One of the most famous prophecies in the bible, after the antichrist’s rising, is the Gog-Magog Battle. This is described in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. A coalition of nations with Iran at the center, attack Israel in the last days. The coalition is comprised of Russia, Iran, Turkey, Armenia, northern African nations like Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, and some Isles unnamed. They powerfully attack Israel and Israel is on the verge of losing when God Himself intervenes in a visible and demonstrable way. He strikes the enemy bows from their hands and they fall. He sends a madness to the troops who immediately begin fighting each other. He sends several of His signature vocabulary in the form of earthquakes and hail. All the nations know He is the LORD. It is this act that brings Israel back into covenant relationship with Him, and is the moment that the Time of Jacob’s Trouble begins. We will have been raptured by the end of the Gog-Magog battle, since the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and the Church Age are separate. (Rom 11:25; Acts 15:14-17).
Iran (Persia) figures very prominently into the end time and Tribulation scene. That all eyes are on Israel now and also Iran, the tension in the Middle East being almost unbearable, and the prophesied war that will come, is bringing us to a moment that very soon will erupt into an endless conflagration the world will never have seen, and lo, never will again.
Here is Former Ambassador Bolton interviewed about the Iranian nuclear threat for the upcoming movie Iranium.
The economy is one of the indicator of the end times and the nearing of the Tribulation. During the Tribulation there will be devastating economic upheavals, so tremendous that the entire globe accepts a one world currency. Things have to be pretty bad for people to give up their own national currency and throw their economies together. We know one economic condition that will be present is that much of the world has to work an entire day to earn enough to pay for a loaf of bread. How, exactly, the world goes from 192 individual nations with varying degrees of prosperity, their own currency, and economic ties and trades, to a desperate world crying for bread and accepting a one-world-currency, is not known. Some think that the disappearance of millions of Christians would be a catalyst for an economic crash leading to to those conditions. It does make some sense, that the sudden vacuum created once millions of people are gone from a viable economic system; employed and employer, contributor to the cash economy, producers and consumers, it may lead to such a crash. Another one is the Hindenburg Omen.
“Easily the most feared technical pattern in all of chartism (for the bullishly inclined) is the dreaded Hindenburg Omen. Those who know what it is, tend to have an atavistic reaction to its mere mention. Those who do not, can catch up on its implications courtesy of Wikipedia, but in a nutshell: “The Hindenburg Omen is a technical analysis that attempts to predict a forthcoming stock market crash. It is named after the Hindenburg disaster of May 6th 1937, during which the German zeppelin was destroyed in a sudden conflagration.” Granted, the Hindenburg Omen is not a guarantee of a crash, and the five criteria that must be met for a Hindenburg trigger typically need to reoccur within 36 days for reconfirmation. Yet the statistics are startling: “Looking back at historical data, the probability of a move greater than 5% to the downside after a confirmed Hindenburg Omen was 77%, and usually takes place within the next forty-days.” The last Hindenburg Omen occurred during the lows of 2009. Today, we just had another (unconfirmed) Hindenburg Omen. It is time to batten down the hatches – something big is coming.”
“As a reminder, the 5 criteria of the Omen are as follows:”
“1. That the daily number of NYSE new 52 Week Highs and the daily number of new 52 Week Lows must both be greater than 2.2 percent of total NYSE issues traded that day. 2. That the smaller of these numbers is greater than or equal to 69 (68.772 is 2.2% of 3126). This is not a rule but more like a checksum. This condition is a function of the 2.2% of the total issues. 3. That the NYSE 10 Week moving average is rising. 4. That the McClellan Oscillator is negative on that same day. 5. That new 52 Week Highs cannot be more than twice the new 52 Week Lows (however it is fine for new 52 Week Lows to be more than double new 52 Week Highs). This condition is absolutely mandatory.”
“Today, (August 12, 2010) all five conditions were satisfied.”
