Posted in gog magog, jews, prophecy, spurgeon, ukraine

Ukraine Jews, Anti-semitism rising, Russia-China gas megadeal, kids’ reaction to gay couple, prophecy

We are moving rapidly to the end of the school year here in northeast Georgia. As a teacher’s aide in kindergarten we have been busy with end of year programs, field day, field trips, ice cream day, ceremonies with certificates, and the like. Friday noon, the kids leave for the year. The next Friday after that, I’m done completely.

It’s been busy, but good. I always love the beginning of the year, so fresh with promise of making a difference in a child’s life. The end of the year is weary but happy, knowing we are sending the children to the next grade armed with knowledge and love, ready to grow some more on their life’s path.

Despite coming home so tired lately, I praise the Lord for His enduring strength which He gives me generously. No matter how tired I am when I get home, after a time of cool beverage refreshment (lately ice water with lemon, but I’m anxious to try fruit-infused water this summer) and a period of quietude, I feel ready to read His word, write about Him on the blog, and pray some more.

Here are some news headlines I thought were particularly evocative of the end of the end times. We see ahead in God’s word what will come to pass. And on the ground all around us we see motions drawing toward those events which will come to pass. Some, most, of the machinations are invisible to us, either because they take place in back rooms out of public view, or because they take place in the heavenlies and we are not privy. But with the times being what they are, more and more often we see the drawstring tightening, the hole closing, and the times darkening The few items below are examples of such machinations, attitudes, and events I believe play directly into the Tribulation prophecies to a larger than normal scale.

Israel National news reports,
EU Officials Appalled at Rise of Anti-Semitism in Europe
“At high level meeting with Jewish leaders, 18 EU member-state representatives are urged to wake up and lead the fight against Jew-hatred. …European Jewish Association (EJA) General Director Rabbi Menachem Margolin led a briefing for EU ambassadors and officials at week’s end, following the release of the most comprehensive survey to date on global anti-Semitism by the ADL, which revealed startling levels across the continent.”
“Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God. “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. “Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. (Deuteronomy 28:62-68)

‘Startling levels.’ That’s an interesting phrase, especially for a newspaper not usually given to hyperbole.

Then there’s this. On May 4, the Times of Israel reported that “Ukrainian Jews immigrate to Israel amid growing unrest; immigration from troubled country up 142%
“Almost 800 people arrived in the country over January-April, and over 200 have signed up for May. The agency noted these figures do not include those who have arrived as tourists and later completed the immigration process while already in the country.”

Yet this week Israel National News (INN) says that “Reports of mass exodus of Ukrainian Jews are ‘nonsense,’ says Joint head
In first interview since taking over as head of JDC, Alan Gill says Jews are not fleeing the violence en masse, and are not likely to in the future.

Yet the news article cities the same statistics as the Times of Israel. It is fair to say that in the Haaretz report, there are over 350,000 Jews in the Ukraine, many of the elderly and not planning to move anywhere. A thousand Jews moving back to Israel is very small sampling, however the fact that so many more Ukrainian Jews are moving back compared to the year before as INN reported, is also fair to look at.

What does the bible say?

In the Tribulation, Jews will be hunted and killed. Persecution levels will reach genocidal, bloodbath proportions. (Revelation 12:13; Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 12:1).

The WWII Holocaust, the terrible time when millions of Jews were hunted and killed, was a preview for what is coming on the Day the LORD has set.

In other news, it is reported today that Russia and China have signed a gas exporting contract and in so doing seem to be moving toward a new Eurasian nation. Business Insider has the report:

Russia And China Sign Gas Pipeline Megadeal
Russia’s Gazprom and China’s China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) have signed a historic 30-year contract to supply natural gas to China, according to Russia Today and confirmed by Bloomberg. The total value of the contract is $400 billion, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller told RT, although the price in the document remains a “commercial secret.” Negotiations have been ongoing for more than a decade. … The gas will be sent through a new eastern pipeline linking the countries. Reuters reports that Russia will invest $55 billion in gas exploration and pipeline construction and Beijing will give roughly $20 billion to Moscow as part of the agreement. … Europe is Russia’s largest energy importer as it bought more than 160 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2013, but tensions and sanctions over Putin’s meddling in Ukraine have Russia looking elsewhere.

