If you are a Christian and reading this blog, I ask that you pray for this man. Pray for his deliverance. Some of you may already be familiar with his story. Pray…..
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/August/ISIS-Threatens-to-Murder-US-Pastor-Saeed-Abedini/
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
Although it is debated who wrote Ecclesiastes, most likely it was King Solomon; the wisest man the world has ever known. The verse above has more meaning than one can imagine. The verse is speaking to cycles. What was done in the past will be done again in the future. On a large scale, it speaks to a repeat of certain historical events that occurred in the Old Testament. On a smaller scale it speaks to the repetition of daily activities and mindsets of man throughout the ages. Essentially it is saying that nothing new will come that has not already come and that includes the end of days.
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure Isaiah 46:9-10
The bible is an open declaration of events beginning with the first state of the universe to the last. It conveys future events by inference, as historical archetypes. Wikipedia defines archetype as “A statement, or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated”. There are many archetypes in the bible. I will outline a few here as an example starting with Abraham.
Abraham, although a gentile from Ur in the ancient land of Assyria, was the first Hebrew and father of the Israelites. His name in Hebrew means “father of a multitude”. The Lord called Abraham out of his country. “Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee” Genesis 12:1. Abraham was given the everlasting covenant of God that led to the nation of Israel; still in existence today. Interestingly, according to Jewish tradition, Abraham was born in 1948 A.M. (Anno Mundi – calendar era based on the biblical creation of the world). This year is significant as it also was the year Israel was created as an official nation (1948 A.D.)
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:1-3
The covenant was sanctioned through a series of transactions in which the Lord visited Abraham seven times and seven times He certifies His Word. After the third visit when Abraham was separated from his nephew Lot, Abraham picked 318 of his servants to engage in war in the Sodom/Gomorrah area. A series of battles was fought at the time that included four kings:
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. Genesis 14:1-3
The king’s battle took them into the area of Sodom where Lot lived and was captured. One man escaped and brought the news to Abraham who then took his 318 trained men, rescued Lot and regained the spoils of war. Research reveals the four kings are significant in that they represent prophetically four future nations.
Amraphel King of Shinar was actually Nimrod of Babylon, “a mighty hunter before the Lord” who hunted and enslaved the souls of men. He held the first monarch, was the father of the occult and pagan worship, and defined the original, sinful, Babylon which today is a mystery that envelops the entire world. Arioch, king of Ellasar was associated with the area later known as Greece. The Greeks refer to themselves as the people of “Ellas”.
Chedorlaomer was the progenitor to the Medo-Persian Empire and ruled the land between the Persian Gulf on the south and the Caspian Sea on the north. The final king Tidal, king of the nations or “Goyim” as the Hebrew text has it seemed to control an area across several gentile regions. History references connect him to Tudhalia I, ruler of the Hittite empire that covered most of Turkey to the eastern end of the Black Sea. The Hittite king engaged in mounting of large mercenary armies from the surrounding tribes and trained them through systematic training making them a fierce warrior nation for centuries. “King of nations” suggests a large area of influence and Jewish history place Tidal as forerunner of the large, Western, gentile empire that would follow stating that “Tidal is Rome”.
These four kings emulated the 4 gentile nations of Babylon, Greece, Medo-Persia, and Rome later to become world empires as history dictated. Thirteen Hundred years after Abraham’s battle with the four kings, Daniels prophecy of the 4 gentile nations is revealed Daniel 2:31-35.
After his victory, Abraham returned to the city of Salem, later to become known as Jerusalem.
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. Genesis 14:17-20
The “kings dale” would become the future site of Mt. Zion. Here Abraham met with Melchizedek, whose name means “king of righteousness”, to partake in the sacramental bread and wine which foreshadowed the future Jewish festival of Passover initiated six centuries later. Melchizedek was a type of Christ, whose sacrifice brought the new covenant and the called-out body of believers known as the church. After the Church age comes to an end with the Rapture, Jesus’ superior priesthood will bring the same covenant to Israel.
What is seen in Abraham’s actions predict the truth that the four kingdoms must be defeated before the Kingdom of Heaven can be established. Abraham’s enemies of gentile powers conferred with the old gods with the ultimate plan to control the world. The fundamentals of the plan never change as over and over again it emerges to be defeated again and again. Today, three of the four gentile powers have been defeated in past history. The fourth power of Rome (in a dispersed form) has reared its ugly head and is once again attempting to conquer the world.
Essentially, Abraham celebrated Passover before there was a Passover and this sets the theme that resonates through history until its final fulfillment. This theme can be seen in the life of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and the Great Tribulation.
