Posted in demons, israel, lebanon, prophecy, us

Lebanon protesters burn US, Israeli flags

Lebanon is getting in on the act…

We awake this morning to see that the world’s most hated nation, Israel, is under vicious demonic attack- again. And the most feared nation on earth, The United States, is now ripe for the picking, mocking, and likely attack. Muslims see Israel as Little Satan and the US as Great Satan. They are quite serious about wanting to wipe Israel off the map.(Psalm 83:4)

Lebanese Muslim demonstrators burn the US (R) and Israeli flags during a protest against a film mocking Islam in Abra, east of Sidon, on September 13, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mahmoud Zayyat)

“Several hundred people have rallied in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, burning American and Israeli flags in outrage over an American-made film mocking Islam’s prophet, Muhammad. ­The streets of Tripoli saw a heavy police presence on Thursday despite the fact that only around 200 people took part in the demonstration. There were no reports of violence or clashes during the demonstration.”

“Protesters carried black banners bearing the traditional Islamic message, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.” Several protesters burned American and Israeli flags while chanting “God is great!” Another demonstration took place in the southern city of Sidon, on Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast. Offended men and women showed posters containing slogans like “freedom does not mean insults to religion” and “who are you, you lowlifes, to insult what is good for people.”

Isaiah 28:20-24 has a prophecy against Sidon:

Prophecy Against Sidon

20The word of the Lord came to me: 21“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her 22and say, Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,
and I will manifest my glory in your midst.
And they shall know that I am the Lord
when I execute judgments in her
and manifest my holiness in her;
23 for I will send pestilence into her,
and blood into her streets;
and the slain shall fall in her midst,
by the sword that is against her on every side.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.

24“And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.”

This prophecy tells us not only about the nation of what is now Lebanon, but also that the demonic forces are behind many kings, including the King of Tyre which is the ancient name of Lebanon, as described in verses 11-19.

Much of this prophecy has already come to pass. Tyre and Sidon were vanquished when Alexander the Great came to town. Yet the last parts of are still to come: Lebanon will be completely neutralized and of no threat to Israel any more. Since there are at this moment thousands of rockets stations on Lebanese soil aimed at Israel, and the Lebanese do not know the LORD, we can expect the last verses of the prophecy to come to pass. Matthew Henry says of this prophecy,

“The Sidonians were borderers upon the land of Israel, and they might have learned to glorify the Lord; but, instead of that, they seduced Israel to the worship of their idols. War and pestilence are God’s messengers; but he will be glorified in the restoring his people to their former safety and prosperity.”

I’d said in comments last night on another blog entry that I believe the killing of the Ambassador and the attacks on the Cairo and Libyan embassies were the dam breaking. I wrote that when I heard about the embassies I got a knot in my stomach. When I heard it was planned and coordinated ahead of time, the knot deepened. When I read that Obama knew 48 hours ahead that it was likely to happen- AND DID NOTHING- I felt that this was truly the Franz Ferdinand moment (the Bosnian King who was assassinated, sparking WWI). I think the embassy violence is the dam breaking. The dam has broken open. As Obama does nothing, the Muslims become emboldened. There will be no stopping them.

“House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) warned Thursday that escalating attacks on American embassies in the Middle East could develop into “real trouble” and said that the United States needed to clearly signal the ramifications of future attempts to breach diplomatic missions abroad.”

John McTernan wrote that ‘the violence in the Embassies is the fuse lit to Armageddon.‘ I am inclined to agree. The downward slope is slippery and the momentum is beyond catchable now.

I think we should expect an attack on our soil in the coming weeks. My opinion. Why do I think this? The US used to be the world’s policeman. It stands to reason, because this nation has the most Christians, and was used mightily to further the kingdom. Just as a town or a city needs policemen, so does the world. And that role fell to the US. We were used mightily not only to further His kingdom by sending missionaries He raised up, but to hold back the hellish kingdom by policing the evil men. In the first case, missionaries were used to bring the Gospel and thus, to break the spiritual demonic strongholds in a nation person by person. In the second case, the US was used to police a nation, and thus break an evilly controlled man’s strongholds on a country.