The Business Insider article has the facts, but what are we to make of it? Is there an analysis of what this means? Yes. Yves at Naked Capitalism reposted the take on this megadeal by a reporter for the Asian Times. He introduced the Asian Times reporter’s analysis this way:

Astute readers will no doubt point out that some of the elements of the Russia-Chinese emergent plan, such as reliance on gold-backed currencies, are sorely misguided. But the bigger point is that the two nations are looking hard for ways to undermine the US economic hegemony.”

This week should provide the first real fireworks in the celebration of a new Eurasian century-in-the-making when Russian President Vladimir Putin drops in on Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.  You remember “Pipelineistan,” all those crucial oil and gas pipelines crisscrossing Eurasia that make up the true circulatory system for the life of the region.  Now, it looks like the ultimate Pipelineistan deal, worth $1 trillion and 10 years in the making, will be inked as well.  In it, the giant, state-controlled Russian energy giant Gazprom will agree to supply the giant state-controlled China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) with 3.75 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas a day for no less than 30 years, starting in 2018. That’s the equivalent of a quarter of Russia’s massive gas exports to all of Europe 
 

Look at that. Russia’s monstrously big.
Combined with Asia as ally or as one of the ten kingdoms, it dominates


Exit the Petrodollar, Enter the Gas-o-Yuan
And then, talking about anxiety in Washington, there’s the fate of the petrodollar to consider, or rather the “thermonuclear” possibility that Moscow and Beijing will agree on payment for the Gazprom-CNPC deal not in petrodollars but in Chinese yuan. One can hardly imagine a more tectonic shift, with Pipelineistan intersecting with a growing Sino-Russian political-economic-energy partnership. Along with it goes the future possibility of a push, led again by China and Russia, toward a new international reserve currency — actually a basket of currencies — that would supersede the dollar (at least in the optimistic dreams of BRICS members).

There’s more good stuff at the link to Naked Capitalism, but there is much to consider here, prophetically.

What does the bible say?

The United States figures nowhere important in prophecy. By the time the Tribulation arrives, the US will likely be marginalized, insignificant, or maybe even reduced to rubble. We’re nobody special, at least in the prophetic theater, which is 99% contained in the Bible Lands.

Russia, however, does figure prominently. God plans to use Russia to demonstrate His power and His protection of Israel. Ezekiel 38-39 has the story. (Begin with Ezekiel 38:1-4). Asia also figures in prophecy too. The Kings of the East come from Asia (Revelation 16:12).

There are prophesied to be ten kings reigning with the beast over ten kingdoms for a brief time at the end of history. Perhaps this megadeal is the demonstrable movement toward that. (Revelation 17:12). Europe is already united by open borders, economic alliances, and a common currency.

We’ve looked at God’s people the Jews. We’ve looked at geo-political changes in the prophetic lands. Last, let’s look at culture. The liberal media Huffington Post posted this video which apparently (according to them) has gone viral. It is listed as ‘Most Popular’ on their Gay pages. It is a snippet of a little boy reacting to learning that the two men talking with him are married. The boy looks to be about 5 or 6 years old. It is actually a three-year old video.

WATCH: This Kid’s Reaction To Meeting A Gay Couple For The First Time Is Priceless

Transcript. Calen is the kid.
Calen: A husband is a boy.
Right.
Calen: A husband’s a boy and a wife is a girl. But you two are husbands! A husband is a boy.
Yeah, we’re both husbands
Calen: You’re both husbands?! You married each other???!!! That’s funny [smacking forehead, and not funny as in ha-ha but that’s funny as in that’s weird]
That’s funny, right?
Calen: Yeah. It’s usually husbands and wives. But this is the very first time I saw husbands and husbands!
Homosexual man leans into camera range, laughs- ha ha ha ha ha
Calen: So funny. [thinks, looks away] So that means you love each other.
Yeah.
Calen: Yeah. You’re much alike. I’m going to play ping pong, You can play if you want to.

