Archive for August, 2009

God Prophesied 12/9/17

Saturday, August 29th, 2009
        The precious Holy Spirit truly does unlock the secrets of God for us when we ask. What you are going to read now may never have been in print before. At least I have never seen it, although I imagine that the Holy Spirit must have revealed it to others before.
        What I am talking about is a fulfilled prophecy that is utterly magnificent. To save time I won’t go into the details of what caused me to begin to dig out this treasure, but I will tell you that within an hour of my praying that God would reveal it, He did. God does answer prayers.
        Let’s start by remembering that Isaiah prophesied to Israel over and over that if they would not return to God, judgement would come. He even predicted in chapter 39 that Israel would be taken over by the Babylonians and the nation would go into exile. Finally King Manasseh had heard enough of Isaiah’s ominous prophecies and had him killed in 680 BC. Obviously this murder of His servant Isaiah was an abomination to the Lord. Israel was then taken captive by the Babylonians as God had predicted through His servant Isaiah. But God foretold when Israel would finally be freed from her enemies, and how He  foretold it is utterly fascinating.
        Over a hundred years later we find the angel Gabriel telling Daniel who was then living in the predicted Babylonian captivity, “From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.” Daniel 12:11-12.
        Many of you know that God often predicts more than one event at the same time, in the same verses, and although the above passage is most noted in regards to other more obvious prophecies that will come to pass in the tribulation period, I was led after praying to add both of those figures, knowing that days here actually referred to years. So 1,290 plus 1,335 gives us a total of 2,625 years. If we add 2,625 Jewish years to 680 BC, date of Isaiah’s murder, we end up at 1917. But God even wanted to be more precise than that and give us an exact date.
        Let’s jump to the book of Haggai and we find that God is clear what the date will be that Israel would be blessed, the actual date God would bless Israel again and make her His signet ring. For God said, “From this day on, from this twenty fourth day of the ninth month … From this day on I will bless you.” Haggai 2:18-19. That date on our calender in 1917 was December 9.
        On December 9, 1917 British General Alanby, after routing the Turkish army from what was then known as Palestine, dismounted from his horse as he approached the Joppa Gate of Jerusalem, saying, “I will walk into Jerusalem as a pilgrim and not ride in as a conqueror.” That was the very first day since the Babylonians took over Jerusalem that Israel was not under enemy occupation. And of course this led the rebirth of Israel in 1948, and its eventual control once again of the Jewish holy city in 1967.
        Astounding! Not only did God predict in Daniel exactly to the day when Jesus would ride into Jerusalem as the Messiah, as we covered in our book, He also has now shown us that He predicted the exact date that Israel’s enemies would finally be driven out of Israel, December 9, 1917. 
        Nothing is as astounding as the Word of God. Nothing is as astounding as our God.

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Understanding?

Thursday, August 27th, 2009
        Recently I was reading a grand old work of fiction printed in 1948 called The Big Fisherman, written by the fabulous author, Lloyd C. Douglas, who also wrote such books as Magnificent Obsession and The Robe.
        The Big Fisherman is a fast paced book with fictitious characters whose lives intermingle with the lives of Biblical characters, including Peter, the inspiration for the title. At any rate, what caught my attention was a fictional discussion by the disciples while Jesus was not present. In it they are saying that Jesus was asking them to go to a town and they didn’t understand why. Bartholomew declares that, “Jesus is teaching them to have faith.” Thomas then says, “But - can’t a man have faith - and understanding, too?” That is when the lightning bolt hit me, for Bartholomew replies, “No, that’s what faith is for! It’s for when we can’t understand.” And Peter adds, “That’s true, when a man understands, he doesn’t need any faith.”
        We all know that, of course, but for some reason it jumped out at me in a way it never had before. It reminded me of the true incident that occurred some years back when a good believer traveled to India for the sole purpose of having Mother Teresa pray over him that God would give him clarity in his life. When she heard the request her reply was an instantaneous “No”. The man was stunned and said, “But Mother Teresa, you have always had clarity.” To this she laughed and gently said, “No, I have never had clarity, I have only had trust. I will pray for God to give you trust”
        So, if you have been looking for understanding, or clarity, about how or when God will answer your situation or do this or that, stop thinking about it. It probably is time for absolute, unquestioning faith. It is time to sit back and calmly trust. In God’s eyes we are worth much more than the sparrows. Just remember, “In all things God works for good for those who love Him.” That is all we need to know.