What we’re seeing is the diminishing of our role as policeman and the result is the criminals are running wild. The Middle East’s violence is not human excitation, it is demonic fervor. In Revelation 16:16 we read that it is the demonic spirits that gather the armies to Armageddon. The demons so hate Jesus, His people the Jews, and their children the Christians, that they whip up ALL the world’s armies into a frenzy and gather them there to fight Jesus.

What we see today on earth is the beginning of that demonic fervor being unleashed to what will soon be Revelation’s final filling at Armageddon. It is not rational. It is not logical. It is demonic hatred from the pit of hell. There is no reasoning with it. There is no diplomacy with it. By this point in the prophetic agenda, it is my belief that only prayer and appeal to Jesus, individual by individual, for unbeliever’s salvation and for believer’s sanctification will suffice. The Gospel is more important than ever because it is the only rescue and the only refuge. It only ever was, but by now while we are on the cusp of the rapture and the unleashing of hell on earth, repeating that people need to repent because Jesus saves, is the only message that matters.

Posted in end of days, end time, lebanon, prophecy

Political humor in Lebanon

From Now Lebanon blog

All black humor aside, Lebanon is experiencing a terrible fuel crisis:

Lebanon Daily Star: “Rony Rizk pulls up at an empty gas station Thursday and begs station workers to give him just LL5,000 of gasoline. His gas tank was nearly empty when he learned that fuel importers had decided to stop supplying gas stations earlier in the day. The gas station attendant ruefully shakes his head. The station had run out of gasoline at 6 p.m., after cars lined up along much of the length of the Charles Helou highway in order to reach the station. A heated dispute between caretaker Finance Minister Rayya Hassan and caretaker Energy and Water Minister Jibran Bassil triggered the severe fuel shortages Wednesday. Fuel importers have said Bassil’s failure to update gas prices has cost them over $50,000 a day, and they have subsequently decided to halt supplies as a way of pressuring Bassil to release new prices. But some of the disgruntled drivers who lined up at gas stations Wednesday say they have no idea why the country is suddenly out of gas. “I don’t know what’s happened to cause this. All I know is that we’re running out of fuel, and that’s why I’m here,” says Tony Matar, an assistant manager at Hawa Chicken, who had been waiting in a queue at the Medco gas station near Gemmayzeh for nearly half an hour.”

Compounding the problem, “Jordan cuts off electricity supply to Lebanon“: “Jordanian authorities have suspended power supply to Lebanon due to the disruption of regional gas pipelines, according to a statement issued Tuesday by Lebanon’s state-run power company, Electricity du Liban.”

Remember, Lebanon’s government fell in January, caused by Hezbollah cabinet ministers resigning en masse. Their action started the spate of unrest spreading throughout the region. Ever since the Lebanese cabinet fell, the Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has been working to knit together another coalition government. Political maneuvering is in high gear, as one of the most powerful blocs, the March 14 bloc, is rumored to imminently announce its decision not to participate in a Mikati cabinet. This paves the way for a one-sided, Hizbollah-dominated cabinet.

As the world eyes Libya, Egypt, and Israel remember to keep one eye on Lebanon. The kind of Cabinet they produce may be the last straw for Israel…and the region.
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Posted in end time, gog magog, hezbollah, lebanon, pre-tribulation rapture, prophecy

Lebanon falling into the abyss

Washington Post reports today:
“BEIRUT – The Shiite armed movement Hezbollah cobbled together enough support Monday to appoint Lebanon’s next prime minister, effectively ending nearly six years of rule by Western-backed leaders and prompting the United States to warn it could cut off aid to this key Arab nation. The apparent strength of Hezbollah marked an important political achievement for the group. It also signaled what appeared to be a significant shift for the country, away from alliances with the United States and Saudi Arabia, and toward Iran and Syria, which support Hezbollah.”

The result of this is that Lebanon is suffering a “Day of Rage” as supporters of deposed Prime Minister Hariri protest. According to Lebanon’s Naharnet News:
“Protests turned violent on Tuesday in Lebanon’s Sunni bastion of Tripoli as frenzied demonstrators wrecked an Al-Jazeera van while protesting the likely appointment of Hizbullah-backed premier. Angry demonstrators set upon the vehicle, smashing the windshield and tearing down the satellite dish before setting it on fire, AFP reporters witnessed. Demonstrators also torched the mopeds of other media outlets considered close to the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hizbullah. Local television reported similar incidents in the capital Beirut but security officials could not confirm the reports. The incidents came as Sunni supporters of outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri held a “day of rage” to protest the likely appointment of Hizbullah-backed Sunni tycoon Najib Mikati to head the next government.”