The liberal media is picking up on this (3 years late, I don’t know why) and calling it “ridiculously adorable” “innocent” etc. One writer at Slate said

“kids who haven’t been indoctrinated with their parents’ animus tend to react to gay couples with open-hearted curiosity that quickly fades into apathy.”

One commenter said, “what i want to know is what were 2 gays with a video camera and a child doing in the bathroom?” Good point.

What media is focusing on is the child’s statement that they “must love each other.” They trumpet his reaction as one totally without prejudice. But it is not so. The title could well be changed from “Kid reacts to gay couple” to “Kid confused by gay couple”. What none of the articles picking up on this speak to his first reaction, with head smack no less; ‘that’s funny’ [weird].

Matthew 18:5-6 says

And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Homosexual union IS weird. It is unnatural. (Romans 1:26). There are two prophetic things here. First, any culture that engages in the perverted behavior of homosexuality is ripe for judgment, (Romans 1:18) and any nation that heartily approves of it is being judged already. (Romans 1:32).

Romans 1 is the picture of a process into degradation and God’s judgment for that degradation.

Cultures that have become totally depraved such as the world in Noah’s day, or the homosexuality that was rampant in Lot’s day, are noted by Jesus to indicate that the time of judgment is near. (Luke 17:6, Genesis 6:5, Luke 17:28).

We will see in the near future if things come together quickly or not. I think they will. It seems that the prophetic activity is quickening each day. The Lord is always working so each day actually brings us closer to the Lord’s re-appearance. Blessed is He. May His name always be exalted in the highest.

Charles Spurgeon said,

It is idle to talk about looking for His coming if we never set our house in order, and never put ourselves in readiness for His reception.

Are you ready?

Posted in eschatology, israel, jews, replacement theology, temple

Messianic return from Jewish point of view

A Haaretz (Israel daily newspaper) article today. It is interesting to read of Messianic prophecy from the point of view of a person who does not believe the New Testament, but should have a better grasp of eschatology than is evidenced in this article. It is rife with errors but also contains some truth.

Why do many Christians believe Jesus will appear after Jews rebuild the temple?
“These are the same Zionist evangelicals who oppose any peace agreement in which Israel will cede parts of the homeland, and who customarily make donations to various right-wing associations in Israel. For them, Israeli sovereignty over the Holy Land is fraught with redemptive meaning. Only the continuing and eternal covenant between the Jewish people and its God in heaven can lend a messianic significance to its deeds on earth.”

“It was such a frame of mind that prompted the well-known evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell to assert, back in 1988, that “the most important date we should remember [since the Ascension] is May 14, 1948.” The reason is because, in his view, the creation of the State of Israel “is the greatest single sign indicating the imminent return of Jesus Christ.”

“But there’s a snag. Two months ago we celebrated the 65th anniversary of Israel’s creation, and for some reason Jesus has not yet appeared.”

Oh, but He will. They should know better than anyone about the Lord’s plans mean nothing in man’s scale of time. He sent the Jews into a 70 year exile. They wandered 40 years in the desert. A Jubilee Year comes around once every 50. They spent 400 years waiting for a prophet to speak (Malachi to John the Baptist). The Egyptian captivity was 400 years. And they scoff at 65?

Yes, they scoff.

The article calls the 15-million seller book The Late great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey (an eschatological view of the run up to the Tribulation and the last 7 years of punishment upon the Jews) as a “mythical best seller.” The article repeats the old chestnut that John Darby started the notion of the rapture, even though Paul taught it and the earliest church fathers believed it.

The article goes on,

“The relationship between Christian evangelicals and Temple activists is warmer today than ever. It is a strange alliance, in which each side is using the other to further its own redemptive goals, knowing full well that the other has a completely alternative, indeed opposite, picture of the way redemption will look.”