Egypt of the Old Testament symbolizes the world system, or world order, a system of idolatry, political power, and wealth that is the model for Israel’s battle with the final Gentile kingdom. Ancient Egypt enslaved the Jewish people under Pharaoh, a type of Antichrist. Moses was called out to liberate them from bondage resulting in the ten plagues falling on the Egyptians. The 10 plagues foretell the days of the Great Tribulation to come when Israel will emerge victorious from the ultimate enslavement of the world system under the control of the coming Antichrist. Without going into detail, the 10 plagues are representative of the outpouring of vials in Revelation.
The death of the firstborn was the final plague on Egypt. The Israelites were instructed to paint the blood of a lamb on their doorpost in order for the Angel of death to “Passover” them as he carried over all of Egypt in one night. This action connects the past to the future as it looks back to when Abraham drank of the cup with Melchizedek and forward to its ultimate fulfillment in the Passover cup which Jesus partook with his disciples before giving His own life’s blood for the world. Thus the Passover became eternally memorialized for Israel as the blood on the door became a great symbol of deliverance from judgment and freedom from bondage. The blood from the lamb foreshadowed the great “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” John 1:29.
During Passover, the Israelites eat unleavened bread for seven days which speaks of freedom from the physical corruption of sin, represented by the leavening (yeast) that would normally be present. Scripture would be recited and the taking of four cups. Each of the cups represents a prophecy taken from Exodus 6:6-7.
6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
The first cup – Salvation – The Lord saved the people from Egypt’s judgments (believers are saved from the Lord’s judgment).
The second cup – deliverance – celebrates the actions of Moses the deliver (believers are delivered from the bondage of sin).
The third cup – redemption – recalls the miracles of their time in the desert – (believers are redeemed by the blood of Christ).
The fourth cup – relationship – exalts the contract between God and His people at the Mountain of God, and His promise to bring them into the Kingdom – (believers have a personal, intimate relationship with God just as a father is to his son).
When Jesus took the fourth cup at the last supper, He activated an ages-long plan that would bring Him into a full relationship with the redeemed.
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. Matthew 26:42
When Jesus was arrested, He said “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it” John 18:11. Jesus now personifies the cup and bread taken so long ago by Abraham in the presence of Melchizedek.
Now let’s take a look at how Jesus is an archetype of Israel:
As a type of Israel, Jesus’ final victory and eternal existence have set the path for Israel. Since their existence over three thousand years ago, so many gentile nations have sought to destroy Israel, only to fail. There are many other archetypes too numerous to mention here.
The end of days during the Tribulation will be a repeat as “in the days of Noe”. The coming Antichrist and his cohorts lying, wondrous powers will be a repetition of the ancient, supernatural, and worldly sin committed in the days of Noah. So what about the Antichrist himself?
You may be surprised to know the bible says he has already walked the earth and will be resurrected to walk it again. There is “nothing new under the sun”!
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is Revelation 17:8
We can see that the Antichrist has already existed, died, and his spirit will be resurrected as he comes up out of the bottomless pit and enters a human whose linage belongs to a long line of Seleucids including the infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes. At some point the Seleucids intermarried with the Roman Flavian dynasty, which gave birth to the emperor Titus who destroyed the Jewish Temple in A.D. 70. That linage will also go back further to include the lost Jewish tribe of Dan. The Hebrew root word din means judgment and is from whence the word Dan is derived.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. Genesis 49:16
Jesus symbolized as a lion, came from the tribe of Judah and the Antichrist in his attempt to mimic all the Lord does, will spring from the tribe of Dan from the ancient territory of Bashan located just to the south of modern day Damascus.
14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. Hosea 5:14
22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. Deuteronomy 33:22
The Antichrist was/is also an Assyrian and Bashan is located near the center of that ancient empire.
And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. 6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. Micah 5:5-6
This man in ancient times was none other than Amraphel king of Shinar\Nimrod. But Christians should not be looking for the Antichrist, but Jesus Christ!
The days of Jesus walking the earth were a transition period between the law and the Gospel of Grace, between the Old and New Testament. Most of Israel rejected Jesus and roughly 40 years after His death on the cross, the temple was destroyed and the Roman slaughter and dispersion of the Jewish nation began.
Today the Church age is coming to an end and another transition will soon take place once the Church is called home. Then the nation of Israel will once again become the spiritual light of the world. Like the days of division between the Jews when Jesus walked the earth, the church today is becoming increasingly divided in Biblical doctrine. The end result will be an apostate church that gathers all religions of the world into one for the Judgment that follows.