Hezbollah is a terrorist group. It is backed by terrorist nations Syria and Iran. Both Syria and Iran, as well as Lebanon figure into the end times. Psalm 83 predicts an alliance of nations abutting Israel to attack. Sometime in the last days also, Damascus is destroyed completely (Isaiah 17:1.) Damascus is Syria’s capital. And in Ezekiel 38-39, Iran leads a confederation of nations to attack Israel. This second attack includes nations of Turkey, Russia, Armenia, the northern tier of African nations, probably Comoros Islands. It does not include the nations of Psalm 83, so it is interpreted that Psalm 83 happens first and Israel decimates them enough so that they cannot participate in the Gog Magog battle of Ez 38-39. We may be looking at the run-up to Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17:1 now.

Analysis by knowledgeable parties covering the Lebanon situation say Israel’s response has been to monitor closely and send a recon team of Israeli commandos into Lebanon for a brief period last night. It is not known if or when Israel will respond, because they are staying totally tight lipped on military intentions. There was an emergency security meeting last Sunday from which no details were leaked or discussed.

Gunfire has been reported from Kola, Lebanon, and Al-arabiya reports: heavy clashed between protesters and Army in central Beirut. The vote has been completed and the pro-Hezbollah candidate wins for Prime Minister, ensuring a Hezbollah led pro-Syria, Iran-proxy government. This is basically the worst case scenario for Israel and by extension Lebanon since they will be the literal battleground.  It looks like the pro western Mar14 now have no role in government unless there is a sudden deal. As of this moment,  there has been a massive upsurge of violence and protest once the result of the vote became known.

With the collapse of Western-led peace talks with Israel and the “Palestinians”, with the collapse of Western influenced peace talks with Iran over their nuclear program, and with the collapse of the tenuous Western-supported government in Lebanon, the tide is turning heavily against Israel and tensions are giving sway to violence and military conflicts. A UK official speaking anonymously said this morning that he thinks Lebanon is falling into the abyss. Pray!
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Posted in end time, end time. prophecy, hezbollah, lebanon, psalm 83

Hezbollah plans to bring down Lebanese government; Israel on war standby

UPDATE: 11 Ministers have indeed resigned, at the moment the Prime Minister Hariri was meeting with Obama, as planned. Subsequently, the Lebanese goverment has collapsed.

A situation in Lebanon ahead of Obama’s meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri seems to be exploding now. Hezbollah and other factions are planning to bring down the Lebanese Government prior to the 10.30AM meeting between Hariri and Obama at the Oval Office through an action of making mass resignations. Saad Hariri’s father was Lebanon’s immediate former premier (Rafiq Hariri) and was assassinated in 2005.

Talks have been negotiated by proxy these last couple of days. They have been insisting that the UN probe into the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri. It has been a long-running standoff combined with delays on that request with the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon that seemed to collapse last night. The Saudis arrived on the scene carrying messages from Obama and Clinton. The Syrians arrived on the scene carrying messages from themselves and Iran. Both sides sat around a table and a negotiated settlement collapsed last night. Hezbollah is reporting the failure of talks is due to Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration.

Al jazeera reports, “Syria and Saudi Arabia have failed to broker an agreement aimed at easing political tensions in Lebanon over the international investigation into the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former prime minister. The efforts by the two regional powers, who have previously backed rival blocs in Lebanon, had been seen as the best chance of avoiding unrest if, as expected, the UN-backed tribunal into the killing indicts members of the Shia Muslim Hezbollah movement. Hezbollah, which has rejected allegations it was involved in the suicide bombing on the Beirut seafront in 2005 that killed Hariri and 22 others, blamed “American intervention and the inability of the other side to overcome American pressure” for the failure to reach a compromise. When asked why the talks collapsed, Mohammed Fneish, a Hezbollah cabinet minister, said: “Ask Mrs Clinton,” referring to the US secretary of state.”