Why can’t they see the clear and plain truth in the bible? That the rapture will sweep the church from the earth and that those who remain will be left to deal with God’s anger on His unbelieving people, the Jews? Because they can’t. Paul explained it all in Romans 11. Opening that wonderful chapter, Paul said,

“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” (Romans 11:1-2)

That should silence the replacement theologians who said that the Jews are done and the church is all that God cares about now. Paul goes on to explain the program and plan of God in the Age of Grace that we are in now:

“What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”” (Romans 11:7-8).

The Jews rejected Jesus when He appeared. Originally the Jews were supposed to be the Light to the world and instruct the Gentiles about God. But they clung to the law, turned insular, and then used the law for their own gain, coasting on the covenant promise and failing to share the Light with the pagans.

Jesus charged them: “You that make your boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonor you God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you.” (Romans 2:23-24).

“But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, see, we turn to the Gentiles. For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set you to be a light of the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:45-47)

Paul explains that the Gentiles are grafted in so as to make Israel jealous.

“So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.” (Romans 11:11).

Paul says it again, explaining the ‘mystery of Israel’s salvation’.

“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers:d a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” Romans 11:25).

They have been partially hardened. The most difficult mission group to reach is the Jew, because they have been made hard of heart and blind so that they cannot see. That is why we wind up with articles that state the redemption plan between the Jew and the Christian are opposite. They aren’t , but the hardened Jew see it that way.

All Israel will be saved. Jesus preserves a remnant throughout the Tribulation. He uses the Jew once again as His light to bring salvation, supernaturally sealing 144,000 Jews to witness for Him, 12,000 from each tribe. (Revelation 7:6-8).

He will punish His people, that is what the Tribulation is all about. It is called the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Yet in the end, all Israel will be saved! (Isaiah 53)

“I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.” (Ezekiel 39:29)

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10)

The LORD is grace and mercy. He loves His people. Punishes for idolatry, yes. He does this because He is holy. Even though punishment tough, He will not break His promise to His covenant people the Israelites. He will be as overjoyed as anyone on earth or in heaven when His people cry out to Him as Messiah.

“And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” (Zechariah 14:9)

Posted in israel, jews, Obama, prophecy, turkey, zechariah

Israel PM brother-in-law says Obama is an anti-Semite

I happen to agree with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu’s brother-in-law. Here is news today regarding Obama in Israel-

Netanyahu’s Brother-In-Law Says Obama Is An Anti-Semite, Hates Israel
“In the midst of trying to ease tensions following one of the worst diplomatic rifts between the US and Israel in recent memory, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to distance himself from his brother-in-law Wednesday after he accused US President Barack Obama of being an anti-Semite during a radio interview. “It’s not that Obama doesn’t like Bibi,” Hagai Ben-Artzi said during the interview, according to Haaretz. “He doesn’t like the nation of Israel.” Ben-Artzi attributed Obama’s alleged anti-Semitism to his long association with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose views Obama came to disavow during his presidential campaign in 2008. “When there is an anti-Semitic president in the United States, it is a test for us and we have to say: We will not concede. We are a nation dating back 4,000 years, and you in a year or two will be long forgotten. Who will remember you? But Jerusalem will dwell on forever,” Ben Artzi said.”

Netanyahu immediately distanced himself from his brother-in-law and rejected his opinion.

However, as with anyone, anywhere, check to see that what they say and what they do match up. Obama’s behavior over the last 4 years as president toward Israel’s prime minister has not been one of love or even regard, but of barely disguised disdain.

Last September, Reuters reported, In an unusual snub, Obama to avoid meeting Netanyahu

In 2010 the UK Telegraph reported, “Obama snubbed Netanyahu for dinner with Michelle and the girls, Israelis claim
“Benjamin Netanyahu was left to stew in a White House meeting room for over an hour after President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of tense talks to have supper with his family, it emerged on Thursday.”

In January 2013, an American columnist with close ties to the White House described Obama’s disdain for Netanyahu.

This is not how you treat your ONLY ally in a harsh and hostile part of the world, not if you have regard and respect for its people nation to nation, that is.