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The Good Samaritan’s Prophecy

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
        I believe that all the parables that Jesus told are rich with underlying meanings, but most of the time we don’t dig much deeper than the surface message that Jesus was trying to convey. In reality, though, I feel strongly that every parable contains prophecy that can be spine tingling to search out.
        For instance, we all know that the parable of The Good Samaritan in Luke 10 represents the commandment that Jesus listed as the second most important, to “love your neighbor as yourself,” Matthew 22:39.
        Unfortunately, most Christians don’t dig deep enough to find the truly exciting underlying types, shadows, and yes, prophecy. If they did they would find that the man who was robbed and left half dead in the story is a picture of Adam or humanity. The robber, of course, is Satan. The first person in the story that comes along and steps around the fallen man is a priest. This represents the Law of Moses, which obviously could not save the man. Then a Levite comes by and likewise walks around the man. The Levite represents the sacrifices, which also could not save fallen man. But then comes the Good Samaritan, which is Jesus Himself. 
        At this point we see something very unusual and extremely interesting. We see the Good Samaritan pour both oil and wine into the fallen man’s wounds. Oil is the Old Testament or Old Covenant representation of the Holy Spirit, while wine is the New Testament or New Covenant representation of the Holy Spirit. The deeper we dig, the more phenomenal we find God’s Word to be.
        Once the Holy Spirit has been poured into the wounds, the Good Samaritan (Jesus) takes the man to the inn, which represents the church. Here is where the parable becomes prophetic of the Second Coming, because the Good Samaritan (Jesus) leaves the innkeeper two denarii.  A denarii was a days wage, and we know that “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years,” 2 Peter 3:8. So the church is given two thousand years until the Good Samaritan (Jesus) returns, at which time He will give the innkeeper (The Church) an unlimited amount of denarii (Eternity).
        As we discussed in earlier articles, this two day (two thousand year) prophecy is very consistent with all the other Second Coming prophecies, including the two very obvious ones found in Exodus and Hosea. In the first one the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” Exodus 19:11. The other one in Hosea 6:2 says, “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence.”
        Remember, Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” The redeemed of Christ will reign with Him in His kingdom, so we are the “kings” referred to above who are suppose to search out the things that God has hidden for us in the scriptures. And it really is an exciting treasure hunt. Nothing in life comes close, or is nearly as important.
        The point of the prophecy we just uncovered in the parable of the Good Samaritan is that in two thousand years from when He went away, Jesus will return. In the Jewish calender, that time is here. And in the Gentile calender (ours), the time is very close.
        Praise God! Look up for our redemption is nigh. Or as T.D. Jakes says, “Get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready.”
        I can hardly wait.

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We, too, can do something

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Dr. David Jeremiah wrote a true story about a young girl who was terminally ill. She went to her pastor and asked him what she could do for Jesus in the time she had left. The pastor suggested that she make a list of people in their town who she knew who needed Christ. She did, and she prayed often. After the girl died her prayer list was found, under her pillow. It contained fifty six names. All fifty six people had accepted Christ; the last one on the night before her death.