The writer said that the last time the Hindenburg Omen appeared was June 2008 and within 120 days, the devastating rollercoaster and eventual crash of the world’s markets occurred in the fall. But even worse, he said, “should the Omen be reconfirmed within 36 days, all bets are off.”
The world’s economic systems are creaking along, barely, with many nations (including ours in America) insolvent. How long this can continue only God knows. But the actual zeppelin Hindenburg crash in 1937 was fast, devastating, and complete. Just like the upcoming crash in store for non-believers will endure in the Tribulation.
Uh-oh. All eyes are in Israel. Just like the bible said we would be in the last days.
Jerusalem Post: Obama won’t hit Iran Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton said he didn’t see “any signs whatsoever that President Obama would make the necessary decision” to strike Iran’s nuclear reactor, speaking in an interview with Israel Radio Tuesday. Bolton claimed Israel has only three days to strike before Russia “begins the fueling process for the Bushehr reactor this Friday,” after which any attack would cause radioactive fallout that could reach as far as the waters of the Persian Gulf. In an interview with Fox Business Network earlier Tuesday Bolton had said the deadline was eight days, but he revised it to three in the Israel Radio interview, saying Iran and Russia had announced they would begin fueling on Friday. “It has always been optimal that military force is used before the fuel rods are inserted,” Bolton explained. “That’s what Israel did in Osirak in 1991, and when they attacked the North Korean reactor built in Syria.” Israel bombed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, and a Syrian reactor in 2007. However Bolton didn’t see any indication that an Israeli strike was going to happen. “Obviously if Israel were going to do something it wouldn’t exactly be advertising it. But time is short.”
There is grave meaning in those three words that Former Ambassador Bolton used: Time is short. The entire period of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, or Daniel’s 70th week revolves around Israel. Israel’s struggle to survive. Israel’s persecution. Israel’s battles. We see that the world’s eyes are turning to Israel and it is not liking what they see. Hating it as a matter of fact, both the nation and her people.
We know that the first and second seals are about conquering and about war. Peace is taken from the earth. The entire earth will not know peace until Jesus returns. The very end of the birth pangs Jesus mentioned would indicate imminent Tribulation are full of war: the Psalm 83 war, Damascus destroyed (Isaiah 17:1), the Gog-Magog battle. And then the 70th Week starts and things get really warlike. We have Kings of the North, Kings of the East. Armies marching, battles, wars, death, and more wars.
However it comes about, the Middle East tension is building and when it blows, it will blow sky-high and remain that way until Jesus comes at the final battle: Armageddon.
You’ve all seen the statistics. The Barna Group, a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture conducted research on the state of divorce among secular and Christian folk, and discovered that “born again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average on the matter of divorce.” It is statements like these and others on the matter of culture that in this day and age makes Christians indistinguishable from unsaved folks.
And that was not the Lord’s intention at all.
Paul said we must be “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” (Eph 5:1). Further, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. (Eph 5:8-10). Jesus wants to “present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:27). We cannot be that clean, spotless church if we are rolling around in muddy sin with like-acting people.
Did you know that we are disciples? Of course you did. Did you remember that we are also Ambassadors? It is a role that is outlined for us but is rarely remembered. Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 5:20: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization. In everyday usage it usually applies to the ranking government representative stationed in a foreign capital. Ambassadors are ministers of the highest rank, with plenipotentiary authority to represent their head of state, defines Wikipedia. Ambassadors declare the will of their sovereign to the person, government, or king to which they have been assigned.
Our king is Jesus and our home which we represent is New Jerusalem. Think on this, don’t let these words slide by: The All Knowing, All Powerful God, Creator of the Universe, chose US to be His representatives on earth. We represent the Holy and Blameless Almighty I AM. When I think about this commission, I straighten up. I throw back my shoulders, I smile, I am fervent but loving. If President Lincoln were to call you to the dais at his inaugural speech and designate you to be Ambassador to London, wouldn’t you behave differently? Wouldn’t the gravity and dignity of the commission weigh on you, and not wanting to let this honorable president down, wouldn’t you dress your finest, clean up your language, and sail for England with his papers in hand, eager to represent all the best of America? I would. Ambassadors must behave in such a way that we bring so stain upon our nation.