Obama seems to be getting some props for “brokering” a rapprochement between Israel and Turkey. Their relations had broken down after Turkey violated (allegedly) a marine blockade by Israel and Israel shot several Turkish officers in the sea scuffle. Diplomatic relations had been called off since late 2010-early 2011, with only one phone call by Netanyahu to Turkey to offer help after Turkey’s earthquake. Turkey said no thanks.

The Japan Times explains, “Israel and Turkey were once close allies. Relations began to decline after Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey’s Islamist movement, became prime minister in 2003. Erdogan has embarked on a campaign to make Turkey a regional powerhouse in an attempt to become the leading voice in the Muslim world but has in the process distanced the country from Israel.”

However, despite those ambitions, at least for today, the two nations appeared to ‘bury the hatchet’ as Japan Times said. Haaretz reports, “In November 2012, Israel and Turkey resumed talks on ending the crisis in relations between the two countries. On March 22, 2013, Netanyahu made the phone call to Erdogan, apologizing over the deaths of the nine Turkish citizens in the flotilla incident. The normalization agreed by both countries included the return of the Turkish ambassador to Tel Aviv and the Israeli ambassador to Ankara.”

Some say that it is good that diplomatic tensions have eased between the two nations. The region is aflame with Syria’s civil war and refugees streaming into Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Israel could use Turkey’s help with the situation and vice versa. Others say it is not a good idea, Israel looked weak to bow to Turkey after all this time and lowered morale of the soldiers. His apology created a firestorm at home. And after all, biblically, Turkey will attack Israel in the Gog-Magog war. (Ezekiel 38:6). If they form warm relations now, it won’t last.

At the end of Obama’s trip to Israel, he stopped to tour the ancient rose-red city of Petra in nearby Jordan. Petra means rock, and it is located in the region of Bozrah, which means sheepfold. It is the place where the Jews will flee to when they see the abomination of desolation. (Matthew 24:16). How do we know this?

Daniel 11:41 declares that Jordan is the only place that will escape the domination of the antichrist in the last days. The Jews at that time will flee over the mountains as per Matthew 24:16 and as Revelation 12:14 says, they will cross the desert. Geologically, the only mountains and desert is toward the southwest, over the Jordan river and into Edom. Isaiah 63:1 shows the Lord Jesus coming from Bozrah with blood stained robes, indicating one of His stops before He lands on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) will be to save the Jews hiding there.

To see a person such as Obama who has such a strong antichrist spirit (1 John 4:3 and also here) standing in such a prophetically wonderful and important place for the Jews, and he who hates Israel so much…it is a jarring juxtaposition.

As far as Netanyahu’s brother-in-law goes, I am in total agreement. Obama by his behavior and by his placement here at this time in America, seems to have severe disdain for the nation of Israel. But that is no more or no less than the rest of the world, which seems to be hurtling toward fulfillment of the following prophecy:

“On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.” (Zechariah 12:3)

Zechariah has much to say about the coming times. There is an incredible amount of last days prophecy throughout Zechariah’s book, including parallels with Revelation. As Pastor Steve Hadley says, pound for pound, Zechariah has it almost over even Daniel in terms of prophecy. If you would like to listen to a preacher preach through this book, verse by verse, I’d recommend Steve Hadley at Harvest Family Fellowship, here.

Always keep your eyes on the Lord through His word. What He is doing is amazing. We look at the news in wonder but the real wonder comes when we read His valuable and precious word, and see what He has planned. Did you ever stop to think that it is amazing in itself that He even tells us what He plans to do? He is God after all. He doesn’t have to. Just reading the bible is a miracle for us, because it is the place where His holiness and perfection and love is revealed. If your bible is dusty, brush it off and open it up. There are many wonders awaiting you there.