Haaretz is reporting: “Health Minister Mohamad Jawad Khalifeh, whose Amal party is allied with Hezbollah, said 11 ministers would tender their resignations Wednesday afternoon unless the cabinet convenes to discuss” the assassination probe, but truly, while the request is likely genuine, Hezbollah/Iran will use any reason to poke a finger in the eye of the USA. Obama plans to meet Prime Minister Hariri this morning and  Hezbollah hopes to mess with this  by acting ahead of that, thereby meaning that when Hariri and Obama meet, the Lebanese government will have collapsed, and Hariri will have already been deposed from his post as Prime Minister and will carry no weight.

In addition, it seems that Iran is pushing Hezbollah to take over Beirut and take control of Lebanon. Hezbollah is a Shia political party based in Lebanon widely believed to be a terrorist arm of Iran. US Mediterranean forces are on standby to intervene with Marine deployments to prevent a Hezbollah/Iranian coup (The Enterprise Group is in the Med- see below). Israel has gone on to a war footing, Israel will not sit still for a Hzbollah-controlled Lebanon. France has moved military assets into the area too. Right now it is looking like Hezbollah and Iran will make a power play for Lebanon rather than form a new government democratically. If as expected, this likely creates a civil war situation in Lebanon, and Hariri will ask for US military support.

Militarily, the situation is also fluid and explosive. I mentioned above that Israel has gone to a war footing, PressTV reports: “Israel has deployed a naval vessel dangerously close to the Lebanese coast, prompting Beirut to put the Armed Forces on high alert. The development followed yet another Israeli violation of Lebanon’s airspace, which was reported by the Lebanese Army.”

Washington Post reports, “Another official allied to Hezbollah confirmed the resignation plan, which calls for Hezbollah and its allies to step down along with one more minister who would tip the balance and force the government to fall. To bring down the government, Hezbollah needs the backing of more than a third of the ministers. Hezbollah and its allies have 10 ministers in the 30-member Cabinet, and an official close to Hezbollah said an 11th minister close to President Michel Suleiman would also submit his resignation. Violence has been a major concern as tensions rise in Lebanon, where Shiites, Sunnis and Christians each make up about a third of the country’s four million people. In 2008, sectarian clashes killed 81 people and nearly plunged Lebanon into another civil war.”

Please stay tuned to this dangerous situation as events unfold this morning. The lineup is as follows: Lebanese army and anti-Hezbollah Lebanese, France, USA, Israel v. Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria. Link to Psalm 83 here. Isaiah 17:1 says that Damascus will be destroyed, it will become a ruinous heap, never to rise again.
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Posted in end time, israel, kassam, lebanon, prophecy, rockets

Rockets hitting Israel in central and south, snipers killing soldiers in north

Rocket and sniper attacks over the last four days in Israel. More below

Lebanese snipers pick off IDF soldiers inside Israel’s border
Israel has confirmed that a battalion commander was killed in clashes with Lebanese troops that also claimed the lives of two Lebanese soldiers and a newspaper reporter. The casualties occurred after Lebanese and Israeli troops exchanged fire at a border location that the Israeli Defense Forces described as being west of the Israeli town of Misgav Am…. the Lebanese troops shot inside Israel without provocation. He said Lebanese snipers shot Israeli officers standing more than 300 metres from the fence, as opposed to the soldiers removing bushes by the fence.

Sderot children and veteran’s rehabilitation center decimated by rockets
The upgraded Kassam rocket on Sderot Saturday night scored a direct hit on the ceiling of a children’s hydrotherapy rehabilitation center in the heart of Sderot’s Sapir College, bringing to nearly 400 the number aerial attacks launched from Gaza since the ceasefire which halted Israel’s Cast Lead counter-terror campaign in Gaza in January 2009.

Rockets hit Southern Israel/Jordanian border towns, Egypt denies
Reuters reported from Radio Israel that preliminary information by Israeli police revealed that at least three rockets fell on the Israeli southern port city of Eilat and nearby areas on Monday morning, causing no casualties. A GRAD missile fell in the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba Monday morning, injuring four people, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Ali Al Ayed said.