So it is exponentially more dignified and important the commission God has designated for us as Ambassadors of God from New Jerusalem, to earth and its wrinkled, spotted, muddy people. If we control our mind, control our tongue and control our behavior (always beseeching the Spirit to contain us, for we cannot do it in our own strength) then we are remarked upon by the lost. We are easily distinguishable.
Unfortunately, Jesus said that the last church on earth, the Laodicean church as a model, will be neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. “I know your deeds,” Jesus says, “that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” (Rev 3:15-16).
Christian, if you feel yourself waning, pray, appeal, and beseech the Holy Spirit to forgive you and strengthen you. Then, remember where our home is and Who we represent. How, then, can we be tepid? Be hot! Fervent, zealous with His love, and go represent!
3 powerful earthquakes, 14 aftershocks rock Mariana Islands “In a 24-hour period, the region of the Mariana Islands, near Guam, experienced three powerful earthquakes ranging from 6.3-magnitude to 6.9-magnitude. The region also has witnessed 14 aftershocks. Earthquakes have been the dominant natural disaster for the year 2010. Powerful earthquakes continue to rock nations all around the world. The Mariana Islands, near the nations of Guam and Micronesia, is the latest part to be hit. In a 24-hour period, the Mariana Islands region was hit by three earthquakes measuring at 6.3. 6.6 and 6.9-magnitude, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The agency has also recorded at least 14 aftershocks. The latest earthquake, 6.6-magnitude, was located 240 miles (390 km) southwest of Hagatna, Guam and 290 miles (465 km) northeast of Yap, Micronesia. The temblor’s depth was measured at 14 miles (22.5 km). There have been no immediate reports of injuries, deaths or significant damages. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has said there is no threat of a widespread tsunami, however, a small tsunami could occur 75 miles of the epicenter.”
MAP 6.6 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.1 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 5.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 4.9 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 5.9 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 5.2 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 6.3 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 4.6 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 6.9 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
(note: originally this quake was rated as 7.2 and later downgraded. Most of the news headlines refer to the higher figure) The above are red because United States Geological survey indicates red for eq’s above 6.0
2010 = 16 as of Aug 14, with 1/3 of the way still to go! 2009 = 16 2008 = 12 2007 = 14 2006 = 9
Earthquakes are increasing in every way imaginable. There are deep-focus quakes, these are the kind of quakes that occur deep in the earth that technically should not be able to occur. But they do, stumping seismologists. There are swarms, quakes in places that do not usually have them, and huge quakes popping all over the globe. What more to people want for a sign that God is near?!
I’ve noticed that there have been a spate of sinkholes (China, Guatemala and elsewhere), cracks in the earth (Mexico), and pipeline and well explosions (USA). I’ve discussed before that since we know the earth will crack up at the end of time, (Isaiah 18b-20) and then the LORD remakes the earth, that at some point those devastating earth changes will begin as low-grade birth pangs. We also know that during the Tribulation many geologic events occur, from 100 lb hailstones flattening everything, mountains melting away, rivers drying up, etc. So backing up one more step, from the Millennium, back to the Tribulation, and then back tot he end time just before the Trib, what events could be occurring that are a precursor to the more major earth-changes? Sinkholes, cracks, and blown wells.
Well, another well blew today. An eyewitness on CNN posted that a well in Louisiana blew, spewing oil 300 feet into the air, and the sou,d could be heard for three miles. Locals are being evacuated now.
“You know it’s a good night when a beautiful alignment of planets is the second best thing that’s going to happen. Thursday, August 12th, is such a night. The show begins at sundown when Venus, Saturn, Mars and the crescent Moon pop out of the western twilight in tight conjunction. All four heavenly objects will fit within a circle about 10 degrees in diameter, beaming together through the dusky colors of sunset. No telescope is required to enjoy this naked-eye event.”