Posted in jesus, jews, nazi, prophecy

Hungarian politician’s call for a "Jew-list" sparks protests

Thousands of Hungarians protest against compiling lists of Jews posing ‘security risk’
Over 10,000 have come out to an anti-Nazi rally in Budapest to demonstrate against a proposal of a far-right leader to draft lists of Hungarian Jews who may represent a “security risk”. The government and opposition parties both joined the protest.
It all started when Marton Gyongyosi of the of the Hungarian Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik), the country’s largest far-right party, stated that it was time to determine “how many people of Jewish origin there are here, especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk.”
Gyongyosi argued that this was needed because of the tensions after an eight-day attack on Gaza. He also said that Hungary’s Foreign Ministry had “rushed to make an oath of allegiance to Israel.”
After the statement, Gyongyosi issued an apology, but still reaffirmed that Hungary needs to be cautious of “Zionist Israel and those serving it also from here.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hatred that satan has fomented in them, the LORD will push forward to its inevitable conclusion. Just as Pharaoh was given an opportunity to let the Israelites go, his heart hardened and he refused. As 1 Samuel 6:6 says, “Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had dealt severely with them, did they not send the people away, and they departed?”

Matthew Henry says of the Samuel verse, “Sinners lengthen out their own miseries by refusing to part with their sins.” At a point God deems perfect, He ends the argument and decides for them, rendering the judgment He sees they need. Sometimes this includes pushing forward what is already in their hearts to a conclusion. The entire Tribulation will be a time when humanity’s God-hating, sin-loving choices will be brought forward to fill the cup of wrath to the top. After Revelation 13, humanity’s choices will displayed in black and white, (take the Mark of the Beast, or not), their hearts will be set like concrete, and there will be no going back.

Some examples of how God pushes forward what is already in their hearts can be found in Isaiah 19:14-
“The Lord has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.”

And Ezekiel 38:21,
“I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother.”

And Zechariah 12:2a,
“I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.”

It seems that the protests in Hungary fit the prophecy above. Once again, Jerusalem makes the surrounding peoples reel, as in this headline too, when Palestinian Authority’s Abbas said that their flag will wave in East Jerusalem.

The hatred of Jews we see rising so fast is not a personal one. It is all a spiritual battle. Always remember, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Now is the time to remember that Ephesians verse each and every day.

The Hungarian politician did not ask for the “Jew-list” because he suddenly decided to become suspicious of Jews, it was satan’s influence which put that on his heart. The protests by the Hungarians were not against the politician who had asked for the “Jew-list” but were organized by Jewish and civic groups

The leader of one of the political parties in Hungary who participated in the protest said, “He added that “genocide is always preceded by lists,” arguing that it was unacceptable that “people should fail to learn the lessons of the past 100 years.”

It is unacceptable. But they will still fail to learn, because satan will continue to foment hatred of God’s people. And the lists, I imagine that in the Tribulation the lists will be voluminous. Who can buy or sell, who is a Christian or a Jew…

God is long-suffering. “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,” (Exodus 34:6)

But He has appointed a Day when His wrath will take over from His long-suffering. When we read of events like that protest in Hungary and the increasing call for rounding up the Jews, we can practically see the evil spirit being poured out by satan. God’s  plan is advancing and that means our prayers should become more fervent too.

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” (Psalms 5:3)

Posted in bozra, jews, sela, tribulation

"Petra By Night" – from The Jordan Times

The Jordan Times:
In Petra, visitors find more than one way to explore a world wonder
by Muath Freij |
Sep 22, 2012 | 22:59 Updated: Sep 22, 2012 | 22:59


‘Petra by night’ is one of many different ways tourists can see the archaeological wonder in a different light (Photo by Muath Freij)

PETRA — On donkeys, on foot, by day or by night, Petra offers many perspectives from which to observe its archaeological treasures and natural beauty.  Speaking to The Jordan Times on a recent visit to the Kingdom’s most famous tourist attraction, visitors from around the world all had different stories to tell about what struck them most about their experience there. 

For Paul Scanlon, an Australian who was visiting Petra for the first time with his wife, the most memorable moment was riding a donkey up and down the steep, rocky mountains to get to the monastery.”Riding the donkeys to go to the monastery was scary and exciting at the same time,” he told The Jordan Times.  His wife Kathryn, on the other hand, said seeing Petra at night was the highlight of her visit. 