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Monumental News

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
        While the media in America has been covering in depth such triviality as the Cash for Clunkers giveaway, Michael Jackson’s drug overdose death, and whether the health care town halls are being invaded by real or fake patriots, the most important news event in the last two thousand years has gone completely unreported. What happened last month in Turkey is so important that it should have been front page news in every nation of the world, and prime time television shows should have been preempted in order to cover it in detail.
        This past month, July, 2009, three rabbis of the reestablished Sanhedrin met with Adnan Oktar, one of the most influential Muslim leaders in the world, to discuss rebuilding Solomon’s Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, along side the Islamic Dome of the Rock. All four agreed that it should be done and felt that the entire project could be completed in only one year from the time it begins.
        Did you read what I just wrote and have not fallen off your chair? This is the single most monumental news event since Jesus ascended into heaven. And it went virtually unnoticed. Incredible! 
        Adnan Oktar is not a nobody in Islamic circles. He currently has over sixty five million copies of his books in print and is widely respected in the Muslim world. Sixty five million copies is even a few more than I have in print. OK, you didn’t have to actually laugh out loud at that.
        The three representatives of the Jewish Sanhedrin, Rabbi Hollander, Rabbi Abrahamson, and Rabbi Rahimi, are regarded as giants in the Jewish religion. A meeting of this nature with an agreement being reached that the Jewish Temple should be rebuilt is more phenomenal than if the leaders of all nuclear nations had met and agreed to totally destroy all nuclear bombs. And yet no worldwide news agency covered it. The four men are pictured below at the historical meeting. This picture and the outcome of the meeting come directly from the Sanhedrin’s official web site, TheSanhedrin.org.
        Think about what we just learned. Adnan Oktar, who is revered as, and writes under the pen name, Harun Yahya, has always been a devout anti-Zionist and peddler of the propaganda that the Holocaust never happened. But now he has changed his stance completely. In fact, after the meeting Oktar stated to reporter, Joel Richardson:
        “The Palace of Solomon is a historically important palace, and rebuilding it would be a very wonderful thing. It is something that any Jew, a Christian or a Muslim should welcome with enthusiasm. Every Muslim, every believer will want to return to those days, to experience those days again and, albeit partially, to bring the beauty of those days back to life.”
        For Oktar to now proclaim that the Temple Mount should be shared with a new Solomon’s Temple so that Muslims, Jews and Christians could all worship together at the same site has multiple implications. And it points out to those of us who study Bible prophecy that God is truly orchestrating current events.
        First, the temple itself. As we know, the last Jewish temple was completely destroyed and burned in 70 AD, just as Jesus said it would be. Since then, not only has there not been a replaced Temple, but the idea that the Islamic world would be open to sharing the Temple Mount has been out of the question. Although the Jewish Temple Institute has been preparing for such an event in case God worked a miracle, there has truly seemed to have been no hope. Just in case, however, they have laboriously gotten the new furniture and implements ready and have trained a new generation of priests in such things as animal sacrifices. I will say that they have claimed that it would have to take seven years to build a temple because of the timing needed between scheduled feasts to properly dedicate the different construction segments. I am convinced, though, that they would concede the seven years of rituals if given the opportunity to have a temple built in a year on the site of Solomon’s Temple.
        We know from Biblical prophecy that such a temple must be constructed so that the antichrist can desecrate it and declare himself god in it three and a half years into the seven year tribulation. All of this was definitively prophesied in God’s Word. Scholarly thought has always been that construction would begin just prior to the antichrist signing the seven year peace treaty with the Jews, which will be the starting date for the tribulation, or sometime early in the tribulation period. I still believe that to be the case.
        We know also that any temple built now will be destroyed when Jesus returns and a new, undefiled temple that will serve during the Millennial Kingdom will be built according to the description in  Ezekiel 40-43.
        What occurred last month is obviously the beginning of one of the last prophecies to be fulfilled before the second coming of our Lord.
        Another implication that meeting engendered is the upcoming fulfillment of another prophecy of the tribulation period, the one world religion that is to be headed by the “false prophet.” Read between the lines of the following, the concluding paragraph of the official statement on the Sanhedrin’s web site:
        Out of a sense of collective responsibility for world peace and for all humanity, we have found it timely to call to the world and exclaim that there is a way out for all peoples. It is etched in a call to all humanity: We are all the sons of one father, the descendants of Adam, and all humanity is but a single family. Peace among nations will be achieved through building the House of G-d, where all peoples will serve as foreseen by King Solomon in his prayers at the dedication of the First Holy Temple. Come let us love and respect one another, and love and honor and hold our heavenly Father in awe. Let us establish a house of prayer in His name in order to worship and serve Him together, for the sake of His great compassion. He surely does not want the blood of His creations spilled, but prefers love and peace among all mankind. We pray to the Almighty Creator, that you harken to our Call. Together – each according to his or her ability – we shall work towards the building of the House of Prayer for All Nations on the Temple Mount in peace and mutual understanding.
        If we are seeing the seeds of a one world religion that God prophesied, is His other prophecy of a one world government beyond the realm of possibility? Tim Geithner, the secretary of the US Treasury, has already stated that a world currency was an idea worth considering. And once a single monetary system is put in place, a centralized government doesn’t seem like much of a stretch.
        As to Solomon’s Temple being constructed, there obviously will need to be a lot of details worked out. And there will be opposition from several circles, especial in the Islamic world, that will need to be overcome. But if real leaders from the two sides can come together as they did last month, and walk away in total agreement, God’s end time plan is definitely taking shape.         What a phenomenal time to be alive, especially if we truly trust God like we discussed in our last article that is directly below this one. How exciting it is to keep our Biblical prophecies and newspapers close at hand, and check off the boxes to the scheduled return of our Lord Jesus.
        “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’
        Amen, Come, Lord Jesus.”  Revelation 22:20.