“The planets will hang together in the western sky until 10 pm or so. When they leave, following the sun below the horizon, you should stay, because that is when the Perseid meteor shower begins. From 10 pm until dawn, meteors will flit across the starry sky in a display that’s even more exciting than a planetary get-together.”
It is a great chance to see God’s handiwork on display! Some things to think about as we see the planets come together and the stars fly:
Psalm 147:4 – He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Job 22:12 – Is not God in the height of heaven? Look also at the distant stars, how high they are! Psalm 8:3-4 – When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Genesis 1:14 – 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.
“For more than a century, a point on the top of a hill in south-east London has been recognised as the centre of world time and the official starting point of each new day. Now the supremacy of Greenwich Mean Time is being challenged by a gargantuan new clock being built in Mecca, by which the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims could soon be setting their watches. Due to start ticking on Thursday as the faithful begin fasting during the month of Ramadan, the timepiece sits atop the Royal Mecca Clock Tower which dominates Islam’s holiest city. … Islamic scholars hope the clock’s influence will stretch far further than the sands of Saudi Arabia, as part of a plan for Mecca to eclipse the Greenwich Observatory as the “true centre of the earth”.” Article and photo source: UK Telegraph
Big Ben (L) and the Mecca Clock Tower (R) are now in competition to be recognised as the centre of time.
In Daniel 7 quite a bit is revealed about the antichrist. We know that he will emerge from the 4th of four great world kingdoms as described in Daniel 2’s statue of Nebuchadnezzar, the 4th being the iron legs of the statue. The Roman Empire was split in 330AD to include two capital cities, Rome, and Constantinople. Constantinople was later renamed Istanbul. Istanbul is in Turkey, which is 99.8% Muslim. It has been my theory that the antichrist could be a Muslim (or seeming-Muslim.) In any case…
In Daniel 7:25 we are told the antichrist will do some things:
“He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”
Changing the times…likely means the appointed times of God’s Holy Days and Feasts, as the antichrist will never cease oppressing the saints as they try to worship. But could a first step of that coming oppression and hindrance against the saints in the path to obliterating the Judeo-Christian ethic be an attempt to change the time? Is one way to do that by Islam insinuating itself in supremacy and control of a basic reality under which we all operate: time itself? This challenge by Islam is in any regard an aggressive one, and something sad to see as we view Christianity declining, as the bible said it would in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
We can feel the changes ahead, see the prophetic puzzle pieces coming together. We can peek around the prophetic corner and know that soon, our Messiah will be calling us to “COME UP HITHER!”
Nano-technology is here? So what’s nano-technology?
The ability to construct machines at the sub-atomic level is Nanotechnology. It is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. Molecule by molecule you can build something from the bottom up. It is already being applied in medicine and environmental technologies. This theoretical capability was envisioned as early as 1959 by the aforementioned renowned physicist Richard Feynman. He wrote: “I want to build a billion tiny factories, models of each other, which are manufacturing simultaneously. . . The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big.” — Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner in physics. Nanotechnology is also known as molecular manufacturing.
Here is a 1-minute news spot from June 2009 of tech students experimenting with nanobots.
Above, a nanotech robot
There are four generations of nano-technology development.
–In 2000, the first generation was successfully passed: passive nanostructures, materials designed to perform one task at the simple level. We are now routinely using nanotechnology to make colloids (gold), aerosols, coatings, polymers, and ceramics. –The second phase, which we entered in 2005, introduces active nanostructures for multitasking; for example, bio-devices, drug delivery devices, 3-D transistors, and amplifiers and sensors. –The third generation is expected to begin emerging around 2010 and will feature nanosystems with thousands of interacting components such as robotics or 3D networking (like a 3D internet-grid, and more advanced virtual reality like Wii…). –A few years after that, perhaps by 2015-2020 the first integrated nanosystems, functioning (according to Roco) much like a mammalian cell with hierarchical systems within systems, are expected to be developed. Meaning, by then, man would be able to create another biological being. Like God. That is the path, and that is how close they are. It is not cloning, that is a simple replication. It is creating.