For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid, that shall not be known and come abroad Luke 8:17
References:
KJV Bible
J.R. Chruch, Daniel Reveals The Blood Line of The Antichrist (Oklahoma City, OK: Prophecy Publications, 2010)
Gary Stearman, Time Travelers of The Bible (Crane Missouri: Defender, 2011)
Failing a Gaza seaport, the war goes on and thousands of Israelis will die
Hours before the 72-hour ceasefire was due to expire Friday morning, Aug. 8, the Palestinian Hamas’ military wing slapped down an ultimatum before Israel: Either allow the Gaza Strip to have an open seaport – which would be tantamount to lifting the Gaza blockade – or prepare for a long and brutal war of attrition with thousands of fatalities.
Hamas’ decision about extending the ceasefire was tensely awaited Thursday night after Israel’s acceptance. Instead, the Palestinian Islamists declared that the war would go on unless Israel bowed to their dictates.
Israel’s envoys had previously rejected their demand for a deep sea Gaza port in the talks taking place in Cairo under Egyptian auspices.Abu Obeida, spokesman of Hamas’ military wing, Ezz e-Din Al-Qassam, also announced that his movement had acquired new rockets with larger warheads than the more than 3,000 fired against the Israeli population in the month-long conflict, and they would be aimed at Israel’s Ben Gurion international airport. Israel would be severed from its air transport ties with the outside world, he said.
“We demand our fundamental rights,” said the Hamas spokesman, in a statement that was broadcast live Thursday night. “We call on our envoys to the Cairo talks not to continue negotiations until Israel surrenders to our demand for a seaport. The war is not over until the siege of Gaza ends.”
Seemingly there is no end to the advancement of ISIL and their quest to take the Levant (The Levant today consists of the island of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and part of southern Turkey). ISIL ha now taken the giant, hydroelectric Mosul Dam. If Baghdad falls, IS will control the whole country of Iraq.
The IS has captured the hydroelectric dam on the Tigris River, which provides northern Iraq with power and is the largest in the country. Its failure could send a 65-foot wave across large areas of Iraq including a flood one meter deep in Baghdad.
Also Thursday, Islamists overran 14 towns with Christian majorities in northern Iraq, putting tens of thousands to flight with an ultimatum: Convert to Islam or die. Church leaders have appealed for immediate help.
http://www.debka.com/newsupdatepopup/9365/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/03/world/meast/iraq-crisis-isis/index.html
IS has captured 2 more Iraqi cities and thousands of children are stranded without food or water.
According to Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, terror group ISIS has occupied two Kurdish towns in northern Iraq, Zumar and Sinjar. Thousands are reported to have been forced to leave, Fox News reports.
A map shown on America’s Newsroom on Monday now shows 17 cities completely taken over by ISIS in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.
Peters considers ISIS more than just a terror group now, becoming a more “well organized militia.” He also says that the Kurds are “the one people in the whole region we should be supporting”…..
http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/isis-spreading-captures-two-more-iraqi-cities
ISIL has now entered into Lebanon taking the city of Arsal and moving ever closer to Israel.
The radical Islamic terror organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has gained a larger foothold in Lebanon as it faces off against the Lebanese army.
Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that for the moment, it has no plans to confront ISIS. Hezbollah leaders told the Lebanese Daily Star that it has only agreed to provide logistical support to the Lebanese army. However, should ISIS capture significant territory, Hezbollah leadership implied that it would enter the fray.
Since Monday, Lebanese forces and members of ISIS have been squaring off in northern Lebanon. According to reports, ISIS has captured the city of Arsal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/05/world/middleeast/isis-lebanon-syria.html?_r=0
Today IS took over the city of Qaraqoush in Iraq, the largest Christian city in that country.
Iraqi militants seized control Thursday of the country’s largest Christian city — reportedly telling its residents to leave, convert or die….
In 2009 at Camp Bucca in Iraq, a US military detention camp, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi now leader of ISIL was released, but made a startling statement before he left.
The Islamist extremist some are now calling the most dangerous man in the world had a few parting words to his captors as he was released from the biggest U.S. detention camp in Iraq in 2009.
“He said, ‘I’ll see you guys in New York,’” recalls Army Col. Kenneth King, then the commanding officer of Camp Bucca.
King didn’t take these words from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as a threat. Al-Baghdadi knew that many of his captors were from New York, reservists with the 306 Military Police Battalion, a unit based on Long Island that includes numerous numerous members of the NYPD and the FDNY.
