Month: December 2015

Assad again controls Damascus

by atharris, posted in Damascus, Prophecy

Interesting development for the Syrian civil war.

The Russian air strike that Friday, Dec. 25, killed Zahran Aloush, founder of the most powerful Syrian rebel group Jaysh al-Islam and his deputy, gave President Bashar Assad a big break in the Syrian war, thanks to his powerful backer, Vladimir Putin.

This grave loss will accelerate the breakup of Syrian rebel strongholds in and around Damascus. It will also hasten the evacuation under a UN-sponsored ceasefire of at least 2,000 rebels from the Damascus region. Less noticed, was the UN plan to remove at the same time several thousands ISIS fighters from the Syrian capital and transport them to their Syrian headquarters. The latter project has not been trumpeted for good reason: It implies UN recognition of ISIS as a party in the Syria war.
For nearly five years, the war seesawed back and forth, with neither the Syrian army nor the insurgents gaining the upper hand for long, even after Tehran threw its Lebanese proxy, Hizballah,  into the fray to bolster Assad’s army……

……This blow to the rebel movement, plus the mass-evacuation of its fighters from the Syrian capital, are major steps towards bringing the Syrian capital back under the control of the Syrian dictator.

Assad again controls Damascus thanks to Russian air strikes and intelligence

The fortress of Ephraim refers to norther Israel and the cities of Aroer are located in the area of modern day Amman Jordan. The children of Israel will at some point bring destruction on the enemy even as they suffer destruction.

aroer2

At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. Isa 17:7
In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation. Isa 17:9

And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. Isa 17:14

Isaiah 17 is a fascinating prophecy and one that could be imminent. It is encouraged to read it if you have not already. The question remains, who is the “he” mentioned in verse 9 and 14? What man or enemy is this referring too??? Many options at this point, but the field may be narrowing down now.

Israel now has 5 nuclear capable submarines in their possession.

The latest and one of the most expensive weapons in the IDF’s arsenal, the Dolphin-class submarine INS Rahav, set out for Haifa from the German port of Kiel on Thursday, according to a senior naval official. Ordered a decade ago, the Rahav will be Israel’s fifth Dolphin-class submarine, joining the INS Tanin, Tekuma, Leviathan and Dolphin at the Haifa naval base when it arrives next month. Rahav is the Hebrew name for the Greek god of the seas, Neptune, and has been used for other naval ships in the past, but it can also mean haughtiness or arrogance in modern Hebrew.

Israel’s newest submarine leaves Germany, bound for Haifa

 

 

Merry Christmas

by atharris, posted in Ministry

This is a moving story on how two Muslim women came to know Jesus. Thank you God for the birth of your Son, Jesus!

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; Heb 10:12

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:43-44

When will Jesus Return?

by atharris, posted in Ministry, Prophecy

That is the burning question in the back of every watchful Christian’s mind. When will He return? To get a better understanding of His 2nd coming, we must first look to circumstances surrounding His first coming.

We must first recognize His 2nd coming will consist of two events. The first is the Rapture, before the Tribulation, and the 2nd is His Physical return to Earth after the Tribulation on a White horse with all the saints behind Him. His first coming consisted of two events, His birth and the beginning of His ministry at age 30. At His birth there was “no room” for Him and He came in the “darkness of the night”.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. Luke 2:7-9

Does anyone have “room” for Jesus today? Has not the light of the church grown dimmer and dimmer? Jesus was also born into a generation that was unsuspecting of Him as seen in Matthew 2 when the wise men show up at the temple looking for the King.

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Mat. 2:2-3

How many Christians today are truly expecting Him? Prior to His birth, there was 400 years of famine for the Word of God (400 years between the book of Malachi and Matthew) prophesied in Amos.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: Amos 8:11

Is there not a famine of God’s Word today? The are multiple versions of bibles on the market, many with verses deleted or changed from the original creating much confusion. The tried and true un-copyrighted King James 1611 Bible just recently turned 400 years old…..

Today’s world of instant information has given us a mental image of a chaotic life, an image of destruction, an image of fear, all in the anticipation that the foundations of the world will break down at any moment leading to Tribulation. But if we are honest, it is just that, a mental image. The quality of life today around most of the world is the best it has been since the creation of man. Don’t believe that, then pick another time period of history you would rather live in than now. Hopefully you will see the point I am trying to make in a minute.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Everything we see today is the same that has been throughout history since Jesus made this statement…..except…..the convergence of all these events for the first time that we see clearly in the mental image of instant information painted by the media, will lead to the Tribulation at some point in the very near future.

Still don’t see it? Look at the Bubonic Plague of the middle ages that took the lives of some 75 to 200 million people. Look at the atrocities of Vlad the Impaler, Genghis Khan, Stalin, Hitler, and many others. Countless millions were murdered under their vicious reign.  The 2004 Indian earthquake and resulting tsunami killed 230,000 people in one day. 9/11 lost over 3,000 lives in one day. One could continue on and one, but hopefully you see where this is headed.