Shortly after this envisioned molecular machinery is created, and it will be, and the assembly issue is resolved, it will result in a manufacturing revolution, probably causing severe societal disruption. It also has serious economic, social, environmental, and military implications. This tipping point is known as The Singularity, or Techno-rapture.
You see the implications! Once man can create from the atom, up, we become gods. Humankind will settle for the notion on a grand scale that we do not need God because we have solved all our biological, social, environmental, and military issues. The Techno-rapture is the moment when humankind, in my opinion, ceases to be the beings God intended and the final result of evolution-thought begins.
I think we are at a precipitous moment!! We are on the cusp of purposefully evolving away from human creation in the pure biological sense, toward a techno, transhumanism, in other words, enhanced beings merged with technology in one body, including neural implants to change brain function.
Here are the biblical implications: first, the gold! This was cool.
In my research, I found that nano-gold is THE hottest topic since amazing discoveries were made 18 months ago. Scientists have discovered that as the gold particle size is decreased, there are many intriguing phenomena.
I see in one discovery if you shrink gold down to a nanoparticle, its properties change dramatically. Its color changes, it becomes a very good catalyst, and is no longer a metal – instead it turns into a semiconductor.
Even today, ultra-thin gold is being used on buildings and air craft windows – thin film of gold display some unusual characteristics. When processed with ultra-thin sheets, gold becomes transparent. It allows green light waves to pass through but reflects infrared lights. Windows coated with gold admit light but reflects heat. Therefore, the cockpit windows of modern aircraft are coated with gold, as well as the windows of many new office buildings. On the nanoscale, gold becomes a potent catalyst, exhibiting new and surprising, chemical, mechanical, electrical and magnetic behavior, which could not have been extrapolated or predicted on the basis of our knowledge about this substance in the bulk form. WE didn’t know, but GOD knew! He knows what He is doing with gold!! In general, bulk gold is not transparent in visible region, but the nano-gold may reflect efficiently near-infrared rays and can maintain the transparency.
–The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. –The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. (Rev 21:21)
LOL, I guess we will need those special properties of gold to help reflect GOD’S GLORY!! 🙂
Rev 21:18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. Rev 21:21 And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
WOW!!
Next biblical connection: The Techno-Rapture:
Although technological progress has been accelerating, (no, it’s not your imagination!) progress is limited by the basic intelligence of the human brain, which has not changed much for millennia.
However, people are able to work on discrete problems independently and in parallel at speeds that modern global communication permits. They can also work with the increasing power of computers and other technologies, it may be possible to build a machine at some point that is more intelligent than humanity. Wikipedia: “Theoretically, if a machine built by humans could bring to bear greater problem-solving and inventive skills than humans, then it could design a yet more capable machine. If built, this more capable machine then could design a machine of even greater capability. These iterations could accelerate, leading to recursive self improvement.” I. J. Good described this as an “intelligence explosion”. So the knowledge increase at a certain tipping point would be exponential. It is quite different from normal technological progress because the underlying driving force is increasing quickly, causing exponential growth. The term Technological Singularity or Techno-Rapture reflects the idea that the change may happen suddenly, and that it is very difficult to predict how such a new world would operate. Toffler wrote about the societal imbalances of sudden knowledge explosion in his seminal book Future Shock.
See graphs. It is happening now. Already within the past sixty years, life in the industrialized world has changed almost beyond recognition except for living memories from the first half of the 20th century.
DANIEL 12:4- “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
You see how close we are?
–The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. –The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. (Rev 21:21)
A youtube video showing you the Rapture and Tribulation. The end is nigh. Get right with Jesus if you have not already. Ask Him to forgive your sins. What you see in the video WILL occur, and soon. You can be with the traveling lights streaming off-earth seen at the beginning, or you can be among the people seen in the rest of the video…Jesus leaves it up to you.
the-end-time.org 