived!" is Christ's admonition to us, and we must take it to heart. Luke 21:8 And He said: "Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.