Now to my point. Jesus said life would be just another ordinary day when He returns the 2nd time. Look what He says still in Matthew 24:

37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 8 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

This passage does not speak to the Tribulation, but the Rapture. Look again. If this were just a very chaotic world, much less a world of Tribulation, people would not be “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage“, people would not be working the field or grinding at the mill during just another day at work; they would be running for their lives. Life was normal until Noah entered the Ark. Life will be normal until the Rapture. I did not say it; He did. Jesus says more:

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Clearly we are commanded to watch for He will come when we think not, in other words, just another ordinary day and He will come for His church.

Remember the events of September 2015 with the Blood Moons and the Shemitah? It was perhaps the most anticipated and covered events out of the Biblical academia concerning the end times. Even the secular community was aware of them, but the events came and went without even a whimper. That is not to nullify their importance, for their significance will be revealed in the Lord’s timing.

Since these events, I am sure many are now saying:

And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

The Blessed Hope is not called Blessed for nothing. It is the Hope of the Blessing to be removed before the real ugliness starts at a time when “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Luke 21:26 and at a time when at least 1/2 to 2/3rds of the worlds population will die.

Don’t let the spirit of the Antichrist rob you from the joy of life, the Joy of Christ, as he has done to so many already in these final days.

Jesus is still coming……

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Titus 2:13

 

Stones of Fire – Epilogue

by atharris, posted in Genesis Gap, Prophecy

Previously in the Stones of Fire, it was shown how Lucifer was placed in charge of the original creation and fell from the kingdom and glory given to him as the reining cherub. Lucifer’s fall took at least a third of the angels with him in their rebellion against God. In the 2nd verse of Genesis it states: “And the earth was without form, and void;” – the state of the Earth after the judgment of God. If one looks at the 6 days of creation following verse 2, we see a pattern emerge.

The first three days addressed the “without Form” by forming the heavens, atmosphere, oceans, and land.

Day 1 – the text does not say God created light but rather “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light”….”and God divided the light from the darkness” to address the “darkness (that) was upon the face of the deep”.

Day 2 – the state of the Earth was “standing out of the water and in the water” 2nd Peter 3:5, so to address the damage from the water “God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.” Genesis 1:6-8. Clearly we can see the firmament was placed in the “midst” of the flooded solar system dividing at least two sets of “waters“. It is also interesting to note that of the six days of creation, this is the only day (speaking of the destructive waters) that God refrained from saying “it was good” at the end of the days work.

Consequently, this author believes the waters above the firmament refers to the waters spoken of in Job “Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof“. Job 26:5, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works”. Rev. 20:13. When an unsaved person dies, their soul goes to Hell, not the sea…. and the sea in Revelation “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” 21:1. Much more can be said on the Sea/waters above the firmament, perhaps another time.

Day 3 – the Earth was in a chaotic, flooded state and so, “God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good”. Gen.1:9-10.

The next three days addressed the “and void” problem by populating the heavens, seas, and land.

Day 4 – God makes light bearers in the heavens to divide the night from the day on Earth. To make something means to make out of existing material. To create something means to create something out of nothing. Only God can create.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. Gen. 1:14-18.

Day 5 – God populates the atmosphere and oceans.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it wasgood. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. Gen. 1:20-22.

Day 6 – God populates the land with animals making man in His own image and gives man dominion over the Earth; dominion that was taken from Lucifer at his fall.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:24-28

The bible says God placed a tree of good and evil in the garden. “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Gen. 2:9. The bible also says the lake of fire, the final holding place for those not found in the book of Life, was created for the devil and his angels and the love of money is the root of all evil.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1Ti 6:10

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Mat. 25:41

The first sin was committed by Lucifer and involved the love of money by trafficking and merchandising. God could then place the tree of good and evil in the garden of Eden as a post event.

By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: Eze. 28:5

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. Eze. 28:18

That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? Isa. 14:17

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Eze. 28:16

In short, the story of the Bible is about an epic fight for the Kingdom originally given to Lucifer whom lost it to sin, given to Adam whom lost it to sin and regained by Satan (currently as the prince of this world). Along the way, the King provided a way of redemption through His blood “and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven Col 1:20.

The human race was created as a means to honor and glorify God, to bring the King as a Savior to demonstrate the almighty expression of His love, and to destroy the great deceiver and accuser.  Revelation 12 sums most of this up. But first, what was Satan accusing God of? We must look to the book of Job for the answer.

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Job 1:6-12

Satan is saying that none are truly loyal to God, only when they are blessed and protected, and if God pulls His blessing and protection they “will curse thee to thy face”. Perhaps Satan in his pride could not understand how the majority of the angels remained loyal to God at the onslaught of his rebellion. Now let’s turn to Revelation 12. There are 17 verses – 17 for victory.

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman (Israel) clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (the 12 tribes): 2 And she being with child (nation of Israel brings forth Jesus) cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon (Satan), having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child (Jesus) as soon as it was born. 5 And she brought forth a man child (the King), who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child (Christ) was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman (Israel, when the abomination of desolation occurs) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days (last half of the Tribulation). 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman (Israel) which brought forth the man child (Jesus). 14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood (interesting here Satan chooses water as the method used for destruction) after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood (as was the original creation). 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2Ti 2:15