Of course, when rockets hit Israel, the world blames Israel. When one of them misses and hits Jordan, the UN calls it terrorism and demands justice. All week, Israel suffers attacks and the UN looks the other way. Snipers pick off soldiers well behind the border fence. UN looks the other way. Childrens’ hospitals are destroyed, and UN looks the other way. But a resort in Jordan gets one accidental rocket wandering over the border, once? Ban Ki Moon is all over it.

Secretary-General condemns deadly rocket attack in southern Jordan
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned this week’s rocket attack that killed one person in the southern Jordanian town of Aqaba and urged countries in the region to work together to bring those responsible to justice.

I hope the above map of Israel and the arrows showing rockets falling on the nation from top to bottom over the last 4 days makes an impact. The tiny, beleaguered nation, has the Almighty God behind her. O, if she will only look UP! Pray for the peace of Jerusalem 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
“May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
Psalm 122:6-9
Posted in end time. prophecy, gog magog, israel natural gas, lebanon, leviathan

Trouble! Israeli gas find agitates Lebanon, claims it’s theirs

On Friday, June 4, I posted a piece titled “Israel poised for prophecy fulfillment“. It involved the prophecy of Gog-Magog in Ezekiel 38-39 where Israel is surprise-attacked by a coalition of nations that include Turkey, Iran, Russia, and others. In Ezekiel 38:13 it is prophesied that neighbor nations stand by and watch the attack coming, crying out,

“Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?'” Ezekiel 38:13

It has been suspected that the ‘great spoil,’ or plunder sought after by the coalition could be oil or natural gas.

Well, Israel has discovered both, and in the natural gas find off the coast of Haifa, a double blessing continues. In 2009 the biggest gas discovery in the world was made by a U.S.-Israel consortium at a site called Tamar. The site is estimated to contain 238 billion cubic meters. Then another field was discovered near the Tamar site. The site is called Leviathan, and it is estimated to be twice the size of Tamar!  A news article out today states the obvious, even if one is not familiar with the prophetic implications of a jealous enemy: “Israeli gas boom could ignite trouble.” The article explains that Lebanon is claiming part of the field as within their own territorial waters. The article reveals that the Arabic-language Lebanon newspaper As-Safir ran an article stating: “Israel prepares to steal gas fields in Lebanon’s waters” and reported that if Israel tried to take the gas Lebanon would defend it. The conflict of words between Israel and Lebanon over this field is heating up tremendously even over the last day or so. Lebanon has asked Cyprus to help them determine maritime boundaries.

Here is a good editorial piece from Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that looks at the situation from a geopolitical point of view. It’s called  “A geopolitical game-changer” and the piece sets the current situation into context as to the import to Israel and the Middle East as to this discovery, what Israel’s options are, and where could Israel go to create an energy corridor to export this natural resource.

Whether politically or prophetically we see the Gog-Magog battle coming into view. This battle is considered important because it is the gateway to the tribulation. As this battle ensues, Israel is about to lose. In order to protect His Land and His people, God supernaturally wins the battle for Israel and everyone sees it and knows it. This act brings Israel back onto covenant with God and likely it is this very battle that initiates the 7 year peace treaty that begins the Tribulation.

” ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. You will say, “I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people—all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. (Ezekiel 38:10-11)

The LORD is speaking to Gog, Chief Prince of the nation Russia. The land of unwalled villages is Israel, spoken of  in the previous verses, Ez 38: 8b-9:

a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.

Of course, Israel is not now living in peace and safety, but the wars that precede the Battle of Gog/Magog are the Isaiah 17:1 propecy of Damascus (Syria) being destroyed into a heap of ruins and the Psalm 83 war in which Israel is completely victorious in defending an attack from her near neighbors. After these two victories, Israel stands down, thinking she has finally fought enough to win the right to relax…and that is when Gog steps in. The coalition takes the tiny nation completely by surprise and she is on the verge of losing when:

Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.  I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’ (Ez 38:18-23)

 Whoa! That is pretty devastating, But wait, there’s more!

“Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of  Meshech and Tubal.  I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.  On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.  I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD. (Ez 39:1-6)

This natural gas find IS a game-changer. Except … unless you know the Lord, you do not know how MUCH this could be the end of days game changer of ALL game-changers. Tensions have increased. Enemies are jealous. Threats are made. Allies are enlisted. The pieces are moving inexorably together until, when they are finally fitted, the tribulation begins.  I can almost hear the trumpet call.