The camp itself was named after FDNY Fire Marshal Ronald Bucca, who was killed at the World Trade Center in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
King figured that al-Baghdadi was just saying that he had known all along that it was all essentially a joke, that he had only to wait and he would be freed to go back to what he had been doing.
“Like, ‘This is no big thing, I’ll see you on the block,’” King says.
King had not imagined that in less that five years he would be seeing news reports that al-Baghdadi was the leader of ISIS, the ultra-extremist army that was sweeping through Iraq toward Baghdad.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/14/isis-leader-see-you-in-new-york.html
ISIL has continued to make good on their promises. Next to Iran, they are the biggest threat to the Middle East and possibly the world today; acting on their threats. There are even reports that Iran (shia) is supporting ISIL (Sunni) and helped to develop them. ISIL is currently in other parts of the Middle East that has not yet made the headlines such as Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, and has allegiance from some African country terrorist groups such as Boko Haram. Will ISIL be the instigator of Psalms 83? A tumult is defined as “a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people” and “confusion or disorder”. Currently that is the case in the Middle East with all the various wars and confusion between the various Muslim groups as Sunni is now fighting Sunni and Shia supporting Sunni……
2 For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. Psalms 83
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A hoard of coins from the fourth year of the Jewish Revolt against Rome — minted months before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE — was found outside the capital and announced by the Israel Antiquities Authority on Tuesday to coincide with the Ninth of Av, the date commemorating the destruction of the Second Temple.
The coins are all of identical size and age, and possibly from the same mint. Their value has yet to be determined, but they are likely quarter or one-eighth shekel bits, Betzer said. They are all marked with the words “For the redemption of Zion” and “Year four,” indicating they were made during the fourth year of the revolt against the Roman Empire, or between spring 69 and spring 70 CE.
http://www.kosherpress.com/trove-of-jewish-revolt-coins-discovered-near-jerusalem/
The prophetic, big picture is no longer fuzzy anymore and each passing day adds a little more focus to the times we live in. The world has been living in the last days since they were mentioned by the early church fathers 2000 years ago, but this generation of today, is living in the final hours of the last days.
Libya spirals out of control as the violence of Islam continues to sweep the Middle East.
ISIL continues to tear across Syria and Iraq leaving a deadly trail of brutality reminiscent of the Holocaust and which the media largely chooses to ignore. These terrorist are of a different breed and intend on ruling the Islamic world; that is if they could.
ISIL has turned to internet media to spread their reign of terror and intimidation. What they are showing is brutality at its worse killing anyone, regardless of religion, that does not support their views.
The Sunni Muslim extremist group formerly known as ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) is using social media websites like Twitter and Facebook and video upload sites like YouTube and LiveLeak.com to strike fear across the Middle East as it wages its brutal campaign to create a caliphate that extends from northern Africa to Iraq.
It is quite possible that ISIL will be responsible for some major Biblical prophecy fulfillment. They currently control a large swath of land from Syria to Iraq extending over 300 miles.
Jordan has sent troops along its eastern border with Iraq in concern of a possible ISIL invasion after what they have done in Iraq. The Jordanian army probably would not be able to defend itself from a full assault by ISIL and would depend on US and Israeli forces to help.
The Burden of Damascus.
17 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 17:1-3
Not only Damascus, but the cities of Aroer are destroyed. Biblical, Aroer is roughly the territory of modern day Jordan. The events of today are moving at light speed. Will we see this prophecy unfold in the very near future?
Below is a very interesting article from the Daily News out of Turkey on how Islam views Islam concerning ISIL. It is worth the time to read. Part is posted below.
The terror organization ISIL, or with its new name the Islamic State (IS), is it an “issue” reflecting social diseases? Or is it a “project” staged by imperialists to denigrate Islam?
Issue or project?
If we regard ISIL as an “issue,” then we will need to research with scientific methods to understand why these bigoted, savage movements emerge in Muslim societies from the Middle East to Afghanistan, to Pakistan.
If we regard ISIL as a “project” the thing to do is fight “imperialism.” In several Islamic websites and in some newspaper columns, while ISIL’s brutality is condemned, it is written that ISIL is a “project.”
“ISIL is a project developed and grown so ‘Islam and the IS are hated.’ Global powers are staging and supporting this so that Islam is seen as terror. It is serving their dirty ideals … The imperialists are using Muslims as tools to break up the Islamic geography.” (Faruk Köse, Yeni Akit, July 6, 2014)
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/what-is-isil-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=69800&NewsCatID=458
As bad as ISIL is, we already know they are defeated and we thank God for His prophetic, inerrant Word!
Isaiah 42:9
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
Looking for that Blessed Hope! 