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Trust

Sunday, August 9th, 2009
        The word faith is commonplace in Christianity. We are constantly reminded that we should have faith in Christ, faith in the power of prayer, faith in His saving grace, faith for a miracle, faith for this and faith for that. May I submit that if we but trust Him, everything else falls into place.
        There is a difference in those two words, and it is huge. We have faith with our heads, but trust comes from the heart. Comparing faith to trust is like comparing a drop of water to the ocean. But unwavering trust is tough. It relies on God not only knowing what is truly best for us, but also loving us so much that He will always give us that best thing, even though it might be extremely painful to us as we go through it. Pure trust understands that in our happiness and in our sadness, everything is inevitably being done for the best, even though we may not even realize it in this life.
        Yes, trust can be a hard row to hoe. We would rather have faith that God will bring us through the difficult time we might be facing and allow the answer we desire to be manifested. Although our head may tell us that God can see the future all the way into eternity, and it may even tell us that God loves us as His child, deep within us we would rather the outcomes of each life situation be determined by our own desires than dictated by a second party’s will, even if that second party is the all knowing God of everything. To truly trust may be one of the most courageous things in life, even the life of a committed Christian.
        However, trust is achievable. And believe it or not, it is demanded. Jesus commanded, “Trust in God, trust also in Me.” John 14:1.
        In Unlocking God’s Secrets we discussed that the word “believe” in our Bibles does not nearly do justice to the original Greek word, “pistevo.” A part of the definition of pistevo, you might recall, is “To trust, with implications of total commitment to the One who is trusted.” The more we thoughtfully search out the matter, the more we find out that Augustus Gordon was totally correct when he answered Brennan Manning’s question, “Could you define the Christian life in a single sentence?” Gordon’s response was, “Brennan, I can define it in a single word: trust.”
        Once we have absolute trust, our entire world changes. Psalm 40:4 says, “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust.” And how utterly right that statement is. Once complete trust is a part of us, anxiety and stress evaporate. That “joy that passes all understanding” becomes a part of our life. Somehow, even the harshest trials we face in this life are not nearly as painful and all consuming when we fully trust our Lord.
        But where does this total trust come from. I think it comes from love, our love for Him. As I am beginning to see it, when we love God enough, our desires in our worldly life are lessened in favor of our desire for God’s will to be done. It is kind of like a beautiful marriage in which one partner wants his or her spouse’s happiness above their own. 
        A few are fortunate enough to have such love for the Savior the day they first meet Him. For others of us that love takes time as the relationship builds, as we learn that the commandment Jesus said was above all others, to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, is truly the most important thing in life, as well as being the commandment that makes all of Christian living so easy.
        Sometimes even the most highly respected “generals of the faith,” like the beloved Dutch born Henri Nouwen, grow over time into that deep love for God that brings about pure trust. It is fascinating to me that when we look at Nouwen’s first thirty nine books we find the word “faith” constantly referred to, but in his last book which was published the day he died, September 21, 1996, we find the word “faith” mentioned only once and the higher word “trust” talked about sixty five times.
        So yes, we can be a Christian with only faith, and not the Ruthless Trust that Brennan Manning discusses in that book that I highly recommended in my book. But for us to have faith and not real trust is not what is commanded, It is not what God wants for our lives.  And it is not what is best for us in every regard. In the end, as has been said, trust may be the only gift we can give to God. And in giving that gift we are truly set free.
        We must strive for total trust. We must practice it daily and try to perfect it. In the end, we must live it. It is the gift we give to God that gives so much more back to us. It is the one word that describes the ultimate Christian life.