“It was so beautiful to go through the Siq, which was lit up with candles,” she said.  “What I liked most was the bedouins singing and playing flutes and other traditional instruments. Also, it was really beautiful and generous that the bedouins served us tea, which was really delicious and wonderful.” 

Her husband agreed, adding that the quiet, peaceful atmosphere of Petra by night was something to behold.  Every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, the entrance to one of the new seven wonders of the world is open to tourists after dark for a special programme called “Petra by night”. 

Visitors walk through the Siq, their path lit by rows of candles, to the treasury for a candlelit concert of folk tunes played on traditional instruments by bedouins from the area. 

After the performance, a bedouin tells stories about the culture and folklore of the Nabataeans, the people who built the ancient city and passed some of their heritage on to those who live in the area today.  For some visitors, learning about the history of the city and its significance is an important part of the Petra experience. 

Claudgia Bertinato, a tourist from Brazil, decided to hire a guide to show her around the city.  Although hiring a guide was a bit expensive, she said, it was well worth the price. “I preferred to get a guide because I wanted to learn more about Petra and its history. Also I did not research Petra before coming, so I wanted the guide to clarify more about it. My guide was really helpful and he even took photos of me,” she told The Jordan Times while walking with her guide. 

Bertinato added that she preferred to walk throughout her tour of the city, rather than taking the horse-drawn carts and donkey rides on offer, because she wanted to go at her own pace and see every detail.  “When you go fast or use a carriage, you miss things. I did not want to miss any sight in this beautiful city.”

——————–end article—————-
Petra is more than a world wonder, it is a place God intends to use, as scholars conjecture based on biblical evidence, to hide His people while the Tribulation is going on.

Just imagine when this glorious, ancient city place will be lit by candles by a million or so Jews who have fled there at the Holy Spirit’s urging and the word of Jesus, (Mark 13:14) who will then be supernaturally nurtured by God throughout the remaining three and a half years of the Tribulation! (Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14-16).

Posted in anti-semitism, end time, end time. prophecy, jews

Anti-Semitism is on the rise

The world is turning against the Jews. Here are are but a few stories which illustrate this unfortunate fact:

Facebook’s Holocaust Problem
The social-networking giant bans hate speech—but allows the proliferation of Holocaust-denial pages, saying it recognizes ‘people’s right to be factually wrong about historical events.’
For years, international organizations opposing anti-Semitism have been urging the planet’s preeminent social-networking platform to delete any content that asserts the Nazi-orchestrated extermination of 6 million Jews never took place. And for years, officials of Facebook, boasting more than 750 million active users, have refused, insisting that mere denial of the Holocaust, however “repugnant and ignorant,” doesn’t constitute “hate speech” as defined by Facebook’s Terms of Service policy prohibiting “content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.”

Seven killed in series of terrorist attacks in southern Israel
“Seven people were killed and at least 26 people were wounded Thursday in a series of terrorist attacks on Israeli targets approximately 20 kilometers north of the southern city of Eilat, close to the border with Egypt.”

Gaza Under Attack Again
“Gaza is tonight under attack by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) following a series of attacks today on Israeli military targets 20 km north of the southern city of Eilat, close to the border with Egypt. Hamas has denied responsibility for this afternoon’s attacks, which killed seven and injured at least 14, saying their strategy is to resist “the occupation of Palestinian lands from within, rather than from outside.” Despite the attacks coming from within Israeli territory and from the Egyptian border, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately stated they hold Hamas responsible, and would retaliate with “full force.” So far this evening, at least six Palestinians have been killed in the southern Gaza town of Rafah by IDF attacks on a house reportedly belonging to Popular Resistance Committees official Khaled Shaath, whose daughter was injured. IDF has been dropping leaflets over Rafah threatening Palestinians, as it did prior to launching Operation Cast Lead in December 2008.”

Things are NOT going to get better for Israel. They are getting a lot worse.