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Obama and Netanyahu Code

Thursday, August 6th, 2009
        As we have discussed, there are hundreds of Bible Code researchers currently working daily with high speed computers, and they are constantly uncovering new messages in God’s Word that are hidden in equidistant letter sequences. This is very controversial research that the normal secular media does not want to report about. And quite frankly, some of the findings of just a name or very short phrase are suspect as far as I am concerned, especially if the number of letters skipped is unusually long. Of course, my attention is aroused if names are found under an obviously related Biblical surface text. With that in mind, a new code was found a few weeks ago that has truly peaked my interest.
        If you have read Unlocking God’s Secrets or kept up with these articles, you know that I believe that the War of Gog and Magog that is outlined in detail in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is the last major prophecy that must be fulfilled before the prophesied seven year tribulation period count down to the return of Christ can begin. In that upcoming war Russia will be aligned with Iran and a few other Islamic nations and will come against a lone Israel. No country will help defend Israel. This will happen in order for God to show to the world that He exists when the giant Russian led forces are supernaturally defeated.
        The new code that was discovered that has my head spinning was uncovered under Ezekiel 38:3-4, in which God is talking to the head of Russia, known previously as Gog, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says; I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of (Rosh) Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army …”
        My feeling is that the hook that could cause Russia to come against Israel is the defense agreement made between Russia and Iran when Putin visited Tehran in October, 2007, and met with Ayatollah Khamenei. Let’s be clear, that summit was the first time in the history of the world that Russia and Iran had forged such an agreement, and therefore the Ezekiel prophecy could never have come to pass until after that meeting.
        Now we see Israel being left alone to handle the extremely real Iranian nuclear threat. President Obama and his people have already made statements that let the cat out of the bag that they are resigned to Iran having the nuclear bomb. Israel knows that as soon as that happens their days are numbered. Over and over Iran has openly stated that she will completely annihilate Israel, so the Jews have no choice but to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities before the bomb is built. When they do attack, Iran will retaliate, and Russia now will have to be a part of it. It will be the “hook in Russia’s jaws” that God talked about. This, I believe will be the beginning of the War of Gog and Magog. All of that scenario seems to me to be so obvious to anyone who is a student of Bible prophecy and current events. 
        This brings me to the brand new ELS code. Last month a researcher found that the names Obama and Netanyahu were encoded and actually intersected directly under Ezekiel 38:3. The odds of that occurring by random chance is so minute as to be beyond computing. 
        So, what does the code mean? Truthfully, there could be a number of reasons for God encoding those names there, but I will only speculate on one of them. My feeling is that this code is confirmation that the War of Gog and Magog will happen before our very eyes, during the time period that Obama and Netanyahu head up their respective governments. And remember, both can only serve a certain term as their nation’s leader. We are witnessing the scriptures come alive, and it is exciting. But are we truly prepared spiritually for the end result?

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To Meet The President

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

        A Union soldier heard the terrible news that both his father and his only brother were tragically killed at Gettysburg. His thoughts immediately went to his sister back home. How could she possibly take care of the farm work and bring in the harvest all by herself? After getting permission, he traveled to Washington to see if President Lincoln would give him a discharge to let him go home to help his sister take care of the farm.
        Unfortunately, when he reached the White House he was turned away by a guard who told him that the president was much too busy to see him.  Disheartened and dejected, the young man walked across the street and sat on a park bench.
        A boy walked up to him and asked, “Why are you so sad?”
        So the young soldier poured his heart out to the little boy. After hearing the story the boy extended his hand and said, “Come with me.”
        The soldier took the little boy’s hand and followed him back to the White house, past the guards who this time were silent, and straight into the office of President Abraham Lincoln. They did not even knock on the office door. Lincoln looked up from the battle plans he and a general were discussing and asked, “Who is your friend, Todd?”
        “He is a soldier who needs help, and Dad, you are the only person who can help him,” said young Todd Lincoln.
        With that introduction the soldier told his story and immediately was given a discharge and allowed to go to his family home.
        Incredible as it may sound, by taking the hand of Jesus the Son, you and I are ushered directly into the throne room of His Father, the King of everything. We are immediately given our discharge from our past sins, and are allowed to go back to our heavenly home. The true story of Todd Lincoln and the soldier is a mere earthly imitation of the even more exciting heavenly reality.

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