Deuteronomy 4:30 reminds the Jews that in the latter days they will experience distress, but there is hope of redemption after that:
“But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice 31 (for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.”

Jeremiah 30:7 reminds them that they will endure a time of trouble:
“Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.”

Zechariah 12:2-3 reminds them that Jerusalem will be the center of controversy and distress from the entire world:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”

In Matthew 24:21-22, Jesus tells the disciples that the Jews will endure such Tribulation that it will not be as bad as anything that has ever happened since the beginning of the world. It sill be such a bad tie that unless Jesus cut short the days, nobody would survive. No one.

Revelation 6-19 are chapters that describe in horrific detail all the things that are promised to happen to the Jews under God’s purification program.

It is obvious that Anti-Semitism is rapidly on the rise. We know from the above verses that the hatred of the Jews by the world will only continue to increase. Please pray for the beloved People. The reason for His attention in this manner is to give them hope. Yes, hope.

The Lord is purifying His people. They (and we, the pagans and Gentiles) are stiff-necked sinners, worshiping idols and refusing the fact that Messiah has come. But He is going to work them, the clay, as He is the potter, until they are purified from unrighteousness and able to come into the promises that He has set before them since the foundation of the world. Like this promise from Isaiah:

Isaiah 55:12– “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

Psalm 105:43 He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy

There will be shouts of joy. But between now and then there will be shouts of misery. However, any Jew, Pagan, or Gentile, any person at all, can avoid all that. If you repent and ask Jesus to forgive your sins against Him, He will. His work with you as clay will be of a different type, gentle, loving, not wrathful. Please consider it, and soon.
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Posted in jerusalem, jews, prophecy

Jews expelled from Jerusalem? Never Again!

Never again!” ?? Oh, but the sad prophetic truth is that it will happen again. (Matthew 24: 16, 21). Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! (Psalm 122:6). In doing so, we can lend sweet fragrance to the incense of prayers in heaven where God longs to bring in His Millennium reign!

From Arutz Sheva today, in the shadow of Glenn Beck’s speech to the Israeli Knesset, the Quartet’s meeting in Washington to divide Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Authority’s push for a state at the UN. The deadline for the Palestinians to submit their resolution for statehood to the UN Security Council is this Friday. It is a busy diplomatic week and a busy prophetic week. But let’s look back now, at past history, when the Jews were expelled from their eternal city in 1936: Arutz Sheva:

“Every now and then, a treasure is unearthed not by archaeologists digging in the ground, but by historians and others seeking information among the stacks of books in a library. Writer and analyst Lenny Ben David was doing exactly that when he came across a massive Library of Congress photo archive of life in Palestine, circa early 1900s. Prior to its rebirth as a commonwealth, the lands of the State of Israel were all referred to as Palestine by the British. Ben David, a former diplomat and lobbyist, writes on his blog, “As I skimmed through the pictures, one theme caught my eye – the expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem. Time and again.”

Expulsion of Jews from Jerusalem, 1936 (Israel news photo: courtesy of Library of Congress)

“Works of art that depict the Roman destruction of the Holy Temple and the Jewish people being led from Jerusalem into captivity in 70 CE are not uncommon. But Ben David saw that the Library of Congress had carefully archived photos of Jews being evacuated during Arab pogroms in 1929 – the same year the Jews of Hevron were massacred – and in 1936. The archive also contains photos by Life Magazine photographer John Phillips, who in 1948 managed to catch on film the horror and tragedy of Jews once more being captured or expelled from their homes in the Old Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter by Jordanian soldiers.”

“Too many times,” writes Ben David. “It led me to post a photo essay: The Jewish People Will Not Be Expelled from Jerusalem Again.” In the essay, he made sure to include shots of the Jews’ expulsion from Jerusalem in 1929, 1936 and 1948 – to remind, and to ensure that it can never happen again.”

Luke 21:24: “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” That time has not yet been fulfilled. Dear Jerusalem, only a little longer, our God is faithful. Hear His promise!

“Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.” (Jer. 30:10).
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